Chapter 2087 - 2083: Heaven’s Mandate

Ye Fan stood at the summit of Heavenly Peak Mountain, gazing at the misty clouds below, and then turned his gaze to the ancient Divine Weapon suspended in the air at the mountain’s peak, feeling many emotions.

Xi He said, "Master, you’ve returned many times, haven’t you noticed anything wrong here? If you don’t find anything, why do you keep coming back?"

"I just want more time to contemplate the contents of the ancient prophecy stone, which foretells that this place is the last stronghold against the cosmic catastrophe within the Pan Gu secret realm. I truly can’t understand how this place becomes the final site to be overturned by the Pan Gu secret realm. Is it possible that besides the Divine Weapon, something else is hidden here?" Ye Fan asked curiously.

Unfortunately, Xi He couldn’t answer his question, shaking her head, "I’m afraid only you, Master, can explore to find out. If you sensed any problem, you wouldn’t be standing here contemplating these things now, would you?"

Ye Fan scrutinized Xi He, "Then what do you think might be hidden here?"

"Me?" Xi He continued shaking her head, "My status now is very humble, and my thoughts can’t compare to masters like you and Pan Gu with such cultivation and insight. How could I know what’s hidden here?"

Ye Fan said, "No, actually, I think you might have an idea, but you don’t want to say it. Your thoughts are far stronger than those of ordinary ancient powers. After the ten great ancients all went dormant, only you continued exploring the world, for at least several ten thousand years, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of years, right?"

Xi He did not answer Ye Fan’s question, which was almost like an implicit agreement.

"I’ve understood one thing after such long exploration: those ancient legends were indeed achievable, and many matters are beyond Pan Gu’s control... If it were me, having reached the level of Pan Gu’s cultivation, I would be able to control everything. But because cultivators practice Spiritual Energy, which has strong limitations, Pan Gu has always been exploring a power stronger than Spiritual Energy, capable of challenging the creator! He himself comes to Heavenly Peak Mountain because there are relevant clues here!" Ye Fan said.

Xi He remained silent, seemingly contemplating Ye Fan’s words.

"You can deny it!" Ye Fan told Xi He, "I won’t force you, just as I won’t force other women around me. What you consider is how to resolve the cosmic catastrophe, while I consider how to use my cultivation to create a stronger world... My vision is no longer limited to just the impending catastrophe!"

Xi He said, "It seems congratulations are in order. Master has broadened their vision!"

"Are you praising me or mocking me?" Ye Fan chuckled, "Perhaps you believe I’m not qualified yet, even Pan Gu and Fu Xi might think the same, but now I realize that even if I defeat the cosmic catastrophe, I cannot become the master of the universe. It’s not because of Pan Gu and Fu Xi, but because I’m merely a tool of the creator. After I defeat Pan Gu and Fu Xi, the creator will create another version of myself to defeat me, endlessly repeating. Perhaps Pan Gu’s appearance is due to such a reason, hence why he is so pessimistic!"

Xi He asked, "Master has felt Pan Gu’s pessimism?"

"Yes!" Ye Fan nodded, "Maybe you can’t understand Pan Gu’s mindset, but I understand that he feels he’s reached a dead end. He won’t find any way to resolve current issues. He knows that once I overcome the cosmic catastrophe, his end will come unless he can hide forever so I can never find him, which is nearly impossible to achieve..."

"Hopefully, as Master said, when that time comes, as your slave, I can quietly stand behind you and enjoy the fruits of victory. What the next catastrophe will be, I no longer care. As long as I can live through this cycle, I have no other wishes!" Xi He said.

...

...

Ye Fan, with Xi He, left Heavenly Peak Mountain and returned to Sky City.

At this moment, several million people had gathered in Sky City, and more were still arriving. According to Ye Fan’s plan, he needed the sects to quickly gather more people to Sky City so there would be a chance to protect these ordinary humans.

Hai Wuzi, the Sect Master of Star River Sect, appeared before Ye Fan. She had been waiting for his return.

"Alliance Hierarch Ye, following your request, we’ve let members of various sects abandon the plan to guard their own mountain gates and come down to help ordinary people within the Pan Gu secret realm... but some sects still won’t cooperate!" Hai Wuzi said.

Ye Fan frowned, "Which sects? Are they from the Seven Great Sects?"

"It’s not just the Seven Great Sects, but also other smaller sects. These sects believe self-preservation in the face of the catastrophe is a problem, and no one is willing to sacrifice anything for ordinary humans. Ultimately, it’s because of selfishness. With the impending catastrophe, there might be less than five hours left. Once it happens, disciples of these small sects might first seek refuge in Sky City and won’t care about the lives of ordinary citizens..." Hai Wuzi spoke with apparent pain.

Ye Fan shook his head, "It’s impossible to force everyone to have the consciousness of sacrifice. And now, I won’t force all sects to gather people here. It is for the maximum protection of these citizens. Because it’s already too late, even if we can mobilize the sect members to help, it’s impossible to gather all citizens here. It would be a luxury if even one-tenth could come... most citizens will still face an overwhelming disaster in this calamity."

Hai Wuzi sighed and asked, "Has Alliance Hierarch Ye made preparations for defense? In fact, I understand that you care about the lives of people on Earth. This catastrophe isn’t solely aimed at the Pan Gu secret realm; the safety of Earth also concerns you!"

Ye Fan said, "Sect Master Hai shouldn’t worry too much about these things."

"Alliance Hierarch Ye, we appreciate everything you’ve done for the cultivation world. But ultimately, it’s all destined by heaven. If you are indeed unable, perhaps you should temporarily stop worrying about the Pan Gu secret realm’s affairs and let the cultivators within face the disaster themselves... This is something we should be dealing with!" Hai Wuzi said sincerely.