Everything exploded. The light from the collision submerged all things, boundless and limitless, enveloping the ancient universe and the peerless demonic shadow.
The earth-shattering, epoch-shaking great collision resounded, shaking the vast River of Time, disturbing countless ancient and immortal Supreme beings. Each felt it in their hearts, yet none could see it, for everything was isolated and blocked by that heavenly stele.
The River of Time nearly snapped. Countless temporal waves surged into the heavens, flooding the mysterious firmament and sweeping down innumerable stars. All eras and spaces trembled violently.
In that collision akin to great destruction, the Emperor Body forged from Emperor Gu Chu's Emperor Blood exploded, shattering completely, ceasing to exist.
Simultaneously, Ye Chen's Great Emperor reincarnation body also shattered utterly, or more accurately, burned out completely. Everything, everything was burned to fuel the power of the universe's creation.
Whoosh—
Amidst the boundless light of great destruction, a small black shadow suddenly shot out. It was clearly visible—it was an ancient coffin.
It was the final coffin body of the Six-Layered Reincarnation Coffin, descending from the sky and falling onto the River of Time, splashing up many waves. Yet it did not sink completely, instead floating like an ancient ship shaped like a coffin.
Only this final coffin body, the most sturdy and immortal layer, was also covered in countless cracks, as if it might shatter completely at any moment.
An unknown amount of time passed before the cracked ancient coffin moved. The lid was slowly pushed open, and a familiar figure emerged from within—
Ye Chen!
Ye Chen slowly appeared, but at this moment, the space between his brows was dull and dark—the location where his Chaos Saint Soul Little Person resided.
Just moments ago, in the final instant of that Emperor-level ultimate collision when the Great Emperor reincarnation body burned out completely, the Chaos Saint Soul Little Person, sheltering under the cracked Supreme Ancient Tower, had barely managed to escape and re-enter the Reincarnation Coffin, thus surviving.
But the price paid was extremely severe. His Chaos Saint Soul Little Person had dimmed completely, incredibly weak. In this state, forget a few hundred or thousand years, even if he had the hundred-thousand-year lifespan of a Great Power, it might not be enough to fully recover.
Because this weakness was an injury, and not merely one that endangered his origin. It had even been wounded by Emperor Gu Chu's Emperor Dao divine ability. A demonic light had shot out from that peerless demonic shadow, piercing through the Supreme Ancient Tower's defense, though weakened to just a wisp.
Yet even a mere wisp of Emperor Dao power was like a bone-gnawing worm, clinging stubbornly within his body, clinging to the Chaos Saint Soul Little Person, constantly eroding it.
If not resolved in time, this alien Emperor's demonic power would continuously devour Ye Chen's soul power to grow stronger, while Ye Chen's Chaos Saint Soul Little Person would grow weaker and weaker.
With one waning and the other waxing, eventually, Ye Chen would be completely eroded.
That day would be Ye Chen's true death.
But this wisp of Emperor power was not as simple as Emperor Gu Chu's own power. It was also the power of that peerless demonic shadow that had erupted from the Primordial Ancient Temple within the alien continent, even more bizarre and terrifying.
Forget the current Ye Chen, even at his peak, he might not be able to expel it.
Yet Ye Chen no longer cared. His previous strike had nearly sacrificed everything. As long as it could send Emperor Gu Chu to his grave, then it was all worth it.
Boom—
But clearly, an Emperor could not be so easily annihilated. Their vitality was too powerful. Even if smashed to pieces, they could reassemble and recover. Only the strongest Emperors like the Heavenly Emperor or the Douzhan Saint Ancestor could truly slay beings of this Supreme level.
On the River of Time, Emperor Gu Chu's Emperor Shadow appeared once more, still peerlessly majestic, standing tall upon the River of Time. Yet he had ultimately suffered severe wounds, appearing far more illusory than before.
"Ant!"
Emperor Gu Chu's tone carried a trace of fury. He hadn't expected this junior, an ant in his eyes, to repeatedly evade his attempts at annihilation. Moreover, just now, in the collision, he had even shattered the Emperor Body condensed from his Emperor Blood, forcing him to pay an unimaginable price.
He had to remember, back then, he had risked being severely wounded by the Heavenly Emperor to stain the Heaven-Burying Stele with his blood.
Though part of the reason was to summon this key figure of the Sealed Realm back to the Mythical Era for execution.
There was an even more important reason—
The Heavenly Emperor!
Back then, the Heavenly Emperor, as one of the few strongest Emperors of the Sealed Boundary Universe, was one of the most formidable enemies preventing the alien army from conquering the Sealed Boundary Universe.
The most ancient Heavenly Emperor was even more mysterious and unknown. He was the first Supreme Great Emperor to rise in the Sealed Boundary Universe, and legend said his existence was as ancient as the Sealed Boundary Universe itself.
Early in that war, to deal with the Heavenly Emperor, the alien Emperors had laid a grand scheme, paying a heavy price. One alien Emperor fell beneath the Heaven-Burying Stele, and Emperor Gu Chu was severely wounded, near death, his blood staining the stele.
Yet few knew that while that severe wound was primarily due to the Heavenly Emperor's unparalleled combat power—Emperor Gu Chu was no match—there was also a scheme behind it.
