As of this moment, it wasn't just Jin Yunshan who was in a state of shock. The Sect Leader, who was still there on the altar, was astonished at the sight of Meng Hao's eight Hexes combined.

He was well aware of how terrifying Jin Yunshan's ninth Essence was. In fact, if he were in Meng Hao's place, he would have been forced to rely on his own ninth Essence to negate it.

And yet Meng Hao unexpectedly... didn't even use a ninth Essence at all. Instead, he had used what appeared to be eight restrictive spells. The shocked Sect Leader couldn't help but wonder what other secrets Meng Hao must be harboring.

"Those eight restrictive spells must be his first eight Essences. And yet, he only needed those eight Essences to deal with Jin Yunshan's ninth Essence.... This Meng Hao is inhuman!!" The Sect Leader took a deep breath. Never could he possibly have imagined what the truth was. It wasn't that Meng Hao didn't want to use a ninth Essence: he hadn't even gained enlightenment of a ninth Essence.

Jin Yunshan was just as shocked at Meng Hao's eight Hexes as the Sect Leader. Despite not having unleashed a ninth Essence, he left them completely and utterly flabbergasted.

"He's still hiding his true strength!!" The other cultivators of the Vast Expanse School couldn't help but gasp. The fight which was playing out in front of their eyes left them even more intensely aware of how powerful Meng Hao was. In fact, he was so terrifying that... he could probably alter the face of Planet Vast Expanse, giving it not four supreme powers, but five.

"I refuse to believe that you can fight me and not have to use your ninth Essence!" Jin Yunshan's face was twisted in an unsightly expression. By now, he held no scorn whatsoever for Meng Hao's battle prowess. Although Meng Hao was a bit weaker than him overall, the difference between them was negligible!

He knew that if Meng Hao had unleashed a ninth Essence, he would already be in a very difficult situation. However, even being put in a tight spot like that was preferable to what was happening now, which was that he had already gone all out with everything he had, and yet Meng Hao was still able to hold back some of his power.

The thought of that caused Jin Yunshan's murderous aura to grow even more intense. He flickered into motion, transforming into a beam of golden light that shot toward Meng Hao, who also shot forward. In the blink of an eye, the two of them slammed into each other with a boom and started fighting.

Meng Hao transformed into a huge roc that flickered with black and azure light. Jin Yunshan waved his hand, causing a sun to spread out, which shot countless golden beams of light out in attack.

In the space of a few breaths, the two of them exchanged hundreds of volleys. Meng Hao performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, causing numerous mountains to crush down onto Jin Yunshan.

Jin Yunshan let out a cold harrumph and waved his hand. The sun detonated, sending out destructive power that shredded the mountains to pieces. In response, Meng Hao performed an incantation gesture, sending boundless Essence of Divine Flame out in a powerful attack, destroying the air between the two of them.

The battle was so intense that the entire world was affected, even the starry sky. Meng Hao and Jin Yunshan fought back and forth in midair, and the explosions caused everything to shake and distort.

A closer look would reveal that Meng Hao was bleeding out of his mouth, and yet, Jin Yunshan's face was pale white. He was a bit stronger than Meng Hao, but not strong enough to overwhelm and kill him.

"Dammit!!" A boom echoed out, and Jin Yunshan shot backward, glaring at Meng Hao. Then, he started laughing, a cold laughter filled with incisive killing intent. "Meng Hao, I demand to see exactly what your ninth Essence is!"

Eyes glowing brightly, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then pushed both of his hands down.

"Next, I will unveil the most powerful magic I have. It even exceeds the Dao of my ninth Essence! Let's see if you can handle it, Meng Hao!" He raised his right hand and pointed his finger up into the sky.

In the moment that he raised his finger up, a stream of Essence shot out, transforming into a beam of light. It shot up and... merged into the sky!

Next, he pointed down, and a second Essence shot out from him and merged into the ground.

As the two Essences merged with the sky and the land, Jin Yunshan himself seemed as if he were doing the same thing. Although he still hovered there in midair, visible to the naked eye, if one scanned the area with divine sense, they would not be able to detect his existence.

Meng Hao stopped in place, his eyes widening. The sense of crisis raging through him now far exceeded that when Jin Yunshan had unleashed his ninth Essence.

Back on the altar, the Sect Leader's pupils constricted. "The Void Divinity!"

Next to him, Sha Jiudong looked on silently, eyes glowing from deep within.

The other cultivators from the Vast Expanse School were all visibly shocked. "It really is the Void Divinity.... That's Jin Yunshan's most powerful trump card. He hasn't used it for ten thousand years."

