"Something that transcends even Emperors!" Even Ye Chen was startled. Shouldn't Emperor be the highest realm of existence? Could there truly be beings in this world that surpass Emperors?
Not just him, probably everyone in the world believed Emperors to be the strongest. Even so-called Immortal Kings were merely equivalent to the strongest Emperors like the Battle Saint Ancestor or Tai Sheng Huang.
The Time-Space Great Emperor did not conceal anything, saying, "In the endless ages past, some invincible beings, while exploring the Chaos Sea, accidentally unearthed ancient steles from an immeasurably distant past. Their age was utterly ancient, possibly even older than the birth of the Sealed Boundary Universe itself. At the very least, the script on those steles was like that—no one could recognize it."
"Some suspect that before the birth of the various Ancient Universes in the Chaos Sea, there existed Eternal Existences in the heavens and earth that transcended the Emperor realm. They existed in an unknown ancient era, seemingly as ancient as the Chaos Sea itself, controlling the endless Chaos Sea, immortal and everlasting."
"But they later disappeared, suspected to have fallen. The suspected place of their fall is at the location where the Sealed Boundary Universe now exists. Later, the Sealed Boundary Universe was created, born within the Chaos Sea, and gave rise to the even more prosperous and glorious Mythical Epoch era than other Ancient Universes, with numerous Emperors standing side by side. Therefore, those people suspect it is within the Sealed Boundary Universe—that the fall of the Eternal Existence made this universe so powerful. They even suspect something is within the universe's origin core and want to search there, willing to fight if necessary."
"We could not agree, because that is the universe's origin core, the most important thing, where not a single mistake can be allowed."
"This was the fundamental reason for launching that war. But at that time, the Sealed Boundary Universe was ultimately prosperous and powerful enough. Some feared our universe's desperate counterattack at death's door, so they did not fully commit. In the end, the alien armies retreated, also fearing that the living Emperors of our universe would retaliate at any cost, and because other Ancient Universes intervened, they finally withdrew."
Ye Chen finally understood. But what exactly was that eternally unique thing? It made him curious.
But even the Time-Space Great Emperor did not know. No one was clear. They only suspected that after the Eternal Existence fell, a treasure capable of achieving eternity was left behind in the Sealed Boundary Universe. Obtaining it could allow one to transcend Emperors and attain eternal immortality.
Yet Ye Chen found it contradictory. Clearly, they spoke of eternal immortality, true deathlessness and indestructibility. Why then was the Eternal Existence suspected to have fallen? Wasn't that laughable?
The Time-Space Great Emperor simply said that those people suspected the Eternal Existence had lived too long and perished voluntarily, or perhaps did not perish at all, but transformed across endless ages, existing in the past, present, and future, truly everlasting, merely disappeared.
Or perhaps, there never was any Eternal Existence at all—it was merely speculation. Because after the birth of the various Ancient Universes, Emperors had been born in all of them, leading to the belief that there was no realm beyond Emperor.
However, the Time-Space Great Emperor looked at Ye Chen and suddenly said gravely, "If one day someone can break through, perhaps the Chaos Great Dao you cultivate will be the key. This is the supreme Great Dao that governs the Chaos origin. It might be the sole gateway to eternal immortality!"
Ye Chen's spirit shook. Was that possible?
But Chaos was immortal, the supreme Great Dao. Perhaps it truly was possible. Otherwise, so many people wouldn't have wanted to cultivate the Chaos Great Dao yet failed to succeed. Even a strongest Emperor like Tai Sheng Huang ultimately fell short.
"But what does it matter that they retreated after the Great Cataclysm battle? There are still people watching covetously, not just the Sealed Boundary Universe, but other places as well, equally coveted. That's why it's said the most terrifying battle will erupt in the future, a full-scale great outbreak."
"Similarly, we are also planning for the Ultimate Battle."
"This chess game we are playing is vast, even forced to reluctantly abandon the prosperous era of the Mythical Epoch, all for the Ultimate Battle, the final battle." The Time-Space Great Emperor suddenly looked into the distance, as if he could see through the other Ancient Universes, reflecting all ages, profound beyond measure, profound enough to captivate the soul.
Ye Chen fell silent. Just thinking about it made his scalp tingle. If he hadn't met the Time-Space Great Emperor, he probably wouldn't have learned these secrets until much later.
"Little friend, we all hope that you few key individuals can grow stronger quickly, especially you, to become the controller of this chess game," the Time-Space Great Emperor said. "Some secrets cannot be told to you now. It's not that I won't say, but that I cannot yet. The matter is of great importance."
"But you must understand that the Sealed Boundary Universe is not without true Emperors. They are just not in this universe, having transcended to the outside, better positioned to control the chess game."
"Some are still fighting in campaigns, some have gone to the Chaos Sea, some to the Primordial Immortal World, some have been confronting the most terrifying enemies for an entire epoch, some reincarnate life after life, some bear the infamy of ages, some do not hesitate to die just so they can defy the heavens and return in the future..."
"They are all on their journeys. All of this is so they can completely return in the future and participate in the Ultimate Battle!"
True Emperors had not completely fallen. Some were still alive, not in the Sealed Boundary Universe, but preparing in various places, all for the Ultimate Battle. They had laid out a heaven-spanning chess game enveloping the entire Sealed Boundary Universe, even the Chaos Sea, their methods astonishing the world.
