"Mountains of corpses and seas of blood..."
The newcomer fell into a deep silence. His figure was blurred, appearing very mysterious, an extraordinary individual.
He understood Yuan Jiu's meaning. The so-called mountains of corpses and seas of blood were not simple slaughter, because this era was exceptionally unique. It was the era when the Slaying the Heavens plan would be implemented, the era when the living beings of the Tian Du Continent would truly battle the alien races. Countless lives would fall then.
The so-called mountains of corpses and seas of blood would be but a glimpse of the scene. What was even more terrifying was the possibility that the Tian Du Continent itself might be torn asunder, billions of lives plunged into misery, blood dyeing the vast oceans crimson, staining the heavens.
Moreover, this era was exceptionally unique, prophesied by an ancient great seer to possibly surpass the Divine Spirits.
Two matters of utmost importance appearing in the same era made one ponder deeply. Did these ancient prodigies need to rely on the Slaying the Heavens war, sacrifice countless lives, and use mountains of corpses and seas of blood to achieve ultimate sublimation in order to surpass the Divine Spirits?
Just the thought sent chills down one's spine, for the price was too great.
Yuan Jiu suddenly said, "Please be careful. I suspect that alien race powerhouses have long since infiltrated. Moreover, I have an ominous premonition that soon, alien race supreme powerhouses will descend upon this world, preventing us from growing up."
The newcomer was startled. In the next moment, he left the cave and entered an illusory realm. There, several figures with overwhelming auras were present, none other than several Supreme Divine Spirits of the Tian Du Continent.
...
"Big news, big news! The Jiuhua Empire has already dispatched someone to the Trial Path to subdue the Young Demon King Ye Chen! And it's no ordinary person. His name is Li Taixu, extremely powerful, even stronger than the current Crown Prince and Li Sheng. It's even rumored he is not of this era, but a peerless prodigy from the Jiuhua Empire's history, sealed away in ancient times!"
A piece of news spread across the world at an astonishing speed, shocking all of humanity!
An ancient prodigy from a seal?
Truthfully, not many knew that the superpowers had peerless ancient prodigies sealed away, because these prodigies were all sealed during ancient times, too distant in the past, often separated by thousands of years. Most records from that era had vanished.
Moreover, many powers had disappeared over time. Even the numerous dynasties and great nations of the world had undergone many changes.
Only these superpowers could truly endure.
Therefore, not many were aware of the existence of these ancient prodigies. But those with any records were shocked. According to related accounts in ancient texts, each of these ancient prodigies was a true genius who dazzled an entire era, peerless in their time. If not for being sealed away, they would have absolutely become Supreme Divine Spirits.
Furthermore, according to a prophecy by a famous great seer from that era, these prodigy geniuses, when they reached later ages, would have the opportunity to surpass the Divine Spirits and reach a new, supreme, and unparalleled realm.
This content also quickly spread across the world through the dissemination of some interested parties. No one expected Li Taixu to have such origins, causing people to tremble with fear and change color.
"Yang Wushuang of the Tianqi Empire has personally set out! He is also an ancient prodigy!"
"The ancient prodigy of the Tenglong Empire, Long Gu'ao, rides a demonic flood dragon across the sky!"
"Even the mysterious ancient prodigy, the Young Hall Master of the Martial God Hall, has set off..."
Piece after piece of news spread across the world. As the ancient prodigies of the four superpowers moved, their past deeds and information truly spread throughout the world, shocking the continent and becoming known to all.
The mysterious veil of the ancient prodigies was slowly lifted, no longer appearing so enigmatic.
The more one learned, the more one understood the fearsomeness of these ancient prodigies. They were absolutely undefeatable by the geniuses of the current era. Each had achieved Martial God status in their youth, the oldest not exceeding seventeen, the youngest achieving it at fifteen—truly terrifying.
Each of them was sealed at the age of twenty-three, still very young but already extremely powerful. According to records in ancient texts, ancient prodigies could battle super Martial Gods of the seventh heaven and retreat unscathed. Slaying ordinary Martial Gods was no problem. They were far stronger than the so-called king-level experts on the Trial Path, not even on the same level.
