Chapter 1052: Battle Against the Darkborn

As soon as the Divine Emperor made her move, all the sandworms were struck with awe and terror.

Behind her, the projection of a giant nine-colored tree suddenly flared into existence. A cascade of nine-colored light flooded the surroundings.

"Another nine-colored tree?" the sandworms exclaimed in shock.

The nine-colored tree absorbed vast amounts of energy from the planet and the cosmos, which it channeled into the Divine Emperor's body. Her power at its peak, she waved her hand, a cold glint in her eyes. In an instant, countless shadows appeared behind her, moving like lightning as they charged into the sandworm horde.

"Be careful!" one of the sandworms shouted.

These shadows were a calamity—this woman was even more dangerous than the previous one! The sandworms turned and fled in panic.

Unfortunately for them, the shadows were simply too fast. They instantly closed the distance and grabbed at the sandworms. Just then, a female Darkborn emerged from within their ranks and summoned a massive silver tree with a loud shout.

The silver tree materialized and funneled immense power into her body as she threw a punch at the Divine Emperor.

"There's another Darkborn? Be careful, Your Majesty!" the Dazheng cultivators shouted.

The three Qing Grandmasters felt a chill. The Darkborn were shockingly well organized this time around, and might well prove extremely difficult to deal with.

The Divine Emperor's eyes turned cold as she met the punch with one of her own. The collision of their fists unleashed a massive explosion of fiery energy. Meanwhile, the Divine Emperor's shadows seized the opportunity to grab ahold of a large number of sandworms. Over a thousand of them screamed in unison as their heads were wrenched from their bodies before being swallowed up by the shadows. The gruesome scene was overwhelming; the vast majority of the remaining sandworms were paralyzed with fear.

Meanwhile, the Divine Emperor clashed fiercely against the Darkborn. The Darkborn was so powerful that the Divine Emperor had to recall all her shadows and focus entirely on the battle. Both combatants seemed evenly matched and were locked in a relentless struggle.

With the Divine Emperor occupied, the sandworms were left in a state of panic. What were they to do now? Should they continue their assault on the planet? But what if another Stellar powerhouse were to appear?

As if answering their fears, another figure materialized—a woman clad in black, her appearance solemn and sacred. Her hands formed seals. Though she seemed unremarkable at first glance, the Dazheng cultivators' cheers and respectful bows made it clear that she was another formidable foe.

She was none other than Liu Miaoyin, empress of Dazheng.

Neither she nor the Divine Emperor had planned to intervene, but the situation had deteriorated rapidly. One Darkborn appeared after another, forcing them to step forward.

Liu Miaoyin's body shimmered as the projection of another nine-colored tree appeared to her back.

"Another Stellar powerhouse?!" the sandworms cried out in terror.

Liu Miaoyin waved a hand, summoning countless golden lotus hoods from out of nowhere. They latched on to the sandworms' heads.

The sandworms cried out in fear, lashing at the golden lotus hoods with their octopus-like tentacles, but to their horror, the lotus hoods seemed intangible. Their attacks phased right through them.

"No!"

The sandworm kings quickly dodged, as did roughly half the ordinary sandworms, but the remainder weren't so lucky. As the golden lotus hoods settled on their heads, those sandworms fell into a daze, as if suddenly controlled.

Just then, another Darkborn charged out from among the sandworms and headed straight for Liu Miaoyin.

Rather than engage him directly, Liu Miaoyin retreated, dodged his punch, and formed a seal with her hand. With a cold, murderous glint in her eyes, she called out, "Explode!"

The sandworms on whom the golden lotus hoods had landed suddenly self-destructed. The resulting explosion created a massive firestorm in the vacuum of space, one which struck even the sandworms lucky enough to avoid the hats and engulfed them in flames. The screams of the sandworms were drowned out by the deafening roar of the explosions.

"You dare kill my subordinates? Then I'll kill yours!" the Darkborn roared, turning to attack the Dazheng cultivators.

"I'm your opponent," Liu Miaoyin asserted. She flashed before him and threw a punch.

Their fists collided in another fiery explosion. Neither of them backed down; they were locked in a fierce stalemate.

"What's going on with this planet? How could there be so many Stellar powerhouses around?"

The two separated and clashed with each other again, their battle growing ever more intense. Flames and energy surged around them, but neither was able to gain the upper hand.

Liu Miaoyin turned her head and shouted, "What are you waiting for? The remaining sandworms are all heavily injured. Finish them off!"

"Understood!" the Dazheng cultivators shouted.

The twelve golden cultivators, Yan Zhenhuo, Ao Zhou, Croak, and Warble led the charge, followed by a host of other powerful fighters.

