The Mythical Era, an ancient epoch so distant it was beyond tracing, was the previous era.
According to the various ancient relics left behind for later generations, it was a true golden age that had once flourished countless times more than later eras, incomparably glorious.
In that era, the myriad realms had not yet existed; in their place was a vast, boundless expanse of land, even larger than the myriad domains.
The myriad Daos surged forth, the Heavenly Dao was complete, prodigies emerged in great numbers, and a great age rose.
The realm that the human body could reach was not the ninth heaven; some truly stunning, peerless freaks could even break through the shackles of the ninth heaven and stand within the Tenth Heaven—this was true Great Perfection.
Moreover, there were already those who could step into the realm of immortality and indestructibility—they were the Emperors and Sovereigns, whom later generations also called Divine Spirit Supremes, Supreme Great Emperors, Immortal Divine Sovereigns, or Heavens.
They were truly supreme and invincible, capable of overlooking the myriad lands, looking down upon the world, capable of overturning great worlds with a single hand, severing the myriad heavenly stars with a single thought, and traversing every corner of the heavens with a single step.
They were omnipotent, peerless and majestic; even the myriad Daos had to submit to them, and even the Heavenly Dao could not restrict them, only standing side by side with them as existences of the same level.
Naturally, even in the Mythical Era with its complete Heavenly Dao, over endless years, dynasties and ancient nations had changed countless times, giving birth to innumerable prodigies and talents, stunning both ancient and modern times, but the number of true Emperors and Sovereigns born could be counted on one's fingers.
Although the Emperors and Sovereigns could almost all be said to be equally supreme and invincible, all perfect and flawless, capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the Heavenly Dao.
But there was one person universally acknowledged by the world as one of the strongest among the Great Emperors—
The Heavenly Emperor!
Throughout the myriad universes, across the changing eras, how many Emperors and Sovereigns had there been throughout eternity? Yet who dared to claim the title of Heavenly Emperor? Only this invincible Great Emperor.
It was said he was the first Great Emperor to be born, the most ancient of Great Emperors, born from the primordial chaos and achieving the Dao at the moment of the universe's birth.
Regarding the Heavenly Emperor's true identity, no one knew, for it was too ancient, long beyond tracing. Moreover, no one had witnessed how many times the Heavenly Emperor had truly made a move; the number of times he manifested in the mortal world was similarly countable. Yet it was indisputable that he was invincible, sweeping through three thousand worlds without a match.
What was even more awe-inspiring was that from the Heavenly Emperor's lineage emerged another supreme Great Emperor—one lineage producing two Emperors and Sovereigns, unprecedented and even more glorious.
This further highlighted the Heavenly Emperor's peerlessness in the world.
When Ye Chen learned that the Myriad Heavens Divine Treasure Map on the bronze fragment was left by the Heavenly Emperor, he couldn't help but suck in a cold breath.
Although not many relics remained from the Mythical Era, it could be understood that in that era, even the other Emperors and Sovereigns held considerable reverence for the Heavenly Emperor.
The extreme glory of one lineage producing two Emperors and Sovereigns was irreplicable, unprecedented in both ancient and modern times; even in the Mythical Era, no one else possessed such glory.
When Old Yan spoke of that supreme Heavenly Emperor, he couldn't help but show an extra measure of awe.
Ye Chen sighed with emotion. Emperors and Sovereigns were originally supreme and invincible, and the Heavenly Emperor was the most ancient of Great Emperors, peerless in the world. Who wouldn't gaze upon him with reverence and awe?
Now, the Myriad Heavens Divine Treasure Map was actually suspected to be a divine treasure left by the Heavenly Emperor, making it even more priceless.
Old Yan said, "Of course, this is just speculation, not certain. It's just that, based on the scattered relics left from the Mythical Era, that supreme Heavenly Emperor once left a divine treasure for later generations, storing the treasure map's information within a certain divine object. No one knows what that divine object truly was, and the complete Myriad Heavens Divine Treasure Map on the bronze fragment might very well be that very object."
"However, this must absolutely not be known by others. Otherwise, even those ancient Great Sages far in the center of the myriad domains might go mad and appear, killing to seize the treasure."
Ye Chen naturally understood. The Heavenly Emperor was peerless; even a single strand of his hair left behind possessed miraculous, transformative effects that could drive the world mad with desire, let alone a divine treasure of the Heavenly Emperor, which would be priceless in the world.
It was a pity the Myriad Heavens Divine Treasure Map was shattered into over a dozen pieces. In his previous life, he had collected about half of them, but they had all shattered and dissipated, probably scattered across the world. It was somewhat regrettable.
Ye Chen carefully and solemnly put away the bronze fragment, then walked toward the final divine radiance sphere.
His gaze sharpened slightly, for the treasure within was actually a Heavenly King realm Dao weapon—a divine spear.
However, the Heavenly King Spear was damaged, its entire body covered in cracks, nearly shattered. Yet one could see droplets of blood on the spear body—Heavenly King blood.
Although not as potent as the great Dao essence blood in the Dao-mark divine bottle, it remained crystalline and vibrant to this day, emanating blood energy fluctuations as deep as an abyss and vast as the sea, like an ocean, radiating terrifying divine energy.
If not for the blocking effect of the divine radiance sphere, it would surely be terrifying beyond measure; even the entire treasure hall might collapse, unable to conceal it.
