The blurry figure behind the invisible barrier apparently had long hair and was wearing a long robe. However, no facial features were visible except for his eyes.

Those eyes were cold and merciless, as if there were no life in them at all, as if they were empty, as if this figure were nothing more than... a weapon!

A weapon!

That was the distinct feeling Meng Hao got after catching sight of the figure behind the invisible barrier.

At the same time, the barrier continued to crush down. The cyclone continued to collapse, and the countless ghosts continued to dissipate. The lands shook, and crevices opened up. Mountains and rivers rumbled, and everything, even the altar, began to crumble and show signs of complete collapse!

The group from the Vast Expanse School had long since reached a state of utter astonishment. All of them rotated their cultivation bases in an attempt to resist what was happening, but it did little good.

In that moment of extreme crisis, the bronze lamp inside of Meng Hao blazed brightly, as though it were building up power which would explode out at any moment.

However, before that could happen, all of a sudden... faint fluctuations began to emanate out from the distant ninth land mass, where that huge figure was seated on the enormous throne.

They were faint, but even as they appeared, Meng Hao could hear a voice coming from the ninth land mass. It was difficult to hear at first, but it only took a moment for the volume to swell. Eventually, it was possible to make out a word. Apparently it was saying...

BE!

It was only one word, apparently the word "be," and it almost sounded like a musical note.

That one word came out from the ninth land mass, and as it passed along, it caused the eighth land mass to shake, and the light there to grow dim. Even as the eighth land mass was thrown into turmoil, the sound passed into the seventh land mass, then swept across the sixth. The sky trembled, and roaring sounds filled the lands. Everything shook in astonishing fashion. And the sound was getting closer and closer to Meng Hao....

By the time it reached the fifth land mass, the sound had apparently changed. What Meng Hao now heard sounded more like the word "gone!"

GONE!

In fact, now it almost didn't sound like two words had been spoken. Whistling screams accompanied the arrival of the sounds, and everything trembled. It passed through the fifth land mass, roared across the fourth, then shook the third and the second....

By the time it reached the first land mass, the explosive sounds had united. The word was not "be", nor was it "gone." It was one single word.

"BEGONE!"

"BEGONE!!"

"BEGONE!!!"

The sound echoed about endlessly. It was like an explosion that violently shook the Heavens!

Apparently, it had always been one word, but had been spoken at such a distance away, and traveled so quickly, that it had become split apart along the way. But now that it was here in the first land mass, it erupted with incredible power. That was a power which could destroy the Heavens and extinguish the Earth!

Incredible rumbling echoed out across the first land mass. Mountains and rivers were rocked, and a wind of madness swept about. Wild colors flashed about in Heaven and Earth!

It was a single word that was so domineering it caused everything to shake wildly!

One word crushed the Heavenly might. One word shocked all creation. One word caused the invisible barrier to begin to tremble, and then to be riddled with cracks. A moment later, it shattered completely!

That same word shook the Heavens, causing the blurry figure up above to distort and twist, as though it were being battered by a massive tempest. Then, it faded away.

This virtually indescribably shocking scene occurred because of only a single word!

A single word uttered by that figure on the enormous throne, one word, completely changed everything. The crushing might of Allheaven was dispersed, and the Heavens were shattered!

It was as if that word had become an enormous hand which swept across Heaven and Earth, crushing everything that was not of the necropolis. Even the will of Allheaven was incapable of staying, and had been driven out.

This sight left Meng Hao completely reeling. He turned to look over at the ninth land mass, mind rumbling with shock.

However, that voice... was something only he could hear. The Sect Leader and the others couldn't detect it at all. Of course, they were still shaken, although not by the voice itself; they mistakenly believed that everything that was happening was being caused by Meng Hao.

Meng Hao looked at the ninth land mass, and was suddenly struck with the deep desire to go there and see for himself this figure was who had just uttered that word. Who was he?

The indistinct figure had clearly emanated the power of Transcendence, and whose single uttered word seemed filled with virtually infinite power.... A person like that... must be a Transcendent cultivator!!

"Was it Patriarch Vast Expanse...?" Meng Hao thought, taking a deep breath. That was the only guess he had at the moment.

After a long moment passed, Meng Hao swished his sleeve and reigned in his cultivation base power.

