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The sound of the noise split the starry sky, echoing out in all directions. The finger began to tremble as Meng Hao emanated dazzling red light, his hair whipping about around him.

That red light was the same color as his soul and his eyes!

As soon as it appeared, a tremor ran through him, and his fleshly body power broke through to a higher level, to a level that could shake Heaven and Earth. And that was... Transcendence!

The moment he entered Transcendence, it was as if a gate had been opened in Heaven and Earth, a gate that erupted with the power of time. At the same time, Meng Hao’s body created a new starry sky.

It was a starry sky that existed inside of him, which transformed into a spinning vortex. He took a deep breath. Now that his fleshly body had Transcended, it meant that, in some ways, even if Heaven and Earth rotted away, he would not.

“Screw the h.e.l.l off!” Meng Hao roared. His energy skyrocketed, and rumbling sounds echoed out as he violently waved his hand. The enormous finger was shoved backward, and even began to show signs that it would soon fall apart.

As of this moment, not even the clone of Patriarch Vast Expanse could measure up to Meng Hao. After all, he was just a clone, and this was Meng Hao’s true self.

He was a being like the Ghost, the G.o.d, or the Devil. Although he was only about seventy percent Transcendent, and was still lacking a Transcendent Soul, the energy he could unleash put him in a position to fight back against the finger formed by the will of Allheaven, and in fact, to have the upper hand!

The finger of Allheaven was pushed back, and Meng Hao hovered there in the void, surrounded by boundless crimson light. When he looked up, his eyes shone with piercing light.

“Next to Transcend will be my soul.” He flicked his sleeve, and his cultivation base erupted with terrifying Transcendent power. No one could face such power and not be struck to the heart with fear. It stood above all sorts of natural and magical laws. It was the Daosource.

Everything around Meng Hao twisted and distorted; all Heaven and Earth acknowledged allegiance to him.

As his cultivation base rocketed up, he took a deep breath, which caused the air around him to shatter, as though he were sucking away the life force of his surroundings, causing everything to wither.

At the same time, his Transcendent fleshly body radiated fear-inspiring power that combined with his cultivation base power to form a shocking resonance.

Because of that resonance, his soul began to transform. His aura grew completely petrifying as it spread out in all directions. In the end, his soul completely transformed, leaving Meng Hao fully Transcended. In that moment, his aura, and the terrifying ripples spreading out from him, suddenly vanished. He no longer seemed ostentatiously awe-inspiring. As he hovered there, he actually looked like a mortal.

And yet, because of his current state, the ancientness around him faded away, and the world returned to its previous state. The nine land ma.s.ses of the necropolis reappeared, and the starry sky formed up above.

Thunder boomed. Down on the ninth land ma.s.s, the Sect Leader and the others were trembling, their eyes radiating intense reverence. When they laid eyes on Meng Hao, they gasped, then dropped to their knees.

“Greetings, Transcendor!”

“Greetings, Transcendor!” Jin Yunshan’s eyes were as wide as saucers, and Sha Jiudong’s mind was reeling. Bai Wuchen appeared to be in a daze. All three were trembling. The pressure from Meng Hao completely enveloped them, and the feeling exceeded even that of Heavenly might. It was as if a single glance from him could kill them where they stood.

“Greetings, Transcendor!” All three immediately kowtowed.

“Greetings, Transcendor!” The other 9-Essences Paragons took deep breaths and also kowtowed, their eyes filled with reverence, fanaticism, and awe.

These were 9-Essences cultivators who hadn’t kowtowed to anyone for countless years. But now, they didn’t hesitate to bend over until their foreheads were touching the ground. They didn’t hesitate at all to offer him the most formal of respectful greetings.

Within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, Transcendent cultivators were something out of legends. They were individuals who could single-handedly destroy worlds with impunity. They were Essences unto themselves, who not even the will of the Vast Expanse could interfere with.

Transcendence, and the Daosource Realm, were completely independent of natural and magical law. Such cultivators were their own form of natural law, and gave birth to their own Essence.

They were completely and utterly independent!

The Sect Leader and the other 9-Essences cultivators weren’t the only ones to kowtow. The countless ghosts who were still waiting off in the distance all looked at Meng Hao with complete reverence, then dropped to their knees and kowtowed.

“Greetings, Transcendor!”

Within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, countless ent.i.ties, countless life forms, countless worlds, were all shaking. All living things looked in the direction of the necropolis, and bowed their heads.

It was an impulse from within their souls. Although they didn’t know who it was who had Transcended, they could feel it, as though new Heavens had suddenly appeared up above.

From ancient times until now, throughout the countless years which had pa.s.sed, there had only been three true Transcendent cultivators. The Ghost. The Devil. The G.o.d. But now, there was a fourth!

