Chapter 879: Yu Fuli Takes On the Heavens

In Yongding, Xiao Nanfeng stood at the entrance of Xuanhuang Hall as he watched his officials being forced to their knees by the oppressive pressure. His heart shook.

Nearby, Wen Zhong reported, "Your Majesty, the latest reports confirm that this phenomenon is occurring everywhere. Across the world countless people have been suppressed by the heavens' aura and are being forced to kneel. The heavens' mere presence blankets the entire world.

"This oppressive force is truly unbearable," Xiao Nanfeng said grimly.

He had long known that the heavens were powerful, but he hadn't expected that its strength would be so overwhelming. The whole world seemed to be entirely enveloped in the heavens' aura. Just how strong were the heavens?

Everyone waited in silence.

Above, dark clouds churned and blotted out the sky. Then, as if a massive entity were approaching, the clouds trembled and parted slightly, allowing faint beams of sunlight to shine through. At their center, turbulence intensified until a massive face emerged.

"Your Majesty, reports are coming in from the south. A face has emerged in the clouds."

"A face has emerged in the clouds in the west."

"A face has emerged in the clouds in the north."

Informants relayed the latest information throughout the world.

"A face so large it can be seen across the entire world? How is this possible?" Wen Zhong exclaimed.

The reports confirmed that it was the same face that was visible everywhere—but how could it be so large that it could be seen throughout the world? It defied reason.

"This must be the face of the heavens—or perhaps one of their eidola. It all makes sense if the face is as large as our world itself.

"A face the size of the world? How can that be?" Wen Zhong exclaimed in astonishment.

"Anything is possible," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

He thought back to an old film he had seen on Earth, where a colossal Buddha's hand, as large as the Earth itself, had descended from space to suppress everything.

Now, before his eyes, a similar horror was manifesting—a face of unimaginable size.

"The heavens are truly terrifying," Wen Zhong murmured, shaken.

"This face is unsettling, isn't it?" Zheng Qian added, his expression grim.

The face in the sky was that of a middle-aged man with his eyes shut. It was pale and lifeless, resembling a corpse painted with mortuary makeup.

"Close your eyes and try to recall its features," Xiao Nanfeng instructed.

The officials obeyed, closing their eyes briefly before opening them again in shock and confusion.

"I can't remember it at all. The moment I closed my eyes, I wasn't able to recall what it looked like," Wen Zhong exclaimed.

"Same here," Zheng Qian said.

Xiao Nanfeng's expression grew tense. Not only was the face of the heavens horrifying, it also possessed a deeply unsettling effect.

At that moment, Yu Fuli's voice echoed through the void. "Still that same lifeless face? Can't you change it up a little for variety?"

Across the world, people were startled. They quickly realized that this was Yu Fuli, standing in the Sieve of Heaven, confronting the heavens themselves. He had transmitted his voice across the entire world so that everyone could witness the celestial showdown.

All eyes turned skyward.

Suddenly, the massive face in the clouds emitted a sharp, piercing tone that sent shivers down the spines of all who heard him.

"Yuqing Grandmaster, to think you weren't dead... And that you've managed to secure a second life for yourself."

"The Yuqing Grandmaster?" Countless cultivators across the world widened their eyes.

This was clearly Yu Fuli. How had he become the Yuqing Grandmaster? Were the heavens unable to identify Yu Fuli because the face hadn't opened its eyes?

Those with greater insight understood that the heavens would never make such an elementary mistake.

In that case, was Yu Fuli the Yuqing Grandmaster? The second coming of the Yuqing Grandmaster, in fact?

Yu Fuli laughed. His voice once again echoed through the void. "I am the current Heavenly Emperor, Yu Fuli, not the Yuqing Grandmaster."

"And are you not the same man? No matter. In the end, both of you will die," the heavens' shrill voice replied.

"Enough talk. If you want to fight, come at me," Yu Fuli declared without any hesitation.

"You're bolder than the Yuqing Grandmaster was. Very well. A dying man has nothing to lose. Let's see how strong the hegemon of this era is."

The massive eyes of the face of the heavens began to open wide.

The aura it exuded multiplied tenfold, sending shockwaves throughout the world. Countless cultivators were forced to their knees under its oppressive weight.

Several cultivators who had been able to resist the incredible pressure back in Xuanhuang Hall were now brought to their knees. Even Immortals, regardless of rank, bowed under the immense pressure. True Immortals and Golden Immortals alike fell one after another. Only Xiao Nanfeng remained standing, though his expression was grim.

