Wayfarer-Chapter 1003: The Sandworm King

On an island in the Northern Sea, the Dragon King of the Northern Sea and a number of his subordinates had an audience with a spectral guard.

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Beside him, one of the Dragon King's subordinates bowed and reported, "Your Majesty, according to Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates, the new heavens have descended. I considered the information important enough to disrupt your secluded cultivation."

The Dragon King turned to the spectral guard. "Did Xiao Nanfeng have you come?"

The spectral guard bowed and nodded. "Yes, Dragon King. Dazheng has been monitoring the skies. It observed a celestial artifact traversing through the stars and arriving at the moon. A saint's avatar was seen entering this artifact. We believe that the new heavens have arrived and will soon act against this world."

The Dragon King's expression darkened as he nodded. "I see."

At the same time, leaders of major powers across the world received similar notifications from Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng explained that a Dazheng observer had spotted the celestial artifact without revealing Tang's existence. He refrained from disclosing more details out of concern that there might still be spies planted by saints among them.

Upon hearing the news, one by one, supreme cultivators emerged from their seclusion. Some gazed at the skies, spotting meteors falling from above. Those farther away relied on swift messengers to inform them of the approximate locations of the meteors.

Those supreme cultivators shot into the skies, heading toward the meteors' impact sites.

They landed in the eastern continent, not too far away from Dazheng. As such, Xiao Nanfneg was among the first to arrive.

By the time he arrived at the location, some supreme cultivators had already gathered. Xiao Nanfeng and his subordinates stood atop a distant mountain peak, watching the scene solemnly.

One after another, the meteors crashed to the ground with deafening booms. The earth shook violently as towering clouds of dust rose into the air. Hidden within the dust clouds were immense, overwhelming auras that made Xiao Nanfeng narrow his eyes.

With a gust of wind, the Divine Emperor appeared beside Xiao Nanfeng.

"Are they here?" the Divine Emperor asked gravely.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded and kept his eyes focused on the distance.

Moments later, Madam Rouge arrived, followed closely by Liu Miaoyin.

The three women, each forewarned by Xiao Nanfeng, rushed to the scene as soon as the meteors began their descent.

Whatever contention they might have had earlier were set aside. For now, they stood harmoniously by Xiao Nanfeng's side, showing no signs of discord.

As fierce winds howled, streaks of light approached rapidly from all corners of the world. The most powerful beings of this realm, the supreme cultivators, gathered on mountaintops, focusing their gaze on the dust-filled impact zone.

Within the dust, colossal auras could be sensed, drawing grim expressions from everyone.

Not long after, an enormous, invisible hand suddenly pressed down from above, dispersing the dust clouds with a deafening rumble. What lay beneath was revealed: over a thousand figures.

These beings had octopus-like heads atop human bodies, and their skin was covered in red scales. Their auras were both domineering and bizarre. The thousand-odd creatures were divided into eighteen smaller groups, each led by a distinct leader.

"These creatures are all Boundless Immortals," Liu Miaoyin said solemnly.

"Eighteen leaders? How peculiar," Madam Rouge murmured.

"They're very strong," the Divine Emperor remarked gravely.

The supreme cultivators all around them were all eyeing the creatures seriously.

Xiao Nanfneg took a deep breath and shouted, "You who come from beyond the heavens, how should we address you? Who leads you?"

Everyone turned toward Xiao Nanfeng in surprise.

While many wanted to defy the heavens, few were willing to be the first to challenge these alien beings. Yet Xiao Nanfeng had stepped forward without hesitation and provoked the octopus-headed creatures directly.

They all turned toward Xiao Nanfeng as one.

"I lead all. I am the sandworm king," one of the eighteen leaders shouted.

Xiao Nanfeng narrowed his eyes. These creatures and the so-called heavens were clearly extraterrestrial beings. How did they speak the language of this world?

The other alien leaders seemed to be enraged by this pronouncement.

"What right do you have to call yourself the sandworm king? I am the sandworm king!"

"Ha! You're only the king of your world. We're all kings of our own worlds. Now that our master has summoned us all, why should you be the king?"

"You, king? You're hardly qualified!"

The eighteen leaders argued with each other disdainfully.

The sight left the supreme cultivators astonished. Were these extraterrestrial invaders going to fight among themselves?

Only Xiao Nanfeng was privy to the knowledge that, regardless of how they squabbled, none of them would come to blows. After all, the heavens were watching them from high above.

No one knew just how powerful these aliens were. Xiao Nanfeng's objective was to test their strength and capabilities to allow the world to prepare its defenses.

He shouted again, "Are you all sandworms, then? And each of you claims to be the sandworm king?"

The eighteen sandworm kings all glared at Xiao Nanfeng in unison.

