Centuries had passed within the space of the Mud Ball Palace, yet less than half a day had elapsed in the outside world. Everything remained as it was.
At this moment, Abenue was still coiled upon the Star Nest, leading the boundless army of Insect Warriors in guarding this star domain.
Boom—
Suddenly, intense fluctuations erupted in a distant star domain, instantly startling Abenue from her vigil. Her massive dragon head lifted, her dark golden eyes gazing into the distance.
In that far-off star domain, space tore open, and several supremely powerful figures descended abruptly, their formidable auras surging violently.
The leader was a Super Great Power, a majestic and imposing middle-aged man. He wore a divine crown and a majestic divine robe embroidered with images of myriad gods. Around him, three hundred spheres of divine radiance floated.
Within each sphere of divine radiance, faint figures of millions could be seen, chanting scriptures and prostrating in worship. They were projections of entire worlds, continuously emitting streams of brilliant dawn light that flowed into the middle-aged man's body.
Three hundred spheres of divine radiance, resembling three hundred worlds, with countless subjects offering worship and contributing vast amounts of Faith Power.
One could imagine just how powerful this person was.
Beside him, seven powerful figures descended as well, each an Ancient Great Power, forming an overwhelmingly luxurious and powerful entourage.
The moment these Great Powers appeared, the waiting Divine Desolation Venerable One immediately stepped forward. Facing the majestic middle-aged man surrounded by three hundred spheres of divine radiance, the leader of the Great Powers, his expression was especially reverent. He clasped his fists and bowed deeply in salute: "Divine Desolation pays his respects to Lord Garo Divine King!"
The leading Great Power was none other than the Garo Divine King, renowned throughout the Ancient Universe—a Super Great Power, hailed as a Divine King.
Divine Desolation Venerable One's gaze held deep wariness and a measure of awe. He naturally knew of this Garo Divine King's immense power. Not only was his cultivation profound and miraculous, having achieved the status of a Super Great Power, but more importantly, he had established a legacy sect in three hundred worlds, with billions of subjects believing in him, granting him vast Faith Power.
Thus, among the Great Powers of the myriad heavens, Garo Divine King stood almost at the peak, a Super Great Power whose title of Divine King made even other Super Great Powers deeply wary.
The main reason he could be invited this time was that in the past, Garo Divine King had come to the Universe Border Wasteland, established the Garo Divine Sect, and collected billions of Faith Power, with Divine Desolation Venerable One cooperating fully.
Because of this, Garo Divine King was very satisfied with Divine Desolation Venerable One's cooperation, making him the guardian of the Garo Divine Sect in the Universe Border Wasteland and granting him a promise.
If needed in the future, Garo Divine King would do his best to fulfill one wish for Divine Desolation Venerable One.
If not for this, Garo Divine King would not have learned of the news, toiled hard, and traveled for several days from deep within the universe to come to the aid of such a border wasteland.
After all, Garo Divine King had established the Garo Divine Sect in three hundred worlds or Life Ancient Stars. Naturally, he couldn't rush to aid every Garo Divine Sect that encountered trouble in every world or Life Ancient Star; otherwise, he would have no time for anything else.
Normally, he would dispatch his subordinates. This time, knowing the Universe Border Wasteland faced trouble even a third-level Great Power like Divine Desolation Venerable One couldn't resolve, and because of his past promise, he specifically made the journey.
Precisely because of this, among the arriving Great Powers, Divine Desolation Venerable One placed the most importance on Garo Divine King. If the Universe Border Wasteland encountered any major crisis, it would primarily rely on Garo Divine King.
However, Garo Divine King also frowned slightly at Divine Desolation Venerable One, albeit imperceptibly.
After all, he was reluctant to move easily and had toiled for many days to come here.
Divine Desolation Venerable One then clasped his fists and greeted the other three arriving Great Powers one by one.
Garo Divine King nodded coolly. But before he could ask Divine Desolation Venerable One what was happening, he saw the endless Insect Warriors in the distant star domain, densely arrayed there. Among them were even some Heavenly King-level Insect Warriors, their violent auras overwhelming the heavens, causing the arriving Great Powers' hearts to palpitate.
Even a Super Great Power like Garo Divine King changed expression. He turned and swept a cold glance at Divine Desolation Venerable One: "Divine Desolation, what is the meaning of this? Do you want this lord to offend an Insect Race Mother Queen Great Power for your sake?"
Although he was a Super Great Power, how terrifying was an Insect Race Mother Queen? Her main body might be fragile, but the most troublesome aspect was her ability to produce endless Insect Warriors. In overwhelming numbers, they could easily sweep through any star domain.
