Having cultivated to the Ancient Monarch level, they all faintly sensed a certain degree of suppression from the World Heaven and Earth, but none of them paid it much heed.
For at this level, they could absorb power from outside the World Heaven and Earth for cultivation, no longer needing what was within.
Yet what puzzled them was that after basically all of them had broken through to the Ancient Monarch level, no matter how many tens of thousands of years of arduous cultivation they underwent later, it seemed they could advance no further.
Take the Myth Emperor Lord, for example. He had even seized half the Heavenly Fortune of the Mythical Era, surpassing others to become a myth—a Sovereign in a thousand years, a Monarch in ten thousand.
But after becoming a Monarch, even after accumulating for a hundred thousand years and cultivating arduously, his accumulation was already very high, yet he still could not break through.
One must know that the Myth Emperor Lord's aptitude was truly stunning. Even looking across the Chaos Sea, he could be considered a peerless Heaven's Pride rare throughout the ages. Yet he still could not break through, ultimately having no choice but to venture deep into the Vast Uninhabited Zone, never to return.
"The energy required to give birth to a Supreme One is too vast. The World Heaven and Earth cannot bear it. The World Will will suppress it, not allowing a breakthrough. Therefore, even a Monarch cannot break through this suppression from the World Heaven and Earth!" The Sovereign of Formlessness revealed the truth.
The crowd was shaken. So that was the reason.
The Heavenly Dao cycles; gain must come with loss.
This World Heaven and Earth was already powerful enough. Throughout the ages, just within the Mythical Era alone, it had given birth to one Monarch and eighteen Ancient Monarchs, enough to see it far surpassed ordinary World Heavens and Earths. Even the origin worlds of many Emperors and Supreme Immortals could not compare.
Yet such a Mythical Era might not appear even once or twice in an entire Era Epoch. Each time it appeared, it exhausted the infinite accumulation of the entire World Heaven and Earth throughout that Era Epoch.
The World Heaven and Earth had a limit to what it could bear. Whether Ancient Monarchs or Monarchs, they were all beings under the Heavenly Dao. No matter how powerful, they were limited—of course, the Sovereign of Formlessness was an exception.
But a Supreme One far surpassed those below the Monarch level. Once one became a Supreme One, it was equivalent to existing on par with the Heavenly Dao. The power required to break through to the Supreme One level was too immense, far, far greater than that for a Monarch. Even the vast World Heaven and Earth where the Mythical Emperor Domain and the Vast Uninhabited Zone were located could not bear it.
Otherwise, once a breakthrough occurred, not only would it plunge the world into a long Age of Dharma Decline, but it might also cause the origin of the entire World Heaven and Earth to head towards exhaustion. This was something the World Will would not allow to happen.
Therefore, no matter how stunning the Myth Emperor Lord's aptitude was, it was useless. Suppressed by the World Will, he could not make that final breakthrough.
Generally speaking, within the Chaos Sea, only an infinitely vast World Heaven and Earth like a Chaos Ancient Universe could give birth to a Supreme One. Because Ancient Universes were too vast, surpassing other World Heavens and Earths by countless times. Even the birth of a Supreme One could not lead to origin exhaustion.
"The suppression of the World Will... but why didn't the Myth Emperor Lord leave this World Heaven and Earth?"
The many Sovereigns and Ancestors of the Mythical Emperor Domain were very puzzled. Since this World Heaven and Earth had suppression, wouldn't leaving allow a breakthrough?
Monarch Wushi shook his head. "You think too simply. The birth of a Monarch often involves seizing the infinite energy of the entire World Heaven and Earth, which is also equivalent to the world's accumulation over countless years. Wanting to leave is something the World Heaven and Earth will not permit."
