This seemed to be the only reasonable explanation. However, Tai Sheng Huang was an extremely wise figure; it was impossible for him to make enemies for the Pangu Universe like this. Moreover, the other party had suddenly emerged out of nowhere, and there were surely many powerful beings in the current era who had investigated whether it was Tai Sheng Huang.
The possibility that the Chaos Ruler was Tai Sheng Huang could basically be ruled out.
But aside from Tai Sheng Huang, who else could have mastered such terrifying Chaos Dao techniques?
It wasn't that he hadn't thought of a future descendant, one who wielded the Chaos Emperor Sword, but it didn't feel right.
Ye Chen asked, "When did this happen?"
"Judging by the timeline, it should have been during the early Mythical Epoch," the old Sovereign said.
"The early Mythical Epoch?" Ye Chen was surprised and suspicious. He had thought it was from an epoch era before the Mythical Epoch.
But at the same time, he had a peculiar illusion.
The Mythical Epoch seemed to be an exceptionally special epoch era. Not only did the Pangu Universe experience the Great Mythical Cataclysm, but the Eight Desolates Ancient Universe also attacked the Primordial Immortal Realm, causing its collapse. It marked the end of the old Origin Ancient Path and the beginning of the new one, and the Chaos Burial Ground nearly emerged...
This epoch era truly concealed far too many secrets.
Everyone fell silent. At this moment, Ye Chen silently closed the burial coffin of this ancient Great Emperor and was about to leave. But then, with a clang, the coffin did not shut completely. The Emperor remains inside suddenly opened their tightly shut eyes with a whoosh, unleashing a terrifying aura far more dreadful than before.
"Corpse transformation!"
The three of them all changed expressions.
"Hahaha—I, the Vacuum Ancient Emperor, have finally broken free!"
The Emperor remains let out a mad laugh, carrying overwhelming might that tore through the sky, astonishing everyone, especially the Pass Guardians of the Immortal Heavenly Pass: "Vacuum Ancient Emperor? You are not His Majesty the Great Emperor! Who are you? How are you inside His Majesty's remains?"
"Even I don't know anymore. What era is this?"
The Emperor remains spoke, emanating a vast, pitch-black Emperor's Corpse Qi that gave off a chilling, evil feeling.
"Vacuum Ancient Emperor? Are you an Ancient Emperor of the alien race?" Ye Chen suddenly stared directly at the Emperor remains.
Regarding the alien race, he naturally knew a great deal. He had learned that in the early days of the previous epoch era, there was an Ancient Emperor named the Vacuum Ancient Emperor, who had perished after participating in a terrifying great war.
He never expected the Vacuum Ancient Emperor to still be alive, and residing within Emperor remains.
"You actually know of me?" The Emperor remains looked at Ye Chen, their eyes deepening, occasionally flashing with a peculiar gleam. They said coldly, "This aura of origin... So you are from the Pangu Universe. Especially you—I sense a fluctuation similar to that of the Battle Saint Ancestor within your body. What is your relation to the Battle Saint Ancestor?"
"The Battle Saint Ancestor is the Saint Ancestor of my Battle Saint lineage!" Ye Chen said.
"So that's how it is. Perfect. Brat, I see your physical form and spirit are exceptionally strong, not your average Ancient Sovereign. And you are a descendant disciple of the Battle Saint Ancestor. If I devour and refine you, my strength will likely recover considerably."
The Emperor remains instantly attacked, carrying Emperor's Corpse Qi that annihilated everything, striking at Ye Chen.
"Father—" Qian Xun exclaimed in alarm.
At this moment, Ye Chen's expression remained unchanged. He swung his supremely invincible Chaos Saint Fist, clashing head-on. The terrifying force of the collision directly tore apart the luminous world.
During the clash, Ye Chen was only forced back seven or eight steps before halting.
However, a fearsome, pitch-black Emperor's Corpse Qi coiled around his fist like a curse, attempting to corrode it.
"Be careful," Hunyue Emperor spoke, wanting to help Ye Chen expel it.
Ye Chen refused. His fist erupted with ten thousand layers of Chaos light, which began to burn, expelling the terrifying Emperor's Corpse Qi and turning it into nothingness.
This scene also surprised Hunyue Emperor somewhat.
Emperor's Corpse Qi, especially from a set of Emperor remains, tainted with corpse-qi, could be considered a form of Emperor's curse to some degree. Expelling it was extremely difficult, even for a peerless Sovereign at the Eighth Heaven.
But clearly, Ye Chen, the Battle Saint King and Eternal Sovereign, was an exception.
Seeing Ye Chen unharmed, the Emperor remains was greatly astonished: "So powerful. Your strength has at least reached the Super Sovereign level, and not an ordinary Super Sovereign at that. Moreover, you actually cultivate the Chaos Great Dao."
"You talk too much."
Ye Chen's face was expressionless as he stepped forward again. This time, his power had increased significantly. His fist swung like a heaven-propping giant hammer, tearing through the rolling Emperor's Corpse Qi and colliding with the Emperor remains, actually not falling behind in the slightest.
This luminous world began to collapse, but Hunyue Emperor stamped his foot, stabilizing it.
"What a terrifying disciple of the Battle Saint Ancestor lineage. What a Chaos Great Dao cultivator. You are even more fearsome than I imagined," the Emperor remains, also the Vacuum Ancient Emperor, frowned. He actually didn't gain the upper hand in successive clashes, proving the other party was at least a super powerhouse at the peerless Sovereign level.
"You deserve death, daring to defile and occupy His Majesty's remains!"
The Pass Guardians of the Immortal Heavenly Pass were enraged and charged forward.
But the Vacuum Ancient Emperor manipulated the Emperor remains to attack. Boundless Emperor's Corpse Qi surged out, engulfing them. In the blink of an eye, including two Ancient Sovereigns, they were directly annihilated in both form and spirit, turning to dust.
Qian Xun, protected by Hunyue Emperor, remained safe and sound.
The forms and spirits of these slain guardians, shattered through the void, flowed into the Emperor remains, actually causing them to become slightly fuller. The Vacuum Ancient Emperor's aura also grew stronger.
"Not bad flesh and blood, but too little. Not enough to eat," the Vacuum Ancient Emperor frowned. If he could devour sufficient flesh, blood, and soul, he would surely recover considerably. By then, even the strongest Chaos cultivator of the Battle Saint lineage before him could be suppressed with a mere raise of his hand.
"Then don't eat. Just die."
Ye Chen naturally wouldn't let the Vacuum Ancient Emperor off easily. He opened his Heaven's Gaze. After becoming an Eternal Sovereign, his Heaven's Gaze had long since evolved to a shocking level, no less than a Monarch's Heavenly Eye. It pierced through everything about the Emperor remains, discovering a Sovereign Soul residing within the Muddy Pellet Palace, manipulating the entire set of remains.
He also understood: whether it was the million divine demons in the resplendent passageway or the earlier time fragment, they all carried the Supreme Emperor Laws of the ancient Emperor from bygone days, suppressing this Sovereign Soul of the Vacuum Ancient Emperor. Now that these were gone, the Sovereign Soul could revive, leading to the current scene.
Indeed, the Emperor remains were related to the alien race.
No wonder the alien race spared no effort to breach the pass. If they truly allowed the Vacuum Ancient Emperor to leave, even though only a Sovereign Soul remained, he was, after all, a former Ancient Emperor. Who knew if he could recover to the Great Perfection Emperor level?
Even if he couldn't, given enough time, his final achievements would likely possess power comparable to part of the Supreme-level strength of Monarchs like Taichu Emperor or Xuanshen Great Emperor.