Chapter 925: The Mysterious Woman

The grand hall fell silent.

The Void Saint was deeply unsettled by Xiao Nanfeng. He wanted to capture Xiao Nanfeng for interrogation, but was wary—what if Xiao Nanfeng were telling the truth? If he tried to interrogate Xiao Nanfeng and angered Yu Fuli, would Yu Fuli strike him down in an instant?

Yu Fuli was a terrifying existence, one who was even able to kill the heavens themselves.

The Void Saint forced himself to calm down. He made two assumptions.

If Xiao Nanfeng were telling the truth, then whatever he did now was futile. Even trying to escape would be pointless. He might as well meet Yu Fuli—perhaps Yu Fuli didn't intend to kill him.

If Xiao Nanfeng was lying, then there was even less to fear. What kind of trap could possibly threaten a saint? He could deal with any scheme and kill Xiao Nanfeng if necessary.

"Fine. Lead the way," the Void Saint said.

"Please follow me." Xiao Nanfeng gestured.

With a wave of his hand, a void portal appeared before him, emanating intense purple light.

"The Yuqing holy land's purple moon illusory realm?" The Void Saint frowned. He clearly recognized the portal.

"Indeed. The Heavenly Emperor is waiting within. Follow me," Xiao Nanfeng said calmly.

He planned to lure the saint into dealing with Shi Tianbei. Of course, it was possible that the Void Saint was even more dangerous than Shi Tianbei himself—but that was a problem for later.

After all, through Tang's avatar, he had already learned that the Void Saint intended to target him. Xiao Nanfeng was simply striking preemptively.

The Void Saint stared at the void portal with a conflicted expression on his face. He turned to Su Tianxin. "Su Tianxin, you come with me."

"What? Me?" Su Tianxin said reluctantly.

"Why? Are you unwilling?" the Void Saint asked coldly.

Su Tianxin's expression flickered with hesitation. He understood that the Void Saint wanted him there as a potential sacrifice if things went awry—but he didn't dare refuse.

"Fine," Su Tianxin finally agreed.

At that moment, Su Qingchan looked toward the Void Saint. "Saint, I'd like to go with you."

"Why?" the Void Saint asked, puzzled.

Su Qingchan gazed at him with adoration. "Saint, though I am not fortunate enough to become your wife, I am grateful for your favor. If there's any danger, I'm willing to stand before you and protect you."

To the Void Saint, Su Qingchan was nothing more than a plaything. However, hearing her profess such deep admiration for him greatly satisfied his ego.

"Fine. You can come along," the Void Saint said.

"Thank you, Saint!" Su Qingchan smiled brightly.

Su Tianxin, on the other hand, glanced at Su Qingchan with suspicion. He knew her well and felt that her behavior was rather strange. Even so, for the moment, he said nothing.

Xiao Nanfeng stepped into the purple moon illusory realm, followed by the Void Saint, Su Tianxin, and Su Qingchan.

Once they were within the purple moon illusory realm, Xiao Nanfeng sealed the portal behind them.

As soon as they entered, they noticed that the realm looked remarkably similar to the real world.

"There's even a replica of Dachi's capital here?" Su Tianxin exclaimed.

The Void Saint also looked puzzled.

"You can study it later. The Heavenly Emperor is waiting for us. Let's keep moving," Xiao Nanfeng said.

No one argued further. Though they still suspected that this was just an elaborate deception on Xiao Nanfeng's part, his calm demeanor left them uneasy.

The group continued deeper into the purple moon illusory realm. Soon, they arrived outside the Sieve of Heaven.

As he saw the Eastern Heavenly Gate, the Void Saint exclaimed, "It's just like the real Sieve of Heaven..."

"The real Sieve of Heaven was destroyed. This is just a fake," Su Tianxin said.

"Does it matter if it's real or fake? It's just a residence," Xiao Nanfeng said nonchalantly.

The others nodded. This wasn't particularly important in the grand scheme of things.

"Void Saint, there's no need to be so tense. Although the Heavenly Emperor might have revived, he's still weak and hasn't recovered to his peak strength. You really don't need to worry," Xiao Nanfeng said.

The Void Saint: ...

He didn't know what Xiao Nanfeng was planning. Xiao Nanfeng had been intimidating him with Yu Fuli's name. Why expose Yu Fuli's weakness now?

"If the Heavenly Emperor wanted to kill you, he wouldn't have sent me to find you. He has something important to discuss," Xiao Nanfeng continued.

"Enough talk. Let's go inside," the Void Saint replied impatiently.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "Very well."

He stepped toward the Eastern Heavenly Gate, only to be stopped by a barrier of blue light.

"Huh? What's going on?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed, feigning surprise.

He attempted to pass through the barrier again, only to be repelled a second time.

