Ye Chen's Heaven-Shaking Hand struck out directly, peerless like profound jade, swirling with primordial Chaos Qi that tore through everything. Between his fingers and palm, countless visions manifested, descending like the Five-Finger Mountain of the Tathagata Buddha. It collided with a thunderous crash, exploding into boundless celestial radiance before forcefully tearing apart and shattering the nine divine light pillars.
The All Heavens trembled, and nearly half of the Danxu Ancient Realm shook violently!
Boom—!
Ye Chen clashed with the Nine-headed Great Serpent, their battle so intense it shook the entire Danxu Ancient Realm. Mountain ranges in all directions quaked. Ultimately, they fought their way up into the gray, misty heavens, displaying a fierce confrontation.
Chaotic light erupted as Ye Chen displayed unparalleled heavenly might of the Great Dao, like the most terrifying Emperor descending upon the mortal world. Stars of the All Heavens manifested and swirled, evolving into a vast starry sky that pressed down, seeking to annihilate everything in a most fearsome collision with the Nine-headed Great Serpent.
Within, various divine radiances burst forth, continuously tearing and clashing against each other in relentless, violent attacks.
Finally, accompanied by blood light that pierced the heavens and immeasurable bloody rain sprinkling across the All Heavens, the colossal figure of the Nine-headed Great Serpent plummeted from the sky, crashing into the mountain range below. It smashed a massive crater, causing countless thousands of li of mountains to collapse, resulting in innumerable casualties—a truly striking sight.
In the end, everything settled. Ye Chen descended from the void of the heavens, step by step as if treading upon invisible stairs. Primordial Chaos Qi coiled around him, stars of the All Heavens accompanying his descent. The scene was majestic and awe-inspiring, like an Emperor gracing the mortal world.
He looked down imperiously at the Nine-headed Great Serpent below. He did not kill it, but instead gazed indifferently and spoke slowly, "Are you willing to submit to me and become the Overlord of this ancient realm?"
Hearing this, the surrounding Great Powers of the All Heavens all changed expressions. What did the Battle Saint King mean by this?
But the Nine-headed Great Serpent was already severely wounded, nearly dead. If other great beasts attacked now, it would surely perish. Yet, upon hearing Ye Chen's words, it seemed there might be another path.
Moreover, this young junior who had defeated it was indeed terrifyingly powerful. Submitting would not be a disgrace.
"I, the Nine Serpent King, am willing to submit to my Lord and campaign in all directions for my Lord!"
Immediately, the Nine-headed Great Serpent agreed, all nine of its battered snake heads bowing in a gesture of submission.
"Good!"
Ye Chen directly descended upon the central snake head. Chaotic light surged from his body as the profound principles of the Divine King Rebirth Technique flowed directly into the Nine-headed Great Serpent's body. Its injuries recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In just a few breaths, the Nine-headed Great Serpent was fully restored. This miraculous recovery felt like a myth to the serpent, deepening its awe and reverence for its new master, Ye Chen.
The Danxu Ancient Realm was vast and magnificent. Even as a fallen and decaying monarch's great world, it remained expansive and grand beyond measure.
Within it stretched endless mountain ranges and ancient forests bearing the vicissitudes of time, extending for who knew how many tens of thousands of li.
Heaven and Earth Treasures were scattered throughout, among which were genuine Medicine Spirits, often with tens of thousands of years of age, some even exceeding a hundred thousand years—priceless treasures that, once obtained, could be auctioned as peerless gems.
Over three hundred young alchemy prodigies roamed within, struggling for various Heaven and Earth Treasures. Although some hadn't managed to seize alchemy recipe light clusters, their journey wasn't over. On the contrary, they hoped to enter the Danxu Ancient Realm to continue the contest, or obtain some particularly rare Heaven and Earth Treasures to trade with those possessing multiple recipes.
"Nine-Colored Soul-Returning Grass, Seven-Day Heaven-Offering Fruit, Blood Droplet Seed..."
The Danxu Ancient Realm was decayed and desolate, lacking blue skies and green earth, shrouded in gloom. Standing on the central, largest head of the Nine-headed Great Serpent, Ye Chen, with his astonishing eyesight, spotted one Heaven and Earth Treasure after another. Each would be considered top-tier rarity in the outside world, likely sparking fierce struggles among prodigies on the Ultimate Ancient Path. Yet here in the Danxu Ancient Realm, they were commonplace.
He couldn't help but marvel at the Dan Emperor Clan's immense wealth. Only a supreme imperial clan like the Dan Emperor Clan, the foremost alchemy power, could possess so many Heaven and Earth Treasures and ten-thousand-year medicinal treasures. No other faction could possibly achieve this.
The Nine-headed Great Serpent was considered an Overlord-level existence within the Danxu Ancient Realm. Originally powerful enough at the Great Power realm, and possessing primordial bloodline, even Great Powers from the Dan Emperor Clan would find it a headache to deal with. It was one of the great ferocious beasts guarding the Danxu Ancient Realm. Unfortunately, it encountered the even more monstrously unreasonable Ye Chen, changing everything.
As an Overlord of the Danxu Ancient Realm, the Nine-headed Great Serpent naturally possessed ample information. It knew where the truly rare Medicine Spirits were, or the locations of ingredients for refining Divine King Pills and other recipes.
Standing atop the Nine-headed Great Serpent, Ye Chen swiftly headed for the deepest part of the Danxu Ancient Realm. According to his understanding, that was where the three main ingredients for refining Divine King Pills were located, near the world's origin—the place with the most Medicine Spirits, bar none.
Whoosh—!
Under Ye Chen's direction, the Nine-headed Great Serpent accelerated towards the deepest part of the Danxu Ancient Realm. Along the way, they encountered numerous powerful figures, among whom were many at the Great Power level, surprising Ye Chen.
Since when did so many Great Power-level figures appear among those alchemy prodigies? Was advancing to Great Power really that easy?
However, upon closer inspection, he realized most were not of the younger generation. Instead, many were ancient Great Sages, very old, having cultivated for at least ten thousand years, some even tens of thousands, with profound attainments. They followed behind various young alchemy prodigies, charging towards the deepest regions.
Soon, he understood the true situation, and his expression darkened slightly.
These ancient Great Sages were helpers hired by the young alchemy prodigies. They knew their alchemy talent wasn't weak, but aside from a select few, most were limited to the Heavenly King realm in cultivation. To contest for sufficiently good Heaven and Earth Treasures or even Medicine Spirits within the Danxu Ancient Realm, they needed to hire powerful helpers for assistance.
Undoubtedly, these ancient Great Sages were the best helpers.
Naturally, hiring ancient Great Sages as aid must have cost these alchemy prodigies a great price.
Ye Chen's expression turned serious. With these ancient Great Sages present, even he would find it much more difficult to obtain sufficiently rare Heaven and Earth Treasures or Medicine Spirits.
But he soon regained his composure. So what if they had ancient Great Sages helping them? If they dared block his path, he would slay gods if they stood in his way, and cut down Buddhas if they obstructed him!