It must be said that the two words 'Emperor' could crush the eternal sky and sink through endless ages.
They were the most powerful existences throughout the ages. Even after their fall, their Emperor's Tombs could attract the attention of all, and no one could truly ignore them.
Because they were the truly invincible ones, capable of standing tall in the River of Time, overlooking all eras, with boundless and infinite lifespans.
Naturally, the tombs left behind by such existences drew the world's gaze.
Moreover, some even speculated that within might lie the supreme inheritance of an Emperor. Once obtained, perhaps one wouldn't need to tread the Ultimate Ancient Path. Simply by acquiring this Emperor's supreme inheritance, one could touch the realm of Emperors, getting a head start over others and making early contact with the true domain of Emperors.
However, upon hearing this, Ye Chen simply shook his head. It was nothing but a bunch of rumors.
If obtaining an Emperor's supreme inheritance could lead to becoming an invincible Emperor, wouldn't that mean every imperial clan could produce several Emperors, or even more?
One must know that all imperial clans possessed the true supreme inheritance of an Emperor. Especially the Imperial Sons, who inherited all of their Emperor parent's legacy, even the bloodline power left by their forebears. Wouldn't that mean they were destined to achieve the Dao and become Emperors in the future?
Yet, throughout the ages, how many Imperial Sons had truly achieved the Dao and become Sovereigns?
The true Emperors, the reason for their invincibility, their dominance over their era, their pride that spanned the ages, all relied on forging their own new path. They could accept the inheritance of predecessors, but could not blindly accept it all. They had to transform all inheritance into nourishment for their own path to the Dao, to digest it rather than completely learn it. They needed to create their own new world—that was the true path to becoming an Emperor!
And now, Ye Chen was precisely walking such a path.
He possessed the inheritance of the Battle Saint lineage, but now he was gradually deviating, slowly creating his own Chaos Dao techniques. The Dao and techniques of the Battle Saint lineage were powerful, but they were also gradually becoming one of the nutrients for refining Chaos, aiding in better perfection.
Wasn't the inheritance of Sovereign Rong Tian the same, transformed into nourishment to better perfect Ye Chen's Chaos Dao techniques?
Although those Imperial Sons inherited the most powerful bloodline power, they would inevitably try every means to create their own invincible path and walk the true road of an Emperor.
However, despite this, the tomb of an Emperor and Sovereign was still incredibly alluring no matter what. After all, it belonged to a true peerless Great Emperor, one who had once stood upon the River of Time, overlooking all eras, gazing into the future, and looking back upon past epochal ages. They were the truly supreme existences within the ancient cosmos and even the Chaos Sea.
Who could remain unmoved by the Emperor's Tomb left behind by such an existence, even after their fall? Even Ancient Monarchs were no exception.
Ye Chen remained in the Eighteenth Checkpoint, finding a mansion and quietly gathering information. There was still much he didn't know clearly and couldn't recklessly investigate.
During this time, many powerful figures descended upon the Eighteenth Checkpoint one after another. They were all Ancient Path Trial-Takers, and true elites at that, basically all above the Heavenly King level. Ye Chen could even see that several among them had reached the Half-Step Great Power level. They were true peerless prodigies, not necessarily young generation's supreme figures, but at the very least they were the strongest talents. In a sense, those of this level could battle ordinary Great Powers.
However, Ye Chen had been waiting quietly all along. He wasn't afraid of them; the ones truly worth noting were those young generation's supreme figures who had turned back from the rear of the Ultimate Ancient Path.
During this period, his Supreme Dao Body had once followed a group of Ancient Path Trial-Takers, left the Eighteenth Checkpoint, and rushed toward the suspected location of the Emperor's Tomb. It was a deep, mysterious star domain, filled with many dangers. Not to mention them, even Great Power realm figures needed to be extremely cautious here, because it involved some truly fearsome places that could bury even Great Powers.
During this time, many people also rushed forward one after another, wanting to explore ahead of others and seize the opportunities of the Emperor's Tomb in advance.
For it was rumored that the Emperor's Tomb would reach its lowest point of danger one month later, during the reversal of Yin and Yang. The great tomb would tear through the void and fully appear, making it suitable for exploration. All other times were incredibly perilous. The young generation's supreme figures who had turned back from the rear of the Ultimate Ancient Path were quietly cultivating in the Eighteenth Checkpoint, choosing to build up their essence, energy, and spirit.
They knew the true strength of these young generation's supreme figures was incomparable, so they wanted to act first, to get ahead of others in striving for the true Emperor's opportunity.
However, that was the most foolish course. Because that star domain was far too dangerous. Ye Chen's Supreme Dao Body had once explored it, gazing from afar. Even someone as powerful as him could see that the star domain suspected to contain the Emperor's Tomb held countless cosmic perils. The terror of those perils contained crises capable of splitting heaven and earth.
Not to mention ordinary Ancient Path Trial-Takers, even someone as powerful as him dared not venture recklessly. It even contained dangers that would give even Ancient Monarchs pause. To rashly charge in now, saying it was a nine-deaths-one-life situation would be an understatement; truly speaking, it was practically ten-deaths-no-life.
Sure enough, not long after, news came that over a dozen batches of Ancient Path Trial-Takers who had secretly rushed ahead to explore had been completely wiped out, not even a scream uttered, vanishing without a sound. This made everything seem truly terrifying.
What a bunch of foolish fellows.
Ye Chen shook his head and paid no more mind to it. After quietly cultivating for three days, he actively took to the streets.
During the war between the Ultimate Ancient Path and the Soul-Forbidden Hall, the impact was immense, affecting not just the first ten trial ancient gates, but even reaching the Seventeenth Checkpoint, where terrible fierce battles had also occurred. It was only at the Eighteenth Checkpoint, a trial ancient gate where no battles had taken place, that numerous Ancient Path Trial-Takers gathered, holding a wealth of information.
At the center of the trial ancient gate stood an extraordinary suspended treasure pavilion named the Heaven's Secret Pavilion. Here, much intelligence related to the Ultimate Ancient Path converged. And as long as one could offer a sufficient price, basically any piece of intelligence could be provided.
The Heaven's Secret Pavilion was a powerful intelligence organization, spread across many trial ancient gates of the Ultimate Ancient Path. However, it was not an old established power that had stood for countless years. On the contrary, it was a mysterious organization that had gradually been established only after the opening of the Ultimate Ancient Path in this era, rapidly rising to prominence within a mere hundred-plus years.
Rumors said that the one controlling the Heaven's Secret Pavilion from behind was not some mysterious faction, but one of the ultimate overlords dominating the Ultimate Ancient Path. He led its creation and also gained the support of many Guardians on the Ancient Path.
One could imagine the terrifying influence of that Ancient Path overlord behind the Heaven's Secret Pavilion. He would be one of Ye Chen's ultimate great enemies in the future.