Just when Meng Hao was about to place the flagon on his lips and take a drink, a beam of light appeared off in the distance, approaching with shocking speed. Its target was apparently not Meng Hao, but the vortex that made up the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm.

As soon as Meng Hao saw that beam of light, he shot to his feet. It was a middle-aged man with disheveled hair. Despite his appearance, he radiated an air of imposing dignity. He moved with incredible speed, almost instantly slamming into the barrier that protected the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm.

A boom rang out, and everything shook. The man coughed up some blood. Eyes bloodshot, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"You've sealed the Vast Expanse so no one can enter? Blocked the way? Fine!

"I've been dead for ages, but I've always done things my own way. You think you can project my soul here and force me to deceive my foster son? I'm afraid... that won't be happening!" The man continued to laugh, then suddenly turned to look at Meng Hao.

When Meng Hao saw who it was, his mind began to spin with shock.

"Dad...." he cried involuntarily.

This middle-aged man was not his birth father Fang Xiufeng, but rather, his foster father, Paragon of the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect in the Ninth Mountain and Sea... Ke Yunhai!

They had met within true spirit Night's memory of ancient times, a place Meng Hao originally thought was all an illusion, but turned out to have affected the real world.

Back then, Ke Yunhai knew that Meng Hao wasn't his son Jiusi, and yet loved him anyway! That was the first time in his life he had ever felt fatherly love.

The memories exploded within Meng Hao's mind, becoming clearer by the moment. He trembled as his vision suddenly swam.

Ke Yunhai looked over at him and smiled warmly. Laughing, he said, "Hao'er, you need to see things clearly. Everything here is a sham. If I die, I can prove this place is definitely a trick. If I don't die, then it would equally prove that this is a trick to deceive you. Because I... already died long ago!" Ke Yunhai spun in place, and as Meng Hao looked on, trembling, he slammed his head into the barrier. He moved with incredible speed, drawing fully upon his own life energy. A huge boom echoed out. As he hit the barrier, the barrier struck back with shocking power to stop him.

In that moment, he called out, "Hao'er, my foster son. Remember that the Heavenly Dao has a flaw. There is nothing perfect in the world, and nothing can be without blemish. All of this is in your heart!

"Everyone here said that I couldn't see things clearly. That was true. But I would still prefer to die to give you a chance to see the truth!"

Power slammed into Ke Yunhai, and he was instantly shredded into a mass of blood and gore that splashed out in all directions.

He used his death to reveal the truth!

He used his death to give Meng Hao a chance to pierce through the veil of lies!

He used his death to prove that he was right!

Meng Hao threw down the alcohol flagon. Power raged within him as he looked at the spot where Ke Yunhai had died in a haze of blood. The words he had spoken caused Meng Hao to tremble. His eyes turned red, and his aura erupted.

"Dad...." he said, trembling, tears streaming down his face. Moments ago, he had been ready to give in. That attitude instantly vanished. His doubts regarding the world he was in instantly grew stronger. He began to pant and shake, and as he stared at the blood mist, and thought about Ke Yunhai, more tears flowed.

His mind felt like it was about to explode from the countless strands of thought which were lurking hidden therein. It was as if those thoughts were about to flood out to fill every part of his being. Suddenly, light began to shine out from within him, and yet at the same time, a pressure appeared in the local starry sky.

That pressure arrived without any warning, and completely enveloped Meng Hao. It suppressed him, as well as the countless thoughts that seemed to be on the verge of forming.

The power of awakening and the power of the pressure were using his body as a battleground. Blood sprayed out of Meng Hao's mouth, and he staggered in place as his thoughts were crushed.

He looked down, his face pale, at his chest, which now was wracked with stabbing pain. The copper mirror was sending a flowing current into him, filling his body, causing him to pant. He looked up, eyes bright red.

Numerous sighs could be heard, as everyone, including Fatty, looked on with complicated expressions.

"I never would have thought that Ke Yunhai would have the hardest time waking up, and not Meng Hao...."

"Yeah, that's right. That's what happens when you don't recover, when you can't tell the difference between reality and fantasy...."

At this point, just about everyone began talking to Meng Hao.

"Meng Hao, did you see that? He went crazy. You can't let yourself stay confused. Everything in the Vast Expanse was an illusion, a dream."

"If you don't pull yourself together, you'll end up like that! Your mind will shatter!"

"Meng Hao, wake up!"

"Meng Hao, why can't you see things clearly? That guy, whoever he was, was stuck in the dream for too long, and thus couldn't face up to reality. I know you, and I can tell that you were close to him somehow, but you can't let that affect you!"

