Ye Chen had originally been annihilated in both form and spirit, leaving behind only a single spark of true spirit lingering upon the River of Time. He had lost all memories, retaining only a vague instinct. It took a million years for him to cultivate back into human form and restore his physical body.
Later, relying on the final Great Dao imprint bestowed upon him by the Great Heavenly Venerate Cang Xiong—'Piercing Through Past and Present'—he returned to his true self, also restoring his memories. It was equivalent to a resurrection from death, a complete revival.
Even the Great Heavenly Venerate Cang Xiong of old, who defied the heavens to pierce through past and present, gathering all versions of himself from various eras into one body just to exchange for the strongest peak state for a short time, had to endure the bombardment of Forbidden Heavenly Thunder. How much more so for Ye Chen, who was truly resurrecting from death? His act was even more heaven-defying.
One must understand that he was a Half-Step Overlord, one of the most powerful invincible beings in the Chaos Sea. To be completely resurrected was no easy matter; he would be targeted by the operational rules of the Chaos Sea.
Instantly, endless Forbidden Heavenly Thunder crashed down upon him.
Ye Chen's skin immediately split and his flesh tore open. His entire body was charred black, tattered and broken. Much of his flesh and blood exploded, revealing the Chaos Saint Bones that flowed with chaotic, indestructible light.
After all, this physical body was merely a form he had cultivated over a million years by repeatedly devouring and refining the flesh, blood, and Dao Bones of various great figures that had scattered here in the past. It was still far inferior to his former Chaos Saint Body and could not truly withstand the bombardment of billions of Forbidden Heavenly Thunder.
However, the Chaos Saint Bones remained, circulating with dazzling chaotic light. Even the most powerful Forbidden Heavenly Thunder striking them merely produced clanging sounds, unable to shake them.
On the contrary, Ye Chen used this endless Forbidden Heavenly Thunder to temper himself anew, activating the marrow within his Chaos Saint Bones to generate streams of Chaos Saint Blood, transforming his physical body and re-evolving his Chaos Saint Body.
Human blood is derived from bone marrow. As long as the Chaos Saint Bones existed, Ye Chen could continuously create Chaos Saint Blood and cultivate anew the Chaos Saint Body that was indestructible through myriad tribulations.
"Draw!"
With a great shout, infinite Forbidden Heavenly Thunder was forcibly drawn towards him. This was Ye Chen actively drawing it, no longer passively enduring it.
Boom—
All the flesh, blood, and other great figures' Dao Bones on Ye Chen's body surface exploded, turning into blood mist and bone fragments that scattered around. Only the Chaos Saint Bones remained, seated cross-legged at the very center.
Within the skull, the Chaos Saint Soul that Ye Chen had cultivated over a million years was also present, resembling a ghostly flame but containing remarkably powerful Soul Power.
Especially from the Chaos Saint Bones, vast amounts of Soul Power continuously surged forth from various points, immense and boundless, truly astonishing.
Upon closer look, that was clearly the Soul Power of Modaozi from the past.
Back then, Ye Chen had dragged Modaozi down with him to perish. Who could have thought that Modaozi's vast Soul Power, for some reason, had been refined and buried within his Chaos Saint Bones? Now, under the repeated strikes of endless Forbidden Heavenly Thunder, it surged forth and transformed into the purest Soul Power, which Ye Chen devoured, turning it into his foundational Soul Power.
"Such powerful Soul Power. As expected of Modaozi, a Half-Step Overlord not far from being a true peerless Overlord."
Ye Chen was both shocked and overjoyed, frantically devouring these immensely vast streams of Soul Power. His divine soul was rapidly growing stronger, swiftly advancing towards his former peak state.
Simultaneously, while devouring and strengthening his Chaos Saint Soul, he also drew upon the endless Forbidden Heavenly Thunder, transforming it into the most terrifying Heaven-Earth Crucible to temper himself.