Each was the most dazzling prodigy in a superpower's history, bestowed with the hope of surpassing the Divine Spirits. Each had once dominated an era, dazzling through the ages.
Now, the ancient prodigies of the four superpowers were all on the move, all for Ye Chen. One could foresee that a collision of the strongest prodigies would occur. Just the thought was enough to make one's blood boil.
It was hard to say who was stronger or weaker, because each could be called a Young King, peerless in the world. Now, they were all descending upon the Trial Path, destined for an unpredictable, powerful collision.
The world marveled at the fearsomeness of these ancient prodigies and also sympathized with Ye Chen's plight, because these ancient prodigies were all coming for him. One was already terrifying enough; with four coming, even a peak Martial God would likely be slain without issue.
One piece of news after another quickly entered the Trial Path. Even though isolated by the Great Dao barrier, Ye Chen's sharp senses still caught wind of it. His eyes flickered, not showing much fear, only a sense of wariness.
Although he was currently hailed as the Unrivaled King, Ye Chen deeply understood that his own strength was still insufficient. At most, he could dominate the Trial Path. But facing such dazzling prodigies, he was somewhat outmatched.
A single avatar had already exhausted him. With four ancient prodigies coming, and their true bodies at that, it was even more difficult to contend.
"Ye Chen, you already understand Lord Wushuang's power. Moreover, the other three ancient prodigy lords are no weaker than Lord Wushuang. Do you think you alone can withstand them? Even a Divine Spirit would be slain! We give you one chance. Hand over that thing, and we can let bygones be bygones!" The Heavenly God of the Tianqi Empire transmitted his voice from atop the fortress.
Ye Chen paid no heed. Hand over the Great Dao Blood? What a joke. Absolutely impossible.
He had too many ways to protect the Great Dao Blood—whether it was the Slaying the Heavens Alliance leader's token, Old Yan, or the Human Sovereign Pagoda. The reason he hadn't revealed his trump cards yet was to pressure himself, wanting to use the pressure to force a quicker breakthrough.
In fact, even if he fled on the Trial Path, not even the ancient prodigies could catch up. He had that confidence, mastering the world's ultimate speed. At least within the Martial God realm, no one could catch up. He was only afraid of implicating his friends in the Divine Spirit's Small World.
Naturally, Ye Chen would not sit idly by and wait for death. Sitting cross-legged in the void, he began to maximize the enhancement of his own strength.
With a flip of his hand, two Martial God demonic cores and two Blood Pills appeared in his palm, all refined from Martial God demonic beasts slain in the Divine Spirit's Small World. Without any extra movement, he directly swallowed them.
"This kid's gone mad! He actually swallowed Martial God demonic cores directly! He's seeking death!"
The experts on the fortress were all dumbfounded. The energy contained within Martial God demonic cores was terrifyingly vast. Even Heavenly God powerhouses wouldn't dare swallow them rashly. Their meridians couldn't withstand the impact of that fearsome divine energy, directly shattering. Some even exploded and died.
"Heh, this kid must have realized the fearsomeness of the several ancient prodigy lords, understood he can't contend, and wants to refine the energy of the Martial God demonic cores to boost himself to the limit. But this behavior is just seeking death. Even Heavenly Gods wouldn't dare do this. This kid is truly reckless. Well, it saves us some trouble. We might not even need the ancient prodigy lords to come." The experts of the several superpowers sneered, ridiculing Ye Chen's actions.
In everyone's eyes, Ye Chen's actions were no different from suicide.
The forces belonging to the various major powers slaughtered in the Divine Spirit's Small World were naturally happy to see it.
"Ye Chen..." Hai Qingxue was somewhat worried. After all, Ye Chen was her savior and had helped her and her team gather enough identity tokens. That was a debt of gratitude. Seeing Ye Chen in trouble now naturally made her anxious.
Unfortunately, she was powerless and could only watch helplessly.
Many other trialists who had received Ye Chen's favor also felt sorrowful. They wanted to support Ye Chen, but faced with the world's general trend and pressure from the higher-ups, none dared to step forward.
