"The Nine Emperor Envoys?" Ye Chen raised his eyebrows slightly.
Monarch Rising Sun's face was grave as he said, "Battle Saint King, you might not know this. The Soul-Restraining Hall, as a hegemon-level force, possesses foundations so profound they even surpass those of an Emperor Clan. In the past, they even gave birth to a supreme Great Emperor!"
As Monarch Rising Sun spoke, everyone gradually learned some of the Soul-Restraining Hall's past history.
The Soul-Restraining Hall was extremely prosperous and powerful, not just in the present era, but for a full several epochs.
In the past, it had even produced an Ancient Great Emperor who ruled the Thirty-Three Heavens, named Heaven Soul Great Emperor, though this belonged to the early period of this epoch.
At that time, the entire Great Universe was the domain of the Heaven Soul Great Emperor, and he had nine supremely powerful followers, known to the world as the Nine Emperor Envoys. Each possessed at least Star Sky Overlord-level strength, and they were not ordinary Star Sky Overlords.
Strangely, however, the Heaven Soul Great Emperor, as a Supreme Being, possessed boundless lifespan and vigorous vitality, yet he suddenly died a violent death not many years after ruling the Great Universe in the early epoch. His Emperor Dao crumbled, once shocking the entire Great Universe.
Though the Great Emperor fell, the Nine Emperor Envoys survived, sealed away. In this era, however, an Emperor Envoy had chosen to emerge.
"One Emperor Envoy?"
Ye Chen learned that each Emperor Envoy was actually a follower of the Heaven Soul Great Emperor from those years, with several even being the Great Emperor's personal disciples. Having cultivated for endless years, their strength was extremely powerful.
Originally, all nine Emperor Envoys were sealed, spending endless eons in slumber. If not for the Ultimate Ancient Path going to war with the Soul-Restraining Hall in this era and suffering heavy losses with severe casualties, the Emperor Envoys would never have emerged from their slumber.
Their existence had a more important reason.
Ye Chen looked at Monarch Rising Sun and said, "Hasn't the Ultimate Ancient Path awakened any other Star Sky Overlords?"
If the Soul-Restraining Hall possessed such profound foundations, the Ultimate Ancient Path couldn't possibly be unaware. Yet they dared to openly wage war, so they must have their own source of courage.
In fact, Cang Xiong was one of them!
Monarch Rising Sun gave a faint smile. "Naturally. Our Ultimate Ancient Path has existed for multiple epochs as well, no shorter than the Soul-Restraining Hall. How could we not have any? In fact, one has awakened and personally gone to this old lair of the Soul-Restraining Hall."
Hearing this, Ye Chen was slightly surprised. To dare go alone, it seemed this mysterious Star Sky Overlord of the Ancient Path possessed absolute confidence.
Everyone immediately focused their minds and left the Ninety-Ninth Pass, arriving at the Soul-Restraining Hall's old lair.
Boom—
From afar, a vast and majestic Great World loomed faintly within the starry sky, causing countless stars to tremble. Powerful World Force was being released continuously.
An aged figure appeared in the starry sky. Every move he made possessed earth-shaking power as he continuously attacked this vast Great World.
Even though this Great World was an Emperor Great World, incomparably stable and second only to a Supreme Emperor Realm, under the old man's assault, it still trembled and shook as if it might explode at any moment.
The strength of that old man was astonishingly powerful, enough to make even ordinary Ancient Monarchs tremble with fear.
Ye Chen gazed deeply at this old man. Even he felt faint threads of threat emanating from the latter.
Monarch Rising Sun said with a bitter smile, "Battle Saint King, this is our Ultimate Ancient Path's Star Sky Overlord. He is also a Star Sky Overlord from the early epoch, the Azure Sun Great Monarch. His strength is very powerful. In the past, he clashed with several of the Heaven Soul Great Emperor's Emperor Envoys, creating enmity between them."
"Azure Sun Great Monarch?"