"Xiao Nanfeng, are you toying with us?" Su Tianxin demanded coldly.

"I'm not! This wasn't here before. The Heavenly Emperor resolved my conflict with Shi Tianbei and told me that he was absorbing the Yuqing yin pillars within to recover his strength. He sent me to find you, Void Saint, for an important matter. I have no idea why this barrier is here," Xiao Nanfeng said, pretending to be confused.

"Shi Tianbei is within?" Su Tianxin asked, frowning.

"Father, this blue barrier looks like a formation cast by a bronze compass," Su Qingchan murmured.

"This is Shi Tianbei's formation," Su Tianxin confirmed.

Xiao Nanfeng asked, "Void Saint, I don't know what's going on within. Shall we wait a little?"

The Void Saint's patience was wearing thin.

"If Yu Fuli really wanted to see me, why is he refusing to meet with me now? Xiao Nanfeng, are you lying to me?"

"I'm not. The Heavenly Emperor is within," Xiao Nanfeng said solemnly.

The Void Saint stared at Xiao Nanfeng, weighing his options. In the end, he walked up to the barrier and waved his hand.

"Break!" With just a single blow from the saint, the barrier burst apart.

A violent surge of aura overwhelmed the cultivators.

"This is..." Su Tianxin murmured.

"It really is Yu Fuli's aura!" The Void Saint's face turned pale, a trace of terror flashing through his eyes.

For a moment, he considered fleeing. If Yu Fuli had truly revived, he was as good as dead. But he forced himself to stay put. At this point, running would be futile.

"Who's there?" a woman called out from within the Sieve of Heaven.

The aura seemed to be emanating from the woman, but how could that be?

"What's going on?" the Void Saint asked Xiao Nanfeng.

"I don't know myself. None of this had happened by the time I was last here," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"You take the lead," the Void Saint ordered.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded.

The fact that he was willing to do so without protest made the Void Saint's spirits sink. This really was Yu Fuli's aura, then. How could he have revived?

The cultivators walked deep into the Sieve of Heaven following Xiao Nanfeng's footsteps.

As they did so, they discovered that the Sieve of Heaven was a mess. The mountains had collapsed, and countless buildings had transformed into rubble. Only the towering Mt. Kunlun remained intact.

In the sky floated three enormous bronze compasses, radiating light.

However, the group's attention was drawn to the massive stone platform where a woman was seated. She eyed the intruders coldly.

"Who are you? Where's the Heavenly Emperor? Where's Shi Tianbei?" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

The others were equally bewildered. This woman radiated Yu Fuli's aura, which was profoundly unsettling.

"Xiao Nanfeng, how dare you return here? You truly don't know your place," the woman sneered. Then, her eyes narrowed as she looked toward Su Tianxin and Su Qingchan. "Su Tianxin? Su Qingchan? Are you both working with Xiao Nanfeng now?"

The woman didn't recognize the Void Saint; saints rarely revealed their faces.

"Who are you?" Su Tianxin asked, frowning.

"You don't even recognize me anymore? Su Tianxin, you—" the woman began, only to pause.

She produced a mirror and looked at her reflection with a sudden glower. "Hmph!"

Then, she stood up and eyed the group. "Since you've come, there's no reason for you to leave. Su Tianxin, you might as well leave your bronze compass behind, too."

She waved a hand, reforming the barrier of blue light around the Eastern Heavenly Gate and sealing their way out.

"Who are you? What have you done to the Heavenly Emperor? Why do you have the Heavenly Emperor's aura?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

Su Tianxin suddenly narrowed his eyes. "Are you... Shi Tianbei?"

Xiao Nanfeng whirled around. "What nonsense are you talking about? Shi Tianbei is a man. How can she be Shi Tianbei?"

"The way she activated a formation is exactly how Shi Tianbei does it. She must be Shi Tianbei!" Su Tianxin exclaimed confidently.

Su Qingchan and the Void Saint were both taken aback. How could Shi Tianbei have transformed into a woman? This was ridiculous!

Xiao Nanfeng blanched. "You're Shi Tianbei? Didn't the Heavenly Emperor command you to guard him? Where did he go?"

The woman frowned. "Xiao Nanfeng, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"Don't lie to me now! You bear the Heavenly Emperor's aura. Could you have—" Xiao Nanfeng's eyes widened. He stopped short, not daring to voice his thoughts completely.

"Could Shi Tianbei have consumed Yu Fuli? Impossible! How could he be strong enough to do so?" the Void Saint cried out.

"Shi Tianbei consumed the Heavenly Emperor and became a woman...?" Su Tianxin furrowed his brows. None of this seemed remotely plausible.

The woman frowned, as if she had seen through Xiao Nanfeng's scheme. He was deliberately trying to mislead everyone.