"Chaos, the origin of all things."
"One divides into two poles, giving birth to the two paths of Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang!"
"Chaos gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, three gives birth to all things!"
"But conversely, all things can also become Chaos, enhancing its power."
"Chaos can differentiate into the paths of Light and Darkness. Similarly, as long as the paths of Light and Darkness are cultivated to sufficient strength and transformed back into Chaos, Chaos itself grows stronger alongside them."
"The eternal and endless darkness within this Mud Pill Palace space is the purest darkness, a form of the Dao, devouring all light, and one of the fundamental forces that constitute Chaos..."
The Chaos Saint Soul Little Person murmured softly to itself. The chaotic light blooming from its surface gradually began to change, shifting from brilliant radiance into darkness, yet simultaneously transforming into numerous Great Dao runes that represented the mysteries of Darkness.
Ye Chen was comprehending Darkness, experiencing it, allowing his cultivation, which had recently broken through level after level, to rise once more.
Darkness was among the ranks of top-tier Great Daos. As Ye Chen had said, if combined with Light, it could give birth to Chaos.
Once such a Great Dao was mastered, it could also display astonishing might. Similarly, it allowed Ye Chen to draw inferences about other cases from one instance, enabling him to comprehend Chaos on a deeper level.
From a certain moment onward, Ye Chen progressed from the late Fourth Heaven to its peak, just a hair's breadth away from the Fifth Heaven.
And more importantly, the Chaos Saint Soul Little Person could now navigate the Mud Pill Palace space more effectively.
Because here, there was only nothingness, only darkness, devoid of any energy. Over time, even the most powerful divine soul would deplete its power and wither away into extinction.
But after mastering the Great Dao of Darkness, Ye Chen could merge with the darkness, traversing it swiftly without expending the slightest bit of power.
The most crucial point was that when he comprehended the Great Dao of Darkness, the moment his gaze opened, he found the very end of the Mud Pill Palace space.
Given enough time, he could reach that end, completely master this Great Emperor reincarnation body, and refine it into an external incarnation.
Since the method had been found, Ye Chen no longer wasted extra time here.
Whoosh—
The Chaos Saint Soul Little Person suddenly split into two, becoming two individuals.
One continued to traverse the endless dark space of the Mud Pill Palace, while the other spoke out: "Senior!"
Crack—
A dazzling golden light instantly descended before Ye Chen. It was the Heavenly Desolation Halberd, and a majestic figure identical to the Formless Sovereign appeared. Looking at Ye Chen's Chaos Saint Soul Little Person before him, he nodded slightly, revealing a satisfied smile: "Little friend, it seems you have truly succeeded, your cultivation rising once more. Good, good!"
The Chaos Saint Soul Little Person cupped its fists and bowed towards the Heavenly Desolation Divine Spirit: "Thank you, Senior, for always protecting my path. Refining the Great Emperor reincarnation body into an external incarnation is within sight. However, this junior is concerned about potential troubles occurring in the outside world and would like to ask Senior to send me out of here."
"Indeed, some troubles have occurred in the outside world, though they are mostly resolved. But I fear greater troubles may come. Since you have succeeded in comprehending the Dao, go out. For you now, it can also be considered a decent trial." The Heavenly Desolation Divine Spirit nodded, then with a wave of his large hand, golden light tore through the Mud Pill Palace space, sending this part of Ye Chen's Chaos Saint Soul Little Person out into the outside world.
Feishen Star Domain was located in an ancient star domain slightly closer to the border wastelands of the universe.
This star domain had only one ordinary life-bearing ancient star, whose strongest cultivator was merely a Saint Realm expert.
Great Powers ultimately belonged to the category of beings at the pinnacle of the universe's pyramid. The likelihood of a Great Power being born in an ordinary star domain was extremely slim.
On this day, a star a full ten thousand li in size abruptly appeared in this utterly ordinary star domain. It was Abenue's star nest.
The universe was ultimately too vast. Even though Abenue had shaken off the Garuda Divine King and the others, continuously piloting the Void God Platform to traverse the starry sky without rest along the way, she still could not enter the outer regions of the universe.
Generally speaking, the universe's territory was divided into four major zones: the cosmic center, the cosmic interior, the cosmic exterior, and the cosmic border wastelands. The further back one went, the closer to the edge of the universe, and the more boundless the territory became.
After several days of traversing at maximum speed, Abenue's divine power was severely depleted. She sat cross-legged in the starry sky, absorbing the stellar radiance from all directions of the universe to replenish herself.
Whoosh— Ye Chen appeared.
"Greetings, Master. You have awakened." Abenue hurriedly stopped her cultivation, her face showing joy.
Seeing the weariness on Abenue's beautiful face, Ye Chen felt somewhat complex and also grateful.
Just as his Chaos Saint Soul Little Person re-entered his own fleshly body, the slumbering divine spirit of the Chaos Great Cauldron sensed it and also awakened, imparting to him all the events that had transpired during this period.
He knew that Abenue had truly become his person.
"Abenue, you have worked hard all this way," Ye Chen said softly, his tone gentle.
Abenue lightly shook her head. Her charmingly beautiful face, transformed into human form, bore a trace of determination: "You are this servant's master. Protecting the master's safety is only right."
