The numerous Pass Guardians of the Immortal Heavenly Pass witnessed this scene, their expressions drastically changing. They were just about to speak out to block the way, but a single sweep of Ye Chen's gaze instantly made them feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, chilled to the bone.
They had no doubt that if they dared to continue speaking to obstruct him, the Battle Saint King would surely strike like thunder, killing them on the spot.
Ye Chen signaled to Hunyue Emperor to prepare, then he himself acted, pushing open the burial coffin.
Boom—
As the burial coffin was pushed open, a towering, abyssal might erupted, instantly suppressing this world of light, causing it to crumble into collapse in an instant.
"Supreme Emperor's aura!"
Ye Chen and Hunyue Emperor exchanged a glance, especially the latter, who adjusted his Monarch state to its absolute peak, ready to strike like thunder at any moment.
However, the Supreme Emperor within the burial coffin did not erupt violently, but remained lying within the coffin.
Had he passed away?
The two watched the Supreme Emperor within the coffin with uncertainty and suspicion, but soon discovered it was not a living being at all.
Although the Emperor's aura was immeasurable, it was more of a residual might. Even after falling, the Emperor's corpse still retained a portion of the terrifying power it possessed in life, so overwhelming that even a super Sovereign might not be able to withstand it.
Moreover, there was also a terrifying aura of corpse balefulness—Emperor Balefulness—that was boundless and horrifying.
Of course, neither Ye Chen nor Hunyue Emperor fell into this category. Their strength was completely sufficient to withstand the residual might of a fallen Emperor.
The slumbering Emperor was actually a fallen ancient Great Emperor. Even they did not dare to approach too closely, retreating to a sufficiently distant place before carefully observing from afar.
Soon, Ye Chen breathed a sigh of relief, because this was not an alien Supreme One, nor was it a human Great Emperor. It was a Supreme figure from another region of the Chaos Sea, humanoid in form.
This Great Emperor Supreme One naturally could not have died of old age. After all, Supreme Ones possessed infinite lifespans; there was no such thing as dying of old age. He must have been killed by someone, as evidenced by the many terrifying traces of Emperor War on his body, even wounds that directly pierced through his heart.
Even more fatal was the wound between his eyebrows. The brow bone had been torn open, the Muddy Pellet Palace breached, striking directly at the most fundamental Emperor Soul.
Ye Chen and the others had reason to believe that this was the fatal blow that caused the Great Emperor's fall. Otherwise, no matter how severe other injuries were, they could not have caused a Great Emperor Supreme One to perish!
The split space between the eyebrows bore terrifying bloodstains, seeping with Emperor Blood. Even after countless eons, the Emperor Blood still appeared bright red, as if he had just died recently—extremely sinister.
The Emperor Blood manifested terrifying phenomena, disturbing heaven and earth, with constant weeping of ghosts and wailing of gods.
Ye Chen very much wanted to know what had happened to this ancient Great Emperor back then, that he was actually killed and buried in this coffin, interred within this world of light inside the Immortal Heavenly Pass. Everywhere was filled with a thick sense of strangeness.
"Your Majesty!"
The numerous Pass Guardians of the Immortal Heavenly Pass kowtowed and knelt in sorrow, even the Ancient Monarchs among them doing the same, their faces filled with grief.
Clearly, these Pass Guardians were most likely followers of this Supreme One from back then. They had always believed the Supreme One still existed in the mortal world, only forced to slumber for countless ages due to severe injuries. They never expected that upon seeing him again, he had already fallen for many years.
Ye Chen turned to inquire, "Do you know why your Great Emperor Majesty fell back then?"
All the Pass Guardians wore looks of complete bewilderment, causing Ye Chen to frown slightly.
