As his voice echoed out, countless people were left shaken. Xu Qing was sitting cross-legged in meditation. Her eyes slowly opened, and tears of joy rolled down her face.

Everyone had been waiting for hundreds of years, and at long last... the Demon Sovereign was going to return!

In the world of the Mountain and Sea b.u.t.terfly, Fatty, who was now the lord of an important sect, was in the middle of reprimanding some people, when suddenly a tremor ran through him. He then began to laugh until tears streamed down his face, to the bafflement of everyone else.

Somewhere deep within the world of the Mountain and Sea b.u.t.terfly was an area of extreme coldness. There, a middle-aged cultivator was sitting cross-legged, surrounded by freezing air. He looked very sinister, and his eyes were closed, although that was because he was blind.

Suddenly, a tremor ran through him, and his eyelids opened to reveal black pits. As he opened his eyes, a tempest sprang up around him, and a smile broke out on his face.

In another location in the Mountain and Sea b.u.t.terfly world was Li Ling’er, who continued to carry out Paragon Sea Dream’s final wishes. After accepting Sea Dream’s legacy, she had founded the Sea Dream a.s.sociation, which had grown large over the past several hundred years.

As she sat cross-legged in the sect’s secluded meditation facilities, she suddenly s.h.i.+vered, and her eyes opened. She looked up into the sky and smiled. Despite the fact that her hair was white with age, her smile was just as beautiful as always.

In another area was a house on top of a mountain, where Meng Hao’s sister lived with Sun Hai. They had long since married, and had a son and a daughter. Their children were grown, and had borne grandchildren, making them their own little clan.

“Little brother is coming back,” Fang Yu said, her eyes s.h.i.+ning with reminiscence.

Everywhere in the Mountain and Sea b.u.t.terfly, people were shaken, including one woman by the name of Zhixiang, who was smiling with antic.i.p.ation.

There was another young man who happened to be seated cross-legged on the back of a huge whale, which was flying through the air. The young man was leaning up against a coffin, and he held an alcohol flagon in his hand, from which he sipped. A smile broke out on his face.

“He's coming back, Night,” said the young man. He was Ke Jiusi, and the whale was true spirit Night.

There was a sect in the world of the Mountain and Sea b.u.t.terfly called the Kunlun Society. Back when the Mountain and Sea Realm was destroyed, the Kunlun Society had been preserved. They even managed to save many of their most important objects from within the sect, which they took with them into the Mountain and Sea b.u.t.terfly.

One of those objects... was a coffin, made from Immortal jade and filled with Meng Hao’s divine sense!

The highest mountain in the Kunlun Society didn’t have a sharp, jagged peak. Instead, it had a hollow depression at the top. Within that basin were countless spell formations, as well as piles of Immortal jade. In the middle of it, was that very coffin.

Inside the coffin was a very beautiful woman. Her eyes were closed, as if she were sleeping. It was none other than Chu Yuyan’s true self. Because of the power of Meng Hao’s divine sense, and the protective measures set up by the Kunlun Society, she had been preserved down to this day.

Even as everyone in the Mountain and Sea b.u.t.terfly who was familiar with Meng Hao sensed that he was coming, a white-haired old man was standing next to that coffin, looking at the woman inside. He was Pill Demon, Meng Hao’s Master, and also Master to Chu Yuyan.

Pill Demon gazed at Chu Yuyan for a while, then sighed. He was just about to turn and leave, when a tremor ran through him. He looked back at Chu Yuyan, and for some reason, was convinced... that he had seen her eyelashes flutter.

Pill Demon gasped. “This....”

He looked closer, and although Chu Yuyan clearly wasn’t awake, he could definitely see... faint signs of life!

As everyone was shaken in the Mountain and Sea b.u.t.terfly, back on the first continent of Planet Vast Expanse, Meng Hao strode forth, his eyes gleaming with profound light.

The mastiff tagged along at his side, and moments later, the parrot flew out. As soon as it saw the mastiff, it whooped in delight.

“Woooo! Your fur is so luxuriant! It’s making me h.o.r.n.y! Dammit, why do I feel like crying...?”

Meng Hao didn't say anything in response. He returned to the ninth continent, and then the half-planet under the surface of the ground. Once he was back in Ninth Paragon City, he entered his secluded meditation facilities.

Unfortunately, he simply couldn’t shake the melancholy that had come to grip him after everything with Chu Yuyan. Some time pa.s.sed, after which he subconsciously lifted his right hand and performed an incantation gesture, sending divine sense spreading out. After confirming that Perfect was doing well, he began to search for the signs of Chu Yuyan in reincarnation.

“She... didn’t reincarnate?” he thought, looking off into the distance. He wasn’t a completely heartless person, and although his heart was fully occupied with his desire for revenge, there were some emotions he couldn’t simply ignore. In his mind, the only person he actually owed anything to in this life... was Chu Yuyan.

For some reason, he thought back to the coffin which existed in the vortex, which the Mountain and Sea b.u.t.terfly rested upon. That coffin had a line of text written on it.

“The entire starry sky owes me a debt, and likewise… I owe you a debt. You could awaken from slumber if you wished, but you do not ...” [1. The line of text on the coffin was revealed in chapter 1400]

Those words, and that concept, formed a resonance with Meng Hao. He sat there quietly in his bitterness for a long time. Eventually, he waved his hand, and the statue of the Ninth Hex appeared. After examining it for a bit, determination appeared in his eyes, and he sent his divine sense out in an attempt to absorb it.

However, in the instant he did that, the will of Allheaven which had just been expelled descended upon him in full madness.