Ye Chen nodded lightly, not saying much more. Instead, he flipped his palm and lightly flicked his fingers. Two streams of light whooshed before Abenue, revealing themselves to be two pills. He then said, "Here are a Blessing Cleansing Pill and two Great Power Pills. Take them."
"Thank you, Master!" Abenue was very pleased.
One was a high-grade healing treasure pill capable of curing even Dao injuries. The other two were Great Power Pills, refined from the flesh, blood, and essence of a Great Power. Moreover, having been refined by a pill refining master like Ye Chen, there was not the slightest bit of waste. Refining one was equivalent to at least several hundred to a thousand years of cultivation for a Great Power, making them priceless treasures.
Such a bestowal could not be described as anything but extravagant.
After expressing her gratitude, Abenue proactively informed him of all the events that had occurred during this period, also mentioning the various external news she had received over the past few days.
Upon learning that news of him being alive was circulating outside, and that more than half of the Ancient Universe's countless experts and even Ancient Monarchs wanted to hunt him down, Ye Chen's expression turned grave.
He finally understood why the Heavenly Desolation Divine Spirit had spoken that way earlier, saying it would be a trial for him. So that was it.
Abenue said worriedly: "Master, now more than half of the Ancient Universe is hunting you, even including Emperor Clans, and there are Ancient Monarchs joining the pursuit. This servant has heard that there is an invincible senior guarding the Ultimate Ancient Path, and those Ancient Monarchs dare not rashly intrude. If Master returns to the Ultimate Ancient Path, you won't have to worry about being hunted by various forces."
Ye Chen knew she was referring to Senior Cang Xiong, an invincible being who could rival the Formless Sovereign of old, rumored to be just a step away from attaining the Dao and becoming an Emperor, terrifying beyond measure.
But Ye Chen shook his head. He was now at the peak of the Fourth Heaven of the Great Power realm, far stronger than before, even surpassing Super Great Powers. Even though his divine soul was currently split in two and not fully solidified, he should not be underestimated.
With such cultivation, even if he re-entered the Ultimate Ancient Path, it would likely be difficult to gain much training effect.
Just right, weren't the experts and forces from more than half of the Ancient Universe now coming to find him, to seize the Emperor Body on him? There were even Emperor Clans and Ancient Monarchs involved. The process was filled with life-and-death peril, yet for him, it was indeed an excellent trial.
Moreover, facing such a trial, the battle blood within him, long dormant, began to boil once more.
"Having disappeared for three years, my cultivation has improved considerably. It's time to properly stretch my limbs and see just how much stronger I've become."
"Besides, do these people still think I, the Douzhan Sheng Wang, am a sick cat? Back then, I dared to lead a heavenly tribution to attack even the five Emperor Clans of the alien race, let alone those who aren't even Emperors. This should be a good challenge."
The corner of Ye Chen's mouth slowly curved into a faint smile. Regarding the impending pursuit by the myriad experts of the heavens, he rarely revealed such intense fighting spirit, his eyes even brimming with anticipation.
Next, he got straight to the point, giving Abenue three choices.
The first choice: leave his side now, because he would soon face the pursuit of countless experts and forces from more than half of the universe. As long as Abenue went to the Ultimate Ancient Path, she would be relatively much safer.
The second choice: hide within his body. She might not be able to emerge for a long time, which was also safe, but carried slightly more risk compared to the first choice. However, Ye Chen would do his utmost to protect her safety.
The final choice: continue following him. It would be very dangerous, but also filled with opportunities. Because while going through life-and-death peril in this process, it also came with great gains, which would be very helpful for her cultivation.
Now, Ye Chen no longer positioned Abenue as a servant from before, but rather viewed her more as a follower. He was willing to respect Abenue's choice. Even if Abenue wished to leave him, Ye Chen would not refuse.
Soon, Abenue made her choice—
To continue following him!
Because Abenue knew Ye Chen was a man of sentiment and righteousness, and only by staying by his side could she grow stronger more quickly.
Like the Dragon Source, like the eighteen Insect Race Mother Queens, they were all bestowed upon her by Ye Chen. If not for Ye Chen's existence, she would probably still be a mere little Insect Race Mother Queen back in the Chaos Sea of the Ancient Emperor World, striving towards the Heavenly King Realm.
"Master, earlier in the border wastelands, I captured a Great Power." Abenue was just about to release the Divine Desolation Venerable One, but Ye Chen stopped her. He first confined the Divine Desolation Venerable One within the star nest. There were matters to inquire about later, but now was not the time.
Boom—
On this day, in the border wastelands of the universe, near the star domain to which the Divine Desolation Venerable One belonged, one spatial gate after another continuously opened. One fearsome existence after another descended, their auras shaking this border wasteland region.
At a rough glance, there were actually thousands of figures, each one a truly deserving expert, at the very least Saints capable of traversing the starry sky.
On those few life-bearing ancient stars, everyone panicked, trembling in fear. They could all sense the terrifying nature of these people and feel that many among them were Heavenly Kings. There were even more than a dozen individuals who gave them a feeling no weaker than the Divine Desolation Venerable One, the number one figure of the border wastelands.
Among them, the most prominent seven or eight individuals were even stronger than the Divine Desolation Venerable One, not much weaker than the mysterious humanoid creature that had emerged from the Sixfold Reincarnation Coffin earlier.
Just what had happened?