Boom—
The Martial God demonic cores and Blood Pills directly exploded within Ye Chen's body. Vast divine energy and blood energy surged within, shaking heaven and earth, instantly filling every meridian in his limbs and bones like a roaring river, constantly rumbling.
This surging and violent force was enough to make any Martial God explode. Meridians were fragile and couldn't withstand it. But Ye Chen directly transformed into a Glazed Golden Body, his entire body translucent like glazed crystal, supremely strong and indestructible, allowing the massive divine energy and blood energy to collide within.
He further circulated the Human Yuan Body Art, continuously devouring streams of divine energy and blood energy, strengthening himself. His entire body's bones and tendons seemed to thunder, constantly crackling and popping, intertwining, repeatedly enhancing and strengthening.
Originally, holding onto four Martial God demonic cores would have been enough for him to break through and reach the Martial God realm. But Ye Chen didn't do so because he understood that even if he stepped into that realm, he would only be at its initial stage. It was better to use them to cultivate the Human Yuan Golden Body, stepping towards the Great Perfection stage.
The Human Yuan Body Art, as the first part of the supreme body-tempering method comparable to the Tyrant Heaven Refining Saint Art, was naturally extraordinary. Great Achievement was not its limit.
It was generally divided into three major stages: Minor Achievement, Great Achievement, and Great Perfection!
Minor Achievement was comparable to Xiantian, Great Achievement comparable to ordinary Martial Gods, and Great Perfection comparable to super Martial Gods, even capable of battling peak Martial Gods.
Rumble—
Within Ye Chen's body, vast energy and blood energy constantly washed through his meridians, beginning to evolve towards a stronger state.
The originally dazzling golden blood slowly dimmed, becoming deep and restrained. As time passed, it took on a dark golden hue, but its power became even more terrifying.
Moreover, within the blood, even a touch of a unique, vibrant crimson appeared—a true manifestation of returning to simplicity.
The Human Yuan Golden Body, at Great Achievement, turned all blood golden. But at Great Perfection, it returned to simplicity, reverting to vibrant crimson. However, the Human Yuan Golden Body in this state was more than a level stronger than in the Great Achievement state.
Ye Chen used the energy from the Blood Pills and Martial God demonic cores to constantly temper his own blood, refining it thousands of times, continuously purifying and sublimating, tempering out streams of vibrant true blood.
As the vibrant true blood was tempered out, Ye Chen's entire aura rapidly surged. Above his head, a dark golden blood energy condensed into a light pillar that pierced the sky, standing between heaven and earth with a deafening roar.
All of this was seen by the experts on the fortress. Although they didn't understand Ye Chen's internal transformation at this moment, the fact that he had swallowed two Martial God demonic cores and still wasn't blown apart made them change color.
Moreover, the blood energy light pillar he erupted made them wary. They vaguely sensed that Ye Chen was undergoing some astonishing changes, beginning to grow stronger.
"We can't let this kid continue cultivating. You few, lead the Dao soldiers to attack him, disrupt his cultivation." Several Heavenly Gods felt their eyebrows twitching anxiously. Sensing that Ye Chen was undergoing an unknown transformation, they felt uneasy and hurriedly ordered the young experts from the various superpowers who had come to cross the Great Dao barrier with some powerful Dao weapons, at least Martial God Dao Weapons.
These young experts were carefully selected, at least Xiantian powerhouses, thirty in total. Although not Hundred Strong Trialists, the Martial God Dao Weapons had been infused with a portion of divine energy by those Heavenly Gods, allowing them to partially awaken and unleash some power. These young experts wielded them, preparing to attack Ye Chen.
The thirty young experts instantly entered the desert of the Trial Path. Their first action was to awaken the Martial God Dao Weapons and aim their attacks at Ye Chen.
Boom—
For a time, sand and stones flew. This area became a zone of attack. One terrifying beam of light after another shot towards him, aiming to forcibly interrupt his cultivation state and plunge him into a state of Qi deviation.
Such intentions were truly malicious!
