The universe was vast and boundless, infinitely grand. Even Emperors and Sovereigns could not explore every corner of it; it was simply too immense.
Darkness and coldness were the eternal themes of the starry cosmos.
In a certain vast and silent expanse of the starry sky, unnoticed by all, there existed a massive ancient world. It was immense, with ancient halls standing one after another, gloomy and hazy, resembling a great expanse of underworld soil.
Within each ancient hall, countless souls were imprisoned.
At the very center of this ancient world, there floated a dark Divine City, no less grand than Dan Tian City. Its presence commanded reverence from the countless beings of the entire ancient world. From within it erupted a most terrifying roar that shook the entire ancient world.
"Damn it!"
In the central ancient hall of the dark Divine City resided the most dreadful existence. There were six Ancient Monarchs, all incredibly powerful. Especially the figure seated upon the central divine throne was utterly terrifying, radiating an aura of boundless horror that made even the other Ancient Monarchs tremble.
His entire form was submerged in dense black fog, with only a vague outline of a massive physique visible, and a tail covered in scales protruding.
"The Alchemy Emperor Clan, the Flame Emperor Clan, the Ultimate Ancient Path, and other peak forces have all joined forces to attack our Soul-Restraining Hall. We have lost one hundred and eight branch halls."
"Damn it, truly damnable! They dare to attack our Soul-Restraining Hall!"
"Those alien race bastards are also the ones who forced our Soul-Restraining Hall into hiding!"
The strongest Hall Master roared, his voice nearly causing the entire dark Divine Hall to collapse, even shaking the entire dark Divine City and reverberating throughout the ancient world, a truly terrifying display.
"Heaven Hall Master, please calm your anger. Although our hall has lost one hundred and eight branch halls, the compensation from the alien race has also allowed our hall's eternal grand plan to progress much faster!" a Monarch Hall Master spoke.
Hearing this, the Heaven Hall Master on the divine throne calmed down slightly, snorting coldly, "If not for that, this hall would have directly annihilated all the alien races in this ancient universe. But so be it. The eternal grand plan is nearing its final step. We are only missing a chaos cultivator, which is particularly crucial."
However, another Hall Master frowned and said, "Currently, we only know of two chaos cultivators. One is the Chaos Hegemon, who is only at the deepest part of the Ultimate Ancient Path, where several old monsters from the Ultimate Ancient Path are stationed, making it difficult to approach. The other is the Battle Saint King who used heavenly tribulation to destroy the alien race's universe and prevent its descent. Although this person is not as powerful as the Chaos Hegemon, he has also achieved the level of a Chaos Great Power, making him even more difficult to deal with. However, compared to the Chaos Hegemon, he is still much weaker, so we can focus on him."
"The eternal grand plan is only one step away. We cannot afford any mistakes. Once it succeeds, our Soul-Restraining Hall will surely dominate the ancient universe. At that time, whatever Ultimate Ancient Path, Alchemy Emperor Clan, Flame Emperor Clan will all be reduced to ashes." The Heaven Hall Master spoke, his voice rumbling like muffled thunder. Then he continued, "The Chaos Hegemon has also grown to a sufficient level. I'm afraid even sending Ancient Monarchs would find it difficult to capture him. So, let's make a move to capture the Battle Saint King instead. He dares to repeatedly ruin our Soul-Restraining Hall's major affairs; we shall use him as a sacrifice."
"Yes!"
......
Ye Chen was unaware of everything happening in the outside world. During this period, he had been in seclusion within the Divine Hall of the Alchemy Emperor Clan.
And this seclusion lasted a full half a year.
Although the Emperor Curse had been suppressed, during this time, he had been constantly trying to completely eliminate it. He even attempted to use the Aura Desolation Great Halberd or the Six-Layered Coffin of Reincarnation to absorb it, but he could not achieve any real effect.
The Emperor Curse was like a malignant tumor, impossible to eradicate, always causing him worry, for it was, after all, related to an Emperor.
If not for the myriad rays of dawn light obtained from the countless beings slain in the heavenly tribulation world suppressing it, he would probably have been completely corroded by the Emperor Curse, with unimaginable consequences.
However, after much research, he could only helplessly sigh. At the very least, for now, he could not eradicate it.
Several Ancient Monarchs had mentioned afterward that if he wanted to eradicate it, perhaps when he one day reached the realm of an Ancient Monarch, he could completely remove it.
"Ancient Monarch..."
Ye Chen sighed softly. Even as the most monstrous young Supreme One, he did not dare to be certain he could break through into that realm within a hundred years.
Only when he truly reached the Great Power realm did he understand how difficult it was to advance in cultivation.
When he broke through to the Saint Vault and Heavenly King realms, he basically leaped three levels at once. But this time, upon entering the Great Power realm, he was only at the first level of Great Power, not even the second.
Of course, this was also related to him leaving the divine energy of his eight divine power avatars for the evolution of the Chaos Small Universe. But his own accumulation was also very deep, yet he could not cross into the second level of Great Power, which left him feeling somewhat helpless.
Naturally, he understood even more that the nine levels of Great Power were like separate heavens. This was also related to him being a Chaos young Supreme One. Even at the same Great Power level, he was far stronger than his peers, requiring divine energy that was incomparable, a world of difference.
For example, although he was only at the first level of Great Power, in terms of combat power, he could absolutely sweep through the fifth level of Great Power, contend with the sixth level, and perhaps even match a super Great Power at the seventh level.
This was the gap.
The more this was the case, the more it proved his immense potential. Following such a monstrous path of advancement, one day, he might truly become the second Formless Monarch, defying the heavens to contend with Emperor Dao Supreme Ones.
However, Ye Chen felt that if he completely evolved the Chaos Small Universe, making it his origin universe, it would provide him with immense feedback of Great Dao power, allowing him to advance significantly in one go.
It was just a pity that currently, wanting to evolve a true Chaos Small Universe was difficult!
After all, his half-year seclusion was not only to eliminate the Emperor Curse but also for the Monarch World Heart located at the source point of his dantian space, and even more for the shattered Chaos Small Universe. During this period, he had been constantly trying to completely evolve it.
But it was very arduous!
In fact, only at this step did Ye Chen truly understand how fortunate he was to have evolved the embryonic form of the Chaos Small Universe during the heavenly tribulation. Because evolving a Chaos Small Universe was extremely difficult, involving the most profound mysteries of chaos. Even Ancient Monarchs could not do it; only beings at the level of Emperor Dao Supreme Ones, the supreme existences, could achieve it.
He was indeed very lucky to have reached this step.
Precisely because of this, repairing it was also exceptionally difficult. The repair speed was astonishingly slow. After spending a full half a year, utilizing all his insights into chaos, he still had not completely repaired it, having only repaired about one-tenth.
And this was only possible because the eight divine power avatars continuously provided the eight types of origin power. Otherwise, it would have long since disintegrated.
"Wanting to completely evolve the Chaos Small Universe is truly somewhat difficult, and the power is also insufficient!"
Ye Chen sighed inwardly. But suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he abruptly remembered something.
Whoosh—
A flash of light, and a small tree appeared before him. It wasn't very large, but it was precisely the World Tree Burial Coffin—the World Tree Burial Coffin that had not been destroyed.