Chapter 3098: Explosion

What to do? So incredibly bored.

Once, there was a sincere love placed before me.

Get lost.

In the ancient Taigu Honghuang, everything was dim and murky.

Yet, this ancient land of Guixu was far from peaceful. There were always those old fellows who couldn't sit still, guarding the ancient formations while amusing themselves. They muttered to themselves one moment and shouted challenges the next, with fights breaking out repeatedly. Curses flew back and forth, creating quite the lively scene, perfectly illustrating what it means to be idle to the point of frustration.

The divine generals here had glanced over many times, looking at the supreme beings as if they were fools. He had always thought that supreme beings were lofty and majestic, but coming to Taigu Honghuang had completely overturned his worldview. There were plenty of proper emperors, but there were also heaps of improper ones, as if they had all forgotten what integrity even meant. Those in the know would say they were generations of supreme beings, but those who didn't might think it was a gathering of lunatics.

The Nüdi had returned long ago, like an ice sculpture, sitting cross-legged on the mountain peak, bathed in eternal light, appearing dreamlike and illusory. No one knew if she had resolved some confusion through enlightenment or if she was having a nightmare; her delicate brows had furrowed several times, and even the eternal light around her had become restless and turbulent.

Shen Zun was also present. Seeing his sister in this state, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. At the Huangdi level, one should have achieved complete serenity, so displaying such an expression was unusual. He wasn't sure if it was due to enlightenment gone wrong or a flaw in the eternal power, but he knew that the Nüdi's current condition was not good.

Boom!

Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed through the universe, turning the dim sky into a storm of lightning and thunder. The entire Taigu Honghuang shook violently, and Shen Zun nearly lost his footing and tumbled down the mountain.

If even he was affected, the other emperors fared even worse.

To put it bluntly, aside from the Nüdi, no supreme being from any era or divine general could stay steady.

"Damn it."

The Nüdi abruptly opened her eyes and soared into the sky, manifesting a dao body that vanished in an instant, leaving only her true self standing at the highest peak of the ethereal realm. She pressed her palms together, and countless strands of eternal light cascaded down, etching into the void and forcibly stabilizing the heavens and earth. It was clear from her expression that she was extremely displeased, her face etched with grave seriousness.

The supreme beings looked up, all wearing bewildered expressions, unsure of what had happened, though they felt a sense of unease. The divine generals were equally stunned, their hearts pounding; in the previous instant, they had distinctly sensed destruction looming, as if this vast world was on the verge of shattering.

"What on earth happened?"

Shen Zun frowned and ascended into the sky.

"A universe has collapsed."

The Nüdi murmured softly, releasing even more eternal light.

As soon as she spoke, Shen Zun understood instantly. Clearly, the earlier thunderous roar and the shaking of the heavens and earth were due to a universe exploding, with the shockwaves spreading to this one.

The same situation was unfolding in the various heavens.

The starry sky, once peaceful, was now struck by external forces. Countless star domains exploded, innumerable stars crumbled, and amid the lightning and thunder, who knew how many lives were lost or how many souls were shattered in their sleep. The vast starry sky was instantly stained with blood.

The chaotic scene was like an apocalyptic end, with the impact's roar sounding like funeral bells from hell, tolling for all living beings.

"What happened?"

The emperors were in disarray, hovering in the void and casting their imperial immortal arts in an attempt to stabilize the chaotic various heavens.

Unfortunately, their cultivation was limited; they had the will but not the power.

In this critical moment, the Nüdi's dao body arrived, deploying eternal immortal arts and even altering the concept of time, forcibly reversing it. This caused the exploded star domains to heal piece by piece and the crumbled stars to reform one by one. The living beings who had been obliterated returned to the world thanks to the eternal reversal.

This was a heaven-defying immortal art, known only to those at the Huangdi level, and only possible in a defined instant. Moreover, not all perished lives could be brought back.

Boom! Boom!

As they spoke, more thunderous roars resounded, likely from the second wave of shockwaves arriving and colliding with this universe in the ether, causing the newly stabilized Taigu Honghuang to shake once again. The firmament cracked inch by inch, lightning danced wildly, the earth split in multiple places, and the cosmos fell into disarray, even affecting the ancient grand array.

"Stabilize!"

The Nüdi lightly shouted, pressing her palms together and changing her hand seals. One after another, pillars of eternal light shot up from the ground, piercing through the heavens and earth, forcibly steadying the cosmos.

However, it wasn't over yet. Even more intense impacts followed in quick succession, layer upon layer of invisible shockwaves colliding one after another. Aside from the Heavenly Court Nüdi, no one could keep their footing.

