At this moment, the five Quasi-Monarchs finally truly remembered that the Battle Saint King before them was no mere ordinary Heaven's Pride, but a peerless powerhouse comparable to a Great Perfection Quasi-Monarch. His strength was so formidable that it far surpassed even these Quasi-Monarchs who had cultivated for who knows how many tens of thousands of years.
And most importantly, the Battle Saint King's greatest strength was not his own power comparable to a Great Perfection Quasi-Monarch, but that Saint Monarch Ruler Body that resembled a seven-year-old boy, which could even suppress an Emperor's Thought Body as powerful as a Supreme One's.
It could be said that even without them, relying on that Saint Monarch Ruler Body that suppressed everything would be enough to seize a Supreme Secret Realm.
Their so-called assistance, for the Battle Saint King, was in fact merely adding flowers to brocade, far from being as useful as imagined.
The truth was cruel.
The five Quasi-Monarchs all stiffened their expressions, glancing at each other with deep helplessness.
Clearly, this Battle Saint King before them was not only immensely powerful in cultivation, but also possessed extraordinary experience. He was not as easy to deal with as imagined.
This time, the five Quasi-Monarchs had run into a tough opponent.
Ye Chen smiled faintly. "If you fellow Daoists feel cooperation is impossible, you are free to seek out other Emperor Sons and Daughters or Immortal Dao Descendants. I will not hinder you. However, when we meet on the battlefield between the two domains in the future, I will certainly not show mercy in the struggle for the Supreme Secret Realms."
His plain words carried a ruthless flavor.
After exchanging glances, helpless expressions appeared on the faces of the five Quasi-Monarchs. "Battle Saint King, please wait. Since you can propose a seventy-thirty split, we five agree to this decision. We are willing to continue assisting the Battle Saint King in contending for the other Supreme Secret Realms."
"Good."
Ye Chen did not take the opportunity to press for a lower price or demand more, as going too far was as bad as not going far enough. Moreover, these five were all Quasi-Monarchs from the Supreme Ancient Domain, deeply rooted for countless tens of thousands of years, forming deeply entrenched and vast forces. They would be of great use to him.
Furthermore, these five Quasi-Monarchs would have their uses in the future, able to block the actions of other Quasi-Monarchs for him. Why not take advantage of that?
After a day of detailed discussion, they finalized their cooperation. Ye Chen had Li Chaotian see the five Quasi-Monarchs off.
"Battle Saint King, once we have news of the fourth Supreme Secret Realm, we will notify you immediately," Void Heaven Lord said before leaving.
"Good. Farewell, everyone," Ye Chen said with a faint smile.
Only after leaving the Imperial Star did the five Quasi-Monarchs let out a sigh of relief. They looked at each other, all with helpless expressions. "This Battle Saint King is even more difficult to deal with than imagined."
Lord of the Earth said, "Let's be grateful. It's far better to have someone like him as a non-enemy, even if not a partner, than to stand on opposite sides."
"That's true. This Battle Saint King is too strong. It's best not to make an enemy of him if possible. Moreover, cooperating with him greatly increases the possibility of obtaining the fourth Supreme Secret Realm," the Quasi-Monarch of the Void Dao also said.
...
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, Ye Chen divided his attention. His Great Emperor Reincarnation Body continued refining the Imperial Star's core, while his true body refined on a ninth-grade Dao Star.
In half a year, he had refined several more Monarch Rules. His cultivation progress could be described as advancing a thousand miles in a single day.
As long as he continued cultivating within the Imperial Star Secret Realm, refining those high-grade Dao Stars, he believed that within a hundred years, he could become a Heaven-Defying Quasi-Monarch.
On this day, important news finally arrived—
The fourth Supreme Secret Realm had appeared!
...
Deep within the Supreme Ancient Domain, at the Immortal Heavenly Pass.
On the day news of the fourth Supreme Secret Realm's emergence spread, countless streams of light rushed from across the Supreme Ancient Domain, descending upon the prosperous ancient city beneath the Heavenly Pass.
