“Over the past several hundred years, we’ve come here on numerous occasions,” said the Sect Leader, his brow furrowed. “We know exactly how to avoid the catastrophe which strikes this place, and have the perfect place to weather the storm.

“However, we were never able to get past the eighth land ma.s.s. We always end up stuck at the threshold of the ninth.” After all of their visits, they had never been able to come up with a method to get into the ninth land ma.s.s.

Bai Wuchen stood a bit off to the side. “The entryway to the ninth land ma.s.s is a door,” she said. “Only by opening that door can you enter.”

Meng Hao nodded in response, then began to move forward. By this point, the countless ghosts which inhabited the outer region of the necropolis began to swarm excitedly toward Meng Hao as he flew along.

This was not the first time that the Sect Leader and the others had seen Meng Hao’s power within the necropolis, but they were still shaken. That was especially true of Immortal Bai Wuchen, who couldn’t help but think back to the time she had been defeated by Meng Hao all those hundreds of years ago.

Sighing inwardly, the group unleashed all of their power to follow Meng Hao as he flew along.

Whenever they had come here on their own, they had to act with extreme prudence and caution, even in the outer area.

But with Meng Hao leading them... it was exactly the opposite. With him, the monarch of the ghosts, nothing in the place could harm them at all.

Everywhere they pa.s.sed, rumbling could be sensed as the surrounding ghosts cl.u.s.tered around Meng Hao, their eyes radiating ardor and wors.h.i.+p.

It almost seemed as if Meng Hao could simply tell them to destroy themselves, and they wouldn't hesitate to comply.

He looked around at the ghosts, his eyes s.h.i.+ning with a strange light. Back when he first came here and experienced the strangeness of the ghosts, an idea had begun to form. At that time, though, even though he could control the ghosts, he felt that it was a bit unrealistic.

But now, with the Ninth Hex on the verge of being completed, he starting thinking about that same old idea. This time, he didn’t think that it was unrealistic. In fact...

He was sure that he could do it!

He would take all of the ghosts in the necropolis with him as his subordinates. With them and the Ninth Sect, he would have a huge army that he could use to go back and destroy the 33 Heavens!

Of course, he wasn’t underestimating the Immortal G.o.d Continent and the Devil Realm Continent either. Even if he Transcended, he still would never underestimate his enemies. He had some speculations about the true nature of those two enemies, but even still, he wanted to be completely prepared to face them.

He was also aware that if he successfully absorbed the Ninth Hex and Transcended, then once he left the necropolis, the will of Allheaven would go mad to an unprecedented degree.

His eyes flashed coldly as he proceeded along. The ghosts which surrounded them joined him as he headed toward the first land ma.s.s. When they reached the bridge, Meng Hao didn't hesitate at all. He flew across it without the slightest pause, surrounded by a sea of ghosts.

Behind him, the Sect Leader and the others saw how different things were from their previous trips over the past several hundred years, and they smiled wryly. In all of their past trips after the first one with Meng Hao, they had always been forced to tackle that bridge with extreme caution.

But now, Meng Hao simply barged across it. They couldn’t help but be a bit envious.

“It’s like this place is his home...” Jin Yunshan murmured as he followed along.

Even as Meng Hao was flying across the bridge, and just when he was about to step onto the first land ma.s.s, a roar echoed out from down below the bridge. It appeared as if some dark and sinister being from down below was about to leap out and block their path.

Upon closer examination, they saw that it was a huge tiger, fully 300 meters long, and so black in color that it seemed to merge with the void around it. Last time Meng Hao had been here, and had fallen down into the abyss beneath the bridge, he hadn’t seen anything like this tiger.

He looked down, and their gazes met. Then, the tiger s.h.i.+vered. Apparently, it wasn't frightened of the ghosts, but Meng Hao’s gaze caused its heart to tremble. It shrank back, tail between its legs, and then vanished.