The oppressive force bore down on him, threatening to bring him to his knees. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth against the overwhelming power. The gap between him and the heavens was staggering—just the heavens' gaze alone left him feeling powerless. How could anyone possibly stand against such an entity?

The heavens' massive eyes were eerie and blood-red. Its gaze was grotesque, like that of twin rivers of blood flowing endlessly.

"What kind of eyes are these? They're bleeding out! It's horrifying!" Many people cried out in terror.

Those who looked into the eyes of the heavens were overwhelmed by a terrifying vision. They saw an apocalyptic world in which blood rained from the skies, submerging the world in a crimson tide that consumed everything.

"Blood, so much blood! Save me!" countless people screamed in despair.

Xiao Nanfeng saw the same apocalyptic scene, but the golden tree within his heart radiated a protective golden light, shielding him from the illusion. He snapped out of it and looked around, realizing that the visions of blood and destruction had vanished. All that remained was the massive face and its bleeding eyes.

He marveled at the heavens' strength once again.

Suddenly, a massive purple moon appeared in the sky, its light illuminating the world. Suspended amidst the dark clouds, it formed a counterpart with the heavens' face.

With a hum, the purple moon produced countless beams of purple light, bathing the world in its glow. Those cultivators illuminated by the light jolted awake as the visions of blood vanished.

"Using your eyes of blood to draw fear from the world and convert it into heart force to use against me? It's the same old tricks. You used this ten thousand years ago, too. Don't you have anything new?" Yu Fuli mocked.

The heavens' blood-red eyes fixated on the purple moon. "The Yuqing purple moon—and you claim you're not the Yuqing Grandmaster."

"I've told you, I'm not. From the looks of it, though, it doesn't seem like you can see through me," Yu Fuli said, smiling.

"Is that so? Let's test the claim," the heavens said coldly. The heavens' voice was as shrill and sharp as ever.

It suddenly turned its blood-red gaze fully upon the purple moon as it emitted a beam of crimson light.

The purple moon trembled under the assault, but held firm. Suddenly, it split open to reveal a massive, white pupil at its center, exuding an unsettling energy that made the onlookers' hearts quiver.

The white pupil unleashed a beam of blinding white light that met the heavens' gaze head-on. The clash between their powers sent ripples across the void.

"Interesting," the heavens said.

The next moment, two beams of blood-red light shot out of the heavens' eyes and toward the purple moon.

Yu Fuli's purple moon retaliated in kind, sending a beam of white light out of his moon's singular eye. It deflected one of the beams of red light, but the other beam seemed poised to land.

The purple moon bobbed and wove to dodge the attack. The other beam of red light shot toward the ground.

A rumble seemed to come from somewhere to the east, causing the beam of red light to change its orientation. It shot back up toward the purple moon.

The purple moon swerved again. A pillar of white light emerged from the pupil and clashed against the blood-red light.

Where the two beams of light met, instead of a massive disturbance in the void, the light simply seemed to dissipate.

All eyes were on the confrontation in the heavens. The standoff appeared deceptively subdued until shocking news began to spread across the land One spectral guard began, "Your Majesty, just now, when that blood-red beam of light struck the ground, it carved out a huge furrow that obliterated an entire Immortal city in the process."

"An Immortal city?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"Yes, Your Majesty. It was about the size of Yongding. Everyone in the city perished, and the city itself was reduced to an immense abyss. Fortunately, some of our people stationed outside the city managed to survive," the spectral guard explained.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded.

Elsewhere, the strongest cultivators in the world also received the news.

Only then did they fully grasp the terrifying magnitude of the heavens' power. The obliteration of an entire Immortal city was merely collateral damage from a stray attack. Even so, Yu Fuli had managed to block the heavens' onslaught. Across the world, hearts were gripped with awe and hope. All silently prayed for Yu Fuli's success.

"You've studied my blood eyes, have you? You must surely have done the same with my hand," the heavens' sharp voice rang out once more.

The clouds above churned violently. From their depths emerged a pale, colossal hand.

As the giant hand descended, it brought forth a tempest that swept across the entire world.

"A Heaven's Hand?" Xiao Nanfeng narrowed his eyes.

He had witnessed these Heaven's Hands before in the past, but never anything this powerful nor this immense. It seemed as if it could be seen across the entire world.