The Heavenly Emperor stood like an abyss and a mountain, majestic and peerless, capable of propping up heaven and earth, suppressing all eternity.
His face could not be seen clearly, shrouded by a faint mist that even a Supreme One might not be able to penetrate, but one knew this must be a man of unparalleled greatness.
Because he was the Heavenly Emperor!
The Heavenly Emperor stood upon the River of Time. Even though he had just experienced a battle against the most terrifying supreme existences from various epochs, even confronting that colossus from antiquity who possessed the aura of great Transcendence, he still appeared so peerless.
His black hair cascaded like a waterfall. He wore blood-stained battle armor, held the Heavenly Emperor's Sword in hand, grasped the Heaven-Binding Chains, and bore the Heaven-Burying Stele on his back. Shaking the ancient and dazzling the present, even the myriad Daos of the heavens had to submit to him, as if he were the master of heaven and earth.
His gaze was so peaceful, yet so profound, containing the vicissitudes of eternity, watching the sun rise and the moon set, observing the burial of epochs, unchanging as ever.
Anyone who met those eyes would inevitably be lost within them.
"You have come."
The Heavenly Emperor spoke only this simple phrase, startling Ye Chen.
The Heavenly Emperor actually knew of his arrival, had been waiting for his arrival, and was waiting within the Heavenly Tribulation World.
If this were on the real River of Time, it would make sense, but this was merely a manifestation within the Heavenly Tribulation World. Everything here was not real, merely a reenactment of some extremely important major events from the past, not existing in this era, like a recording within a memory crystal.
However, the Heavenly Emperor was peerless, far stronger than an ordinary Supreme One. Being able to accomplish this step was also normal.
Under the Heavenly Emperor's gaze, Ye Chen did not sense the chilling coldness of a colossus from antiquity, only a gentle warmth that soothed the heart. Yet, the faint moon mark between his eyebrows continued to sway, emitting strands of soft radiance that enveloped him, as if isolating him.
"Hmm?"
The Heavenly Emperor began to gaze intently at the moon mark between his eyebrows.
Boom—
Suddenly, the originally calm Heavenly Tribulation World violently erupted. Everything—people and objects—began to manifest tribulation light, transforming into genuine tribulation thunder.
Among them, heavenly thunder carrying a forbidden aura appeared, terrifying beyond measure.
In the past, Ye Chen had only felt such power on the River of Time, witnessing his future supremely powerful self and that supreme Great Emperor-like existence suspected to be his descendant. It was absolutely capable of injuring, even severely wounding, a Supreme One.
Clearly, all of this was because the Heavenly Emperor had triggered some terrifying ancient taboo.
Could it be the faint moon mark between his eyebrows?
Ye Chen's heart trembled.
Finally, the Heavenly Emperor voluntarily ceased his probing gaze.
Everything returned to normal, and the forbidden thunder of eternity slowly vanished.
The Heavenly Emperor seemed to let out a faint sigh: "A pity. Unable to enter in true form, otherwise why would I fear these forbidden thunders?"
Ye Chen's heart shook violently. The Heavenly Emperor was indeed a peerless, invincible Great Emperor, not even truly fearing the forbidden heavenly thunder.
"A mysterious mark, carrying the aura of reincarnation, yet also possessing the aura of origin... Could it be..."
The Heavenly Emperor spoke, involving some extremely critical words like 'reincarnation' and 'origin,' causing Ye Chen's heart to jolt violently, leading him to speculate about this mysterious moon mark.
The mystery of the Moon Mark, even as its master across past and present lives, Ye Chen had never understood the slightest bit. He only knew it was extremely mysterious. Even back then, when the Great Emperor Ni Qiang's gaze probed his body across time and space, it was blocked by the Moon Mark.
Now it had surfaced again, repeatedly blocking the Heavenly Emperor's probing gaze and also blocking the probing of that mysterious colossus from antiquity who had once confronted the Heavenly Emperor on the River of Time.