But the future Ultimate Battle was too terrifying, requiring more powerhouses to join the chess game. The various Emperors hoped that Ye Chen, as a key individual, could grow faster. They especially hoped his Chaos Great Dao could be fully cultivated to success. Even if he couldn't transcend Emperor, he should still become one of the strongest Emperors, one of the supreme combatants.
"Yaya, help take care of her. After all, she is a descendant of my lineage," the Time-Space Great Emperor suddenly said.
Ye Chen nodded heavily. "Senior, you can rest assured. Yaya is my daughter. Even if not by blood, she is closer than blood."
The Time-Space Great Emperor nodded, then suddenly remembered something. "Also, take good care of the two little beasts by your side."
The True Dragon possessed the hope of becoming a Supreme Being. But Ye Chen had always been curious about Yiyi's origins and wanted to ask, but the Time-Space Great Emperor waved his hand. "The origins of that little white beast Yiyi are beyond your imagination. In the future, you might encounter its clansmen. That is an absolutely heaven-defying race. What you need to do is take good care of it. Presumably, that clan will not treat you poorly."
Ye Chen smiled. "Actually, even without you saying so, Senior, I would take good care of Yiyi. It has followed me all this way, like a younger brother to me."
The Time-Space Great Emperor suddenly said, "In the future, if there's a chance, bring Yaya to the World Tower. The World Tower was refined from my true body and is also my former Emperor artifact. I left some of my path-achieving origin power there for her, which can help her grow faster."
Ye Chen finally understood. No wonder the World Tower felt somewhat familiar, very special. So it was an Emperor Tower transformed from the World Ancestral Tree.
"The true World Tower is far larger than what you've seen. Right now, it's just shrunk, with its Emperor aura restrained. Otherwise, it would greatly affect the Tenth Emperor Pass," the Time-Space Great Emperor said with a smile. "It's a pity you're still a bit lacking now. Otherwise, I'd like to take you to a place that could allow you to achieve Monarch."
Ye Chen was shaken.
"In the future, when you return from the Ultimate Ancient Path, if you haven't become a Monarch, you can come to the World Tower once," the Time-Space Great Emperor said. "At the very top of the World Tower, which is also the position of the tree crown, actually carries an ancient and vast great world, larger than an Emperor World."
Ye Chen was stunned. Was there a world in existence larger than an Emperor World? Could it be a universe?
The Time-Space Great Emperor saw through Ye Chen's thoughts and smiled. "It can't be considered a true great universe. Even my true body could hardly contain it. But it can be called half an Ancient Universe, or a small half."
Ye Chen was skeptical, but the Time-Space Great Emperor said, word by word, "The Ancient Divine World!"
Boom—
This voice was like a thunderclap on a clear day, immediately shaking Ye Chen three times over. It was actually the legendary Ancient Divine World.
Ye Chen was not unfamiliar with the Ancient Divine World. In his previous life, when he was still in the Myriad Realms, he was the master of the Little Divine Realm. The Little Divine Realm was large enough to rival the Ancient Lan Great World, even slightly larger. Yet it was just an ordinary plane world that contained a fragment of the Ancient Divine World.
Truly speaking, the Ancient Divine World was actually equivalent to the Myriad Realms of this epoch—the upper realm of the Myriad Worlds, called the Ancient Divine World. It was just that it was shattered and disappeared during the Mythical Great Cataclysm battle. Part of it gathered to form the current Myriad Realms, part was lost in the Chaos Sea, part remained in the Myriad Worlds, but the remaining part of the incomplete Ancient Divine World was missing.
So it had always been within the World Tower, in the tree crown of the Time-Space Great Emperor's true body, the World Ancestral Tree.
This was probably something no one knew.
The Time-Space Great Emperor said, "That place buried everything and also possesses everything. If one day you encounter a bottleneck at the Great Power realm, you can come to the World Tower, bring Yaya, and enter the Ancient Divine World. That place will become the best land for you to achieve your Dao."
Ye Chen nodded heavily. The Ancient Divine World, huh?
If he could enter it in the future, it might truly be a tremendous immortal opportunity, rare and hard to come by.
"It's getting late, little friend. You need to leave."
"Farewell, Senior!" Ye Chen performed a grand salute of thanks.
"After you go out, inscribe your name on the Supreme Ranking. There will be a gift you don't expect."
The Time-Space Great Emperor twisted space and sent Ye Chen away.
What Ye Chen didn't know was that after he had completely left, the Time-Space Great Emperor looked at his departing back and softly said, "Little friend, do you remember Mai Xunyue, the reincarnation body you left in my origin Emperor world in your previous life? He is doing well and has gone to the Ultimate Ancient Path. I just don't know what expression you'll have when you learn his identity."
"Do you still remember the child you conceived with Princess Yunyan of the Divine Domain Ancient Kingdom? That was not an illusion; everything was real. He has also come, appearing on the Ultimate Ancient Path. Heh, meeting will probably be quite interesting, or to put it more aptly, it will be a very amusing scene."
"I will be looking forward to it."
The Time-Space Great Emperor revealed a meaningful, far-reaching smile, then turned to continue fishing for True Dragons, as if eternal...