"Do you come as agents of the heavens to destroy this world?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

"Who are you? How do you know this?" a sandworm king demanded.

"My subjects have observed your celestial artifact from beyond the heavens. The new heavens did not descend personally but rather sent lackeys like you instead—don't you know that we defeated the previous heavenly representative?" Xiao Nanfeng retorted.

"Ha! He may have died, but not at your hands. His killer lies dead too!" a sandworm king replied.

"You know about us?" Xiao Nanfeng asked, feigning surprise. Then, narrowing his eyes, he added, "Ah, I understand. My subjects saw the saints' avatars entering your celestial artifact. They must have told you everything."

The sandworm kings snorted.

They seemed to be preparing to strike. They wouldn't waste more time with words.

Sensing the tension escalating, Xiao Nanfeng shouted once more, "Enough talk! If you're here to destroy us, then prove your strength. Let one of you step forward and show us what the new heavens' emissaries are made of!"

"Insolent fool," the sandworm kings sneered.

Turning to the gathered experts, Xiao Nanfeng declared, "Everyone, these sandworms are not worth our simultaneous effort. Who among you will test their mettle? If they can be dealt with, let's wipe them out entirely and send a message to the new heavens: though the Heavenly Emperor has fallen, a new one among us can rise up and succeed that mantle!"

His bold words gave the sandworm kings pause. Another Heavenly Emperor?

Despite their immense strength, they were no fools. If there were a being on par with the Heavenly Emperor here, their entire group would face certain death.

Seeing that Xiao Nanfeng was arrogant enough to think that a human could wipe them all out, they eyed each other cautiously. Instead of going all-out, they intended to test the cultivators of this world first as well.

Xiao Nanfeng glanced at the cultivators. When no one stepped forward, he frowned and turned toward the three women around him, prepared to ask for one of them to step up. This fight was unavoidable, but he could yet control the terms: one-on-one, or all-out fighting. He had other plans that he didn't want to reveal in advance, and was confident he could protect the women if they were to fight. If the aliens decided to attack en masse, however, what he could do would become far more limited.

None of the three women backed down. Each stepped forward, poised for the challenge.

Just then, a voice shouted, "I shall test their mettle."

Xiao Nanfeng turned to see the Dragon King of the Northern Sea advance.

"Emperor Xiao, everyone, watch carefully," the Dragon King declared.

Everyone nodded seriously.

Clearly, the Dragon King of the Northern Sea saw through Xiao Nanfeng's intentions, and he was willing to probe the strength of these so-called sandworms for the world. His selfless gesture won him great respect.

"I am the Dragon King of the Northern Sea, an insignificant spirit in the grand scheme of things in the world. Let me be the first to test your strength. Which sandworm king will stand against me?" the Dragon King shouted.

The eighteen sandworm kings eyed each other, clearly doubting that he was as insignificant as claimed.

"I shall," a hulking sandworm king replied.

Though the sandworm kings had squabbled with one another, they were surprisingly united when it came to the actual fighting. None of them rushed forward to compete with the sandworm king who had spoken.

The cultivators of this world viewed them as threats, and vice versa.

"Dragons are common across the cosmos. They're my favorite delicacy. Today, I'll get a taste of you," the sandworm king taunted.

It charged forward at the Dragon King, who countered with a mighty punch.

A golden dragon's shadow roared through the void and tore through space to strike the sandworm king.

The impact seemed to shatter the sandworm king's body; cracks spiderwebbed through it as if it were broken porcelain.

"Is it... over already?" many murmured in surprise.

"No, the sandworm king is unharmed! Be careful!" Madam Rouge suddenly shouted.

With a resounding explosion, the sandworm king's cracked exterior burst into sand, shooting like bullets in all directions. Sand had formed into armor across the sandworm king's body in an instant, protecting it from danger.

Beneath the shattered "armor," the sandworm king remained unscathed. The explosion of the armor and the subsequent shockwave forced the Dragon King back.

Just then, a huge tentacle grew out from the back of the sandworm king's octopus head. The tentacles swiftly elongated and thrust toward the Dragon King at such speed that his eyes widened.

The tentacles sent him flying. One speared through his chest, causing blood to splatter all over.

The Dragon King used his full force to attack that tentacle, barely avoiding a killing blow after being forced to retreat hundreds of meters.

A single confrontation had left the sandworm king unharmed and the Dragon King badly wounded.

"That sandworm king's tentacles are too fast—as fast as lightning!"

"Few can match the Dragon King's defenses in this world, but the tentacles broke through them instantly!"

"What a powerful sandworm king..."

The supreme cultivators grimly acknowledged the sandworm king's terrifying power.

Meanwhile, the sandworm king sneered disdainfully. "Ha! Is this how weak the cultivators of this world are?"