A tremor passed through Bai Xiaochun, and his heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might explode.
This was the first time in his life he had ever personally seen the true starry sky! Except, it was no starry sky!
This was not what he had seen when looking up into the sky inside the world that existed in the Arch-Sovereign. Neither was it what he saw when looking up into the sky in the Eternal Immortal Domains. What he saw was an endless, black void.
Originally, he had assumed the Heavenspan Realm was as large as any place could be. Later, he found out that it was actually only as large as one of the prefectures in the Eternal Immortal Domains.
Originally, he had assumed that what he was looking at from within the Eternal Immortal Domains was the true starry sky. He had known all along that it was large, but now that he could actually see it with his own eyes, he realized that the Eternal Immortal Domains counted for almost nothing compared to it.
He was so profoundly and deeply shaken that he completely forgot about any potential dangers. He forgot about everything except for the endless void, and… the shockingly large sovereign!
He wasn’t the only one to react in such a way. Gu Tianjun, Sima Yunhua, Preceptor Seadeep, and everyone else felt profoundly shaken.
No one spoke. They simply looked around as they traveled through the tunnel of light that the Saint-Emperor had created.
Down in the Eternal Immortal Domains, it wasn't possible to feel the true pressure from the sovereign, but now that they were getting closer and closer, it was a very different story.
It was the type of pressure that caused the heart to tremble. There was something boundlessly evil about it, something filled with infinite madness.
It was like being in the presence of a deadly killer. The pressure was so intense that everyone was sure that if the giant opened his eyes and gazed upon them, all of them… would instantly be turned into ash.
His fleshly body radiated power and strength, and there was a slight sneer on his face that struck everyone to the core.
Even Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua unconsciously felt the desire to be more careful.
More so, they realized that this enormous sovereign who existed right outside the Eternal Immortal Domains was profoundly dangerous. If he were dead, then it probably wouldn’t matter. But if the legends were true, and he was just asleep, then if he ever woke up, he would likely bring an end to the world they lived in.
The pressure grew stronger and stronger, and yet, the target destination of the group was not the sovereign. The tunnel of light created by the Saint-Emperor led to the damaged fan, which had flown through the void for an indeterminable period of time before coming to rest on the hand of the sovereign!
Now that they were much closer to the fan, it seemed even bigger than when they had observed it from the Eternal Immortal Domains. It was an open fan, damaged to the point where only half of it existed. However, even that part was enormous. As for the ribs that made up the fan, there were more than a hundred, each of which seemed like a mountain range that was connected to the outer edge of the fan!
As for the fan’s face, it was decorated by an image of a mountain, a river, and other features, making it look like an entirely different world….
It was majestic to behold, and as they got closer and closer, their eyes began to shine with even greater anticipation.
Although they were still some distance from the giant sovereign, the pressure was still incredible. Thankfully, the divine ability the Saint-Emperor had used protected them to a large degree.
Bai Xiaochun and the others eventually reached the end of the tunnel, at a point where the ribs of the fan all intersected to create a half-circle handle!
The pressure of the damaged fan itself actually negated some of the pressure from the gigantic sovereign. Therefore, even after leaving the protection of the Saint-Emperor’s light, they were still not in danger.
However, the pressure was still uncomfortably strong, like numerous mountains weighing down on them. The specific level of pressure, of course, depended on the cultivation base of the individual cultivator.
In some ways, it was not so much because of the nearby sovereign, but rather, the incredible pressure of the fan itself. In fact, it was so powerful that no one could even send out divine sense!
Even their ordinary senses were limited to a certain degree, making it impossible to see others’ cultivation base fluctuations.
No one spoke. They just looked around, sizing up their surroundings.
From Bai Xiaochun’s perspective, this handle area where the fan ribs converged was like a public square of sorts.
As for the ribs, upon close examination, they didn’t seem like mountain ranges, but rather… like they were paths of some sort.
“This fan is strange…. The fan ribs are like paths. What exactly is this treasure supposed to be used for…?” There were many speculations, and many eyes glittered as people considered their own personal plans and motives. Of course, no one gave voice to such things out loud.
Soon, people began to move toward the ribs, intent on getting into the world inside of the fan. However, before they could even start moving, rippling fluctuations suddenly appeared around them, much to their shock.
The Archaean Realm aura on the fan itself caused the eyes of Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua to burn with anticipation, and yet, they hadn’t forgotten the instructions from the Saint-Emperor. Even as they sized up the fan, their eyes slipped to the end of it, where they could make out the right hand of the enormous sovereign!
“It’s not letting us in?” Bai Xiaochun thought, eyeing the fan ribs. He looked around vigilantly, and then tried to decide what exactly to do. It was in that moment that, all of a sudden, another beam of light appeared, shooting up in their direction from the Eternal Immortal Domains!
The eyes of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty cultivators widened as they realized where that beam of light was coming from. Its source was… the Vile-Emperor Dynasty!
Bai Xiaochun was not surprised at all. It was only natural that, if the Saint-Emperor dispatched people to the fan, the Vile-Emperor would as well. Figures began to materialize in the area, provoking cold, vigilant glances from the cultivators of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty.
The first to appear were three celestials.
One of them was an old man with a red tumor on his face that made him look like a vicious, fiendish killer. When he looked over the cultivators present, his eyes glittered with sinister light.
“Sima Yunhua!” he said, his eyes locking onto that very cultivator and then glittering with open killing intent.
“Reverend Devourer!” Sima Yunhua replied coolly, his eyes narrowing.
Before either of them could continue speaking, the second figure grew clearer. He was a young man who resembled Sima Yunhua in some ways, dressed as he was like a scholar. There was something elegant about him, and he was so handsome he almost looked like a woman. Although a smile covered his face, it somehow made him look very vile.
The young man chuckled as he looked around. When he noticed Bai Xiaochun, he looked at him for a long moment before saying, “Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua! Who would have thought you two would be here? It's too bad that my old Master, Chen Su, couldn't come along. I was hoping to see him.”
The person to respond to him was neither Gu Tianjun nor Sima Yunhua, but rather Preceptor Seadeep. “Hmph! From the moment you betrayed the Saint-Emperor Dynasty, Prince Ur-Demon, you lost the right to call Chen Su your Master!”
Beaming from ear to ear, but eyes as cold as ice, Prince Ur-Demon looked back at Preceptor Seadeep and said, “Oh, you’re here too, Sect Grandfather? You listen to me, you useless fool. When royalty like me talks, people like you need to keep their mouths shut!”
His gaze shook Preceptor Seadeep down to the center of his being, and forced him to stagger backward, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth. Clearly, he was shocked at how different Prince Ur-Demon was from the person he had known in the past.
Ignoring the grim gazes of Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua, Prince Ur-Demon looked back at Bai Xiaochun, and was about to say something further when the third of the Vile-Emperor Dynasty’s celestials arrived!
Rumbling sounds could be heard as a towering, burly man appeared. When Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua saw this newcomer, their expressions flickered.
“Celestial Virūpākṣa!”