The First Emperor Envoy's gaze turned slightly cold. Cang Xiong alone already gave him a sense of powerlessness; if another expert who had achieved Emperorhood through physical body cultivation were to join, he would be in for an extremely taxing battle.
Cang Xiong, however, waved his hand dismissively and chuckled, "No need. A mere Monarch... Although this old man is aged and feeble, with his sun setting in the west, I am not yet at the point of needing assistance from others."
His faint words carried absolute confidence.
Hearing this, Ye Chen nodded. "Very well. This junior will stand guard from the sidelines for you, Senior."
The First Emperor Envoy's expression grew much colder. This old fellow, who had never dared to confront him head-on before, actually dared to look down on him like this? Where did such confidence come from?
Cang Xiong stretched his limbs slightly, then smiled at the First Emperor Envoy. "Having achieved Monarchhood for so many years, today is the first time I will display my full strength before outsiders. So be it. Suppressing you shouldn't be too much of a problem, I suppose."
Before the First Emperor Envoy could utter a cold retort, his eyes suddenly snapped open in the next moment, revealing threads of shock and horror. "Impossible!" he exclaimed.
Because at this moment, he distinctly sensed an unprecedented, terrifying imposing might emanating from Cang Xiong.
This imposing might was even greater than his own, a Monarch in his prime, surpassing it to another level entirely.
"A Great Emperor?!"
The First Emperor Envoy's face changed, his pupils shrinking to needle points. He found it hard to believe that this old fellow before him was actually an ancient Great Emperor.
"A Great Emperor?" Cang Xiong shook his head. "I am not one. At this age, how could I possibly be a Great Emperor? Great Emperors possess boundless lifespans; they would never grow old and feeble."
Ye Chen felt a surge of solemn respect. Although Cang Xiong was not a Great Emperor, he was an Eternal Emperor!
That's right, an Eternal Emperor like the Taichu Emperor—a peerless Monarch who had stepped onto the Eternal Path!
As Cang Xiong revealed the power of an Eternal Emperor, the imposing might radiating from him could be said to be infinitely close to the Supreme One realm.
In a sense, an Eternal Emperor could also be considered an alternative Supreme One, their strength far surpassing that of other Monarchs.
For a fleeting moment, Cang Xiong seemed to reverse the flow of time, transforming from his aged, feeble state back to the glorious zenith of his years. His heroic bearing surged forth, standing like a peerless Great Emperor, unleashing boundless, supreme imperial majesty that suppressed the myriad Daos of the heavens. Who could contend with him?
Yet, looking again, the figure before them was clearly a withered form, his blood energy dried up, on the verge of death, as if about to step into the coffin with his other foot at any moment.
"Senior..." Ye Chen's heart trembled. Cang Xiong clearly possessed the qualifications to prove his Dao and become a Great Emperor, and it was even possible for him to gaze upon the heights of the Ten Thousand Ancient Giants. Yet, he was trapped in this state of aged feebleness, unable to break through. How utterly heartbreaking.
Truly worthy of being one of the ultimate rivals who once had the qualifications to contend with Wuxiang Junwang on the Ultimate Ancient Path! Such a realm and cultivation could be called one of the most dazzling talents of an entire epoch!
At the same time, Ye Chen was also puzzled. With Cang Xiong's realm, it shouldn't be like this. The power of an Eternal Emperor didn't just grant a chance—it absolutely granted the opportunity to prove the Dao and become a Great Emperor. Why had he not stepped into the Great Emperor's domain all this time?
This point greatly piqued Ye Chen's curiosity.
Boom—
Cang Xiong casually slapped a palm forward. It was such a simple movement, yet it carried overwhelming, majestic force that enveloped this vast expanse of starry sky and instantly descended upon the First Emperor Envoy.
A sense of crisis surged in his heart. The First Emperor Envoy roared, gripping his knight's longsword with both hands, unleashing unparalleled radiance to collide with that aged, massive hand.
Yet, to everyone's shock, Cang Xiong's palm swept forward with a force that crushed everything like rotten wood. With a deafening roar, the sword light capable of slicing through the great cosmos was seen shattering inch by inch. In contrast, the aged, massive hand still covered billions of miles of starry domain as it descended with a thunderous impact.
Boom—
The First Emperor Envoy was instantly sent flying. The battle armor on his body lost its luster, seemingly on the verge of exploding.
Clearly, even someone as powerful as the First Emperor Envoy was severely injured by this single blow. As he flew through the void, he coughed up blood incessantly, even spitting out fragments of internal organs, a horrifying sight.
Though aged, Cang Xiong was still terrifyingly powerful!
The First Emperor Envoy's bones crackled incessantly as they reshaped and recovered, but a trace of blood still seeped from the corner of his mouth. Even now, he found it somewhat hard to believe.
This old fellow, who had been passively defending earlier, possessed such peerless imposing might?
He felt as if he were facing not a Monarch, but an ancient Great Emperor, like the invincible Tianhun Great Emperor of old, lofty and supreme, an opponent no Monarch could ever hope to match.
Swish—
Soundlessly, Cang Xiong closed in again, arriving before the First Emperor Envoy. That aged face, that amiable smile, so gentle, yet it sent shivers down the latter's spine. The First Emperor Envoy unleashed his Monarch imposing might in full, actively executing his most powerful and formidable divine ability to attack.
Boom—
Soundlessly, Cang Xiong dissolved the First Emperor Envoy's various terrifying assaults, like floodwaters facing a mountain fire.
Though the mountain fire might spread for thousands of miles, faced with the surging, towering floodwaters, it was easily extinguished.
Cang Xiong's withered palm collided with the Monarch's war sword, glancing off its side with a metallic clang. The sharp, soaring sword light was instantly disintegrated and destroyed.
An indescribably strange force passed through the Monarch's war sword in layers and landed on the First Emperor Envoy. With a *pfft*, the First Emperor Envoy spat blood and tumbled through the void.
Clang—
At the same time, the palm flipped over again, striking the First Emperor Envoy's body in rapid succession—a full eighteen blows in the blink of an eye, instantly merging into one and completely dismantling the First Emperor Envoy's multiple layers of defense.
The final blow directly shattered the battle armor on his body, causing the Monarch's battle armor to completely dim, its runes destroyed. A clear, visible palm print appeared on it, identical in every detail to Cang Xiong's hand.
In this battle between two Monarchs, the First Emperor Envoy could be said to have suffered a complete defeat, far from being a match for Cang Xiong.
Facing Cang Xiong, he was filled with absolute awe.
Ye Chen also felt a chill. From Cang Xiong, he distinctly sensed a hint of the Taichu Emperor's demeanor—that was precisely the combat power of an Eternal Emperor. The aura of the Eternal Path even caused his own heart and mind to tremble, resonating with the Eternal Path aura within his body.
Even in his aged and feeble state, he was still so invincible, overpowering a young and vigorous Monarch. From this, one could see that in his prime, with abundant blood energy, the First Emperor Envoy would have faced certain death against Cang Xiong, far from being his opponent.
"Old fellow, you may be strong, but you must understand: you are not an ancient Great Emperor, and you are in the twilight of your years. Acting like this will only accelerate the depletion of your blood energy, harming you. I dare say that if I truly fight to the death, I can drag you, this old undying, down with me," the First Emperor Envoy said coldly, the blood energy within his body continuously surging as he recovered.
He was, after all, young and vigorous, in the rising phase of his life. Although he was no match for Cang Xiong now, his words held truth. In a true life-and-death battle, Cang Xiong, no matter how powerful, had depleted blood energy and might truly be worn down to death by him.
In that case, the gain would not be worth the loss.