Chapter 1006: Sibyl

As the Dragon King of the Northern Sea charged toward the horned man in the sky, Xiao Nanfeng quickly spoke to the three women standing by his side.

"Later, channel all your world trees' power into my body," Xiao Nanfeng said.

The three women were taken by surprise, but all nodded in agreement.

At the same time, Xiao Nanfeng's spectral guards approached the other supreme cultivators who possessed fragments of the world tree and who were intending to confront the horned man.

"Immortal Emperor of Daru, His Majesty requests that you fully channel the power of your world tree into his body later," a spectral guard began.

"Oh?" The Immortal Emperor of Daru frowned.

"His Majesty has made preparations to take on the heavens, and he believes that his plan has an extremely high chance of success. This opportunity will only be available once. Immortal Emperor, please assist His Majesty this once at this crucial juncture. The three empresses of Dazheng will do the same," the spectral guard continued.

The Immortal Emperor of Daru turned toward Xiao Nanfeng.

He didn't know what Xiao Nanfeng was about to do, but someone who had managed to secure the trust and companionship of the Divine Emperor, Liu Miaoyin, and Madam Rouge had to be skilled in his own right.

He considered himself roughly on par with the Dragon King of the Northern Sea, who had been unable to do anything against the heavens. Supporting Xiao Nanfeng's plan was likely how he could make the most impact in this battle.

"Very well. I shall cooperate with Emperor Xiao," the Immortal Emperor of Daru said.

The other supreme cultivators who wielded world trees went through the same calculus and arrived at the same conclusion.

Many were willing to cooperate, but there were some who refused.

After the Dragon King of the Northern Sea had been stabbed to death in a single strike, two more supreme cultivators who wielded world trees had roared and charged toward the horned man with their subordinates in tow.

However, the horned man had finished them all off with a single sandstorm.

The heavens were simply too strong. The cultivators were overwhelmed by despair.

Even those that had promised to assist Xiao Nanfeng felt helpless. Were they really going to be able to do anything against the heavens?

"Is this the limit of your strength? Ten thousand years ago, Sathia unsealed nine domains of heavenly law on this planet, reviving past hegemons of their eras. Have none of you grown since then? How weak. How pitiful," the horned man said, shaking his head disdainfully.

"Weak though we might be, we've slain one of your kind before. Is that his name—Sathia? He died at our hands," a cultivator retorted.

The horned man glanced at that cultivator and smirked. "What does a lowly civilization like yours have to boast about? If that Yu Fuli were still alive, he might qualify to speak with me. As for you..."

The horned man shot out two beams of red light from his eyes, straight at the cultivator.

"Be careful!"

Those around him shouted and tried to push him away, but it was too late. The laser beams from the horned man's eyes were too fast. They pierced through the cultivator's head and caused it to explode.

The surrounding cultivators were consumed with anger, but they felt powerless in the face of the horned man's oppressive aura.

Many supreme cultivators now gathered around Xiao Nanfeng, hoping he could deliver a miracle. The horned man, on the other hand, believed that they were merely huddling together in hopes of strength in numbers.

"I must have overestimated you. Yu Fuli was only an anomaly—this is the limit of your strength. In that case, let the calamity begin," the horned man declared.

With a wave of his hand, he unleashed a vast pulse of energy that shot into the sky. The heavens darkened with dense clouds of sand and stone that expanded at an alarming rate. Within moments, the entire region was engulfed. The whole world would soon be shrouded by darkness.

"It's happening again—the calamity of the era! Emperor Xiao, what do we do?" a cultivator asked anxiously.

The horned man's acute hearing caught their discussion. He smiled coldly. "There's nothing you can do. You are but mere mortals on a primitive planet, utterly ignorant of the power we wield."

Just then, a brilliant purple light burst forth from the swirling sand clouds, illuminating the entire sky. A massive mountain appeared out of nowhere, descending with earth-shattering force.

The mountain ripped through the void, sending shockwaves that disrupted the sandstorm and caused the clouds of sand and stone to fall like rain.

"Who dares disrupt my calamity?" the horned man roared.

"Isn't that... Mt. Kunlun?" someone exclaimed.

"The Imperial Court's Mt. Kunlun? Wasn't it lost ages ago?" someone else shouted.

The horned man turned to the saints' avatars behind him. "What is Mt. Kunlun?"

One saint stepped forward and explained, "It was the mountain that hosted the Sieve of Heaven in antiquity. The Heavenly Palace was once built on it, and the Heavenly Emperor Yu Fuli lived there. After his death, the mountain vanished. I don't know how it suddenly appeared here."

"So it's Yu Fuli's treasure? Interesting." The horned man relaxed.

"No, something's wrong! Why is the Heavenly Palace on Mt. Kunlun? That palace was destroyed long ago!" another saint exclaimed.

"And the aura emanating from it... How is this possible?!" another saint exclaimed.

