“Exterminate them,” Meng Hao said. His voice was soft, but his eyes burned with a murderous aura. “Don’t leave a single one alive. And don’t go too quickly. Make it slow. There are thirty-three of these Heavens, we have plenty of time.

“Do not rush to destroy them in both body and soul. You can only kill them once that way. First kill their bodies, then give their souls to me.”

The calm brutality of his voice struck icy cold deep into the hearts of all the inhabitants of the 33 Heavens.

In Karma, there is always a cause and an effect. From the moment the 33 Heavens had chosen to rebel, they were doomed to experience a day like this... in which they paid back their debt to the Mountain and Sea Realm with full interest.

That day... had come!

Almost as soon as the words left Meng Hao’s mouth, the endless army of cultivators surged into the 33 Heavens. They burst with somber, murderous auras. Considering their numbers and their power, they could quickly wipe out all of the 33 Heavens, killing everyone in body and soul. But that wasn’t the outcome Meng Hao wanted.

He didn’t just want them dead, he wanted revenge. And that revenge was for the 33 Heavens to wallow long and hard in their terror before becoming nothing.

Thus, his order to the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School was to take their time in the slaughter. Kill slowly. The entire area was sealed, making it impossible for anyone else to enter. Furthermore, natural law now prohibited anyone from killing themselves or self-detonating. As such, no one could escape the punishment that had been decided upon by a Transcendent cultivator.

Meng Hao wasn’t worried about the 33 Heavens, in their madness, harming the Mountain and Sea b.u.t.terfly. He... could prevent that from happening.

The powerful experts of the 33 Heavens who had flown out moments ago screamed and fled. They simply didn’t qualify to try to fight back against the huge army of cultivators charging toward them. Trembling, they fled deeper into the 33 Heavens. Instantly, defenses of all sorts sprang up.

However, such defenses couldn’t stand up to a single bombardment from the huge army of Vast Expanse School cultivators. They were destroyed instantly. The first to be targeted for destruction was the 33rd Heaven.

At the same time, Meng Hao stepped into the ruined Aeon Span, his expression the same as ever as he came to stand in front of Dao Fang. Dao Fang’s face was ashen, and all his hair was standing on end. As soon as he saw Meng Hao, he began to back up.

“You were pretty c.o.c.ky back when you destroyed the Eighth Mountain with a single staff strike,” Meng Hao said quietly. “Where is that c.o.c.kiness now?” He took a step forward, placing him directly in front of Dao Fang. His right hand shot out, and he flicked Dao Fang in the chest.

A huge boom could be heard, along with a miserable shriek from Dao Fang. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he was sent flying backward. To Dao Fang, that flick of Meng Hao’s finger was like being struck by the entire starry sky.

That single finger flick crushed his chest into mangled blood and gore, and shattered much of the rest of his body. Of course, Meng Hao had been doing his utmost to control the force of his blow. After all, a single flick of his finger could wipe out enormous heavenly bodies, much less Dao Fang.

There was no way Meng Hao would allow Dao Fang to die so easily. Not only had this monkey destroyed the Eighth Mountain back in the war, but he had also killed countless Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators. Throughout the years, the numbers who had died by his staff as he stood watch over the 33 Heavens was impossible to calculate. There were even many among those who had died who should have had a chance to challenge the Aeon Span.

“Impossible. Impossible. What's your cultivation base level? This is impossible!” Dao Fang coughed up some more blood. His eyes shone with madness as he glared at Meng Hao. Finally, he threw his head back and let out a bitter howl.

He was afraid. Terrified. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that Meng Hao would not only return, but would have a ma.s.sive army at his beck and call. If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal, but most shocking of all was that Meng Hao’s cultivation base had reached an unexpectedly shocking level.

Dao Fang had never met anyone who could use a single sentence to prohibit the existence of the Aeon Span, and then use a single finger to destroy it.

The truth was he had seen all of the countless powerful experts in the army who looked at Meng Hao with zeal and awe, but he simply couldn’t accept the thought of that single word....

“Transcendence....”

Meng Hao took another step forward, bringing him back in front of Dao Fang. He reached out and tapped Dao Fang’s right arm. Cracking sounds rang out as the arm shattered, and then collapsed into a haze of gore.

Dao Fang was shaking violently. He wanted to flee, but couldn’t. The pressure weighing down on him made that impossible. All he could do was glare at Meng Hao.

“Didn’t control my power well enough,” Meng Hao said, shaking his head. He reached out and pinched Dao Fang’s left hand, crus.h.i.+ng his five fingers one by one. Shaking, Dao Fang let out a bloodcurdling scream.

