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Everything in the past which had died, regardless of whether they had frozen to death or drowned, regardless of whether they were cultivators or mortals, regardless of whether they were animals or plants, were all resurrected!

Even if the corpses had vanished, they returned to life from nothing!

The shattered buildings and collapsed mountains were restored in the blink of an eye. All of the lands... were like they were before!

According to the ancient saying, when one man achieves the Dao, all those beneath him will also ascend. That was exactly what was happening with the Seal the Heavens Hex. From within death, life appeared!

Rumbling sounds filled the first continent as everything was restored. As that happened, Planet Vast Expanse was shaken, as were all of the lands that filled the starry sky of Allheaven. All worlds, all realms, all the dust, everything was vibrating.

All cultivators, all species, all forms of life, everything that existed trembled in shock and astonishment.

Jin Yunshan gasped, and Sha Jiudong was left s.h.i.+vering. Bai Wuchen’s eyes went wide with amazement.

The Sect Leader’s jaw dropped, and all of the other 9-Essences cultivators were battered by waves of shock. Each of them felt compelled to drop to their knees and kowtow to the first continent. It was almost as if something were being born there... that surpa.s.sed the Vast Expanse itself!

In the first location where Meng Hao had acquired a copper mirror shard, the enormous basilisk lizard with the peak 9-Essences battle prowess was currently sleeping. Suddenly, it trembled and looked up, astonishment s.h.i.+ning in its eyes.

In the Ice-Fire Realm, the Icemountain Giant and the Flamephoenix could feel the fluctuations rolling out through the starry sky of Allheaven, and were suddenly struck with fear.

On the flouris.h.i.+ng Immortal G.o.d Continent was a certain sect that held the most prominent position among all of the other sects. It was a powerful sect, and within that sect was a disciple by the name of Dao-Heaven, a new Chosen within the sect.

He was currently sitting there cross-legged in meditation. For years, he his heart had been filled with various questions and speculations. And yet, he had never been able to prove whether or not they were right. In fact, the ideas in his head seemed almost too fantastic to believe.

However, as of this moment, the entire Immortal G.o.d Continent suddenly trembled. Every ent.i.ty in those lands stopped what they were doing and looked up. Mortals, cultivators, and even the animals, all suddenly seemed to lack the energy to even move. The entire world went completely still and quiet.

Except for Dao-Heaven. He could move. A tremor ran through him as he suddenly sensed a familiar aura. A smile broke out on his face, and tears began to stream down his cheeks. Finally, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

Dao-Heaven, of course, was the former Echelon cultivator of the First Mountain and Sea!

A similar scene played out on the Devil Realm Continent. It was the same in the 33 Heavens above the Mountain and Sea b.u.t.terfly. Outside the 33 Heavens, sitting there on guard, was the monkey Dao Fang, whose heart suddenly trembled.

In all of the starry sky of Allheaven, things were shaking, and rumbling like thunder could be heard.

At the same time, the will of Allheaven seemed to cause everything to shake with its rage. It roared in fury, as well as... terror!

It was terrified, because it could sense that a new aura had appeared within the starry sky. It was a new power, a Dao... that superseded the Heavenly Dao!

That Dao could be called... the Seal the Heavens Dao!

The Seal the Heavens Dao was boundlessly domineering. It refused to allow anyone to offend it. It refused to allow any other will to change it.

It… could make the Heavens open their eyes, and could make the Heavens close their eyes. If I want the Heavens’ eyes closed, they won’t dare to refuse!

What I want, the Heavens shall NOT lack! What I don’t want, had BETTER not exist in the Heavens!

Back on Planet Vast Expanse, on the first continent, everyone was resurrected. However... Yan’er remained frozen.

After making the final knife cut, Little Treasure flicked his sleeve, and the statue and knife flew over toward Meng Hao.

As of this moment, his eyes were different. Before, they had no pupils, but now they did. He looked around at the world, and saw light. Of course, he didn't care about the world. He slowly looked down at his wife, and smiled. This was the first time he had ever seen her appearance.

She was ugly, her face covered with scars and wounds. But to Little Treasure, she was the most beautiful thing in existence.

He knelt down and wrapped his arms around her, smiling contentedly. Eventually, he closed his eyes, and his aura vanished.

His soul flew out. It, along with the souls of all the other reincarnations, became a beam of light that shot toward the statue in Meng Hao’s hand. The light entered the statue, which then glowed brightly. It was now truly complete.

That wooden statue was Meng Hao’s Ninth Hex. Once he absorbed it, he could... combine the Nine Hexes!

