Throughout the Ten Great Domains, the world was filled with skepticism towards the Heavenly Emperor Hall, a feeling of being deceived. Many people fell from their faith, becoming wavering and no longer so devout towards the Heavenly Emperor.
Simultaneously, a rumor spread in the shadows.
It was said that the true origin of the Heavenly Emperor was that of a Dark Sovereign from another world, not a native of the Heavenly Emperor Realm. Furthermore, any expert who joined the Heavenly Emperor Hall would be afflicted by a kind of Curse from the Hall, one that could not be erased.
This added frost to snow for the already heavily questioned Heavenly Emperor Hall. Countless people lost their faith. In a short time, the Faith Power within the various great temples diminished greatly. Even among those who still maintained their faith, it became impure, tainted with all sorts of distracting thoughts.
Within the Heavenly Emperor Hall, many experts also grew suspicious. They were unaware of the Curse within their bodies, as it usually lay hidden in the deepest recesses of their primordial spirits and divine souls. Only when their physical bodies were torn apart would this Curse power surge forth.
Upon learning of this, many powerful individuals tore open their own flesh, allowing their primordial spirits to emerge. They discovered they truly bore a potent Curse, causing them all to panic and change color.
Indeed, it was just as the human race sinners had said: experts who joined the Heavenly Emperor Hall would all be afflicted by a Curse.
Across the world, within the Ten Domains of the Heavenly Emperor Realm, more and more people's faith in the Heavenly Emperor wavered. Even within the Heavenly Emperor Hall itself, many questioning voices arose.
The faith grew increasingly dim and scarce.
For the Heavenly Emperor Hall, the Heavenly Emperor Realm seemed to have entered an ice age. The Faith Power became pitifully little, causing the Ten Domain Lords to roar in fury. They had never imagined that because of the human race, things would develop to this step.
Moreover, for the Ten Domain Lords themselves, they also relied on immeasurable Faith Power for their cultivation. The reduction in Faith Power slowed their cultivation progress. To a large extent, they were quite dependent on this Faith Power, as it formed part of their own strength.
Now, as the Faith Power grew increasingly scarce, their own power also gradually diminished.
"Human race sinners!"
The Ten Domain Lords of the Heavenly Emperor Hall roared, shaking the heavens, but there was no response whatsoever.
On that day, after the human race's peerless expert made a move and destroyed the Heavenly Emperor Hall in the Third Domain, they completely vanished without a trace. As in the past, the Heavenly Emperor Hall simply could not find them.
The Ten Domain Lords all hoped the Heavenly Emperor would emerge, display divine miracles, exterminate all the human race sinners as a warning to others, and restore the Faith Power to its former peak period.
But the Heavenly Emperor did not appear, remaining secluded within the highest, most unattainable Heavenly Emperor Palace. The Ten Domain Lords dared not disturb him without authorization.
Regarding all the events occurring in the outside world, Ye Chen and the other human race experts naturally knew, sneering repeatedly. This was the retaliation for the Heavenly Emperor Hall's actions against the human race.
Especially the Imperial Son of the Xiao Family. Upon learning that the old Divine King had been forced to self-detonate to break the siege by the Third Domain's Divine Punishment Army, he had been exceptionally furious. He had wanted to charge up to the Ninth Heaven several times to exterminate all the Divine Punishment Army in the Third Domain, but was stopped each time. Subsequently, it was the Great Emperor Reincarnation Body who made a move, wiping out almost all the Heavenly Emperor Hall experts in the Third Domain with a single slap, including the remaining Divine Punishment Army, completely annihilating them. This finally allowed the Imperial Son of the Xiao Family to heave a long sigh of relief, considering it indirect revenge, and he was very grateful to Ye Chen.
Because he knew the Great Emperor Reincarnation Body had an extraordinary relationship with Ye Chen, though he didn't inquire too much.
The other Imperial Clans, Immortal Clans, and Mythical Emperor Domains also watched all this, their hearts pounding with fear.
