Ye Chen's gaze peered into the depths of the Eighth Trial Gate, looking far into the distance. He saw an endless expanse of ancient, primordial earth, where the vicissitudes of time had settled, carrying a unique aura.
The sky above held ten suns hanging in the air, ensuring the land never fell into darkness, their radiance illuminating every inch of the earth.
For hundreds of thousands of li, the desolate mountains were devoid of human traces. Towering peaks and colossal mountains, reaching into the clouds, stood erect, scattered across this vast primordial land, isolated from the world. It was as if he had been transported back to the legendary Primordial Era.
Yet, in a fleeting moment, he saw terrifying ferocious beasts roaring within the wild mountains, their cries scattering the clouds in the sky and causing the earth in all directions to tremble.
There were enormous flood dragons soaring through the air, resembling massive mountain ranges. They bore partial dragon features, showing signs of atavism, their dragon blood purer and more potent than that of the demonic flood dragons.
He also saw a golden ant as large as a mountain crawling out, easily collapsing one majestic peak after another, raising clouds of dust and distorting the very void in that area.
He even saw a great roc spreading its wings and soaring high, unfurling wings that blotted out the sky and sun, casting a vast shadow below. It directly snatched up a thousand-zhang-long giant serpent demon and soared into the ninth heaven, vanishing into the clouds above.
He also saw numerous floating divine islands in the void, with silver waterfalls cascading down for thousands of feet.
And on the distant horizon, he glimpsed a magnificent, colossal city suspended in the sky, never to fall—a true Sky City.
All of this was overwhelmingly impactful. The aura of the primordial wilderness filled the air, making him feel as if he had returned to the ancient times of antiquity, or perhaps arrived in the Upper Realm. It was a truly astonishing sight.
As Ye Chen watched all this, a look of shock appeared on his face. The Primordial Spirit within his glabella nearly broke free, for this primordial land possessed a strange attractive force that involuntarily pulled at his Primordial Spirit, urging it to rush inside.
If not for Ye Chen's formidable strength, his Primordial Spirit would have long since charged in.
"I understand now, it is indeed so..."
Ye Chen let out a sigh laden with complex emotions. After witnessing all the scenes within the Eighth Trial Gate and sensing that ancient, mysterious aura, he finally understood where this gate led.
Old Yan had known all along. He said, "It's hard to imagine that within this sealed, imprisoned world, there is also a gate leading to that place. It must be a divine artifact left behind by the September Great Power, and likely the only passage in this world that connects and leads there."
Ye Chen nodded. "I never expected this gate could also connect to that place. It truly surprises me, and is quite remarkable."
Boom—
Ye Chen now exerted his full power. His Indestructible Golden Body trembled, unleashing boundless golden blood energy that erupted, spreading across the sky and earth like a divine furnace from the heavenly realm tipping over. Vast amounts of golden blood energy flooded this entire area.
Furthermore, a majestic divine light shot up from the crown of Ye Chen's head, soaring into the ninth heaven. His arms were completely covered in true blood as he prepared to exert force, to fully push open the Eighth Trial Gate.
"Who is that!?"
This powerful and astonishing fluctuation undoubtedly alarmed the others as well. Not only the four Ancient Talents, but also everyone below. No one had noticed that someone else had reached the mountaintop and was pushing the Eighth Trial Gate without anyone's knowledge.
"We were careless, too focused on the battle. We never imagined there was someone else in this world capable of pushing through the seven Trial Gates and ascending here, just like us," Yang Wushuang said.
"Who could it be? Is it Yuan Jiu, the Ancient Talent from Tian Du Academy?"
The crowd was puzzled and suspicious. But when they clearly saw the dazzling golden blood energy and the figure of that young, upright youth, they were all stunned: "Ye Chen!?"
The young great demon king had actually arrived here, and no one had detected his coming.
Xia Yang, Xia Teng, Vivian, Princess Hong Rong, and everyone else revealed knowing smiles. He had finally arrived, not disappointing them.
"It's him! The young great demon king of the Trial Path, Ye Chen, who slaughtered so many Martial Gods of the Tianqi Empire and even a peak Martial God, has come!"
The crowd exclaimed in shock. They never expected Ye Chen to come, and so stealthily at that. He had successively broken through the seven Trial Gates and reached the summit. Everyone's attention had been captivated by the four Ancient Talents, so no one present had noticed his arrival.
Ye Chen ignored everything. His arms were completely covered in crimson true blood, his strength increasing sharply. Yet, the Trial Gate remained incredibly heavy. It didn't feel like it weighed merely millions of jin; it was more like a thousand massive mountains stacked together.
Even someone as powerful as Ye Chen, with his peerless physique and heaven-defying golden body divine power, found it extremely strenuous to push. Veins bulged on his forehead, yet pushing it still seemed immensely difficult.
Opening the Eighth Trial Gate was truly too hard.
However, Ye Chen had ultimately transformed half of his true blood, and his primary cultivation focused on the physical body. The Trial Gate's Dao Rhyme didn't severely weaken his strength. Therefore, as time passed, he slowly pushed it open a slightly wider crack.
At this moment, the four Ancient Talents surprisingly did not attack, for they also wished to use Ye Chen's efforts to catch a glimpse of what lay within the Eighth Trial Gate.
