The Imperial Palace was vast, its entire structure carrying a faint aura of the Supreme One, clearly a place where a Supreme One had resided for a long time.
Within it were a total of three hundred and sixty great halls, each one uniquely majestic.
Naturally, over half of the powerhouses charged towards the central Imperial Hall, which was the most important. The Supreme Treasure and the Supreme Divine Crown were most likely located within the Imperial Hall.
Many other powerhouses, knowing they had little hope of contending for the Supreme Treasure, understood the principle of letting go. They turned instead to the other divine halls, where perhaps other significant opportunities awaited their arrival.
Passing through the grand main gate of the central Imperial Hall, one only realized its immense size upon entering. Compared to the majesty and grandeur of other Imperial Halls Ye Chen had seen, this mysterious hall seemed somewhat desolate.
Inside, there was not just one main throne, but a full five of them, each exuding the true aura of a Supreme One—clearly all genuine Emperor's Thrones.
Everyone was startled. Could it be that the Supreme One who created the Emperor Star Secret Realm was not one person, but five?
Buzz, buzz, buzz—
The dome of the Imperial Hall was a starry sky, showcasing its extraordinary nature. It resembled a real, vast cosmos, with countless stars swirling mysteriously, shedding brilliant starlight that illuminated the hall.
But at this moment, those stars suddenly transformed, turning into balls of light that descended from the dome.
They were all Supreme Treasures! Among them were cultivation Dao Scriptures, peerless divine materials, heavenly and earthly treasures, ten-thousand-year medicinal treasures, Dao weapons and artifacts, Chaos divine objects, and more. All were truly priceless treasures, each one enough to make even a Divine King's heart stir, even drive them mad with greed, willing to struggle for them at all costs.
"It's the Supreme Treasure! The true Supreme Treasure!"
The powerhouses exclaimed, each one soaring into the air to struggle for these light balls. Each ball represented a Supreme Treasure, a treasure collected by an ancient Great Emperor.
These Supreme Treasures were wrapped in light balls, flying swiftly within the Imperial Hall.
The powerholders, naturally covetous and stirred, rushed to struggle for them. However, it was at this moment they realized that a terrifying Emperor's Dao suppression had descended upon the Imperial Hall once more, drastically reducing their strength once again. Even a Quasi-Monarch could not wield the power to shatter stars—this was likely to prevent damage to the Imperial Hall.
Yet they could still unleash minor divine abilities and spells. Each could leap into the air, traverse the space, desperately struggling for those balls of light, all for the sake of the Supreme Treasures.
Even those Imperial Sons, Imperial Maidens, and Immortal Dao Descendants did not miss out. Such treasures, collected even by ancient Great Emperors, were true Supreme Treasures for them as well. They all made their moves to seize them.
However, these light balls were exceptionally stable, requiring great effort to truly break open.
Moreover, the more powerful the treasure, the more so—the light ball was more indestructible.
Some were so difficult that even Imperial Sons, Imperial Maidens, and Immortal Dao Descendants found it hard to break them open, requiring a considerable amount of time.
During this period, many clashed fiercely. Blood light splattered, and people began to fall.
But basically, those who fell were the Great Powers. Even Super Great Powers were completely insignificant within the Imperial Hall, becoming the lowest tier. Ordinary Divine Kings might not have the strength either. Only those at the Super Divine King level and above truly possessed some measure of power.
Among them, the various Quasi-Monarchs took the lead. Even within the Imperial Hall, they could still unleash astonishing cultivation, easily plucking light ball after light ball.
One Supreme Treasure after another, collected by the Supreme One, fell into their hands.
However, they showed little joy. Ordinary Supreme Treasures were hardly enough to stir their hearts. Only Supreme Dao Scriptures, secret techniques, forbidden divine abilities, Supreme Emperor's Blood, Supreme-grade treasures, and Supreme Emperor's Weapons could truly drive them mad.
Of course, among them were also treasures that would stir even a Primordial Sovereign's heart, which they would struggle for with all their might.
But these were not many—if not countable on one hand, they were close.
The human race's various geniuses naturally struggled as well. They easily repelled other opponents, effortlessly plucking light ball after light ball into their hands. Each being at least a Super Divine King, it naturally took little time for them to acquire many Supreme Treasures.
Ye Chen also made his move. With his current level of vision, even treasures of ordinary Primordial Sovereigns would not weigh on his mind. However, behind him were the vast Chaos Heavenly Mansion and several other subordinate forces he needed to support, so he naturally accepted whatever came his way.
With a single punch, one hundred and eight divine light heavenly dragons flew out. Each contained his essence energy, transforming into Chaos Heavenly Dragons that swept across enemies from all sides. In one go, he seized a full twenty-eight light balls.
Such a large number of Supreme Treasures drove many people's eyes mad with greed. They were about to charge forward and struggle with Ye Chen for them.
But Ye Chen merely snorted coldly, a sound like Chaos heavenly thunder exploding across the Nine Heavens. It caused the crimson madness in these people's eyes to recede slightly, replaced by a thick sense of awe and fear.
They would not forget that this seemingly young Battle Saint King had, not long ago, torn off a Quasi-Monarch's arm in a single encounter—how peerlessly matchless he was.
They, cultivators who weren't even Quasi-Monarchs, were far from being a match for the Battle Saint King. Charging forward would absolutely be a suicidal act.
While Ye Chen and the others were collecting various Supreme Treasures, they were also releasing their divine sense, searching for the Supreme Divine Crown.
