The guardians of the Ultimate Ancient Path grew increasingly awestruck.
Even the Ancient Monarch, Flame Dragon Monarch, unconsciously adopted a more solemn and respectful demeanor. For a powerful expert, even though Ye Chen was young, the accomplished one was the teacher. Since he was stronger than him, he deserved everyone's respect.
Ye Chen sighed softly. "What a pity. That was merely one of the Soul-Restraining Hall's old lairs, not their true headquarters. The strongest there was only a Fourth Heavenly Layer Monarch. Their true headquarters is extremely well-hidden, concealed elsewhere, and likely harbors a Peak Monarch. It's fraught with danger."
Everyone immediately drew a sharp, cold breath.
Let alone a Fourth Heavenly Layer Monarch, even an ordinary Sovereign would require their grave attention. Moreover, there were five such Sovereigns, yet it was clear the Battle Saint King was not very satisfied after slaughtering them all, seeming somewhat disappointed. This made their scalps tingle, further deepening their understanding of the Battle Saint King's elevated strength.
To be able to kill so many Ancient Monarchs, including a Fourth Heavenly Layer Monarch, his cultivation level was likely at least at the Sixth Heavenly Layer from the start. Otherwise, a Fifth Heavenly Layer Monarch could not possibly have slain five Ancient Monarchs.
Thinking this, their shock grew even more profound.
After several hundred years, the Battle Saint King had not only become an Ancient Monarch but had also progressed quite far on the Sovereign's path. Otherwise, how could he be so relaxed and natural about it?
However, they did not know that Ye Chen had merely raised his hand to annihilate them, without expending the slightest effort. Otherwise, their speculations would have been different.
Flame Dragon Monarch did not dare to be presumptuous either. "Fellow Daoist, you are truly extraordinary. To single-handedly destroy a Soul-Restraining Hall headquarters, your merit and power are profound and wondrous. We are ashamed of our inferiority."
Ye Chen conversed with these Ultimate Ancient Path guardians for a moment longer, then cupped his fists in farewell and prepared to leave.
"Esteemed ones, I shall take my leave first and head to the Supreme Ancient Domain."
Whoosh—
Without any further delay, with a single leap, he traversed an unknown number of star domains, entering the depths of the Star Sky. Flame Dragon Monarch and the others had no time to try and persuade him to stay, nor could they even catch a glimpse of his departing figure before he had already vanished.
Flame Dragon Monarch sighed softly. "With the Battle Saint King's reappearance, the entire Ultimate Ancient Path will be greatly shaken. The Soul-Restraining Hall has had a headquarters destroyed and several Ancient Monarchs have fallen. For the entire Soul-Restraining Hall organization, this is not just a flesh wound but a severe loss of vitality. They will certainly not let this rest and will inevitably launch a terrible retaliation. Next, we will need to face the Soul-Restraining Hall's vicious revenge."
"So be it. Our Ultimate Ancient Path has been peaceful for so many years. If we don't act now, I fear everyone will think the Ultimate Ancient Path is easy to bully. It is time to display our true power."
"As for the Battle Saint King, he is heading to the Supreme Ancient Domain. Those few supreme overlords guarding the Supreme Ancient Domain will likely suffer a massive impact. The current landscape of the Supreme Ancient Domain might even be completely altered!"
His gaze grew profound, as if he could see a world undergoing great change, a storm approaching...
The Soul-Restraining Hall's headquarters was located in the extreme depths of this ancient cosmos. Its true location was unknown to the world, extremely well-hidden, because it was concealed within another vast great world.
This vast great world was no less than a true Emperor Realm, boundless and expansive.
On this day, within the Soul-Restraining Hall's headquarters—a majestic, straight, pitch-black structure like a heavenly tower—six Divine lamps suddenly shattered. Their sun-bright radiance instantly extinguished, dimming forever.
This scene immediately alarmed the many powerful experts stationed at the Soul-Restraining Hall headquarters, all of them revealing deep horror.
A major disaster!
Each Divine lamp placed within represented a Heaven Hall Master of the Soul-Restraining Hall. Now, a full six had shattered in succession, indicating only one thing: six Sovereign-level Heaven Hall Masters had perished.
