“I hereby declare that all cultivators of this world must acknowledge allegiance to me,” Jin Yunshan said, his voice cool and clear. He took a step forward, and the Mountain and Sea Realm shook. The power of the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas had been crushed. All Mountain and Sea cultivators were trembling in body and soul under the pressure radiating down from Jin Yunshan. As of this moment, it seemed that they had no choice but to surrender.
“I hereby declare that from this day forth, I am the lord of this realm!” A strange light gleamed in Jin Yunshan’s eyes as he took another step forward. Heaven and Earth cracked and crumbled. The Nine Mountains shook violently, and the Nine Seas churned.
All living beings bowed their heads. Under the gaze of Jin Yunshan, they had no choice but to capitulate. Behind Jin Yunshan, the boundless horde of cultivators from the Vast Expanse School were cheering excitedly.
“Goldrobes!”
“Goldrobes!!”
“Goldrobes!!!”
The sound wave created by their cries filled the starry sky of the Mountain and Sea Realm, becoming the only sound that anyone could hear. Jin Yunshan hovered there, reveling in the unprecedented feeling of glory.
In his mind, he was finally able to experience what it must have been like to be Meng Hao, to look down indifferently at everything in the starry sky.
“Meng Hao, the world has forgotten you, but I won’t. Today... I will wipe you completely out of existence. I will take your place as the new lord of the starry sky!” He flicked his sleeve, and the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas trembled. But then, the fluctuations of the First Demon Sealing Hex arose from within the First Mountain and Sea.
As the ripples closed in on Jin Yunshan, his eyes narrowed, and his hand flashed in an incantation gesture. The wave of his finger caused the void to collapse as he fought back against the First Hex.
It was at that point that the Second Hex erupted from the Second Mountain and Sea. Then came the Third Hex, and the Fourth. In the blink of an eye, the power of eight Hexing magics were shooting toward Jin Yunshan.
It was a dazzling display that seemed capable of killing any and all living things. Time distorted, space rippled. Death was descending!
Jin Yunshan threw his head back and laughed uproariously.
“Meng Hao, if you came out in person to fight me, I might be worried. But this paltry Mountain and Sea Realm isn’t enough to kill me. BREAK!” Even as his laughter rang out, he shoved his right hand out. Golden light exploded from his palm, spreading out in all directions, causing the entire starry sky to turn golden.
Everything above and below shone like gold. The entire world was turning golden, even the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas, and it seemed like something which could never be changed.
As the eight incoming Hexing magics bore down on Jin Yunshan, they suddenly ground to a halt, and then shattered. At the same time, Jin Yunshan waved his sleeve, unleashing his divine sense and cultivation base. The power of Transcendence erupted out. He held nothing back, causing golden light to spread out in all directions. The First Mountain and Sea was stained completely golden, and the effects spread rapidly. Next was the Second Mountain and Sea. After that, the Third and Fourth Mountains and Seas became gold. The will of golden-robed Jin Yunshan forced its way into the Mountain and Sea Realm, occupying it, transforming it into his own precious treasure.
The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were in complete despair. They were suppressed, their eyes bloodshot, completely incapable of fighting back.
Rumbling could be heard as the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Mountains and Seas all turned golden. Jin Yunshan’s laughter filled the entire realm.
It was at this point that, with no warning whatsoever, a powerful blast of energy surged out. It came from that which Meng Hao had founded the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea upon... the Seal the Heavens Hex!
As the Hex erupted, it became an enormous blade which, in the space of a single breath, bore down on Jin Yunshan. His face fell, and a tremor ran through him. Without the slightest hesitation, he swished his sleeve. Instantly, all of the cultivators from the Vast Expanse School suddenly vanished. To their shock, they reappeared in front of Jin Yunshan, a sea of people that he was attempting to use to block the blade that was the Seal the Heavens Hex.
Instantly, bloodcurdling screams began to ring out as the cultivators in front of Jin Yunshan were slashed by the blade. They were shredded into pieces, sending blood and gore flying out in all directions, to then rain down onto the Mountain and Sea Realm.
The blade continued to scream along toward the golden-robed Jin Yunshan.
His scalp was completely numb; this was the first time since Transcending that he had experienced such a sensation of critical danger.
“Impossible! I refuse to believe that I can’t fight this magical item of yours, Meng Hao!” Roaring with rage, Jin Yunshan performed an incantation gesture and then waved his finger. Rumbling sounds erupted as a huge turtle shell appeared in front of him. It was none other than the precious treasure of the Vast Expanse School, which was now being used to intercept the blade.
BOOOOOOOOOMMM!
The Vast Expanse School’s precious treasure, the turtle shell, exploded into bits. At the same time, though, the incoming blade seemed to grow blurry.
After all... the blade was not being unleashed by Meng Hao personally; it was merely the power of the magical item itself, and obviously had limitations!
Jin Yunshan’s eyes glowed with excitement, and even a flicker of viciousness. He fell back, waving his sleeve to summon numerous worlds, land masses, and planets, all to intercept the blade and defend himself.
Heaven and Earth trembled. The starry sky shook. Worlds were destroyed, planets were shattered, and land masses burst into flames. However, the blade was slowly fading until it almost wasn’t visible.
Finally, Jin Yunshan’s cultivation base erupted with the power of Transcendence. Howling, he stopped moving backward, and jumped forward to meet the blade.
As the two met, the blade faded away, becoming countless vanishing fragments. However, it still passed through Jin Yunshan. Even his Transcendent fleshly body couldn’t block it.
Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and one of his arms was completely severed. Next, his body trembled, and then collapsed into pieces.
The only thing which remained was his head. And yet, he was laughing uproariously. Unexpectedly, his body formed back together, and was whole once more.
He seemed very weak, his face drastically pale. He had been immeasurably close to death moments ago. Had the blade not dissipated when it did, he would definitely have been destroyed in body and soul.
Now, having believed himself to have defeated the precious treasure that was the Mountain and Sea Realm, he laughed and waved his sleeve, causing golden light to spill out toward the Ninth Mountain and Sea.
Moments later, it seemed as if the Ninth Mountain and Sea were about to be completely transformed into the color of gold. The Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators were in a state of complete hopelessness, their world shattered.
Jin Yunshan’s eyes glowed with longing, with madness, with covetousness. At the same time, he continued to laugh uproariously.
“Meng Hao, at long last the time has come in which I completely replace you!”
In that very moment, even as the words left his mouth, a voice spoke out from behind him, a calm and very familiar voice that struck his heart like a bolt of lightning.
“Long time no see.”