It must be said that this attack could indeed achieve remarkable results. Although Ye Chen sensed it and immediately moved to evade the various attacks, there were too many attackers. The Dao weapons unleashed beams of light, and three or four still landed on him.
Although they didn't cause much injury, they directly affected his cultivation state. It was precisely the critical moment of his blood turning crimson. Attacked like this, he nearly fell into Qi deviation, golden blood continuously coughing from the corner of his mouth.
Seeing this scene, the young experts were delighted and attacked even more frequently. One attack after another continuously rushed towards Ye Chen, not aiming to kill him but to disrupt his cultivation state and cause Qi deviation.
"You're seeking death! Are you deliberately forcing me to kill you?"
Ye Chen's eyes widened in rare anger. The most taboo during cultivation was being interrupted midway, especially during a critical state. It was easy to fall into Qi deviation, even resulting in death and the dissipation of one's Dao.
This had already crossed his bottom line.
"Ignore him. He's just putting on a fierce front. He must be seriously injured now. Take the chance to kill him." The several Heavenly Gods on the fortress commanded.
Boom boom boom—
How dare these young experts disobey? Immediately, beams of dazzling light shot out once more, attacking Ye Chen.
But at this moment, Ye Chen had already withdrawn from his cultivation state. Blood energy steamed within him as he operated the Divine King Rebirth Art, repairing all injuries. Then, his entire body shimmered with flawless, dazzling golden radiance, like a six-zhang golden body, unshakable.
He stood there, allowing beam after beam of light to strike his body, not harming a single hair, only producing clanging sounds.
"This... how is this possible!?"
The young experts were repeatedly shocked, all stunned by Ye Chen's supreme defense. They couldn't harm the youth in the slightest. What kind of body was this?
Even the several Heavenly God powerhouses on the fortress were shocked. Such a physique must belong to a master of body tempering.
Boom—
A surging wave of air spread out, blasting all these young experts away. Each coughed blood, staining the corners of their mouths and even parts of their robes. Some with fragile bones even suffered fractures, appearing very disheveled and miserable.
"You must have heard about my slaughtering deeds, right? Congratulations to you for having the courage to provoke me. To celebrate, let you also experience the taste of being slaughtered."
Ye Chen said with a smile, but his tone was icy. He took a step forward, instantly arriving before them, directly releasing a golden domain that imprisoned these young experts.
Although they could break it with their Martial God Dao Weapons in just a few breaths, that amount of time was enough for Ye Chen to slaughter.
Puff puff puff—
Even wielding Martial God Dao Weapons, they couldn't stop Ye Chen's advance. He was like a divine tiger charging into a flock of sheep. His fists and feet flowed with brilliant golden radiance, practically one punch per person. His powerful force could transmit through the Martial God Dao Weapons to their bodies, directly causing these young experts' bodies to explode.
In a short time, a full thirty young experts from the superpowers were slain, all blasted into clouds of blood mist, meeting a sudden death.
Such a bloody scene made everyone shudder.
Ye Chen was too powerful, slaughtering so easily, completely one-sided.
The numerous Martial God Dao Weapons were all stripped of their imprints by him and taken into his possession, reclaiming some interest and making the several superpowers both furious and helpless.
In this world, aside from the ancient prodigies, who could match him!?
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Ye Chen had a premonition and looked towards the endpoint fortress. He sensed an unusual aura appearing.
Sure enough—
After a loud boom that shook heaven and earth, the endpoint fortress trembled violently. A huge fluctuation came from above as space was torn open, a spatial channel emerging. From within walked out a young and powerful figure, his aura soaring to the heavens.
An ancient prodigy had finally descended!
"Finally, an ancient prodigy lord has descended!" The experts in the fortress were overjoyed.
But at this moment, Ye Chen suddenly made his move. His hands traced profound trajectories as the Great Dao Treasure Vessel Seal manifested. The vessel's mouth was pitch-black like an endless abyss. A terrifying divine light directly transformed into a beam and blasted out, hurtling towards the spatial channel.
This was Ye Chen's ultimate strike. He sensed the power of the young supreme powerhouse about to descend and wanted to shatter the spatial channel, preventing that young, powerful figure from emerging.