Ye Chen's enlightenment had concluded. Twenty-five years of enlightenment seemed to have brought no visible change—no breakthrough, still at the peak of the fourth layer of the Great Power realm, a hair's breadth away from stepping into the fifth layer. Yet no one knew what divine abilities he had created or what kind of transformation he had undergone during this period of enlightenment.
Only his Dao aura had grown increasingly unfathomable.
"Look, it's the Battle Saint King! It's really him, right here in the Spirit Heaven Sea Area! Who would have thought he was in the lava world beneath the sea? We truly miscalculated." The expressions of the Great Powers from the Jiuyan Imperial Clan were extremely grim. They never expected that after all their searching, the Battle Saint King was in the very area they had most suspected. Unfortunately, they had never managed to find him; it was he who had revealed himself.
Ye Chen stood within the radiant, scorching lava world, sweeping his gaze over the twelve Imperial Clan Great Powers who had arrived. He then spoke, "Why have you come?"
"Why have we come?" The twelve Imperial Clan Great Powers were enraged. The leader among them, Yan Cangqiong, a Super Great Power at the mid-stage of the Eighth Heaven, coldly replied, "Battle Saint King, have you truly been kicked in the head by a donkey to ask such an idiotic question? Now we give you two choices: either hand over the Emperor Body, all the treasures you obtained from our Imperial Clan, cripple your own cultivation, and surrender the Chaos Mark—then we might spare your life. Or, we will suppress and kill you, then take everything back ourselves."
The twelve Imperial Clan Great Powers tightly surrounded the Spirit Heaven Sea Area, sealing the heavens and locking the earth, their killing intent overwhelming.
Not to mention the hundred nations near the Spirit Heaven Sea Area, even the entire Jiuyan Continent, and indeed the entire Nine Colors Emperor Star, could clearly feel the terrifying pressure emanating from the Imperial Clan's many Great Powers.
Under such terrifying and immense pressure, the countless living beings on the Nine Colors Emperor Star, numbering in the billions, trembled uncontrollably, fear rising from the depths of their souls.
Yet, standing at the very center of the boundless pressure from the twelve Imperial Clan Great Powers, Ye Chen's expression remained cold and mocking. "You want me to cripple my cultivation and hand over everything? Are you sure it's not your heads that have been kicked by a donkey?"
"Battle Saint King, how dare you insult us! You're seeking death!"
The twelve Imperial Clan Great Powers were furious, their killing intent soaring to the heavens. But Ye Chen spoke coldly, "It is you who seek death. To have come this far and still be so full of yourselves, truly believing you are lofty and above all, expecting me to flatter you? The people of the Jiuyan Imperial Clan are indeed a bunch of arrogant fools."
"Battle Saint King, you are deliberately courting death!"
"Attack!"
The twelve Imperial Clan Great Powers roared in unison, unleashing their boundless divine might, shaking heaven and earth with terrifying force.
In an instant, a full twelve terrifying divine abilities erupted, all aimed at Ye Chen.
Leading the charge was Yan Cangqiong, the Imperial Clan Great Power at the mid-stage of the Eighth Heaven. His attack was the most fearsome—a vast expanse of blade light that enveloped the entire lava world, descending like a deluge. The entire lava world beneath the Spirit Heaven Sea Area was certain to be annihilated.
Yet, Ye Chen below remained calm and composed from beginning to end. He then gently shook his head and said, "You... are not worthy."
You are not worthy!
These four simple words seemed to contain boundless power. Even the leading Eighth Heaven Great Power was shocked and enraged, his gaze turning icy cold. The blade light he unleashed became many times more terrifying, capable of easily destroying a great world.
Boom—
Without a doubt, the combined might of the twelve Imperial Clan Great Powers, led by two Super Great Powers, was indescribably terrifying. It completely collapsed the entire Spirit Heaven Sea Area, sweeping through and annihilating countless stretches of space-time.
However, Ye Chen did not meet the attacks head-on. Instead, his figure instantly became ethereal and illusory, as if he were no longer in this realm. He twisted space-time, evading all attacks, and charged toward the starry sky beyond the domain.
All the attacks crashed down upon the lava world. Each strike was from a Great Power, their power boundless. Especially Yan Cangqiong's blade light, as a Super Great Power of the Eighth Heaven, was immeasurably vast. Had it landed completely, it would have brought utter devastation to a radius of hundreds of millions of li, a truly terrifying prospect.
However, within the Nine Colors Emperor Star, a stream of light flashed, actually intercepting all the destructive power and transferring it into a void, where it completely dissipated.
This was the mighty power of the Nine Colors Emperor Star. The majestic Emperor Star, like other Emperor's origin worlds, possessed its own origin will.
Normally, this origin will lay dormant. But when faced with a terrifying attack, it would react autonomously. This was also why the twelve Imperial Clan Great Powers dared to act so recklessly without fear of damaging the Emperor Star.
"That junior Battle Saint King has fled outside the Emperor Star! He likely intends to break through the heavenly curtain. We must stop him quickly!"
"Go, stop him now!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Like lightning, the twelve Imperial Clan Great Powers charged into the starry sky beyond the domain, loudly mocking as they went: "Battle Saint King, you truly are shameless and without honor! We actually thought you were formidable, saying we were not worthy, yet in the end, you didn't dare to face our attacks."
"Indeed! For all your supposed strength and arrogance, you turn out to be nothing but a mere coward!"
The Imperial Clan Great Powers all ridiculed Ye Chen for being a spineless bandit, unwilling to fight head-on.
But Ye Chen's voice, filled with disdain, resounded throughout the entire Nine Colors Emperor Star: "I've seen shameless people, but never ones as shameless as you from the Jiuyan Imperial Clan. Twelve of you ganging up on me alone. If I faced you head-on, wouldn't I be as foolish as your Jiuyan Imperial Clan? Any one of you step forward alone, and I could suppress and kill you with a mere raise of my hand!"
He retorted, calling them shameless, which made the Imperial Clan Great Powers' expressions turn extremely ugly. However, even as he spoke, Ye Chen had long since crossed into the outer realms and arrived before the heavenly curtain. Separated by the Imperial Clan's heavenly curtain, he also saw Mystic Dao Elder and Abenue.
"Senior, Abenue," Ye Chen called out.
"Master!"
"Young friend!"
Abenue was naturally overjoyed. Her master had finally appeared, immediately calming her worried heart.
Mystic Dao Elder felt the same. After all, he held great expectations for Ye Chen. Seeing him appear safe and sound brought him much relief.
"I apologize for making you worry," Ye Chen said with an apologetic smile.
Abenue hurriedly shook her head gently, while Mystic Dao Elder stroked his silver-white beard and chuckled, "Young friend, you jest. This old man has long known that with your capabilities, this mere Jiuyan Imperial Clan could never do anything to you."
"Wait for me. I'll be out immediately!"
Ye Chen spoke softly, then a dazzling Chaos light erupted from his eyes. An immeasurable aura suddenly burst forth from his entire body, sweeping across the vast sky.
"Whoever dares to stand in my way shall die, even if it's a peak Great Power! I will kill them all the same!"
He looked toward the Longevity Sword God, his voice suddenly turning ice-cold to the extreme, killing intent crisscrossing the air!