Even she didn't look well, her face pale and blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. The condensed pillars of eternal light shattered from the impacts in many places.

"Damn it."

Shen Zun snorted coldly, forcing himself to stand firm and forming seals as well. Centered on him, layers of eternal halo spread infinitely across the eight directions, like a restorative light. Wherever it passed, the cracked heavens and earth healed inch by inch, and the disordered cosmos was soothed.

In that instant, the world fell eerily silent.

In that same instant, an ancient immortal mark etched itself on the Heavenly Court Nüdi's forehead, and her flowing hair turned strand by strand to snow white, as if she had activated some forbidden technique, enhancing her already immortal eternal power.

As a Huangdi, her perception was the sharpest. Even more intense impacts were on their way, and no one knew how powerful they would be. She had experienced shockwaves from universe explosions before; back when the Taigu Road collapsed, it was somewhat related, though that impact hadn't been this severe, likely because the two universes were far apart then.

This time was different; the exploding universe was probably quite close to this one.

"Close" was relative, of course. Even so, it wasn't something she could sense in advance. If she had detected it earlier, she never would have let Ye Chen and Yaochi go to another universe.

With this universe affected, the one where Zhao Yun was located would surely be hit as well. If there were Huangdi-level beings there, it might be manageable, but without them, it could collapse entirely.

In that case, it wouldn't just be a few deaths—it could mean total destruction of the heavens and earth.

"How could this happen?"

The Nüdi's face was ashen.

She had to admit, she had been too reckless. In this high-stakes gamble, her luck seemed to have hit rock bottom. She had calculated everything but never anticipated a universe exploding.

"How interesting."

The generations of holy demons chuckled, a slight curve to their lips. The Nüdi knew what had occurred, and so did they, perceiving it even more clearly—or rather, the heavenly dao perceived it more clearly. From their expression, there was no trace of worry.

Universes varied in strength, just as people did. Not every exploding universe could destroy this one.

As for how many would die, it depended on the Nüdi's abilities. If she could hold it steady, no one would die; if not, it would be a sea of blood and corpses.

They weren't concerned about the outer domains at all, with two Huangdi there to support it, making it far safer than the various heavens.

In summary, this universe wouldn't collapse from this impact; it was just a matter of how many on both sides could be protected.

Silence.

The entire universe was terrifyingly quiet, the cosmos so still it seemed to solidify. From the quasi-Huangdi to the common mortals, all felt a deep tremor in their souls, sensing that a dreadful force was about to descend, and this was the moment just before it arrived, a feeling that made hearts race with panic.

Boom!

Accompanied by a thunderous roar, the intense impact arrived.

Pfft! Pfft!

In the same instant, the Nüdi spat blood, and so did her dao body. It was they who were holding up the various heavens and Taigu; without them, the consequences would be unthinkable.

As the generations of holy demons had said, the Nüdi wasn't afraid of the universe collapsing—even without her support, the heavenly demons and calamity demons' Huangdi would handle it. The reason she was resisting was to protect the living beings. Did she really expect the outer domain's two Huangdi to safeguard lives? Don't be ridiculous; they were only protecting their own domain and propping up the universe as a side effect.

Boom! Boom!

After the intense impact, the shockwaves from the universe's explosion persisted, though each wave was weaker than the last. In other words, they had survived the most difficult moment.

Even so, the impacts couldn't be underestimated; if the Nüdi let go for even a second, billions of lives could perish.

No one knew when the roaring finally faded.

Only after a long while did the Nüdi retract her seals, her face deathly pale, blood still flowing from her mouth, and even her immortal eternal light dimmed. For a Huangdi to be injured this badly showed just how terrifying the impact was. It was fortunate that there was some distance from the exploding universe; if it had been right at the edge of this one, even a Huangdi might not have withstood it.

This was also why she didn't dare leave the universe carelessly: the heavenly dao was one reason, but others, like today's universe explosion shockwaves, made it necessary to guard against. She had to stay here to protect the living beings.

"Are those two still alive?"

Shen Zun asked, referring to Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang—timing couldn't have been worse for this to happen.

The Nüdi shook her head, exhausting her eternal perception and vision, barely able to catch a glimpse of the universe where Zhao Yun was.

That universe still existed. After brushing against this one, it hadn't made further contact—or rather, it had contracted.

When forces were imbalanced, universes were like lungs breathing, expanding and contracting at times. Zhao Yun's universe was doing that, and so was theirs.