They descended upon the wounded sandworms as a brutal battle ensued. Limbs and blood flew everywhere, but the sandworms, already weakened by the explosions, were at a severe disadvantage.

The three Qing Grandmasters eyed the three women with surprise.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Suddenly, the Yuqing Grandmaster's eyes widened. "There are more Darkborn!"

Though he realized that something was amiss, he was tied down by the six Darkborn he was fighting and couldn't break free.

The Shangqing Grandmaster's frown deepened. "They've breached the planet's defenses. The barriers we set up couldn't stop them."

The Taiqing Grandmaster replied, "Don't worry. Xiao Nanfeng hasn't made his move just yet. He should be able to handle it on his own. Let's focus on our own battles for now."

The Yuqing Grandmaster frowned but ultimately nodded.

Indeed, several figures had slipped past the battlefield and entered the planet's atmosphere. Cloaked in fog, they went unnoticed by the Dazheng forces.

As they descended, one of the Darkborn frowned. "Shouldn't we be helping the others outside?"

"We can't. This planet has become exceedingly strange. Whenever one of us Darkborn shows ourselves, so do one of their Stellar powerhouses. We won't gain anything from it. We'll have to strike at the heart of the planet to uncover its secrets," another Darkborn replied.

A third nodded. "That's right. It's best if the situation outside stabilizes. Nothing will happen to the other Darkborn in the short term, and we'll have the opportunity to see what's really going on here."

"Agreed," the others replied.

Rather than rush into action, the descending Darkborn instead began to explore the planet. Soon, they sensed a powerful flow of spiritual energy and followed it. Before long, they arrived at Yongding, the capital of Dazheng. To the north, they saw a towering nine-colored tree, thousands of meters tall.

"A giant nine-colored tree? And this isn't just a projection—it manifested in reality! How can this be?!"

"Didn't we cut it down back in the past? How did it regrow?"

"Damn it, what do we do now?"

The Darkborn paled, hesitant to move forward.

In Yongding, the giant nine-colored tree was channeling vast amounts of energy into a healing formation that Blue Lantern had set up. Injured Dazheng fighters were continuously brought here to recover, while fresh troops were sent to the front lines. The wounded healed at an astonishing rate, quickly returning to the battlefield. Hidden in the sleeve of one of these fighters was the Superior, who quietly followed them into space.

The Superior had sensed the fog-shrouded Darkborn, but she narrowed its eyes and chose not to reveal herself. Instead, she followed the Dazheng fighter out of the atmosphere and into space.

Meanwhile, the Darkborn observed the giant nine-colored tree from a distance.

"This isn't the same nine-colored tree we fought against. It's something different!"

"You're right. Its aura isn't as strong as the previous one."

"Is this nine-colored tree the reason this planet keeps producing Stellar powerhouses?"

The Darkborn quickly pieced together the situation and began formulating a plan to attack Yongding.

Just then, a beam of starlight descended from the sky, targeting them.

"Damn it, we've been discovered!" one of the Darkborn shouted.

With a loud bang, he raised his hand and deflected the beam of starlight, causing a massive shockwave that alerted everyone in Yongding.

"Activate all the defensive formations around Yongding!" Blue Lantern shouted.

"Understood!" countless voices replied.

Lights blinked into existence as the city's protective formations sprang to life.

At the same time, Xia Yu'er, Zhang Lingjun, and Lan Yaoguang emerged from Yongding and rushed toward the Darkborn.

"Let's make our move!" one of the Darkborn shouted.

"Got it!" another replied.

The Darkborn rushed forward.

"Die!" Zhang Lingjun shouted.

She summoned a red praying mat, Xia Yu'er summoned a purple sail, and Lan Yaoguang brandished her four swords. Their attacks tore through the void and collided with the Darkborn's fists.

The impact created a massive explosion that tore apart the nearby space and sent shockwaves rippling across the planet. Mountains crumbled and dust clouds rose into the sky as the entire eastern continent trembled.

Amidst the chaos, the three women manifested red, blue, and purple world trees to their backs as they continued to unleash their attacks, forcing the Darkborn to retreat.

"Three more Stellar powerhouses?!" a Darkborn exclaimed.

"They fight much like the three Qing Grandmasters do," another murmured.

Meanwhile, the three Qing Grandmasters, still engaged in their own battles, suddenly narrowed their eyes as they noticed the sudden surge in power from the three women.

"How did they grow so much stronger so quickly? They've even manifested their own world trees!" the Shangqing Grandmaster exclaimed.

"In order to do so, they must have subdued their three moons first. How could they have accomplished such a feat?" The Yuqing Grandmaster narrowed his eyes.

"Xiao Nanfeng must have helped them. We really have underestimated Xiao Nanfeng, haven't we?" the Taiqing Grandmaster murmured.