Chapter 1057: Cosmic Black Hole

In Yongding, within the secluded hall where Xiao Nanfeng was in deep meditation, Xiao Nanfeng had returned to secluded cultivation. He was still far from finishing his breakthrough when the Darkborn had attacked—he had only absorbed a small portion of the primordial purple qi, though his soul had already made tremendous progress.

The brief interruption didn't deter him much—after all, he hadn't yet reached the most critical moment in his advancement.

He continued to meditate as he absorbed and refined the primordial purple qi. Dazheng's fortune surged toward his hall, continuously helping him overcome bottlenecks in his enlightenment and allowing him to delve deeper into the visions infused into the primordial purple qi.

As his insights grew and he absorbed more of that qi, a chilling aura began to emanate from the hall and quickly froze its surroundings.

At first, the cold was contained by the formation outside the hall, but as the chill grew more intense, the formation began to crack.

"Your Majesties, the cold is too intense. Should we release it or reinforce the formation to contain it?" Blue Lantern asked the six women.

The six women understood that Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual cultivation had reached a critical stage and that he couldn't be disturbed.

Madam Rouge pondered the situation for a moment before she replied, "Reinforce the formation, but do it quietly so as not to disturb Nanfeng. Also, evacuate everyone in the vicinity."

Blue Lantern nodded.

She glanced up at the sea of fortune high above them and noted that it was rapidly being consumed. She turned to the gathered officials. "The threat from beyond the heavens remains, and Nanfeng urgently needs fortune at present. It is your duty to share in his burden."

The officials nodded firmly. "Rest assured, Your Majesty. We will ensure that all laws and policies are implemented in every corner of the realm and bring Dazheng's supply of fortune to new heights."

Madam Rouge nodded in approval.

One month, two months, three months, half a year—by then, the hall in which Xiao Nanfeng was secluded was completely encased in ice. Cracks shot through the ice as the surrounding formations continued to shatter. The entire palace was covered in snow, forcing many officials to move to external offices.

Blue Lantern worked tirelessly every day, sweating profusely as he reinforced the formations around the palace with the help of top-tier formations masters. They even activated the Formation of the Complete Heavens, but the increasingly intense frost seemed to be able to bypass any obstacle.

In the end, he had no choice but to report to the Heavenly Empresses. "Your Majesties, our formations are about to fail. If they do so, all of Yongding will freeze instantly."

The women exchanged glances. In the end, Madam Rouge finally said, "Very well. Evacuate all the citizens of Yongding."

"Understood!" everyone replied.

Just then, a loud explosion erupted from Xiao Nanfeng's hall.

With a deafening roar, a powerful force shattered the ice within and blasted through the surrounding formations.

Blue Lantern's eyes widened. "Block it!"

He activated his bronze compass immediately, desperately trying to reinforce the formations alongside the other formations masters, but the force was too overwhelming. It tore through the void and exploded outward.

With a loud crash, Blue Lantern and the formation masters were sent flying, spitting out blood in mid-air.

"Seal!" the six women shouted in unison.

With a hum, six world trees appeared behind them. They combined their powers to create a barrier that barely contained the explosive force.

"What potent yin energy," Xia Yu'er murmured. "This..."

With a hum, all that frost suddenly seemed to retract. The shattered ice quickly disappeared and the temperature returned to normal, leaving only a scene of devastation and the miraculously restored hall in sight.

Xiao Nanfeng called out, "Thank you for your efforts. However, I'll need more time before I can fully emerge from secluded cultivation."

"This is our duty, Your Majesty!" the officials chorused.

Xia Yu'er, worried, anxiously shouted, "Nanfeng, are you alright in there?"

The other women all glanced at each other in concern as well.

Xiao Nanfeng laughed. "I'm just fine—better than ever, in fact. I've completed the first step. It's time for the next one."

The women's eyes lit up. They understood that Xiao Nanfeng had fully absorbed and distilled the primordial purple qi to complete his spiritual advancement. The next step would be to merge his soul and body to achieve primordial unity.

"Continue!" Madam Rouge urged. "We'll guard this place."

"Very well," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

The women turned to the formations masters. "Reinforce the formations, quickly!"

"Understood!" the formations masters replied.

Soon, the formations around Xiao Nanfeng's hall were restored.

Another day passed. Yongding remained calm, but the fortune in the sky was being depleted faster than ever.

The women waited patiently—only to suddenly sense something. They all glanced up at the sky as one.

Madam Rouge frowned. "What a powerful aura. Have the Darkborn returned?"

The women exchanged glances. They wanted to investigate, but guarding Xiao Nanfeng was their top priority.

Madam Rouge began, "I'll check on the situation with some people. The rest of you, stay here and protect Nanfeng."

