Time pa.s.sed. Meng Hao wasn’t standing in the exact center of the land ma.s.s, but he was certainly the center of all attention.

Outside, beyond the battered remnants of the ninth s.h.i.+eld layer, was an army of bizarre creatures that filled the starry sky from end to end. They all hovered there silently, looking down, but unwilling to set foot onto the land ma.s.s.

The ma.s.sive gap in the s.h.i.+eld still existed; it hadn't closed up. However, despite the many hours which had pa.s.sed, not a single individual had entered through it.

The strange nature of the land ma.s.s ensured that the energy of the Vast Expanse was scant, and also made it so that the will of the Vast Expanse was weaker. Because of that, the creatures that made up the army weren’t as easy to influence as before.

Although they still radiated a murderous aura, they were still mostly under the control of their primary instincts. As such, they were kept silent and unmoving by the realization that they would surely die if they entered the land ma.s.s.

If things kept going like this, Meng Hao would essentially have won the battle. By now, he could sense that the mirror was very close and would appear in front of him very soon.

“It’s almost here.... The copper mirror!

“Parrot... return to me!” Meng Hao took a deep breath. Within the thirty meter s.h.i.+elded area behind him, the eight copper mirror shards radiated brilliant light. The pillar of light which rose up from them was like a torch on a dark light, almost blinding as it continued to summon the copper mirror.

Enough time had pa.s.sed for an incense stick to burn, and Meng Hao began to pant as he looked off into the distance. As for all the creatures in the army, they could sense a pressure building from off in the distance, something which left them feeling very uneasy, even jittery.

They could almost make out a beam of light shooting, not through the starry sky, but through some other swath of darkness.

However, it was in this very moment that all of a sudden, ripples exploded out directly in front of Meng Hao. The air in front of him had been still and unmoving before, but now, a finger appeared!

Its appearance was ordinary in all aspects, but as soon as it appeared, it caused the entire world, and even the entire starry sky, to begin to shake. It superseded all light, and in the darkness of the starry sky, only it seemed to s.h.i.+ne brightly!

It seemed to be moving in slow motion as it reached out towards Meng Hao’s chest.

Unexpectedly, he was completely unable to dodge it.

A boom rang out; Heaven shook and Earth trembled. Cracking sounds could be heard from the land ma.s.s as fissures snaked out in all directions. Even the ninth s.h.i.+eld layer shattered.

Blood sprayed out of Meng Hao’s mouth, and he tumbled backward, slamming into the surface of the tenth s.h.i.+eld layer. The s.h.i.+eld distorted, and almost instantly shattered into pieces. Meng Hao continued to tumble backward nearly twenty-five meters before grinding to a halt. Coughing up another mouthful of blood, he slowly looked up at the rippling area up ahead of him.

Now, it wasn’t just a finger that was visible. A gaunt figure appeared out of thin air, and as soon as his foot touched the surface of the land ma.s.s, everything began to vibrate. At the same time, a supreme and paramount aura exploded out from him.

It was as if he were the representative of the entire starry sky, as if a single word from him could be considered natural law in the entire Vast Expanse. Apparently, a glance from him could determine the life or death of any of the beings which existed in the starry sky.

“I am the Emissary of Allheaven,” he said coolly. The echo of his voice caused the entire land ma.s.s to crumble into nothing. The only exception was the thirty-meter area upon which Meng Hao stood. All other locations collapsed into dust from the single word uttered by this Emissary of Allheaven.

The surrounding swarms of creatures felt an indescribable reverence rising up from their souls. They bowed their heads and dropped to their knees to kowtow.

“Greetings, Emissary....”

The gaunt man seemed middle-aged, but had an ashen face and deeply profound eyes. He stood there, clad in a black robe, looking coldly at Meng Hao.

“Why haven’t you knelt yet?” he asked.

It was one sentence with only five words, but as soon as it left his mouth, a pressure burst out that defied description. It slammed into Meng Hao, causing intense rumbling sounds to echo out. Meng Hao’s cultivation base was at the peak of the 9-Essences level, but it almost seemed impossible to bear the pressure. His knees shook as the pressure became like two hands pus.h.i.+ng down onto his shoulders, as if he were being forced to kneel.

But then, Meng Hao smiled. It was a vicious smile, complete with glowing red eyes. Shocking power erupted out, staining the surrounding starry sky with redness.

The redness might not be able to compare with the blackness of the starry sky as a whole, but in this particular area, it was like a tempest that couldn’t be resisted.

“I, Meng Hao, have never kowtowed to the Heavens, nor bowed to the Earth. What makes you think… that I would kneel to sc.u.m like you?!” The redness in his eyes intensified, and his aura began to flicker with multifarious variations. Demonic qi erupted, and not only did he not kneel, he began to walk forward, one step at a time.