Ye Chen nodded slightly. He had also heard of the Azure Sun Great Monarch's name. He was a Star Sky Overlord once mentioned alongside the Ice-Flame Monarch and others, all rulers of their era.
The Ice-Flame Monarch said in surprise, "That old fellow Azure Sun Great Monarch is actually still alive."
Monarch Rising Sun and the other Ancient Path Monarchs glanced at him but didn't dare speak, awed by the Ice-Flame Monarch's reputation.
Deep in the starry sky, at least a hundred star domains away from Ye Chen and the others, the Azure Sun Great Monarch was a withered old man with white hair and beard. Though he appeared aged and frail, there was not the slightest slackness in his movements. On the contrary, he was swift as lightning. With a flick of his finger, terrifying forces encompassing entire star domains manifested. He casually pulled star domains, wantonly smashing them against this Emperor Great World.
The starry sky shook continuously. Clusters of blazing light, shining for countless tens of thousands of li, billowed up, inundating boundless stretches of the starry sky.
Looking from afar, one could see countless experts of the Soul-Restraining Hall within the Emperor Great World trying to resist, but to no avail. They were even suppressed within the Emperor Great World, absolutely not daring to emerge.
Clearly, the Azure Sun Great Monarch's strength made them extremely wary. If this weren't the Soul-Restraining Hall's old lair, fortified by the presence of several Ancient Monarchs, it would have been breached long ago.
"Old Ghost Yang, do you only dare hide inside like a turtle in its shell, too scared to come out?"
The Azure Sun Great Monarch sneered, showing none of the dignity befitting a Star Sky Overlord. Instead, he seemed somewhat roguish, inexplicably reminding Ye Chen of the Corpse-Devouring Insect Emperor.
Boom—
Even as he spoke, his attacks never weakened. He even directly pulled a star system containing a sun and hurled it down. Infinite light instantly annihilated territory spanning billions of li!
Even the Emperor Great World was truly pierced through. Three Heaven Hall Masters at the forefront were sent flying, vomiting blood. They were no match for the Azure Sun Great Monarch at all.
"Azure Sun, you dare attack my Soul-Restraining Hall's world? You're truly seeking death!"
Finally, an enraged roar that shook the Great World came from the deepest part of the Emperor Great World. Numerous Soul-Restraining Hall expert figures flew out, including over a dozen Ancient Monarch figures. They had brought out all their foundational strength.
The leader was extremely powerful, far surpassing the other Heaven Hall Masters, belonging to the Star Sky Overlord level. He was one of the Heaven Soul Great Emperor's Nine Emperor Envoys from the past, possessing heaven-defying strength.
"Yang Shen, you're just an old fellow too. Do you really think you're still the invincible Eighth Emperor Envoy from back in the day? This old man isn't afraid of you."
The Azure Sun Great Monarch chuckled. Though he appeared aged, every move he made possessed power that could shake the Great Universe's starry sky, far surpassing ordinary Ancient Monarchs by countless degrees.
Clenching his fist, it erupted with overwhelming radiance. Each beam was a manifestation of Sovereign rules, evolving into a realm of heaven and earth that fiercely bombarded the Emperor Great World.
"How dare you!"
The Eighth Emperor Envoy roared angrily, clashing with him to neutralize the Azure Sun Great Monarch's offensive.
At the same time, a long spear appeared in his hand—the famous Judgment Spear.
The moment this spear appeared, it attracted thunderous light from the entire cosmic starry sky, transforming into a vast sea of thunder flashing with who knew how many tens of thousands of Sovereign rules—rules of Thunder, terrifying and boundless.
The sea of thunder resembled more of a tribulation light sea of thunder, like a heavenly calamity, crashing down and shattering many star domains.
Without a doubt, this Eighth Emperor Envoy, Yang Shen, was powerful to a somewhat outrageous degree, possessing at least the terrifying combat power of an Eighth Heaven Sovereign or above.