A stable spatial channel had been constructed across the realms, unbreakable. This was the worst possible news, filling the young powerhouses present with deep worry.
In the past, the greatest reason why the foreign realm's powerhouses had failed to successfully descend upon this world was the instability of the cross-realm channels. The interference of this world's Great Dao rules and the resistance of the world's origin prevented success.
But now, a stable cross-realm channel had been successfully built. What did this mean? Even if this world's Great Dao rules blocked it and the world's origin interfered, making it as difficult as ever for Divine Spirit-level powerhouses from the foreign realm to cross over, at the very least, the channel itself could not be broken. That realm now had more opportunities to cross over. For the entire Tian Du Continent, this was terrible news.
"Let's go. Take us back to have a look."
Ye Chen made a prompt decision. He released the divine ship, which possessed the divine energy to navigate the void between planes. It carried the assembled powerhouses across the endless void, sailing towards the real-world coordinates of the central region of the Tian Du Continent.
Half a day later, the void barrier was torn open. The divine ship charged into the Tian Du Continent, appearing precisely above Tian Du City. A surge of auspicious light shimmered, drawing the attention and scrutiny of many people both inside and outside the city.
"Who goes there? Do not trespass into Tian Du City without permission!"
A furious roar shook the heavens from within Tian Du City. A Heavenly God Supreme Elder from Tian Du Academy soared into the sky, accompanied by a group of powerful cultivators, each at least a super powerhouse at the Martial God realm. They flew over, standing ready for battle.
Recently, after the stable construction of the foreign realm's cross-realm channel, foreign powerhouses had been coming to harass and fight from time to time, especially those below the Divine Spirit level who did not need to endure the blocking of laws and could cross over easily.
Therefore, to prevent the infiltration of foreign spies, utmost caution was required in everything.
"Elder Bao Feng, it's me." The Heavenly God elder who had guided Ye Chen and the others flew out from the divine ship.
Then, figures appeared on the deck of the divine ship. The leader was a tall and heroic figure—it was Ye Chen. The confronting powerhouses were stunned for a moment before delight spread across their faces. "Ye Chen! It's you! And Yuan Jiu is here too! Weren't you all on the King's Ancient Path? How have you returned after only a few days?"
It had clearly only been a few days. How could they have returned so quickly? It was astonishing. Had they encountered a major obstacle, failed to succeed, and returned to seek help?
"Because we have already passed the trials of the King's Ancient Path, reached the final point, and thus left the ancient path to return to the Tian Du Continent," Ye Chen said with a slight smile.
The powerhouses stared at Ye Chen, dumbfounded and completely stunned.
What was the King's Ancient Path? Throughout history, every time it opened, the younger generation undergoing the trials took at least half a year, often more, from entry to departure.
Moreover, the later stages usually required even more time because the obstacles became increasingly difficult.
But this time, Ye Chen and the others had returned after spending only a few days, and they claimed to have passed the King's Ancient Path, completing all the trials. This made it hard for them to believe.
Ye Chen shook his head, not lingering on this topic. He lifted his gaze to the sky. Although he sensed that this world seemed more oppressive than before, there were no fluctuations of battle rippling through it. Guessing that the great war between the two realms had not yet begun, he said, "Where are the Old Academy Head and the others? And what is the current situation? Please provide a detailed account, Elder Bao Feng."
Ye Chen got straight to the point, asking directly.
"Now, the foreign realm's cross-realm channel has been successfully built and stabilized, located in the great desert of the Western Region. Several Divine Spirit Ancient Ancestors have already gone to that area to monitor it and have applied seals to temporarily prevent powerhouses below the Divine Spirit level from the foreign realm from coming over," Elder Bao Feng explained truthfully without concealment.
Ye Chen nodded. Indeed, that was the only feasible plan for now. However, it couldn't be a long-term solution. The seals could block them for a while, but not forever. They would inevitably be broken sooner or later.
These so-called seals were ultimately only meant to block powerhouses below the Divine Spirit level.
"I am going to the great desert of the Western Region. If any of you wish to leave and return to your respective forces, please do so soon. Time waits for no one. We need more time to prepare," Ye Chen said, looking at the other young powerhouses on the divine ship.
"Understood!"
The young powerhouses transformed into streams of light that streaked across the sky, each heading towards their own forces, disappearing from the sight of the world.
"I must leave too. I need to return to the royal palace."
"Me as well. Ye Chen, we'll meet again later in the great desert of the Western Region. We'll fight together, campaigning against the foreign realm."
Several Ancient Talents bid farewell one after another. They needed to relay some information from the King's Ancient Path to their clans.
Only Yuan Jiu and Xia Yang remained by Ye Chen's side. Yuan Jiu, of course, needed no explanation; he was originally an Ancient Talent of Tian Du Academy. As for Xia Yang, he did not leave either, merely saying to Ye Chen, "I'll go with you to the great desert. I returned to the royal family half a year ago. Important matters are left to the Thirteenth Prince to handle. I cultivate by slaying enemies!"
Ye Chen was not at all surprised by Xia Yang's choice and nodded. Yuan Jiu soon bid farewell to Ye Chen and also left, returning to Tian Du Academy.
