Boom——
The blood-stained Ancient Heavenly Stele expanded, growing so massive it could blot out the entire sky above Xialuo Imperial Capital, casting a pitch-black shadow. Accompanied by a mighty, sweeping gale, it tore from the ground. Yet, it did not charge towards the Heavenly Emperor Clan and Immortal Clan experts occupying the imperial capital. Instead, it shot towards the horizon.
"Not good! Stop it! The heavenly stele is going to crash into the barrier!"
A Divine King of the Moluo Imperial Clan roared. The area spanning millions of li around Xialuo Imperial Capital had long been sealed off by the Divine Kings of the various Heavenly Emperor Clans and Immortal Clans, forming a barrier. This was precisely why, even after the Xialuo Monarch was critically wounded and the Xialuo Imperial Capital fell, the other nine great empires remained unaware. It was all due to the barrier.
If the barrier were breached, the Ancient Monarchs of the other nine empires would undoubtedly discover everything here and intervene.
Boom——
The Ancient Heavenly Stele collided with the barrier. A deafening explosion rent the clouds, a cataclysm that words like 'heaven collapsing and earth rending' could scarcely describe.
However, the barrier jointly erected by the Divine Kings of All Heavens was incredibly sturdy. Even this Monarch Heavenly Stele failed to shatter it immediately, merely shaking it violently. The barrier trembled incessantly, flashing with boundless runes of the Great Dao.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Soon, over twenty Divine Kings appeared, descending before the barrier. Their Divine King auras erupted in full force as they struck out, bombarding the Monarch Heavenly Stele and blocking its advance.
Within Xialuo Imperial Capital, in a vast square crowded with refugees from the capital, a purple-haired youth stood. He remained covered in soot and looked disheveled. Yet, amidst the throngs of fleeing refugees in the square, the space around him seemed distorted. No one could see him; anyone approaching would unconsciously veer off course and pass by his side.
Within a three-foot radius, no one could draw near.
At this moment, the purple-haired youth's gaze was profound, like a black hole. Watching the grand, colossal Ancient Heavenly Stele being blocked in the distant sky, a trace of blood slowly seeped from the corner of his mouth, his expression somewhat gloomy.
The next moment, he vanished without a trace, unnoticed by anyone.
As if he had never been there at all.
Above the imperial capital, numerous figures of Divine Kings from the imperial clans and Immortal Clans hovered in the air, continuously searching for traces of the Xialuo Monarch.
Without him, it would be absolutely impossible to control this Ancient Heavenly Stele.
Yet, despite a thorough search, they still could not locate the Xialuo Monarch.
"Impossible. The Xialuo Monarch is within the imperial capital. Otherwise, he couldn't control the heavenly stele to crash into the barrier," an Immortal Clan Divine King spoke coldly.
Another three days and nights passed. The Xialuo Monarch remained missing, never found. This caused considerable concern among many imperial clan and Immortal Clan experts.
The longer this dragged on, the more opportunity the Xialuo Monarch had to survive, and the greater the chance he would make a heaven-defying return in the future, posing a monumental threat.
An invincible Ancient Monarch was not someone anyone wished to face, not even the Divine Kings of All Heavens. The danger posed by an Ancient Monarch was immense, enough to threaten even the imperial clans and Immortal Clans.
During this period, the blood-stained Monarch Heavenly Stele soared into the sky time and again, attempting to shake the barrier, only to be blocked each time.
Simultaneously, many Divine Kings from the imperial clans and Immortal Clans garrisoned the imperial palace, especially around the central imperial court.
Because during this time, the vast accumulation of faith power gathered over countless ages within the Xialuo Empire kept periodically boiling over. It was like an endless ocean constantly churning with monstrous waves; even the multiple layers of seals were nearly broken through.
This sight made the Divine Kings' hearts race. It had to be the Xialuo Monarch consciously controlling it from afar. Otherwise, not even the Divine Kings of the Xialuo Imperial Family could cause the faith power to boil to such an extent.