One of the Ancient Monarch Pass Guardians shook his head and said, "When the Great Emperor Majesty set out on his expedition back then, we did not follow by his side. We were garrisoned within the Imperial City. It was only when the Great Emperor Majesty returned that we discovered all those who had gone on the expedition had never come back. Even the Great Emperor Majesty himself had suffered terrible, heavy injuries. After sealing us away and leaving behind the corresponding mission to protect and guard the Immortal Heavenly Pass, he fell into slumber. We always thought the Great Emperor Majesty was recovering from his injuries in slumber. We never imagined His Majesty had fallen due to the severity of his wounds."
This was a profoundly sorrowful piece of news. Only now did they learn that the Great Emperor Majesty they had been guarding and waiting to awaken from slumber had long since passed away.
Ye Chen and the others let out a soft sigh, unsure of what to say to comfort them.
After all, this was no less than the collapse of faith overnight, more painful than death itself.
"This Great Emperor is not from the Pangu Universe, nor is he from an alien Ancient Universe. It seems the rumors were mistaken." Ye Chen sighed softly, though he also felt a sense of closure regarding a long-held matter.
Back in the day, he too had wanted to know whether a true Emperor truly slumbered within this Immortal Heavenly Pass. Now it was confirmed, and the Emperor had long since fallen, his corpse lying within this coffin.
Just as he was about to restore the coffin lid to its place, a sudden, shocking change occurred—
Whoosh—
At this moment, a wisp of light abruptly flew out from the split space between the eyebrows of the ancient Great Emperor, putting Ye Chen and the others on high alert.
"Corpse transformation?"
But they soon realized this was not corpse transformation. It was a fragment of time, entwined with strands of Supreme Emperor Laws, protected and preserved through countless ages. Only now, having been disturbed, did it appear.
Within the time fragment, a scene that shook past, present, and future was revealed.
It was an ancient and mysterious supreme land, vast and boundless, immeasurably expansive. Majestic divine peaks that towered into the starry sky stood upon the primordial earth.
All the heavens' stars shone upon it, and one round of heavenly sun after another hung in the sky, illuminating boundless radiance, piercing through the dark spacetime.
This was simply a higher realm comparable to the Myriad Heavens and Ten Thousand Domains, even the Primordial Divine Realm, perhaps even surpassing them. The Ten Thousand Daos flourished there to an unimaginable degree.
The most terrifying scenes were unfolding. Between heaven and earth, there were endless powerful experts, flying through the skies and burrowing into the earth, shattering stars, collapsing divine peaks—all proving that the most terrifying Emperor War was erupting there. And this was no ordinary Emperor War; it involved multiple supreme taboo figures.
Upon the desolate, boundless earth lay endless corpses, numbering in the billions and beyond. Blood dyed the mountains and rivers red, staining the starry sky with tragic beauty.
Upon the vast and ancient battlefield, a fearsome great war was erupting, involving Emperors and supreme Immortals, as well as colossi from antiquity. There were many participants, all genuine supreme existences.
The River of Time also manifested, shaking all heavens, suppressing countless ages.
This seemed to involve a terrifying great war spanning the countless ages of all heavens. Judging by its scale, Ye Chen suspected it could compare to the recent war between the colossi from antiquity of the two Ancient Universes on the Origin Ancient Path. Perhaps in some aspects, it was even more intense.
Within that blood-drenched heaven and earth, Great Emperors perished, ancient Emperors' blood stained all heavens, supreme Immortals passed away, and the myriad races of all heavens were buried.
It seemed as if everything was to be interred in that place.
The ancient Great Emperor from the burial coffin soared into the sky, accompanied by world-destroying light, as if undergoing the most terrifying tribulation.
What kind of scene was this? Great Emperors bled and fell, the myriad races of all heavens were buried, the heavenly path was dyed red with blood, infinite stars crumbled—everything seemed on the verge of being buried and extinguished.
What had happened back then to cause such a tragic war, involving all heavens and spanning countless ages?
At this moment, Ye Chen's mind shook violently, his pupils instantly contracting to the size of pinholes.