Sword light danced, and the Heavenly Emperor's will began to collapse, driven bit by bit from this universe.
For a time, all deities, as well as cultivators whose practices involved the intent of Heaven, sensed that something seemed to be missing above their heads.
In the unseen, everyone sensed that the sovereignty of Heaven now hung vacant for the moment.
But the next instant, everyone sensed through the unseen that the Heavenly Emperor's will was slowly descending from beyond the heavens, seeming to merge once more with the sovereignty of Heaven.
"Turn!" Yu Chen shouted, and the myriad stars began to revolve again. Within the shattered Heavenly Realm, stars filled the sky with blazing radiance. Myriad stars revolved around Yu Chen.
Though most of these stars had lost the star gods who presided over them, and quite a few were newly born with low divine ranks, the Star Mother's years of management meant that many still retained the rank of heavenly gods.
With Yu Chen's body deity presiding within them, it was equivalent to granting spirituality to their ranks. They might not immediately regain their former power, but each could still be regarded as a Star Lord guarding one region.
At that moment, the stellar configurations shifted. Myriad star tracks layered upon one another; starlight formed the threads, stars the nodes, weaving a grand formation that enshrouded the Heavenly Realm and overturned toward the four directions and eight extremes.
Seeing this, quite a few ancient gods acted in succession, aiding the effort to hinder the Heavenly Emperor's return.
"If you want to stop him from returning, those little tricks of yours won't be enough!"
At that moment, an arm of the Earth Mother suddenly stretched out from the Netherworld. Its five fingers spread wide and fiercely seized at the sovereignty