"Back when I was in my prime, I laced the starry sky of the Vast Expanse with a curse. The Ghost could not see it. The Devil was not qualified to activate it. Even the God didn't trigger it. But today, you will see it, Meng Hao. You will see it....

"It is a curse fueled by the power of my true form, unleashed by the last scrap of my will within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. It is my curse, created countless years ago...."

In response to Allheaven's words, Meng Hao's pupils constricted, and his heart began to pound. Clearly, Allheaven was not simply trying to sound mysterious and impressive. He had no reason to do such a thing.

His words revealed a very disturbing truth: if this so-called curse had been created during Allheaven's prime, then considering the current level of Meng Hao's cultivation base, it would most likely be impossible for him to break it.

In his prime, Allheaven had commanded terrifying, unimaginable power. In fact, he was so powerful that neither the Ghost, the Devil, nor the God had been able to do anything more than destroy one of his fingers!

Meng Hao's eyes began to widen. Allheaven's connection to the starry sky of the Vast Expanse was utterly and thoroughly severed. Even still, though, Meng Hao could not prevent a sense of dread from seeping into his heart.

He was not disheartened, though. Although he wasn't sure about the exact nature of the curse, he was sure it had something to do with Karma. Therefore, as long as he was willing to pay the price, he should be able to fight back against it. Even Allheaven at his prime would not be able to kill him with just a curse.

Meng Hao's face was very grim as the crumbling, vanishing Allheaven spoke in a voice that seemed to contain bizarre and mysterious power: "Any person who kills me...."

Unexpectedly, his words began to resonate with the entire starry sky!

Shockingly, despite the fact that Meng Hao had completely severed Allheaven's connection to the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, he was still able to form a resonance with it. That caused Meng Hao's expression to become even grimmer than before.

"... shall find that his people, his bloodlines, everyone connected to him by Karma, everything connected to the Karma of those people, and anyone connected to that greater web of Karma, will be cursed!

"It will spread from this one point outwards, and it will spread yet again from those it spreads to, on and on until it has nowhere left to spread!

"Everyone within that range, everything within that scope, all lives... shall be cursed by Allheaven!

"My curse upon them is thus: in their lives, time is limited!

"No type of cultivation magic, no type of bloodline power, no type of precious material, no type of reincarnation, will be even slightly effective in breaking the curse!

"Because the curse does not affect Transcendent cultivators, it can exist for all eternity!"

As Allheaven's words rang out, it was clear that he was speaking them in the present, and yet somehow, it seemed as if they were being spoken countless years in the past. In fact, if one listened closely, it almost seemed like two different voices, one in the past, one in the present, joining together, melding, causing everything to shake!

Furthermore, it seemed as if the resonance with the starry sky wasn't being formed by Allheaven's current power, but rather, by the Allheaven of the past, when he was in his prime. He had created this curse countless years ago, then buried it, where it had remained hidden until this day.

After the words were spoken, Allheaven looked at the shock on Meng Hao's face, and laughed mockingly. Then his body exploded.

Allheaven's clone, the former lord of the entire starry sky of the Vast Expanse, was dead in body and soul!

From this moment on, Allheaven's true form could exist only in the void outside of the Vast Expanse. It would be impossible for him to come inside the Vast Expanse, regardless of what power he unleashed. Meng Hao had become the Heavens, and because of that, there would be only one voice inside the Vast Expanse, one will. And that was... the will of Meng Hao!

Meng Hao looked grimly at the spot where Allheaven had exploded. Countless motes of light could be seen there, and instead of fading away, they began to shoot toward Meng Hao. He was now the ultimate lord of the starry sky, so as the motes fused into him, rumbling sounds echoed out, and his soul experienced incredible growth. In the blink of an eye, his soul, his fleshly body, and his cultivation base all reached an unprecedented level of power.

Most importantly, his Dao Essence, the Essence of the world which he had created inside of him, also experienced exponential growth. After fully absorbing the clone of Allheaven, that world inside of him lit up with dazzling light, and life began to flourish there.

As of this moment, he was no longer half a step into the Ancestor Realm. He had taken that final step, and was... fully within the Ancestor Realm!

In the Ancestor Realm, one's body became a world, with its own starry sky!

Meng Hao's will spread out, filling the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. He saw all the living creatures, and looked at them silently as he contemplated the curse of Allheaven. After a long moment, he spoke.

"I am the Demon Sovereign!"

In that moment, all cultivators within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse felt their minds trembling as a voice that contained the weight of the Heavens spoke to them.

Countless individuals dropped down to their knees to kowtow. The people of innumerable planets, land masses, and worlds all offered worship, as did the countless beings who had been involved in the war.

"From this moment on, the starry sky of the Vast Expanse will no longer contain any mist!" As soon as the words left Meng Hao's mouth, the entire starry sky cleared of mist. Everything trembled as it simply vanished. Within the space of a few breaths of time, not a single bit could be seen anywhere within the Vast Expanse!

Brilliantly lit planets suddenly became visible, as well as a boundless, majestic starry sky....

All living beings were profoundly shaken.

"From this moment on, the starry sky of the Vast Expanse will have a new name. It will be called... the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas!" With that, he waved his sleeve, and boundless life force spread out. Suddenly, the river of Time appeared, along with the giant crocodilian creature, who immediately prostrated in worship. Countless motes of light began to fly out from the river, as everyone from the Vast Expanse School army who had died in the fighting was resurrected!

Having accomplished this, Meng Hao turned and headed off into the distance.

Behind him, the voices of the Vast Expanse School's army joined together in a powerful cry.

"Our respect, Demon Sovereign!"

"Our respect, Demon Sovereign!!"

As the Vast Expanse School cultivators cried out, the other living beings from the other parts of the starry sky all prostrated to the Heavens.

"Our respect, Demon Sovereign!!!"

The sound echoed out in astonishing fashion.... For a cultivator to have reached this level was like reaching the ultimate peak.

And yet Meng Hao felt no joy. His heart only continued to sink as he contemplated the curse of Allheaven. He slowly strolled through the starry sky until he found the location where the Mountain and Sea Realm had once stood.