Within the Heaven and Earth Great Cauldron, the projection of the Ancient Nether Emperor let out a roar filled with unwillingness. He stared coldly at the Heaven and Earth Great Cauldron that enveloped the All Heavens and said, "I never expected that after all my painstaking efforts, using a forbidden secret technique to transform my emperor's will into a projection, I would ultimately fall at the hands of a mere junior from the Sealed Boundary Universe. You truly are that key person. Back then, I shouldn't have been preoccupied with everything in the Forbidden Land; I should have killed you instead."
"Unfortunately, there is never any 'back then' in this world. The past is the past."
Ye Chen's Great Emperor Reincarnation Body paid no heed to the Ancient Nether Emperor's projection's words, which reeked of hindsight. Within the Heaven and Earth Great Cauldron, the final emperor flames, mingled with boundless ancient chaos qi, surged down and completely obliterated it.
Far away, in the central domain of the alien ancient universe, a sound that shook all eras suddenly erupted, carrying world-shaking emperor might that spread across the vast domain.
It caused the endless living beings within this expansive region, including even several universe overlord-level Ancient Monarchs, to look toward that area with fearful reverence, not understanding what had happened.
In that domain, boundless supreme emperor might surged. A supreme emperor figure, as tall as the heavens, manifested amidst the cosmic starry sky. All the stars of the All Heavens trembled, and the boundless starlight seemed to bow in submission.
There, as if in a trance, a pair of enormous heavenly eyes opened. Within them were terrifying scenes of epochs collapsing, heaven and earth shattering, the Heaven and Earth Great Cauldron, and images of ferocious ancient beasts countless times larger than stars—all scenes from the Mythical Ruins.
"I never expected that I, an emperor wise for a lifetime, would ultimately fall because of a mere remnant junior from the Sealed Boundary Universe. Truly unexpected."
His voice echoed without concealment through the cosmic starry sky, spreading across untold regions, causing endless living beings to feel waves of shock in their hearts.
The invincible Ancient Nether Emperor had actually fallen to a young remnant junior from the Sealed Boundary Universe. If this news spread, it would be enough to shake the entire Chaos Sea.
"A plan spanning so many years, just one step short. A pity. I never expected the sin body of the Primordial Sin Ancient Beast to be there, nor did I expect that young junior to possess such a powerful physical saint body. Is this the key person who has inherited the fate of the entire Sealed Boundary Universe?"
The Ancient Nether Emperor's voice echoed between the All Heavens, then slowly faded until it finally vanished completely. Everything seemed to have truly disappeared, leaving only that low voice that never truly dissipated from between heaven and earth.
Meanwhile, far away in the Mythical Ruins.
Seeing the Ancient Nether Emperor's projection truly extinguished, even Ye Chen let out a soft sigh of relief.
Figures of the ancient emperor level were indeed peerless and unparalleled. Each one was so difficult to kill. It had cost him immeasurable mental effort, even at the expense of some of his emperor dao foundation. He had even taken advantage of the Primordial Sin Ancient Beast's attack to launch a sneak assault, ultimately succeeding in grinding it away.
The higher one's cultivation, the more awe one felt for the peerless supremes of the ancient emperor level.
Every emperor was a being who stood aloof across ancient and modern times, truly worthy of being an existence that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Heavenly Dao.
Wanting to defeat such an existence was truly too difficult.
Fortunately, he had now found an opportunity to truly slay the projection of such an emperor dao existence.
Within the Heaven and Earth Great Cauldron, the Ancient Nether Emperor's projection, as tall as the heavens, had vanished. What remained was a patch of illusory dawn light, yet it contained a majestic power that even the Great Emperor Reincarnation Body found stirring. The one-seventh of the emperor dao foundation within his body trembled—it was the substantialized emperor dao laws contained within the projection.
It wasn't a vast amount, but once mastered, the Great Emperor Reincarnation Body would be able to wield true emperor dao power even without relying on the emperor dao foundation.
Once he reached that stage, the combat power of the Great Emperor Reincarnation Body would undoubtedly rise steadily.
The Heaven and Earth Great Cauldron transformed, completely absorbing and internalizing the emperor dao laws. They manifested between his fingers and palms, condensing on his seemingly small and tender fist into a substantialized dawn light the size of a human head. Emperor dao-level law power surged tumultuously. Within the depths of the Emperor-Burying Abyss, the Primordial Sin Ancient Beast's purple eyes, larger than stars, also revealed a trace of wariness.
Clearly, anyone could see how terrifyingly powerful the emperor dao laws contained within this mass of emperor dao dawn light were.
The Great Emperor Reincarnation Body directly opened its mouth and swallowed the entire mass of emperor dao dawn light. The emperor dao laws contained within were very powerful; Ye Chen couldn't fully refine them in a short time. However, he suppressed them within his body. A mark resembling a sun appeared on his brow, corresponding distantly with the moon mark of his true body.
At the same time, the Great Emperor Reincarnation Body looked toward the Primordial Sin Ancient Beast in the Emperor-Burying Abyss.
The Primordial Sin Ancient Beast also looked at the Great Emperor Reincarnation Body. Naturally, it clearly understood what formidable power this seemingly seven-year-old boy's Great Emperor Reincarnation Body possessed. The Ancient Nether Emperor's projection had also perished within it. Yet, it showed little fear. Its purple eyes merely looked at this tiny body, insignificant as dust, and said, "Do you also wish to enter that Forbidden Land?"
Hearing this, Ye Chen nodded slightly, indicating agreement.
That Forbidden Land, which had driven the Ancient Nether Emperor's projection to cross billions of li of domain to reach, even at the cost of expending greater power to confront the Primordial Sin Ancient Beast, had ignited a fiery desire within Ye Chen.
Such a Forbidden Land was certainly extraordinary.
Especially since the Ancient Nether Emperor had mentioned that the Forbidden Land also contained something left behind by the emperors of the Sealed Boundary Universe, likely extraordinary emperor treasures that might have unimaginably great use for the entire Sealed Boundary Universe.
Thinking of this, Ye Chen naturally felt more anticipation, hoping to enter such a place.
However, he did not adopt the Ancient Nether Emperor's arrogant tone. Instead, he showed respect, saying, "Senior, your other sin body once showed kindness to the Saint Ancestor of my Battle Saint lineage. Now, meeting your third sin body is also fate. This junior does not dare to ask for too much. I only hope to retrieve the things left behind by the emperor sages of my Sealed Boundary Universe. I beseech you, Senior, to grant this wish."
Hearing this, the Primordial Sin Ancient Beast's enormous purple eyes looked down at Ye Chen from on high. It did not respond immediately but stared at him for a very long time.
Under the gaze of those purple eyes, Ye Chen felt as if all the secrets of his Great Emperor Reincarnation Body could not be concealed. He felt a surge of anger. Did the other party intend to see through everything about him?
He abruptly raised his head, looking directly at the Primordial Sin Ancient Beast. His eyes, as deep as the Chaos Sea, met its gaze, erupting with dazzling, eye-catching radiance.
One large, one small—two beings whose sizes differed by countless magnitudes gazed at each other from afar. Just like that, it seemed like eternity.
A long time later, the Primordial Sin Ancient Beast finally spoke, its voice truly piercing through the All Heavens: "Wanting to enter the Forbidden Land is possible. However, you must still pass my test."