Regarding this, Ye Chen felt more helpless than anyone else.
He had always felt that something was missing. He originally thought it was just a lack of divine power, but he had already condensed eight Divine Power Avatars, each possessing an amount of divine power equal to his main body. Combined with his main body, nine becoming one, it should have been enough to break through.
But it was still the same now. The root of the problem was something even he did not fully understand.
Why did it always feel like something was missing? What exactly was missing?
He sat cross-legged in the Fallen Monarch Divine Sea, motionless as if petrified, no longer competing for other heavenly treasures and materials. He pondered this crucial question.
No one disturbed him. Dan Chen, Qin Jiuyou, and even the Ancient Monarch and others who had entered the Danxu Ancient Realm had already left. After all, this was still the Dan Ceremony Grand Assembly; any questions would have to wait for another day.
The Imperial Daughter gave Ye Chen a deep look before turning and leaving.
However, the Ancient Monarch immediately issued an order: if possible, they must befriend the Battle Saint King, even inviting him to become a distinguished guest of the Dan Emperor Clan, its First Guest Elder. They must not rashly oppose him.
After leaving this order that could shake the entire Dan Emperor Clan, the Ancient Monarch departed directly.
The entire Dan Emperor Clan, including Dan Chen, did not understand why the Ancient Monarch Ancestor would give such an order, granting the Battle Saint King such a status.
Although the other party was truly extraordinary with immense potential, he should not have been given the status of the Dan Emperor Clan's First Guest Elder.
That level of status was almost on par with his own, a peak Great Power Ancestor.
However, no one dared to oppose it. Even Dan Chen had to obey the order, because the commands of the few Ancestors in the clan were not to be opposed, not even by the Imperial Daughter.
Dan Yang's expression changed. He clenched his fists, never expecting the Battle Saint King to be granted such an important status. Even he could no longer pressure him in the future.
More importantly, perhaps in the future, when encountering this Battle Saint King, he would have to pay his respects. This was the greatest indignity.
But this was the command of the Ancient Monarch Ancestor. Who dared to resist?
Ye Chen knew nothing of this. He remained seated in the Fallen Monarch Divine Sea, motionless. Even the Nine-headed Great Serpent dared not rashly disturb him, only able to watch from afar as Ye Chen entered secluded contemplation.
A long time passed before Ye Chen finally awoke. He let out a long breath, his figure flickering as eight Divine Power Avatars appeared in eight directions.
Each Divine Power Avatar radiated a supremely potent might, enough to suppress all and shatter time and space.
He looked at each Divine Power Avatar, quietly lost in thought, examining them one by one. Only after a long time did he snap back to reality.
Then, his Chaos Supreme Body appeared before him. They faced each other, standing independently. The Chaos Supreme Body then transformed, turning into chaos itself, with wisps of ancient chaotic qi spreading out. Within it, a world was actually being created and opened, only to fall into instability and collapse.
This cycle repeated continuously.
Ye Chen watched all of this unblinkingly, his eyes containing the myriad profound mysteries of world creation within the chaos.
"It is said that the establishment of the great universe contains the eight attributes of metal, wood, water, fire, earth, thunder, yin, and yang, thus constructing a stable great world..."
Ye Chen muttered to himself, deep in thought. He looked at the eight Divine Power Avatars, then at the chaos caught in its cycle of birth and destruction.
Suddenly, his gaze blazed as if he had understood something, achieving a moment of enlightenment!
"I think I understand why I haven't truly broken into the Great Power realm."
At this moment, Ye Chen was completely enlightened, having comprehended the underlying reason. He suddenly laughed heartily, his laughter shaking heaven and earth, spreading in all directions, drawing everyone's attention and confusion.
Ye Chen stood up, his entire being filled with an inviolable, awe-inspiring aura, having undergone a complete transformation.
He looked up at the heavens, his black hair dancing wildly in the wind, and declared, "This time, I will surely break through completely and charge into the Great Power realm."
However, he did not act immediately. On the contrary, he was in no hurry. His previous attempt to break through to the Great Power realm had consumed far too much of his origin vitality. It was not something that could be replenished immediately by consuming medicinal spirits; it required time.
Moreover, he needed to make a series of preparations and refine the Divine King Pill to ensure an increased chance of success.
Thus, Ye Chen dispelled the melancholy in his heart, confident that as long as no accidents occurred next time, he would surely advance into the Great Power realm.
Suddenly, he remembered the gate of light formed by thunder. It was as if an entire epoch was buried within. There was an endless, broken ancient battlefield, and one massive, majestic, shattered corpse after another lay across it, their blood staining the stars of the heavens.
Emperors had fallen; Supreme Immortals had perished. Too much was buried there, containing secrets unimaginable to the world.
Yet what remained most unforgettable to him was that familiar figure, etched deep into his soul—the Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord!
He had also appeared, within the gate of light formed by thunder, his posture so majestic and peerless, proudly overlooking the river of time.