"That's..." Many cultivators gaped in disbelief.

"Yu Fuli's aura," Liu Miaoyin murmured.

"Is it the Heavenly Emperor? Does he still live?!" someone shouted.

"The Heavenly Emperor?" Countless cultivators' eyes lit up with hope.

"His aura is subtly different. It's not Yu Fuli," Madam Rouge declared.

Everyone eyed the descending Mt. Kunlun, including the horned man. He felt a grave threat from the looming mountain.

Mt. Kunlun continued its gradual descent. The magnificent palace by its peak was revealed to once and all. It looked just like the Heavenly Palace from before, but it had a new title—Yuqing Palace.

The doors to the palace were flung wide open as a man in purple robes emerged.

Even from afar, he seemed to lock gazes with the horned man, causing the latter to frown.

Very quickly, everyone witnessed the man in purple robes for themselves.

"It's the Heavenly Emperor! The Heavenly Emperor still lives!"

"Is it really him?"

"Has he revived? Thank goodness!"

Countless cultivators were overjoyed.

The horned man frowned.

After all, Yu Fuli had slain Sathia. He was a dangerous threat, one the horned man couldn't ignore.

"It's not Yu Fuli. That's likely the Yuqing Grandmaster," one of the saints' avatars said.

"That's right. The Void Saint once entered the purple moon illusory realm, where he encountered the Yuqing Grandmaster. He looks just like Yu Fuli," another saint added.

"The Yuqing Grandmaster? Why didn't you mention him in advance?" the horned man demanded.

"We did! But none of us witnessed him for ourselves, so we didn't have much information to provide. You didn't think much of it at the time either, Lord," the saint's avatar replied.

The horned man hmphed.

Meanwhile, Xiao Nanfeng told those around him, "That's not Yu Fuli. It's the Yuqing Grandmaster."

"Why do they look so similar? Is there some deeper connection between them?" the Immortal Emperor of Daru asked.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned, brows furrowed in thought. "I'm not certain, but I suspect so."

"Really?" The cultivators glanced at the Yuqing Grandmaster expectantly.

Mt. Kunlun finally landed on the ground, causing a loud quake. The Yuqing Grandmaster stepped out into the open and continued to eye the horned man.

"Another one? And how might I address you?" the Yuqing Grandmaster asked.

"You are the Yuqing Grandmaster? What is your relationship with Yu Fuli, who slew Sathia?" the horned man demanded.

The Yuqing Grandmaster replied, "Yu Fuli is one of my three Heartslain Bodies—that which contains my humanity."

"What? The Heavenly Emperor was the Yuqing Grandmaster's avatar?"

"The Heavenly Emperor and the Yuqing Grandmaster were originally one?"

"Why would the Yuqing Grandmaster give up on his humanity?"

The cultivators all around cried out in shock. They were surprised, but excited. If the Yuqing Grandmaster and Yu Fuli were originally one, didn't that mean that the Yuqing Grandmaster would be as strong as Yu Fuli, if not more so?

"Yu Fuli was a portion of you that you discarded? In other words, you think that he deterred you from accessing greater strength?" the horned man asked.

The cultivators watched the conversation with bated breath. Indeed—could the Yuqing Grandmaster be even stronger than Yu Fuli?

"I've said my piece. It's your turn. Who are you?" the Yuqing Grandmaster asked placidly.

The horned man nodded seriously. "Since you're Yu Fuli's main body, you have the right to know my identity. Listen well. I am Sibyl of the Darkborn. Sathia, whom Yu Fuli slew, was the weakest among us."

"Sibyl, is it? Haven't you had enough of this calamity nonsense?" the Yuqing Grandmaster demanded.

"Nonsense? This is our mission. We would have destroyed any other civilization long ago. Do you think we enjoy this ten-thousand-year cycle? Your civilization is simply too ignorant and arrogant," Sibyl replied.

"Then you should join Sathia in death," the Yuqing Grandmaster s aid coldly.

"Don't compare me to that fool. He deserved to die. You, on the other hand—I'm quite impressed with you. I'll give you the chance to become my servant," Sibyl said, smirking.

"You truly don't know your place," the Yuqing Grandmaster said coldly.

"Don't misunderstand me. I mean no insult. I genuinely think you have potential. Many among the countless races of the universe have sought to serve the Darkborn, but I never gave them a second glance. You, on the other hand..." Saberi continued.

He seemed to be praising and mocking the Yuqing Grandmaster simultaneously.

The Yuqing Grandmaster remained calm. "Enough of this nonsense. Prepare to die."

He raised a hand, summoning a violet sword that shot toward Sibyl. Overwhelming killing intent gushed out of the sword, striking fear into the hearts of everyone present.

"A heart sword? A violet heart sword? Lord, be careful!" a saint shouted.

Sibyl's eyes narrowed as he prepared to defend himself.