Massive rumbling could be heard as the light arrow collapsed into pieces. The Paragon's enormous hand stopped in place, then opened slowly, causing a drop of blood to drop down. That blood drop sizzled, and then exploded into a boundless sea covered with innumerable magical symbols. It descended like a millstone toward the ocean of magic unleashed by the huge army of Mountain and Sea cultivators.

Meng Hao's pupils constricted in response.

"He definitely deserves to be a Paragon. He clearly has copious experience in battle, and is adept at changing tactics in the middle of fighting. He actually took the drop of blood that resulted from being struck by the light arrow and turned it into a powerful attack...."

There was no time for Meng Hao to stop what was happening. Frowning, he watched as the Paragon's sea of blood shoved down onto the ocean of magic, instantly causing its light to fade wherever they connected.

Simultaneously, the two Imperial Lords also attacked. Rumbling sounds could be heard as, for the first time, the Mountain and Sea Realm's ocean of magic was suppressed, and began to fade away.

It was also at this point that the rifts in the starry sky were relentlessly ripped open wider and wider. Vast quantities of Outsiders appeared. There were no less than a million at this point, and their expressions were all fierce and vicious as they charged toward the First Mountain and Sea.

The rifts only continued to open wider, and it was possible to see that even more Outsiders were waiting beyond. They kept pouring through the openings without stop.

Furthermore, behind all of those Outsiders was... a land mass!

It was... the 2nd Heaven. This 2nd Heaven was clearly larger than the 1st Heaven, and beyond it, Meng Hao could see the 3rd Heaven, the 4th Heaven, and the 5th Heaven....

Each of the 33 Heavens was larger than the one before it, with the smallest being the 1st Heaven, and the largest Heaven being... the 33rd Heaven.

Rumbling could be heard as the 2nd Heaven... battered the barrier, causing the rifts to grow larger, and allowing more and more Outsiders to enter the Mountain and Sea Realm.

From the look of it, the barrier wouldn't stay intact for very much longer.

Meng Hao looked back toward the rifts, and his eyes flickered as he caught sight of the Paragon who had just shattered his arrow. He was enormous, and golden-colored, with the head of a lion, the type of figure to be the subject of all attention.

Golden light shimmered off of him, and Meng Hao could even sense that this lion-headed Paragon possessed terrifying, world-destructive power.

Sensing Meng Hao's gaze, the lion-headed Paragon looked over, and his lightning-like eyes pierced through the void to land on the sun, and Meng Hao. Voice cool, he said, "I am Xuan Fang."

Meng Hao snorted coldly as he sent his divine sense out to defend himself.

Xuan Fang's eyes glittered. Ignoring Meng Hao, he turned to face the Paragon puppet which waited on the First Mountain. His expression was mixed as he extended his hand and pointed toward the First Mountain and Sea.

"Let the war of extermination begin!" In response to his words, countless Outsiders roared and charged toward the First Mountain and Sea, unleashing numerous magical techniques and divine abilities.

The army that comprised the first line of defense for the Mountain and Sea Realm was separated from the Outsiders by the First Sea, but they still fought back directly with various magics. However, the number of Outsiders was vast, and more were pouring in by the moment. Their charge was relentless and awe-inspiring, and their advance drew them ever closer to the First Sea.

The seawater boiled and screamed, and began to vaporize into a mist, as if it were being eternally wiped away.

Unexpectedly, Paragon Xuan Fang stayed in place, an enigmatic smile on his face as he studied the Mountain and Sea Realm. Then he shot up into the starry sky and stretched out both hands, as if he were going to grab hold of the expanse and rip it apart.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the barrier in the starry sky was ripped open even wider.

Apparently, a tipping point had been reached. Massive rumbling could be heard as the barrier became completely inundated with cracks and tears, and then shattered into pieces like a mirror.

As it did, everything that was up above was then revealed. All of the... 32 Heavens!!

Now that the barrier was down, the Mountain and Sea Realm and the 32 Heavens were connected. Both sides... could look directly at each other.

However, it was in that moment that all of the Outsiders from the 32 Heavens suddenly grew blurry and then faded away. Shockingly, they returned back to the land masses from whence they had come! This strange development caused Meng Hao's heart to begin to thump. Something strange was happening, and although he wasn't sure what it was, it seemed like something big was about to occur.

Paragon Xuan Fang's expression flickered with scorn as he looked coldly at the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"I have to admire your little plot. But... I couldn't care less about it!" In almost the exact same instant that Xuan Fang's words echoed out, Meng Hao's heart trembled from the intense foreboding that was growing stronger by the moment. Suddenly, all of the shattered remnants of the barrier began to emit a droning sound as they spun around to form a huge tempest. Then, they began to rise up toward the 32 Heavens.

At the same time, Paragon Sea Dream's voice echoed out into the minds of the Mountain and Sea cultivators.

"Attack!!"

