"Brother, you must survive! The legacy of our Battle Saint Lineage must not be severed!"
A young Battle Saint, covered in blood, coughed up large mouthfuls of blood. A dark demonic spear had pierced through his chest and abdomen, the terrifying killing intent and law power contained within it completely extinguishing his vitality.
Yet, in the end, that resolute face was filled with a smile—a gratified smile for having died protecting his brother.
Ye Chen reached out, desperately wanting to grab him, to bring him back to life, but he could not. The other grew farther and farther away. Swish—
Before he could react, the scene before him abruptly changed. An immortal beauty of peerless elegance appeared, her flawless, goddess-like skin stained with bright droplets of blood, creating a tragically beautiful sight.
It was the Mystic Maiden Immortal of the Mythical Era, one of the most beautiful women of the Mythical Epoch, also a young generation's supreme. Yet, she had been utterly destroyed and withered away in the battle of the Mythical Great Destruction.
That face, capable of toppling kingdoms and ruining cities, appeared before Ye Chen. Her autumn-water eyes held unwillingness, powerlessness, and despair. Her entire body radiated light, blooming like an immortal flower before transforming into a shower of light rain that scattered and vanished between heaven and earth.
He also witnessed the resolute march to death of the Emperor's son, without a trace of regret.
One young generation's supreme after another, who had fought side by side with him, fell. Countless beings across the myriad realms perished. Sovereigns marched toward death. Ten heavenly suns were extinguished...
Heaven wept, earth mourned, Great Emperors fell...
Scene after scene of the Mythical Great Destruction continuously replayed before his eyes.
Watching these scenes, Ye Chen felt his heart being torn apart. His eyes turned bloodshot. He wanted to roar, overwhelmed by grief and sorrow, tears streaming down continuously. He wanted to grab them, to save them all.
Yet, everything gradually drifted farther away. He was like an outsider, helplessly watching one living being after another around him fall, utterly powerless!
"Ah—"
Ye Chen roared, his cry shattering the void of space. Everything around him suddenly changed.
He jolted awake, gasping for breath, only to find himself lying on a simple wooden bed. Everything just now had merely been an illusory dream.
Yet, it all felt so real, as if personally experienced, impossible to forget. His heart still held sorrow, grief, and heartache.
He remembered—all of that was a recreation of the Mythical Great Destruction within the World Tower Trial. It was illusory, yet so vividly real. He had personally felt those scenes of despair, empathizing deeply.
But it was all over now. Only after a long while did Ye Chen's state of mind slowly calm down. He then seriously looked around, discovering he was in an ordinary room with a simple table and chairs. Everything before him seemed so unfamiliar.
Where was this?
Having awakened from the dream, Ye Chen looked around suspiciously and probed with his powerful divine sense. However, his formidable divine sense, which he had always relied on, seemed restrained here, unable to extend outward. It was as if he had returned to his initial weak period, becoming an ordinary person who could not be more ordinary.
"You're awake."
At that moment, a gentle voice suddenly came from outside the room, startling Ye Chen. He immediately got up from the bed and walked over cautiously. The gentle voice spoke again: "Little friend, you need not be overly vigilant. This old man won't harm you."
Ye Chen also lowered his guard because this place was too peculiar, and if the other party wanted to kill him, they likely would have succeeded long ago without needing to speak to him so gently.
When he walked outside the room, he found it was a strange small island, merely three zhang square, covered with green vegetation, small trees, and weeping willows, with a thatched cottage standing there—it all seemed very ordinary.
What was astonishing, however, was that this island was actually suspended within the starry sky, as if naturally formed, completely unaffected by the cosmos, appearing utterly commonplace.
On the island, there was a small, deep, emerald-green pond, about one zhang square, its waters profound and bottomless. An old man with white hair and a youthful face was leisurely fishing by the pond's edge.
Clearly, the earlier words had come from this white-haired, youthful-faced old man.
Yet, Ye Chen dared not underestimate this old man, sensing that everything here was far from simple. He walked over, cupped his fists, and bowed respectfully to the old man: "This junior pays his respects to Senior."
The old man appeared very ordinary, even extraordinarily so. At most, he seemed a bit white-haired and youthful. He pointed to another chair by the pond for Ye Chen: "Sit!"
Ye Chen did not hesitate and sat down. But as the old man did not speak, he remained silent as well, watching the old man fish continuously. That pond was incredibly deep and strange; even he could not fully penetrate its depths.
Half a day later, Ye Chen finally spoke up: "Senior, you are—"
"Fishing," the old man also spoke, smiling. "I'm fishing for dragons, True Dragons!"
Hearing this, Ye Chen was dumbfounded. This old man was actually fishing for dragons, and True Dragons at that—was that even possible?
Because True Dragons were extremely rare in the world; how could they be fished by someone?
"Don't believe me?" The old man smiled, casually flicking his sleeve. An intangible wind blew, causing the mist over the pond to disperse, revealing a glimpse of its true appearance.