It was at this point that Jin Yunshan waved his sleeve, sending a third Essence out, not into Heaven or Earth, but into the wind!

The wind in the world became a part of Jin Yunshan, and as it swept about, it became a tempest that connected the sky to the land.

"Void Divinity!" cried Shangguan Hong. "It's Jin Yunshan's Dao of the Void Divinity!" Everyone else suddenly began to recall Jin Yunshan's legendary trump card, and their expressions flickered as they backed up even further.

According to the stories which were told about the Void Divinity, it was a magical technique that was powerful to a terrifying degree.

The sensation of deadly crisis in Meng Hao's heart was only growing more intense by the moment. His intuition was telling him that if he didn't interrupt the magic in this very instant, then its power would continue to grow explosively.

His two eyes glittered as his third eye opened. In that instant, his view of the world changed.

When he saw what was surrounding Jin Yunshan, his expression turned grim. He could see Jin Yunshan's body dispersing, merging into Heaven and Earth, becoming a part of the world. Meng Hao could tell that if he got close to him, he himself would also be sucked in by the power of Heaven and Earth, and be dispersed.

Even as Meng Hao studied Jin Yunshan with his third eye, Jin Yunshan's expression twisted viciously, and he let out a powerful roar. Suddenly, his fourth Essence expanded out, merging into one of the five elements that existed within this world. Fire!

Instantly, the temperature around him began to increase, as the fire elements in the world began to be taken over by Jin Yunshan.

Things weren't over yet. His fifth Essence began to merge with another of the five elements, metal. A killing will filled the entire world, and at the same time, a sixth Essence spread out. All of the withered and dried up wood and vegetation within the world suddenly quivered, and then began to fill with life. Each and every plant and bit of grass was becoming a part of Jin Yunshan.

Even more outrageous was that his seventh Essence merged into all of the water in the world. Rivers raged, and the blood within the veins of everyone present began to tremble.

Seven Essences. Metal, wood, water, fire, earth. And then there was the wind. It was as if everything in the entire world belonged to Jin Yunshan. Next was his eighth Essence. As he waved his hands, it exploded it and merged into... the light!

Light was boundless, everywhere and all present. As of this moment, it seemed as if Jin Yunshan didn't even exist. Then, his ninth Essence of lightning began to spread out, and his fleshly body began to turn transparent.

Nine Essences, all merged into the world around him. As of this moment, Jin Yunshan, his body, his cultivation base, his blood, his soul, everything about him had become part of the world around him. He was one with sky and the land!

He was the sky. He was the land. He was the wind. He was the five elements. He was lightning. He was... the world!

RUUMMMMBLLLLLE!

"Meng Hao!" Jin Yunshan howled. Although the words came out of his mouth, they seemed to resonate everywhere. All locations, all rivers, every part of the world was filled with his desire to kill. Flame creatures, plants, mountains, lightning; it exploded out from everything!

It was almost like the roar, not just of Jin Yunshan, but of the entire world.

Meng Hao inhaled sharply, and as for everyone else present, they were shaking.

"Meng Hao, this is my... Void Divinity Conversion!" Jin Yunshan lifted his right foot up and then stamped it down. As he did, Heaven shook and Earth trembled. The world shook, and a shocking force exploded out. Jin Yunshan was the lord of the entire world, its spirit. The world was his body, and with a thought, he could set everything into motion!

The stamp of his foot was like the world stamping its foot, causing everything to shake violently.

The world shuddered, and the lands quaked. Jin Yunshan's right hand clenched into a fist, and then he punched out!

From Meng Hao's perspective, that punch was like all of the power in the entire world converging into one spot. It contained lightning, the five elements, the sky, the land, everything! And it was all striking toward Meng Hao.

As the fist slammed into him, Heaven and Earth shattered. Blood sprayed out of Meng Hao's mouth, and he flew backward.

"Still not ready to unleash... your ninth Essence?!" Jin Yunshan's killing intent had reached the pinnacle. He took another step forward, and the world shook as he slapped his right hand toward Meng Hao!

The world trembled as all of the power it contained formed together. A tempest sprung up, blasting against Meng Hao before he could even stabilize himself. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he fell back, cracking sounds emanating out of his body, his flesh mangled and torn.

"You still don't qualify to see my ninth Essence!" he growled. As he looked up, his eyes glittered, and his third eye shone brightly. Intense light spilled out, like a torch on a moonless night. That light transformed into... a calling!