Meng Hao stood in place, his expression the same as ever. He had been paying close attention to how Xie Yixian fought. Right now, Meng Hao didn’t even speak. He took a step forward, and then suddenly, everything around him distorted, and in the blink of an eye, the arena was gone. In its place, a boundless land stretched in front of Meng Hao.
Countless cities could be seen dotting the land, and within each one was an enormous statue. If you looked closely, you would see that the statues depicted none other than Xie Yixian.
Meng Hao’s eyes glittered.
At this point, a majestic voice rang out throughout the world.
“The Heavens are grand, the Earth majestic!” As soon as the voice echoed out, the statues of Xie Yixian trembled and opened their eyes, almost as if they were coming to life. They flew up into the air, a total of 9,000 of them, which then began to circulate around Meng Hao and emanate radiant light. In a short moment, the statues merged together into one.
They became… a lifelike Xie Yixian.
He hovered there in midair, smiling slightly at Meng Hao.
“The Heavens are grand, and the Earth is majestic, but the greatest of all is the host of all living things!
“Living things possess desire. Desire becomes thought. Thought becomes burning incense. Worship the gods, pray for their blessing. Through the cultivation of this burning incense, if they worship me, then I am a god! If they pray to me, I am a god!
“This place is my Burning Incense World. Here… I am a god, and in this place, I cannot be defeated!
“If I say that a single breath will last for ten thousand years, then ten thousand years that breath shall last!
“Fellow Daoist Fang, you have a monstrous cultivation base, and shocking divine sense. Willpower and determination like yours is something I rarely see. Why not become my follower here? Become part of my Burning Incense Flock. Cultivate the Dao of burning incense. Then one day, you too can be a god.” Xie Yixian’s words were spoken indifferently, but seemed to contain a bizarre power. As they echoed out into Meng Hao’s ears, he felt his mind trembling, as if there was something within the word that made them impossible to resist, and that was forcing him to comply.
“If I become part of your Burning Incense Flock, how many spirit stones will you pay me per month?” asked Meng Hao coolly.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Xie Yixian gaped. After a moment, though, he laughed loudly, then waved his hand. A massive roaring could be heard that transformed into a continent of spirit stones. All of the mountains, cities, even the vegetation, turned into spirit stones.
In the blink of an eye, the entire world transformed into endless, uncountable spirit stones.
“You can have however many you wish.”
Meng Hao looked around and then shook his head. “I don’t want these. I want real spirit stones, in the outside world.”
Xie Yixian’s face darkened, and he gave a cold snort. The sound started out light, but then rapidly turned into something that sounded like thunder, echoing out with incredible pressure. It was like Heavenly might that crushed down onto Meng Hao.
“Kneel before me!” said Xie Yixian. His voice echoed out shockingly, filled with a will that seemed almost impossible to resist.
Meng Hao looked up, his expression the same as ever.
“That’s all the pressure you can exert?” he asked. Suddenly, he transformed into a vulture that shot toward Xie Yixian. A boom rang out as Xie Yixian’s body collapsed. A moment later, he reappeared some distance off.
“My life force is limitless in this place,” he said coolly. “You can’t kill me!” He raised his right hand, coalescing the power of the world into a huge palm that shot toward Meng Hao.
Energy raged, and boundless pressure emanated out.
“Can’t kill him?” thought Meng Hao, frowning. “Is that because the magic is an illusion? Or because I haven’t affected the essence of his life force?” He extended his right hand and made a grasping gesture. Instantly the Blood Demon Grand Magic surged into action. An enormous blood-colored vortex appeared, which spread out to cover Xie Yixian, enveloping him completely.
A boom rang out as his body collapsed into pieces. At the same time, another image of him appeared off to the side. But this time, his face was pale and filled with astonishment.