The human race truly was not to be provoked. Even with Ten Domain Lords at the level of Primordial Monarchs, the Heavenly Emperor Hall still couldn't truly do anything to them. On the contrary, during this period, they had been thrown into chaos, with the world's faith dropping again and again, clearly entering a winter period, a very dangerous situation.
They all knew it was best not to provoke the human race casually anymore. Otherwise, if that Great Emperor Reincarnation Body came, even the strongest Imperial Sons, Imperial Daughters, or Immortal Dao descendants would be greeted with a slap that would reduce them to ashes, leaving nothing behind.
As for the position of Heavenly Emperor Disciple, during this period, due to the human race's disruption and the exposure of the scandal of the Curse power affliction, over ninety percent of the genius talents adopted a wait-and-see attitude. They no longer competed with the same fervor as before and, moreover, did not wish to be afflicted by the Curse power.
Furthermore, and more importantly, with the world's faith in the Heavenly Emperor having fallen to such a degree, losing more than half, and the Heavenly Emperor still not emerging, many began to suspect the Heavenly Emperor might have encountered a major incident, or perhaps had abandoned all his faithful followers. Consequently, the Faith Power continued to drop, dimming to the lowest point in history, unprecedented.
"Human race sinners, come out and face this lord!"
The Ten Domain Lords roared, shaking the Heavenly Emperor Realm. Many stars in the heavens were shaken loose, transforming into terrifying meteors that either exploded outside the domains or crashed onto the earth, causing widespread devastation and further weakening the Heavenly Emperor's faith.
They manifested in the mortal world, constantly searching for traces of the human race, but always without success. The human race was hidden far too thoroughly.
Having witnessed the human race's methods, the various Imperial Clans, Immortal Clans, Mythical Emperor Domains, and other forces, even if they did not wish for the human race to grow stronger and hoped for its weakening, seeing things reach this point made them realize the terror of the human race. They also knew the Great Emperor Reincarnation Body had entered the Heavenly Emperor Realm. If it were to suddenly appear and strike them, even a god would die.
Therefore, they dared not provide any information related to the human race whatsoever.
The unprecedented dimming of the Heavenly Emperor's Faith Power and the various doubts about the Heavenly Emperor Hall in the world made the Ten Domain Lords wish they could take action and slaughter all those in the world who dared to question.
However, there were simply too many doubters; they could never kill them all.
Moreover, the more they suppressed, the fiercer the resistance became.
The best method was only for the Heavenly Emperor himself to manifest his divinity, which could quell all doubts and restore the former stability of faith.
"Your Majesty, the Heavenly Emperor!"
On this day, the Ten Domain Lords all appeared in the Heavenly Emperor Palace, arriving at the most magnificent Imperial Hall. It was filled with a kind of supreme, matchless majesty, the place where the Heavenly Emperor resided. Ordinarily, even the Ten Domain Lords would not dare to easily set foot inside and disturb him without absolutely necessary matters.
But on this day, fearing something had happened to the Heavenly Emperor, they disregarded everything and barged into the Imperial Hall.
It remained resplendent and magnificent. At its head was a supreme, matchless imperial throne. In the past, whenever they paid their respects, they would see the Heavenly Emperor seated upon the supreme imperial throne. But today, it was empty, causing their hearts to tremble and their faces to pale.
The Heavenly Emperor had vanished!
This increasingly filled them with a sense of foreboding. The Heavenly Emperor's sudden disappearance made them think of many things.
In earlier years, following by the Heavenly Emperor's side, they often heard him speak of opening up another vast Great Universe, one that seemed far more expansive and prosperous than the Heavenly Emperor Realm. His existence, it seemed, was to open that mysterious Great Universe.
Could it be that the Heavenly Emperor had gone to that mysterious Great Universe?
But there was no evidence whatsoever. It was also impossible that he had passed away in meditation, because a hundred years ago the Heavenly Emperor had manifested, intending to take the most outstanding male and female geniuses as his personal disciples, and had even taken action against a terrifying corpse from outside the realm.
This mysterious disappearance now inevitably led people to think of many possibilities.