Hearing this familiar form of address, Ye Chen knew it must be Old Yan. He couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat. "Old Yan, I've finally found you."
Seeing the slight redness in Ye Chen's eyes, the Flame Emperor also felt a complex mix of emotions. Recalling all the experiences he had shared with Ye Chen, sensing his feelings, and understanding that Ye Chen had never stopped searching for him all these years, he let out a soft sigh. "Little Chen, you've searched hard all these years."
A man does not shed tears lightly. Ye Chen evaporated the faint moisture at the corners of his eyes. After a separation of several hundred years, the reunion of old friends naturally brought joy.
At this moment, the Flame Emperor also noticed the presence of the nine Sovereigns. He smiled slightly and said, "You may rise."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The nine Sovereigns rose respectfully, looking at Ye Chen and the Great Emperor's reincarnation body with some confusion. They had initially thought they were enemies, but now it seemed there was more to the story.
The Flame Emperor said with a faint smile, "Don't worry, he is not an enemy. On the contrary, he is my friend."
"Friend?" The nine Sovereigns exchanged glances, looking at Ye Chen with surprise and doubt. Where did His Majesty meet such a friend? They had no idea.
The Flame Emperor waved his hand. "Alright, you may return for now. I wish to spend some time with my friend."
"Yes!"
Though filled with unanswered questions, the nine Sovereigns obediently withdrew.
Within the world of Flame Emperor Mountain, the myriad flames had long since vanished, restoring its original appearance.
One was an Eternal Quasi-Monarch, the other an ancient Great Emperor, yet at this moment, they sat together without the slightest restraint, enjoying fine wine and tasting immortal fruits and exquisite brews.
Facing Old Yan, who was both teacher and friend, Ye Chen couldn't muster the usual sense of awe one felt before an ancient Great Emperor. He asked, "Old Yan, you wouldn't happen to be the Flame Emperor, would you?"
The Flame Emperor laughed heartily. "Correct. You never expected that the old man hiding in the ring back then would be an ancient Great Emperor, did you?"
"You are an Emperor Lord?" Ye Chen asked further.
Old Yan nodded. "Yes, some also address me as such."
Ye Chen drew in a sharp breath of cold air. Who could have imagined that the ancient ring he once saw at a street stall was not only the Tai Sheng Huang Ring but also the hiding place of an Emperor Lord.
The more he thought about it, the more curious Ye Chen became. Old Yan was the famous Emperor Lord, so how did he end up in a place like the Tian Du Continent back then?
The Flame Emperor couldn't help but sigh with a wry smile. "It was all because of the war with the alien race back then."
In that era, the war with the alien race involved multiple Emperors and Sovereigns. Even the mighty Flame Emperor was nearly annihilated, body and spirit, suffering the most terrible injuries.
After returning to Flame Emperor Star, the Flame Emperor's injuries erupted completely, bringing him to the brink of complete annihilation of both body and spirit. Ultimately, he had no choice but to employ a supreme Emperor Dao technique, splitting off a strand of divine soul from his Emperor soul to undergo reincarnation and rebirth.
To awaken from the lost slumber, this strand of soul had to be reincarnated for nine lifetimes, finally returning to the main soul to achieve ultimate awakening.
This was a peerless Emperor Dao technique, a forbidden divine ability involving the most mysterious cycle of reincarnation.
The reason he suddenly vanished in that mysterious starry sky beyond the Rear Heavenly Pass of the Purple Mansion Holy Land back then was because he was drawn back by his main soul, returning to his original body for recovery.
As for the passage leading to the Sealed Boundary Universe, it was also left by his main soul, precisely to allow the split-off strand of soul to undergo reincarnation and rebirth within the Sealed Boundary Universe.
Over the endless past years, the Flame Emperor's split soul underwent reincarnation and rebirth a total of nine times. Because it was not the main soul, and because the Heavenly Dao of the Sealed Boundary Universe was incomplete, each rebirth could only cultivate to the level of a Great Power at most.
