In the past, although he had mobilized the major powers of the world to search for news of his old friends or the Immortal True Kings, all efforts had sunk like stones into the sea. These people seemed not to exist in this world; even the Immortal True Kings were like this, having vanished since then.
This point made Ye Chen feel strange.
Others could be explained away, but where had those Immortal True Kings gone? It was impossible for them to have completely disappeared without a trace.
The Central Heavenly Palace was an ownerless heavenly palace. It originally belonged to a hegemon from the Age of Gods. In that era, this peerless hegemon had no conflict with the Guardian Clan, and thus was tacitly allowed to build such a magnificent heavenly palace within the Imperial City.
Later, that peerless hegemon fell, and the Central Heavenly Palace became ownerless. The Guardian Clan never appeared to claim it.
Afterwards, the Central Heavenly Palace in the Imperial City was taken over by generation after generation of powerful figures. In the eras following the Age of Gods, it was successively occupied by the supreme powerhouses of various races, continuing until the present day.
Now, Ye Chen had taken over this Central Heavenly Palace, becoming its master.
For seven years, he sat all day upon the Divine Throne in the main hall of the heavenly palace. Because the Divine Throne was left behind by that peerless hegemon, it was also extraordinary, allowing him to perceive the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth with greater clarity.
Ye Chen sat upon the Divine Throne, cultivating in seclusion. When his gaze opened and closed, terrifying scenes of great worlds perishing and epochs changing could be seen. His cultivation had become increasingly unfathomable.
Clearly, he had not yet broken into the Heavenly King realm, but his cultivation was always progressing, which was unbelievable.
On this day, the tranquility of the Central Heavenly Palace was broken. Someone came to pay homage—a Saint Lord-level figure from the Huang Empire, one of the thirty-six empires. He came in person, claiming to have obtained information about those people.
"Who is it?" Ye Chen asked.
"It's a small white beast, and a little golden dragon beast," the Huang Empire Saint Lord answered truthfully.
Boom—
Upon the Divine Throne, Ye Chen could no longer suppress himself. The Dao might around him surged forth tumultuously, causing the entire Central Heavenly Palace to tremble. The void tore as if a deity had awakened, making the Saint Lord's heart tremble.
Was this the Ancient Emperor Continent's number one powerhouse, the Uncrowned Sovereign? The mere release of his aura made him feel like a small boat sailing on stormy waves, on the verge of capsizing at any moment.
Facing the other's gaze, the Saint Lord felt his Primordial Spirit was about to explode, filled with terror. He had a feeling that with just one glance from the Uncrowned Sovereign, he could truly perish, his Dao extinguished.
Soon, Ye Chen withdrew his aura, becoming peaceful, yet still unfathomable. "Fellow Daoist, please speak."
The Huang Empire Saint Lord naturally dared not conceal anything. He recounted everything in detail and presented a Memory Jade, which contained some recorded footage.
After carefully reviewing it, Ye Chen fell silent for a long while. He had someone see the Saint Lord out and bestowed upon him over a dozen drops of Heavenly King Great Dao Blood as a reward.
When the news spread, the world was greatly shaken. It was too precious; Qian was too extravagant, actually gifting Heavenly King Great Dao Blood so casually.
Originally, the major powers of the world had only searched out of fear of his might. Now, knowing there were such treasures as Great Dao Blood, they redoubled their efforts to search without reservation.
"Is there news of Yiyi and the little divine dragon?" The Goddess, one of the Three Immortal Maidens, came forward.
Ye Chen nodded.
"Let's go too," Chen'er spoke up. She was usually lively and innocent, but at critical moments, she was always decisive, because Yiyi and the Golden Little Divine Dragon were her important companions.
The Goddess considered more, her delicate brows slightly furrowed. "Is there danger?"
Ye Chen nodded, his expression somewhat grave, because it was a perilous place, dangerous enough that even someone as powerful as him had to be cautious; it was not a place to be lightly entered.
"Don't worry, the three of us sisters are enough. It's not easy for you to travel," Yi Wu said softly. Ye Chen had currently reached a critical point; at any moment, he might be unable to suppress his own Dao and break through.
They all understood Ye Chen's intention. He did not wish to break through now. Usually, he used the Human Sovereign Pagoda to seal himself, achieving immortality and restraining his own Dao.
If he were to take action, he might not be able to restrain it and truly break through.
"It's fine. I have means; there's no need to worry," Ye Chen said.
"Alright, we'll accompany you then," the Goddess said. With the Three Immortal Maidens joining forces, even if an Imperial Son came, he wouldn't gain much advantage.
"Mm, just be careful."
On this day, the Uncrowned Sovereign Qian, who had occupied the Central Heavenly Palace for a full seven years, finally emerged.
"Battle Saint King, do you need us to follow?"
The nine Heavenly Kings from the great imperial dynasties stepped forward, their tone very respectful, completely placing Ye Chen on a higher level.
Ye Chen said, "You just stay and guard the Central Heavenly Palace. If anything happens, discuss it with my avatar."
The nine Heavenly Kings from the great imperial dynasties nodded. They understood that at the Battle Saint King's level, he basically feared nothing.
He took the Three Immortal Maidens, set up a long-distance teleportation array, and had the Peacock King adjust the precise coordinates.
Finally, the group set off.
At the edge of the Ancient Emperor Continent, this was a vast, ancient, and desolate region. It did not belong to the humans, nor to the demon race or beast race. It was a lawless territory, quite vast, not much smaller than the domain of any of the three races.
Here, there were many perilous places, some born innately, others created later. They buried the bones of many powerful ancient beasts, among which some even included fallen Saint-level Ancient Beast Kings.
Some battlefields had also been discovered, along with ruins of broken ancient cities, traces of human cultivators. But they were all too ancient, traceable back to the distant ancient era.
This was the territory of the Ancient Emperor Continent where the various powerhouses of the former Ancient God Continent first entered. It was filled with dangers. Later, Ye Chen also learned that this place was once one of the main battlefields of the Age of Gods.
Finally, the group of four arrived at a perilous place—a million-li expanse of shattered earth devoid of life, perpetually shrouded in gloomy leaden clouds, with lightning flashing and thunder rumbling.
That was a divine battlefield. It was rumored that peerless hegemon-level ancient Great Sages had once fought there, shaking heaven and earth. One of them even fell there, creating this terrifying forbidden land, containing infinite baleful aura and forming a slaughterfield.
Even a Heavenly King entering it would, over time, be trapped in the slaughterfield. Countless ancient beasts lay as skeletal remains within.
Precisely because of this, Ye Chen considered this place dangerous. Even someone as powerful as him had to treat it with gravity.
However, according to the obtained intelligence, both Yiyi and the Golden Little Divine Dragon were within this perilous place. Ye Chen had no choice but to set out and enter to rescue the two little beasts.
"Let's go."
Ye Chen walked at the front. The first thing he did was summon the Human Sovereign Pagoda. The thirty-three-layered Supreme Ancient Pagoda immediately descended with surging ancient Chaos Qi, completely concealing himself and the Three Immortal Maidens. With this pagoda in hand, they could resist all killing intent and fear nothing.