In order to send Meng Hao outside the Vast Expanse, Han Bei had paid the heaviest of prices. She had harmed herself on a fundamental level in order to summon the will of Allheaven. As such, when she did so again, she could barely prevent herself from collapsing into pieces.

However, even as her body began to fall apart, she was able to wield astonis.h.i.+ng power. Blood oozed out of the corners of her mouth as her internal organs were destroyed. And yet, she raised her right hand toward the incoming ice fragments and pushed out.

Rumbling could be heard as the ice lurched to a halt. Then, each and every one exploded, forming a mist. That mist then congealed into the form of an arrow. Han Bei’s eyes glinted with a cruel light as she prepared to send the arrow flying back at Meng Hao. But then her face fell as she realized that Meng Hao had vanished.

Before she could even spin around, Meng Hao had appeared behind her. She had no time to unleash any divine abilities or set up any defenses. Meng Hao’s eyes flickered as he waved his right hand, summoning the copper mirror. It had a huge crack running down the middle, but it was still the same precious treasure it had always been.

The parrot materialized, letting out a fierce squawk. At the same time, the surface of the mirror floated out, and of the nine pieces which comprised it, one shot out and stabbed into the middle of Han Bei’s back.

Even still, Han Bei’s energy continued to rise, and the boundless will continued to pour into her. She performed an incantation gesture with her right hand, then pointed behind her, causing the air around Meng Hao to shatter. A blast of energy then separated them, whereupon Meng Hao vanished again. When he reappeared, he was in a different location, where he waved his hand, sending a second mirror shard stabbing into Han Bei’s forehead.

Blood oozed out of the corners of her mouth as she performed another incantation gesture. The lands below began to quake, and crevices snaked out. However, that was when the third mirror shard stabbed into her, and then the fourth.

Han Bei’s pupils constricted. She could already sense that the connection between her own soul and Chu Yuyan’s was being destroyed. Backing up, she performed yet another incantation gesture. Blood sprayed out of her mouth, transforming into a blood-colored palm print that shot toward Meng Hao.

She was now in full retreat, drawing upon all the speed she could muster to flee. She was filled with the intense premonition that these copper mirror shards had the capacity to completely end her life!

However, even as she tried to escape, Meng Hao’s eyes flickered with scorn. His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, causing numerous mountains to appear, which fell down and completely blocked off her path of retreat. From a distance, it almost appeared as if those mountains were descending from the Heavens!

Han Bei let out a miserable shriek and then slammed into the mountains. The mountains shattered, and just when she appeared to be on the verge of making her escape, Meng Hao appeared next to her. He waved his right hand, and the fifth, sixth, and seventh mirror shards stabbed into Han Bei.

Han Bei’s face was pale, and within her, the power of the will of Allheaven had exploded out in full force. She even went so far as to use the same magical technique that Chen Fan had used, causing numerous battles to fill Meng Hao’s memories.

However, Meng Hao was prepared for that. His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and ma.s.sive power erupted out within him. It was Karmic Hexing, which instantly severed her Karma.

Then, the eighth mirror shard stabbed into her chest.

She chuckled bitterly. By this point, her connection to Chu Yuyan’s soul was almost completely gone. Glaring at Meng Hao, she gritted her teeth and, unexpectedly, chose to detonate her own soul!

“Maybe I’ll vanish forever,” she said, her eyes burning with madness, “but at least I can leave your heart in agony!” A boom echoed out as the power of the detonation began to explode out.

“Too late,” Meng Hao said coolly. He waved his hand, and the ninth mirror shard whistled through the air at an impossible speed. Han Bei couldn’t have blocked it even if she had tried. It stabbed directly into her dantian region.

“Soul Severing!” Meng Hao said quietly. The parrot squawked, shooting toward Han Bei at top speed. Simultaneously, the mirror shards exploded.

Meng Hao had set out completely intent on killing Han Bei. Even though her soul was linked with Chu Yuyan’s, after acquiring the copper mirror, he knew that he could separate the two of them. The main danger would be if Han Bei chose to self-detonate, which was something he couldn’t prevent.

Therefore, he didn’t immediately attack Han Bei with full force. Instead, he had intentionally talked about past times, all to provoke the flow of memories within Han Bei’s eyes. In that moment when she recalled the past, he unleashed Karmic Hexing as a tactic to sever her soul!

Severing Karma wouldn't be enough to undo her fusion with Chu Yuyan’s soul. Everything he had done before had been a feint. His true goal was to use the copper mirror and the parrot to completely separate their souls!

The parrot's squawk echoed out at the same time that the nine mirror shards began to explode. The parrot then pierced through Han Bei’s body, which was a simple thing considering it wasn’t using its corporeal form.