In this brush, not only had that universe expanded, but this one had too, leading to the contact. Then one contracted, and they no longer touched.

She wasn't sure if Ye Chen and Yaochi had reached that universe. If they had, they might survive; if they were still in the universe passage when the shockwaves hit, their chances were slim.

"That kid won't die."

Shen Zun offered words of comfort, though his confidence was lacking. The sudden turn of events had caught even Huangdi off guard, beyond their control—who knew if they were still alive?

The Nüdi remained silent, gazing at the Emperor Wilderness and the beauty, as well as the generations of holy demons and the heavenly dao. If the Holy Body Supreme had perished, there should be some change in them.

Unfortunately, looking was futile.

From the moment Ye Chen left the universe, the heavenly dao power he carried was no longer in this one. Whether he lived or died, the Emperor Wilderness, the beauty, the generations of holy demons, and the heavenly dao wouldn't change— and even if they did, she couldn't detect it, due to the universe's barriers blocking it. The power he carried, whether surviving or perishing, couldn't transmit back.

After all, it had exceeded the universe's bounds, outside the heavenly dao's scope.

There was one truth that always applied: the heavenly dao wasn't all-powerful, and neither were Huangdi. Just as she hadn't been sure if Ye Chen had died in the virtual realm back then, she couldn't discern anything from the heavenly dao now. It was constantly shifting, changes masking changes, with no pattern to follow.

"Why on earth did it explode?"

Shen Zun pondered aloud, muttering endlessly.

This statement sounded contradictory, at least to the Nüdi, who wouldn't say it that way.

If it was fine, it wouldn't explode. There were many reasons for a universe's collapse: energy overload, loss of force balance, or wars surpassing the heavenly dao could all cause it. Once it exploded, destructive shocks are inevitable, and surrounding universes, regardless of size, will suffer to some degree within a certain range—it's just that the impact varies in strength.

Judging by this wave's power, the distance between this universe and the exploding one was relatively far.

For universes close enough, without Huangdi support, they might not collapse but would be nearly as bad as collapsing.

"Having someone to hold the fort isn't a bad thing."

The generations of supreme beings murmured. The Nüdi could hold the line, but they couldn't, like this time— all the emperors seemed like decorations; the real pillar was that Huangdi.

"I firmly believe."

The Nüdi whispered to herself. Despite this unforeseen event beyond her control, her obsession with the Holy Body Supreme remained unchanged.

After a long while, she withdrew her gaze and stepped out of Taigu Honghuang. Due to the other universe's explosion and the shockwaves, the Taigu Road had collapsed again and needed to be reconnected, establishing the passage between Taigu and the various heavens as quickly as possible to prevent further incidents.

Speaking of the various heavens, the scene there was far from pretty. Though the Nüdi's dao body had supported it, she still couldn't cover everything, leaving many star domains cracked and many stars destroyed, with lives inevitably lost—this was already her utmost limit.

"Emperor, what a joke."

Gazing at the devastation, the Chaos Body muttered to himself, laughing self-mockingly. In the face of destruction, he realized how insignificant emperors were; the supreme beings in the eyes of the world were as weak as ants before annihilation.

Like him, the other emperors shared this sentiment. This time, without the Nüdi's dao body in the various heavens, they couldn't have protected the living beings. Emperors had their limits; beyond that, no one measured up.

Boom!

The prolonged silence was broken by a thunderous roar. The universe explosion's shockwaves not only impacted the various heavens but also struck the ethereal grand array, causing flaws in the formation and greatly reducing its concealing power, allowing heavenly demon pillars to descend.

Seizing opportunities was the outer domains' specialty; whenever there was a chance, they always struck at the right moment.

"Damn it."

The Kui Niu cursed loudly, reaching through the void to slap toward the Eastern Wasteland. That demon pillar had descended on the Eastern Wasteland and was destroyed by a palm before any outer domain beings could emerge.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

After the first demon pillar, the banging sounds came one after another, pillars inserting one by one—some landing in the starry sky, others on continents—as if coordinated, in vast numbers.

"Come on, I'll let you come."

"Heavenly Emperor-level demon pillars—arriving in the various heavens means they'll be brought to their knees."

"Do you think the various heavens are undefended?"

The emperors roared in unison, not idle as they guarded their respective regions, destroying any descending demon pillar on sight. They were tempted to let the outer domain beings in for a fight.

But they weren't Ye Chen; one misstep could ignite a war across the three realms of heaven, earth, and humanity. On this matter, no one would act recklessly, and no one dared.