Looking at the blood on this broken divine spear, Ye Chen seemed to see scenes from the most terrifying Dark Domain War of the ancient years.
A supreme Heavenly King Invincible, majestic and heroic, his great Dao aura suppressing the heavens, causing the stars to tremble, wielding an invincible divine spear, traversing the Domain War battlefield, sweeping through armies, slaughtering in all directions. One powerful Saint after another, even Saint Lord-level existences, were easily slain by his hand, their blood staining three thousand miles.
In the end, he encountered the enemy's Heavenly King Invincible, and the most terrifying battle ensued.
That battle shattered the six directions and eight wildernesses, shook the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, and destroyed the eternal sky.
The two Heavenly King Invincibles fought from the ground up to the Nine Heavens, then plunged into the vast starry sky beyond the domain, battling fiercely among the myriad heavenly stars, also shattering one extraterrestrial star after another, turning them into the most stunning and brilliant fireworks.
Both sides had copious fresh blood splattering into the void, staining the starry sky. The battle reached a white-hot stage, both fighting with no regard for life or death.
Although by the end of the great battle, the divine spear was nearly broken, covered in countless cracks, and this Heavenly King Invincible suffered terrible heavy injuries, nearly on the verge of death, the divine spear ultimately still pierced through the enemy's chest, stained with the opponent's precious blood, destroying all of the enemy's vitality.
Ye Chen understood that this divine spear was damaged in the most terrifying Dark Domain War of the ancient era.
Because it was somewhat incomplete and had never been successfully repaired, this divine spear, which had achieved glorious battle merits, was ultimately stored in the Heaven-grade treasure vault, awaiting a destined person to claim it.
The required meritorious service value was 5.13 million!
Ye Chen silently looked at this nearly shattered divine spear. The deity and Dao marks contained within were almost gone, the array patterns mostly worn away. It could be used at most three or four times, no more. Otherwise, why would it only be worth 5.13 million meritorious service value?
Yet after standing in contemplation for a moment, Ye Chen took out his military merit token, directly shot out a beam of light, and exchanged for it.
This surprised both Old Yan and the hidden guardian; they hadn't expected that among so many treasures, he hadn't chosen any others, but specifically picked such a severely shattered Heavenly King Spear.
Finally, Ye Chen also exchanged for the Void Tree using meritorious service value. The four supreme treasures together totaled exactly 9 million meritorious service value, neither more nor less.
However, Ye Chen's accumulated over 9 million meritorious service value was now almost depleted, leaving only 567,600-something.
When leaving the Heaven-grade treasure vault, Ye Chen turned and entered the Earth, Mystic, and Yellow grade treasure vaults, exchanging for many treasures, ultimately spending every last bit of the meritorious service value in his possession without leaving any behind.
Because he didn't know if there would be another chance to come to the Domain War battlefield; so-called meritorious service value left in hand was useless.
During this time, Old Yan asked Ye Chen why he exchanged for the shattered Heavenly King Spear. Ye Chen said, "No particular reason. Although the Heavenly King Spear is shattered, it can be used a few times. As long as I refine the few drops of blood on the spear body, it can be transformed into sufficient divine energy to activate it, becoming a great Dao artifact for preserving my life."
"Although you, Old Yan, protect my Dao path, you can protect me for ten years, but you can't protect me for a lifetime. Sometimes, it will always come in handy. A Heavenly King-grade magical instrument that can be used several times—I believe it will make many people wary, not daring to act against me, and can intimidate quite a few."
Old Yan sighed inwardly. This guy was indeed extraordinary, actually thinking so far ahead, making one feel awe.
After leaving the four great treasure vaults, Ye Chen reappeared in the Military Merit Hall. In an instant, numerous gazes swished onto him, all eyes upon him.
Everyone was very curious about what treasures he had exchanged for.
Ye Chen slightly furrowed his brows but paid no heed. What slightly surprised him was that a group of quite fearsome figures had appeared in the Military Merit Hall—high-level figures from the Qingyang Domain camp. One terrifying figure after another manifested here, their invisible pressure seeming to suck the air out of the place, making many feel it hard to breathe.
He had a premonition these people had come because of him. Immediately, he looked over, facing one substantialized, oppressive gaze after another without changing expression, appearing calm and natural.
Such calm and composed composure made them all feel amazed. Truly worthy of being a peerless figure among the young True Kings; merely possessing such temperament at this age was enough to inspire awe.
Others at this age weren't even one-tenth or one-fifth as composed.
"Esteemed Seniors, may I ask why you seek me?" Ye Chen asked directly.
"Young Friend Yue, this time we have come to congratulate you. Being able to obtain 9.57 million meritorious service value is unprecedented and worthy of celebration." The various powers all cupped their fists in congratulation, with genuine amazement, for over 9 million meritorious service value was something even they could only look up to but not reach.
But there was no helping it; who let him have such a great backer, a Saint Lord-level Fourth Great Bandit as support? Even they had to set aside their status, not daring to offend.
The other soldiers in the Military Merit Hall were also envious. Only the Great Demon King Yue could make these proud, high-level figures so amiable.
Ye Chen smiled faintly. "It's nothing. Where there is effort, there is gain. That's all."
"Uh..."
These words immediately left many speechless. Was this guy completely mocking them?
"Young Friend Yue, could we speak further in private?" A Demi-Saint level great figure stepped forward gently.