Moreover, in many cases, Insect Race Mother Queens operated in groups, like the eighteen Insect Race Mother Queens Ye Chen had encountered before. Once provoked, one would basically face the relentless, unending pursuit of Insect Race Mother Queens.
The other familiar Great Powers also felt their hearts palpitate, almost glaring fiercely at Divine Desolation Venerable One, blaming him for his immorality.
"Lord Divine King, Fellow Daoists, please let me explain."
Divine Desolation Venerable One hurriedly spoke. How would he dare deceive these people, especially Garo Divine King, a Super Great Power renowned throughout the Ancient Universe, with profound and unfathomable cultivation who could crush him with a raised hand? He wouldn't dare deceive him even with ten thousand times the courage.
He immediately recounted everything he knew in detail.
"The Six-Layered Reincarnation Coffin!?"
"A young supreme talent!?"
"A crescent moon mark on his forehead!?"
"Knows how to refine eighth-tier divine pills!?"
"Emperor's aura!?"
"A Special Insect Queen shaped like a golden true dragon!?"
"A great cauldron swirling with boundless Primordial Chaos Qi!?"
One heavy piece of information after another was thrown out. The more they listened, the more the Great Powers' hearts palpitated, because all of this was far too terrifying.
Yet, for some reason, while their hearts palpitated, they faintly felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
That majestic and terrifying young man seemed familiar.
At a certain moment, as if blessed by divine inspiration, both Garo Divine King and the other Great Powers suddenly jolted awake. They looked at each other, a name that had been passed down through the ages surfacing in their hearts—
Battle Saint King!
That's right! Wasn't it the Battle Saint King, the Chaos Young Supreme of the Ultimate Ancient Path, who three years ago at the fiftieth checkpoint, under the watchful eyes of countless experts and even several Ancient Monarchs, seized a fragment of an Incomplete Emperor Body? Didn't he possess a Chaos Great Cauldron?
But three years ago, Battle Saint King completely vanished from the world's sight. In the blink of an eye, three years had passed. Even Ancient Monarchs searched for him without a trace, leading some to suspect he had been secretly found and killed by an Ancient Monarch.
And because that Ancient Monarch secretly monopolized that fragment of the Emperor Body, he didn't inform the world.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have disappeared for a full three years, with no one able to find him.
Yet, who would have thought that Battle Saint King hadn't been killed and had instead come to the Universe Border Wasteland.
Moreover, according to Divine Desolation Venerable One, he had been severely injured. And now, he had released an alien Insect Race Mother Queen here, guarded by boundless Insect Warriors, hiding within, seemingly carrying out a shocking plan.
And one could imagine that with such arrangements, it must be extremely crucial, not to be disturbed from the outside. Perhaps it was related to the Incomplete Emperor Body he obtained back then.
Thinking of this, everyone grew excited, especially Garo Divine King, whose eyes shone with astonishing light.
An Incomplete Emperor Body was enough to drive even Ancient Monarchs mad, let alone a Super Great Power like him. His heart stirred incessantly.
After all, everyone knew that the original Emperor Body had absorbed the flesh and blood essence of countless experts, as well as billions of beings from the Five Elements Continent of the Emperor Birth Star. In the end, it even devoured the entire flesh and blood essence of two Ancient Monarchs, finally becoming complete, considered immortal.
Within it, corresponding Emperor Dao Sovereign Foundations had even been nurtured. For those aspiring to reach the Emperor-Sovereign domain, how precious and priceless was this? It was simply a true priceless treasure.
Naturally, Garo Divine King was immensely tempted. Deep in his eyes, there was an unconcealable fervor.
This fragment of the Incomplete Emperor Body—he must obtain it at all costs, to use it in the future to reach the Emperor-Sovereign domain.
As for the other Great Powers, including Divine Desolation Venerable One—
As his gaze swept over them, no one noticed the flicker of killing intent in the deepest part of Garo Divine King's eyes.
As for the Incomplete Emperor Body, he naturally wanted to monopolize it.
However, at present, there were boundless Insect Warriors, and this Special Insect Queen seemed quite fearsome, shaped like a golden divine dragon. According to Divine Desolation Venerable One, it might not be inferior to a Super Great Power.
He alone probably couldn't seize the Incomplete Emperor Body. These Great Powers were still useful for now; he couldn't kill them yet.
Therefore, Garo Divine King concealed that intense killing intent in the deepest part of his eyes. His majestic face broke into a smile as he said softly, "Fellow Daoists, regarding the various matters concerning Battle Saint King, I believe there's no need for this lord to explain personally; you all understand. He carries countless treasures. When the time comes, this lord only wants the Emperor Body, the Heaven Desolation Great Halberd, and his Chaos Mark. The rest are for you Fellow Daoists to seize as you wish. How about it?"
