"The entire Azure Tree is in danger of being snuffed out from existence."
Those were the first words to leave Li Meixiu's mouth after she got his attention. Being the serious, life-ending situation that it was, there was no time to say anything else.
Yang Wei yawned and placed his bucket on the table beside him, he then told her, "Uh, yes, I'm aware.."
"And you're not worried?!" Li Meixiu raised her voice at him.
Folding his arms, he tilted his head a bit, confused by the fact that she would even think he'd be bothered by such a fact. It wasn't the first, second or third time he'd be witnessing a crisis that could entirely end the existence of both the weak and the incomprehensibly powerful. "Why should I be?" he asked, rhetorically.
Li Meixiu covered her face with her hand and sighed. "I should've expected this..." Without a second thought, she swooshed her hand across the air a bit tore a rift in space, "Senior Tortoise wants to meet with you, you might be the only one who can save the Azure Tree at this point."
"Hm?" Yang Wei joined her to walk through the massive rift and then they were warped out of their present reality.
"I'm a little surprised that I'm the only one who can save this place..." he moved his head side-to-side as he tried to make sense of the situation. "There's at least three Immortal Realm cultivators who've proven how strong they really are, and there's even the guardian dragons of the sect...
I fail to see how I'm the only one who can stop lesser version of my Golden Emperor's Golden Palm, tsk tsk." He shook his head disappointedly.
All the while, Li Meixiu had a serious expression on her face as she kept her eyes forward. "Wei... 4th-Path Cultivators are nothing to joke about."
"Wait, what? 4th-Path?" he spoke with genuine surprise.
Li Meixiu folded her slender, yet muscular arms and nodded seriously. "Divine Realm, these are cultivators comparable and sometimes even stronger than True Celestials. The difference between their power and that of an Immortal Cultivator is like comparing a firefly to a blazing sun, a pebble to a towering mountain...
a grain of sand, to an endless desert." She looked back at him, "I can say for a fact that no one in the countless dao layers that exist, can stop that hand."
"Then why am I here then? Shouldn't I be stopping this hand and killing a certain Divine cultivator?"
"First..." Li Meixiu looked forward. "You must know something."
"I see."
...
Back to the chaos happening, the heavenly god-like hand continued its fall upon the Azure Tree.
One would believe such a powerful attack would've ended the world in a flash, but no, Divinities like Xu Xiaotang enjoyed watching the hopes of millions of arrogant cultivators slowly crumble to nothing. He wanted them to slowly suffer the fear of death until they died.
Yu Fa sighed, "This might be too much."
"Haha, you're just boring!" Xu Xiaotang pointed at Yu Fa, laughing.
Yu Fa slammed the table. "Arrogant brat!"
Calmly, Divine-Emperor spoke, "Enough. Let's quietly watch their futile attempt to survive complete annihilation." His cold, blue gaze watched the Azure Tree through the huge sphere above them.
To Divine-Emperor, it didn't necessarily matter if even all the dao layers got destroyed. The Heavenly Court Sect would simply believe he was doing it for some righteous act or as a preventive measure against the possibility of the cultivators in the Lower Reaches rebelling against them who resided in the Middle and Upper Reaches.
...
There were already meteors crumbling from the Shengjing Grove and beaming straight down for the Azure Tree. These were meteors so huge that it could destroy an entire minor world with a single impact.
The Azure Tree itself was the looked like a banyan tree, it was divided into three parts - the Bronze Tap Root, Silver Trunk and the Golden Crown (broken down into Golden Upper and Lower Crown).
A minor world was the size of a supergiant star and a major world was five thousand times that.
Several cultivators of countless sects had already flew out of their minor and major worlds to see how best they could help fight against this impending doom.
"Rain Protection Array!"
The cauldron continuously emitted a scorching primordial flame that could consume anything in its path. It was a cauldron hot enough to refine even the most impure materials into pure essence, making it not only a weapon but a crucial tool for alchemy and cultivation.
Instantly, the gargantuan meteor was erased like it wasn't even there to begin with—as if it were snapped out of existence by these flames!
Not to be outdone, disciples of the Frigid Saint Sect conjured frigid blizzards to freeze the projectiles of celestial matter mid-air, transforming them into icy sculptures that shattered upon impact with the body of the Azure Tree.
"KEEP PUSHING! WE CANNOT LET OUR RIVAL SECT OUTDO US!!"
Amidst the chaos, a group of 6 elite cultivators all at the Spirit Ascension Realm, formed a barrier of spiritual energy, creating a dome of protection around the Azure Tree.
"Ten Thousand Stars Array!"
Their combined efforts strained against the overwhelming force of the god-like hand. Each pulse of energy threatened to breach their defenses and bring about utter destruction!
But even as the cultivators fought valiantly to save their world, new threats emerged from the depths of the cosmos. A rift in space tore open, unleashing a horde of celestial beasts comparable to Nascent Soul upon the besieged cultivators.
Massive serpents with scales of gleaming silver, winged beasts wreathed in lightning, and titanic creatures with bodies of living stone descended upon the battlefield.
ROOOOOAAARRR!!
Their otherworldly roars drowned out the cries of the mortals below!
With each passing moment, the situation grew more dire.
Cultivators fell one by one, their bodies torn asunder by the relentless onslaught of dimension-shaking meteors and earth-rending celestial beasts.
...
For the moment, Emperor Cloudcrest comfortably watched from the Sacred-Emperor's Domain as these cultivators were mercilessly slaughtered. There was a joyful smile on his face; like a child who had just received sweets from their parents.
"Emperor Cloudcrest!"
Cloudcrest looked back to see Noble Flamehorn shouting his name with worry.
"What's the matter, has Fate not fully recovered yet?"
Flamehorn shook his head. "N-no, Your Perfection, she's not the reason for my worry!"
"Then, what is?"
"The..." Flamehorn comported himself although cold sweat continued to roll down his neck. "The Azure Tree, it's under the divine judgement of the Heavenly Court Sect!"
"I'm aware..."
"Th-then doesn't that put Miss Lingxi in danger?! The Heavenly Court Sect are extinguishing an entire tao dimension without due process! From my knowledge, I don't recall the Azure Tree doing anything to provoke such a treatment... this is misuse of their power!"
Cloudcrest chuckled as he shook his head. "Do not worry, when this is done, I will be married to Lingxi and as planned, she will become a tool in my evolution. And as for the Azure Tree, they're not entirely innocent...
a certain cultivator who claims to hail from that tao dimension gave me information on a secret the Celestial Serpent Sect have been hiding for ages, and with both the support of four members of the Heavenly Court, they will not survive."
It was now Noble Flamehorn understood what was happening.
Innocent lives were being convicted simply because of Cloudcrest's greed. He planned this entire thing without needing to raise a finger.
When did you become so heartless... my lord...
Cloudcrest laughed inwardly as he watched the slaughter.
It doesn't matter, Yang Wei... the moment you try to play hero, you will further provoke the Heavenly Court and they themselves will descend. And even you can't match the power of a Divinity, much less five.