The search for the Xialuo Monarch intensified. Yet, another two days and nights passed like this, and still no clues were found.
The Xialuo Monarch was hidden extremely well; no one could truly discover him.
However, no one noticed that every time the faith power in the central imperial court boiled, or when the heavenly stele rose to assault the barrier, a disheveled figure of a purple-haired youth appeared nearby.
He was like a ghost, ethereal and elusive, impossible to detect.
During these days, Ye Chen and his companions, also searching for traces of the Xialuo Monarch, encountered the alien race several times. They even clashed with the Imperial Sons and Daughters of the alien imperial clans, nearly sparking a terrifying battle. Both sides were tense.
However, the alien race ultimately had reservations and did not dare to truly attack.
During this period, Ye Chen's prestige had grown too great, his momentum unparalleled. He had successively defeated so many Imperial Sons and Daughters, even slain the Dark Heavenly Imperial Son, forging an aura of invincibility. Who could contend with him?
Moreover, he had the support of all the human race's Divine Kings. From any perspective, he was completely unafraid of the current alien race, even holding a certain advantage among the younger generation.
"No! This little bastard killed our Imperial Son Ancestor. He cannot be forgiven!"
Not long after, the three Divine Kings of the Dark Heavenly Imperial Clan could no longer suppress the fury in their hearts. They quietly turned back and directly attacked Ye Chen and his group, sealing off a section of space to form an inner world, undetectable from the outside.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Within the briefly constructed inner world, a Divine King-level battle erupted instantly.
Naturally, Ye Chen was utterly unafraid. His combat power was equivalent to a Divine King's, and Yu Qing and the Tongtian Old Divine King were the same—both genuine peak Divine King realm powerhouses, and extraordinary ones at that.
Ye Chen faced the weakest of the Dark Heavenly Imperial Clan's three Divine Kings, a First Tribulation Divine King named Dark Dragon Divine King.
"Battle Saint King, ranked on the Heavenly Roll? Ridiculous. The world says you are not inferior to a Divine King, but I, Dark Dragon, don't believe it. No matter how powerful a Great Power is, they cannot defy the heavens to such an extent, to slay a Divine King while being a Great Power. Today, I will let you truly feel just how vast the gap between a Great Power and a Divine King is."
The Dark Dragon Divine King looked coldly at Ye Chen and struck first. His entire body surged with blazing Divine King pressure, terrifying Divine King demonic light erupting. Out of thin air, nine dark True Dragons, each ten thousand li long, condensed in the void.
Each was grand and colossal, every single dragon scale larger than a lake. They swept across the vast sky, directly pouncing to tear Ye Chen apart.
Ye Chen did not speak. The best rebuttal was with strength.
Boom——
A radiance of extreme intensity rose from his body—it was Yang light. A great sun manifested, condensed through the operation of the Sun Scripture.
Yet the blazing sun did not stop. Following it, a brilliant yet gentle holy light surged forth—the condensation of Primordial Holy Light.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ye Chen operated the profound meanings of the two Scriptures and Emperor Scriptures, merging them into one. Ultimately, they transformed into a Holy Light Great Sun, condensing the profound meanings of two Great Daos.
He was completely enveloped by the sun's holy light of the Holy Light Great Sun, vast and mighty. An extremely terrifying pressure also erupted from his body. His black hair flowed, each strand shimmering with solar holy radiance. He resembled a Divine King of Light, his every gesture and movement unleashing the purifying power of solar holy light.
At this point, his aura was in no way inferior to the Dark Dragon Divine King's.
"Imperial Dao Dragon Art, Transform into Ten Dragons!"
Ye Chen had once refined ten strands of Imperial Dao Dragon Qi. Now, he used the Chaos Dao Method to manifest them, using solar holy light as energy. From the Holy Light Great Sun, ten radiant dragons flew out, each also ten thousand li long, pouncing to tear apart the opponent's nine dark True Dragons.
Roar——! Roar——!
Roar——!
The numerous radiant dragons and dark True Dragons collided, causing heaven and earth to shatter, a truly terrifying sight.