After his hand was crushed into a pulp, Dao Fang could only watch in horror as Meng Hao continued to pinch his fingers up the length of his arm, crus.h.i.+ng it bit by bit. Then came his legs. Then his torso.

All of Dao Fang’s bones were crushed, even his spine. Meng Hao smiled, a grotesque smile that made it look like he was crying. He allowed Dao Fang to scream until his voice began to go hoa.r.s.e. And yet, Meng Hao wasn’t finished yet.

The cultivators from the Vast Expanse School who could see what was happening gasped. There was no need to mention the reaction from the screaming cultivators of the 33 Heavens.

Meng Hao looked over at the army from the Vast Expanse School. “Understand now?” he said. “Do it like this. Don’t let them die quickly.” After a moment of silence, the army shouted their response.

“The orders of the Demon Sovereign shall be heeded!”

It didn’t take long before bloodcurdling screams rang up from within the 33 Heavens. All of the Outsiders from the 1st to the 33rd Heavens were trembling in terror.

“Kill me!” Dao Fang screamed. “Kill me, Meng Hao!” Meng Hao shook his head. Reaching out, he pushed his hand down onto Dao Fang’s chest.

Ma.s.sive power erupted into Dao Fang, causing all of the blood in his body to spray out through his fur.

His entire body was completely drenched in blood!

Dao Fang couldn’t hold back his screams. He was shaking violently, his entire body twisted and distorted, filling him with pain and terror that was almost impossible to endure.

“I'm far from finished,” Meng Hao said quietly. He reached out and waved his hand, causing all of Dao Fang’s blood to form together in the palm of his hand in the form of a single drop.

“You dying isn’t enough. Not after you’ve killed so many cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

“Let me explain how Meng Hao does things. A blood debt... must be paid with blood. If you kill one of my people, I’ll kill ALL your people!” With that, he sent his divine will into the drop of blood.

“Let’s see where exactly the people of your bloodline are....” He smiled, and when Dao Fang saw that, it was the most terrifying thing he had even seen. Unfortunately, even he could detect the grief and bitterness within that smile, feelings which had been festering for centuries.

A look of madness appeared in Dao Fang’s eyes, and he began to struggle.

“Considering how hard you're struggling, it seems there must be people you care about. People you wish to protect.” Meng Hao’s eyes glowed with red light, and Demonic qi swirled around him. As his divine sense entered Dao Fang’s blood, he found all of the beings throughout the starry sky of the Vast Expanse who had blood compatible with Dao Fang’s.

“Not many,” he said softly. “A total of 375 bloodlines. Some here in the 33 Heavens, others on the outside....” With that, he clenched his fist down onto the drop of blood, destroying it. As he did, all ent.i.ties of the same blood as Dao Fang, regardless of whether they were in the 33 Heavens or elsewhere in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse... all dropped dead!

Dao Fang howled like a wild animal. It was at that point that Meng Hao’s hand came to rest on his head.

“It’s not over yet,” he said. “In addition to your bloodlines, there are also your successor disciples. Also, the person who taught you cultivation. And your other disciples.... I will take every good memory that you have, and destroy it. Just like you did to the Mountain and Sea Realm.”

Dao Fang was shaking, and a pleading look appeared in his eyes. He had never imagined that the day would come in which vengeance was inflicted upon him in this way. He fully understood that he wasn’t the only one that Meng Hao wished to torment in this way. Considering the orders he had given the army, to capture the souls of the inhabitants of the 33 Heavens, it was clear that he planned... to treat the entire 33 Heavens this way.

“Thinking of begging for mercy...? Do you remember how many innocent people begged for mercy back when you destroyed the Mountain and Sea Realm? Unfortunately, when you crushed the Eighth Mountain, I don’t think you even noticed them.” Meng Hao’s hand pushed down onto Dao Fang’s head, and suddenly, his memories appeared inside Meng Hao’s mind. Then, Karma Threads appeared, which Meng Hao began to viciously sever, one by one.

Dao Fang could hear someone scream with each severed Karma Thread. In the end, he was left shaking, his eyes blank as Meng Hao extracted his soul.

“Your fleshly body is destroyed,” Meng Hao murmured, “but your soul will not rest in peace.” Meng Hao waved his hand, and a sea of flames appeared up above. He threw Dao Fang’s soul into the fire, where it would burn and be tormented for all eternity. As long as Meng Hao lived, that torment would never end.

-----

As I predicted, LittleShanks is dropping his translation of "Return of the Thief" to pick up something completely different. Check it out here. Very shocking turn of events.