Chapter 1042: Farewell, All Living Beings

After sending everyone away, Xiao Nanfeng turned to look at the distant battlefield where the three Qing Grandmasters were fighting. The outer perimeter had been sealed by their barrier, and its interior was obscured by a violent snowstorm. The shockwaves from their battle leaked through the barrier, causing the void to tremble incessantly.

Xiao Nanfeng took a deep breath and said, "Senior, if I join the battle inside, leaving the nine-colored tree outside would be unsafe. If I place the nine-colored tree in my world of the heart, will it affect what you're doing?"

A wisp of the primordial altar's consciousness replied, "It's fine. Now that the Superior has removed its restraints, as long as you remain in the white life hidden realm and keep your heart open to me, it won't be a problem."

Xiao Nanfeng nodded, waved his hand, and stored the nine-colored tree in his world of the heart As expected, the primordial altar continued to pour its energy into his heart world, allowing the nine-colored tree to absorb it.

He flew up to the barrier created by the three Qing Grandmasters and placed his hand on it, saying, "Grandmasters, I have fulfilled my mission and slain all the white-furred monsters. Allow me to enter and join you in fighting the Superior."

With a resonant hum, the barrier dissipated.

As it did so, a violent snowstorm erupted, causing the void to tremble. Even Xiao Nanfeng, caught off guard, was nearly blown away.

He braced himself and charged inward against the snowstorm. The deeper he went, the stronger the forces buffeting him became. Fierce winds tore through the void, creating spatial cracks everywhere.

Under the assault of these winds, he felt a bone-deep pain. His eyes narrowed as he unleashed a qi barrier to protect himself, but even that was quickly shredded by the winds.

"These winds are terrifying," Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

His physical body was at—even slightly beyond—the peak of the Boundless Immortal realm, and he was confident that it was unmatched in the world. Even so, he felt excruciating pain as he tried to forge forward.

He flew deeper into the storm, gritting his teeth. The further he went, the more tenuous the void became. At the deepest part, there were vast regions of black holes, from which violent snowstorms and ferocious winds surged.

Finally, he saw the figures fighting within.

The three Qing Grandmasters each radiated a unique light. They formed seals with their hands, drawing power from the world trees behind them to unleash overwhelming force. Three massive palms pressed down on their opponent.

Opposite them was a dazzling golden tree, thousands of meters tall. The aura it emitted made even Xiao Nanfeng's heart quiver. He was certain that this wasn't the golden tree he had fought earlier, but rather the Superior's own golden tree from his prime.

In front of the golden tree floated a woman in white robes, her long hair flowing freely. Her appearance was striking, but no one paid attention to her looks. She was the Superior's main body.

The Superior's face was pale, as if she were extremely weak, but her eyes burned with killing intent and rage. With a wave of her hands, three palms appeared in the void and clashed fiercely with the three grandmasters', locking them in a stalemate.

The Superior, fighting alone against the three Qing Grandmasters, radiated with such intense power that even the residual shockwaves were causing Xiao Nanfeng intense pain.

The Yuqing Grandmaster called out, "Good timing, Xiao Nanfeng. We're barely able to restrain her. See if there's anything you can do right now."

From afar, the Superior turned to Xiao Nanfeng, her eyes blazing with fury. She gritted out, "My greatest mistake was not killing you back then."

She was filled with loathing and deep regret. Thousands of years of planning had been dismantled by Xiao Nanfeng, and she was now at her wits' end.

While the three Qing Grandmasters couldn't do much against her, she couldn't do much against them, either. With Xiao Nanfeng as a wildcard and the primordial altar assisting him, her anger burned even more fiercely.

Xiao Nanfeng looked at the Superior and said, "Your greatest mistake wasn't failing to kill me. It was coming to our planet in the first place."

With that, he raised his divine undying blade and slashed at the Superior.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

The Superior's eyes flashed with killing intent. The golden tree behind her trembled as a surge of power transformed into a golden blade that shot toward Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng's expression turned cold as he channeled more power into the divine undying blade, unleashing a massive blue slash.

The two blades collided with a deafening crash, creating a shocking explosion of flames within the black hole. The flames were quickly snuffed out by the violent shockwaves as the two blades dissipated. Xiao Nanfeng was sent flying by the impact.

"Nine-colored tree!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

The nine-colored tree channeled vast amounts of energy from all directions and poured it into Xiao Nanfeng's body as he soared into the sky and slashed at the Superior once more.

The Superior snorted, then summoned another golden blade herself.

The two blades collided in the sky with a massive storm of flames.

They seemed evenly matched.

Xiao Nanfeng felt a chill run down his spine. Just how terrifying was the Superior to be able to handle him and the three Qing Grandmasters simultaneously?

The Superior looked at Xiao Nanfeng and said coldly, "You are far too weak to overcome me. If you submit to me now, I might consider sparing you and appointing you as my general, allowing your planet to thrive."

