The third batch of powerful Eternal Snakes had descended in the lower plane, but Shandal stopped caring about them as soon as the shockwaves vanished. He didn't even pay attention to the quasi-rank 7 creature that had joined those reinforcements.
Shandal kept his focus on the crack and ignored everything else. He didn't move even after the third wave of invaders rose in the sky to join their companions' offensive.
The azure light radiated by Shandal's palm froze them in time as soon as the halo landed on them. Only the quasi-rank 7 Eternal Snake struggled a bit before joining the other motionless creatures.
Shandal was in a different league. His power alone was enough to stop the whole invasion, but he didn't have any interest in that.
He would close the crack because that mess was his fault, and he was the only existence in the world capable of succeeding in that task. Moreover, there were many valuable existences in the lower plane that deserved a chance to reach the Immortal Lands.
The crack continued to close while the area around it remained frozen in time. Only the leaders' roars continued to echo, but they soon stopped shouting when they realized that their underlings wouldn't manage to stop Shandal.
A series of low growls followed that realization. Noah's eyes widened when he understood the contents of that discussion, and he began to think of ways to help Shandal due to that sudden turn of events.
Still, he soon accepted that he couldn't be of any use in that battle. The army of beasts was enough to kill him even if he relied on all his methods. Shandal was alone in that task.
The leaders suddenly went silent. No sound echoed throughout the world. Only the faint noise made by the melting silver ice spread in the area.
A tremor ran through Shandal's eyes when his instincts warned him about the imminent danger. His mind wasn't the only one to sense that threat. Even the powerhouses in different parts of the world felt the same sensations.
Noah wasn't an exception. He felt that danger with more intensity than everyone else, and he didn't hesitate to take a few steps toward the surface since he was aware of the Snakes' plan.
The silence continued until a loud thud echoed through the world. The sky trembled after that sound and cracks opened on its fabric.
The new cracks led to the void. The leaders were doing something on the other side of the passage, and their actions managed to create repercussions on the lower plane.
A second thud echoed. More tremors filled the sky, and a new series of cracks opened on its structure.
The other powerhouses understood what the leaders were trying to do at that point. Their underlings couldn't defeat Shandal, and they couldn't enter the lower world without destroying it, so they had only one option left.
The leaders abandoned the idea of retrieving the egg since they couldn't stop the closing of the crack, but they didn't give up on their anger. The best way to vent it was to destroy the world where the thief had hidden.
Those were the contents of the discussion among the divine Snakes. They had briefly reviewed their options to decide that it was better to destroy that lower plane once and for all. As for the Heaven Tribulation, they would deal with it afterward.
A third thud echoed, and cracks leading to the void opened even near the passage for the Immortal Lands. The black and white doors intertwined, but the latter was denser, so it overcame the former, leaving only a few open areas that led to the darkness.
Silence fell in the world again, and no more thuds followed at that time. It almost seemed that the divine Eternal Snakes had given up on their plan, but a claw pierced the opening again and began to apply pressure to reach the lower world.
The claw didn't manage to go too deep due to Shandal's efforts with the crack, but that small part of a divine body was enough to destabilize the world's structure now that it had suffered a lot of damage.
The world began to tremble as the creature tried to enlarge the crack to push its claw deeper into the lower plane. Heaven and Earth attempted to end its efforts through the Tribulation, but the divine being didn't care about the destruction of its talon.
Cracks opened on the green claw, and chunks fell toward the lower world. However, the orange sparks always pulverized them and ensured that the Mortal Lands didn't obtain such valuable materials.
The Snake pushed its claw deeper into the lower world, and the structure of the sky soon reached its limits. All the fissures leading to the void expanded and created connections with each other.
A net formed in the sky, and only a few parts remained intact. The cracks covered most of it.
Heaven and Earth continued to unleash their anger toward the divine creature, but the Snake didn't care. It continued to push its claw downward even if it had reached a critical state after many lightning bolts.
The net became thicker as the cracks enlarged. Both the landmasses and the seabed began to tremble as the stability of the sky was about to crumble and engulf everything in the void.
That was an apocalyptic view. The world was ending, and the strongest cultivators in the world could only watch as the god of the Empire fixed the situation.
The Heaven Tribulation eventually triumphed over the claw. The cracks on its surface became too deep, making it crumble into a series of green chunks that the orange sparks pulverized.
The passage to the Immortal Lands began to close at full speed again. The many cracks that filled the sky didn't seem to affect that procedure, and no silver liquid appeared to delay it any further.
That opening closed in the following seconds. The passage for the Immortal Lands vanished without leaving any trace, and the leaders on the other side didn't even have the time to release the last roar.
The threat of the Immortal Land had finally vanished, but an issue soon became evident. The cracks connected to the void didn't close, and it didn't take an expert to notice abnormalities in the behavior of the sky.
The sky continued to remain unstable. The fissures didn't show signs of closing even if there was plenty of "Breath" in the environment.
That phenomenon was bizarre and went against the common knowledge of the world. The sky had never behaved like that. The delay in its healing didn't even come from its lack of energy.
Noah and the others didn't know what to think about in that situation, but Shandal had the answers that they needed.
Shandal snapped his fingers, and the ice under the frozen Eternal Snakes around him shattered. He also released the creatures from their restrictions, and they fell toward the surface as they tried to regain control of their bodies.
The Snakes scattered through the world, and roars soon came out of their mouths as they tried to contact their leaders. However, no answer came from them.
Shandal descended toward Noah at that point, and his confused gaze made the god explain the current situation.
"The sky is injured, and the world is unstable," Shandal said as he inspected the world. "This world is too packed with powerful existences to begin the healing."