Even the Dragon Phoenix Academy Head was slightly taken aback by Ye Chen's confident and forceful tone. But recalling Ye Chen's fearless and invincible nature, he chose to acquiesce silently. Perhaps the Battle Saint King truly could manage it.
The Dragon Phoenix Academy Head drew a deep breath, looking at Ye Chen with a grave expression as he said, "Battle Saint King, since that is the case, this old man hopes you can proceed to the depths of the Ultimate Ancient Path as soon as possible. The alien race's Imperial Sons and young supremes have long since set out. Compared to the alien races, our Sealed Boundary Universe's overall strength might be somewhat inferior, and we may be targeted by them. If possible, I hope that whenever you see the young prodigies of our world in distress, you can lend a helping hand."
Ye Chen smiled and said, "Senior, you jest. Though we, the Heaven's Pride Prodigies of the Sealed Boundary Universe, may have had some competition and grievances in the past, now that we have embarked on the Ultimate Ancient Path, we are all people of the same ancient universe. If they encounter trouble, this junior naturally will not stand idly by."
"Very well. This old man wishes the Battle Saint King a smooth journey to the final checkpoint of the Ultimate Ancient Path, attaining the Emperor's Throne of the Human Sovereign." The Dragon Phoenix Academy Head clasped his fists heavily, treating Ye Chen as an equal.
"I accept your auspicious words, Senior!"
Ye Chen stepped onto the ancient altar on his own initiative. He was enveloped and intertwined by countless law runes and dao marks. His entire body began to glow, surging and swelling with power, instantly shining many times brighter before he completely vanished into the light gate.
Boom—
Ye Chen disappeared, having truly departed this time, finally setting foot on the path of the Ultimate Ancient Path.
Watching the vanishing figure of the Battle Saint King, even this old-timer who had weathered many years felt a sigh of emotion, a peculiar sentiment flickering in his eyes.
He had witnessed the Battle Saint King's invincibility and believed that with the Battle Saint King's peerless bearing, even on that Ultimate Ancient Path which gathered the strongest young generation from various ancient universes, he would inevitably carve out a glorious record of achievements, fearlessly charging through all directions, dominating without equal.
For no other reason than this: he was the Battle Saint King!
Naturally, he hoped even more that the Battle Saint King could sweep through all enemies from the various ancient universes with invincible might, fight his way to the final checkpoint, overpower countless foes from all heavens and universes, and ascend to the pinnacle of the Great Dao.
Void traversed, and time itself seemed to shift.
Ye Chen embarked on the road to the Ultimate Ancient Path. However, he did not arrive at the Ultimate Ancient Path immediately. First, he entered a deep and mysterious passage, silently and swiftly advancing.
He could clearly feel that the surrounding space-time was undergoing peculiar changes; even the flow of time seemed altered. He journeyed on alone, in solitude.
Within, countless strange scenes flashed into view, appearing beautiful, extraordinary, and magnificent.
Yet, in the end, Ye Chen sat down cross-legged in meditation, paying them no mind. He conserved his energy and spirit, constantly adjusting his own state to its peak condition.
Though he was powerful enough, he never truly underestimated his enemies. Thus, even when acting, he remained cautious.
The Ultimate Ancient Path would pit him against countless foes from the ancient universes of all heavens, leaving no room for carelessness.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but finally, Ye Chen noticed everything before him undergoing a special change.
With a loud boom, the dark passage vanished. Coming to his senses, Ye Chen found himself in a brand-new world—a vast starry sky dotted with celestial bodies, galaxies hanging like curtains, dazzling and brilliant, with stellar radiance flowing and cascading.
Moreover, Ye Chen distinctly sensed that this was a region with a complete Heavenly Dao, where the Ten Heavens existed.
Looking into the distance, Ye Chen saw that at the center of the starry sky, an ancient continent floated amidst it, circulating with ancient, mysterious aura, appearing immensely grand and majestic.
Upon closer inspection, even Ye Chen couldn't help but draw a slight, sharp breath.
For this was no ordinary continent at all, but an extremely massive ancient city—so large it was excessive, perhaps even surpassing a true Imperial City.
One could see that towering walls stood at the edges of the continent, reaching into the clouds. However, compared to the vastness of the continent, they seemed somewhat minuscule and barely visible.
The ancient, mysterious continent floated in the depths of the starry sky. Ye Chen stood firm in the cosmos, gazing into the distance, his eyes profound. "Could this be the first checkpoint of the Ultimate Ancient Path?"
Swoosh—
He charged forward, flying through the air. He did not display his powerful divine abilities or dharma forms. Instead, like an ordinary Cultivator, in an unfamiliar land, he would never reveal his absolute, invincible bearing from the start.
This was also a crucial reason why he had managed to survive until now.
