The three Imperial Sons of the Shen Kong Imperial Clan at the Emperor level were immediately alerted and appeared directly, performing a grand bowing ceremony: "We pay our respects to Your Majesty, the Battle Saint King!"
Below, a vast, dark mass of the imperial clan's members prostrated themselves in worship.
Ye Chen swept his gaze over the three Emperor-level sons, noticing the lingering sorrow in their eyes, and even a hint of anger deep within. How could he not understand? If not for his massive attacks on the alien races, if not for his seclusion, the Shen Kong Great Emperor might not have fallen in battle, and the Shen Kong Imperial Clan would not be in such dire straits now.
But they were intelligent enough not to express it, not wanting to provoke Ye Chen's wrath and bring boundless fury upon themselves, leading to the clan's destruction.
Ye Chen sighed. "I have wronged the Shen Kong Imperial Clan."
The members of the Shen Kong Imperial Clan were stunned, clearly not expecting the Battle Saint King to apologize.
After all, this was an extremely domineering, near-overlord existence of the Chaos Sea, one who dared to defy even the most terrifying alien Ancient Universes, even engaging in battle, slaying multiple alien Giants, including a primordial Giant like the Longevity Divine Emperor who had dominated the Chaos Sea throughout the ages.
Who could have imagined that such a dominant, invincible Chaos Giant would sincerely apologize to these minor cultivators he could annihilate with a wave of his hand?
"Shen Kong Great Emperor was an excellent Quasi-Giant. In that battle, I was unable to emerge from seclusion due to circumstances, leading to his fall. I bear great responsibility. I have wronged him, and I have wronged the Shen Kong Imperial Clan. Today, I have come to repay this debt. I no longer accept personal disciples, but if you three do not mind, you may become my nominal disciples. If you have questions regarding cultivation, you may ask me. I will occasionally lecture on the Dao. When you prove your Dao in the future, I will personally protect your path." Ye Chen said.
Because his personal disciple, Yan Wushuang, had died because of him in the past, Ye Chen had always carried it in his heart, and to this day, it remained a lingering regret.
Thus, he had no plans to accept any more personal disciples.
As for accepting the most outstanding geniuses of the three Immortal King clans as personal disciples, that was only because the three Immortal Kings had died in battle while rushing to his aid. In terms of status, position, and cultivation, any one of the three Immortal Kings far surpassed the Shen Kong Great Emperor. More importantly, the three Immortal Kings were not from the Pangu Universe. Their deaths in battle weighed heavily on Ye Chen's conscience.
Moreover, the plan was only to accept one disciple from each of the three Immortal King clans, nothing more.
Accepting the three Imperial Sons of Shen Kong Great Emperor as nominal disciples was essentially no less significant than accepting a personal disciple.
Although they were only nominal disciples, it still brought great joy to the Shen Kong Imperial Clan, for even a nominal disciple of the Battle Saint King carried immense deterrent power, at the very least able to stand on equal footing with a Supreme Emperor.
Furthermore, they could hear the unspoken meaning in the Battle Saint King's words: accepting them as nominal disciples was one thing; the other was to provide shelter for the Shen Kong Imperial Clan.
The three Imperial Sons exchanged glances, surprised but also excited. They immediately knelt and performed the disciple-bowing ceremony: "Disciples pay respects to Master."
"Make some preparations and proceed to the Chaos Heavenly Mansion on your own," Ye Chen instructed.
"We obey, Master!" the three Imperial Sons replied respectfully.
Ye Chen gave a slight nod, paused for a moment, then waved his sleeve. The Quasi-Giant weapon left behind by Shen Kong Great Emperor within the Shen Kong Imperial Clan flew out. However, during that day's battle, it had been half-destroyed, shattered in many places, its divine essence greatly dimmed.
He personally took action, refining and restoring it to completeness, allowing this Quasi-Giant weapon to recover and continue guarding the Shen Kong Imperial Clan.
The various forces across the Myriad Domains of the Heavens were filled with both envy and jealousy. From now on, the Shen Kong Imperial Clan would also be reborn and rise again!
After accomplishing all this, Ye Chen departed, heading to the Great Desolate Ancient Emperor.
