Chapter 1498: The Return Call!

　　Meng Hao moved as fast as lightning, shooting into the necropolis and following the tug toward the copper mirror shard.

　　The Icemountain Giant and the Flamephoenix were so shocked by the use of the mirror shards that they had no time to react. The ground was destroyed, and before they even had time to think about what that meant, they were flying down to try to stop Meng Hao.

　　“Don’t let him get the precious treasure!” These were the two most powerful entities in this world, but they were still incredibly nervous as they unleashed all the speed they could muster to fly into the necropolis.

　　Unfortunately for them, they were just a bit slower than Meng Hao. He was like a cascading beam of light that shot through the passageways down below. Despite the numerous twists and turns, the copper mirror shard was like a burning signal fire in his mind.

　　He didn’t pause for even a moment. In every location where a passage split off in two directions, he knew exactly which way to go, almost as if he had been here before.

　　Behind him, both the Icemountain Giant and the Flamephoenix shrank down in size as they followed in pursuit. Their hearts were filled with anxiety; the giant couldn’t stop roaring in anger, and yet it did no good.

　　Time passed. The pursuit went on for months, and yet the giant and the phoenix were unable to catch up to Meng Hao. As for Meng Hao, he sped along through the passageways of the necropolis until eventually… he caught sight of the final copper mirror shard!

　　It was in a deep pit, half of which was liquid ice, the other half being lava. In the very middle of the two was the mirror shard, which had split the area like yin and yang.

　　The area was filled with a pulsing aura of both fire and ice, which was apparently what had created this strange place to begin with.

　　Meng Hao looked down, eyes gleaming with anticipation. Without any hesitation, he stretched his right hand out toward the pit and made a grasping motion.

　　Instantly, the entire pit shuddered, as though it were on the verge of exploding. The mirror shard itself began to shake, then gradually loosened from its position as if it were about to fly over to him.

　　It was at this point that a powerful roar echoed out from inside the liquid ice, as a sinuous dragon burst out. It was snake-like, and composed completely of frigid ice. Energy surging, it shot directly toward Meng Hao.

　　Simultaneously, a dragon of flames burst out from the lava, roaring as it charged toward Meng Hao.

　　Meng Hao snorted coldly. Keeping his right hand in the same position as before, he performed an incantation gesture with his left hand and then waved it downwards. Demon Sealing Hexing magic erupted out in a powerful attack, enveloping the dragons of ice and fire, shoving them away.

　　They spun back and were about to attack again when Meng Hao’s left hand flashed in a sealing gesture. Instantly, two streams of mist shot out, transforming into humanoid shapes, like clones. They immediately shot toward the dragons of ice and fire, grabbing them and shoving them backward physically. The two dragons were immediately pinned against the nearby rock walls.

　　At the same time, the two clones transformed into sealing marks which locked the dragons down. Now, no matter how they roared, they couldn’t move at all.

　　Next, the copper mirror shard shook even harder, and then began to rise up into the air. It was at this point that the Icemountain Giant and the Flamephoenix began to feel the world trembling around them. Their faces fell, and they pushed forward with increased speed. Within the space of a few breaths of time, they shot out of the tunnel.

　　“Stay your hand!” they roared. However, they were just a bit too late. As the copper mirror shard flew up into the air, the lava and the liquid ice exploded up. Meng Hao then reached out and grabbed the mirror shard.

　　His eyes shone with brilliant light, and he was even panting a bit. He had been searching for this shard for hundreds of years. At long last, his collection was complete.

　　The mirror shard itself seemed to be crying out with joy. In the blink of an eye, it melted, transforming into black threads that merged into Meng Hao’s armor. The armor now seemed more complete than ever, and the aura it emitted was shocking to the extreme.

　　Heaven and Earth trembled. The entire world shook. Without the copper mirror shard, the lava and ice within the pit began to mix together, and all the lands trembled. The ice mountains began to melt, and the flames began to die out. Destructive power spread out in all directions.

　　The Icemountain Giant trembled and let out a piercing cry. The Flamephoenix looked over, and seeing that he was about to attack, she gritted her teeth… and blocked the way to Meng Hao!

　　Rumbling filled the air as the Icemountain Giant roared in rage. “Flamephoenix, what are you doing!?”

　　“He already has the precious treasure,” she replied. “Do you really think we can get it back, even if we fight together?!” The Icemountain Giant roared, and the two of them began to argue. Then they ceased communicating verbally and began to confer via divine will.

　　Meng Hao stood nearby, watching. He didn’t interfere, but instead, focused on examining the summoning power of the copper mirror shards. As of this moment, he felt more strongly than ever that he could summon the copper mirror itself!

　　Not too much time passed before the Icemountain Giant let out another powerful roar. His expression was unyielding, and yet simultaneously, defeated. Finally, he had given in. The Flamephoenix turned to face Meng Hao. Taking a deep breath, she transformed into human form, then clasped hands and bowed deeply.

　　“Fellow Daoist, we were being rash earlier,” she said. “If it’s not too much trouble, we would like to request that we keep the previous agreement.”

　　Meng Hao looked at her coldly. As of this point, he could completely ignore this place and whatever happened to it. However, his action of taking the copper mirror shard had initiated the destruction of the entire world.

