Meanwhile, the Quasi-Immortal King Dao Body cultivated within the Immortal King Grotto, continuously devouring the essence of the Great Dao. This body, bestowed by the 'Forty-Nine Immortal Passes' secret realm, grew increasingly powerful. Immortal King-level Dao patterns shimmered around it, making it appear even more unfathomable.
The Quasi-Immortal King Dao Body imprinted vast amounts of Immortal King Dao patterns, its Immortal King aura growing more intense and blazing.
Similarly, Ye Chen's true self also entered the Immortal King Grotto to cultivate. It could be said that he had devoured over half of the Great Dao essence and Immortal King Dao patterns within the grotto, growing increasingly powerful as his accumulation deepened continuously.
Faintly, an aura of immortal, supreme Immortal King power emanated from him, as if he had already become a supreme Immortal King himself—eternal and indestructible, an Immortal King overlooking the Nine Heavens, gazing down upon the countless ages.
During this period, he also created numerous techniques, some of which he imparted to the Chaos Heavenly Mansion, while others he taught only to those close to him.
Naturally, his comprehension of the Chaos Great Dao deepened, having surpassed the halfway point many years ago.
Now, Ye Chen's cultivation was even more unfathomable; no one could accurately gauge the true extent of his strength.
It was worth mentioning that Cang Xiong the Great Heavenly Venerate had achieved complete perfection, flawless in every aspect. Now, even when facing an old-time colossus from antiquity like the Yuan Chu Emperor Ancestor, he could engage in a peak-level battle without needing to rely on the World Tower.
Upon achieving perfection, Cang Xiong the Great Heavenly Venerate left the Immortal King Grotto. Simultaneously, he exerted supreme, great magical power to imprint a mark of a colossus from antiquity, providing feedback to allow the Immortal King Grotto to sustain itself for an even longer duration.
"It's almost thirty thousand years. The ultimate battle is about to erupt. The Pangu Universe cannot rely solely on Cang Xiong the Great Heavenly Venerate as its only colossus from antiquity. The Battle Saint Ancestor, the Heaven-Defying War Lord, Tai Sheng Huang, and the Flame Emperor are still on the Path of Origin. The Human Sovereign has yet to emerge from seclusion. The Pangu Universe might not be able to withstand it."
Within the Human Sovereign Palace, Xuan Shen the Great Emperor now presided, temporarily acting on behalf of the Human Sovereign to govern the palace and handle worldly affairs.
He felt a sense of unease.
As an Ancient Great Emperor, he was wise, seemingly unafraid even if the sky fell, confident he could hold it up. Yet only upon truly reaching this level did one understand that Ancient Great Emperors were not omnipotent. The Great Dao was boundless; above the Supreme Ones were Quasi-Giants and even colossi from antiquity.
At this level, the capabilities of an Ancient Great Emperor seemed considerably diminished.
War Emperor was also present. He said, "It's fine. Our teacher and the others laid plans long ago on the Path of Origin; there's nothing to fear. However, the Samsara Great Emperor, being a colossus from antiquity, still needs to fuse with his Samsara body. Completely merging and awakening won't be that difficult. Moreover, the Pangu Universe is adjacent to the Primordial Immortal Realm. Once a universe-level war erupts in the Pangu Universe, the Primordial Immortal Realm won't just stand by and watch."
"Let's hope so." Xuan Shen the Great Emperor sighed softly, then looked towards a distant location. "I wonder how Young Friend Ye is doing now. Nearly twenty thousand years have passed. Can he achieve a breakthrough?"
For nearly twenty thousand years, Ye Chen had been largely silent, often in the deepest level of seclusion, gradually fading from the world's notice.
Various major powers in the world had changed their leaders several times over. Consequently, Ye Chen's gradual disappearance had led many to gradually forget his existence.
However, this was Ye Chen, who had become an Eternal Sovereign at two thousand years old, a top-tier Quasi-Giant at six thousand, and possessed the heaven-defying cultivation to challenge a colossus from antiquity at ten thousand. Now, nearly twenty thousand years later, no one believed he had remained stagnant.