Everything was shrouded in a layer of faint mist.
As the Heavenly Emperor's gaze turned away, no longer fixed on the Moon Mark, the mark between Ye Chen's eyebrows gradually faded, ceasing its autonomous trembling.
"Being able to meet you here brings me joy, Key Person of my Sealed Realm Universe."
The Heavenly Emperor spoke.
"You are excellent, having broken the shackles of the Divine King's Nine Tribulations for a Great Perfection Supreme Talent. In the future, you have the chance to reach the domain of myself and him, even surpassing it."
"Your existence is the Transcender on this chessboard, also the most hopeful person most likely to break the shackles of this Chaos Sea."
The Heavenly Emperor continued speaking, looking at Ye Chen with appreciation, yet also with a trace of melancholy: "My ancient universe suffers great calamity, yet I am powerless to attend to it. It is my fault."
"Heaven—"
Ye Chen had just begun to utter the two words 'Heavenly Emperor,' but before they could fully leave his lips, these two words became like a taboo. The heavenly tribulation erupted violently, terrifying aura surging toward him. Even supreme rule power appeared, shielding everything, preventing him from speaking smoothly.
The Heavenly Emperor said: "Do not attempt to speak. Even though this is not the true River of Time, it still counts as a dialogue across the ages of time. It is not good for you. Just listen."
Ye Chen understood. So-called dialogue also depended on the strength of both parties.
For someone like the Heavenly Emperor, as long as it did not involve altering important events that had occurred in the timeline, it could be overlooked because he possessed sufficient strength.
Moreover, Ye Chen suspected that even if the Heavenly Emperor wanted to travel against the River of Time to slay a Supreme One, he could likely accomplish it and bear the corresponding heaven-defying cost.
Because the Heavenly Emperor was one of the most powerful supreme colossi in the Chaos Sea.
But Ye Chen could not. Even as a Ten Tribulation Divine King, comparable to a late-stage Quasi-Monarch, before a true forbidden heavenly tribulation, he was still as insignificant as dust.
Hum—
Suddenly, the Moon Mark trembled once more.
To be more precise, it was not the Moon Mark itself, but rather the Moon Mark gave a slight tremble, from which a point of silver light flew out, ultimately transforming into a silver pearl the size of a thumb.
This Silver Pearl left the space between Ye Chen's eyebrows, floating before his eyes.
Seeing this Silver Pearl, Ye Chen was stunned.
Wasn't this the supreme treasure Silver Pearl he had obtained by chance in his past life? It had accompanied him through past and present lives along with the Moon Mark, then abruptly disappeared, later entering the mysterious Moon Mark.
Yet, without a doubt, this Silver Pearl was also a supreme treasure of the Great Dao.
Hum—
As soon as the Silver Pearl appeared, Ye Chen was astonished to see that the forbidden thunder which had emerged because he was about to utter 'Heavenly Emperor' immediately retreated like mice seeing a cat, showing signs of dispersing.
Simultaneously, the entire Heavenly Tribulation World shook violently, with terrifying roars rumbling.
In a daze, the entire Heavenly Tribulation World seemed to be on the verge of collapse.
Ye Chen could also see that on this supreme treasure Silver Pearl before him, fine threads of lightning flickered. Yet each thread gave him an immensely dangerous feeling, as if even an Ancient Monarch struck by one would perish.
Whoosh—
The next moment, the supreme treasure Silver Pearl shot uncontrollably into the sky, disappearing into the vast depths of the Heavenly Tribulation World.
Vaguely, one could see infinite people, objects, or even the heavens and earths of the myriad great worlds transforming back into tribulation light. Billions upon billions of layers of thunder surged forth, endless and torrential.
All of this rushed toward the supreme treasure Silver Pearl.
This mysterious supreme treasure Silver Pearl was actually devouring the infinite heavenly tribulation power within the Heavenly Tribulation World.
"This—"
Ye Chen watched this scene in shock, as if recognizing this supreme treasure Silver Pearl for the first time, wondering what astonishing origins it possessed.