That Emperor Blood was not merely ordinary Emperor Blood. It was mixed with over half of his Emperor Dao essence blood, and even part of his Emperor Soul was fused within. Back then, he had paid a heavy price to conceal this, all so that at a critical moment, he could suddenly strike, delivering a fatal blow to the Heavenly Emperor and causing his fall.
Unfortunately, it ultimately failed.
For immediately after came the Great Cataclysm of the Mythical Era. Among the few strongest Emperors of the Sealed Boundary Universe, the Douzhan Saint Ancestor was besieged by several alien Emperors and a supreme immortal from the Immortal Realm, disappearing, suspected to have fallen.
The Tai Sheng Emperor also entered that Primordial Immortal Realm, suspected to have ventured into the place that buries immortals, buries emperors, buries everything.
The Time-Space Great Emperor vanished, his traces unknown.
As for the Heavenly Emperor, after the Great Cataclysm, he too disappeared, possibly having fallen in that battle.
It was said the Heavenly Emperor once confronted the Primordial Ancestor alone, then vanished, his tracks unfindable. The Primordial Ancestor never spoke a single word about it.
Precisely because of this, many other alien Emperors believed the Heavenly Emperor had not fallen. If he returned one day, he would surely reclaim his lost Heavenly Emperor battle weapons, and the Heaven-Burying Stele was one of them.
At that time, the Emperor Blood Emperor Gu Chu left on the Heaven-Burying Stele could still play a crucial role. At the very least, it could unleash the combat power of a peak Great Emperor for a short time, still allowing a sudden strike at a critical moment for the Heavenly Emperor, delivering a fatal blow.
But he never expected this backup plan to be half-wasted by an ant-like junior from the Sealed Realm. This filled him with immense rage.
This was simply a great humiliation, especially since the other party wasn't even an Emperor, yet had made him so disheveled. Unforgivable.
"Die! This time, no one can save you!"
The Emperor's hand reached out, obliterating everything!
Seeing this, Ye Chen's eyes reddened, yet he also felt a sense of powerlessness. His figure seemed so desolate, his head bowed as he murmured to himself, "I'm sorry, Senior. Even at the cost of everything, I still couldn't annihilate him, couldn't prevent him from surviving. It's my fault."
The Great Emperor reincarnation body had burned out. One-seventh of his Great Emperor origin was gone too. The Tianhuang Great Halberd had fallen silent and broken. What did he have left?
He had nothing left. Looking at Emperor Gu Chu's immortal Emperor Shadow, he smiled desolately. Perhaps he could still burn his own Chaos origin, his Chaos Saint Soul Little Person, his Chaos small universe, to make one final strike, to make this Emperor Gu Chu shed a bit more blood.
"Since there's no way out, why care anymore."
Ye Chen laughed heartily, filled with resolve. He also looked at Emperor Gu Chu's sky-covering giant hand descending from above, completely enveloping him. His entire body was about to ignite, willing to be like a moth flying into the flame, facing death unflinchingly!
He was about to burn himself, offering the last bit of power in this life.
At this very moment, a sigh suddenly rang out, echoing over the River of Time.
Boom—
From the Heaven-Burying Stele that severed the River of Time, boundless, lightless radiance erupted—it was green light, carrying a peerless Emperor's might that flooded the River of Time and shook all eras and spaces.
The boundless green light, containing Supreme Emperor laws, submerged Emperor Gu Chu's immortal Emperor form, also preventing his attempt to annihilate Ye Chen.
"Who dares stop this Emperor from killing the key figure!"
Emperor Gu Chu roared, filled with fury. Within, demonic light reversed, transforming into endless black flames—Emperor-level Dao flames capable of burning all the myriad Daos of the heavens, sweeping overwhelmingly toward the endless green light.
Yet the endless green light was difficult for the black flames to burn, even though they were Emperor Gu Chu's Emperor-level Dao flames.
In a daze, within that endless green light, a majestic, peerless Supreme Emperor Shadow appeared. His Emperor's bearing was awe-inspiring, with thick, loose black hair. His face was unseen, covered by a Heavenly Dao mask inscribed with the myriad Daos of the heavens. Only his eyes were visible, containing the vicissitudes and profundity of epochal submergence, with ten heavens rising and falling within. He strode forth.
He seemed to look down upon Emperor Gu Chu, his voice carrying a supreme, lofty majesty, like the Supreme Human Emperor of the Myriad Domains, a majesty that transcends all, like the Heavenly Dao, emotionless, slowly stating, "You cannot kill this key figure!"
His words carried a sense that no one could question, impossible to resist.
Emperor Gu Chu initially wanted to snort coldly, but when he saw this Supreme Emperor Shadow, his gaze pierced through that Heavenly Dao mask, clearly seeing the newcomer's true face. His expression changed drastically: "It's you!"
Clearly, Emperor Gu Chu recognized this Emperor shrouded in boundless green light.
"It is I!"
The Green Light Emperor responded. He descended to the mortal realm, holding in his hand a special sword. Green, hazy Supreme Emperor laws coiled around it, yet it seemed to look down upon all living beings under heaven, like the lofty Heavenly Dao—it was a Heavenly Dao Sword!
"Emperor Gu Chu, you indeed did not hesitate to stain the Heaven-Burying Stele with blood, leaving a backup plan. That person indeed was not mistaken."
"But today, all of this will truly end."
"He cannot be touched."
"And this half of your true body shall also be annihilated!"