Chapter 1304: Cause

Proofreader: Papatonks

The dreadful black energy was like a raging beast of gluttony, that not even a Sovereign path could stop as it forced Sword Heart back.

The Heavenly Sovereign was amazed.

Hum~

A huge eye appeared in the sky, shining golden rings in its pupil.

It released a ripple and the room was encased in a sealed space, blocking the black energy from reaching out.

Divine Eye of the Void, Void Domain!

The Heavenly Sovereign walked closer with a panicked Sword Heart, observing through the barrier the roaming black energy. The man in white sat there and meditated still, with a face warped from pain. Above him, the black energy glowed in an eerie way.

Sword Heart gasped, “What on earth is happening? The ten Sovereigns have been set yet he can still achieve his path?”

“What of it? When a Sovereign is born, another must fall. Anyway, I came here to say that I’ll help him kill one and empty a spot for him. But it doesn’t look like I’m needed.”

The Heavenly Sovereign had a sinister smirk as he nodded in appreciation of his younger brother’s condition.

Sword Heart was filled with fear, “Yeah, this power alone is enough to even push me back despite being below a Sovereign. Just what path did he discover?”

“What indeed?” The Heavenly Sovereign was curious, “Eh, his emotion center is gone?”

“It is? How did he form his path then?”

“That’s very strange. He formed a Sovereign path in his broken state, what he couldn’t do when he was fine?” The Heavenly Sovereign’s heart was filled with questions.

Bang~

The space shook hard as the black energy grew wilder and wilder like a savage beast.

The Heavenly Sovereign shook, his face twitching, “You’re kidding me? Not even my void path can stop it? How? Why? He has so much power to fight my path, one that no other Sovereign can? Maybe…”

“What?”

“He isn’t forming a Sovereign path.” The Heavenly Sovereign’s voice shook, looking excited. 

Sword Heart was puzzled, “What else could it be then? Isn’t he a half Sovereign?”

The Heavenly Sovereign grinned, “Sword Heart, I told you of my recent enlightenment, of the realm beyond the Sovereign Stage – the Supreme Stage. I can feel its existence, but can’t reach it, while my younger brother…”

“Impossible! Reach Supreme while bypassing the Sovereign Stage?”

“Why not? Each of us has a different situation that makes everything possible.”

The Heavenly Sovereign’s red eyes shook with glee,  “Younger brother’s cultivation was an emotional Heavenly Daos, hard to perfect. But now, he broke his emotion center. His hole is filled with the Heavenly Daos, reaching above the Sovereign Stage, achieving the Supreme Stage. This is called a blessing in disguise. This is his situation, because we don’t have the emotional Heavenly Daos and won’t reach his insights by breaking our emotion center. Extreme yin brings about extreme yang. This is his path, apart from ours!” 

Sword Heart nodded, “Extreme yin brings extreme yang so that the worlds may regain balance. So when the emotional Heavenly Daos has its emotions broken, it goes beyond the Sovereign path. Then now we will have a Supreme, someone beyond the ten Sovereigns?”

“Ten Sovereigns?”

The Heavenly Sovereign sneered, “The Sovereign Stage is nothing before the Supreme Stage. Let me tell you from my insight, that the Sovereign Stage means grasping the worlds’ paths and using the world laws. While a Supreme can grasp the world, destroy or create it. Sovereigns are bugs to them, killed with but a thought.”

Sword Heart gasped, his heart sinking.

It was said Supreme gods were nothing but a vague concept in humanity, but now they might be true…

Sword Heart turned to the man in white, hesitating.

Bam!

Divine Eye of the Void’s barrier shook once more against the black energy and broke apart. The black energy surged, shooting for the two to swallow them. 

They fell back at once, with the Heavenly Sovereign smiling in excitement.

His younger brother finally controlled the Heavenly Daos, though he was above him, he was still overjoyed. For he believed that one day he too would reach the Supreme Stage.

The brothers would rule as Supremes. This was Heavenly Daos’ way, apart from mortalhood.

Whoosh~

As the black energy rose, the black glow on the man in white faded and his body shook, breaking in sweat.

The Heavenly Sovereign’s frowned, “Younger brother, what happened? What is stopping you from advancing? Why did your Supreme path fade?”

“This path… can’t appear…” The man in white panted in fear.

Sword Heart asked, “Why? Like the Heavenly Sovereign said, with it, you’ll have a Supreme path, going beyond the ten Sovereigns. Why not form it?”

“Because it decays the Heavenly Daos and destroys the world.”

“What?” Sword Heart’s heart tensed, while the Heavenly Sovereign was thrilled, “So? Your emotion center is broken, so why care what happens to the world? This filthy world has no use so better destroy it to create a new one. Once I become Supreme, I’ll create an immemorial world, free of any filth. Do Sovereigns die when the world is destroyed?”

The man in white sighed, “The apocalyptic path unleashes hell, as Heavenly Daos’ punishment. The Heavenly Dao Sovereigns will be fine, while the human path will be no more…”

“Great then, I thought we won’t be able to create a new world.” The Heavenly Sovereign nodded and patted his shoulder, “Keep going, it’s time we cleanse this world.”

“Humanity barely rose up and you want to destroy it before the end of days?”

“Since it’ll happen anyway, with the human path having good and evil, against the Heavenly Daos’ laws, it doesn’t fit with the world. Even the simple spiritual beasts are being infected, turning to tricks and cunning. One day even the purest spiritual beasts will be vile like humans. By the time evil overcomes good, hell is already unleashed. The human path shouldn’t have been here in the first place. Just remove it.” 

“You do it, for I won’t!” The man in black flicked his sleeve and stood with a dark look.

Sword Heart frowned as he went, “Your brother has changed. He wasn’t like this with you.”

“An elder brother is like a father. He cultivated the emotional Heavenly Daos, mingling with the human path and going by their rules, so of course he showed me respect. But with the emotion center broken, removed from the human path, it’s natural to change, ha-ha-ha…”

The Heavenly Sovereign said, “He said we can just destroy ourselves and won’t stop us. Well, let’s get to it!”

Sword Heart shook, “You want to destroy it? But only a Supreme can do it. You have felt it around but feel it’s eons ahead.”

“I didn’t have a way before, but now we have a clear example.”

“You mean…”

“Precisely!”

The Heavenly Sovereign nodded, “It’s not that Supremes want to see the world end, but that its end gives birth to them. The Heavenly Will allows anything to happen in the world. Since even the world can’t stand humanity’s disruption, destroying the world is all within its will. We’ll follow the path of destruction and reach the Supreme path!”

Sword Heart nodded, “How do we destroy it and remove humanity?”

“Did you see the power he scattered?”

“Yes, very shocking.”

“That’s a budding Supreme’s power!” 

Heavenly Sovereign paced, “No one has that kind of power in this world and no one knows how to achieve it. Even younger brother is a mere dabbler. They are the only ones who can match a Sovereign Stage’s power…

“Who?”

“The five great sacred beasts!”

“Them?”

“They were born from an ancient world and carry with them ancient world powers, equal to Sovereigns while also engendering and opposite. With them engendering the other, they can be combined. Just think what could such a fusion of five Sovereign powers create!”

“Supreme Stage power?”

“Yes, Sword Heart, go gather those beasts’ powers, but don’t let them find out. I want to see if I can truly create such a destructive power.” The Heavenly Sovereign’s eyes twinkled, his smile icy…