Chapter 972: Beyond the Starry Sky

The skeletal beasts were formidable, but Xiao Nanfeng was even more ferocious. With his blade, he reduced them to shattered fragments that scattered like rain. It took barely any time before the skeletal beasts were all but wiped out.

"Something's wrong! They're regenerating!" Croak suddenly exclaimed.

The shattered bones scattered in the swamp began to assemble themselves in an eerie manner.

The previously destroyed skeletal tiger was the first to reassemble. With a deafening roar, it lunged toward Ao Zhou and the others again.

"It really came back to life? Why are you coming after us? Go after Xiao Nanfeng! You're picking on the weak, aren't you?" Ao Zhou screamed in panic.

Ao Zhou and Warble joined hands to fend off the bone tiger, but even more skeletal beasts continued to reassemble and charge at the group. While Xiao Nanfeng managed to hold back the majority, some slipped through the cracks and headed toward the other beasts.

"Protect me!" Ao Xi cried out in terror.

Croak promptly swallowed Ao Xi to protect him before charging into battle alongside Warble.

With a thunderous clash, the three spirits barely managed to hold off the skeletal beasts. Since Xiao Nanfeng was single-handedly battling almost all of them, they faced much less pressure than they otherwise would have.

"Xiao Nanfeng, we can't hold them off! These creatures can revive, and they aren't growing weaker. Shouldn't we retreat for now?" Ao Zhou called out anxiously.

"No need. I can handle them. When they regenerate, the cracks in their bones don't heal completely. They're definitely taking damage. They won't be able to revive too many times," Xiao Nanfeng said firmly.

He continued absorbing the surging heart force around him. He believed that once he absorbed all the energy in the area, the skeletal beasts would lose their strength. He prepared for another strike.

At that moment, a deafening roar echoed from the depths of the swamp.

Like thunder, the roar reverberated throughout the area, causing the entire space to tremble. It was as if the apocalypse had arrived, sending a shiver through everyone's hearts.

The hundred skeletal beasts froze obediently, as if obeying their master's command.

"The aura of a peak Boundless Immortal? How can this be? This is hopeless. We have to run!" Ao Zhou screamed.

"Hold on," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"For what? Whoever's unleashing that roar must be even more terrifying. If we don't leave now, we won't make it out! If you don't want to leave, at least send me out first. I don't want any of the treasure here—you can have it all!"

Xiao Nanfeng raised an eyebrow at Ao Zhou. "You said it yourself. Don't regret it."

"Regret what? Dying here would be the real regret. Hurry up and send me out!" Ao Zhou urged.

Xiao Nanfeng asked, "Don't you find this aura familiar?"

Ao Zhou paused and focused on the aura. His eyes widened in shock. "This aura is the same as the one from when I received the ancestral dragon's inheritance!"

"That's right."

"Is there really an ancestral dragon's treasure here? Does that mean we're about to strike it rich?" Ao Zhou was so excited he forgot about running away.

Croak interjected, "Didn't you just say you didn't want any of the benefits here? What are you getting excited about?"

Ao Zhou froze. He turned his head away, pretending not to have heard Croak's words.

"The danger has yet to pass. Remain vigilant," Xiao Nanfeng warned.

"Understood!" the three spirits replied in unison.

"Where's Ao Xi?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"He's in my stomach. Should I spit him out?" Croak replied.

"No. Leave him there for now."

Croak nodded.

At that moment, the swamp began to tremble as red light slowly emerged from its depths.

"A red moon? Isn't that the Taiqing red moon?" Ao Zhou exclaimed.

"No—there's a purple moon too!" Croak exclaimed.

"And a blue one..." Warble murmured.

Three moons—red, purple, and blue—slowly rose from the swamp, illuminating something hidden beneath.

"The Taiqing red moon, Yuqing purple moon, and Shangqing blue moon—and spiritual power of a higher quality than mine. Could the three Qing Grandmasters have come here before me?" Xiao Nanfeng speculated.

"The three Qing Grandmasters?" the others echoed in astonishment.

With a loud rumble, the swamp trembled again as a massive skeletal dragon head slowly surfaced beneath the three moons.

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The terrifying aura was emanating from this dragon skull.

Only the dragon's head and part of its neck were revealed above the swamp.

The dragon skull's hollow eye sockets were pitch black. It suddenly turned its gaze toward the group. The peak Boundless Immortal aura it exuded left everyone wary.

"Who are you?" the dragon skull suddenly asked.

The group breathed a sigh of relief. At the very least, this skull could communicate. It wouldn't attack them immediately.

"I am Xiao Nanfeng, emperor of the divine empire of Dazheng. These are Croak and Warble," Xiao Nanfeng introduced.

""Ancestor, I'm Ao Zhou, your descendant! I've finally found you! The dragons of the Eastern Sea are suffering terribly. You must help us!" Ao Zhou exclaimed, putting on a tearful performance.