"Young Friend Ye Chen, please wait a moment. Earlier, we gathered a group of Martial God powerhouses from various places in the central region. They are also preparing to go and participate in the battle and were just about to head over. Could we trouble you to give them a ride?" Elder Bao Feng suddenly requested.
Ye Chen shook his head. "Elder, you are too polite. This is only right and proper, not something to be declined."
The divine ship hovered in the air. Before long, powerful auras rose from within Tian Du City, all belonging to top-tier powerhouses at the Martial God realm. They flew swiftly from various directions in the city, arriving near the divine ship.
When they saw Ye Chen, none of the Martial Gods dared to look down on him. On the contrary, they clasped their fists in salute. "We pay our respects to Lord Ye Chen."
Those who achieve more are teachers. Even though these older-generation Martial God powerhouses were often over a hundred, even three or four hundred years old, they did not presume upon their seniority to call him a junior. Instead, they respectfully addressed him as 'Lord'.
Ye Chen said, "Seniors, please don't do this. This junior cannot bear the title of 'Lord'. Being called 'young friend' or 'junior' is more than enough."
Facing these Martial God powerhouses who had come from all over the Tian Du Continent, all willing to contribute their strength, even at the cost of their lives, for the sake of the continent—they deserved the respect of the world. Even though Ye Chen's cultivation far surpassed theirs, he did not act arrogantly. On the contrary, he politely returned the courtesy.
This made people sigh even more at Ye Chen's gentle and humble nature.
Before long, numerous Martial Gods gathered on the divine ship, numbering exactly fifty—a considerable force of living strength. However, Ye Chen's sword-like eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he could only shake his head with a light sigh.
Because the enemy came from the side of the myriad realms, with countless powerhouses. While Martial God-level powerhouses were not few on the Tian Du Continent, in the myriad realms, they were innumerable.
Fifty Martial Gods going to battle would be but a drop in the bucket, unable to provide much help.
As if knowing what Ye Chen was thinking, Elder Bao Feng said, "Young Friend Ye Chen, do not worry. This is only the most recent batch of Martial God powerhouses. Many Martial Gods were gathered and sent to the great desert of the Western Region long before this. You will see the truly powerful strength of our Tian Du Continent then."
Ye Chen nodded. "I hope so."
However, the divine ship had not yet departed because they suddenly received another request: to transport a batch of war supplies. The great war would last a long time, requiring vast amounts of supplies.
Moreover, these were not ordinary war supplies meant for mortal conflicts. The war supplies for a battle between two realms were precious resources of immense value. With top-tier powerhouses at the Martial God realm and above fighting, the supplies were naturally extraordinary—a batch of valuable treasures including spirit stones, Dao weapons, pills, and secret artifacts.
Furthermore, this was not something one or two forces could gather, nor could it be assembled in just a few days. It represented the accumulation over many years from various forces, even the rich reserves and foundationalheritage / foundation of major super forces, all brought out for the Slaying the Heavens war.
This batch came from Tian Du Academy, the rich resources accumulated over ten thousand years by generations of people, priceless in the world, enough to drive any first-rate force mad with envy.
This time, it was escorted by two Heavenly God realm Supreme Elders, who brought up this batch of war supplies, their spiritual energy so abundant it turned into mist.
Ye Chen stood on the divine ship, gazing towards the deepest part of Tian Du Academy. There stood an aged figure who nodded towards him. It was the guardian of the academy's Sacred Land, with whom Ye Chen had occasionally conversed during his three years of seclusion.
Then, the figure of this Sacred Land guardian grew faint and illusory until it disappeared. But Ye Chen knew this old man would certainly participate in the Slaying the Heavens war.
Finally, after some thought, Ye Chen entered Tian Du Academy. He actually went to the Heaven-tier Academy to find Vivian, Princess Hong Rong, the Thirteenth Prince, and others. After a brief conversation, he gave each of them a seven-thousand-year-old Heaven and Earth Treasure.
It wasn't that Ye Chen was stingy, but their strength was still relatively low. Wealth tempts the heart, let alone Heaven and Earth Treasures thousands of years old, which could even increase lifespan. They could easily attract covetous eyes, which would be worse.
The great war was imminent. These were Ye Chen's friends, and he did not want anything to happen to them. He infused a strand of divine power into each of their bodies, which could protect them at critical moments.
At his current level, belonging to the ranks of the strongest kings, a strand of kingly divine power was far more useful than that of an ordinary Heavenly God powerhouse.
The demonic flood dragon finally appeared as well, but Ye Chen left it by their side, also attaching a strand of kingly divine power. Moreover, he gave part of the flesh and blood from the Soul-Snatching River's dragon-snake demon that had transformed for the demonic flood dragon to devour, allowing it to gain considerable strength. Because that snake demon also possessed True Dragon bloodline, the demonic flood dragon's power increased by a large margin, now comparable to a super Martial God.
Finally, after conversing for a while longer, Ye Chen left. There were still too many things to do, too many truths to understand.
Boom—
The divine ship ascended, radiating surging Great Dao brilliance. Then it tore through the air, entering the void between planes, speeding through it according to the spatial coordinates provided by Elder Bao Feng, heading for the great desert of the Western Region.