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Meng Hao looked at the empty spot next to the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and then spoke in a voice which was soft, yet thrummed with the power of Transcendence. Waving his finger, he said, “I call upon the power of my name to take the Ninth Hex, the Seal the Heavens Hex, and embody it in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Henceforth... you are the Heaven-Sealing Mountain and Sea, the most powerful of the Mountains and Seas, responsible for sealing the Heavens within the Mountain and Sea Realm!

“Cultivators in this Mountain and Sea may cultivate my Seal the Heavens Hex, and gain enlightenment of the Essence of Heaven-sealing. It will be called the Ninth Hex of the Mountains and Seas!”

In conjunction with his words, countless magical symbols appeared, far more than had appeared for any of the previous Mountains and Seas. Even the combination of all of the magical symbols from the previous eight Mountains and Seas added together couldn’t match up.

Those magical symbols created a raging tempest which shook the starry sky, and radiated the aura of Heaven-sealing.

That aura stood completely apart from the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, as if it were above anything and everything. The instant it appeared, the other eight Mountains and Seas began to tremble in subservience.

And things had just begun! The Ninth Mountain and Sea hadn’t even appeared in full, and yet all of the other Mountains and Seas were shaking. It was easy to imagine how powerful the Ninth Mountain and Sea would be when it finally appeared; it would truly be the strongest!

The Ninth Mountain and Sea would be able to dominate the other Mountains and Seas. With such power, and with such an Essence, the Ninth Mountain and Sea would definitely be the peak of all the Mountains and Seas!

The outline of the Ninth Mountain was now visible, and the magical symbols had already begun to shape the planets. It was now possible to see Planet East Victory, Planet North Reed, Planet West Felicity, and of course... Planet South Heaven!

The surrounding cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were far more shaken than they had been before. That was especially true of Meng Hao’s old friends, whose eyes shone with unprecedented brightness.

Fatty was shaking, tears pouring down his face as he looked at the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Sun Hai, Fang Yu, w.a.n.g Youcai, Li Ling’er....

Everyone who viewed the Ninth Mountain and Sea as their home were now profoundly excited.

Xu Qing had the same reaction as she looked at Planet South Heaven and thought back to all the old memories....

Everyone watched as the rubble and fragments of the Mountains and Seas began to fill in the vast array of magical symbols. Even as the Ninth Mountain and Sea began to take shape in front of everyone’s eyes, something unexpected occurred....

Every time one of the previous Mountains and Seas had formed, lightning would crackle, as though the will of the Vast Expanse were trying to interfere. However, it was never very intense. This time, though, as soon as the words left Meng Hao’s mouth, the entire starry sky filled with so many lightning bolts that they were impossible to count. Rumbling booms echoed out in all directions as lighting appeared out of nowhere, seemingly pouring out from the stream of time itself.

Almost immediately, the area filled with lightning bolts whose target seemed to be the outline of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

The lightning bolts’ aim was to prevent the Ninth Mountain and Sea from fully appearing, to prevent the Seal the Heavens Hex from becoming the bones of that Mountain and Sea.

Meng Hao’s eyes flickered with cold light as he took a step forward. Instantly, incredible power erupted out. A huge shockwave spread out from the Ninth Mountain and Sea, spreading out in all directions and completely destroying any lightning that it touched.

“I'm in the middle of forging the Mountain and Sea Realm,” he growled. “Any interference can screw the h.e.l.l off!” With that, he waved his sleeve and looked up into the starry sky, almost as if he were staring directly at the will of the Vast Expanse.

As their eyes met, the starry sky trembled. Meng Hao’s aura surged, and without another moment of hesitation, the will of the Vast Expanse fought back.

The entire starry sky shook, and the living beings in numerous worlds, land ma.s.ses, and vortexes could all hear something roaring in their ears. It sounded like two giants standing next to each other, screaming at each other with divine sense.

Cracking sounds rang out as Meng Hao slammed into the will of the Vast Expanse. Instantly, rifts were torn open in all directions, vaporizing anything that got in their path.

After some time pa.s.sed, the roar of rage from the will of the Vast Expanse faded away. However, Meng Hao still had a very grim expression on his face. He knew that his true battle with the will of the Vast Expanse was rapidly approaching.

Now that the will of the Vast Expanse had faded away and wasn’t attempting to interfere, the Ninth Mountain and Sea finished forming within the starry sky.

Everything trembled, and all of the other eight Mountains and Seas bowed their figurative heads!

And that was because the Seal the Heavens Mountain and Sea was without compare!

And yet, the Ninth Mountain and Sea wasn't complete. The Ninth Mountain was fully formed, but as for the Ninth Sea, countless magical symbols formed the shape, and yet the flesh to form the seawater itself was lacking.

The League was the soul, the Hexing magic became the bones, and the Mountains and Seas formed the flesh. However, for the flesh to form, the previous elements that made up the Mountain and Sea had to be present. The Ninth Sea had turned traitor, ensuring that when the Mountain and Sea Realm was actually destroyed, there had been nine Mountains, but only eight Seas.

