"That's right, it's me!"
A faint yet warm laugh suddenly rang out.
In the secret chamber, Wangchen and the Peacock King stared at the familiar figure that had suddenly appeared before them. No matter what, they couldn't hide the shock in their hearts, though it was mixed with pleasant surprise and a hint of doubt. "You... are you really Qian Yue?"
Ye Chen gave a light smile. Although he had become a Chaos Saint Body, he could still release the golden blood energy of his former Saint Body. It surged forth, vast and fiery, filling the entire secret chamber, definitively confirming his identity as the Battle Saint King.
Upon witnessing this, master and disciple were both overjoyed. They had never imagined that Ye Chen could actually return to life.
Having been in seclusion here all this time, they were not very clear about the news from the outside world.
"You rascal! They say a nine-tailed fox has nine lives, but you, Qian Yue, are even more of a nine-tailed fox than a nine-tailed fox!" The Peacock King roared with laughter, rushing forward to give Ye Chen a heavy bear hug.
Ye Chen also laughed heartily, embracing the Peacock King firmly. Sensing the other's current cultivation level, which had also surpassed Samsara, filled him with joy.
After all, no matter what, the Peacock King had the hope of advancing to the peak of the Great Dao in the future.
"Qian Yue." Wangchen also prepared to stand up, but Ye Chen stepped forward first towards him. "Senior Wangchen, you are injured. Let me help you resolve it first."
Wangchen shook his head. "These are just minor injuries."
"Minor injuries?" Ye Chen's eyes widened. "I heard everything earlier. It would take you at least thirty years to fully recover. Let me handle it."
Almost without giving Wangchen a chance to refuse, Ye Chen placed a hand on his shoulder. With a boom, a surge of Chaos blood energy directly entered Wangchen's body, swiftly locating the site of the injury.
Rumble—
Visible to the naked eye, Wangchen's entire body began to glow, his skin radiating a rosy light. The pitch-black areas were rapidly being resolved. Wisps of fine black mist emerged from his body, quickly evaporating and completely leaving him, vanishing entirely.
It all seemed so unbelievable. An injury that would have taken Wangchen thirty years to fully resolve was now completely healed by Ye Chen in just a short moment. It all appeared utterly incredible.
Just what level had Ye Chen's cultivation reached now, for it to be so effortless?
"Ye Chen, you—"
Wangchen and the Peacock King, master and disciple, stared dumbfounded at Ye Chen, filled with shock.
His miraculous return was one thing, but how was it that he now felt so much stronger than before? Even though both master and disciple were Heavenly Kings, they could sense Ye Chen's unfathomable depth. Even an old-timer Heavenly King like Wangchen felt the same, which spoke volumes.
"As I am now, I can be considered to have barely reached the level of an ancient Great Sage," Ye Chen said with a slight smile, speaking softly.
"Ancient Great Sage!?"
Master and disciple looked at each other, their faces a picture of dumbfounded shock. This guy had actually reached the realm of an ancient Great Sage? How young was he? How many years had he even been cultivating?
Throughout the ages, this would absolutely be considered extremely rare.
It all seemed somewhat hard to believe. But then, considering his heaven-defying monstrous talent, and the fact that he could perform a Sacrificial Offering of himself at the Emperor's Pass and still return miraculously, it all became understandable.
After all, Ye Chen had always been a peerless monstrous talent who defied common sense. All of this could be explained.
"Alright, we can talk about everything else later. Let's leave seclusion first. While I haven't been at the Heavenly Gate, there's probably been some chaos within the sect," Wangchen said with a slight smile. Now that his injuries were healed, he could fully emerge from seclusion.
Moreover, with the presence of Ye Chen, the Battle Saint King, whose strength was no less than a Great Power's, everything could be stabilized.
The Heavenly Gate could also sweep away its former state of decline.
After Wangchen recovered from his injuries, he naturally emerged from seclusion, which also allowed the many worried elders and disciples of the Heavenly Gate to breathe a sigh of relief.
After all, Wangchen was now the new Gate Lord of the Heavenly Gate. One could say he was the strongest individual in the sect, and no matter what, he could not be allowed to come to harm.
When Wangchen emerged from seclusion, a large number of elders and renowned figures gathered in the main hall atop the Heavenly Mountain, awaiting his appearance to handle the series of major events that had occurred recently.
And what was more important was that not only the Gu Lan Holy Church, but even the Heavenly Gate itself had nearly had its sovereignty overturned. This was because during the past century, several Heavenly Kings had joined the Heavenly Gate.
The Heavenly Gate naturally welcomed the addition of Heavenly Kings with open arms. After all, the fall of the previous Gate Lord had caused the entire sect's standing to drop several levels. Morale was unstable, and powerful forces were urgently needed to stabilize the hearts of the sect's members.
The appearance of several external Heavenly Kings was naturally welcomed with great enthusiasm. They were invited and granted very high positions within the Heavenly Gate.
