At that time, it had caused a sensation across the two Ancient Domains. After all, the two Ancient Domains were hostile, and now, because of the Supreme Secret Realms, they were in a state of competition. Yet, the Battle Saint King came and went between the two Ancient Domains as if entering unpopulated land, acting with absolute impunity.
However, after Ye Chen displayed his matchless strength, no one dared to voice any criticism.
Fists are mightier than words.
This principle holds true everywhere.
The reason Ye Chen returned to the Ultimate Ancient Domain was to use the Emperor Star Secret Realm to elevate the overall strength of Moon Hall to an even higher level.
He also needed to rely on the numerous Dao Stars within the Emperor Star Secret Realm to refine more Monarch Rules.
Improving his Origin Universe was not feasible; the only way was to focus on refining Monarch Rules.
This would also prepare him for the next Supreme Secret Realm.
Now that he possessed three Supreme Divine Crowns, he held a significant advantage for competing for the greatest immortal fate in the future.
As expected, the ultimate immortal fate would likely fall into his hands.
Simultaneously, Ye Chen began a new period of seclusion, aiming to advance his strength further and truly step into the Heaven-Defying Quasi-Monarch level.
As for the other affairs of Moon Hall, including the many captured Divine King experts, he left them to his trusted aides to handle.
Chen'er, Yi Wu, the Corpse-Devouring Insect Emperor, Will, Shan Ji, and the Human Race Imperial Sons and Daughters all entered deep seclusion, vowing not to emerge until they became Quasi-Monarchs.
For them, already at the pinnacle of the Divine King realm, breaking through to Quasi-Monarch was merely a matter of time.
Twenty years passed in the blink of an eye.
The fifth Supreme Secret Realm still had not appeared. However, the experts of Moon Hall, relying on the Emperor Star Secret Realm, had greatly improved, with many among them advancing significantly.
Especially among those at the Great Perfection Supreme Genius level like Chen'er and Yi Wu, quite a few had successfully broken through to become Quasi-Monarchs.
The strength of Moon Hall had increased tremendously.
Yu Qing, in particular, over these twenty years, smoothly became a Great Perfection Quasi-Monarch, a peerless powerhouse who could be considered the number one in Moon Hall aside from Ye Chen.
The Goddess also progressed rapidly, not far from reaching the Great Perfection Quasi-Monarch level.
On the tenth-level Sword Dao Star, as the last wisp of Sword Dao power entered Ye Chen's body, a thunderous boom echoed, and the entire tenth-level Dao Star directly exploded.
Ye Chen rose to his feet. With a series of swishing sounds, one hundred and seventy-two Sword Dao Monarch Rules surged from his body, radiating a sharp aura capable of severing space, time, all things, and the myriad Daos.
Swish—
Finally, all these Sword Dao Monarch Rules completely merged into Ye Chen's body. He let out a long exhale, introspected, and softly said, "Twenty years of cultivation, and I have finally reached the number of Monarch Rules required for the Heaven-Defying Quasi-Monarch level. However, a Heaven-Defying Quasi-Monarch possesses exactly five hundred Monarch Rules, no more, no less. Both Lei Long and Nine Netherworlds were the same. But the number of Monarch Rules I have mastered now exceeds five hundred—it's a full five hundred and thirty-two, thirty-two more than expected. What is the reason for this?"
He was somewhat unclear about this himself.
Twenty years of seclusion, increasing the number of Monarch Rules by one hundred, was absolutely astonishing. However, given the special nature of the Emperor Star Secret Realm—where these Dao Stars were originally condensed from the myriad Daos through the Supreme Ones' heaven-defying methods—such an increase was also reasonable.
"Although I don't understand why this is happening, the more Monarch Rules, the better, and the stronger I become. Perhaps, without relying on my Origin Universe, if I reach the level of a thousand Monarch Rules in the future, I might truly be able to contend against a Heaven-Defying Quasi-Monarch in their strongest state, fused with the power of their Origin World," Ye Chen murmured to himself.
Naturally, the greatest harvest from these twenty years of seclusion was not limited to this. His Emperor Reincarnation Body had also completely refined the Imperial Star ahead of schedule.
At this moment, the Imperial Star was as responsive as his own arm, equivalent to an Emperor-level supreme treasure.
Now, with his main body's cultivation greatly enhanced and his Emperor Reincarnation Body having successfully refined the Imperial Star, he had nothing to fear. Even if the Soul-Restraining Hall came now, let alone Nine Netherworlds, even if the Heaven Hall Master, an Ancient Monarch-level existence, arrived, he would dare to fight, and perhaps even seize the chance to slay one or two of the Soul-Restraining Hall's Ancient Monarchs.
"Twenty years have passed, and the fifth Supreme Secret Realm hasn't even appeared yet. Who knows when it will truly emerge," Ye Chen sighed with emotion. The appearance of the Supreme Secret Realms followed no discernible rules; they appeared whenever they wished.
It is worth mentioning that over these twenty years, under the leadership of the Goddess and others, Moon Hall had taken root in the Supreme Ancient Domain. With the support of five local Quasi-Monarchs like the Earth Lord and Void Heaven Monarch, it had directly transformed into the most powerful force in the Supreme Ancient Domain, recruiting countless talented geniuses from the domain, including a batch of Divine Kings.
Originally, Moon Hall had over sixty Divine Kings. Additionally, the hundred or so Divine Kings who had followed the three Ancient Path Overlords into battle and were subsequently captured and sealed were gradually recruited, becoming members of Moon Hall.
Now, with the addition of many experts from the Supreme Ancient Domain,
the number of Divine Kings in Moon Hall had instantly reached a full two hundred.
Such an astonishing number of Divine Kings was enough to rival the combined Divine King count of the various Emperor Clans and Immortal Clans.
It must be remembered that in the Ten Heavens Ancient Domain, he also had the Chaos Heavenly Mansion, along with over half of the Quasi-Monarch and Divine King experts from the subjugated Emperor Clans and Immortal Clans.
Once he integrated Moon Hall with the Chaos Heavenly Mansion, the resulting combined force would far surpass any other power.
Even Ancient Monarchs, or even Emperor Monarchs, would have to be wary of a force possessing hundreds of Divine King experts.
Unconsciously, Ye Chen had already amassed such an overwhelmingly powerful force.
He felt a sense of emotion.
"One day, when the Chaos Holy World is completely refined, I will use the Imperial Star as the Holy World's sun, with the Chaos Heavenly Mansion and Moon Hall residing within. We will surely slay gods if they block us, slay buddhas if they stand in our way, and be invincible wherever we go!" Ye Chen suddenly looked forward to that moment.
Boom—
On this day, while everyone was cultivating within the Emperor Star Secret Realm, suddenly, an indescribable fluctuation transmitted from the outside world, vast and boundless, affecting the myriad heavens.
The many experts cultivating on the Dao Stars within the Emperor Star Secret Realm were all startled awake. Using the formations on the Dao Stars, they left the secret realm and returned to the outside world.
Everyone in the Supreme Ancient Domain looked up in shock, witnessing the heavens and earth change color. Astonishing phenomena appeared in the boundless sky.
A riot of colors, the myriad Daos descended, and faint, unusual sounds of mourning could be heard.
"What happened? Why do I feel my own Dao is being suppressed!"
"Me too!" …
A panicked atmosphere spread across the Supreme Ancient Domain. Everyone felt the myriad Daos of heaven and earth being suppressed, and even their own personal Daos were suppressed.
Even powerful beings like Quasi-Monarchs were no exception.
A suffocating aura descended from the heavens, vast and mighty, making it difficult for people to breathe.