Chapter 2684 - Heavenly Sovereigns Take the Stage

“So, that old-timer intervened.” Xiao Jian stood atop Five Elements Peak, holding a scroll in one hand as he gazed into the dome of heaven.

He knew who’d done this, but he found it a bit difficult to understand.

A few Heavenly Monarchs, that’s all. Was it really worth that old-timer showing himself just for that?

Meanwhile, on the far end of the nearest spacetime barrier, a series of startled cries rang out. Madam Purple Blue, Meng Tianya, Heavenly Monarch Ling Zhu, and around a dozen or so other Heavenly Fate Realm experts couldn’t help but look surprised.

Who could have anticipated that someone in the God Domain would block Heavenly Monarch Xun’s palm strike?

Who did that?

Heavenly Monarch Xun furrowed his brow. He knew that his palm strike contained at best seventy percent of his full strength, but even so, no one beneath the Heavenly Fate Realm could even

think

of blocking it.

But now, someone had neutralized his attack with a wave of their sleeves. Heavenly Monarch Xun had no choice but to take this seriously.

The others watching from the endless expanse of time and space were stunned, too. They instantly started conversing amongst themselves.

Moments later, someone appeared out of nowhere not far from Heavenly Monarch Xun. It was a thin old man in worn out robes. His face was bony, and his eyes were turbid.

When the old man appeared, the Heavenly Monarchs instantly looked over, their gazes surprised, inquisitive, and bewildered.

Who is this? Don’t tell me that this stick-thin geezer is the one who blocked Heavenly Monarch Xun’s attack?

A series of mournful cries rang out, and, for some unknown reason, the Golden-Winged Great Peng beneath Heavenly Monarch Xun’s feet suddenly started quivering with terror and unease. Its wails shook the heavens.

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

When it looked at the thin old man, its eyes were full of dread.

The Heavenly Monarch’s eyes narrowed.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng had extraordinary origins, too. It was once an unparalleled yao cultivator of the River of Destiny. It had Immeasurable Realm cultivation, and it was terrifyingly strong in its own right.

Few Eternals of the same level could shake it.

It was only when Heavenly Monarch Xun personally subdued it that the Golden-Winged Great Peng became one of Sevendeaths Court’s guardian beasts.

Yet now, the mere sight of that thin old man had terrified the bird out of its wits. Who

wouldn’t

have been astonished?

Heavenly Monarch Xun glowered, then stretched out his hand and pressed down, unleashing a wondrous divine ability. Only then did the Golden-Winged Great Peng calm down.

He looked at the thin old man. “Are you perhaps in cahoots with Su Yi?”

The thin old man’s turbid eyes gazed into the endless expanse of time and space as he said calmly, “Xiao Jian said something earlier that quite resonated with me. Watching ants vie for supremacy is dull indeed.”

Ants?

The Heavenly Monarchs exchanged glances.

This naturally wasn’t enough to provoke them. Still, all of them were influential old-timers who could shake the Eternal Heavens Domain with a single stomp of their feet. For someone to call them “ants” seemed truly ridiculous.

“Relax. You’re too weak; you aren’t worthy of becoming my enemies. You’ll live to jump around a while longer,” said the thin old man. He took a step forward, then proceeded further into the spacetime void beyond the God Domain.

“Stop right there!” Heavenly Monarch Xun said gravely. “You really don’t take me at all seriously, do you?”

The other Heavenly Monarchs frowned, their eyes flashing with murderous intent.

The damn geezer’s words seem careless, but they’re unquestionably far too impudent!

All of us are Heavenly Monarchs. All of us climbed through the Five Realms of Eternity one by one to reach our current heights.

Who but the Heavenly Sovereigns would dare to treat us with disrespect?

Who could have imagined that a slovenly old man like this would dare say we were too weak to even become his enemies?

The others watching the commotion from the endless expanse of time and space were bewildered, too. They found it hard to believe.

The thin old man let out a derisive laugh and was just about to say more when an icy voice as sharp as the edge of a sword rang out. “River Lord, are you trying to help Su Yi?”

A sharp, dazzling figure appeared accompanying this voice. His sword intent was so overpowering that it cleaved through every spatial barrier in his path.

Upon closer inspection, he was a tall, thin man in wide-sleeved black robes. His face was fair, and he had long, graying hair. He wore an old-fashioned bronze sword sheath across his back at an angle.

Even just standing there, he seemed like a sword in his own right, capable of cleaving through time and space.

The Malevolent Sword Venerate!!!

He was the negative karma of Jiang Wuchen, the Greatest of the Unthroned in the Eternal Heavens Domain, and he’d mastered one of the Nine Supreme Eternal Laws of the Eternal Heavens Domain, the Laws of the Starscape!

He, too, was in the Heavenly Fate Realm, making him a Heavenly Monarch, but both in terms of strength and in terms of reputation, the other Heavenly Monarchs present paled in comparison.

After all, the title “Greatest of the Unthroned” meant that he was invincible among others of the same level!

When the Malevolent Sword Venerate appeared, the crowd stirred.

This was in part because of the Malevolent Sword Venerate’s reputation, and in part because the crowd knew that he was Su Yi’s reincarnation!

It was obvious that the Malevolent Sword Venerate knew that mysterious old man; he wouldn’t have stepped forth otherwise.

The thin old man’s turbid eyes gazed at the Malevolent Sword Venerate, seemingly conflicted. “No, I’m simply stopping a few people who shouldn’t be here.”

The Malevolent Sword Venerate obviously didn’t believe it. He said coldly, “What do you mean, ‘people who shouldn’t be here?’ Are you talking about the Heavenly Sovereigns? In that case, let me tell you. There are indeed several Heavenly Sovereigns watching from the depths of time and space!”