He possessed unending command over magic.

He was of the Boundless Dao.

He was of Heaven Trampling.

He was... Meng Hao!

Suddenly, the finger which had been formed by the will of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, the finger that had just collapsed, formed back together. Simultaneously, thousands upon thousands of worlds withered up. All living things within them instantly died, their life forces sucked away to fuel the new finger.

Rumbling could be heard as the finger began to descend toward Meng Hao in shocking fas.h.i.+on.

Meng Hao looked up, his expression calm. Then he lifted his right hand and pointed out with his index finger.

As he did, the red, rippling light which surrounded him rose up into the air, swirling around and around in circles as it transformed into the image of a finger, a finger that could match up in every way to the finger formed by the will of Allheaven. Without any pause, the crimson finger began to fly up into the air.

When the two huge fingers collided, it seemed as if the entire starry sky of the Vast Expanse were about to be destroyed. A shockwave blasted out in all directions which that could not be described with words.

The finger formed by the will of Allheaven shook violently and then exploded, becoming countless motes of crystalline light. As for the finger formed by Meng Hao’s personal Essence, it also exploded into a blast of red light.

As soon as the finger formed by Allheaven’s will collapsed, the seemingly infinite motes of light that appeared suddenly transformed into lightning bolts. Rumbling could be heard as the endless bolts of lightning shot down toward Meng Hao.

This was Tribulation Lightning, sent by the starry sky of the Vast Expanse as Transcendence Tribulation.

Any one of those bolts of lightning could wipe a peak 9-Essences expert out of existence. As they descended en ma.s.se toward Meng Hao, he let out a light sigh.

Then he waved his right hand, causing all of the light which had formed his finger moments ago to coalesce into the shape of a gigantic head.

It had a solitary horn jutting out of it, and flickering red eyes. As it faced the incoming lightning, it grinned viciously, then opened its mouth and began to breathe in.

Instantly, the lightning bolts began to twist, and were subsequently sucked into the mouth of the huge head. The head looked up at the starry sky, then began to shrink down, flying toward Meng Hao’s palm, where it eventually became a spinning vortex.

The spinning vortex was only the size of a hand, but there seemed to be no end to it on the inside, as though it contained countless heavenly bodies, as if it had its own starry sky.

Everything went completely silent. Patriarch Vast Expanse’s clone looked thoughtfully at the vortex in Meng Hao’s palm. At the same time, a figure appeared within the starry sky of the necropolis.

It was merely an outline, and inside of it could be seen ninety-eight fruits. It was exactly the same ent.i.ty Meng Hao had laid eyes on in the Demon pillar outside the Vast Expanse.

It was none other than the true body which was being rebuilt by the will of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse.

It was hard to say exactly when he had appeared up there, but there he floated up, looking down at Meng Hao. He seemed especially focused on the starry sky vortex Meng Hao held in his hand.

Meng Hao looked up at the figure.

After a long moment, the outline spoke, its voice cool. “Half a step into Ancestor....”

With one final look at Meng Hao, he faded away.

“Half a step into Ancestor....” Meng Hao smiled. It was only after his cultivation base, fleshly body, and soul had all entered Transcendence that he realized the truth. When it came to Transcendence, the Daosource Realm wasn’t the only Realm.

There was another Realm, which was the Ancestor....

That was the peak of Transcendence. As for Meng Hao, when he Transcended, he went all the way to the great circle. In fact, he went beyond that, taking him half a step into the Ancestor Realm.

The hallmark of the Ancestor Realm was that a starry sky, a world, would appear within one’s own body.

The nine land ma.s.ses were completely silent. Meng Hao looked over at Patriarch Vast Expanse’s clone, then clasped hands and bowed deeply.

“Many thanks, Patriarch!”

He said nothing more. However, the a.s.sistance provided to him by Patriarch Vast Expanse was something he would never forget. He bowed with complete sincerity and grat.i.tude.

Patriarch Vast Expanse’s clone looked at Meng Hao, face expressionless.

“The three people who came before you have long since left,” he said coolly. “Perhaps they have returned, but it would only be to observe a bit before leaving again. Compared to the Universe in which they exist, this place is insignificant.

“I'm just a clone, and my days are numbered. At the most, I will last another 10,000 years before pa.s.sing away into meditation. Then I will vanish. However, it is a true blessing to have been able to witness a fourth Fellow Daoist Transcend here in my old home.” Patriarch Vast Expanse’s clone smiled, then stepped back toward the huge throne. The rocks flew back up into the air, covering him, transforming yet again into a huge statue. Soon, everything looked like before, with the statue staring out over his homeland.