Ye Chen immediately drew a sharp breath of cold air, for he was shocked to discover the pond was far larger than imagined, as if it contained another vast and magnificent great world within.
Even more astonishingly, True Dragons truly existed within the pond—they were mythical dragons soaring through the cosmos!
If this scene were known to the outside world, it would surely cause a tremendous uproar, for True Dragons were auspicious beasts and divine beasts of the Mythical Era, their bloodlines noble. Yet now, they seemed to be kept like livestock, extravagantly and unbelievably so, leaving one unable to control oneself.
Even Ye Chen himself was shocked beyond measure, so astonished that he could hardly believe it.
Just who was this white-haired, youthful-faced old man, who dared to fish for True Dragons?
But the old man just smiled: "Child, you misunderstand. Although this old man is fishing for True Dragons, I am not raising them. I wouldn't dare do such a thing. If that Primordial Dragon found out, he would surely kill this old man."
"Primordial Dragon?" Ye Chen was startled, looking at the old man in shock. The Primordial Dragon was the first True Dragon born at the dawn of creation, ancient enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Heavenly Emperor—the strongest existence at the Emperor realm. Just who was this old man?
At that moment, the old man suddenly looked at Ye Chen. His calm yet profound eyes held a mysterious power that made one want to lose themselves within them, as if he were about to be drawn in. The old man slowly spoke: "Your first life was named Qian Yue. You received the legacy of the Battle Saint Lineage's Gu Yuntong, becoming a Battle Saint. Moreover, because your body contained myriad Dao marks, by chance you became the first young generation's supreme in the Mythical Era to reach the Tenth Heaven, hailing from the Little Divine Realm within the myriad realms... Later, in the Desolate Realm, due to the Immortal Heavenly Pass, you were sacrificed by several Great Powers to seal the opening Immortal Heavenly Pass, and perished."
"Your second life is named Ye Chen, born in Luo Feng City, Xia Feng Kingdom, on the Tian Du Continent, a branch of the Emperor Clan Ye Family that had drifted away. At seventeen, you awakened the memories of your first life, rising to prominence relying on your past life's memories. Later, you left the Tian Du Continent and returned to the myriad realms. On the ancient path behind the Purple Mansion Holy Land, you incited various Great Powers to open the Immortal Heavenly Pass, entering the mysterious starry realm beyond the pass. On the altar, you obtained your past life's physical body, the Primordial Battle Body, and the Six-Layered Coffin of Reincarnation of the Formless Sovereign. Through seclusion, you once again achieved the status of a Tenth Heaven young generation's supreme."
"Later, you returned to the Tian Du Continent, entered the origin world of the Mythical Epoch's Sovereign Gu Lan, gained control, and became the World Master..."
The white-haired, youthful-faced old man spoke slowly, recounting as if listing family treasures, yet he detailed Ye Chen's experiences across his two lives—past and present—leaving no secrets untouched.
Ye Chen's expression abruptly changed, looking at the old man in shock. Just who was he? Why did he know so much about him? Ye Chen even felt that before this old man, all his secrets were laid bare, for the old man understood everything completely, giving Ye Chen an inexplicable sense of deep dread.
Just who was he?
"Who are you? Why do you know so much?"
Ye Chen inquired warily.
The old man did not answer but instead asked: "Do you know why, after being sacrificed in your first life, you could still survive and be reborn through reincarnation?"
This had always been a mystery to Ye Chen. He always felt that his ability to revive was somehow manipulated by an invisible hand behind the scenes.
Yet, this old man seemed to know the true secret.
The old man did not answer but continued: "Do you know why you encountered him on the River of Time, who reached out to save you, blocking the Alien Race Emperor who gazed down from the Mythical Epoch?"
"Do you know why beyond the Immortal Heavenly Pass is not the Primordial Immortal Realm, but a mysterious starry realm, and why the altar held your past life's Saint Body remains, the Primordial Battle Body, and the divine stone coffin?"
"Do you know why you entered the Ultimate Ancient Path? Was it simply by mistakenly entering a spatial-temporal channel?"
"Do you know why you encountered the Emperor Blood Imprint of the Battle Saint Ancestor?"
"Do you know why the World Tower Trial recreated the final battle of the Mythical Great Destruction?"
"Do you know why you encountered me here?"
The old man posed question after question. With each sentence spoken, Ye Chen's expression changed repeatedly, looking at the old man in shock.
All of this was like a mystery to Ye Chen. Having cultivated for nearly two centuries, he had never been able to find explanations.
But now, this old man seemed to know everything.
Suddenly, he thought of a startling possibility and looked at the old man: "Could it be that all of this is because of you!"
"What do you think?" The old man did not respond directly but neither confirmed nor denied.
Ye Chen looked at the old man in shock and said: "Who are you!"
"Heh, I forgot to introduce myself." The white-haired, youthful-faced old man slowly spoke. "My original name has long been forgotten. Some call me the World Ancestral Tree. Of course, perhaps more people prefer to call me—"
"Temporal Emperor!"