A brilliant, boundless light flashed for an instant, illuminating an immeasurably vast expanse of land. Even the radiance of the heavenly sun that shone upon the Ten Heavenly Realms Ancient Domain could not compare.
The unparalleled brilliance lasted for only a moment before the true cataclysmic eruption began.
Boom—
A terrifying destructive force, difficult to describe, swept through heaven and earth. The vast land spanning millions of li was thoroughly shaken, with countless mountains and valleys collapsing.
"What a terrifying explosion! Who is making a move? Could it be a supreme expert at the Nine Tribulations realm, or perhaps an unparalleled Ancient Monarch has descended, unleashing a destructive strike!"
Within the Ancient Terrace Mountain Range, countless people paled with terror. Even in distant regions, numerous cultivators watched from afar. Feeling that destructive power, each one gasped in shock at the sight.
That level of power was absolutely enough to make even peak Great Powers and Old Antiques tremble with fear. Once caught within it, they would likely be utterly annihilated.
"So terrifying! What exactly happened there? Why did such a fearsome explosion occur?"
The vast area spanning nearly a million li was shaken. Countless living beings gazed toward that region, watching the dazzling radiance as the destructive force continuously surged forth, accompanied by earth-shaking roars that echoed across the sky for hundreds of thousands of li.
Countless clouds were completely obliterated into dust. As far as the eye could see, there was only a blazing, intense light.
It was a light of destruction, capable of annihilating everything.
In those desolate mountains, the various major forces were utterly horrified. Even the Emperor Sons and Daughters present could not hide the shock on their faces.
No one had expected Ye Chen to be so unyielding, choosing to self-destruct.
The power of the terrifying self-destruction was unimaginable, shattering the entire heaven and earth, then obliterating everything.
The void for hundreds of li around was directly annihilated into nothingness, rapidly expanding to collapse the void for over a thousand li.
Endless and vast destructive flames continuously surged and spread, accompanied by wisps of primordial Chaos Qi, destroying all in their path.
The four Old Antiques who bore the brunt of it reacted immediately, retreating at the first moment with extreme speed.
Yet even that was not enough. Ye Chen's self-destruction was faster, the destructive force spreading even more swiftly—excessively fast. It expanded in an instant, catching up to the four Old Antiques like lightning.
In the blink of an eye, the four Old Antiques could not evade and were caught by the terrifying wave of flames.
Then, the terrifying destructive force rapidly spread further, threatening to affect the experts of the various major forces in the distant sky.
"Run!"
Everyone's hearts pounded with fear. Who dared to stay any longer? They all fled like lightning.
However, the destructive force also sent out even faster shockwaves that spread out, catching up to the experts of the various major forces like lightning.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The terrifying shockwaves directly sent these experts flying, causing each of them to cough up blood from the impact.
Among them, the slightly weaker Great Powers were severely wounded. Fortunately, they were far enough away and ultimately managed to retreat to a safe distance.
Had they been any closer, they would have certainly been completely obliterated into dust by the destructive power contained within those shockwaves.
They could only stare in utter horror at the central area spanning over a thousand li, now enveloped by endless destructive force. Even the void of the Ten Heavenly Realms Ancient Domain, suppressed by Emperor Dao, could not withstand it. The void could not recover, continuously being annihilated and shattered by the destructive force until everything was reduced to nothingness.
They deeply understood that if they had been caught in the center, not only them, but even a Nine Heavens Great Power would likely suffer mortal wounds or even perish, their Dao extinguished.
The four royal clans, including the Luo Tian Royal Clan, were especially worried. Their Old Antiques, unable to escape, had been caught in the center of the explosion. Their fate was now unknown, causing great anxiety.
A full half-hour passed before the destructive flames gradually dissipated.
That region remained in a state resembling a black hole, with destructive force still continuously eroding the void.
The land below for tens of thousands of li was in complete disarray—or more accurately, flattened. It left behind a massive crater nearly ten thousand li across, an astonishing and eye-catching sight.
Crackle—
At this moment, faint sounds emerged from the crater. Then, rocks tumbled down as several disheveled figures staggered out one after another. Their bodies were mangled, clothes tattered, inner armor reduced to dust, and they were nearly charred beyond recognition.
Yet everyone knew these were the Old Antiques who had attacked Ye Chen earlier. They had survived.
After all, they had achieved the Dao for many years, remaining at the peak of the Great Power realm for tens of thousands of years, their cultivation profound and deep. They were close to taking that next step into the Nine Tribulations realm, becoming supreme existences overlooking the world. Each had their own trump cards, which they used at the last moment, allowing them to survive.
