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It was actually a blessing for them to be able to make their attempt at Transcendence along with Meng Hao. Normally, the first difficult step would be to deal with the will of Allheaven. However, that will was now completely ignoring the Sect Leader and the others, and was targeting... Meng Hao, and Meng Hao alone!

It could not simply allow Meng Hao to Transcend!

Rumbling echoed out as the will of the starry sky of Allheaven converged outside of the necropolis, and then prepared to enter it!

The will of Allheaven would easily be able to enter any other location. But the necropolis was not like any other location; it was a very difficult place to enter. It could expel other Transcendent cultivators, and could unleash that same force upon the will of Allheaven.

There was a boundless hatred within the necropolis, and the will of Allheaven was the source and object of that hatred.

Under any other circ.u.mstances, the will of Allheaven would never choose to try to enter the necropolis. However, as of this moment, it was holding nothing back in its effort to do so. The entire necropolis was shaking, and cracking sounds emanated out in all directions.

And yet, most of the will of Allheaven was still prevented from entering. Despite its relentless bombardment, only a small portion actually manifested inside.

That power instantly became a flood that surged across the first eight land ma.s.ses, transforming into an enormous hand that bore down on the ninth.

However, the huge door that Meng Hao had recently moved was now back in place, and it prevented the hand from entering the ninth land ma.s.s. The hand slammed into the door, and a deafening boom rang out. The door was shaken, but refused to open, leaving the will of Allheaven trapped outside.

Meng Hao was completely focused on melting the wooden statue. By now, about half of it was gone, having transformed into tiny drops of black fluid, each of which contained sealing marks.

Eventually, when the entire statue was dissolved, and the black drops of fluid were absorbed into Meng Hao, he would be able to combine them into a sealing mark within his soul. And that would be... the Ninth Hex!

Currently, he was still working on the first step of that process.

By now, rumbling sounds had filled the necropolis as the will of Allheaven repeatedly failed to batter its way inside. Finally, a roar of rage echoed out through the starry sky of Allheaven, causing asteroids in numerous locations to begin to tremble and shake. Then, they were instantly teleported away.

Billions upon billions of asteroids then began to crash into each other, merge together and then shrink down. Within the s.p.a.ce of a few breaths of time, all of the asteroids which dotted the starry sky of Allheaven vanished from their original positions and began to merge together. Under the control of the will of Allheaven, they began to form nine enormous spikes!

Each of the nine spikes was fully 3,000,000 meters long, and completely astonis.h.i.+ng in appearance as they hovered within the void outside the necropolis. Then the will of Allheaven split apart and fused into the nine spikes.

A moment later, intense energy erupted off of the spikes, and rumbling sounds could be heard as they shot toward the necropolis.

The necropolis shuddered, incapable of resisting. Cracking sounds echoed out as the first spike pierced through the necropolis’ defenses, destroying the sky as it shot toward the first land ma.s.s, a blur of light.

As it descended, the expulsion power targeting the will of Allheaven grew even stronger. The spike fought back fiercely, causing flames to burst out all over it. Soon, it began to crumble and shrink down, until it was only 300,000 meters long, and no longer sharp. In the end, it was simply a gigantic asteroid hurtling down toward the first land ma.s.s.

When it made contact with the ground, everything shook, and ma.s.sive crevices spread out.

Next came the second spike, the third, and the fourth, which pierced through the defenses to descend toward the second, third, and fourth land ma.s.ses respectively.

They also burst into flames, shrinking down rapidly as they sailed past the first land ma.s.s. Of course, the deeper they got into the necropolis, the stronger the resistance they faced.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the three asteroids closed in on their targets. The asteroid that landed on the second land ma.s.s was only 150,000 meters wide. The one that landed on the third land ma.s.s was only 60,000 meters wide. And as for the fourth, it was only 30,000 meters wide.

What a significant loss in power!

However, things weren’t over. The fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth spikes tore through the sky, destroying the necropolis’ defenses as they hurdled toward the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth land ma.s.ses.

The sky of the necropolis was completely obliterated, and yet the will of Allheaven still had incredible difficulty entering the necropolis. The lands quaked as the spikes burned, getting smaller and smaller the further they got into the necropolis.