"Meng Hao, all the relationships and friendships from the dream weren't real! You have to wake up to reality!"

Meng Hao's mind felt as if it were spinning; the battle between the awakening memories and the suppressing pressure reached a boiling point, and finally, he looked up and shouted, "Shut up!"

His words echoed out like thunder. Suddenly, the aura of the 9-Essences level exploded out, filling the area. Meng Hao clutched his head in his hands, then roared.

"Shut up!

"Shut up!!

"SHUT UP!!!"

He threw his head back and howled, creating a sonic attack that mixed with the power of the 9-Essences level. Rumbling filled the area as the sound wave swept out, transforming countless asteroids into nothing but ash. Numerous figures, never having imagined that Meng Hao would unleash an explosive attack like this, were battered by the sound wave, shaking violently until they exploded.

Fatty, Chu Yuyan, Li Ling'er, Fan Dong'er, Fang Yu, Sun Hai.... One figure after another from Meng Hao's memories were eradicated.

The instant they died, the air distorted, as if a roar of rage was rippling through the area, as if the source of that roar had been completely unaware that Meng Hao would do something like this.

Everything in the area vanished. Meng Hao coughed up some more blood. Hair disheveled, he looked around at the void, and the ash that was the remnants of the dead. Then he began to chuckle hoarsely, a laughter that rapidly turned more and more bitter.

He looked over at the barrier which sealed off the vortex, and began to fly toward it.

"My death will prove whether or not this is a trick!" His head throbbed as his bitter laughter echoed out. In the blink of an eye, he had reached the barrier. Boom!

Instantly, a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering power blasted back against him, send him flying. His bones were crushed, and his flesh was shredded.

And yet, he didn't die....

He struggled to right himself, and once again shot toward the barrier. It was at this point that an enraged roar echoed out. It was his Master and Chen Fan, as well as numerous others from the Blue Sea Sect. His wife was also there.

Chen Fan grabbed Meng Hao, and his wife threw her arms around him, tears streaming down her face.

"Meng Hao, have you gone crazy!?" Chen Fan roared. The others from the Blue Sea Sect came forward to restrain Meng Hao.

He looked at them, as well as at his wife and his Master. Finally he turned to Chen Fan. He wasn't sure what to say. He opened his mouth to speak, but then simply coughed up some blood and lost consciousness.

When he woke up, he was back in the Blue Sea Sect. His wife was standing protectively next to him, her eyes sunken with worry and anxiety.

Meng Hao lay there quietly. His eyes seemed empty. People came to visit, but those empty eyes never changed. He didn't speak, and in fact, spent most of the day by the window looking out at Heaven and Earth. No one had any idea what he was thinking.

He was the only one that was aware that the flow from the copper mirror was growing stronger. At first, it had pulsed out only once a month or so. But now, it pulsed out many times. Furthermore, his view of the world constantly rippled, as if what he was looking at was about to be peeled away to reveal something beneath.

The warm flow made its way through his body, but did nothing to heal any of his injuries, not that he cared about them to begin with. He simply stared out the window.

The consequences for slaughtering Fatty and the others were already playing out. The other sects were furious, and had joined forces to try to force the Blue Sea Sect to hand over Meng Hao.

The Blue Sea Sect had refused to give in, and thus, a war began.

The fighting escalated rapidly. Soon, the rumbling of battle could be heard on the Blue Sea Sect's planet. Countless disciples died. Some of the allied sects had already managed to fight their way into the Blue Sea Sect itself.

The sound of explosions filled the world, but Meng Hao didn't care. Nor did he care about the looks cast upon him by his wife, or the other fellow disciples. They were looks of concern, anxiety, reproach, and even hatred.

Meng Hao didn't respond to such looks.

Gradually, voices rang out within the sect itself, calling for Meng Hao to be handed over. However, his Master, Chen Fan, and other fellow disciples vowed to die before doing such a thing. Meng Hao watched this happen silently. Inside, he could feel ripples of emotion when he saw what was happening, but he violently suppressed them.

He wanted to see exactly how far things would go.

Eventually, a month later, the allied sects broke through the main gate of the Blue Sea Sect. Slaughter ensued. Meng Hao watched his wife sustain serious injuries protecting him. He watched a flying sword stab into his son's forehead. As the boy died, he cried out weakly for his father. Meng Hao ignored that, although he trembled with grief.

"Enough, enough...." he said, laughing bitterly.