Chapter 1216: Fledgling Mountains and Seas!!

　　The smoke-face’s eyes widened slightly, and then gleamed as it broke into a grin. Voice cold, it said, “So, you’re here for that after all!”

　　As its voice echoed out, it did nothing to stop Meng Hao, but instead allowed his enormous hand to sail directly toward the incense burner at the base of the black cliff.

　　Meng Hao’s heart sank, and he sighed inwardly. His opponent was a 3-Essences Dao Lord, so not only was his cultivation base powerful, he was surely profoundly wise and cunning. Meng Hao knew his plan had been slightly careless, so it was no surprise that the man noticed.

　　However, it also made things slightly more complicated.

　　“So you knew,” he said, eyes flickering. “Why does that matter?!” Even if the man had picked up on the clues, that wouldn’t make Meng Hao to give up on trying to snatch the incense burner. He gave a cold harrumph as the hand smashed through the air, causing rumbling sounds and even distorting the air until it was blurry.

　　Just when the hand was about to grab the incense burner, an invisible shield flickered into place. It wasn’t until Meng Hao’s hand slammed into it that it became visible.

　　The shield was not like an inverted bowl, but more like a net that filled the entire Blacksoul Society. If anyone tried to grab the incense burner, then the protective net would appear!

　　His right hand made contact with the huge net, and massive rumbling sounds emanated out. Almost immediately, the force of Meng Hao’s blow was absorbed, causing the huge net to glitter radiantly.

　　Blinding light shone out, and intense rumbling could be heard. A mere power of absorption was not the only function of the Blacksoul Society’s protective net. After absorbing the power, it could then release it in a backlash attack. It shot out from the huge net, converging on a single point, where it prepared to batter Meng Hao with Heaven-destroying, Earth-extinguishing power.

　　That point of convergence… was the exact point where Meng Hao was touching the net!

　　“You take my power, augment it, and then fire it back at me, huh…?” Meng Hao murmured, shaking as the power slammed into his hand. He suddenly laughed coldly.

　　“Well then, let’s see if this protective spell formation is really qualified to stand in my way!” Eyes glittering icily, his right hand suddenly snapped open and he grabbed the net itself. Azure light exploded out in all directions, as did the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal.

　　The ground quaked, and majestic crashes of thunder could be heard. Meng Hao roared and pushed forward. As he did, the net began to struggle back, and the backlash attack power grew even stronger.

　　“Think you can reflect this one?!” It was at this point that something new appeared within him… Paragon power!

　　It was… the power of the Paragon Bridge! It didn’t manifest externally, but rather, inside of him. After causing the Paragon Bridge to become corporeal, this was a new way that he could unleash its power.

　　As the power of the Paragon Bridge exploded out inside of him, it became like a celestial bridge which connected every part of his body, causing indescribable power to flow through all of his qi passageways.

　　As soon as that massive power touched the huge net, it permeated its entire structure, which began to vibrate. It wouldn’t matter if the net was even stronger than it was now, it was powerless to fight back, and even began to shatter!

　　The smoke-face’s expression immediately flickered.

　　At the same time, Meng Hao roared, ripping the net upwards.

　　“BREAK!” His voice was so loud it could shake the Heavens and rock the Earth. The surrounding disciples of the Blacksoul Society looked on with gaping mouths. They almost couldn’t believe that Meng Hao had actually… uprooted their protective net!

　　The huge net was hundreds of thousands of meters wide, and as it was lifted into the air it looked almost like a cape. In addition, countless muffled booms could be heard as the entire thing crumbled. Meng Hao then tossed the net to the side, causing it to shatter into pieces which spiraled toward the cultivators of the Blacksoul Society.

　　“NO!!” countless terrified screams could be heard as the cultivators of the Blacksoul Society attempted to back up across the battlefield, their faces flickering with shock. However, their attempts to evade were in vain. Meng Hao was too fast, and when he sent the shattering net sweeping out, the cultivators it hit were instantly shredded to pieces.

　　In a brief moment, the entire battlefield was filled with the reek of fresh blood. The slaughter which was unfolding was happening too quickly, too suddenly. Before anyone could even think or react, the entire area was turned into a scene from hell!

　　As soon as Meng Hao released the net, his hand shot forward toward the incense burner.

　　It didn’t matter that his opponent had seen through his plan. And it also didn’t matter that this incense burner could potentially be fake. He would still attempt to grab it; it was something he simply must do!

　　However, in the moment that he was about to lay his hand on it, the incense burner… suddenly flickered blurrily, and Meng Hao’s hand snatched at nothing but air!

　　“Well, in that case, I’ll just have to enact Plan B,” Meng Hao said coolly. Even as his fingers closed around nothing, they formed into a fist which then… punched out toward the black cliff!