Meng Hao looked away and proceeded onward to step onto the first land ma.s.s. In the past, that tiger had been a big headache for the Sect Leader and the others, so to see it flee like that caused them to smile wryly yet again.

It was powerful, with incredible battle prowess, and the way it could merge with the void around it made all of its divine abilities and magical techniques even more effective. It was also particularly brutal in its attacks. When angered, it could unleash a storm of vengeful spirits that were incredibly fierce. Over the past hundreds of years, the Sect Leader and the others had been forced to expend a lot of effort to get past it across the bridge.

But now....

“This place really is like his home....” thought the Sect Leader, sighing inwardly. However, he was also filled with hope that this time, they really might be able to make it to the ninth land ma.s.s.

In fact, he had the feeling that if Meng Hao couldn’t get to the ninth land ma.s.s, then no one could.

After stepping back onto the first land ma.s.s, Meng Hao took a deep breath. This was his third time in the place, the first being on the initial foray into the necropolis, and the second being when he came for the copper mirror shard.

“This is my third time, and perhaps my last. When I leave, I will have Transcended!” A strange light appeared in Meng Hao’s eyes as he flickered into motion. He shot forward at top speed, throwing his head back and letting loose a long cry. As he sped across the first land ma.s.s, the ghosts there all trembled and began to fly over.

“It's the Emperor....”

“The aura of the Emperor... for the third time!”

“The Emperor is summoning us....”

Countless ghosts appeared in all directions. The sky trembled, and the lands shook as they swirled around Meng Hao.

The Sect Leader and the others had seen similar things happen before, and were prepared, but still couldn’t help but be shaken and also slightly envious.

As more and more ghosts gathered around him, he picked up speed. Anyone who could see the ghosts would have seen a vast, seemingly endless sea around him.

Compared to that vast sea, the cultivators were tiny and insignificant. As for Meng Hao, he actually didn’t need to fly on his own power, he simply stood there as the scintillating sea carried him along.

Everything trembled as the sea of ghosts completely disregarded the pa.s.sageway between the first land ma.s.s and the second. It couldn't be stopped at all, and a moment later, Meng Hao was on the second land ma.s.s.

The ghosts there were equally shaken, and began to swarm toward him, joining the enormous sea.

The sky darkened, and everything in the world shook violently. Meng Hao waved his sleeve, and the ghosts shot toward the third land ma.s.s with indescribable speed.

The Sect Leader and the others gasped. Although they couldn’t see the ghosts, they could sense the incredible coldness, and were already all starting to wonder the same thing.

“If things keep going on like this... then how many ghosts will he have acc.u.mulated by the time we reach the eighth land ma.s.s?” The entire group exchanged shocked glances.

Rumbling sounds could be heard in all Heaven and Earth as the boundless sea of ghosts swept Meng Hao on toward the fourth land ma.s.s.

The entrance to the fourth land ma.s.s was a huge abyss filled with countless vicious eyes that seemed intent on devouring all life forms that entered.

In addition to the eyes were hulking figures in crude clothing whose bodies were covered in rotting flesh. They looked like giants who had been st.i.tched together with the skins of numerous corpses.

As Meng Hao neared with the sea of ghosts, the giants roared and flew out. The eyes began to s.h.i.+ne with red light as they too shot out of the abyss to block the path.

But then they saw Meng Hao and the sea of ghosts. The giants gaped in shock, and the vicious expressions on their faces disappeared, to be replaced by fear. Screaming, they retreated into the abyss at top speed.

As for the eyes, they seemed even more shaken and terrified, and immediately fell back.

In the blink of an eye, the sea of ghosts was sailing over the abyss onto the fourth land ma.s.s.

Meng Hao didn’t even look at the abyss. As for the Sect Leader and the others, they smiled wryly as they thought about how much effort it had taken them to get past this obstacle in the past. The same figures which had been so terrifying in the past had fled in fear this time.