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Outside the Vast Expanse, everything looked the same way it had for the past tens of thousands of years. Endless ruins stretched out in all directions, the remnants of former glory. However, there was one location among all the ruins that was like an oasis within a desert.

It wasn't very large, only the size of a single mountain. It was clear that the place had once been a sect, and had been restored from its state of ruin. It was blanketed in complete and utter silence.

Beautifully decorated buildings could be seen on the mountain, but they were empty. However, there was one wooden structure in which a corpse could be seen. It was the corpse of a woman who had long since pa.s.sed away into meditation.

Meng Hao materialized inside of the wooden structure, in front of the corpse. It was Immortal Bai Wuchen.

Even after Meng Hao told her the truth about what was outside the Vast Expanse, she had still begged to be sent there. She was obsessed with her illusory memories, and thus, Meng Hao sent her here, with the promise that if she ever wanted to return, she merely had to call upon his name.

In the tens of thousands of years that followed, she never called out to him. After seeing the emptiness outside the Vast Expanse, and the dust, she recalled the home that existed in her memories, and found her way back to that very sect. She cleaned it and restored it to the way she remembered, and then lived there quietly, alone.

Eventually, she pa.s.sed away into meditation.

Meng Hao stood there looking at Bai Wuchen’s corpse for a long, long time. Then he turned and left. She had made her decision. Perhaps in the end she was simply happy to be able to die in the place she remembered.

After leaving the mountain, Meng Hao traversed the starry sky outside of the Vast Expanse until he was hovering near the towering columns. There, his eyes shone with a bright light as he contemplated killing Allheaven!

He knew that he would only have one chance to succeed. If he managed to slay Allheaven, then he would be able to continue to search for a way to break the curse. If he failed, then just like the Ghost, the Devil, and the G.o.d, he would no longer be qualified to remain.

“Come out,” he said quietly. “We've been putting this battle off for long enough.” Although he didn’t speak very loudly, his voice filled the entire starry sky outside of the Vast Expanse. Ripples spread out, a tempest that shook the starry sky as if it were mere water.

After a long moment pa.s.sed, a light sigh could be heard from some distance off. A woman strolled out, wearing a smile, and a diaphanous violet garment.

Meng Hao didn’t seem surprised at all when he saw who it was.

“Brother Meng, didn’t I say that we would meet again?” Although she didn't seem to be moving very quickly, it only took her a few steps to appear directly in front of Meng Hao. There she stood, a radiant smile on her face. It was none other than... Han Bei!

“I am the Daughter of Allheaven, and you are his Son,” she said softly. “We are destined to be together. We are destined to give birth to the lord of this starry sky, to give birth to... the most powerful and ultimate version of Allheaven!

“Why do you refuse to comply?” Her gaze was tender, like a ripple on a pond.

Meng Hao looked back at her and chuckled. “Which Allheaven Transformation are you?”

Han Bei frowned. When she didn’t respond, he waved his sleeve, and his energy surged in a completely domineering fas.h.i.+on.

“Allheaven,” he said, his voice as cold as ice, “I respect your power. However, respect must be mutual. Where is your respect for me!?” His voice was like thunder, echoing out with such power that the starry sky trembled on the verge of collapse.

Han Bei’s eyes flashed. Any tenderness which had been present faded away, replaced by an icy glow.

“I'm the eighth transformation,” she said. With that, she reached out and waved her finger. Instantly, the void between her and Meng Hao distorted. At the same time, Meng Hao vanished, reappearing a moment later directly in front of Han Bei. He also reached out and waved his finger.

Their fingers touched, and a boom echoed out that could end the Heavens and crush the Earth. Meng Hao’s expression never changed, but Han Bei’s face flickered, and she involuntarily fell back. Booms began to echo out as different parts of her body began to explode. Blood and gore blasted out in all directions, until she was completely soaked in crimson. Her appearance was shocking, ferocious, and ghastly.

“Meng Hao!!” she screamed, transforming into a blood-colored beam of light that shot toward Meng Hao. As she approached, she reached out as if to grab him.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the void around Meng Hao shattered. And yet, he didn't seem to be affected at all. He looked coldly at Han Bei, then extended his hand, causing a tempest to spring up and slam into her.

Han Bei’s eyes widened in shock. The astonis.h.i.+ng level of power that Meng Hao was utilizing left her in complete disbelief.

Before she could even react, Meng Hao took a step forward, clenched his hand into a fist, and punched her in the pit of her stomach.

She screamed miserably as her body exploded. A moment later, she re-formed, and yet before she could do anything, Meng Hao was upon her again, unleas.h.i.+ng another fist strike.

She exploded again, and the process was repeated. Every time she re-formed, he punched again. Ten times. Dozens. A hundred.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

“Show me your real power, Allheaven. If this is all you’re capable of, I’ll definitely be disappointed.” Meng Hao’s cultivation base surged. His next fist strike became a sea of flames, filled with infinite destructive power, power that could wither all life force. It became a flood of decay, filled with all of the power of the five elements, a fist strike of ultimate destruction.

A huge boom could be heard as Han Bei exploded into countless chunks of blood and gore that splashed about in all directions. Because of the power of the five elements that filled the chunks of her body, it made it very difficult for her to form back together.

Meng Hao's words were still lingering in the air when another voice spoke out from the gore that remained of Han Bei. However, the voice was not Han Bei’s. It was vague, even faint, and yet it filled the entire starry sky.

“Meng... Hao....

“The eighth... Allheaven Transformation is... the Primeval Transformation....

“Countless years ago in primeval times, the first Transcendor within my starry sky was he who I dubbed the Ghost.... Come forth!”

RUMBLE!