Silence reigned in the starry expanse. Only the Battle Saint King stood firm in the heavens, his body flowing with golden light, his Supreme One's pressure slowly spreading, collapsing vast stretches of the starry sky, invincible and peerless.
Everyone felt an unprecedented sense of terrifying suffocation, sensing a dreadful oppressive force rippling through the air, as if all breath had been sucked away, leaving them unable to gasp.
The Battle Saint King was invincible in this starry expanse. Who could contend with him? Who could match him? One by one, the fearsome great dragons of blood energy ultimately dissipated, representing the fallen overlords, including true masters of Sacred Lands and even ancient recluses.
But they were all dead, slain one by one by him, their blood staining the starry sky.
The Battle Saint King's black hair flowed loosely. His bearing was peerless, heroic and unmatched for generations. His body was stained with fresh blood, all from those overlords and Saint Lords he had suppressed—not a single drop was his own.
Although the Battle Saint King had now withdrawn his vast, imposing aura, at this moment, merely standing there, the blood of the countless overlords he had slain still shimmered brilliantly, radiating extreme glory, compelling the many powerful figures to bow in worship, to kneel in submission.
Finally, everything was drawn inward. The Battle Saint King's once full, robust physique became withered, dry, and hard again. Not only was his heroic bearing gone, he now appeared rather eerie. Yet even so, everyone regarded him with awe and reverence; no one dared to make a move.
Everyone deeply understood the terror of the Battle Saint King. Should anyone dare to provoke him, the Battle Saint King could instantly revive to his peak state and suppress all peerless enemies within this starry domain.
In the starry sky, the Ancient Heavenly Court's divine general, the Yao Chi Sacred Land's palace master, the Buddhist divine monk, the Ye family head, and a group of other powerful figures had not participated in the battle earlier, but they were also moved, shocked by the Battle Saint King's world-shaking combat prowess.
Now, their expressions were complex. Having not acted before and having witnessed the Battle Saint King's power, they did not act again.
Ye Chen took a deep look at these immortal forces that possessed the supreme inheritances of Emperors and Sovereigns. Then, with a single step, he arrived at the sixth pyramid altar. The overlords contending on this altar all changed color in surprise, saying, "Battle Saint King, what do you mean by this? We never acted against you or the Tai Chu Saint Lord."
Ye Chen nodded. "Precisely because of that, I have no intention of acting against you. I am merely retrieving an artifact that belongs to me."
He ascended the sixth ancient altar, passing through the light barrier. Lying horizontally upon it was a large bronze halberd, simple and unadorned, covered with numerous ancient patterns as if recording the myriad heavens and eternity itself.
Ye Chen reached out and grasped the bronze halberd. With a rumble, even the void was affected, demonstrating just how incredibly heavy it was.
The overlords paled. They had tried to move it earlier but found this bronze halberd impossibly heavy; even powerful beings like them could barely budge it. They never expected the Battle Saint King to lift it so easily.
"This is a relic left to me by my master. It is not for others to wield," Ye Chen declared, holding the bronze halberd aloft. His gaze swept over the seven overlords who had been contending for it. At this moment, the seven overlords all retreated, not daring to meet Ye Chen's eyes.
Then, Ye Chen leaped, traversing the vast sky to arrive at the seventh pyramid altar. There, eight overlords were present, and on the altar lay an equally eerie divine object: a stone coffin.
It was similarly ancient and simple, with nothing special about it. But anything placed on a pyramid altar could not be ordinary, which was why the overlords had set their sights on the stone coffin.
Unfortunately, Ye Chen had arrived. With another simple statement: "This was also originally my treasure. I don't wish to say more. If anyone objects, we can settle it in battle."
That simple sentence made all the overlords pale. Who would dare to battle the Battle Saint King now? It would be nothing short of a suicidal act.
This mysterious stone coffin was also stored away within Ye Chen's internal space.
Finally, Ye Chen returned to the side of the Primordial Female Saint Lord.
This time, aside from the seven pyramid altars, there were other, smaller altars in the starry sky, each holding various treasures, though naturally none could compare to those on the seven pyramid altars.
Five out of seven had been obtained by Ye Chen.
Nothing else remained in this starry expanse.
"Is it over just like that? What about the legendary Primordial Immortal Realm?"
An overlord couldn't help but sigh softly. Only after all the treasures had been claimed did they remember: What about the slumbering Emperor within the so-called Emperor's Pass? What about the so-called Primordial Immortal Realm? The terrifying, sinister great evils?
Why was there only this peculiar starry domain and nothing else?
No one knew.
The guardians on the ten ancient passes, the immortal forces that had attacked through the ages, even the forceful assault by the ten ancient Great Sages to breach the passes—had their arrival yielded only these things?
The legendary Primordial Immortal Realm remained unseen, ethereal and illusory, making people wonder: Did such a world truly exist?
Was it all an illusion?
Boom—
Suddenly, infinite auspicious lights shimmered in the heavens, descending as an ancient, tattered stele, one zhang long and half a zhang wide.
This stele was exceedingly ancient, as if containing the vicissitudes of eternity. It was utterly ordinary and unremarkable, bearing only nine characters.
These nine characters appeared simple, yet no one could comprehend them. They were infinitely profound, as if containing the boundless Great Dao of heaven and earth. Even Saint Lord-level experts looking upon them could not truly penetrate their mysteries.
Roar—
The ancient stele was unadorned, but the first ancient character trembled, soaring into the sky and materializing into a colossal True Dragon that spanned the heavens. Its body was majestic and immense, each dragon scale vast enough to cover the sky, supreme and peerless.
The second ancient character also shone, with flames leaping and a Vermilion Bird soaring across the sky!
The third ancient character transformed into a Kunpeng, spreading its wings to strike the heavens!
...
One by one, the ancient characters evolved into mysterious, mythical holy spirits, beating their wings against the sky, standing majestically in the void, incredibly mysterious, as if manifesting the Dao of the myriad heavens.
Finally, the stele trembled. The nine holy spirits spanned the sky, their auras surging. Together, they blasted open a mysterious and blazing passage, with endless runes intertwining as if revealing a vast, immense world.
Everyone was astonished. Could this be the true Primordial Immortal Realm?
But another stele descended at this moment, inscribed with mythical ancient script. However, all the overlords paled, for to truly pass through, two-thirds of the people must be offered in Sacrificial Offering. Only one-third could pass.
Therefore, only one-third of those here could proceed.
Everyone instantly grew vigilant, especially many young geniuses who feared the more powerful figures might turn on them.
Suddenly, Ye Chen shuddered. A terrifying aura emanated from him. From within the passage opened by the ancient stele, he felt a mysterious summons, a tremor originating from the depths of his soul.
It was as if something, from the very deepest place, was calling to him, compelling him to enter the passage.