His eyes flickered, and a vicious smile appeared on his face as he continued to absorb the Ninth Hex, and simultaneously resist the will of Allheaven.

A few days later, his eyes were bright red as he reached out and pushed his hand down onto the ground. A wind blasted out, and although nothing in the area was damaged or destroyed, it fought back against the will of Allheaven even more strongly. Eventually, Meng Hao’s eyes were completely bloodshot.

By now, he realized that if he wanted to absorb the Ninth Hex in peace, he simply couldn’t do it here. He might be able to force it to happen, but it was also possible that along the way, he could ruin everything.

Absorbing the Ninth Hex was too important to him, and he couldn’t allow room for mistakes. After some thought, his eyes gleamed brightly.

“I need a place where the will of Allheaven cannot go. Only in a place like that will I be able to smoothly absorb the Ninth Hex.... The only place I know of like that is the necropolis!

“It seems a little trip to the necropolis is in order. If the will of Allheaven wants to get in there, it will have to fight against the necropolis and everything in it. And that includes....” Meng Hao thought about the first time he had visited the necropolis. He had heard a voice speak out from the ninth land ma.s.s, which cowed the will of Allheaven with a single word.

As he sat there, he examined the bronze lamp inside of him. Yet again, he could sense the feeling of wors.h.i.+p directed at him from the ghosts. The determination in his eyes grew stronger.

“To the necropolis!” he said, rising to his feet. He put the wooden statue away and flickered into motion, heading toward the half-planet’s teleportation portal.

Once he was there, he reached out and activated the portal, causing the power of teleportation to begin to build up.

Before the spell formation could fully activate, several beams of light shot through the air toward it. It was Jin Yunshan, Sha Jiudong, Bai Wuchen, the Sect Leader, and the other 9-Essences Paragons. Not a single one was missing.

These people were all as crafty as foxes, and had long since begun paying close attention to Meng Hao. As soon as they detected him activating the teleportation portal, it became obvious that he was planning to go into the necropolis, and thus they appeared.

They looked at Meng Hao with mixed emotions, looking shaken. The Sect Leader took a deep breath, then clasped hands and bowed.

“Fellow Daoist Meng, would you please permit the rest of us to come along with you? We’ve tried on multiple occasions to enter the ninth land ma.s.s, but have never succeeded. If you can open it, Fellow Daoist Meng, we hope you’ll give us a chance to go in too.”

He wasn't lying. During the past several hundred years, they had never been able to get past the eighth land ma.s.s. They had tried every method they could think of, and had met with failure every time. They had finally reached the conclusion that the barrier separating them from the ninth land ma.s.s was something they would never be able to pa.s.s.

Although they weren’t sure why Meng Hao wanted to go into the necropolis, he was obviously completely determined to do so. After all the years they had practiced cultivation, and after everything they had experienced within the necropolis, they had developed certain speculations regarding how Meng Hao was connected to the terrifying aura they had sensed that one time on the first land ma.s.s.

The opportunity they had now was not something they would abandon lightly. Not only did the Sect Leader clasp hands and bow, all of the other 9-Essences Paragons, including Sha Jiudong and Bai Wuchen, all did the same.

Bai Wuchen was filled with bitterness because of it, but the prospect of Transcendence prompted her to acquiesce.

Only Jin Yunshan stood there, unabashed and arrogant. He waved his hand, causing a total of thirty bracelets of holding to appear, which represented virtually all of the wealth he had acc.u.mulated in recent years. Heart filled with pain, he gritted his teeth and waved his sleeve, sending the bracelets of holding flying toward Meng Hao.

“That’s my entrance fee!” he said coolly, sticking his chin out. He was completely confident in this action, and was even a bit derisive of how, even after all these years, n.o.body else understood Meng Hao like he did. As long some money was thrown his way, he could accept anything.

Meng Hao’s face twitched as he watched the thirty bracelets of holding flying through the air toward him. He was inclined to reject such an insulting offer, but then he waved his arm, sucking the bracelets of holding into his sleeve and clearing his throat. He had to admit that, despite how much he had grown, and how cold he had become, insults like this were something he was happy to accept.

When the other Paragons saw what was happening, they were instantly enlivened. Without any hesitation, they began to produce various precious holding items, which they handed over. Most people offered ten or so, a few offered several dozen.

Meng Hao looked them over and even scanned them with divine sense. Despite his current level of battle prowess, he was still profoundly shocked by what he saw.

Both in terms of spirit stones and other precious materials, the contents were virtually impossible to count. Meng Hao couldn’t prevent his heart from leaping.

“I'm already at the peak of 9-Essences,” he murmured to himself. “The most powerful under Transcendence. How could these people... be so insulting!?” After looking over the hundreds of precious holding items, he took a deep breath and smiled. Waving his sleeve, he collected them up, then coughed dryly.

“Fellow Daoists,” he said somberly, “considering how well you’ve cared for me in my time in the Vast Expanse School, I am duty-bound to take you into the necropolis with me!

“However, this incursion will involve great danger. If you still want to go in, though, and I'm able to open the way to the ninth land ma.s.s, then I’ll do everything I can to take you with me.”

Everyone else smiled and nodded. They weren’t worried at all about any dangers. After all the times they had been in the necropolis, they were used to that.

After a final look around, Meng Hao continued to power up the spell formation with the aid of everyone else present. The speed of activation immediately increased.

After a few breaths of time, the spell formation rumbled, and teleportation light shot up into the air. Even as that happened, everything on Planet Vast Expanse shook. The lands quaked and the seas churned as a powerful will descended.