He was thinking of his wife, thinking of Yaya, thinking of Ruoxi, and also thinking of the fetus in Yi Wu's womb.
A hundred years had passed; it should have been born by now. The Time-Space Great Emperor had mentioned something similar back then. He just didn't know if the child was a boy or a girl. But with Yi Wu's peerless beauty, if it was a daughter, she would surely inherit her mother's loveliness, be as delicate as carved jade, and undoubtedly innocent and adorable.
If it was a boy, he would be exceptionally handsome too.
He just didn't know how they were faring now.
A century ultimately buried too much, enough for many major events to occur. The Ultimate Ancient Path had opened—a mysterious trial path, hailed as the invincible ancient path that even Emperors had nearly all entered for trials. Even the Formless Monarch from the previous epoch had ventured through it.
The young supremes and even Imperial Sons from various Ancient Universes whom Ye Chen had confronted on the Fifth Trial Continent a hundred years ago... now, a hundred fleeting years later, Ye Chen had revived and returned against the heavens, his cultivation advancing further. However, as fellow young supremes, and especially those Imperial Sons bearing the most powerful Imperial bloodline power, they had likely also grown to astonishing levels. Perhaps some had even already stepped into the true Ancient Great Power realm.
While Ye Chen grew stronger, these formidable foes could not possibly remain stagnant; they too were constantly refining and advancing.
He could fully imagine that if he encountered those young supremes who had already stepped onto the Ultimate Ancient Path a century ago in the future, terrifying battles would erupt, potentially even life-or-death struggles.
He could not grow arrogant with his current cultivation. He needed to continuously progress, to grow stronger, so that one day he could sweep aside all enemies, utterly dominate the Ultimate Ancient Path, and ascend to the final checkpoint.
And more importantly, too many expectations rested upon him. There were the hopes of the Mythical Emperors. He was the key figure, the Chaos Holy Body cultivating the Great Dao of Chaos, one who would reverse the blood-stained future.
His gaze needed to be set far enough, even reaching into infinity.
Soon, three days passed. On this day, the entire first checkpoint ancient city trembled violently as vast swathes of divine radiance boiled and surged outward.
Visible to the naked eye, behind the first checkpoint of the Ultimate Ancient Path, a magnificent expanse of heaven and earth abruptly appeared. That was the true first trial—the Trial World.
To proceed to the second checkpoint, one must traverse this Trial World. Naturally, it held all sorts of perils; even a Heavenly King could not easily pass through.
The figure of the Moon-Worship Tower Master appeared, looking down from on high, sweeping his gaze over the hundreds of prodigies from the ancient path trials who surged forth from the first checkpoint ancient city toward the Trial World. His voice shook the entire starry sky: "The true trial of the Ultimate Ancient Path has begun. To reach the second checkpoint, you must pass through this Trial World. This is a world left behind after the fall of an ancient Great Sage in the past, nurturing many secret treasures, yet naturally filled with countless dangers. If careless, even a Heavenly King may fall."
"I repeat: those who do not wish to die may remain in the ancient city, but they cannot return to their original Ancient Universe. They must stay here for the rest of their lives. The choice is yours."
Although the Trial World was filled with countless dangers, every prodigy capable of reaching the Ultimate Ancient Path possessed a Dao heart aimed at the pinnacle of the Great Dao and an indomitable will to stand unrivaled in the world. Who would stop here?
"Go!"
As the Moon-Worship Tower Master's voice faded, all the powerhouses within the first checkpoint ancient city, including Ye Chen, shot out like lightning toward that Trial World, descending upon a vast, primitive, and ancient land.
Here, various terrifying Fierce Beasts roared and howled.
The passage to the second checkpoint lay at the very rear of this Trial World.
However, the Trial World never lacked true dangers. There were fearsome, Heavenly King-level Fierce Beasts lurking about, which then charged forth, actively attacking these powerhouses, initiating terrifying battles.
Boom—
The many young elites of the Ultimate Ancient Path's first checkpoint directly charged into the second checkpoint.
Without a doubt, it was an exceedingly vast world, even comparable in some ways to an ordinary Great Power-level world, like the Tian Du Continent, appearing quite primitive. Massive mountain ranges stretched continuously, immeasurably grand and magnificent.
Within the primitive mountain ranges, ancient Fierce Beasts roared and bellowed, shaking the myriad mountains and valleys, their auras astonishing the world. Everything appeared so terrifying and awe-inspiring.
Boom—
The figures of numerous absolute prodigies successively entered, beginning their formal trial.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
These young elites were all steady and immensely powerful, at the very least at the Saint Lord level, with the stronger ones reaching the Heavenly King realm, like Feng Wang, Mofei, the Golden Giant Garen... the outstanding ones were all true super-powerhouses.
