“Bear in mind, I can only grant one wish,” the parrot said coolly. “After that wish, I will sleep. Then I will travel the starry sky, and only after visiting tens upon tens of thousands of worlds will I awaken once more…. Only at that time can a second wish be granted!” The copper mirror glittered with scintillating light as the parrot’s words echoed out into the Vast Expanse.

As of this moment, the pressure radiating from the parrot caused the Immortal G.o.d Continent to tremble, and the Devil Realm Continent to shake. All of the surrounding cultivators were panting, and their hearts were thumping nervously. The 9-Essences experts forcibly reigned in their cultivation bases, and as for the most powerful experts of the two land ma.s.ses who had either remained silent this whole time, or sent out streams of will, they too were shaken mentally.

They could sense that both the parrot and the copper mirror… had a slight trace of the will of the Vast Expanse upon them. That was a will that they couldn't even attempt to cause to tremble. Only... a Transcendent cultivator could comprehend it!

As for Transcending, that was something that, throughout countless years, only a few people had ever done in the Vast Expanse, in the starry sky, in the Four Great Realms, or in the countless other Realms.

Those who failed to Transcend could only gaze up for all eternity upon those who had.

The words uttered just now by the parrot caused everyone on the Immortal G.o.d Continent and the Devil Realm Continent to suddenly look at each other with hostile expressions.

There was only one wis.h.!.+

The parrot had not lied; the most powerful hidden experts among the Immortal G.o.d Continent and the Devil Realm Continent were people who could not be easily fooled. After a moment of silence, the wills from the two land ma.s.ses met and began to confer.

As for what conclusion was reached, most people had no way of knowing. All they knew was that three days later, the copper mirror transformed into motes of crystalline light which faded away into the Vast Expanse.

Of course, some of the 9-Essences Paragons were unwilling to allow the b.u.t.terfly and the remnants of the Mountain and Sea Realm to remain inside the vortex. They tried to enter, but could make no headway and were forced to back out.

The Devil Realm Continent even resorted to imitating the Mountain and Sea Realm by using their World-b.u.t.terflies to enter the vortex. However, for some unknown reason, all such attempts failed. Most important was that the black hole which led to the green coffin was filled with a boundless and chaotic flow of time. Upon entering it, time flowed differently than in the outside world. The rugged, muscular man even stepped inside, but when he realized that tens of thousands of years could pa.s.s by in a single moment, he was forced to retreat.

The most ancient beings from both land ma.s.ses sent their divine sense inside to investigate, and then eventually notified their people that this place... was not accessible to anyone who had not Transcended.

The question of how the World-b.u.t.terfly had managed to enter was something no one could answer. The only explanation that made sense... was that someone had granted it entrance.

Eventually, the two great land ma.s.ses gave up on their efforts. They formed 33 land ma.s.ses, which became the new 33 Heavens. Those 33 Heavens were then used to form a seal just like the one which had been placed over the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Groups of cultivators from the Immortal G.o.d Continent and the Devil Realm Continent stayed behind to stand guard, as well as some of the Outsiders who had survived the recent war.

Outside of the 33 Heavens, Dao Fang sat cross-legged, sighing deeply, mixed emotions visible on his face. Laying his staff down in front of him, he closed his ancient eyes and continued to stand guard. In the future, any cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm who attempted to fly out from the 33 Heavens would be killed by him.

Beyond Dao Fang, the Aeon Span was reestablished and linked to the Vast Expanse. Now, there was… a new Mountain and Sea Realm.

Apparently, there was a beginning and an ending in everything, like a never-ending a cycle.

No one could enter that Mountain and Sea Realm, and its cultivators could not leave. Soon, the Immortal G.o.d Continent and the Devil Realm Continent departed, returning to the places from whence they had originally come. Whether it was the Immortal G.o.d Realm who got the wish, or the Devil Realm, at the moment no one knew.

Neither of the two great powers cared very much about where exactly Meng Hao had ended up being teleported to. As far as they were concerned, he was already dead, and was most likely nothing more than a corpse floating somewhere in the Vast Expanse.

Even still, both powers dispatched groups of cultivators out in various directions to search for that corpse!

Time pa.s.sed as it always did in the Vast Expanse....

Apparently, everything that had happened was relatively negligible when it came to the starry sky of the Vast Expanse as a whole. A Realm had been destroyed. A world had changed locations.

The Vast Expanse was still the Vast Expanse. The vortex still emanated green light, and countless species of living beings went about their daily lives as was dictated by natural law, hunting, gathering, living. The Immortal G.o.d Continent and the Devil Realm Continent were as domineering as ever.

From the look of things, the disappearance of one person really wouldn’t change the course of all existence.

Ten years pa.s.sed. A hundred. A thousand.... Time flowed like water, and the result was that many people forgot what had occurred in the past. In the 33 Heavens outside of the Green Coffin Vortex, successive generations of cultivators never learned about that ancient person named Meng Hao.

They forgot about the world which had been destroyed, and they forgot about the various events which had taken place. All they remembered was that they were to stand guard, and that there was a b.u.t.terfly inside of the vortex. Many people took to calling that b.u.t.terfly... the Mountain and Sea b.u.t.terfly.