His energy began to rise up, and the redness raged like flames. Instantly, intense pressure began to crush down onto the Emissary of Allheaven.

The man’s face flickered.

“You really want to die?!” he said, snorting coldly. He lifted his right hand, and killing intent exploded out as he shoved his palm toward Meng Hao. Intense pressure erupted that exceeded the 9-Essences level. If Meng Hao hadn’t been on guard already, he would have been killed in body and mind.

And yet, he didn't stop moving for even a moment. In fact, he sped up. At the same time, his energy continued to build up, Demonic qi surged, and the red glow expanded.

Then, he clenched his right fist and unleashed the Devil-Butchering Fist. As the fist bore down on the Emissary of Allheaven, the red glow in the area rumbled, making it seem like there were infinite fists about to slam into the man.

Then, Meng Hao transformed into black roc-form, only to change again into an azure-colored roc, which instantly changed color yet again to crimson. Then, he shot like lightning toward the Emissary of Allheaven, slas.h.i.+ng at him with razor-sharp claws.

Next were countless mountains which caused Heaven to shake and the Earth to tremble as they descended. However, Meng Hao didn’t stop at that. He unleashed the Blood Demon Grand Magic, and followed up with Demonic qi formed into the shape of a gigantic head, which viciously snapped its mouth at the Emissary.

Booms rang out, filling the starry sky. In just a few short moments, Meng Hao unleashed his most deadly attacks, and then ended them all with the combined Eight Hexes.

The Emissary fell back repeatedly, face growing increasingly pale. Finally, killing intent flickered in his eyes as he took to flight, not to attack Meng Hao, but to try to destroy the spell formation. However, Meng Hao quickly intercepted him.

Instead of falling back again, the Emissary of Allheaven unleashed another attack. When it slammed into Meng Hao, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and tumbled backward several hundred meters. The Emissary then stepped forward, appearing directly in front of the eight copper mirror shards. Then, he lifted up his right hand and shoved it violently forward.

And yet, Meng Hao simply smiled. Eyes s.h.i.+ning with madness, he waved his finger toward the Emissary.

As he did, a beam of light shot toward the land ma.s.s through the starry sky, moving at indescribable speed. It slashed through the hosts of creatures, destroying many of their number who could not evade, transforming them into nothing more than ash.

In the blink of an eye, an entire section of creatures was destroyed. The Emissary’s face fell as the beam of light closed in on him, then stabbed through his chest on its way to the spell formation.

Finally, the light faded away to reveal what had been inside... an ancient and primitive copper mirror!

As soon as the mirror appeared, the eight shards melted together, then flowed into the body of the mirror itself, to form... a complete mirror!

A primordial aura erupted out from the mirror, shaking the starry sky and sending boundless ripples out in all directions. The Emissary’s face fell, and he backed up. As for Meng Hao, he looked excitedly at the mirror.

“Return to me!” he said. The mirror vibrated, and a blurry figure appeared within the mirror, a parrot. It looked out coldly at Meng Hao, seemingly confused. It was as if it were looking at a stranger, and at the same time, that stranger seemed familiar.

After a moment, though, that feeling of familiarity faded. The parrot looked away from Meng Hao, and then turned and shot out into the starry sky, taking the mirror with it.

Meng Hao’s face paled, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Seeing the parrot flying away filled his heart with pain, especially when he knew exactly why it had seemed so confused.

“Well, it is what it is. At least you’re complete. Even though you’re leaving, severing your destiny with me, I just hope... that you can find a master better than me....”

The Emissary of Allheaven began to laugh uproariously. Although a huge hole had been pierced into his chest, no blood flowed out. He turned to look at Meng Hao, laughing the entire time.

“That mirror doesn’t belong to you any more. It erased its own mind. You spent almost a thousand years getting ready to summon it to you, and it was all a complete waste!” Somehow, this Emissary of Allheaven knew about everything Meng Hao had been doing.

“Now, since you feel like leaving the Vast Expanse, I’ll help you. I will help you follow the destiny which has long since been prepared for you!” Laughing, the Emissary of Allheaven flickered into motion, performing an incantation gesture with both hands as he shot toward Meng Hao. Then he waved his finger, and the entire starry sky of the Vast Expanse seemed to sink down, as if he were drawing upon some of its power, then merging it into his finger to attack Meng Hao.

Meng Hao defended with all of his might. Booms rang out, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. He seemed to be on the verge of being destroyed, forced into successive retreats. But then, the eyes of the parrot in the distant copper mirror suddenly flickered. It still seemed confused, and yet, a tremor ran through it. For some unknown reason, it suddenly had the feeling that if it left right now, it would regret that decision for the rest of its life.

“Who am I...? Who am I...?” The parrot s.h.i.+vered, and then the confusion faded from its eyes. Instead, it seemed to be struggling with itself, as though there were memories inside of it trying to awaken!