How powerful was Ye Chen at nearly twenty-nine thousand years old? The world could not know. Perhaps even War Emperor, renowned throughout the Chaos Sea for his combat prowess, might not be able to guarantee a stable victory over Ye Chen.
Because just two thousand years ago, the Chaos Burial Ground had suddenly appeared, fielding two Heavenly Sovereign-level colossi from antiquity, five Quasi-Giants, and thirteen Ancient Sovereign Supreme Ones—an astonishingly formidable lineup. They had suddenly attacked the Pangu Universe, once bringing it to a critical state.
After all, a Heavenly Sovereign from the Chaos Burial Ground had restrained Cang Xiong the Great Heavenly Venerate. War Emperor, having obtained the authority of the Heavenly Dao Sun and relying on the Supreme Scepter, could only manage to restrain one Burial Ground Heavenly Sovereign.
However, the two Quasi-Giants, Golden Crow Great Emperor and Divine Void Great Emperor, could only barely restrain three of the enemy Quasi-Giants. That left two more Quasi-Giants who, with an unstoppable, domineering force, overwhelmed the Supreme Ones on the Pangu Universe's side.
It was only because of the Chaos Immortal Armor Ye Chen had forged long ago, which was at the Quasi-Giant level, and was fully activated by Kunpeng Sovereign—a relatively stronger Supreme One—that they could barely restrain one Quasi-Giant.
But in the end, there was still one extra Quasi-Giant, not something an ordinary Supreme One could handle.
Other Supreme Ones would need time to arrive. Thus, that Quasi-Giant, with his overwhelming force, almost managed to enter through the Heavenly Pass retreat route the Pangu Universe itself had opened.
At the critical moment, Ye Chen directly emerged from his seclusion, traversing the endless void from the Beyond the Heavens to strike with an absolutely domineering posture.
The various Supreme Ones witnessed that Quasi-Giant from the Chaos Burial Ground being sent flying by a single blow.
Ye Chen descended from the heavens like a peerless, invincible War God, unstoppable, forcefully suppressing that Burial Ground Quasi-Giant. In just over ten exchanges, he had the latter's Sovereign blood spraying across the Chaos Sea, displaying an utterly invincible demeanor.
After the battle, that Chaos Burial Ground Quasi-Giant was nearly slain, suffering the most terrifying heavy injuries. He was only saved in the end because a Heavenly Sovereign personally intervened.
Ye Chen's intervention also dismantled the Chaos Burial Ground's subtle suppressive posture, turning the tables and suppressing them instead.
In that battle, Ye Chen displayed divine might, directly sweeping through two Quasi-Giants, overpowering them, and beating them until their blood splattered and injuries were fully revealed. One Quasi-Giant even had his skull shattered and his Emperor Soul torn, suffering horrific wounds.
That level of might was truly astonishing.
The world could not believe it; even the Chaos Burial Ground found it hard to accept.
How could the Battle Saint King, not even thirty thousand years old, be so powerful? It was simply inconceivable.
Not to mention others, even the various powerhouses of the Pangu Universe were shocked. Although they had long known Ye Chen's cultivation must be even more unfathomable, they hadn't expected such ferocity. Faintly, it seemed as if a supreme colossus from antiquity had taken the field.
Of course, at the final moment, a supreme Immortal King from the Primordial Immortal Realm took action. Pan Dao Immortal King personally arrived, wielding the Chaos World-Grinding Disc and leading multiple Supreme Immortals and Quasi-Immortal Kings to provide aid.
Left with no choice, the Chaos Burial Ground had no option but to retreat reluctantly.
After this battle, Ye Chen's influence surged once more. The Chaos Sea learned of the terror of this young Chaos Quasi-Giant, who could be hailed as the unrivaled sovereign beneath the colossi from antiquity.
Even Pan Dao Immortal King marveled at Ye Chen's growth rate. Only twenty thousand years had passed, yet he already possessed a truly invincible posture beneath the colossi from antiquity.
Now, from the outside world's perspective, Ye Chen was approaching the thirty-thousand-year milestone. Having cultivated in the Immortal King Grotto for several hundred years, due to the extreme time acceleration, his actual cultivation time was nearly one hundred thousand years.
He was now one hundred and thirty thousand years old.