One eye represented life, the other death, as if embodying everything in the world. A massive Heavenly Gate stood tall, opened, leading to an unknown place. Only bloodstains were visible upon it, along with ancient battle scars that had endured endless years, as if bearing the marks of one epoch after another, incredibly ancient.
The Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord stood there, on the ancient battlefield, gazing into the distance with a grave expression, as if foreseeing some most terrifying enemy. This peerless figure, usually so composed and unflappable, revealed such a solemn look.
But this was only a glimpse revealed within the heavenly tribulation, not truly lasting. Why had he witnessed the appearance of the Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord? Why was he standing there? And this Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord was not the same as the one he knew; he was far more powerful, like an Emperor, a Supreme Immortal, a Supreme One, standing proudly, gazing at an enemy across the ages.
Ye Chen did not understand and increasingly felt the inscrutable mystery of the Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord.
The Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord of the past had already displayed potential unimaginable to the world, charging all the way to the Great Power realm. It hadn't been long since he broke into the Great Power realm; he was very young, yet more powerful than many Great Powers of the heavens.
Furthermore, the occasional manifestation of the Heavenly Gate's phantom had once startled even Saint Emperor De Tai and displayed unfathomable might within the Tenth Imperial Pass.
All of this indicated the extraordinary identity of the Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord. Now, he could catch a glimpse of a secret from within the gate of light formed by thunder.
Moreover, not long ago, Ye Chen had asked some veteran Great Powers about the phrase, "Death is not truly the end; perhaps it is only a brand new beginning." The Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord had also mentioned this before his fall. Perhaps the Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord truly might not have perished. He had left this world, and perhaps they would meet him in the Land of Origin in the future.
"Gate Lord, just who are you?"
Ye Chen sighed softly, suppressing the doubts in his heart and also storing away everything he had witnessed within the gate of light formed by thunder.
These matters were not something he could know about yet. He was not strong enough, not qualified to know. Only by becoming stronger could he unravel all the secrets.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
One Divine Power Avatar after another returned into Ye Chen's body. He opened the Sixfold Reincarnation Coffin, placing each Divine Power Avatar within one layer of the burial coffin, except for the final layer which remained empty.
At the same time, he summoned the Nine-headed Great Serpent.
The Nine-headed Great Serpent naturally dared not refuse. It came beneath Ye Chen, trembling slightly.
It could feel Ye Chen's current aura, which was far more intense than before. The Great Power-level aura emanating from him was even stronger than that of itself, a great demon that had entered the Great Power realm over ten thousand years ago, causing it considerable shock.
What kind of transformation had its master undergone? He clearly wasn't a true Ancient Great Power yet, so why had he become so formidable?
It did not know, and Ye Chen would not volunteer an explanation.
"Let's go!"
Ye Chen landed on its central serpent head, directing the Nine-headed Great Serpent to charge in a certain direction.
Now, nearly seven or eight days had passed since entering the Danxu Ancient Realm. Basically, whether in the Fallen Monarch Divine Sea or other regions, all medicinal spirits and heavenly treasures had been seized by the various alchemy prodigies.
Of course, a considerable portion was also guarded by the overlords within the Danxu Ancient Realm, having paid a bloody price for it, with nearly ten of them having fallen.
Naturally, the Great Powers from the outside world who entered had also fallen, a total of eight, which could also be considered heavy casualties, a sufficiently grievous price paid.
In the end, it was actually the Dan Emperor Clan that could no longer stand by and personally dispatched the peak Great Power Dan Chen to mediate and stop the conflict.
He brought with him the imperial clan's immortal weapon, a Supreme Emperor Weapon, entering the Danxu Ancient Realm and unleashing its most terrifying Emperor's might to halt the battle.
With the appearance of the Dan Emperor Cauldron, severing the ancient realm and shaking the nine heavens and ten earths, both sides, even if their eyes were red with killing intent, had to stop. They all knew the Dan Emperor Clan intended to mediate. Otherwise, if the battle continued, the Dan Emperor Clan would surely intervene, using the Emperor Weapon to stop it. The consequence might be several more Great Powers from both sides dying, a loss outweighing the gain.
This was the Dan Emperor Clan's territory; they had every right to use a Supreme Emperor Weapon to intimidate.
Finally, everything came to a close. The battle for medicinal materials within the Danxu Ancient Realm gradually ended. One outstanding genius after another rushed out of the Danxu Ancient Realm, returning to the central square.
However, of the three hundred alchemy prodigies who originally entered, only about two hundred and thirty remained. The other nearly seventy had fallen during the treasure-seizing battles.
Although the casualties were heavy, upon careful thought, even existences at the level of Ancient Great Powers had fallen more than ten in number. How much more so for these alchemy prodigies, the vast majority of whom weren't even Great Powers? Caught in that Great Power-level melee, heavy casualties were only to be expected.
As time passed, the alchemy prodigies emerged one after another, each landing in the square to sit cross-legged and heal their wounds. Under the protection of the Dan Emperor Clan at this time, no one dared to harm them.
However, what was puzzling was that almost all the alchemy prodigies who had ventured in had emerged, but the most fearsome one had still not appeared. That person was—
The Battle Saint King!