No matter the circumstances, Ye Chen would always conceal a portion of his strength, never fully exposing it.
It could be seen that throughout the vast starry sky, numerous special streams of light were rapidly converging toward that magnificent continental ancient city from all directions, shining brilliantly.
Among them, Ye Chen spotted Cultivators from other races. Some had not taken human form at all, possessing massive bodies. There were giants, dwarves, asuras, demonic beings, yakshas... far too many races, all descending toward that central continental ancient city in the starry sky.
Ye Chen restrained his aura and descended into the continental ancient city alongside the Cultivators of various races arriving from all corners of the cosmos.
The moment he landed, Ye Chen looked up and discovered a line of ancient characters inscribed on the grand gate of the magnificent ancient city: Cosmos Heaven City!
Entering it, he was astonished to find that the number of racial Cultivators within this mysterious continental ancient city, Cosmos Heaven City, far exceeded imagination. The various races he had seen earlier were already numerous, but within Cosmos Heaven City, there were even more. He even spotted the tiny ant race.
Though the ant race was minute, he witnessed with his own eyes a Cultivator from a race called the Tai Tian Ants, possessing immense strength. While still young, this Cultivator effortlessly lifted and carried away a massive mountain. The key point was that this Tai Tian Ant Cultivator was very young yet already possessed such innate divine strength, which was truly astonishing.
However, he also saw other peculiar races within Cosmos Heaven City. For instance, a Cultivator whose true form was a blade, who did not conceal its original body, swaggering openly through the continental ancient city. Everything appeared so ordinary and natural.
Was this the first trial ground of the Ultimate Ancient Path?
Standing within Cosmos Heaven City, Ye Chen felt somewhat puzzled. It differed from what he had imagined.
Moreover, even the Dragon Phoenix Academy and the Myriad Domains Academy actually had limited understanding of the Ultimate Ancient Path.
Since the beginning of this epoch, only one young Heaven's Pride from the Sealed Boundary Universe had managed to reach the end, and he had not left behind much truly useful, important information. As a result, Ye Chen also had no way to accurately obtain intelligence about the Ultimate Ancient Path.
All of this left the current Ye Chen somewhat aimless within Cosmos Heaven City, lacking proper direction.
However, as the saying goes, where there are people, there is the martial world; and where there is the martial world, information can be gathered.
Ye Chen headed straight for the most bustling central area of Cosmos Heaven City. There, palaces and pavilions stretched continuously, celestial palaces floated, divine islands drifted ethereally, and immortal mist permeated the air. Everything was not much different from those immortal divine cities in the Myriad Domains, except it seemed relatively more prosperous and flourishing.
It must be said, this was a relatively powerful ancient city, where crouching tigers and hidden dragons abounded. Who knew how many true powerhouses were concealed within? It was not to be underestimated.
He entered alone. The strong were worthy of respect no matter where they went. Although some people, seeing Ye Chen's unfamiliar face, considered taking action, upon sensing the particularly powerful aura emanating from him, they all chose to abandon the idea.
Instead, some individuals with ulterior motives set their sights on Ye Chen and secretly communicated.
Naturally, none of this escaped Ye Chen's notice. However, Ye Chen did not act. On the contrary, he watched everything with interest from the shadows. He wanted to see what would happen.
In the end, Ye Chen entered a magnificent sky palace, appearing pink and alluring, somewhat special.
Ye Chen arrived before the main hall. Inside, there was a rather enchanting fox-race beauty. She wore pink garments, a light gauze draped over her body, her attire revealing, showing off two stunning patches of snowy white skin. Every gesture and movement was utterly captivating, drawing the gazes of many within the hall.
This enchanting fox beauty took the initiative to step forward. Her red lips parted slightly, her words filled with a peculiar seductiveness as she spoke softly, "Young master, welcome to the Leaning Spring Pavilion. What might your needs be?"
"I want an upper room suitable for quiet cultivation," Ye Chen said, facing the enchanting fox woman without blushing or his heart racing, appearing completely unperturbed.
The fox woman looked at Ye Chen with slight suspicion, seemingly somewhat surprised by his calm composure. However, she still raised a smile full of myriad charms and said gently, "Whatever the young master needs, the Leaning Spring Pavilion can provide. Coincidentally, the Shy Moon and Bashful Flower Hall has just become vacant. The young master may stay there. Each stay lasts ten days, requiring only one million jin of spirit stones."
One million jin of spirit stones—even Ye Chen slightly furrowed his brows. Clearly, he hadn't expected the prices at this Leaning Spring Pavilion to be so exorbitant, and for just ten days.
Though inwardly somewhat stirred, his face remained impassive. He nodded slightly, then tossed out one million jin of spirit stones.
