Upon hearing this, the powerhouses from the various major forces dared not speak. The Old Antiques' eyes flickered as they shouted, "Fellow Daoist, we don't know how we have offended you. Please forgive us and release the formation."
They all sensed the terrifying nature of this Star Slaughter Formation. Even they would find it difficult to break through immediately, and with endless waves of killing tribulation sweeping over them, it was inevitable that they would suffer some unnecessary losses. Moreover, this Chaos Supreme Being seemed profoundly unfathomable, so they were unwilling to offend him lightly.
"Release you?" the Chaos Supreme Being said indifferently. "Apologies, I am acting on someone's commission."
"On someone's commission?"
The powerhouses from the major forces were taken aback. "Commissioned by whom?"
"Ye Tianchen," the Chaos Supreme Being stated calmly. The moment his words fell, everyone felt an indescribable, terrifying chill descend upon them.
This equally inscrutable Chaos Supreme Being had actually come on behalf of Ye Tianchen, who had self-destructed and fallen.
Even the Emperor Sons and Daughters who had been observing everything from the start were slightly startled. This Chaos Supreme Being was very mysterious, shrouded in primordial Chaos Qi. Even they could not pierce through that chaotic mist to see his true identity.
They had previously suspected a connection to Ye Tianchen. Now that this Chaos Supreme Being had admitted it, he likely had a familiar relationship with Ye Tianchen.
After all, both cultivated primordial Chaos Qi; it was hard to believe there was no connection between them.
Several Old Antiques' expressions changed slightly. One of them spoke, "May we ask what your relationship with Ye Tianchen is?"
"Friends," the Chaos Supreme Being said.
"Just friends?" the Old Antique pressed.
"Just friends," the Chaos Supreme Being confirmed.
Hearing this, the Old Antique breathed a sigh of relief, then said, "Fellow Daoist, in that case, I presume your friendship with Ye Tianchen was merely casual. Now that Ye Tianchen has self-destructed and perished, his commission no longer exists. Is that not so?"
The Chaos Supreme Being seemed to pause briefly before replying, "He paid a certain price. Even though he has fallen, the commission still stands."
"What price did Ye Tianchen pay? We are willing to offer double," the Old Antique said. "As long as you are willing to release the Star Slaughter Formation, we can even explore the Chaos Pure Land together when it opens soon."
The Chaos Supreme Being shook his head. "Double is too little."
"Then five times!" the Old Antique declared directly, raising the offer to fivefold. Seeing the Chaos Supreme Being seemed somewhat tempted, he pressed his advantage, adding, "Moreover, if you are willing, you can become a guest elder of our several royal clans. In the future, with a royal clan token in hand, you can go anywhere under heaven. You may also visit our royal clans, which hold countless treasures and house peerless, stunningly beautiful royal clan daughters. If you desire, a royal clan maiden shall be offered to you."
Without a doubt, the Old Antique's words were extremely tempting, irresistibly alluring.
The Chaos Supreme Being fell silent for a moment, as if considering, then slowly said, "Is that truly so?"
"Truly so!" the Old Antique hurriedly affirmed.
"Good. In that case, you shall pay five times the price Ye Tianchen paid," the Chaos Supreme Being said. "He gave me a piece of Sun Essence Iron, a Sky-Supporting Horn, and a Star Blue Silver Essence as the commission's price."
With that, the Chaos Supreme Being released his hands, and the Sun Essence Iron, Star Blue Silver Essence, and Sky-Supporting Horn materialized before them.
Seeing this, the powerhouses from the major forces all changed color.
The combined value of these three items reached a staggering three hundred million.
Moreover, this three hundred million referred to the value of the treasures. To be precise, such supreme treasures were priceless and hard to find on the market. Therefore, the several major forces would need to pay a price equivalent to treasures worth one and a half billion. Otherwise, even ordinary divine spiritual sources would not be particularly scarce for a supreme being of this level.
In their hearts, the major forces cursed Ye Tianchen to high heaven for giving such immense value to this Chaos Supreme Being.
But now, under another's roof, they had to bow their heads.
In the end, with grim expressions, the major forces, through several Old Antiques, personally handed over some treasures of extremely high value, all undoubtedly rare in the world, but now they were offered up.
The Chaos Supreme Being accepted them, examining them carefully. During this, he seemed to sigh softly, "A pity. I really did want to bury and kill everyone, but—"
He shook his head, then nodded, confirming the value of these treasures before opening the Star Slaughter Formation.
"The formation is open. Farewell for now."
The Chaos Supreme Being addressed the crowd. Before leaving, he glanced toward the direction of the Emperor Sons and Daughters, his gaze profound, seeming to penetrate everything. Then, the corner of his mouth lifted in a slight curve. The Brahma Emperor Son didn't seem to be present. Could he take advantage of his being alone to strike?
With a boom, the Chaos Supreme Being tore through the air and left, leaving only primordial Chaos Qi dissipating, erasing all traces, making pursuit impossible.
After this experience, the major forces felt utterly weary.
First, there was Ye Tianchen, then the appearance of an even more unfathomable Chaos Supreme Being. The major forces had suffered heavy casualties, the Old Antiques had their Lifespan sharply reduced, and they had paid a great price—all because of the Imperial Ring.
If they obtained the Imperial Ring and its Emperor's Dao inheritance, everything would be worth it.
At the very least, it might elevate a royal clan to a level comparable to an imperial clan, supreme and peerless.
It might also allow these Old Antiques to transcend the Great Power realm, step into the Nine Tribulations realm, and extend their already dwindling Lifespan once more.
"Hurry and search! See where the Imperial Ring might be."
Everyone quickly searched the surrounding void, even tearing through space, because Ye Tianchen's self-destruction had ripped open the void. The Imperial Ring might have been lost in the Endless Space Turbulence.
However, they had also taken precautions. Several Old Antiques stepped forward to observe, avoiding any recurrence of events like being enveloped by a Star Slaughter Formation.
Moreover, they were wary of the Emperor Sons and Daughters appearing to kill and plunder, for these individuals were terrifying existences comparable to Ye Tianchen.
"Let's go!"
The Emperor Sons and Daughters in the distant sky waved their hands and left, not staying to search for the Imperial Ring, which puzzled the powerhouses from their respective imperial clans.
But the Emperor Sons and Daughters felt something was off about Ye Tianchen's fall. A true Emperor Son-level talent, a supreme among the young generation's supreme, had actually self-destructed and fallen just like this. While regrettable, it also felt unusual.
Yet, for the moment, they couldn't pinpoint what was amiss.
Moreover, the self-destruction's power was so immense that even if the Imperial Ring was difficult to destroy, it would have been blasted by the shockwave into the extremely deep reaches of the Endless Space Turbulence. The Endless Space Turbulence was vast and boundless; searching there would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
They felt the hope of finding it was truly not great, most likely impossible, so it was better to leave.
Most importantly, they had a strong feeling that the mysterious Chaos Supreme Being was very unusual and required caution.
Seeing the Emperor Sons and Daughters leave, the several Old Antiques also breathed a sigh of relief. If several imperial clans got involved, the trouble would be immense.
They ordered people to continue the search meticulously while they themselves extended their divine senses into the Endless Space Turbulence, attempting to explore and search.
However, this search did not last long, because soon, the communication tokens of the various major forces began to tremble violently.
The communication tokens glowed incessantly. When the major forces took them out and checked the messages within, their expressions immediately changed drastically.
The remaining forces of the major forces stationed in the Ancient Terrace Mountain Range had been devastated, swept through. The branches of the major forces had been slaughtered, emptied of life.