"One must know that the accumulation required to give birth to a Monarch is not inferior to that of your eighteen Ancient Monarchs back then. The Heavenly Dao seeks cycles; there is gain but also expenditure. Once the Myth Emperor Lord falls, as long as he remains within this World Heaven and Earth, everything will be returned to this world, replenishing the loss, and it will once again possess infinite accumulation. Perhaps not long after, it might allow the Mythical Era to appear again."
"But if the Myth Emperor Lord leaves, then everything is gone. Lacking the accumulation of a Monarch, even a World Heaven and Earth like this wouldn't know how many tens of thousands of years it would need to recover. The world's origin would also suffer a certain degree of depletion. Do you think the World Will would allow that?"
The crowd trembled. So there was such a principle.
Indeed, a Monarch leaving with the accumulation of countless years from this World Heaven and Earth would be a major blow to the entire World Heaven and Earth. But as long as he existed within this World Heaven and Earth, the World Will would not interfere, because once he passed away or fell, everything would be returned to this World Heaven and Earth, completing the cycle.
Thinking of this, suddenly, the ten Sovereign Ancestors revealed a bitter smile. "Doesn't that mean we can never escape this World Heaven and Earth in our entire lives, nor can we become Supreme Ones?"
"Theoretically, yes," said the Sovereign of Formlessness.
The powerhouses of the Mythical Emperor Domain all showed looks of despair. If that was the case, what was the point of talking about surpassing the past and becoming Supreme Ones? With this suppression from the World Will, it was simply impossible to succeed. From the very beginning, it was like being imprisoned in a giant cage.
"Forget about us; being able to cultivate to the Ancient Monarch level is already very fortunate. But not the Myth Emperor Lord. A Sovereign in a thousand years, a Monarch in ten thousand—that is an immortal myth, possessing the potential to become a peerless Supreme One. Yet he has been suppressed by the World Heaven and Earth all along, unable to break through, without the opportunity to become a true Supreme One. That is the most despairing." Sovereign Tianheng sighed, and the others nodded.
Being able to become an Ancient Monarch was already remarkable. Throughout the ages, who knew how many Heaven's Prides and outstanding talents, even with monstrous aptitude, encountered various dangers on the cultivation path and ultimately never grew up, let alone became Ancient Monarchs.
In comparison, they were able to grow all the way and even become Ancient Monarchs, able to live for many tens of thousands of years. In a sense, that was already quite good.
It was just that the Myth Emperor Lord was truly stunningly brilliant, truly possessing that peerless talent to become a Supreme One. Unfortunately, he was born in the wrong world. As long as he remained in this World Heaven and Earth for a day, he was destined to be unable to break through.
"Not necessarily unable to break through. I think this World Heaven and Earth cannot trap him for much longer," said the Sovereign of Formlessness.
The crowd was startled and very puzzled.
Could it be that the Myth Emperor Lord could resist the suppression of the World Will and become a Supreme One?
The Sovereign of Formlessness said no more, merely pointing towards the deepest part of the Vast Uninhabited Zone.
The crowd suddenly understood. They knew that for the Myth Emperor Lord to break through to Supreme One, it likely had something to do with the Heavenly Eye Divine Sovereign.
Half an Era Epoch, and the Myth Emperor Lord was still unwilling to leave. Perhaps this was the reason.
At this moment, led by the Sovereign of Formlessness, the powerhouses traversed the deepest part of the entire Vast Uninhabited Zone and arrived at its edge. There was no more vast, endless ancient forest here. Instead, they beheld a vast ocean, but it was not calm. On the contrary, it appeared quite violent, constantly stirring up towering, terrifying waves, with endless storms that never dissipated year-round.
Here, even Saints and Heavenly Kings faced a certain degree of danger, but those at the Great Ability Realm could ignore it, let alone Divine Kings and Ancient Monarchs, who regarded it as nothing.
"Indeed, this is the Primordial Divine Sea!"
The powerhouses from the various Heavenly Emperor Clans, Immortal Clans, and other forces of the Ten Heavens Ancient Domain felt a tremor in their hearts, even though they had long suspected it.