Chapter 1007: The Silver Tree

The heart sword tore through the heavens and earth with astonishing speed and reached Sibyl in the blink of an eye.

Sibyl frowned. He knew how terrifying this sword strike was. This time, he didn't dare block it with just a single finger. Instead, he thrust out his fist to counter it.

Sword and fist collided with a resounding boom, tearing open a massive black hole was in the void. The ensuing shockwave caused the earth to quake violently. Everyone nearby was forced to retreat by the sheer force of the impact; those closest to the fight vomited out blood and suffered grievous injuries.

Within the black hole, the Yuqing Grandmaster flashed forward to Sibyl's side, fast as lightning.

"He's truly powerful."

"Such incredible strength—as expected of the Heavenly Emperor's main body!"

"What power!"

The supreme cultivators were all astonished by the Yuqing Grandmaster's strength.

With another deafening explosion, the Yuqing Grandmaster and Sibyl resumed their battle within the black hole. They moved so quickly that all the other cultivators could only catch afterimages of their motion. The sheer force of their clash caused the earth to crack and split while the four continents trembled and tsunamis surged across the seas.

"This can't go on. If they keep fighting like this, the world itself will be destroyed," someone shouted in alarm.

At that moment, a massive shockwave shook the heavens. Sibyl, like a meteor traveling in reverse, was struck and sent hurtling upward. He smashed through layers of clouds and ascended high into the sky. Meanwhile, the Yuqing Grandmaster flashed like a bolt of lightning in rapid pursuit.

A loud boom echoed from the heavens as all the surrounding clouds were dispersed by an immense force. Two afterimages could be seen clashing repeatedly in the distance, their battle taking them higher and farther, until they finally disappeared into the sky.

"Let's go!" one of the sandworm kings shouted.

The remaining sandworm kings took to the skies.

"Don't let them escape. Kill them all!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted, giving chase.

The supreme cultivators followed behind him without any hesitation, unleashing a new wave of carnage. They couldn't interfere in the battle between the Yuqing Grandmaster and Sibyl, but these subordinates were easy prey.

The battle resumed with even greater intensity.

Meanwhile, Xiao Nanfeng fought his way toward a group of saints. He didn't intend to kill them all; rather, his goal was to ensure Tang's safe escape.

Tang was a critical subordinate of his. Putting aside his unique ability of cursing those around him, he was an incredibly effective spy. Xiao Nanfeng had to make sure nothing happened to Tang.

As the ferocious battle raged on, the Yuqing Grandmaster and Sibyl reached the outer edges of the atmosphere.

As the main body of the Heavenly Emperor, the Yuqing Grandmaster possessed unimaginable power that went beyond that of the Heavenly Emperor himself. The two fought with increasing intensity. Their battle reached the vacuum of space, yet each collision continued to send shockwaves rippling through the planet's atmosphere, revealing the presence of some unseen dark matter in the void.

Despite his best efforts, Sibyl failed to gain the upper hand. He grew increasingly enraged.

"Impossible! How can you possess Stellar-realm power? Didn't the primordial altar's ten thousand years of stored energy help the Heavenly Emperor reach that level? How could it have elevated you as well?" Sibyl roared in disbelief.

"I'll explain once you're dead," the Yuqing Grandmaster replied coldly.

With another blistering strike, he sent Sibyl flying as far as the eye could see.

"How dare you, a mere insect from a low-tier civilization, harm me? I've slaughtered countless members of your kind!" Sibyl bellowed in fury.

A sudden hum filled the void as a massive tree, thousands of meters tall, appeared to Sibyl's back. The tree was silvery-white, as if it were forged from pure silver. The silver beams of light it radiated lit up the vacuum. Simultaneously, streams of dark matter surged toward the tree and flowed into Sibyl's body.

Sibyl's aura surged explosively, causing the dark matter in the vacuum to ripple violently.

"A world tree?" the Yuqing Grandmaster scoffed.

In response, a towering purple tree manifested behind the Yuqing Grandmaster, also thousands of meters tall.. The tree gleamed as if it were made of violet metal, radiating countless beams of purple light that lit up the surroundings. Like before, invisible streams of dark matter were drawn into the tree and then into the Yuqing Grandmaster's body.

His aura skyrocketed, triggering more ripples in the void.

"How can your world tree draw power from the cosmos? How could a low-tier civilization give rise to a Stellar-tier world tree?" Sibyl exclaimed in shock.