Their auras were vast and mighty, absolutely harboring the hope to charge toward the rear positions of the Ultimate Ancient Path.
Roar—
The moment they appeared, a terrifying figure was seen soaring into the sky. It was actually a fearsome Great Roc, its feathers all black-gold, as if forged from abyssal black swords. The moment it spread its wings, it truly blotted out the sky and sun, casting a vast shadow that enveloped the entire dark land.
On another front, the myriad mountains and valleys trembled violently as entire mountain ranges collapsed with thunderous roars that seemed endless. Visible there, a terrifying giant serpent charged forth, its massive demonic body even thicker than the mountain ranges, causing the entire earth to shake violently with continuous, deafening booms.
Crack—
Elsewhere, the earth also shook violently, with terrifying chasms appearing and continuously spreading.
Without a doubt, all this signified the imminent emergence of an extremely fearsome existence.
Sure enough, a terrifying Earth Dragon crawled out, its massive demonic body not much smaller than the previous giant serpent, appearing exceptionally colossal.
The Trial World housed many terrifying Fierce Beasts and exotic birds, not lacking true Heavenly King-level great demons. There were even rumors of a peerless demon god whose strength rivaled that of an ancient Great Sage, making it full of perils.
Naturally, if one wished to leave, they could choose to retreat, returning to the first checkpoint ancient city, which was safe. But then they could not leave, nor return to their original Ancient Universe, likely forced to remain at the first checkpoint until their death.
The Ultimate Ancient Path was where Emperors vied for supremacy, a hundred boats racing against the current—advance or fall behind.
To ascend the highest Imperial throne, one must undergo all manner of life-and-death trials. Otherwise, how could one claim supremacy across the ages and stand unrivaled throughout the heavens?
The Trial World before them was the first true trial of the Ultimate Ancient Path!
Ye Chen also entered. Naturally, given his status, he could not simply stay and train alongside the other young elites, for he was too powerful; this place could not hinder his advance.
However, he did not leave immediately either. Instead, he appeared atop a towering peak, sitting cross-legged upon it, intending to observe this Trial World and, more importantly, to guard the first checkpoint for young elites from the Sealed Boundary Universe like Feng Wang.
These were the seed-level figures of the Sealed Boundary Universe's future, the hope to be preserved even through the Great Cataclysm. He naturally needed to look after them.
Thus, he sat cross-legged atop the highest peak, motionless, perpetually overlooking the entire Trial World. His divine sense was immensely powerful, naturally capable of nearly completely enveloping it.
However, he did not release it fully, only splitting off a few strands to focus on the young elites from the Sealed Boundary Universe side. As for the others, he paid no heed, and he was also wary of the Moon-Worship Tower Master detecting it, which would not be good.
Simultaneously, his mind sank into his inner world.
With cultivation reaching Ye Chen's level, his inner world had long since expanded vastly, no smaller than a world opened by a Heavenly King, capable of storing many things. And it truly contained many priceless secret treasures: countless spirit stones, divine spirit sources, divine materials, heaven-and-earth treasures, ten-thousand-year medicinal treasures, as well as spiritual pills, wondrous medicines, and even some ancient texts...
It could be said that every single item within his inner world was a priceless treasure that would incite competition in the outside world. Obtained from the Ancient Beast God and the Slaughter Venerable, and having suppressed the divine souls of two ancient Great Sages, Ye Chen had naturally searched out their treasure hoards and acquired them as well.
It could be said that those were the true treasuries of ancient Great Sages, their collections so vast they could make anyone's heart race with envy.
Naturally, what truly immersed Ye Chen's mind were the two divine light spheres obtained from the Soul-Forbidden Hall: one was the Myriad Daos Source Power light sphere, the other was a divine soul power light sphere.
Once refined, both would offer indescribable benefits even to an ancient Great Sage.
Ye Chen, sitting cross-legged within at this moment, was about to begin truly studying these two divine light spheres, or perhaps to completely refine them, allowing his strength to advance another step.
Back when he asked the Time-Space Great Emperor if his realm was that of an ancient Great Power, the Time-Space Great Emperor did not answer directly but vaguely said one word: Chaos!
At the time, Ye Chen did not fully understand its true meaning, but now he had some comprehension. His current self was perhaps in a realm above Heavenly King but below Great Power.
Precisely because he was in this special realm, not yet truly reaching the Ancient Great Power realm, there was still a path ahead to continue walking, one he could surpass and break through.
For this reason, Ye Chen decided to refine the two divine light spheres. Perhaps by utilizing these two immense divine powers, he could truly break through and reach the true Great Power realm.
However, Ye Chen did not immediately begin refining the two light spheres. Instead, his mind explored them, intending to thoroughly study them.
Within, a mysterious Chaos Great Cauldron appeared, floating in the void, steaming with wisps of ancient Chaos Qi, surging and boiling.