Ye Chen's true name had long been known to the Changsheng Imperial Son.
He was also aware of Ye Chen's battle with Imperial Son Hua Chengdao at the Chixue Lake.
If Ye Chen knew all this, he would certainly feel a measure of wariness towards this Changsheng Imperial Son.
In the Gutai Mountain Range, Gu Jiuhua and his son were surprised and puzzled to see that Abenue and the others did not follow Ye Chen to pursue the enemy.
Abenue calmly said, "You need not worry. The Master has his own plans."
Hearing this, Gu Jiuhua and his son naturally dared not inquire further, their hearts filled only with deep confusion.
Boom—
In the pitch-black night, darkness enveloped the earth. The world was shrouded in gloom, gaining only a faint glimmer when moonlight shone upon the land.
Yet at this moment, several figures streaked like lightning across the earth, traversing with astonishing speed.
Strangely, however, this pursuit and flight seemed particularly bizarre. The pursuer was a young man, alone, while the pursued were a group, none of them young.
For numerous powerful figures to be chased by a single young man like this was, in a way, a novel sight.
Naturally, the pursuer was Ye Chen.
Ye Chen personally gave chase, fighting his way all along the path into another mountain range a hundred thousand li beyond the Gutai Mountain Range.
His opponents were very fast along the way, traversing a hundred thousand li before Ye Chen slowly caught up.
Before long, the many powerful figures who had been struggling to flee and escape now stopped in a desolate valley. Moreover, almost all of them showed none of their previous panic; instead, they sneered repeatedly as they looked at Ye Chen.
The leading Ninth Heaven Great Power gazed coldly at Ye Chen, then after a moment let out a soft sigh. "A pity. If you hadn't chased after us, you might have escaped this calamity."
Ye Chen looked coldly at these people before him, standing aloft in the void. He then swept his gaze across the surrounding void, standing with his hands behind his back as he spoke indifferently, "Come out, all of you. No need to hide."
The next moment, the surrounding void twisted, and figures emerged one after another, standing in the air, looking coldly at Ye Chen.
Some of these figures faintly exuded strands of terrifying aura; one glance told they were extraordinary experts.
On the scene, there were over a hundred figures, all true powerhouses. There was more than one peak Ninth Heaven Great Power. It could be said to be an utterly terrifying lineup.
Among them, Ye Chen also saw the Luo Tian Royal Clan participating, including Luo Yingu, who was currently looking coldly at Ye Chen, his gaze filled with mockery and killing intent.
Naturally, there were also quite a few young Heaven's Prides present, including Gu Luo Wang, Hua Yuntian, and even Jian Tian of the Gu Tian Demon Clan was among them. Several famous Earth Ranking Heaven's Prides, at the Great Power realm, were present, all looking at Ye Chen as if he were a cold corpse.
These many powerful figures, each one a famous powerhouse from the outside world, had now all gathered here. Moreover, these figures faintly formed an encirclement, sealing off all directions. This stretch of heaven and earth was completely restrained, leaving Ye Chen with no retreat.
Ye Chen swept his gaze around, then suddenly chuckled lightly. "To deal with me, so many powerful factions, even several Ninth Heaven Great Powers—you all really think quite highly of me, Ye."
"Junior, don't blame us this time. You walked into the trap yourself," an aged figure spoke up, his form shrouded in Dao aura, making it difficult to see his true appearance. Clearly, he was an extremely terrifying Old Antique.
Such Old Antiques might have little lifespan left, nearing their great limit, their blood energy no longer vigorous, but their cultivation was profound and unfathomable. They were the most powerful Great Powers at the peak of the Ninth Heaven, just a step away from stepping into the Nine Tribulations realm.
It could be said they basically had no rivals within the Great Power realm.
"For a junior like you to die by our hands, you can consider it a worthy death," another Old Antique spoke.
"If you had been willing to voluntarily hand over that Imperial Ring back in the Changsheng Hall, there wouldn't have been so many later incidents," another Old Antique sighed softly. After all, Ye Chen also possessed extraordinary attainments in stone appraisal, considered a talent. Unless absolutely necessary, they were reluctant to bully the weak and oppress the small, to strangle such a young junior like this.
Ye Chen chuckled, a coldness in his laughter. "So, it's all my fault, is it?"
An Old Antique said coldly, "The common man is innocent, but his possession of the jade incriminates him. The mistake lies in a young junior like you possessing such an Imperial Ring."
That's right, the mistake lay in Ye Chen possessing the Imperial Ring. If an Imperial Son or a royal clan possessed the Imperial Ring, these Old Antiques would never easily make a move. But Ye Chen was a young junior with no background, so they naturally became covetous.
This world had never been about benevolence, righteousness, and morality. Whoever had the bigger fist made the rules.
So-called principles of benevolence and righteousness were merely used to deceive people.
"First kill this kid. Later, we'll compete for the Imperial Ring based on our own abilities," Luo Yingu suddenly spoke up, then looked coldly at Ye Chen, releasing killing intent without concealment. "After we kill this kid later, I ask everyone to leave a remnant of his soul, and his physical body for us. The divine treasures within his inner world can be divided equally, but his divine soul must be handed over to our Luo Tian Royal Clan."
"Agreed!"
An Old Antique spoke up, actually approving. Naturally, it was also because the Luo Tian Royal Clan was a major royal clan, and there were also Old Antiques present. Moreover, in the Changsheng Hall, they had formed a great enmity with Ye Chen, equivalent to a life-and-death feud. Therefore, regarding this request, none of the major factions opposed it.
Ye Chen looked coldly at Luo Yingu, his gaze erupting with killing intent like a heavenly blade. Luo Yingu was also startled, momentarily not daring to meet his gaze directly.
An Old Antique looked towards the Ninth Heaven Great Power who had fought with Ye Chen and said, "Yang Yao, I didn't expect you truly only lured this junior Ye Tianchen here and didn't try to seize that Imperial Ring yourself. You haven't disappointed us."
Ye Chen swept his gaze towards that Ninth Heaven Great Power, understanding dawning in his heart. So it was him—Yang Yao, the patriarch of the Yang Royal Clan among the three thousand royal clans. No wonder he was so powerful.
However, it wasn't that Yang Yao was unwilling to obtain the Imperial Ring; he simply couldn't get it.
Yang Yao's face was expressionless, and he said nothing, which surprised Ye Chen—he hadn't revealed Ye Chen's true cultivation level.
Ye Chen immediately understood. This Yang Yao had suffered heavy losses; ten Great Powers from his royal clan had perished, all pillars of a major royal clan. Naturally, he was heartbroken. Moreover, having suffered such heavy losses only to lure them here, he was also somewhat unwilling, likely hoping Ye Chen and these major factions would fight to the death so he could pick up the pieces.
But if that were the case, Ye Chen would naturally be happy to see it happen. This way, he could also catch these major factions off guard.
"Junior, hand over the Imperial Ring now, and we can grant you an intact corpse," another Old Antique spoke.
"No, I'd still like to see if I have the ability to break this situation alone."
Ye Chen gave a light laugh, yet within that gentle laughter was an absolute confidence that anyone could hear.