The other Great Powers naturally also desired the Emperor Body, but they understood that the most powerful here was still Garo Divine King. He naturally had the right to claim the greatest treasure.
Moreover, Battle Saint King was indeed a mobile treasure trove. Aside from the Emperor Body, the Chaos Great Cauldron, the Six-Layered Reincarnation Coffin, and so on were all first-class priceless treasures, enough to make these people's hearts stir.
Thus, they all nodded in agreement.
Upon hearing this, Divine Desolation Venerable One, standing to the side, immediately changed color and hurriedly said, "Lord Garo, Fellow Daoists, what do you intend to do?"
Faintly, he felt he had made the gravest mistake.
Initially, he had called them here as a precaution, to avoid Ye Chen's furious rampage through the Universe Border Wasteland, bringing endless disaster to several Life Ancient Stars. But now it seemed that both Garo Divine King and the other Great Powers intended to take action against Battle Saint King.
Garo Divine King's expression was indifferent. "Divine Desolation, now that things have come to this, join our camp as well. Although you're not particularly powerful, you can still tie down a portion of the Insect Warriors. When we kill Battle Saint King, we'll give you a share of the spoils. You must know that opportunity knocks but once!"
Divine Desolation Venerable One had naturally heard of Battle Saint King's reputation, but he was quite wary. The various displays from before were enough to make him tremble with fear. He immediately shook his head. "Lord Garo, Fellow Daoists, Battle Saint King is too powerful. Moreover, this Special Insect Queen is no weaker than a Super Great Power. I do not recommend taking action against him. If we anger Battle Saint King, we will inevitably face the most terrible retaliation. Let's stop here."
But the other Great Powers snorted coldly in response: "Divine Desolation, you are still too cautious. It cannot be denied that Battle Saint King is truly powerful, not inferior to a Super Great Power. But based on everything you've said, the current Battle Saint King is likely in a critical period, not to be disturbed, unable to attend to other matters. And no matter how powerful this Special Insect Queen is, Lord Garo can restrain her. No matter how many other Insect Warriors there are, they are just cannon fodder. As long as we disturb Battle Saint King and strike while he is at a critical moment, we can severely injure him, even kill him. This is a heaven-sent opportunity; there won't be a second one."
"That's right, Divine Desolation. You can choose to act, but if you are unwilling to cooperate with us, then go back," Garo Divine King said, then added, his words filled with chilling killing intent: "However, if without our permission, you interfere or notify others to come, this lord will hunt you down to the other end of the universe and annihilate this border wasteland star domain."
Clearly, this was a naked threat.
Yet Divine Desolation Venerable One had no choice but to comply. He silently retreated far from the area.
In his heart, he felt some guilt, silently sighing, I'm sorry, Battle Saint King!
The next moment, led by Garo Divine King, the other seven Great Powers followed, charging directly toward that place.
"Halt, intruders! Dare to take one step further, and you die!"
Abenue rose from the Star Nest, her massive demonic body winding through the starry sky, looking down from above. Her icy voice carried intense killing intent.
"So powerful! Indeed not inferior to a Super Great Power!"
The Great Powers all changed expression. However, the leading Garo Divine King charged forward directly. The three hundred spheres of divine radiance around him resonated with boundless scripture chants, shaking the starry sky. Garo Divine King's aura instantly grew much stronger. In his hand appeared a long whip that, in the blink of an eye as it rapidly enlarged, transformed into a demonic dragon also tens of thousands of li long, charging forth.
"You all, attack! Annihilate these Insect Warriors. I will restrain this Insect Race Mother Queen!"
Garo Divine King spoke, his voice shaking heaven and earth. He stepped onto the whip-turned-demonic dragon and charged toward Abenue.
"You seek death!"
Abenue roared, her aura surging violently. She charged directly out from the Star Nest, golden and resplendent, shaped like a pure-blooded golden divine dragon, rushing toward Garo Divine King.
And with a long cry, the countless Insect Warriors spread across this star domain instantly swarmed into action, charging toward the seven Great Powers, densely packed, forming a terrifying torrent.
"A mere Insect Race Mother Queen dares to clash head-on? Seeking death!"
Garo Divine King sneered coldly. Although Insect Race Mother Queens were powerful, their strength lay in their sturdy Star Nests and endless Insect Warriors. Their main bodies were relatively fragile. For Abenue to dare charge over like this was purely suicidal behavior.
He shouted, commanding the demonic dragon beneath him to charge forward and entangle Abenue.