And yet, he felt no joy. It was hard to pinpoint exactly what emotions he felt as he looked down at Little Treasure’s corpse, which was gradually transforming into motes of light that floated through the air and merged into Meng Hao. After all, he had been part of Meng Hao to begin with.

Meng Hao knew that Little Treasure could have refused to cooperate. Meng Hao was the true self, and he was the clone, a part that had essentially been cut out from Meng Hao.

He didn't like being controlled, didn't like others being in charge of his destiny. And yet, in the end, he chose to complete the Ninth Hex, and to help Meng Hao.

Of course, Meng Hao knew that he did it, not for him, but... for Yan’er.

This ninth reincarnation of his clone loved Yan’er much more than Meng Hao’s true self did.

Meng Hao stood there in the cave for a long, long time. Eventually, the motes of light that were Little Treasure merged fully into Meng Hao. All traces of the clone’s existence had been wiped out, except for the sculpting knife and the wooden statue.

Meng Hao sighed. Yan’er’s body was also transforming into motes of light that gradually began to fade away. Her soul hovered there, complete and whole, just in front of Meng Hao.

She was looking at her fading corpse, and the empty spot next to it, where another person had been laying moments ago. Some time pa.s.sed, after which she turned and looked at Meng Hao.

“Should I call you the Ninth Paragon?” she asked softly. “Or Master. Or... Little Treasure.”

Meng Hao extended his right hand, within which were two soul strands. One was the strand which had been fused with Han Bei. The other contained memories of a previous life.

The two soul strands merged together into one, becoming a beautiful stream of light that flowed over to Yan’er.

“That is a part of your soul,” Meng Hao said quietly. “If you absorb it, your soul will be complete, and you’ll remember everything from the past. You will remember... who exactly I am.”

Yan’er looked quietly at the beautiful light, a calm smile slowly growing on her face. “What happened to Perfect?”

“She’s in the Ninth Sect.”

Yan’er nodded and looked off into the distance. Some more time pa.s.sed before she spoke again.

“This ninth reincarnation was enough for me. What need is there of past memories? Now that I think about it, I'm sure that there are many regrets within those memories.

“All I know is that you are my Master, and that I lived a good life.” She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, they were bright and clear. She waved her finger at the soul light, the light which contained the memories of her past life. The light faded away.

With that, she clasped hands and bowed to Meng Hao.

“This life is over. Master, I won’t interfere in your world any more. Thank you for caring for me throughout the years.” She looked at Meng Hao one last time, then turned away. In front of her, a reincarnation vortex appeared. Just as she was about to step in, she stopped in place.

“You promised to tell me the rest of the story of Chu Yuyan. But, I already know what happens.” She smiled and took a deep breath. She had long since come to the conclusion that she herself was the second half of Chu Yuyan’s story. Apparently, she had finally chosen to free herself from all burdens. What she had just said was no lie; she was content. Looking free and at ease, she waved at Meng Hao and then stepped into reincarnation.

To her, spending an eternity with the one she loved wasn’t necessary. She was happy with one lifetime.

Meng Hao stood quietly in the cave, eyes somewhat blank. The Ninth Hex was complete, but he didn't feel happy at all. In fact, melancholy gripped at his heart.

After some time pa.s.sed, he shook his head and buried his feelings deep inside. He walked out of the cave and felt the soft breeze on his face. It lifted his hair and rustled his garments, almost as if it were taking away the bad memories with it.

A look of determination appeared on his face, and his eyes began to s.h.i.+ne. His cultivation over the past thousand years, and all of the things he had experienced, had forged him into something even harder than before.

His face looked young, but if you looked closely, there was something about him that could only be seen on someone who had existed for many years, and seen many things. There were even some faint wrinkles visible around the corners of his eyes. He did nothing to conceal the changes.

“It’s time to go back....” He thought, looking up at the blue sky and the white clouds. Off in the distance was a red beam of light flying toward him. It was the mastiff, who landed in front of him and looked up quietly.

He stroked the mastiff's fur, and the light in his eyes grew more incisive than ever.

“After I absorb the Ninth Hex and ensure that it's complete, I can combine the Nine Hexes and extinguish the bronze lamp. Then I will Transcend. And after that... we can go home!” Although he didn’t speak very loudly, it was as if his voice merged with Heaven and Earth and spread out through the starry sky.

Back in the world of the Mountain and Sea b.u.t.terfly, a faint voice could suddenly be heard.

“I'm coming back!”