The women nodded.

Madam Rouge summoned ten of her attendants, all of whom had avatars, and flew into the sky.

By the edge of the planet, an invisible barrier left by the three Qing Grandmasters protected against sudden Darkborn invasions. As Madam Rouge passed through the barrier, she saw three figures in the distance—the grandmasters themselves.

The grandmasters stood with their backs to the planet, each with a moon floating behind their heads and a towering world tree behind them, poised for battle.

In the distance, fifty starships were scattered across the void, their bows aimed toward the planet.

The starships weren't their main concern. What the three Qing Grandmasters were wary of was a white-robed woman standing in the void not far away.

The woman was stunningly beautiful, with long flowing hair and an overwhelming aura. It was her aura that had given Madam Rouge advance warning.

The ten attendants that she brought with her quickly transmitted the scene back to Yongding.

Xia Yu'er frowned. "Why is she the only Darkborn present?"

Liu Miaoyin replied, "Have you forgotten? Nanfeng manifested an image of her in the past. She's the Superior!"

"The Superior?!" the other women exclaimed.

In the scene, the Superior smiled. "You must be surprised to see me, three Qings."

The three Qing Grandmasters frowned, especially the Yuqing Grandmaster. "Wasn't your physical body destroyed? How do you still have access to such strength?"

The Superior smirked. "So you haven't stolen all my techniques, after all?"

The Yuqing Grandmaster narrowed his eyes. He knew the Superior would never reveal her secrets to him.

The Shangqing Grandmaster drew his swords. "Don't bother talking nonsense with her. If we could slay her once, we can do so again. Let's attack!"

The Taiqing Grandmaster held out a hand. "Don't be overconfident. She's aware of our strength. She must have something planned."

The Yuqing and Shangqing Grandmasters nodded warily.

The Superior laughed. "Indeed, Taiqing, you have a good grasp on the situation—but it's useless. The humiliation and disaster you brought upon me shall be settled today."

The three Qing Grandmasters frowned. The Yuqing Grandmaster sent a mental transmission to Madam Rouge. "While we hold off the Superior, please destroy those fifty starships as quickly as possible to prevent them from attacking our planet."

"Very well," Madam Rouge said, nodding.

She manifested a projection of a nine-colored tree as she prepared to strike alongside the three Qing Grandmasters.

The Superior smiled. "During my imprisonment, I learned a few new tricks from the primordial altar. Would you like to have a look?"

She raised a finger, and a beam of white light emerged. With a hum, she drew a complex array of white light in the void.

"A representation of heavenly law from the giant nine-colored tree?" Madam Rouge exclaimed.

The Yuqing Grandmaster frowned. "Are you familiar with this runic diagram?"

Madam Rouge shook her head. "Not completely. I have been studying the nine-colored tree for some time. I don't have a complete understanding of all its domains, but this is surely a branch of it."

"Activate!" the Superior shouted.

The fifty starships' stellar cannons all struck the array.

The Yuqing Grandmaster called out, "Don't let her continue! Attack, now!"

The three Qing Grandmasters shot forward.

The Superior glared at them, her eyes cold. "What's the rush?"

Behind her, the void trembled as a massive golden tree appeared. She waved her hand, sending three palm strikes toward the three Qing Grandmasters.

The three Qing Grandmasters frowned as they countered with palm strikes of their own. The collision created a massive explosion of flames that shook the void and halted their advance.

At that moment, the beams from the starships struck the array and caused it to emit blinding light. A rotating white ring formed, and within it, a pitch-black void that emitted a powerful gravitational pull.

With a loud crash, Madam Rouge and her attendants were drawn to ward it.

"What is this?!" Madam Rouge exclaimed.

She quickly pulled her ten attendants into her world of the heart as she desperately tried to escape. The power of her nine-colored tree barely allowed her to avoid the gravitational pull and escape from the vicinity of the black hole.

The Yuqing Grandmaster's eyes widened. "Is that another dimension?"

The Taiqing Grandmaster shook his head. "No—it's a cosmic black hole."

The Shangqing Grandmaster gaped. "Impossible! She could hardly create a black hole out of nowhere."

The Taiqing Grandmaster explained, "No, no—she simply created a portal leading to a cosmic black hole."

"The other end of this portal leads to a cosmic black hole?!" the cultivators exclaimed.

While in the vicinity of their planet, they were able to shatter the void and produce black holes in miniature—but those were simply regions of space where laws, domains, matter, and light were eradicated. They were nothing compared to true black holes, cosmic black holes, that lay in the depths of space, which could devour entire planets. Even the three Qing Grandmasters didn't dare venture near such places.

The Superior sneered. "This shall be our final battlefield—and your tomb."