The Supreme Divine Crown was the most important treasure, the greatest key to struggling for the "Supreme" Immortal Fate.
A vast number of light balls continued to fly down endlessly from the dome, as if infinite. Basically, everyone managed to struggle for at least one light ball, even the Super Great Powers, who smiled at their gain.
But in this struggle, many also fell. Over half perished, the vast majority being those Great Powers and Heavenly Kings brought by the various Divine Kings. Such combat power was essentially cannon fodder, utterly incapable of contending.
Over a dozen Divine Kings also fell. The battle situation could be described as tragic.
Boom—
A violent tremor! Suddenly, on the dome, a light ball appeared, shining as brilliantly and conspicuously as a sun. It erupted with billions of zhang of dazzling radiance, carrying a surging Supreme fluctuation, instantly capturing everyone's attention.
It was a crown—or more accurately, an Emperor's Crown. It flowed with Supreme aura, its entire body forged from sacred white gold, engraved with complex and supreme Dao patterns. Vaguely, it seemed as if the myriad beings of all the heavens and worlds were manifesting, paying homage.
The Emperor's Crown floated and sank, boundless Primordial Sacred Light blooming from it like a Primordial Sacred Light heavenly sun, sacred and inviolable.
"That must be the Supreme Divine Crown!"
Everyone knew that was the greatest Supreme Treasure, the Supreme Divine Crown.
It was highly likely that a Supreme inheritance was also contained within it.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—
Instantly, everyone soared into the air, including the various Quasi-Monarchs. They all abandoned the numerous other Supreme Treasures, without exception heading to struggle for that sacred white gold-forged peerless Emperor's Crown, charging into the vast starry sky manifested from the dome.
The moment all the powerhouses charged in, the starry sky suddenly trembled violently.
Deep within the starry sky, countless points of light manifested, and they were approaching at an astonishing speed.
"What are those?"
Watching the dense, countless points of light rushing over like lightning, the powerhouses all had a bad premonition.
A closer look made their expressions turn grave. Those densely packed, countless points of light were none other than burning stars.
If that were all, it would be one thing. Everyone entering the starry sky could unleash astonishing divine might. Not to mention Divine Kings, even Super Great Powers could slash apart stars.
But these stars were all Dao Stars! At the very least, they were Level Five Dao Stars, with no lack of higher-level ones. They burned with extremely vast and terrifying Dao might, trailing long tails of Dao fire as they charged over.
The entire starry sky shook, constantly being burned and torn apart, terrifying beyond measure.
It was like a world-ending calamity!
Infinite Dao Stars transformed into flying fire meteors. A supremely dazzling meteor shower charged over just like that, densely packed, covering every inch of the area ahead.
Unless one retreated from the starry sky and returned to the Imperial Hall, anyone wanting to charge towards the Emperor's Crown would inevitably have to withstand the attacks of these burning Dao Stars to advance.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—
Though described as slow, the meteor shower formed from the infinite flying fire Dao Stars was extremely fast. In just a short moment, the meteor shower burning with various colored flames suddenly descended—infinite burning Dao Stars attacked.
Divine Imperial Son, Chu Shenjun, Lord of the Earth, and the other Quasi-Monarchs' expressions remained unchanged. Each erupted with Quasi-Monarch might, directly making their moves, their power peerless.
Upon contact, they shattered the flying fire Dao Stars that flew before them.
The Dao Stars exploded, their Dao might extremely terrifying, possessing the power to destroy heaven and earth, yet it couldn't harm the Quasi-Monarchs in the slightest.
Each Quasi-Monarch had Quasi-Monarch light manifesting around their bodies, impervious to all laws. Even these exploding Dao Stars could not penetrate it.
They were like unstoppable sharp swords, actively meeting the infinite Dao Stars, colliding with them, tearing apart flying fire Dao Star after flying fire Dao Star, forcefully carving out a path leading to the location of the Emperor's Crown.
Even with countless flying fire Dao Stars blocking the way ahead, their speed remained extremely fast.
The various heavens' Imperial Sons, Imperial Maidens, and Immortal Dao Descendants were at least Super Divine Kings. Moreover, based on combat power alone, they were Great Perfection Supreme Geniuses, far surpassing ordinary Super Divine Kings. These Dao Stars also found it difficult to threaten them, though their speed could not match the lightning-swiftness of the Quasi-Monarchs.
But they too steadily charged towards the location of the Emperor's Crown.
Though it was difficult to rival those Quasi-Monarchs, it wasn't that they had no hope whatsoever.
They would struggle for that sliver of hope!
As for the other powerhouses, they seemed particularly unlucky. One or two, even ten or twenty of those flying fire Dao Stars were not something to fear—they could withstand them. But infinite and endless? They could only retreat.
Yet even so, over a dozen Divine Kings, unable to retreat in time, were shredded and torn apart by the infinite Dao Stars. Divine Kings fell.
Those below the Divine King level were completely wiped out without exception. Only those who remained in the Imperial Hall were spared.
Ye Chen said to those beside him, "You stay in the Imperial Hall. I'll go seize the Emperor's Crown."
The others nodded. Yu Qing said, "I'll go too."
"No need. You stay as well. With a Quasi-Monarch like you here, you can seize more Supreme Treasures. Moreover, I feel this Imperial Hall journey isn't so simple," Ye Chen said. "And we don't know where that Northern Wasteland Evil Emperor is. We need you to hold the fort here. Otherwise, if he suddenly emerges to seize a body, few here could resist him."
Yu Qing nodded. Moreover, she had absolute confidence in Ye Chen's strength.