The asteroid that landed on the fifth land ma.s.s was less than 30,000 meters wide. The sixth asteroid was 15,000 meters wide. By the time the eighth asteroid hit, it was only 3,000 meters wide.

And then there was the ninth spike. By the time it reached the ninth land ma.s.s, the flames had reduced it to nothing more than ash, and it couldn’t enter.

Moments ago....

The sculpture in front of Meng Hao was about seventy percent dissolved, and he was surrounded by scintillating drops of black fluid.

Only a short bit of time remained before it would be completely dissolved.

Meng Hao was trembling. He couldn’t sense what was happening on the outside, but could well guess that the will of Allheaven was going to any and all lengths to try to stop him. Therefore, he focused all of his divine sense on dissolving the statue.

“Faster. Must go faster!” Blue veins popped out on his face as he fought to take advantage of every second of time available to him.

It was at this point that he heard a ma.s.sive boom coming from the first land ma.s.s. As the first asteroid smashed into the ground, a figure appeared from within the rubble.

He was humanoid, but had no facial features. He was almost just an outline. He looked up at the ninth land ma.s.s, then took a single step forward, causing him to blur into motion.

Only moments later, the second and third asteroids exploded, and even as the ash drifted out, figures appeared from within them as well.

The same thing happened on the fifth through eighth land ma.s.ses.

All of the figures which appeared began to walk toward the ninth land ma.s.s, although the one which had come from within the first 300,000 meter asteroid was the fastest.

His first step took him onto the second land ma.s.s, where he merged together with the figure which had stepped out of the second asteroid. As soon as that happened, he changed, becoming less blurry and indistinguishable. Then, he took a second step.

The second step placed him on the third land ma.s.s, where he merged with the third figure. Now his facial features could be seen, and he looked like a young man.

He didn’t stop there; each step he took brought him to another of the land ma.s.ses. On the fourth, fifth, and all the way to the eighth land ma.s.s, he absorbed the other figures, until he was standing there on the eighth land ma.s.s, looking up at the enormous door. By that point, everything about him was clearly visible.

He was a young man with long black hair, dressed in a long blue robe. He was exceedingly handsome, with an expression that was calm, yet simultaneously cold and indifferent.

Unexpectedly, a closer look revealed... that he looked exactly like the statue of the man seated on the throne on the ninth land ma.s.s!

“All ye living beings in the Vast Expanse art my children. This place is the necropolis of the Ghost, thence, I take his appearance.” This young man who could take the form of anything which existed in the starry sky of Allheaven extended his right hand and pushed onto the door, whereupon it swung open.

Then he took another step, and was on the ninth land ma.s.s. Almost instantly, a shocking force of expulsion hit him, pus.h.i.+ng him back slightly.

His expression was the same as ever as he began to walk forward, despite the power of expulsion. Although it was a monumental effort, none of that showed on his face.

Another step, and he appeared by the Transcendence Dais. He looked over at the Sect Leader and the others, and then waved his right hand.

A boom echoed out, and the Transcendence Dais shook. The Sect Leader and the others all coughed up mouthfuls of blood, and their efforts at Transcendence were broken. There were even some of the weaker 9-Essences Paragons who let out blood curdling screams as they exploded, killed in body and soul.

Everyone else was astonished. Even as they looked over at the young man, he took another step, taking him to the position of the enormous statue. There, the boundless sea of ghosts all turned and looked at him, their expressions blank. However, that blankness only lasted for a moment before it was replaced by madness and hatred.

It didn’t matter that the will of Allheaven had taken the form of Patriarch Vast Expanse. That couldn’t change the aura which emanated off of him, and these ghosts hated that aura with a vengeance that would last for all eternity!

They surged into motion with a howl of fury. The enmity which came from their deaths, and which had transformed them into angry ghosts, would never dissipate. Now, they leapt into action, charging toward the young man that was the embodiment of the will of Allheaven.

“Oh ye my children,” the young man said coolly, “dead are ye, and yet ye persist in wickedness. Thence, I strip ye of your bodies of reincarnation, and strip ye of your power of movement.” His face was completely and utterly expressionless, and he didn’t even seem to look at the ghosts. He took another step forward, completely focused on the person sitting there cross-legged, dissolving the wooden statue.