　　After a moment of thought, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing his cultivation base power to erupt out and fill the area. Then, he unleashed Demon Sealing Hexing magic. Starting with the First Hex and going all the way to the Eighth, he drew upon his most powerful divine ability, the Eight Hexes combined.

　　However, this time he had eight mirror shards in the form of armor, making the divine ability even more powerful. Colors flashed, and the wind screamed. The faces of both the Icemountain Giant and the Flamephoenix flickered.

　　“Seal!” Meng Hao said, shoving his hands down toward the pit. That motion caused incredible sealing power to fall down onto the liquid ice and the lava.

　　Instantly, the two liquids ceased mixing together and gradually became still.

　　Cracking sounds emanated out, and at the same time, sweat dripped down Meng Hao’s forehead. His cultivation base power erupted again, and the power of the sealing mark of the combined Eight Hexes expanded, completely covering the liquid ice and the lava. Now, instead of destroying each other, they were locked in place. Although they weren’t completely separated like they had been before, they were no longer merging!

　　At the same time, the melting of the ice plains came to a halt. Although they were warmer than they had been before, they were still ice plains.

　　On the other side of the world in the lands of flame, fire once again flickered. Although it wasn’t as prevalent as it had been before, and the temperature had been reduced, the fire still existed. As for the two tribes which inhabited the world, although they were thrown into a bit of chaos, there was no deadly danger anymore.

　　“When I say I’ll do something, I do it,” Meng Hao said. “Right now, my cultivation base isn’t powerful enough to completely resolve the problem. However, with this seal in place, this world will be safe for the next ten thousand years.

　　“Once my cultivation base is strong enough, I’ll come back and remove the world from danger for all time.” He looked down once more at the deep pit, and then over at the Icemountain Giant and the Flamephoenix.

　　The Icemountain Giant glared, but the Flamephoenix smiled bitterly and then clasped hands and bowed.

　　Meng Hao likewise clasped hands and bowed deeply toward the two of them.

　　“This object is very important to me. Please… accept my apology for any offense I’ve caused. In the future, I’ll definitely repay you.” Although Meng Hao knew that neither of them believed him, he was being very sincere.

　　With that, he turned and left toward the exit of the necropolis.

　　Behind him, the Icemountain Giant and the Flamephoenix looked at each other with dour expressions. However, there was nothing they could do at this point. Sighing, they also left.

　　Now that he had the copper mirror shard, Meng Hao could fly even faster. After twenty days, he reached the exit passageway, and then flew out into the Heavens. Taking a deep breath, he looked back down at the lands below for a moment, the shot out at top speed into the void. A few months later, he emerged from the huge flower.

　　Now that he was back in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, his eyes flickered, and his heart thumped with excitement. For the moment, he chose not to summon the copper mirror, but instead shot off into the distance.

　　He tried a few times to make a connection with his clone’s ninth life, but for some reason, could only vaguely sense him. He had absolutely no way to know what exactly his clone was doing or experiencing. It was almost as if he were covered by a dense fog. However, he could sense a familiar and terrifying aura brewing inside the clone.

　　“Something is really strange about this ninth reincarnation. Could it be because he’s forming the final sealing mark of the Ninth Hex?” That was the conclusion he came to. The Seal the Heavens Hex, the Ninth Hex, was incredibly powerful, and didn’t even seem congruous with the world. Perhaps its incredible nature was why this unexpected turn of events had occurred.

　　After a few more months, he had reached a barren and remote location within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. There could be seen a land mass completely devoid of life, and filled with sprawling ruins.

　　Meng Hao had passed by this place a few hundred years before, and could sense that there was something strange about this place. Apparently, the energy of the Vast Expanse was weak here. As such, this was the location he had chosen to call out to the copper mirror.

　　He began to set up numerous spell formations in the area, most of them being restrictive spells. He had no idea what unexpected events might occur after he summoned the copper mirror, but based on all of his experiences, he was certain that something would happen, and that he needed to be ready!

　　He spent ten years making all of the preparations. In the end, the area looked like it had before, but the truth was that it was now as dangerous as a dragon’s pool or a tiger’s den. Finally, he sighed contentedly. Taking a deep breath, he sat down cross-legged in front of a dusty boulder. Eyes shining, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, and the eight mirror shards flew out and began to circulate in the air around him. Apparently, they were forming a miraculous spell formation.

　　Eyes focused and filled with intense anticipation, he said, “Copper mirror, parrot… the time has come to reunite!

　　“I call upon the power of these eight mirror shards to summon you, copper mirror! Whatever distant location you are in, return to me!” Waving his sleeve, he thought back to everything that had happened in the past, then once again performed a double-handed incantation gesture. He sent his divine will out, making contact with the eight mirror shards. That activated the miraculous spell formation. Rumbling sounds echoed out, and the eight shards formed together… into the face of a mirror, with one missing piece!

　　The mirror seemed to be absorbing Meng Hao’s divine sense power. Then… it exploded as a brilliant column of light that illuminated everything in the area and caused the starry sky to tremble.

　　“Copper mirror… return to me!

　　“Parrot… return to me!”