"Spirit stones with flaws... Could it be that the young master is a Heaven's Pride Prodigy from the Sealed Boundary Universe?" The enchanting fox woman looked at Ye Chen. Her voice was not loud, yet it resonated throughout the entire Leaning Spring Pavilion, attracting the attention and scrutiny of others.
"From the Sealed Boundary Universe? Could it be...?"
Clearly, within the entire magnificent main hall of the Leaning Spring Pavilion, numerous gazes fell upon Ye Chen, many containing rather special meanings.
Ye Chen's expression remained unperturbed. Instead of answering, he asked, "Can these spirit stones not be used to pay for the room?"
"They can. However, spirit stones from an ancient universe with a flawed Heavenly Dao also lack some spirituality. An additional one hundred thousand jin of spirit stones is required," the receptionist fox beauty spoke up.
Ye Chen did not hesitate, directly producing another one hundred thousand jin of spirit stones.
"Young master, please follow this servant." The enchanting fox woman spoke softly, her voice seductive enough to stir a man's desires. Yet, Ye Chen's expression remained indifferent. Even as he watched the woman's alluring derriere sway with her small steps, he remained composed and unruffled.
Finally, the woman led Ye Chen into a resplendent, golden-hued main hall. Inside, other seductive women were also present, wearing thin garments that fully displayed their charms, slowly approaching.
"Young master, the Shy Moon and Bashful Flower Hall has been reached. Please enjoy yourself at your leisure. This servant will not disturb your enjoyment and will take her leave first." The enchanting fox woman's red lips curled into a smile that was both bewitching and somewhat eerie before she gradually retreated.
"Wait!"
Suddenly, Ye Chen blocked the enchanting fox woman's path, standing before her. He got straight to the point, speaking directly, "I want to know why people in the city are following me, and why, when you said I came from the Sealed Boundary Universe, everyone else in the Leaning Spring Pavilion looked at me strangely."
The enchanting fox woman looked at Ye Chen, her charming face displaying myriad allures as she coquettishly smiled, "What is the young master talking about? How could this servant possibly understand?"
"You understand," Ye Chen stared intently into her eyes.
"Young master, you jest. This servant truly does not understand," the enchanting fox woman continued to deny.
Boom—
At that very instant, a destructive-level Great Dao aura erupted from Ye Chen's body, directly inundating the entire Shy Moon and Bashful Flower Hall.
Under this absolutely terrifying aura, everyone—not only the several enchanting fox women within the hall but even the enchanting fox woman who had received Ye Chen—suddenly changed expressions, appearing utterly shocked and panicked.
For the power of this aura far exceeded imagination, even surpassing that of a Heavenly King by a great margin, and it originated from this young man before them.
Who exactly was he?
"Speak!"
Ye Chen's words were simple yet immensely intimidating. His eyes were as deep and infinite as abysses, capable of devouring everyone's soul.
Even the enchanting fox woman, at this moment, could not muster the slightest will to resist. On the contrary, she appeared even more panicked, because she knew that if she did not speak, in all likelihood, she would never leave this Shy Moon and Bashful Flower Hall again. Thus, she hurriedly spoke up, "I'll speak, I'll speak."
The terrifying aura, as if a peerless great evil had emerged, finally receded at this moment. However, the intangible aura still emanating was immensely vast and boundless, enough to shatter everything.
After catching her breath, the enchanting fox woman hastily said, "Great one, from what this servant can see, you must be the strongest prodigy emerging from the Sealed Boundary Universe, intending to enter the Ultimate Ancient Path to participate in the trials, correct?"
"Isn't this place the Ultimate Ancient Path?" Ye Chen said.
"No," the enchanting fox woman answered quickly. "This is merely a segment of the path leading to the true Ultimate Ancient Path. All the strongest prodigies from the various ancient universes heading to the Ultimate Ancient Path must pass through here and through Cosmos Heaven City."
"Hmm? In that case, where exactly is the Ultimate Ancient Path?" Ye Chen asked coldly. Indeed, this truly was not the Ultimate Ancient Path, merely a road passed along the way. But where, then, was the true Ultimate Ancient Path?
"It lies behind Cosmos Heaven City. Leaving Cosmos Heaven City and proceeding to the very end is the starting point of the Ultimate Ancient Path, also the first checkpoint," the enchanting fox woman said. However, Ye Chen clearly saw a flicker of unease in her gaze.
It was subtle, but unfortunately, who was Ye Chen? He spotted it at a glance. "What are you hiding?"
"This servant dares not hide anything from the great one. You jest," the enchanting fox woman's smile visibly stiffened slightly but quickly shifted back.
Boom—
A majestic aura directly inundated the enchanting fox woman. Ye Chen looked down upon her from above, coldly staring. "Speak!"