This was a heaven-shaking event!
Immediately, an elder from the Soul-Restraining Hall headquarters was roused from his slumber, his presence in the darkness like a pair of shining Divine lamps igniting.
Boom—
An utterly terrifying pressure instantly erupted from the headquarters, inundating this vast great world and causing all living beings within it to tremble uncontrollably. A voice, majestic and stern like an ancient Emperor, reverberated: "Who dares to kill the Heaven Hall Masters of my Soul-Restraining Hall!?"
The Soul-Restraining Hall roamed the great cosmos, unafraid even when facing Emperor Clans, even daring to wage war against the Ultimate Ancient Path.
Daring to kill a Soul-Restraining Hall expert meant making an enemy of the Soul-Restraining Hall.
Slaying six Soul-Restraining Hall Heaven Hall Masters was a blood feud of life and death, an enmity that could never be resolved!
After a moment, an enraged roar echoed forth: "Battle Saint King! The Chaos Saint Body from back then! So it's you! You dare to return to the Ultimate Ancient Path, and you dare to kill my Soul-Restraining Hall's Heaven Hall Masters? Do you truly think that just because you've grown stronger, you can do as you please? My Soul-Restraining Hall will definitely kill you! Today, we shall summon a Forbidden Weapon to hunt you down, seize your physical body, imprison your heavenly soul, and subject you to torment for billions of years!"
"Attendants! Open the Chaos Heaven Prison! Summon Forbidden Weapon Number Five!"
In the deepest part of the Soul-Restraining Hall headquarters' world, where darkness was boundless and even the light of the sun could not reach, there existed an extremely vast dark land where numerous prison cells loomed faintly.
Each prison cell was incomparably massive, forming its own world with boundless arrays. This was where the Soul-Restraining Hall specifically imprisoned several peerless figures captured throughout the ages, existences far more terrifying than ordinary Ancient Monarchs.
The Soul-Restraining Hall headquarters had expended unimaginably great costs to forcibly refine these peerless figures into the Soul-Restraining Hall's Forbidden Weapons, fearsome and boundless, serving as the Hall's guardian weapons of slaughter.
Now, the fifth world-prison suddenly exploded open. An extremely fearsome Forbidden figure appeared, its body radiating terrifying Sovereign rules that shook the vast great world. Beneath its disheveled hair, a pair of blood-red eyes flickered faintly, filled with chaotic emotions.
"Number Five, pursue the Battle Saint King! You must capture him and bring him back!"
"ROAR—"
The Forbidden figure known as Number Five, with hair flying wildly, let out a great roar. Above the vast great world, in the Star Sky, countless stars immediately plummeted, manifesting extremely terrifying and varied phenomena.
...
At this time, Ye Chen had already arrived beyond an unknown number of ancient gates.
Treading the Ultimate Ancient Path again naturally did not require him to challenge it gate by gate as he had in the past. His pace was swift; he could traverse the Star Sky without relying on the trial ancient gates' teleportation arrays, displaying his heaven-defying capabilities.
Along the way, he occasionally paused, causing many trial geniuses at the ancient gates to exclaim in surprise.
"Could it be that person?"
"There's some resemblance, but more perfect, complete and natural, peerless in the Great Dao. Is it really that invincible one from back then?"
"Impossible. Didn't that person leave a long time ago? I heard that back then, after a battle at the deepest reaches where he ascended to the peak, sweeping through all the great enemies of the world, forcing all opposing forces to bow their heads—a true pinnacle existence—he then left and returned to his native Chaos Ancient Cosmos."
Discussions buzzed on the trial ancient gates. Though several hundred years had passed, the various legends about that invincible Battle Saint King from back then never ceased. On the contrary, as the few ancient path overlords at the deepest reaches grew stronger, that person's past glories seemed to shine even more brilliantly, dazzling and resplendent.
Soon, Ye Chen arrived at the thirty-first gate, paused for a moment, then with a single leap, arrived at the Star Sky Ancient City outside the Alchemy Realm.