The Divine City was an important ancient city connecting the Ancient Divine Palace to the outside world.
On this day, Ye Chen descended upon the world, striding forth with great steps to arrive at the Divine City.
As expected, the world of the Ancient Divine Palace had long been closed off, for the Ancient God Palace Master and the First Heavenly King Lou Changfeng had been slain one after another. How would the Ancient Divine Palace dare to resist?
They had no choice but to seal off their world, hiding away.
Yet, it was a pity. The Solar Divine Dynasty and the Ancient Night Hall had both been found by Ye Chen. How long could the Ancient Divine Palace hide? In the end, that world was forcefully broken open. Upon his descent, an aura no weaker than that of an ancient Great Sage surged into the heavens, sweeping over everything.
He forcefully ascended the Ancient Immortal Hall, intending to hold the Great Power Gu Changsheng accountable, but did not find his figure. Although the vast world of the Ancient Divine Palace was filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers, harboring many reclusive powerhouses, it lacked corresponding top-tier experts.
Some of the Ancient Divine Palace's powerhouses, trembling with fear, informed him that the Great Power Gu Changsheng had left the Ancient Divine Palace a hundred years ago and had never returned.
This was all true, for they dared not deceive the Battle Saint King, whose power was at its zenith.
Ye Chen had also found it strange, for among the seven ancient Great Sages who had besieged him, Gu Changsheng was not present. So, he had left long ago.
Furthermore, the various powerhouses of the Ancient Divine Palace pleaded for the Battle Saint King's forgiveness, stating that all of this was the doing of the Ancient God Palace Master, who had even invited the First Heavenly King Lou Changfeng out.
Now, what more was there to say? The mastermind, the Ancient God Palace Master, had long been slain by Ye Chen, and even Lou Changfeng had not been spared. However, the latter was indeed a powerhouse worthy of respect, truly remarkable. He should have possessed the bearing of a Great Power, but unfortunately, everything had come to an end.
Naturally, there was nothing more to be said about all this.
Ye Chen still sought out those several Heavenly Kings of the Ancient Divine Palace who had once attacked him. No matter how the Ancient Divine Palace's powerhouses pleaded, it was useless. A total of five Heavenly Kings were captured by Ye Chen, then shattered and pulverized, their forms and spirits utterly annihilated.
Several others had not dared to stay and had long since fled.
Later, Ye Chen deduced through divination that they had gone to the Chaos Sea.
Although that place was dangerous, heavenly secrets were easily disturbed there, making it harder to divine.
Unfortunately, none of this worked. Ye Chen was too powerful. He still found them all and shattered them into dust.
As for the other powerhouses within the Ancient Divine Palace, most were in secluded cultivation, detached from worldly strife. Ye Chen did not trouble them, merely directly sealing off the Ancient Divine Palace's world before departing.
Not long after, Ye Chen left the Ancient Emperor Realm, returning to the Ancient Orchid Great World through a spatial passage.
At the same time, on this very day, the entire Ancient Orchid Great World was plunged into great mourning.
For a shocking piece of news had spread a few days prior: the Holy Church Heavenly God had fallen. He had been framed and had perished.
It could be seen that every statue of the Heavenly God in the Ancient Orchid Great World had completely dimmed. No matter how people prayed, it was useless. Everything appeared bleak and lifeless.
The world was in great mourning. Following the fall of the World Master, the Battle Saint King, the Holy Church Heavenly God had also fallen. This was simply a great tragedy for the Gu Lan Holy Church. Two great figures had departed one after another, casting a pall of gloom over everyone's hearts.
Yet, at the same time, the Gu Lan Holy Church was not lacking in ambitious individuals who sought to take advantage of this opportunity to vie for the position of the next Holy Church Heavenly God, coveting the endless Faith Power for themselves, hoping to one day ascend to the pinnacle of the Great Dao.
Within the Gu Lan Holy Church, powerhouses gathered, undercurrents surged, and various factions contended for supremacy.
All the Holy Church Elders were striving to win over various powerhouses, preparing for their own ascension to the position of Heavenly God.
Even before the formal selection had begun, many powerhouses within the Holy Church had already engaged in fierce battles. These were genuine Heavenly Kings; once they fought, who knew how intense it would be.
Boom—
Suddenly, the divine statues of the Gu Lan Holy Church all erupted with boundless radiance, overwhelming the heavens and earth, directly sweeping through the myriad heavens, drawing the attention of everyone. What had happened?
Amidst this, the sky was torn open, and a figure of heroic and extraordinary bearing slowly stepped out. His majestic form was peerless in the world, but upon closer inspection, that heroic and handsome face was none other than the legendary World Master, the Battle Saint King.
This left everyone dumbfounded. Hadn't the legendary Battle Saint King fallen? Why had he appeared again?
Although many with ulterior motives wanted to prove this was not the true Battle Saint King, it was simply impossible. For the boundless Faith Power had suddenly begun to boil, surging forth, transforming into a brilliant bridge of light that spread out, specifically to welcome the Battle Saint King.
Ye Chen manifested his majestic Heaven-Earth Dharma Form, standing tall between heaven and earth, sweeping his gaze across the myriad heavens. His majestic figure was reflected in everyone's heart.
"I, the Battle Saint King, have returned!"
With these words, the entire Ancient Orchid Great World completely erupted. Billions of commoners boiled over with excitement, for the supreme World Master, the sole deity in whom all placed their faith, the Battle Saint King, had defied the heavens and returned.
Far away in the Heavenly Capital Continent, the Monarch of Xia Feng Kingdom was also stirred with inexplicable emotion. Gazing in the direction of the Ancient Lan Continent, he murmured softly, "You brat have finally awakened."
Upon his return, Ye Chen immediately took control of the Holy City and forcefully suppressed all those within the Holy City who harbored ambitions to seize power within the Gu Lan Holy Church. He swept through, once again ascending that divine altar throne, high above, overlooking the myriad heavens.
At the same time, he was in perfect harmony with the Ancient Orchid Great World.
He could fully feel waves of joy emanating from the World Origin of the Ancient Lan World, like a child seeing its father—simple and pure.
Having reached this step, Ye Chen also gained a clearer understanding of the Ancient Orchid Great World. When one's cultivation reached the level of an ancient Great Sage, one could open up a vast world, but it was more of an Inner World, located within one's own body.
The Inner World had various wondrous uses. It could allow living beings to be nurtured spontaneously and also possessed other great, profound functions.
However, upon reaching the Ancient Monarch realm, everything underwent a completely new transformation. The Inner World could undergo a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering metamorphosis, directly evolving into a true World Origin world—a Great World. Different from a mere world, it possessed a World Barrier and could truly give birth to living beings. Everything underwent special changes.
Naturally, more importantly, the World Origin world contained a vast sea of World Power, which was also an embodiment of the invincible might of a Sovereign.
Although Ye Chen had also become the master of the Ancient Orchid Great World, in truth, he could not truly mobilize all of the Ancient Lan World's Origin Power. What he could mobilize was only one or two-tenths; more of the World Power remained within the Ancient Orchid Great World.
Only a true Ancient Monarch could completely mobilize World Power, even employing a World Projection—a projection of an entire vast world. How magnificent and immense it was, capable of crushing everything in the world.