The call came, not from Meng Hao himself, but from the bronze lamp inside of him. At the same time, he opened his third eye, causing brilliant light to s.h.i.+ne out, filling the world!

Something else happened that was extremely telling. As the light and the call spread out, Heaven and Earth began to shake, and Jin Yunshan could do nothing to stop it!

Jin Yunshan's face instantly fell!

Meng Hao hovered in midair like a divine spirit, majestic light s.h.i.+ning out from this third eye. Using that third eye to look at the world around him, he saw so many ghosts that they seemed infinite in number. Back when they were alive, they had lived in a thriving world that ended when it was destroyed by Allheaven’s finger.

As such, it could be said that the true masters of the necropolis were these ghosts!

When Meng Hao opened his third eye, sending out divine will in the form of brilliant light, it coupled with the call from the bronze lamp to spread out silently through the entire land ma.s.s. In that moment, all of the ghosts which had previously prostrated themselves in wors.h.i.+p to Meng Hao suddenly s.h.i.+vered and looked up, confused expressions in their eyes.

“Who is it... that calls to us...?”

“That’s the aura of the Emperor. The fluctuations of the Emperor....”

“The Emperor... is calling to us!”

Their voices could not be heard by the living, nor could the ghosts themselves even be seen. However, the living beings present could sense the fluctuations emanating out because of the ghosts.

Only the ghosts themselves could hear their voices, which grew louder and louder until they were like a gigantic sound wave.

Even the ghosts which were not on the land ma.s.s were s.h.i.+vering, and gleams of excitement could be seen in their eyes!

Their howls filled every nook and cranny of the enormous continent, along with an icy aura. The ghosts took to flight, sending out coldness that could freeze anything and everything. They were beginning to go mad because of the call they felt from their Emperor.

“The Emperor.... That’s the aura of the Emperor. He’s calling to us!!’

The seemingly infinite numbers of ghosts outside of the land ma.s.s caused cracking sounds to ring out as ice spread out to cover the ruins in the area. Innumerable hordes of ghosts surged forth like a shocking wave to sweep across the bridge that connected to the first land ma.s.s.

Countless howling voices rose up. “Anything which blocks our path to pay greetings to the Emperor shall be destroyed!!”

A terrifying, piercing cry rang out from the mists that surrounded the bridge. Before the mists could disperse, the icy coldness and hosts of ghosts crushed them.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the bridge trembled. The arms of blood and gore that made up the bridge were frozen, and within the s.p.a.ce of a few breaths of time, the bridge itself was nothing more than ice as the ghosts outside rushed onto the land ma.s.s.

Even as that happened, more and more ghosts began to appear within the ruins on the surface of the land ma.s.s itself. At first, they looked confused, but when they felt the call coming from Meng Hao, their hearts stirred with excitement. Soon, all of the ghosts within all of the ruins and districts looked up and began to cry out.

“It's the Emperor!!”

“The aura of the Emperor.... The Emperor isn’t dead after all, he’s come back!!”

“The Emperor... is calling to us!!”

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

All of the ghosts both on the land ma.s.s and outside of it were surging toward the central region, where Meng Hao was.

Within the ruins of a certain temple, a shocking aura suddenly appeared, along with a vague, blurry figure. He looked different than the other ghosts, more ancient. As he looked off into the distance, a powerful energy surged off of him.

“The Emperor... is back!” he murmured. He made a grasping gesture with his right hand, causing a Soul Pike to appear in his hand. Then, he transformed into a blast of cold air that shot off into the distance.

In another area was a river, which began to churn as a vicious face rose up from within it. When its eyes opened, they looked around blankly for a moment before filling with excitement.

“The Emperor.... It's the Emperor....” Trembling, he flew out of the water. This ghost was fully 30,000 meters long, causing everything to shake as he flew at top speed in the direction of Meng Hao's calling.

In a location even further off was a towering mountain, atop which stood a man in a flowing white robe. He was a ghost, and yet he still possessed his own will and mind. s.h.i.+vering, he turned his head and looked off into the distance with an expression of disbelief. Then he started laughing in mad excitement.

“He’s not the Emperor, but he represents the Emperor....” He flew into motion, icy coldness spreading out from him as he headed off into the distance.