However, he had sensed from the Silver Pearl a trace of aura identical to the Moon Mark, even an aura similar to the Heavenly Emperor and that colossus from antiquity—a special aura possessing Transcendence.
This aura could perhaps be called the Eternal Aura!
On the River of Time, the Heavenly Emperor, eternal and unchanging, gazed at the supreme treasure Silver Pearl, his eyes deepening. In an instant, myriad thoughts flashed, infinite moments of time appearing and vanishing. He said: "I never expected it to truly be an Origin Sacred Artifact, and actually on your person."
"Origin Sacred Artifact?"
Ye Chen was taken aback. Anything involving the word 'origin' was destined to be extraordinary, inevitably having a great connection to the Origin Land.
Hum—
From the crown of his head, a mass of nine-colored dawn light slowly rose, erupting with majestic nine-colored radiance that illuminated the entire Heavenly Tribulation World, dyeing it with layers of colorful clouds.
The Crown of Eternity!
Involuntarily, the Crown of Eternity began to tremble softly, continuously releasing its kindred Eternal Aura.
Hum—
The Moon Mark also trembled. The supreme treasure Silver Pearl, devouring billions of thunderbolts, also trembled. All of them emanated strands of Eternal Aura, possessing great Transcendence, extremely mysterious.
Surrounded by these three, with the Eternal Aura flowing forth, Ye Chen distinctly felt the Chaos Great Dao within his body rapidly trembling, circulating autonomously. Its circulation speed increased by thousands of times, autonomously generating streams of Chaos divine power, causing his divine power to rapidly increase.
Almost within moments, the depletion of divine power within his body had recovered by a small half. Such recovery speed was truly astonishing.
"This—"
Ye Chen watched this scene before him with great shock.
The Heavenly Emperor said: "Another Origin Sacred Artifact, and cultivating the Chaos Great Dao, a Transcendent Great Dao. You are indeed that most crucial person."
"The Chaos Great Dao is the only Dao with hope of Transcendence, also called the Eternal Great Dao. Before Origin Sacred Artifacts tainted with Eternal Aura, your cultivation speed can increase manyfold."
Again, the crucial person!
Ye Chen said: "Heaven—Senior, this junior has heard that the Sealed Realm Universe has nine Key Persons. Several were intercepted on the River of Time and perished. But including this junior, there are still two Key Persons. This junior wishes to know who they are."
"You have met them before, fought alongside them. Both possess the peerless bearing to claim the title of Emperor."
The Heavenly Emperor only said this much, offering no further words.
Ye Chen was stunned.
Met before, fought alongside, possessing the peerless bearing to claim the title of Emperor?
Although only three simple pieces of information, they significantly narrowed the scope.
It could basically be locked to the younger generation, specifically among the dozen or so individuals like Imperial Sons and Daughters, and the strongest young Supreme Ones.
He looked at the Heavenly Emperor, wanting to ask further, but seeing the Heavenly Emperor let out what seemed like a light sigh, gazing with concern toward the upstream and downstream of the River of Time, he shuddered and ceased his inquiries.
Every Key Person played a vital role for the Sealed Realm Universe.
Even several Ancient Great Emperors of the alien races had braved immense costs to travel down the River of Time to kill those Key Persons.
Although the Heavenly Emperor was here, capable of shielding some extremely important information, perhaps other colossi from antiquity were also watching. They absolutely must not let anything happen to the other Key Persons.
Even the Heavenly Emperor had his apprehensions.
He was powerful, suppressing all eternity, finding few rivals. But ultimately, he was not truly invincible. Within this Chaos Sea, there were other great enemies capable of opposing him, like the colossi from antiquity who had acted on the River of Time.
Therefore, the Heavenly Emperor could not risk revealing the other Key Persons.
And Ye Chen had long been known, not falling into that category.
Boom—
The Chaos Great Dao continuously operated, allowing Ye Chen to keep recovering.