"Arrogant fool!" the Yuqing Grandmaster retorted icily.

He charged at Sibyl and struck at him with his fist. Sibyl raised his own fist to block, but the impact forced him back. It was clear that the Yuqing Grandmaster had a slight advantage in strength.

"Your world tree—it's incredibly similar to mine. Did you steal the Darkborn's techniques?!" Sibyl exclaimed.

The Yuqing Grandmaster snorted and resumed his assault.

The two cultivators fought fiercely. Their clashes sent shockwaves through the vacuum of space and caused the nearby planet's atmosphere to shudder.

The battle raged on for half a day. Though Sibyl barely held his own, he was clearly at a disadvantage. He grew increasingly frustrated.

"Starship, fire a stellar cannon at the Yuqing Grandmaster!" Sibyl commanded.

By the far side of the moon, the starship on which Sibyl had arrived adjusted its position, its bow aimed directly at the Yuqing Grandmaster.

In that instant, the Yuqing Grandmaster felt his skin crawl. A sense of impending doom washed over him. He turned to see a massive sphere of energy building up by the starship's bow. The sphere, which glowed like a miniature sun, radiated an aura of absolute destruction.

The Yuqing Grandmaster quickly realized that this had to be the stellar cannon that Sibyl had invoked.

"You won't get away!" Sibyl cackled.

He attacked the Yuqing Grandmaster with a punch. Though he was slightly weaker in strength, just keeping his opponent in place was easily doable.

The Yuqing Grandmaster was stalled, at least for the moment. The two cultivators fought more and more fiercely, and the Yuqing Grandmaster grew acutely aware of the looming threat by his back.

The stellar cannon fired, releasing a colossal beam of energy. It streaked across space, locking onto the Yuqing Grandmaster and closing in rapidly on him.

Sibyl had already flashed away, but the Yuqing Grandmaster seemed trapped in place.

Just as the beam was about to strike the Yuqing Grandmaster, a massive object interposed itself between him and the beam: Mt. Kunlun. Somehow, the mountain had also made its way to space.

The stellar cannon struck Mt. Kunlun with a deafening explosion, sending shockwaves rippling through the void.

"Impossible! The stellar cannon is strong enough to penetrate a planet's core and destroy it. How could it be blocked by a mere mountain?!" Sibyl cried out in disbelief.

The stellar cannon boasted immense power. Although Mt. Kunlun had absorbed the brunt of the attack, it began to glow red-hot. Flames erupted from its surface as cracks spread across it.

Seizing the opportunity, the Yuqing Grandmaster flashed toward the starship, prepared to take it down.

"No! Hold it right there!" Sibyl shouted.

He could hardly let the Yuqing Grandmaster destroy his starship! He flashed over in an attempt to stop him, but he was too slow—he had flashed too far away while trying to avoid the stellar cannon's beam.

The Yuqing Grandmaster shot over to the starship in a flash. With a palm, a beam of purple light cleaved through space, bisecting the starship even through its protective barrier.

"You bastard!" Sibyl roared, but it was too late. The starship exploded in a fiery burst, transforming into nothing but debris.

Mt. Kunlun continued to crack, seemingly having lost its innate spiritual properties. It floated in the vacuum.

Sibyl and the Yuqing Grandmaster continued to fight. Both cultivators had lost a trump card, and were forced to take each other on with just their individual strength. Though they were both wounded, Sibyl's injuries were clearly more serious.

"Die with Sathia," the Yuqing Grandmaster declared coldly.

The Yuqing Grandmaster sent countless heart swords toward Sibyl.

Suppressed, Sibyl was barely able to defend himself. It was increasingly difficult for him to keep up.

Suddenly, a sinister smile appeared on Sibyl's face. The Yuqing Grandmaster suddenly felt an immense threat descend on him.

He turned to see another beam from a hidden stellar cannon heading right for him.

The beam swallowed up the Yuqing Grandmaster. "You had another stellar cannon?!"

The beam's destructive energy was fearsome. He felt like he was trapped within a blazing fireball, one that homed in on him regardless of how he tried to flee. It moved after him and hindered him, trapping him within the beam and forcing him to withstand its annihilating assault.

Sibyl was grazed by the beam, but had largely avoided the attack.

He sneered at the Yuqing Grandmaster, caught in the beam. "Who told you that I only had one starship?"

Another starship had been hidden in the depths of space. Its stellar cannon now trapped the Yuqing Grandmaster, leaving him on the verge of death.