Scenes like this played out in numerous locations all over the first continent. As the ghosts took to flight, rumbling sounds filled Heaven and Earth, and the entire world shook!

Within the first land ma.s.s of the necropolis, icy coldness spread out. In fact, if one could look down from a high vantage point, it would look like the entire land ma.s.s was turning into ice!

The ruins iced over. The mountains froze. The rivers turned solid. Countless plants and even the wind itself began to freeze up.

As the world trembled, the people standing outside of the altar felt icy coldness, and astonishment rising up within them.

“What’s happening!?”

“Something's wrong. Things got freezing almost instantly!”

In their shock, they looked around and saw snow swirling about in the air. However, this snow wasn’t white, it was black! Of course, what Meng Hao was seeing wasn't snow, but rather, countless ghosts!

Before, he had never truly called upon the ghosts within the necropolis, not of his own accord. He hovered there in midair, arms spread wide as boundless iciness spread out. Cracking sounds filled the air as countless ghosts swirled around him.

None of the living beings could see the ghosts, but they could sense what was happening. They could detect the countless shocking auras building up around Meng Hao, and could tell that there were invisible figures surrounding him.

However... Jin Yunshan was different. Because of the Void Divinity state he was in, he was fused with the world itself. He was the world, and the world was him. Therefore, he could see all of the countless ghosts flying around him and Meng Hao.

Then, he watched in shock as the ghosts began to prostrate toward Meng Hao, eyes burning with pa.s.sion and excitement.

“Greetings, Emperor!!”

“Greetings, Emperor!!”

“Greetings, Emperor!!”

Countless voices rose up in a cacophony that shook the starry sky, a ma.s.sive sound wave that boomed like thunder.

“Impossible!!” Jin Yunshan was astonished to the ultimate degree, and was shaking violently. What was happening was completely and utterly shocking.

He almost couldn’t even believe what he was seeing.

More and more ghosts appeared, filling the area for tens of thousands of kilometers in all directions, all of them prostrating with zealous fanaticism!

There were even some ent.i.ties which were shocking to Jin Yunshan on an individual level, which likewise prostrated to Meng Hao. Jin Yunshan was so shaken that his forehead began to drip with sweat.

Meng Hao was being wors.h.i.+pped by an innumerable group of ghosts, as if he were their Emperor. His eyes were cold as he looked around, and the cultivators who met his gaze were completely shaken mentally. It was as if they were being struck by lightning, or frozen into ice.

Shaking in astonishment, the Sect Leader rose to his feet, and off to the side, Sha Jiudong gasped in shock.

They were both in the peak of 9-Essences, and although they were not in the midst of the Void Divinity Conversion and could not see the ghosts, their divine sense could clearly detect the countless ghosts which Meng Hao had called from both within and without the land ma.s.s.

The entire area was completely and utterly filled with ghostly spirits!

And then there was the freezing temperature, which caused both of them to inhale sharply. If they had such a reaction, it was hardly necessary to detail how Shangguan Hong and the other 9-Essences cultivators reacted, or the 8-Essences Paragons. All of them felt their minds spinning in astonishment!

The battle between Meng Hao and Jin Yunshan had reached a complete and utter peak.

Jin Yunshan’s scalp tingled with numbness; he simply couldn’t find a way to believe that even his Void Divinity Conversion had not forced Meng Hao to use his ninth Essence, but instead... prompted him to summon an army of infinite ghosts!

“Who are you?!?!” he shrieked. As his voice echoed out, Meng Hao extended his right hand. He could clearly sense that as of this moment, although he wasn’t truly the Emperor of this land, he was the commander of these legions of ghosts.

The world didn’t belong to him, but that didn't matter. He could simply conquer it!

He lowered his hand, and the swish of his sleeve sent his will out to the countless ghosts. The ghosts then looked up at Jin Yunshan, screamed, and charged toward him.

Jin Yunshan’s mind trembled, and the sensation of deadly crisis which filled him grew even more intense. He had no time to think of what to do. He could only grit his teeth and unleash all of the power of the Void Divinity Conversion, sending the power of the world to fight back against the ghosts!

However, there was one thing he hadn’t considered. Although he had already used the Void Divinity Conversion to become the world itself, that world, both before the great catastrophe which had struck it, and after... had always belonged to this group!

In the past, they had been cultivators, but now they were vengeful ghosts!