Xiao Nanfeng narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Are you admitting defeat?"

The Superior said coldly, "Admitting defeat? If you're that eager to die, feel free to continue attacking me. It's just a matter of time before my subordinates show up. That will be your end."

Xiao Nanfeng's gaze turned icy. Although he couldn't defeat the Superior now, he knew she was at the end of her rope. How could he back down now?

The three Qing Grandmasters understood the situation as well. Without a word, they poured all their power into suppressing the Superior.

The Superior seemed to be struggling one against four, but she still managed to hold them all off.

Even so, this wasn't a stalemate. The primordial altar was around to help them out.

Though it couldn't unleash much power, it was pouring all its essence into Xiao Nanfeng's giant nine-colored tree.

The tree grew more and more tangible, its nine-colored light brightening. An increasingly powerful aura emanated from the tree, penetrating Xiao Nanfeng's world of the heart and reaching everyone around him.

The three Qing Grandmasters' eyes widened in surprise, while the Superior's expression turned grim. "Are you really intending to die alongside me, primordial altar?!"

She too could see that the primordial altar was sacrificing all its essence to strengthen the nine-colored tree, a devastating blow to her.

The primordial altar ignored her.

As the nine-colored tree grew stronger and stronger, its aura became ever more profound. Xiao Nanfeng's blades also grew more powerful and even forced the Superior's golden blades back. Furious, the Superior had to pour more power into her golden blades as her face grew paler.

Meanwhile, the white life hidden realm outside began to collapse. After three more days, a loud explosion echoed through the realm, as if something had exploded.

Xiao Nanfeng sensed that the nine-colored tree had fully materialized. Its trunk was solid, its light dazzling, and its aura so profound that he felt an urge to unleash it.

He could have countered the Superior's golden blades in advance, but the primordial altar had advised him to wait until his world tree manifested in full.

Now, he felt that the time had come. At the same time, he sensed the primordial altar's essence weakening, as if it were about to give out.

"Xiao Nanfeng," a hoarse voice called out.

"I'm here, Senior!" Xiao Nanfeng replied immediately.

Though it was the first time he had heard this voice, he knew that the speaker had to be none other than the primordial altar.

"I will soon depart from this planet. I entrust it to you," the primordial altar said, its voice carrying a hint of regret.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded solemnly. "Thank you for your kindness, Senior. I, Xiao Nanfeng, will do everything in my power to protect our planet."

The primordial altar fell silent for a moment, as if one of its long-cherished wishes had been fulfilled. Then, it spoke up again. "And the three Qings."

The three Qing Grandmasters bowed respectfully. "We're here, Senior."

The primordial altar sighed softly. "I know that your hearts now belong to the world away. Our planet cannot keep you."

The three Qing Grandmasters bowed their heads. They remained silent, not refuting—not daring to refute—the primordial altar.

The primordial altar continued, "Since you've forged your own paths forward, I can't keep you here. But you were born from this planet. Your truesouls, bodies, and souls were all nurtured by our planet. Our planet has given you life. I don't ask that you live and die with it, but when our planet is reborn, I hope you can protect it. While the new nine-colored tree takes root on this planet, I entrust you with guarding it."

The three Qing Grandmasters bowed once more. "We will obey your decree."

Then, after long moments, the primordial altar continued, "Superior?"

The Superior sneered. "Do you intend to lecture me, you dying thing?"

"Hardly. I simply want to remind you of something. When you were first trapped here, we made a bet. Have you forgotten what that bet entails?"

The Superior's pupils narrowed.

"You claimed that the fate of my planet was sealed, that no matter how long we delayed, we would inevitably suffer defeat. I replied that, although my planet had suffered a temporary setback, as long as there were survivors, they would one day resurge and reclaim the world. If that happened, you would have to acknowledge them as your master and serve them for eternity. Have you forgotten?"

"How dare you!" the Superior roared.

"You might break your word, but regardless, all will know of your defeat. Haha, haha!" the Primordial Altar laughed.

"Nonsense! I never agreed to such a bet, and I will never lose. No one can defeat me!" the Superior shouted.

The primordial altar didn't bother arguing with her further. Instead, it called out, "Farewell, all living beings. May our planet endure forever."

With a deafening crash, lightning and thunder filled the world. A rain of blood began to fall across the four continents, and a profound sense of sorrow enveloped the entire world.

All life stopped what they were doing and looked up at the sky in confusion. They felt as if something incredibly important was leaving them, and a deep sadness filled their hearts. Countless people began to cry without knowing why.

At the same time, everyone heard the primordial altar's farewell.

"Farewell, all living beings. May our planet endure forever."

A sudden sorrow, seemingly without cause, had claimed the hearts and minds of all. Only Xiao Nanfeng and the three Qing Grandmasters knew that the primordial altar, which had protected all life on the planet for generations, had finally passed away.