However, even though they survived, they paid an unprecedented, enormous price. This cost severely depleted the already limited vitality within their bodies and inflicted other grievous wounds.
Now, the four Old Antiques had extremely feeble auras, and their Lifespan had sharply decreased. They likely had less than a century left to live.
If they did not achieve a breakthrough within this century, they would inevitably sit in meditation and pass away.
"Cough, cough—"
The four Old Antiques slowly rose into the void. One even had both eyes charred to dust, yet his divine sense could still observe the center of destruction. Although these individuals had roamed the mortal world for a hundred thousand years, this time they could not conceal their lingering fear.
And this fear stemmed from a young junior who had cultivated for less than a millennium—far less than one percent of their own years. It was undoubtedly absurd and bizarre, yet it had happened before their very eyes.
If not for their respective contingency plans and sufficiently profound cultivation, they might have truly perished here. Even so, they would not live much longer.
"What a young junior, to be so unyielding as to choose self-destruction," one Old Antique said, his heart still pounding with fear. This self-destruction would be deeply etched in their memories. Even if they broke through to become Nine Tribulations existences millennia from now, they would find it hard to forget.
Because it was precisely this young junior who had nearly dragged them down to share his fate.
Gulp—
In the distant sky, everyone who witnessed this scene gasped in shock. He had actually nearly taken four Old Antiques with him through self-destruction.
Undoubtedly, this Ye Tianchen would also become famous throughout the world.
After all, no one among the younger generation had ever accomplished such a feat.
At the same time, everyone felt a sense of lingering fear.
Fear that they had driven Ye Chen to such an extreme, forcing him to self-destruct.
And also a sense of relief—fortunately, he had already self-destructed. Otherwise, if he had grown to maturity, it would have been a devastating blow to the various major forces.
"Ancestor!"
The experts of the four royal clans hurried over to receive their respective Old Antiques, preparing top-tier healing elixirs. Though extremely precious, they did not hesitate now, offering them to their ancestors to consume.
After taking the divine pills from their respective royal clans, the four Old Antiques recovered significantly, their wounds healing considerably. However, the lost Lifespan was difficult to restore.
"Come, all of you, take action. Even if that brat self-destructed, the Emperor Ring is inscribed with the Emperor character and possesses Emperor Dao power. It cannot have been destroyed so easily. Hurry and search for it. It concerns the Emperor Dao inheritance within the Chaos Pure Land."
The several Old Antiques immediately issued orders. Naturally, the experts of the various major forces all headed over to search for that Emperor Ring.
However, the most terrifying destructive force still lingered in the area of the self-destruction, difficult to completely dissipate. None of the major forces entered immediately, instead cautiously probing the area.
The Emperor Sons and Daughters, however, showed no fear and prepared to move. But at that moment, their expressions changed slightly. They immediately retreated and transmitted messages to their respective imperial clan experts to retreat quickly.
Although the experts of the various imperial clans did not understand why, the Emperor Sons and Daughters were their young lords and ladies. Their commands were supreme, so they hastily retreated.
The other major forces outside the imperial clans did not quite understand this action.
Right at this moment, heaven and earth suddenly trembled.
Visible to the naked eye, far in the starry sky beyond the Nine Heavens, countless stars trembled, descending with boundless starlight that poured down in a vast, majestic cascade.
The Milky Way of the Nine Heavens poured down, magnificent and beautiful beyond description.
Yet the moment this river of stars descended, it restrained the void of heaven and earth and sealed off this crater area.
"What's happening?"
"Why is heaven and earth being sealed? Who is it?"
"Who dares to make a move? Show yourself now!"
The experts of the various major forces were furious. At this moment, someone actually dared to seal heaven and earth? It was simply a suicidal act.
Boom—
The experts of the various major forces all took action, unleashing terrifying streams of energy, attempting to tear open the void.
However, they found that this void, now restrained by stellar power, was fundamentally difficult to truly shake.
It must be known that the stars beyond the Ten Heavenly Realms Ancient Domain were different from those of the primordial Chaos universe. They were created by Emperors or supreme immortals, each containing a trace of Emperor power or immortal power, enduring eternally. To attract such vast stellar power was akin to drawing upon the faintest strands of power from a supreme Emperor weapon.
The four Old Antiques were alarmed. What was going on?
"Look! A figure has appeared over there!"
Suddenly, someone exclaimed, pointing toward the eastern direction.
Everyone looked over. There, in the eastern direction, a figure had appeared at some unknown time.
This figure appeared mysterious and hazy, surrounded by descending primordial Chaos Qi. Above its head floated an ancient Chaos Pagoda, also radiating billions of layers of primordial Chaos Qi that cascaded down majestically, resonating with each other.