Endless showers of light rained out, and swathes of Primordial Spirit spiritual energy flew forth, absorbed by the several Ancient Talents, nourishing their Primordial Spirits somewhat. However, the majority was devoured by Ye Chen. He would not yield these precious Primordial Spirit spiritual energies to others, as they held unimaginable benefits for the Primordial Spirit.
The four Ancient Talents frowned but did not attempt to seize them. Instead, their gazes pierced through everything, looking inside.
"That is..."
They all revealed looks of astonishment. In a fleeting moment, they saw a vast, boundless great world, with an ancient, primordial aura from time immemorial rushing towards them. That was undoubtedly an immensely ancient great world, a great heaven and earth, even more ancient than the Tian Du Continent.
They could feel a terrifying and mysterious force acting upon them, nearly sucking their Primordial Spirits completely inside. Their expressions changed slightly, and they hurriedly made their Primordial Spirits radiate brilliant light to resist this attractive force.
They opened their Heavenly Eyes, wanting to see more clearly. But at that moment, the void trembled.
Boom—
Ye Chen's golden blood energy erupted, forming a dazzling golden expanse that obscured everything. The vision of the four Ancient Talents was blocked; their gazes could not penetrate or see through. They were furious: "Ye Chen, you are seeking death!"
Long Gu'ao was the first to act. His Fangtian Halberd slashed down vertically as if cleaving the great void itself, aiming directly at Ye Chen.
To stop this, unless Ye Chen abandoned pushing the Trial Gate, he would have to truly endure this strike.
"Scram!"
Ye Chen didn't even turn his head. At this moment, a stream of dark golden blood surged from the crown of his head, containing a fist-sized mass of true blood. The Primordial Spirit from his glabella also shot out, briefly inhabiting this mixture of true blood and golden blood. It condensed into another Indestructible Golden Body, wielding the Heavenly God Spear to meet the attack head-on.
Boom—
The void exploded. Long Gu'ao's attack failed and he was repelled, while that mass of blood was also scattered, merging back into Ye Chen's body.
This was merely Ye Chen briefly projecting his Primordial Spirit, mobilizing the blood within his body to deliver a powerful strike. Unfortunately, it couldn't be sustained for long; he wasn't yet strong enough.
Meanwhile, his true body continued pushing the Trial Gate, widening the crack further, allowing more Primordial Spirit spiritual energy to transform into showers of light flying out and sprinkling upon him.
"Everyone, attack! We cannot let him continue intercepting the Primordial Spirit spiritual energy. Otherwise, as he grows stronger and we weaker, we will truly fall into a disadvantage," Long Gu'ao said.
"Agreed!"
The four Ancient Talents all attacked, striking at Ye Chen together.
Ye Chen's expression remained unchanged. Brilliant light began to bloom from his glabella as he prepared to unleash the Battle God Seal. However, sensing a bone-chilling crisis, he ceased pushing the gate. He executed the Reverse Void Eight Steps, instantly shifting sideways.
The void where he had just stood silently shattered, revealing a tiny black hole that had been pierced through.
Ye Chen's face paled. If he hadn't retreated immediately, even with his Human Yuan Golden Body, he suspected he would have been pierced and bloodied.
Clearly, the opponent wielded some kind of forbidden-grade artifact.
He looked at Long Gu'ao; it was he who had attacked.
In Long Gu'ao's hand appeared a long needle—a Soul-Nailing Needle, identical to the one Yang Shaoqi's uncle possessed, but even more mysterious and terrifying, capable of striking silently.
Ye Chen stared at Long Gu'ao, his gaze icy cold. Meanwhile, the light radiating from his glabella grew increasingly brilliant and powerful. Even without activating the Battle God Seal, he now feared none of these Ancient Talents. But once he did activate it, he could directly overpower them.
Rumble—
The shower of light dissipated. The Trial Gate ultimately closed again, shutting before it could be fully opened. Aside from Ye Chen, no one else could see what lay inside.
"Speak, what exactly is inside?" Long Gu'ao demanded coldly, holding the Soul-Nailing Needle.
Ye Chen swept a calm glance over him, remaining silent and completely unafraid.
Long Gu'ao snorted. "Still unwilling to talk even now? Do you still plan to use that enhancement secret technique from last time? It's useless. We are all prepared this time. And do you think we used our ultimate combat power last time?"
These words sent a chill through everyone's hearts. Indeed, each Ancient Talent was extraordinary. They all hid corresponding trump cards and would not reveal all unless in a true life-or-death battle.
Ye Chen simply said, "If you want to fight, then fight. No need for idle talk.
Arrogant!
The crowd was shocked, but they also recalled Ye Chen's domineering aura. During this period, he alone had challenged and defeated all the pursuing Martial Gods of the Tianqi Empire. Several super Martial Gods had perished, and even Prince Stone Sword, a peak Martial God, had been slain. All this proved Ye Chen's terrifying capabilities.
The Ancient Talents had their hidden cards, but how could Ye Chen not have his? And likely more and stronger ones.
"In that case, I will forcibly search your Primordial Spirit to find out everything I want to know," Long Gu'ao declared. He was the first to strike, erupting with supreme divine power as he swept out to attack.
Ancient Talents versus the young great demon king!