"Does the Battle Saint King know what the so-called Ultimate Ancient Domain is?"
The Lord of the Earth did not answer directly but instead asked Ye Chen a question.
Ye Chen's expression was calm as he smiled faintly. "If my guess is correct, the Ultimate Ancient Domain is the farthest end of the Eight Desolates Ancient Domain and also the final destination of the Ultimate Ancient Path."
Upon hearing this, the five Quasi-Monarchs all changed their expressions, looking at Ye Chen with surprise, as if they hadn't expected him to know the origins of the Ultimate Ancient Domain.
The few exchanged glances, each wearing a bitter smile. "Truly worthy of being the Battle Saint King, to even know this."
Ye Chen waved his hand. "This isn't some great secret. With a bit of deduction, one can know."
The five Quasi-Monarchs also nodded, not continuing on this topic. The Lord of the Earth said, "Since the Battle Saint King knows the origins of the Ultimate Ancient Path, you must also be very curious as to why the end of the Ultimate Ancient Path is connected to the end of our Supreme Ancient Domain."
Ye Chen nodded. He was indeed quite curious about this point, though he had a vague answer in his heart. "Because the 'Ultimate' contested in the Ultimate Ancient Domain has a great relationship with the 'Supreme' we are contesting for."
"The Battle Saint King's words are not wrong. There is indeed a great relationship. But what if I said that the so-called 'Supreme' Immortal Fate and the so-called 'Ultimate' are actually the same thing?" The Lord of the Earth spoke slowly, yet the words he uttered caused Ye Chen's mind to tremble with shock as he stared at the five Quasi-Monarchs in astonishment.
The 'Supreme' Immortal Fate is the 'Ultimate'?
Although he had previously deduced, based on various connections, that the 'Supreme' Immortal Fate must have a great relationship with the 'Ultimate', he never would have imagined that the two were actually the same.
This matter, let alone him, probably even the Imperial Sons and Daughters of the All Heavens, the Immortal Dao descendants, and even those Heaven's Prides of the Ultimate Ancient Path were unaware.
He said solemnly, "How can you be sure?"
This matter was of great importance; naturally, he couldn't believe it based solely on the other party's words.
The Lord of the Earth smiled faintly. "To be frank with the Battle Saint King, although the five of us belong to this era, even this lifetime, having cultivated to success and reached the Quasi-Monarch realm, our ancestors were actually followers of one of the Supremes of the All Heavens back then—they were Ancient Monarchs who remained behind in the Supreme Ancient Domain. Therefore, we learned many unknown secrets. This matter is among them."
"Moreover, why does the Supreme Secret Realm appear on the battlefield between the two realms? Why do the Heaven's Prides of the two strongest ancient paths—the Supreme Ancient Path and the Ultimate Ancient Path—meet together at the very end? Why, when there are clearly only ten Supreme Divine Crowns, do the strongest Heaven's Prides of both ancient paths compete for the 'Supreme'? Aren't these the best evidence?"
Ye Chen fell silent, the soul light within his brow rippling as he digested all of this.
Without a doubt, all of this was quite astonishing. Even someone like Ye Chen, who had experienced countless major and minor events, found it difficult to remain calm. One could imagine.
After a long while, the soul light within his brow receded, and he calmed down, nodding. He felt that the possibility of the 'Supreme' Immortal Fate being the 'Ultimate' was most likely true, and he had also performed deductions.
From every perspective, there was reason to believe that the two Immortal Fates were one and the same, merely understood as different Immortal Fates by the two ancient paths.
At this moment, he was silent.
If so, this struggle for Immortal Fate would not only involve facing the Imperial Sons and Daughters of the All Heavens and the Immortal Dao descendants but also those strongest Heaven's Prides of the Ultimate Ancient Path, such as Taiyi, Huangdi, the Chaos Overlord, Tianjizi, the Heaven-Defying Battle Master, and so on.
It was rumored that the Nine Overlords of the Ultimate Ancient Path had all reached the Quasi-Monarch level.
However, soon after, his eyes regained their calm composure.
What did it matter if there were a few more Quasi-Monarch competitors? He was already comparable to a Great Perfection Quasi-Monarch and was continuously advancing toward the Heaven-Defying Quasi-Monarch level.
Now capable of suppressing four Quasi-Monarch-level Imperial Sons, Daughters, and Immortal Dao descendants single-handedly, he could similarly suppress the other Quasi-Monarch Overlords of the Ultimate Ancient Path.
Ye Chen looked at the five Quasi-Monarchs. "The five Fellow Daoists coming here this time probably aren't just to tell me this news, are you?"
Void Monarch said, "The Battle Saint King is indeed astute. This time, the five of us have another purpose."
"Please, speak freely."
"Good, then we won't beat around the bush." The Lord of the Earth said, "The main purpose of coming this time is to hope we can reach a cooperation with the Battle Saint King to contest for the Supreme Secret Realm together."
"Contest for the Supreme Secret Realm?" Ye Chen looked at the Lord of the Earth, Void Monarch, and the other five Quasi-Monarchs. "Cooperation is possible, but how will we divide the spoils?"
"Very simple. You take the Supreme Divine Crowns; we get the other supreme treasures of the Supreme Secret Realm." One Quasi-Monarch spoke, carrying a strong aura of the void—clearly a Quasi-Monarch who primarily cultivated the Void Great Dao.
Ye Chen shook his head. "Apologies, that is unacceptable."
The five Quasi-Monarchs were not surprised by this result. It was merely a probing tactic. If it worked, that would be best; if the other party had other conditions, there was room for discussion.
"What are the Battle Saint King's thoughts?"
"Seven-three split."
Concise and to the point.
Hearing this, the five Quasi-Monarchs all breathed a sigh of relief. Seventy percent for them, thirty percent for the Battle Saint King and his group—this was within an acceptable range, even better than their bottom line of fifty-fifty.
"Seventy for us, thirty for the Battle Saint King—that is acceptable. Let's have a pleasant cooperation like this." The Void Quasi-Monarch laughed heartily, but then he saw Ye Chen shake his head and say calmly, "Apologies, you seem to have misunderstood. It's seventy for me, thirty for you."
"Impossible!"
The five Quasi-Monarchs all stood up, staring intently at Ye Chen before them, angrily saying, "Battle Saint King, this is going too far."
They had already made significant concessions, even giving up the most important Supreme Divine Crowns within the Supreme Secret Realm. Yet this Battle Saint King was still pressing hard, demanding a seven-three split, and moreover, seventy for him and thirty for them. This was truly excessive.
Ye Chen smiled faintly. "May I ask, how is this excessive?"
That Void Quasi-Monarch said coldly, "Battle Saint King, all five of us are Quasi-Monarchs. This time, we are assisting you in seizing the Supreme Secret Realm. Do you really intend to monopolize the lion's share, demanding seventy percent of the Supreme Secret Realm alone? If this isn't excessive, then what is truly excessive?"
Ye Chen laughed, very calm and gentle. "Five Fellow Daoists, do you perhaps think I must rely on your strength to seize the Supreme Secret Realm?"
As he spoke, his hand slowly opened. Within it, over a hundred Monarch Rules flickered faintly, their majestic power restrained yet profoundly shocking to the heart.