It could be said that all the Immortal Venerable Ones and Immortal Kings greatly desired Ye Chen's inclusion.
Of course, it would have been best if they could persuade the Eternal Heaven Realm to join the Primordial Immortal Realm, but that was impossible. The overall power of the Eternal Heaven Realm was only slightly inferior to that of the Primordial Immortal Realm, not much of a difference at all.
Such a superpower had no need to join any other faction; it was formidable enough to make any force wary.
Unfortunately, Ye Chen refused, disappointing the various Immortal Venerable Ones and Immortal Kings. However, his offer of an alliance brought them pleasant surprise.
Even an alliance was a good thing.
Only, they were unaware that the Pangu Universe had long been allied with the Primordial Immortal Realm; they simply did not know Ye Chen's true identity.
At the grand feast, Ye Chen saw several familiar Immortal Kings: Pan Dao, Hun Shi, Tai Hao, Tai Shi, and others. They were close friends of the Flame Emperor and were also the Immortal Kings who had shown him kindness in the past. He took the initiative to walk over to them.
This filled Immortal King Pan Dao and the others with both delight and reverence. Although they were Immortal Kings, the gap between them and a Half-Step Overlord was immense.
Facing such a Half-Step Overlord, even an Immortal King had to show respect.
"Senior Ye!"
The several Immortal Kings did not dare be careless, addressing him with this respectful title.
This form of address came from Donghuang, who had told them his surname was Ye.
"Seniors, please do not be like this. This junior dares not accept such honor," Ye Chen transmitted his voice.
This startled the four Immortal Kings. They looked at Ye Chen with shock and suspicion. Who exactly was he? Why would he address them as seniors?
However, none who could become an Immortal King were ordinary individuals. Connecting his strength, the cosmic projection surrounding him, and his form of address, all these clues combined quickly led to a realization. The four Immortal Kings exchanged glances, their faces filled with undisguised astonishment.
Ye Chen smiled. Clearly, the four Immortal Kings had guessed his identity.
"You... you're really still alive?"
The four Immortal Kings found it hard to believe. They had personally witnessed him burning everything a million years ago, intending to perish together with the Primordial Ancestor. How could they have imagined that after the passage of a million years, he had actually returned to life.
"It's difficult to explain clearly. I also had the help of Great Emperor Hantian back then."
Ye Chen sighed softly. Before Great Emperor Hantian completely perished, he had bestowed his final Dao imprint upon him, containing the essence of the forbidden divine ability "Piercing Through Past and Present," allowing Ye Chen to awaken directly.
Of course, the flesh and blood he had left upon the River of Time played a crucial role.
"Great Emperor Hantian was a peerless heroic sovereign who dared to lead the Immortal-Slaying Ship to attack the Primordial Immortal Realm," Immortal King Tai Hao sighed. In the past, when Great Emperor Hantian commanded the Immortal-Slaying Ship to assault the Primordial Immortal Realm, he faced the Immortal King Pass that Tai Hao himself was guarding.
In truth, Great Emperor Hantian had already been in an exhausted, oil-dry lamp state back then, extremely weak. Otherwise, how could a mere Immortal King like Tai Hao have fought against a peak Half-Step Overlord?
Even so, Great Emperor Hantian had been unbelievably powerful. Dragging Tai Hao Immortal King down with him would not have been a problem, yet Great Emperor Hantian had not done so.
"Speaking of which, I must congratulate you, Senior, on having already become an Immortal Venerable One," Ye Chen said, cupping his fists in congratulation.
Purple Firmament Immortal King had achieved venerable status due to resources provided by the Alien Ancient Universe. Immortal King Tai Hao, however, had lived for an extremely long time. Compared to those ancient Immortal Venerable Ones, he had only attained immortality a few epochs later. Over the vast stretches of time, through daily accumulation and the profound insights gained from his battle with the exhausted Great Emperor Hantian, he had accumulated deeply and finally, in recent years, taken that step to become a new Immortal Venerable One.