When it operated at its peak, influenced by the Eternal Aura of the Moon Mark, the Silver Pearl, and the Crown of Eternity, Ye Chen's left eye erupted with boundless light of death, as if the eighteen layers of hell were descending.
His right eye gave birth to all living beings, full of vitality.
The left eye for death, the right eye for life.
The Life-Death Heavenly Eye manifested. The Dao of Life and Death further transformed into a black-and-white Life-Death Taiji Diagram. At this moment, it too became tinged with traces of Eternal Aura, then evolved before him into a massive, boundless Immortal Heavenly Gate.
The Heavenly Gate stood within the Heavenly Tribulation World, no smaller than a Supreme One's Dharma Form. The Life-Death Taiji Diagram was imprinted upon the gate.
It seemed this was not an illusory thing conjured by evolution, but something real and enduring.
Hum—
Suddenly, the Heavenly Gate gradually became tinged with more Eternal Aura, perhaps having originally possessed this aura.
Ye Chen was even more shocked, for this was clearly the Life-Death Profound Art Dao Method taught to him by the Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord. At this moment, it had uncontrollably, autonomously, evolved a Life-Death Heavenly Gate.
Moreover, although this Life-Death Heavenly Gate was somewhat illusory, at the same time, it clearly began to resonate slowly with the Moon Mark, the Silver Pearl, the Crown of Eternity, and others.
The Chaos Great Dao within Ye Chen's body operated even faster. Almost every moment, vast amounts of Chaos divine power surged forth, rapidly increasing, filling every corner of his limbs and bones.
He could clearly feel that sensation of overflowing fullness, quite wonderful.
It could be said he had now recovered seventy to eighty percent and had completely consolidated his Tenth Tribulation cultivation.
The Heavenly Emperor's gaze held astonishing phenomena: the sinking of sun and moon, the changing of epochs, the transformation of time and space. Yet looking deeper, it remained so profound, impossible to penetrate. Gazing at the evolved Life-Death Heavenly Gate, he suddenly spoke: "The gate that once connected the Origin Land and this Chaos Sea. To think it can be seen again, and actually has such a relationship with my Sealed Realm Universe, also related to the most crucial person, imprinted with the Dao aura of this gate."
"Is it coincidence, or the arrangement of fate, or..."
Speaking of that gate, the Heavenly Emperor's words were evidently more numerous, yet he still did not delve deeper.
Perhaps due to caution, perhaps because it involved the most terrifying forbidden land of eternity.
Ye Chen only knew that the Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord had a certain relationship with the mysterious Origin Sacred Artifacts, even with that most mysterious Origin Land.
What kind of identity did the Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord possess?
Ye Chen had once suspected the Gate Lord's origins were great, possibly a Supreme One reincarnated. But now, hearing the Heavenly Emperor's words, it seemed his origins were even greater and more mysterious.
Ye Chen very much wanted to inquire about the Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord's information, also about the detailed information regarding the Origin Sacred Artifacts. However, the Heavenly Tribulation World violently erupted again. Due to the influence of the Silver Pearl, the Heavenly Tribulation World was no longer stable.
Everything slowly moved toward collapse.
The Heavenly Emperor's figure gradually grew illusory. Along with the River of Time gradually disappearing, he let out only a light sigh.
He and Ye Chen gazed at each other from afar, a voice drifting over—
"In the future, I hope to see you grown up, fighting side by side."
"Also, please take good care of my daughter. I have failed her, never having been by her side for even a moment—"
The final words were filled with tenderness and helplessness.
The Heavenly Emperor was no longer peerless and majestic. His figure carried a touch of loneliness. At this moment, he seemed more like just a father unable to accompany his daughter's growth, full of doting love yet powerless to act, only because he was powerless to attend to it.
Finally, with this sentence from the Heavenly Emperor, before Ye Chen could even utter a single word in response, the River of Time vanished with a whoosh.
It disappeared from the Heavenly Tribulation World, never to be found again.