"No!"
The remaining four alien Sovereigns, along with the powerhouses from the various imperial and royal clans, trembled in their hearts. Such a domineering method of slaying an Ancient Monarch—who could possibly remain calm?
"Will you continue?"
The World-Destroying Elder on the Immortal Heavenly Pass spoke. Though his true features were unclear, one could fully sense that his gaze was utterly indifferent, not placing the alien powerhouses before him in his eyes at all, even with four alien Sovereigns among them.
Yet no one felt this contempt was misplaced, for this person had just forcefully slain an alien Sovereign, possessing the absolute strength to speak in such a manner.
Naturally, with so many of their peerless geniuses slain, and even multiple Imperial Sons and Daughters involved, the alien race could not simply let the matter rest.
The figures of the four alien Sovereigns did not retreat in the slightest. One even spoke up with a direct threat: "World-Destroying Elder, we know you are formidable. But you must also understand that with so many Imperial Sons and Daughters slain, the various imperial clans of our Ancient Universe will not let this rest. You'd best step aside and let us pass. We are only pursuing the Battle Saint King and will not cause further disturbance. If you block us, perhaps we here are no match for you, but once the various imperial clans are enraged, they will spare no expense in deploying Supreme Imperial Weapons, or even petition ancient Great Emperors to emerge. The consequences might not be what you wish to see."
"World-Destroying Elder!?"
Upon hearing this name, the powerhouses from the various imperial and royal clans changed color, even revealing a barely concealed sense of terror.
The World-Destroying Elder—perhaps unknown to ordinary folk, but to those who had ventured through the Chaos Sea, they naturally knew just how terrifyingly formidable this person was. In the past, he had slain many Ancient Monarchs, a Sovereign-level killer with a fearsome reputation.
Having just slain an alien Sovereign was proof enough.
Upon the Immortal Heavenly Pass, the World-Destroying Elder's figure was tall and imposing. Called an 'elder,' he actually appeared to be only in his forties, in the prime of life, with a robust, tall build. Standing upon the Heavenly Pass, he was like a vast stretch of sky lying across it, coldly watching the alien Sovereign who had issued the threat. "Are you threatening me?"
"You may think so!" The alien Sovereign showed not a trace of fear, speaking coldly.
"Hmph!"
Suddenly, it was as if a thunderclap from antiquity had exploded. The space outside the Immortal Heavenly Pass seemed to shatter. The powerhouses from the various alien imperial and royal clans suffered a tremendous impact, coughing up mouthfuls of blood.
Boom—
That World-Destroying Millstone appeared once more, grinding the heavens as it descended from the sky, directly capturing the alien Sovereign who had spoken the threat.
The other three alien Sovereigns had just wanted to intervene, but it was already too late—it was too fast. The World-Destroying Millstone had already captured him, rumbling as it rotated, blood-colored light gushing forth.
The alien Sovereign did not hold out for long before his physical body was ground to nothing, leaving only a Junwang Heavenly Soul, now being ground within the World-Destroying Millstone. Strand after strand was continuously annihilated, accompanied by constant screams of terror, fearing complete annihilation.
"Release Senluo Bai at once!"
The three alien Sovereigns acted while speaking, urgently attempting to rescue the targeted alien Sovereign, Senluo Bai.
The World-Destroying Elder looked coldly at the three of them. "Do you also wish to die?"
The figures of the three alien Sovereigns immediately halted.
It must be said, the threat posed by the World-Destroying Elder was too great. He could slay Ancient Monarchs, and was not just ordinarily powerful.
"Transmit a message to the clan immediately. Petition the Monarch ancestors, or if possible, even petition an Imperial Ancestor to appear. Otherwise, we might very well let the Battle Saint King escape completely." The three alien Sovereigns communicated telepathically among themselves, knowing that as things stood, they were no match for the World-Destroying Elder. Their greatest hope was to petition the presence of a Monarch existence, or an ancient Great Emperor; at the very least, a Supreme Imperial Weapon would suffice.
The World-Destroying Elder could sense some fluctuations of divine sense, yet his expression remained unchanged. The World-Destroying Millstone continued to rotate, still grinding away at Senluo Bai's Junwang Heavenly Soul.
"Hmph, even if you wish to pursue that young friend, what of it? Even if you petition an ancient Great Emperor, it's useless. The Emperor Lord is about to awaken. An ancient Great Emperor holds little threat."
The World-Destroying Elder thought to himself, giving a cold smile as he continuously refined Senluo Bai's Junwang Heavenly Soul. Sovereign essence flowed into his body, greatly benefiting even an existence like him.
...
Ye Chen entered the Immortal Heavenly Pass. Unlike the Immortal Heavenly Pass he had seen before, this was less a city gate and more a metropolis, unimaginably vast. With the Immortal Heavenly Pass as its walls, encircling all sides, it was like a metropolis-sized world.
Within the metropolis, it was dark and silent—a dead, silent Star Sky. Even the floating Stars appeared relatively dim and lifeless.
Ignoring everything else, Ye Chen followed the summoning fluctuation from the deepest part of his Soul perception, traversing a full hundred million li, finally arriving at the deepest part of the dead Star Sky.
There, he saw an exceptionally massive Star, located at the very center of the Star Sky. This Star was so vast, so majestic, that it was even far larger than an Emperor Star, reaching a diameter of a hundred million li.
Even an Emperor Star would appear relatively small before it.
Ye Chen appeared before this majestic, hundred-million-li-diameter giant Star and halted.
The hundred-million-li giant Star, like the other Stars, appeared dead and lightless. Yet Ye Chen distinctly felt an intense fluctuation from this giant Star, a summons originating from the deepest part of his Soul.
"What within this Star is summoning me?"
Ye Chen frowned, feeling a sense of hesitation, yet also a kind of anticipation.
This was an anticipation that had lasted for centuries, a truth he had always wanted to know.
Moreover, he vaguely had a special feeling—perhaps he could find the truth about Old Yan here.
"Old Yan, will you truly be here?"
Recalling Old Yan, who had been both teacher and friend, Ye Chen couldn't help but let out a soft sigh, then his gaze grew firm.
In the end, his skill gave him courage. With a flash of his figure, he entered this inconceivably huge Star.
Upon the giant Star, there were cities, mountains, forests, rivers, marketplaces, and so on—everything was like any other life-bearing Star. The only difference was that the giant Star was utterly silent, devoid of any living beings, not even the sound of wind—only absolute stillness.
The sky was dark, without the illumination of a sun or the glow of moonlight. It was a dead Star.
The only sound was Ye Chen's footsteps. He walked upon the giant Star, following the fluctuation from the depths of his Soul, heading towards the source of the Soul summons.
What had this Star experienced? From the many traces seen along the way, it was evident that this Star had once been an extremely prosperous life-bearing giant Star, even powerful beyond imagination, giving birth to many powerful races and cultivators—from the weakest mortals to God Kings, Quasi-Monarchs, Ancient Monarchs, and even ancient Great Emperors. It was in no way inferior to a Chaos Primordial Great World.
A Star that had once been powerful to the utmost extreme, unfolding a magnificent and vast cultivation civilization.
But now, everything was dead and silent.