The Great Desolate Ancient Emperor, due to his body refinement path, possessed an extremely powerful physique. Although severely wounded in that day's battle, his injuries were not fatal.
The War Emperor was similarly situated, having recovered most of his injuries over the years, presenting no major issue.
The Angel God Emperor, with the Human Emperor personally intervening to extract all the Myriad Ancient Dao Principles, was also not severely injured.
Ye Chen also sent people to deliver precious medicinal pills to these Quasi-Giants.
His final stop brought Ye Chen to the Buddhist State, one of the Ten Great States at the center of the Myriad Domains.
In that battle, the Tathagata Buddha had been gravely wounded, nearly perishing. He was recuperating within the Great Thunderclap Temple, and Ye Chen came to visit.
Proceeding into the Great Thunderclap Temple unimpeded, with countless Buddhas chanting sutras, Ye Chen looked up to see faith power rushing in from all directions, continuously and endlessly, converging at the temple's center. He could feel the vast, surging Buddhist power.
Within the Great Thunderclap Temple, the Tathagata Buddha sat upon a lotus throne like an ordinary monk, hands clasped in prayer as he chanted sutras, his expression utterly peaceful, not at all like someone who was injured.
"Buddha Patriarch," Ye Chen said, clasping his hands together.
The Tathagata Buddha nodded. "Greetings, Benefactor Ye."
Ye Chen said, "How are your injuries? I have come to heal you."
With that, Chaos Dao Laws surged, giving birth to supreme, flourishing life force, ready to rush toward the Tathagata Buddha to heal him.
But the Tathagata Buddha politely declined. "Thank you for your kind intentions, Benefactor Ye. There is no need."
Ye Chen was surprised, for he could sense that the Tathagata Buddha's injuries were quite severe, not much better than the Golden Crow Great Emperor's. However, by drawing upon immeasurable Buddhist power and faith power to sustain himself, he appeared unharmed.
But this could not be maintained for long, for Ye Chen clearly sensed that the Buddha's Emperor Soul within his body was constantly dissipating. Although the rate was slow, it would be difficult to sustain for more than ten thousand years.
Once that ten-thousand-year deadline arrived, death would be inevitable. No matter how heaven-defying Ye Chen was, he would be powerless to reverse it. Only an eleventh-tier Heaven-Defying Emperor Pill could bring the dead back to life.
The Tathagata Buddha said, "Benefactor Ye, do you remember the words this humble monk spoke in the past?"
"I remember!"
"Benefactor Ye, farewell!"
After the Tathagata Buddha finished speaking, Ye Chen stood up tall.
When he walked out of the Great Thunderclap Temple, a thunderous boom echoed, the heavens and earth changed color, shaking throughout the Myriad Domains of the Heavens.
Within the Great Thunderclap Temple, boundless Buddha light shone, countless phenomena appeared. Suddenly, all the Buddhas began to weep loudly, and Buddhist believers across the heavens mourned, shedding tears.
The Tathagata Buddha had entered Nirvana!
Ye Chen looked back, taking a deep glance at the Great Thunderclap Temple, and whispered softly, "Farewell."
Boom—
From between his brows, a vast, majestic light shot out, vanishing into the Great Thunderclap Temple. Then, with a faint smile, he departed.
The Tathagata Buddha's Nirvana shook both the upper and lower realms of the Pangu Universe.
Not to mention ordinary beings, even the Supreme Emperors of the heavens speculated: what exactly happened during the Battle Saint King's final meeting with the Tathagata Buddha before his Nirvana? Why did he enter Nirvana so suddenly after their meeting?
Could it be that the Battle Saint King struck down the Buddha?
But this speculation was immediately dismissed. The Battle Saint King was indeed domineering and forceful, but not tyrannical. Moreover, he had always held great respect for the Ancient Great Emperors of the Pangu Universe. Besides, given the Tathagata Buddha's severe injuries, he would have entered Nirvana sooner or later. It wasn't worth the Battle Saint King risking the condemnation of all living beings.
When Ye Chen returned to the Chaos Heavenly Mansion, his eldest son, Qian Xun, was also very curious and directly asked his father why the Tathagata Buddha had suddenly entered Nirvana. Could even his father's heaven-reaching abilities not save him?
Hearing this, Ye Chen merely smiled faintly and said, "He will return, in the end."