Rumbling sounds echoed out, starting from the Ninth Mountain and Sea and then moving to the Eighth, the Seventh, and all the way to the First Mountain and Sea, as the Mountain and Sea cultivators unleashed explosive divine abilities and magical techniques. They rocketed up, then shot out from the First Mountain and Sea in an ocean of magic which exceeded the ferocity of the previous oceans by ten times. It shot out toward the tempest, merging into it and thus experiencing an exponential growth in size and power.

That indescribably powerful force was heading directly toward... the 32 Heavens.

This was the Mountain and Sea Realm plot that Xuan Fang had referred to, something that had been enacted by Paragon Sea Dream, but originally planned out by Paragon Nine Seals.

It really was a plot. Although it wasn't possible to tell from the perspective of the Mountain and Sea Realm itself, from the direction of the 33 Heavens, it was easier to distinguish. The barrier which had been erected by the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm, once shattered, would clearly be able to unleash a shocking attack.

That shocking attack, that intense tempest, would combine all of the magical techniques of the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators to create a power similar to that of a Paragon, which would then be used to strike at the 2nd Heaven!

The massive tempest swept out to cover the 2nd Heaven, smashing its mountains and buildings, then moving on to batter the 3rd Heaven, the 4th Heaven, and then the 5th Heaven.

As of this moment, Meng Hao had already unleashed two powerful attacks, leaving him with less than sixteen left. However, he didn't hesitate to add the power of one more light arrow into the huge tempest, making it even more glorious than before.

Meng Hao could also sense that there were likely more tricks hidden within the shattered barrier, so despite the sense of foreboding he had, he still chose to join in.

The windstorm screamed, backed by the madness of the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators, by the explosive power of the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm, as if they wanted to bash all of the 32 Heavens to pieces!

However, even as the windstorm blasted into the 6th Heaven, and before it could charge on toward the 7th Heaven, blinding light shone out to cover the land mass that was the 7th Heaven. It then covered the 8th Heaven above it, and the 9th and onward all the way to the 33rd Heaven. Then, all of those Heavens began to fade into blurriness.

At the same time, a barrier appeared, cutting the connection between the 6th Heaven and the 7th Heaven.

Simultaneously, a gigantic scorpion appeared in the vast expanse above the 7th Heaven. It was blurry, but its eyes glittered with oppressive coldness as it stared down at the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"The tactics of Nine Seals, carried out by Sea Dream. Our 33 Heavens have no choice but to face the power of your plot. As it turns out... that power of extermination is as terrifying as ever.

"However... tens upon tens of thousands of years have passed. We are different than we used to be. In the past, you might have been able to blast through all 33 Heavens, to open up a path for the Mountain and Sea Realm to flee. But now... you shall be stopped at the 6th Heaven.

"That Mountain and Sea Siege Mode might seem like it is intended to converge power for defense, but there is no question that its shape is that of an arrow. In all likelihood, Paragon Nine Seals planned this out all those tens of thousands of years ago. His plan for the final battle was actually... to open a corridor to make your getaway.

"I wonder how many cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm actually knew about this little plan? Based on what I know of your personality, Sea Dream, my guess is... that you didn't tell anyone!" The scorpion's laughter rang out through the Mountain and Sea Realm as it slowly disappeared.

His words were filled with sinister malevolence, and when they entered the ears of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, their hearts trembled with shock. Not even Meng Hao had been aware that Sea Dream would do something like this.

Although he could disregard the allegation of the scorpion-shaped Paragon if he wanted to, after some thought, he realized that what he had said didn't seem like a complete fabrication.

If Meng Hao was affected in such a way, then it could only be imagined how the rest of the Mountain and Sea Cultivators felt. They couldn't help... but suddenly lose a bit of confidence regarding the war. After all... even their Paragon wanted to escape, not fight to the death....

The sensation of hope they had felt after Meng Hao destroyed the 1st Heaven and enslaved a Paragon... suddenly faded a bit thanks to the words of the scorpion-shaped Paragon.

Meng Hao's eyes flickered, and his heart sank. He knew that cultivators who could reach the level of Paragon were by no means weak, and would also be profound schemers.

As the scorpion-shaped Paragon disappeared, and the 7th through 33rd Heavens faded into a state of invisibility, the land masses of the 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd, and 2nd Heavens all began to descend.

Although they were broken and in ruins, the Outsiders on them clearly had ways to defend from the attack just now. All of them boiled forth, tens of millions of them, backed by their land masses as they charged in attack.

There were also numerous black cubes which spread out from the five land masses, no less than a million of them.

At this point, Paragon Sea Dream's cold voice echoed out into the starry skies. "What a pack of lies! You think a measly Scorpion Tribe Priest like yourself can understand the ways and means of Paragon Nine Seals...? Cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the 7th Heaven and all the other Heavens have unleashed their Heaven Concealing sorcery. For the next year, they will be incapable of emerging from their current state. Nor will they be able to fight us. They will only be able to watch!

"They have abandoned the 2nd through 6th Heavens. Their armies are alone! Outsider cultivators of the Lower Realms, did you know that? Did you know that you have been forsaken?"