The original flesh and blood on his body were completely blasted apart by the Forbidden Heavenly Thunder, becoming the purest blood mist, also carrying strands of Ten Thousand Ancient Dao Principles imbued with forbidden attributes. Among them was the flesh and blood essence of other Half-Step Overlords, clearly belonging to the likes of Ao Yuan and other alien Half-Step Overlords from the past.
Using his Chaos Saint Bones as the foundation, Ye Chen created new flesh and blood, which also contained the characteristics of those alien Half-Step Overlords.
Every moment, billions of Forbidden Heavenly Thunder bolts madly descended, fiercely striking Ye Chen's physical body, destroying the flesh and blood time and again, only for it to be derived anew each time.
Unconsciously, the flesh and blood gradually became able to withstand the bombardment of Forbidden Heavenly Thunder, growing fuller and more crystalline.
Gradually, the flesh and blood no longer exploded. In the end, even when the Forbidden Heavenly Thunder fell upon his skin, it could hardly cause much damage, leaving only white marks. The Forbidden Heavenly Thunder was even absorbed, transformed into divine power, and settled within his body.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom—
By drawing the Forbidden Heavenly Thunder into his body for tempering, Ye Chen achieved results far surpassing a thousand hammers and a hundred refinements in ordinary times. His physical body and divine soul became increasingly indestructible through myriad tribulations, radiating dazzling indestructible light.
Finally, after an unknown length of time, the Forbidden Heavenly Thunder finally scattered, ceasing its bombardment.
This was partly because the time had come, and partly because it knew that continued bombardment could hardly harm Ye Chen in the slightest. Thus, the Forbidden Heavenly Thunder chose to disperse.
Boom—
Boundless blood energy rippled out, submerging the River of Time and shaking this special spatiotemporal dimension.
Ye Chen's body was now flawless and complete. He could feel the power of his new physical body, not inferior to his former Chaos Saint Body. Because it contained the rule power of other Half-Step Overlords, his Chaos Divine Power was even more formidable.
He had a feeling that if he faced an Original Great Figure now, one punch would be enough to heavily injure them, two punches would shatter them into pieces, and three punches could blast them apart!
"So strong. This physical body surpasses the past. Truly, misfortune and fortune are intertwined; my fall back then was a blessing in disguise."
Ye Chen was pleasantly surprised. Such a powerful physical body was half a step superior to his former Chaos Saint Body.
Moreover, as he immersed his mind, he delightedly discovered that his Chaos Small Universe had not been completely destroyed in that battle. On the contrary, because it had burned to the absolute extreme alongside his Chaos Saint Body, leaving only the final universe origin seed, the Chaos Small Universe had completely fused as one with the Chaos Saint Body.
The Chaos Saint Body was the Chaos Small Universe, and the Chaos Small Universe was the Chaos Saint Body. The two had merged into one, indistinguishable from each other.
"I never expected the Chaos Small Universe to still exist. Heaven truly aids me." Ye Chen was both shocked and overjoyed. He carefully contemplated this physical body and murmured, "Chaos Saint Body? No, perhaps this physical body of mine can be called the Universe Chaos Body. It surpasses my former Chaos Saint Body, having further integrated a Chaos Universe. Evolved to its ultimate, it becomes 'I am the Universe, the Universe is me'!"
He could clearly feel the power of the Universe Chaos Body. With every move, it contained the might of a Chaos Universe and also mastered chaotic might. The combination of the two was beyond imagination.
However, because his former Chaos Small Universe had been burned to annihilation, the Universe Chaos Body could not utilize much of the universe's might. Unless the internal universe grew again, reaching the level of a complete Ancient Chaos Universe, could he become truly invincible.
Nevertheless, even so, his physical body was sufficiently powerful, as the foundation of this current body was not inferior to his former Chaos Saint Body.
"What a pity—"
Suddenly, Ye Chen let out a soft sigh, having discovered a major flaw in the Universe Chaos Body.