The ninth time was also the final cultivation attempt, reaching the level of a God King. However, due to certain circumstances, he was nearly killed by someone. Fortunately, he obtained the Tai Sheng Huang Ring and managed to enter it, barely surviving. That led to his later encounter with Ye Chen.
Hearing this, Ye Chen also sighed. The mighty Emperor Lord Flame Emperor had ended up in such a state, undergoing nine reincarnations and rebirths, nearly dying in the ninth life, unable to return to his Flame Emperor body.
Had it truly reached that point, the Flame Emperor, who once shook the Chaos Sea, would have truly vanished with the wind, ceasing to exist completely.
Yet Ye Chen was puzzled. Old Yan was the Emperor Lord of the Burial Immortal World, not a native of the Sealed Boundary Universe. Why would he go to war with the alien race?
The Flame Emperor then smiled. "Little Chen, do you know who I am?"
Ye Chen shook his head blankly. "Who?"
"..."
The Flame Emperor stared wide-eyed, finally seeing that Ye Chen really didn't seem to be lying, and said helplessly, "You really can't recall anything from the name 'Flame Emperor'?"
Ye Chen tried hard to remember. Suddenly, he looked at Old Yan in shock.
In the Sealed Boundary Universe, there was once such an ancient Great Emperor who mastered the Sovereign of Myriad Flames, commanding all fire between heaven and earth, calling himself the Flame Emperor.
Could Old Yan be this Flame Emperor?
But that shouldn't be. If Old Yan were truly that Flame Emperor, given the alien race's attitude towards the Sealed Boundary Universe, wouldn't they have long since come knocking?
The Flame Emperor laughed. "I am naturally that Flame Emperor of the Sealed Boundary Universe. And you might not know, but the Sun Great Dao of the Sun Sovereign also inherits from my Flame Emperor Dao."
Ye Chen was shocked and frowned. "Senior Brother Sun's Sun Great Dao clearly inherits from Tai Sheng Huang."
"That's because Tai Sheng Huang's Sun Great Dao was learned from me," the Flame Emperor said, dropping a bombshell.
"Are you joking?" Ye Chen shook his head. "That joke isn't funny at all."
The Flame Emperor puffed out his beard and glared. "It's true, I tell you."
Seeing he didn't seem to be lying, Ye Chen exclaimed in surprise, "But Tai Sheng Huang created Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang from Chaos."
The Flame Emperor curled his lip. "You think Tai Sheng Huang creating Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang was really that simple? The creation of each Great Dao seizes infinite fortune from heaven and earth and is incredibly difficult. It's true that before him, Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang did not exist, but the Dao of Life and Death did exist. So, Tai Sheng Huang imitated the polarization of the Dao of Life and Death and also drew upon my Flame Emperor Dao, evolving it into the Sun Emperor Dao, which he then taught to his eldest disciple, the Sun Sovereign."
Such secrets, if the Flame Emperor hadn't spoken of them, Ye Chen would never have known.
"I say, Old Yan, as the Flame Emperor of our Sealed Boundary Universe, you are stationed in the Burial Immortal World. Why, after all these years, haven't we seen the alien race come after you?" Ye Chen was very confused. This point seemed abnormal. Given the alien race's nature, if they knew the Flame Emperor's identity, wouldn't they act? They would definitely eliminate him first and ask questions later.
The Flame Emperor chuckled. "You think those grandsons wouldn't want to? They just can't kill me. And this old man has great capabilities. On the other side of the Heavenly Pass is the Primordial Immortal World. I'm on brotherly terms with several Immortal Kings there."
Ye Chen drew in a sharp breath of cold air. No wonder the alien race didn't dare to act. So the Flame Emperor had such backing.
Immortal Kings were existences no less than the strongest Emperors and Sovereigns, especially the supreme giants of the Primordial Immortal World. With the protection of several Immortal King giants, even the alien race had to show some restraint. No wonder the Flame Emperor had survived until now without being killed.
However, hearing that he had once slain a Supreme, Ye Chen couldn't help but ask curiously, "Are you one of the strongest Emperors and Sovereigns?"