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In the same moment that Meng Hao became the lord of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, and then changed its name to the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas, in the boundless ruins outside, an eye appeared.
As the eye opened, countless surrounding ruins outside the Vast Expanse collapsed, creating a world of dust.
Only the eye remained, unmoving, bloodshot, looking off into the distance.
That eye seemed to contain an unmatched fury, and yet, deep within that fury was terror....
That eye was none other than Allheaven’s true form!
In the past, Allheaven’s flesh and blood had vanished, leaving behind only five fingers. Of those five fingers, three had been destroyed. The final two remained intact. However, because of the rise of Meng Hao, the finger which represented the Demon had experienced dramatic withering.
A similar fate had befallen the finger representing the Immortal.
As for this eye, it was clearly much, much weaker than it had been before Meng Hao had Transcended.
After a moment, a weak voice spoke, seemingly dragged and stretched out, distorted and filled with hatred. “Meng... Hao!”
If events had played out according to Allheaven’s plan, things would not have turned out this way. Meng Hao would not have Transcended, but instead, would have become the ninety-ninth Demon seed. Allheaven would have absorbed him, and the power of Nirvanic rebirth within the Allheaven bloodline, along with the multifarious magic of the Demon, would have enabled Allheaven to craft a new body for himself.
At that time, he would have been able to free himself from his ruined and withered body. He would have been able to appear once again within the starry sky, with an even longer lifespan than before. Instead, one thing after another went wrong.
Now that his clone had been destroyed, severed away from him, he was unable to enter the Vast Expanse. He could only wait outside. Wait for Meng Hao.
The enormous eye was now so bloodshot it was bright red, and the hate which festered inside of it became icy cold killing intent.
“There is still a chance... to succeed!”
After a very long moment pa.s.sed, the eye slowly closed, vanis.h.i.+ng.
Back within the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas, Meng Hao continued to contemplate the curse of Allheaven with furrowed brow. He sent his will out, performed auguries, and yet was unable to detect any clues.
“The curse of Allheaven, from when he was at his prime....” Meng Hao sighed. By this point, he had reached the former location of the Mountain and Sea Realm, a huge vortex which had previously teemed with life, but was now empty and gray.
Meng Hao looked at the spot fondly for a moment before waving his right hand. Instantly, dots of light appeared within the vortex, light that teemed with the power of life, like countless burning stars. Soon, all areas within the vortex teemed with life, and the entire vortex was s.h.i.+ning with dazzling, brilliant colors.
This was where the Mountain and Sea Realm had existed in the past, and now, it would exist there again!
Meng Hao reached out and stretched open his palm. Scintillating light flickered as his newly created Transcendence Treasure appeared, the brand new Mountain and Sea Realm. It slowly floated down to hover just above the vortex. Inside the Mountain and Sea Realm, all of the cultivators were bursting with excitement.
Some even flew out to observe the vortex personally, whereupon tears welled up in their eyes.
“This is the Mountain and Sea Realm’s spot within the starry sky. This is our true home....”
“I was born in the Mountain and Sea Realm, and this was where the Mountain and Sea Realm was born....”
“Home!”
“We're back! The people of the Mountains and Seas are back!” Ksitigarbha gazed at the vortex, and simply couldn’t suppress his excitement. Grandpa Meng, Fang Yu, Fatty, w.a.n.g Youcai, as well as all of Meng Hao’s other friends and relatives had similar reactions.
As everyone looked on in excitement, Meng Hao took a deep breath, then extended his right hand and pushed it down.
That motion affected only the vortex, not Meng Hao or the others in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Everyone watched as time began to flow backward, and the vortex slowly reverted to its previous gray color.
Then, centuries pa.s.sed. Meng Hao and everyone watching could eventually see the Mountain and Sea b.u.t.terfly.
Countless scenes played out. Hearts began to pound as the events of the war could be seen. By now, people were starting to guess at what Meng Hao was about to do.
“This is where the Mountain and Sea Realm first appeared,” he said softly, looking at the images, “and now we’ve returned.
“Everything that was lost, everything that faded away into time, everything that was parted from us, will now return....
“By the power of my name, I reach out to everyone who died here, to everyone who lost their lives defending the Mountain and Sea Realm... and call them back!” With that, he waved his sleeve, causing the stars to tremble. The power of the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas filled the area, transforming into numerous Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering hands, which reached out into the images of the past. One by one, everyone who had died in the past was then pulled out!
Rumbling sounds echoed out as the first person emerged. It was none other than... Shui Dongliu!
In the moment before he exploded, he was rescued. After being pulled out of the vortex, he hovered there in the starry sky, shocked, a blank look on his face. It was as if what was occurring completely exceeded his imagination. Even the half of him that was the Mourning-Death soul seemed hard-pressed to believe what was happening.
More and more people appeared, more and more familiar faces. One by one, they were extracted from vortex of the past, to appear there floating in the starry sky, where they looked around in shocked silence.
The Mountain and Sea Lords, the Nine Seas G.o.d Worlds, the Sublime Flow Sword Grottos, the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rites, and countless other sects. There was the Imperial Li Clan from Planet South Heaven. There were many, many other individuals.
Meng Hao waved his finger, and a powerful but gentle force grabbed ahold of Paragon Sea Dream, pulling her out to join the crowd.
All the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators were panting, their eyes as wide as saucers as they watched the events unfold. As soon as Li Ling’er caught sight of Paragon Sea Dream, tears began to stream down her face. Fatty saw his Master, who had died in the fighting, and began to tremble. w.a.n.g Youcai, Zhixiang... everyone was equally excited.
“They’re being resurrected!!”
“Master!!”
“Dad, mom! You’re alive again!”
“My sect. All my fellow disciples. You’re all... back!!”
People were weeping and laughing. All cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm who were capable of flight immediately flew over to their resurrected family and friends, calling out in joy and excitement.
The resurrected ones were panting, looking around in complete incredulity. And yet, it was no dream!
Paragon Sea Dream looked at Li Ling’er, and then slowly turned her head. When she saw Meng Hao hovering there like a deity, a smile broke out on her face.
After a moment of silence, Shui Dongliu shook his head, then began to laugh at the top of his lungs.