Especially at the magnificent Heavenly Gate beneath the Immortal Heavenly Pass, over ninety percent of the powerhouses gathered here.
From the Imperial Star Secret Realm, a large number of powerhouses also departed one after another. Naturally, the various Emperor Sons and Daughters and Immortal Dao Descendants were among them.
Their goal was clear: the fourth Supreme Secret Realm.
At this point, everyone basically knew that the so-called Supreme Secret Realms were likely not left by just one Supreme One, but by several Supreme Ones together. Therefore, they likely contained unimaginably great opportunities.
Just like in the Imperial Star Secret Realm, they could allow Divine Kings, even Quasi-Monarchs, to benefit from rapid cultivation.
As long as one obtained a Supreme Secret Realm, even if they might be inferior to others at the current stage, they could very likely catch up to those who started earlier in a short time, even surpassing them in one fell swoop.
Therefore, the various Emperor Sons and Daughters and Immortal Dao Descendants were extremely eager for those Supreme Secret Realms, not just because of the Supreme Divine Crown.
In a short time, over eighty percent of the Divine King realm super-powerhouses from the entire Supreme Ancient Domain gathered beneath the Immortal Heavenly Pass.
Looking around, they were all super-powerhouse Divine King ancestors from major forces, rarely seen on ordinary days, as well as many past super-powerhouses suspected to have passed away in seclusion, emerging one after another to appear here.
Occupying the highest positions in the sky were precisely the Quasi-Monarchs, those from the ancient era of the Supreme Ancient Domain.
Naturally, the four Quasi-Monarch-level Emperor Sons and Daughters and Immortal Dao Descendants—Divine Emperor's Son, Chu Shenjun, Yu Wudi, and Huang Yao—were also present. They nodded slightly towards those veteran Quasi-Monarchs before each taking their own place in the sky, closing their eyes and standing silently, adjusting themselves to maintain their peak condition.
Boom—
A magnificent divine ship appeared—a Quasi-Monarch-level immortal warship, ten thousand zhang in size, magnificent and solemn, like a moving palace, extremely luxurious.
On board, Ye Chen, Yu Qing, A Beinu, and the other human Heaven's Prides appeared together. However, the four Divine Kings remained behind to guard the Imperial Star Secret Realm and did not follow.
By their side, Void Heaven Lord, Lord of the Earth, and the other five Quasi-Monarchs appeared.
Especially Void Heaven Lord. Seeing the large number of super-powerhouses gathered beneath the Immortal Heavenly Pass—all at the Divine King level or above, and the arrival of those Emperor Sons and Daughters and Immortal Dao Descendants bearing Supreme bloodlines—he felt somewhat dazed and sighed lightly. "Last time, I led the powerhouses of the Supreme Ancient Domain into the battlefield between the two domains, responsible for contending for the third Supreme Secret Realm. I originally thought that even if the Ultimate Ancient Domain made a move, it would be evenly matched, and we had nothing to fear. Who would have thought that time, those strongest Heaven's Prides who suddenly emerged from the Ultimate Ancient Domain nearly caused this old bone to perish with regret."
Regarding the struggle for the third Supreme Secret Realm, Ye Chen had also learned a thing or two. He knew that the Ultimate Ancient Domain's initial forces contending for the Supreme Secret Realm were similar to the Supreme Ancient Domain's: one Quasi-Monarch leading many Divine Kings. However, later, the strongest Heaven's Prides from the Ultimate Ancient Path suddenly emerged, catching them off guard and nearly causing them to perish with regret.
Ye Chen asked, "Fellow Daoist Void Heaven Lord, who were the four Ancient Path Overlords that appeared from the Ultimate Ancient Domain back then?"
Void Heaven Lord fell silent for a moment. "To be honest, I'm not very clear about who exactly those strongest Heaven's Prides of the Ultimate Ancient Path are. But during the battle, there was one person with boundless battle aura, his entire body radiating a special blood energy that was silver tinged with bloody mist, extremely powerful, as if born a warrior for battle."