There were some who would sigh as they recalled the events that had occurred a thousand years before. One of them was Dao Fang. He would wake up occasionally, and when he did, he would either look down at the b.u.t.terfly in the Green Coffin Vortex or look up at the Vast Expanse. Sometimes… he would recall how the parrot had erased its own mind, how the meat jelly had willingly died, and how the blood-colored mastiff had stood guard relentlessly. He would even think about... that certain person who had exploded with madness, all for the sake of a single Realm.

Within the Green Coffin Vortex was a green coffin, upon which was a peaceful and calm b.u.t.terfly. Two land ma.s.ses existed inside that b.u.t.terfly, as well as a statue of man who was the subject of constant wors.h.i.+p.

“Our Realm is called... the Mountain and Sea Realm!” It was not uncommon for words like this to be heard in those two land ma.s.ses, when people explained the name of the Realm in which they lived.

“Many years ago, the Mountain and Sea Realm was known as the Paragon Immortal Realm, which ruled over 3,000 Lower Realms....

“The first catastrophe which struck was tens upon tens of thousands of years in the past....

“Back then, the 3,000 Lower Realms rebelled, and helped two powerful outside forces to invade. Paragon Nine Seals rose to prominence then, as did Paragon Sea Dream, and Paragon Immortal Ancient. There were other powerful experts who joined the resistance, to protect our homeland.

“During that war, the Paragon Immortal Realm was destroyed. Paragon Nine Seals drove the invaders away, and created a precious treasure, the Mountain and Sea Realm, which became the home of later generations.

“That was the first war which was fought....

“The second war occurred a thousand years ago. The two powerful forces which had destroyed the Paragon Immortal Realm returned. Of the original force of 3,000 rebel Realms, only thirty-three remained, which were the 33 Heavens. They were the ones who started the second war.

“During that war, Paragon Shui Dongliu’s terrifying strategy was revealed, which bought the Realm a chance at survival!

“During that war, Paragon Sea Dream sacrificed her life to find the direction we needed to travel in!

“Most importantly... during the fighting, our greatest Paragon, Paragon Meng Hao, rose to the highest heights. He acquired Shui Dongliu’s legacy, the most consummate of legacies. He became the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and he led us as we fought our way to freedom!

“His clan, the Fang Clan, is the most powerful and supreme clan among us today!

“Paragon Meng Hao’s father and mother became the wings of the Mountain and Sea b.u.t.terfly, and flew us to where we are now....

“During that war, Paragon Meng Hao single-handedly fought both of our powerful enemies. He stood up to all of their cultivators, buying us time so that we could have a chance survive....

“During that war, he destroyed his Soul Lamps and wiped out his Daoist magic. He even detonated the precious treasure that was the Mountain and Sea Realm. During that war, he fought with a parrot, a suit of armor, and a Blood Mastiff.

“At the end of the war, he left to parts unknown. But the Mountain and Sea Realm still exists!

“Our Mountain and Sea Realm will exist forever, and its legacy will never end, not for all eternity. In the past, we were the Paragon Immortal Realm, and then, we were the Mountain and Sea Realm. As of now... we are... Meng Hao’s Realm!

“He is not the Immortal. He is the Demon. The Demon of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Our Demon Sovereign!!

“One day, our Demon Sovereign will return in all his madness, just as he promised. He will take us... to destroy the new 33 Heavens. He will take us... to wipe out the homelands of those two enemies of ours. He will take us... to get revenge, even if that means toppling the entire starry sky of the Vast Expanse!!!

“Revenge. Revenge! REVENGE!!”

Throughout the years, that was how the children of cultivators in the world of the b.u.t.terfly educated their children. As they told the story, they would clench their jaws, and tears would stream down their faces as they recounted the b.l.o.o.d.y and violent tales of the past!

Fatty rose to prominence during that period of a thousand years, as did many more of Meng Hao’s past acquaintances. Somehow, even w.a.n.g Youcai was still alive. The razor-sharp thirst for vengeance bubbled within them. However, they buried their killing intent and focused on building up new resources, and on waiting... for the moment when they could get their revenge!

They were waiting for Meng Hao to return, their Demon Sovereign!

They… refused to believe that Meng Hao was dead!

There was a certain woman who most certainly did not believe him to be dead. She resided in the Fang Clan, and had an extremely prominent position there. She was Xu Qing, the wife of the Demon Sovereign!

With her and the Fang Clan there, the spirits of the Mountain and Sea cultivators in this world would burn eternally.

That spirit was the legacy of an entire people, and was something that burned unquenchably within them.

Every night, on the highest mountain peak within the Mountain and Sea b.u.t.terfly, when the moon which had been created would superimpose with the mountain, Xu Qing could be seen standing there.

She would look up into the sky, as if she were waiting…. Always waiting....

“After I was reincarnated, you waited for me for hundreds of years.... Now, I will wait for you until the end of time and s.p.a.ce....

“Meng Hao, wherever you are, you haven’t perished, have you...? I can sense you. You... are out there somewhere!” she murmured.

A year pa.s.sed. Then another. And another....

End of Book 8: My Mountain and Sea Realm