Meng Hao looked at the spot which should be filled with water, and the magical symbols that formed the shape, then smiled and turned in the direction of Patriarch Reliance.

Patriarch Reliance cleared his throat, but quickly realized Meng Hao wasn’t looking at him, and pulled his head into his sh.e.l.l. He had long since come to view Meng Hao with complete awe.

Meng Hao was looking at Patriarch Reliance’s back, and a young, white-robed woman who stood there. Apparently, no matter how many years pa.s.sed, she would always look young. Right now, she was standing there looking at Meng Hao, a slight smile on her face. A look of antic.i.p.ation could be seen in her eyes, but she also seemed nervous, as if she knew exactly why Meng Hao was looking at her.

“All those years ago, I made you a promise that I would help you become a sea,” he said softly. “Guyiding Tri-Rain, are you willing to become... the Ninth Sea of the Mountain and Sea Realm?”

The white-robed young woman s.h.i.+vered. This was her lifelong dream, to become a sea. Thousands of years ago, at the lake below Mount Daqing, Meng Hao had promised to help her make that dream come true.

“Yes!” she replied. Taking a deep breath, she clasped her hands and bowed to Meng Hao.

Meng Hao smiled and waved his right hand.

“I call upon the power of my name to bless Guyiding Tri-Rain with Righteous Bestowal. Henceforth, you are the Ninth Sea!”

Even as excitement and antic.i.p.ation surged up within her, she flew off of Patriarch Reliance’s back, transforming into a lake with a surface like a mirror. It was an incredibly beautiful sight. In the blink of an eye, she merged into the countless magical symbols that made up the outline of the Ninth Sea.

After the fusion, a powerful aura radiated out. It was Guyiding Tri-Rain’s aura, and yet, it was becoming more and more powerful. Rumbling sounds echoed out, and her energy continued to rise to unimaginable heights. Finally... the Ninth Sea had appeared!

It was far more majestic than the other eight Seas. This new Ninth Sea possessed crus.h.i.+ng power that caused Heaven and Earth to shake violently.

That was because the Ninth Sea was like the Ninth Mountain, with Demon Sealing Hexing magic as the bones. The Seal the Heavens Hex was the ultimate Demon Sealing Hexing magic, so much so that even the combination of the other eight Hexes couldn’t match up to it.

The Ninth Hex itself was composed of nine sealing marks, ensuring that the Ninth Mountain and Sea well deserved to be known as the most powerful of the Mountains and Seas.

The cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea would have a special understanding of the Seal the Heavens Hex. However, the Ninth Hex was fundamentally difficult to gain enlightenment of, and therefore, any person who became the Mountain and Sea Lord there had to understand a minimum of three of the sealing marks which made it up.

Now that the Ninth Mountain and Sea had appeared, the entire Mountain and Sea Realm radiated a towering pressure. Rumbling sounds echoed out, shaking the starry sky. At the same time, the aura of Transcendence emanated out.

That aura caused any cultivator who sensed it to tremble, even 9-Essences experts.

Meng Hao’s eyes shone brightly as he waved his sleeve. A sphere of light appeared, which was none other than the magical technique he had gained enlightenment of when staring at the sun that year on Planet East Victory. That sphere began to gobble up all of the light in the area, and in the blink of an eye, was s.h.i.+ning with blinding light. [1. Meng Hao created the “Supernova Magic” in chapter 942]

Boundless light stabbed into the eyes of everyone present, a light filled with the power of Meng Hao’s Transcendence. It was a sun, which contained terrifying power equivalent to the peak of 9-Essences.

“By means of Righteous Bestowal, I name you... the Sun of the Mountains and Seas!” Backed by the power of Transcendence, the magic of Righteous Bestowal transformed the sphere of light into a powerful sun which floated out to become part of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Even as it illuminated the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas, Meng Hao’s right hand flashed with an incantation gesture. Then he waved his hand, and a violet moon appeared. It was also a magical technique from Meng Hao’s collection, which he had picked up in the Fang Clan ancestral land on Planet East Victory. [2. He got the “Nethermoon Magic” in chapter 954]

The power of Transcendence was unleashed, pouring into the moon, giving it might equivalent to the sun!

“By means of Righteous Bestowal, I name you... the Moon of the Mountains and Seas!” As the words left his mouth, the moon began to glow with soft, radiant light. It flew toward the Mountain and Sea Realm and began to circle around it just like the sun.

Now, the Mountain and Sea Realm was complete.

The starry sky shook, and all areas of the Vast Expanse trembled. Countless worlds quaked, and countless magical items suddenly went dark. All of that was because the number one magical treasure in all of the Vast Expanse had finally appeared.

The Mountain and Sea Realm!

End of Book 9: The Demon Sovereign Returns; the Peak of the Vast Expanse!