Of course, it took someone of Ye Chen's caliber to notice; others, even other Immortal Venerable Ones, might not have detected that Immortal King Tai Hao had attained venerable status.
And Immortal King Tai Hao was very low-key about it.
Immortal King Tai Hao shook his head. "Merely the result of daily accumulation over time. To be honest, we old fellows have all been Immortal Kings for over ten epochs. I am the oldest, having attained immortality in the seventh epoch of the Primordial Immortal Realm. The other three should also become Immortal Venerable Ones within two epochs at most. Of course, we cannot compare to you, the strongest monster."
The other three Immortal Kings deeply agreed.
Whether for Immortal Venerable Ones or Primordial Giants, reaching those supreme domains basically relied on continuous accumulation across epoch after epoch.
Although Immortal King Tai Hao was not among the most ancient batch of Immortal Kings, he was close. He had attained immortality in the seventh epoch since the birth of the Primordial Immortal Realm. Countless epochs had passed since then. It was the accumulation of numerous epochs that allowed him to accumulate deeply and erupt in this era, stepping into the domain of an Immortal Venerable One.
Even as an Immortal Venerable One, a king among Immortal Kings, looking at this young man whose cultivation time was far less than a single epoch, Immortal King Tai Hao could not help but sigh.
He had lived for who knew how many epochs, witnessed the rise of hundreds of millions, no, billions of geniuses in the vast world, including supremely talented individuals considered to have the potential to step into the Ten Thousand Ancient Domain in the future—some Monarchs with 'Eternal' as a prefix, others who could challenge Quasi-Immortal Kings or Quasi-Giants directly after proving their Dao.
But without exception, all of them were far inferior to Ye Chen.
Come to think of it, he had just realized that Ye Chen had not truly proven his Dao yet. Strictly speaking in terms of realm, he was just a Monarch. Although this Monarch's strength was indeed overwhelmingly powerful, even to the point of defying the world, far more terrifying than Immortal Kings or Immortal Venerable Ones, capable of directly challenging the few most powerful peerless overlords of past and present.
Ye Chen said, "I will find time to discuss the Dao with you seniors."
The four Immortal Kings were overjoyed. Ye Chen was a Half-Step Overlord; his comprehension of the Great Dao was unfathomably profound. Being able to sit and discuss the Dao with him could enhance their foundational accumulation, perhaps even allowing the three Immortal Kings to break through to venerable status faster!
Suddenly, when facing Immortal King Pan Dao, Ye Chen felt Pangu's Heart within his body tremble faintly for a moment. Immortal King Pan Dao's immortal body shuddered, and he said in confusion, "I just felt all the blood in my body boil for an instant. Did any of you feel that?"
The three other Immortal Kings shook their heads.
Only Ye Chen stared intently at Immortal King Pan Dao. Pangu's Heart resonated with Immortal King Pan Dao. Could there be some connection between the two?
Ye Chen couldn't help but ask, "Senior Pan Dao, this junior ventures to ask, what is your origin?"
Although puzzled by Ye Chen's curiosity, Immortal King Pan Dao answered, "I am an axe that was innately born within the Primordial Immortal Realm. Later, I developed spiritual intelligence and cultivated into my current form. The Chaos Grinding World Plate is my companion Dao weapon."
Ye Chen said, "A great axe?"
That great axe—in the past, when Ye Chen was stranded in the center of the Alien Ancient Universe, awakening the Flame Emperor and battling the Alien Ancient Universe's Giants, Immortal King Pan Dao had fought using that great axe.
Immortal King Pan Dao nodded. His form shifted, transforming into a great axe that vibrated through space-time, emanating a terrifying aura. "This is my true form. However, generally, few know what my true form is. To protect myself, I refined the Chaos Grinding World Plate into an Immortal King weapon, and of course, there's also the Immortal King City."
Ye Chen gazed at the great axe that was Immortal King Pan Dao's true form for a long time. He immediately discovered that Pangu's Heart was faintly trembling upon encountering this great axe.
It was evident that Immortal King Pan Dao's true form was extraordinary, actually capable of resonating with Pangu's Heart.