The sky was quiet, and the lands went still. A moment ago, a shocking tempest had been raging, but now everything was back to normal, almost as if nothing had happened at all.

Meng Hao closed his eyes, and his heart was anything but calm. Far too many shocking events had occurred, and he deeply desired to know who it was that had uttered the word "begone" just now. He wanted to know why Allheaven feared the Immortal, and he wanted to know what the arrival of the Demon meant. What did the Demon have to do with Allheaven, and why... did they have similar origins!?

Even more than all that, he wanted to know why the Mountain and Sea Realm had been fated to be destroyed. Behind the scenes, there was some entity manipulating things, and that entity was none other than... Allheaven.

In any case, the name of Allheaven was now deeply burned into Meng Hao's mind. To him, it was a clue.

He stood there silently for a moment before opening his eyes. When he did, he saw the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School panting. Because of everything that had occurred, there was no way they could possibly maintain their calm. First was the sixteen days he had spent seeking enlightenment, then there was the aura of Transcendence shaking the Heavens. Then came the Heavenly might which had crushed down onto them. All of that left them in complete and utter fear of Meng Hao.

It took a moment for Meng Hao to compose himself, but when he did, he turned once again to gaze at the ninth land mass. Then, his third eye slowly closed. When his view returned to normal, he stepped off of the altar.

In that moment, the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School looked at him with mixed emotions.

After a moment of silence, the Sect Leader cleared his throat, and was just about to say something when, all of a sudden, the entire land mass lurched. Ripples spread out in the Heavens, and majestic light began to shine down.

That light contained boundless, indescribable heat which immediately caused the freezing coldness on the first land mass to begin to fade away.

However, that was of secondary importance. Most noticeable to Meng Hao, and to all of the cultivators from the Vast Expanse School, was that grass had sprouted from the ground beneath their feet. In the blink of an eye, everything around them was as green as jade!

Off in the distance, the ruins suddenly blurred as time seemed to flow backward, and they began to return to their original state!

A city gradually appeared, and there were some areas off in the distance where mountains and rivers could be seen....

It wasn't just in their immediate vicinity; the entire first land mass was experiencing a dramatic transformation.

This bizarre turn of events caused the Sect Leader's face to fall.

"Time is up! We cannot stay here any longer. If we do... we will all die! Meng Hao, even if you can command the ghosts here, you will still perish!!

"Go. All of you, go now!!" The Sect Leader transformed into a beam of light that streaked at top speed off into the distance.

The other Paragons seemed to be aware of what was happening. Faces flickering, all of them took to flight, including Jin Yunshan and Sha Jiudong.

Seeing such a reaction from them caused Meng Hao's eyes to flicker. At the same time, he could sense that the flame in the bronze lamp was dying down, and his strange connection to the ghosts was vanishing.

Without the slightest hesitation, he flew into the air, joining the group as they sped toward the bridge leading off of the land mass.

As they sped along, the Sect Leader explained matters to Meng Hao. "When the necropolis is opened, there is a time limit in place. If you can't reach the first land mass within ten days, then something bizarre will happen in the region outside. Once, we almost exceeded that time period and... the ruins outside of the land mass returned to their ancient state. There were even living people. But then something strange happened. They all died....

"At that time, some of our people died there too....

"The time limit once you reach the first land mass is one month. If you don't get to the second land mass by that time, then you must leave the necropolis!

"Considering the bizarre things that happen outside of the land mass when the time limit is reached, I can only imagine what happens within the land masses.

"To say that this necropolis is one of the most dangerous places in the entire Vast Expanse is no exaggeration. It's a restricted area even for people in the 9-Essences level.

"Right now, we have no choice but to leave. We can return in one year at the soonest, and then... hopefully we can reach the second land mass. If we can, then we should be able to stay inside a bit longer."

Even as Meng Hao listened to the Sect Leader's explanation, he could feel his connection to the ghosts fading away. Soon, it was gone altogether, and the bronze lamp had gone almost completely dark.

His face flickered as he turned to look behind him.

When that happened, his mind spun. He saw that all of the ruins had reverted to their previous state of glory. He saw cities that existed like mirages on the surface of the land. He saw statues suddenly appear, and he saw mountains rise up which had not been there before.