His words shook the crowd as if triggering an earthquake.

It’s true! There really are Heavenly Sovereigns out there!

Even if the Heavenly Sovereigns had sent clones, not their true bodies, their presence was enough to make the crowd’s heart shake. They felt unprecedented pressure.

The thin old man shook his head. “No, I'm not talking about them.”

The Malevolent Sword Venerate laughed coldly. “What, are not even Heavenly Sovereigns worthy of your regard?”

From beginning to end, the Malevolent Sword wasn’t the least bit polite. He didn’t respect the thin old man in the slightest, but the thin old man didn’t lose his temper. He just let out a deep sigh. “Relax. This old man won’t intervene in your competition with Su Yi.”

“Tell me, then. Who are you here to deal with?” said the Malevolent Sword Venerate; he wouldn’t let the old man off so easily.

“A few people who violated their pact,” the old man said with a bitter laugh. “Time is short. I cannot afford to explain in further detail. Should the opportunity arise, I’ll naturally clear up your doubts later.”

He looked utterly exasperated when he interacted with the Malevolent Sword Venerate. When the Heavenly Monarchs saw this, they couldn’t help but laugh coldly.

This old-timer might have extraordinary origins, but no more than that.

The Malevolent Sword Venerate seemed fearless; he was completely confident that the old man wouldn’t dare to act against him. He said coldly, “If you don’t tell me who you’re here for, you can forget about getting past me!”

The thin old man frowned.

But then, another voice shouted, “Why waste your breath talking to a mere incarnation of negative karma? Delay any further, and those rulebreakers will get away!”

Boom!

A valiant middle-aged man with coppery skin and steely features appeared.

As soon as he appeared, indescribably terrifying power swept outward. The entire stretch of spacetime instantly boiled over.

Madam Purple Blue, Meng Tianya, Heavenly Monarch Xun, and the others instantly looked stricken. They instantly blocked.

But a moment later, they finally realized how enormous the gap between them and the middle-aged man was.

His imposing presence alone was enough to force them back and send them flying. All of them looked utterly wretched.

When the middle-aged man took a step forward, the spacetime barriers tore, creating a massive rift.

When the rift reached the Malevolent Sword Venerate, the middle-aged man appeared at its far end, right in front of him.

Boom!

The Malevolent Sword Venerate reached for his sheath, ready to draw his sword.

But then, he froze mid-movement. It wasn’t that he’d decided not to draw his weapon, but that the middle-aged man’s imposing pressure had rendered him immobile.

He was just too terrifying!

The middle-aged man wasn’t doing anything but standing there, yet even so, he was like an insurmountable barrier. His mere presence locked down the entire stretch of spacetime, suppressing everything around it.

But the Malevolent Sword Venerate wasn’t intimidated.

Because he recognized the middle-aged man!

“I once thought highly of Jiang Wuchen, and served as his Dharma Protector,” said the middle-aged man, gazing intently at the Malevolent Sword Venerate. “But that doesn’t mean I acknowledge a mere incarnation of negative karma like you!”

The Malevolent Sword Venerate said expressionlessly, “Ah, but you don’t dare to kill me, do you?”

The depths of the middle-aged man’s eyes surged with irrepressible murderous intent, but in the end, he just waved.

Bang!!!

The Malevolent Sword Venerate flew through time and space like a meteor, flying hundreds of thousands of feet.

He wasn’t injured, but he looked quite wretched!

“If you manage to seize the full Dao Fruit today, I’ll kneel and apologize to you,” said the middle-aged man. “But if you can’t, you aren’t even worth a fart in my eyes!”

With that, he turned and beckoned impatiently to the old man. “We’re leaving!”

With that, he took a step forward, proceeding deeper into the endless expanse of time and space, toward the River of Destiny.

The River Lord sighed, then chased after him.

The Malevolent Sword Venerate stood there in silence, gaze indifferent.

The endless spacetime void was utterly silent. It seemed the middle-aged man’s sudden arrival had startled everyone hiding there.

“Where are you two rushing off to?” Suddenly, a figure appeared, blocking the middle-aged man and the thin old man’s path.

This new arrival looked young, and he wore a lotus crown. His gaze was deep, and it flashed like a boundless sea of stars.

Time and space seemed to congeal beneath his feet, forming blazing red lotuses. There were hundreds of millions of them, all of them swaying.

Indescribably terrifying pressure emanated from the seemingly youthful man in the lotus crown.

Heavenly Sovereign Wen!

He was the founder of Limitless Palace, one of the Nine Heavenly Sovereigns of the Eternal Heavens Domain and the master of Huangting Grotto!

The entirely endless spacetime void fell silent. Everyone’s heart shook beneath the indescribable pressure.

Indeed, the God Domain’s Battle for Order had drawn the attention of Heavenly Sovereigns!

The title “Heavenly Sovereign” represented power sufficient to suppress all others of the Path of Eternity and intimidate all on the River of Destiny!

Heavenly Sovereigns were unquestionably rulers among Eternals.

Yet now, one of these supreme legends had arrived. It was immediately obvious how astonishing this was to the onlookers.

Meanwhile, atop Five Elements Peak.

Xiao Jian drew his fingertips along the scroll in his hand and clucked his tongue. “A Heavenly Sovereign, huh? How scary.”

He spoke with a seemingly inadvertent hint of mockery.

His gaze shifted to the nearby Five Elements Altar.

Chaos source energy rumbled and boomed and five-colored divine radiance flowed as Su Yi sat there cross-legged, unaware of the passage of time.

As still and silent as a rock.