However, what was infuriating was that these Heavenly King elders initially seemed dedicated to the Heavenly Gate's affairs. But later on, they suddenly began to gather various factions within the sect, aiming to seize control of the sect's authority. They even brazenly utilized the various precious cultivation resources of the Heavenly Gate.
While Wangchen was still present, these Heavenly Kings had been somewhat restrained, not daring to act too openly. Wangchen, considering the Heavenly Gate's current situation, had tolerated it.
But ever since he was injured and entered seclusion, these Heavenly Kings had become increasingly emboldened. Now, they even controlled several of the Heavenly Gate's main peaks. A large number of the sect's key elders and disciples had been gathered under their banners.
Wangchen's authority over the Heavenly Gate had long been silently divided among these several Heavenly King elders.
Now, in the main hall, one could see several Heavenly King elders seated on thrones within the grand chamber. They merely gave a slight nod towards Wangchen at the highest seat, showing no real respect whatsoever.
Regarding this, after receiving the news, Wangchen no longer intended to hold back. He swept a cold gaze over the several Heavenly King elders. "Elder Nangu, Elder Zhao Tian, Elder Xia, Elder Ouyang, Elder Nan Gong, Elder Bei Ming. From what I know, recently, without my permission, you have taken resources from within the Heavenly Gate and transported them out. Not only have you used them to refine Dao weapons and magical instruments for yourselves, but you have also sold them to other forces, obtaining a substantial amount of profit. I haven't misspoken, have I?"
In the main hall, before the many important elders and disciples of the Heavenly Gate, Wangchen did not hesitate to directly tear off the facade.
The expressions of the six Heavenly King elders in the hall changed. Although they had considered that Wangchen might hold them accountable, they had anticipated that for the sake of the Heavenly Gate's reputation and considering their own importance, he would at most question them privately. They never expected him to tear off the facade right from the start, reprimanding them without any room for maneuver, and doing so before all the important figures of the Heavenly Gate. Their faces immediately turned green and red.
However, being old foxes of many years, their skin was naturally not ordinary thick.
One of the Heavenly King elders stepped forward. It was Heavenly King Nangu, who spoke in a sinister tone, "Gate Lord Wang, you are mistaken on this point. While you were in seclusion healing your injuries, the Heavenly Gate faced several crises. Enemies repeatedly approached our mountain gates, even preventing many disciples from cultivating properly. We few had no choice but to exchange some sect resources with other forces. What is wrong with that?"
Wangchen smiled, though the smile was cold. "Is that really so? Using nine types of Heavenly King-level divine materials for artifact forging like Starry Silver Sand and Sea Azure Blue Silver, over a hundred jin of each, yet only obtained a mere few million jin of spirit stones? I truly wish to know, when did the value of these Heavenly King-level forging materials become so low? If that's really the case, then fine. I have fifty million jin of spirit stones on me. You go and exchange them for those nine types for me, over a thousand jin of each."
"Hmph, Wangchen, are you deliberately making things difficult for us now? During this period, the Heavenly Gate faced difficulties, but you hid away like a turtle in its shell, not emerging. Now that all the turmoil has passed, you want to hold us, who have been wholeheartedly dedicated, accountable? You are truly cruel," Elder Nangu said coldly, resorting to sophistry.
On the other side, the other Heavenly King elders did the same, denouncing Wangchen's immorality. All of their actions were simply chilling to the heart.
The many elders and disciples in the hall stared dumbfounded at this battle where the Gate Lord and the several Heavenly King elders had torn off the facade. They were somewhat stunned, clearly not expecting what was supposed to be a joyous celebration of the Gate Lord's emergence from seclusion to develop into this.
"Heh, is that really so?" Wangchen gave a cold laugh, looking at them icily.
After all, they had a guilty conscience. Under Wangchen's gaze, the several Heavenly King elders felt somewhat uneasy.
"Since Gate Lord Wang thinks so, the most we can do is leave the Heavenly Gate. If the Heavenly Gate has no place for us, surely with our abilities, we can find other places to stay?" The several Heavenly King elders all spoke coldly, turning to leave.
Boom—
Wangchen stood up tall, releasing a vast Heavenly King aura that directly spread out, locking onto the several of them. His refined face was filled with coldness. "Leave, you may. But first, spit out everything you obtained from the Heavenly Gate."
At the same time, the Peacock King did the same. His aura surged forth; he too was a young Heavenly King, not inferior to anyone, locking onto these six external Heavenly King elders.
The six Heavenly King elders saw this and laughed coldly. "Wangchen, I must say, you master and disciple are truly foolish. Do you still think this is the era when the previous Heavenly Gate Gate Lord was alive? Do you really think the two of you can stop the six of us?"
"What if you include me?"
A clear, cold voice abruptly resounded throughout the Heavenly Gate's main hall.
Following the source of the voice, they looked towards the main hall's entrance. There, a young man had appeared at some unknown time. He was heroic and majestic, his entire body bathed in a layer of hazy primordial Chaos Qi, as transcendent as a heavenly deity.
And between his eyebrows, there was clearly a faint Moon Mark!
"The Battle Saint King!?" In that instant, the expressions of the six Heavenly Kings turned to horror!