As it pa.s.sed through her, it latched its beak down onto a strand of soul, which was none other than the piece of Chu Yuyan’s soul which was nestled inside of Han Bei’s soul. The blurry soul fragment began to stretch out as it was pulled inexorably away from Han Bei’s soul.

It was in that moment that the full power of the detonation of the mirror shards surged out. Nine separate explosions ripped through Han Bei, slas.h.i.+ng at the point where the two souls connected. Han Bei let out a bloodcurdling scream as her soul was severed from Chu Yuyan’s.

A ma.s.sive boom echoed out as the parrot soared through the air, circling back around to Meng Hao with Chu Yuyan’s soul fragment. As for the mirror shards, they reformed and floated back to the copper mirror, where they once again became an intact mirror face.

As of this moment, Meng Hao’s desire to kill Han Bei had not lessened at all. He shot forward to appear directly in front of her, whereupon he unleashed a fist strike.

A boom rang out as Han Bei’s body exploded into a cloud of gore. Her soul flew out into the air, where she stared at Meng Hao, smiling bitterly.

“Meng Hao, you’ve really surprised me.... You truly deserve to be the Son of Allheaven. The blood of the Allheaven Clans runs strong in you.... However, your fate is sealed! The fate of all the starry sky of Allheaven is sealed! It can’t be changed. n.o.body can alter it!” She began to laugh bitterly. Her soul was so damaged because of calling upon the will of Allheaven that Meng Hao didn’t need to do anything to it now. She was like an oil lamp on the verge of sputtering out. Her soul trembled as cracks began to spread out across its surface.

Soon, she was completely fragmented, and was apparently on the very brink of falling apart.

“Tell me, what are the Allheaven Clans?” Meng Hao suddenly asked.

“You know. You already know. What need have you of further proof...? Well, I guess it doesn’t matter now. Allheaven Clans are forged from the bloodline of the will of Allheaven. They were scattered among the starry sky with the sole purpose... of helping the will of Allheaven to climb back to the pinnacle!

“In this life, I am the Daughter of Allheaven, and you are the Son of Allheaven. Things between us aren’t over yet!” Her laughter grew louder and louder until her soul couldn’t sustain itself any longer. A boom like thunder echoed out as she exploded into as.h.!.+

Meng Hao hovered there quietly. After returning from outside of the Vast Expanse, he had already come to many conclusions about certain matters. Sighing, he looked up into the Heavens, his eyes glittering.

Eventually, Jin Yunshan, the Sect Leader, and the others appeared. They hovered there quietly, hearts battered by waves of shock. The bizarre performance put on by Han Bei, the unexpected appearance of the will of Allheaven, and Meng Hao’s incredible power left them all panting.

Eventually, they clasped hands and bowed to Meng Hao, then began to depart in beams of colorful light.

The last to leave was the Sect Leader. He looked at Meng Hao with mixed emotions, then glanced thoughtfully at the spot where Han Bei had vanished. Finally, he clasped hands and left.

After they were gone, Meng Hao looked down at Chu Yuyan’s soul strand. The parrot was perched on his shoulder.

After a long moment, Meng Hao murmured, “Han Bei was right. I've known the truth for some time now.

“There is a will outside the Vast Expanse called Allheaven.... In the past, Allheaven created the world, created life, and created cultivation. He is like the lord of all things.

“But he grew weak, and eventually reached the point of death. His body began to vanish, and in the end, all that remained were five fingers.

“Those fingers represent the Immortal, the Ghost, the G.o.d, the Devil, and the Demon...

“Every time one of them appears, it pushes Allheaven closer to death. Those fingers represent his life, an ent.i.ty which exists above the Heavenly Dao, and is the will of all things.

“As for why Allheaven fears the Immortal, perhaps there are many answers, but regardless... if the Immortal appears, it will take the power of his life, and become strong to an unimaginable degree. In fact, if the Immortal appears, Allheaven will die instantly!

“When the Immortal is about to appear, worlds are destroyed!

“When Patriarch Vast Expanse was about to become the Immortal, the will of Allheaven intervened, and destroyed the Vast Expanse land ma.s.ses. From then on, Patriarch Vast Expanse was not the Immortal, but instead, the Ghost. Back when I was fleeing with the Mountain and Sea b.u.t.terfly, I encountered that old man, and he told me all of this. Way back then. [1. Meng Hao met the old man outside the vortex in chapter 1404]

“In Patriarch Vast Expanse’s grief, he transformed the land ma.s.ses into his necropolis, then went outside the Vast Expanse to destroy Allheaven’s finger. That was all he could do, as he was not strong enough to kill Allheaven himself.”