The instant that mass of black mist exploded, the spiritual energy in the void seemed to be drained dry.
Bai He was closest. He spat out a mouthful of blood as he rapidly retreated. Fortunately, the impact was not too powerful, but he had no time to feel relieved. As he withdrew, he kept his eyes locked on the center of the storm.
That was no simple explosion. It was more like the frenzy of some existence breaking free of its shackles.
Then a withered skeleton, rotted down to scraps of flesh and skin, slowly emerged from the thick black mist!
A head!
No! Bai He's heart pounded wildly. Just like that severed hand in Purple Firmament Heaven! Was this the corpse of an Immortal Emperor from a bygone era?!
As it emerged, the scattered black mist seemed to be drawn toward it, gathering frantically into a torso, hands, feet...
Within a few breaths, it had outlined a hideous, uncanny body.
The figure hovered above the wreckage of the star. Despite its bizarre posture, it carried an oppressive force powerful enough to collapse space.
Bai He did not even need to investigate. The trembling of his body and the stabbing pain in his divine sense already told him how powerful it was.
Without question, the Emperor Realm.
A dead Immortal Emperor, a departed being from ages past imprisoned deep within a star in the Mortal Forbidden Zone for countless years, had now returned.
The surviving soldiers of Floating Net Heaven were trembling too. An Immortal Emperor was the sky above an Immortal King, and an Immortal King was the sky above every cultivator beneath that rank.
The aura of the Emperor Realm left them unable to muster even the thought of resistance. Even escape had become a hopeless dream.
"S-Star