　　This action caused the smoke-face’s expression to fall. He had guessed at why Meng Hao had come here, and thus, what actions he would take, and had never considered… that he was actually determined to exterminate the Blacksoul Society.

　　He had assumed that he would use the threat of sect extermination as a bargaining chip to get what he wanted. How could he ever have guessed that Meng Hao had never intended to do any such thing!?

　　When a powerful expert came who threatened to exterminate the disciples of a sect, it wasn’t always an unresolvable situation. However… when someone truly set about to destroy the entire sect, that signified… that there was some enmity in place that was impossible to dispel!

　　“How dare you!” The smoke face roared, a sound that weighed down like Heavenly might, shaking everything in the area. More black smoke converged, but just when it was about to form the shape of a body, Meng Hao’s fist made contact with the black cliff.

　　“You watch and see how I dare!” he said, his voice cold and filled with determination as his cultivation base exploded out through his fist!

　　That explosive power was backed by all the cultivation base power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal, his peak fleshly body power, and his Seven God Steps. It even contained the mighty Paragon power built up by the Paragon Bridge inside of him!

　　All of that formed together… into the most powerful strike Meng Hao was capable of!

　　Rumbling sounds filled the air, and the black cliff shook. Cracking sounds could be heard, and then fissures spread out across the cliff. Suddenly, the black cliff, which represented the highest power in the Blacksoul Society… shattered to pieces!

　　As it did, countless souls suddenly flew out up into the sky. A Yellow Springs river appeared in midair, into which the souls merged as they sped in the direction of the Fourth Mountain to begin the cycle of reincarnation….

　　As the souls merged into the Yellow Springs river, they looked in Meng Hao’s direction with appreciative eyes, and would even clasp hands and bow….

　　As for the total number of souls, there were more than a billion!!

　　Even Meng Hao was shaken by the vastness of the number. He knew that the Blacksoul Society was savage, but he had never imaged than they would actually… be this savage!

　　Furthermore, many of those souls actually belonged to mortals!

　　“NO!!” howled the surrounding Blacksoul Society cultivators, trembling as though their faith had been toppled.

　　And yet, things weren’t over yet. Meng Hao’s display of peak power didn’t just destroy the black cliff. As it fell into pieces, the cracks continued to spread out. In the blink of an eye, they reached numerous nearby mountains and buildings, filling… the entire Blacksoul Society sect!

　　In fact… the entire planet was affected!

　　RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

　　A cacophony of sound could be heard as mountains toppled and buildings were transformed into ash. In the blink of an eye, the entire Blacksoul Society collapsed. A huge crater appeared in the ground, like an enormous mouth that swallowed up the entire sect.

　　Everything about it that existed was completely eradicated!

　　As the sect was destroyed, countless souls flew out from all areas, more and more of them until they blotted out the sky. Seemingly infinite numbers of souls poured into the river of the Yellow Springs, and as they did, all of them expressed their thanks to Meng Hao.

　　There were so many souls that it was literally impossible for Meng Hao to determine how many there were!

　　The collective gratitude of so many souls caused Meng Hao to tremble; it was as if an invisible qi flow were somehow blessing him!

　　As the invisible qi flow built up within him, the drop of Paragon’s blood also began to bubble. Suddenly, that bubbling blood caused something to appear in Meng Hao’s mind. It was… Nine Mountains and Nine Seas, as well as a sun and a moon!

　　Meng Hao could see all of the living entities in the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas, regardless of whether they were in the Dao Realm or mortals, whether they were the Mountain and Sea Lord or ordinary cultivators….

　　This sudden development caused Meng Hao to stare in shock.

　　The vision only lasted for a moment, but in that brief moment, Meng Hao had a feeling like… he could actually… change the entire Mountain and Sea Realm with a single thought.

　　The sensation vanished almost immediately, and the image of the Mountain and Sea Realm left his mind. Afterward, it almost seemed like a hallucination.

　　“I am the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm…. Perhaps exterminating the Blacksoul Society really was as I said… representing the Mountain and Sea Realm to mete out Heavenly punishment….” Even as those thoughts went through his head, countless disciples of the Blacksoul Society around him were roaring.

　　In the same moment, a towering will of rage suddenly exploded out from the depths of the crater into which the Blacksoul Society was sinking. The intensity caused colors to flash in the sky and everything to shake. Even the Yellow Springs river suddenly stopped moving, and the countless souls therein began to shiver. Suddenly, shocking black fire erupted out from within the crater. It was like a sea of flames that rapidly took the shape of a face, the same middle-aged man as before.

　　He looked at Meng Hao with a furious expression and said, “Are you looking to die, knave!?”

　　Even as the roar echoed out, Meng Hao could see a figure slowly emerging from the flames.

　　As he did, a shocking, explosive power emanated out from him!