Everyone gave Ao Zhou a strange look. True to form, he shamelessly started begging for help before even confirming the dragon's identity.

Xiao Nanfeng continued, "We sensed chaotic energy here and came to investigate. May I ask if you are an ancestral dragon?"

The dragon skull didn't answer Xiao Nanfeng's question. It let out a weary sigh. "Where are the three Qings?"

Xiao Nanfeng paused. "The three Qing Grandmasters are legends from ten thousand years ago, who are gradually awakening now. Recently, the Heavenly Emperor of our era slew the heavens."

"What? Slew the heavens?" The dragon skull was clearly surprised.

"Unfortunately, the Heavenly Emperor perished along with the heavens," Xiao Nanfeng explained, recounting the series of events that had transpired.

He then conjured an image of Yu Fuli.

"The Heavenly Emperor is Yuqing?" the dragon skull asked.

"No, Senior. The Yuqing Grandmaster and Heavenly Emperor merely look alike. The Heavenly Emperor has already fallen, but I recently encountered the Yuqing Grandmaster, who has revived."

The dragon skull fell silent for a moment.

"Senior, are you the ancestral dragon who led the supreme cultivators of the world to the world away twenty thousand years ago?" Xiao Nanfeng asked again.

The dragon skull let out another sigh.

"Senior, if the Heavenly Emperor could defeat the heavens, then we can do it too. We're preparing to face the next iteration of the heavens. If you are an ancestral dragon, your strength would be invaluable. The world needs you," Xiao Nanfeng said solemnly. He bowed deeply.

"The world needs you," the others echoed, bowing as well.

The dragon skull sighed again. "Just like the three Qings, you are full of passion and hope. Even so, it's futile."

"Senior, I contend that we still stand a chance. After all, we've already won once," Xiao Nanfeng argued.

"It's futile," the dragon skull said bitterly.

"Senior, could you tell us why?" Xiao Nanfeng pressed.

"I don't wish to talk about it. See for yourselves."

The dragon skull exhaled toward the three moons.

With a hum, the three moons trembled, each releasing mist—red, purple, and blue—that intertwined to form an image. In the image stood the skeletal dragon and three indistinct figures.

Though their faces were obscured, Xiao Nanfeng guessed they were the three Qing Grandmasters. The scene seemed to be a memory of past events.

In the image, the three Qing Grandmasters surrounded a massive skeletal dragon and appeared to be conversing with it.

The Yuqing Grandmaster, in purple, said, "Senior, we've created our own path and crafted the red, purple, and blue moon illusory realms to prepare for a battle against the heavens. By chance, we found this place and located a remnant of your soul. We wish to know about the world away, the world that lies beyond the stars. Please, enlighten us."

The skeletal dragon replied firmly, "It's useless. Completely useless. The firmament is doomed."

"Senior, you've lost your will to fight. We won't try to persuade you otherwise. We only ask that you share what you know about the world away so we can prepare," the red Taiqing Grandmaster said.

"You cannot win," the skeletal dragon repeated.

"Please, grant us this knowledge," the blue Shangqing Grandmaster implored.

After a pause, the skeletal dragon finally spoke. "Long ago, I was filled with ambition, believing that the other side of the stars would lead to a grander world. I thought that by leading the strongest across, we could find a way to defeat the heavens. The reality was not as I imagined."

"Oh?"

"Following the primordial altar's directives, we crossed the cosmos, a grand and lengthy journey. We flew past star after star, through endless stretches of void and space. Years we spent in the darkness, illuminated only by pinpricks of starlight. Finally, we reached the world away."

"The world away?" The three Qing Grandmasters perked up.

"It was not the world of the heavens. There, we found the fragments of countless stars, the aftermath of an apocalyptic fight that destroyed galaxies. There was no sign of life. We saw writing that we didn't recognize. Fortunately, we were lucky enough to uncover a treasure that contained a fragment of will, and learned about what had transpired there. The inhabitants of that world had blossomed and thrived. They had grown strong enough to terraform and colonize many planets in the vicinity—until one day, an enigmatic figure appeared, killed them all, and seized all that they had reaped. So advanced was their technology that they could even penetrate their planet's core, but even so, it was all futile against that figure's strength. In the end, despite their glorious history, they were killed to the last: extinguished. They called that figure the Endbringer."

"The Endbringer? Could that be what we know as the heavens?" the Yuqing Grandmaster asked.

The skeletal dragon didn't explain. It continued its recollection. "We chose not to back down. We continued flying in the direction that the primordial altar had pointed us toward, passing through the infinite expanse of space. We encountered another world that had been destroyed. The spiritual aether, vitality, and life of that world—nothing remained but desolation and the cold. We forged forward. Every few decades, we would encounter similar ruins, ruin after ruin after ruin. Nothing survived."

The three Qing Grandmasters fell silent.

"It's useless. All manner of civilization stronger and more advanced than we were had perished. We cannot hope to face the heavens," the skeletal dragon declared.