Ye Chen silently stored away the fist-sized Abyssal Black Gold, his Primordial Spirit wrapping around it and withdrawing back into the center of his brow.
The Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor spoke up: "What were you doing probing her Mud Pill Palace with your Primordial Spirit?"
Ye Chen shook his head, offering no explanation. He simply gazed silently at the Primordial Female Saint Lord. Her entire body continuously overflowed with boundless immortal radiance, as supreme laws were added to himself, all to remain in this era and contend against the laws of heaven and earth's causality.
A trace of sorrow flickered in his eyes, and he let out a soft, helpless sigh.
He had wanted to take her with him, but he discovered that the Primordial Female Saint Lord could not be moved in the slightest, as if rooted to that very spot.
Even someone as powerful as him was unable to move her. Moreover, he sensed that the presence of the Primordial Female Saint Lord played an indispensable role in suppressing the remnant soul of the alien race Demon Sovereign.
In the end, Ye Chen chose to give up.
"I'm sorry, Jingruo..."
Ye Chen sighed softly, then sat cross-legged there. Day and night, he faced the future body of the Primordial Female Saint Lord, just to look at her a little longer.
The Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor also seemed to sense Ye Chen's state of mind at this moment and did not disturb him further, merely letting out a soft sigh of its own.
An unknown amount of time later, Ye Chen finally rose to his feet with a long, melancholic sigh.
Finally, he resolutely left this region. He was setting out on a journey to make himself stronger, more invincible.
All he could do was continuously strengthen himself, become truly supreme and invincible, stand above all existences past and present, become the most peerless existence, all to prevent the tragic scene of the future from occurring.
Whoosh—
Ye Chen's speed was incredibly swift. He soon traversed the entire Fallen Heaven Desolate Domain without looking back once, for there was no need.
The Fallen Heaven Desolate Domain remained as before, still harboring malevolent beings, but they posed no threat to him, for the greatest malevolence had already been severely wounded.
Moreover, with the future body of the Primordial Female Saint Lord suppressing this place, akin to a hand of the Emperors and Sovereigns of myth holding it down, what could possibly remain unsubdued?
Now, what he most wanted to do was hurry to the Dragon Phoenix Academy, then enter the Ancient Divine Domain to find his three fiancées and reunite with them. That was the proper path.
He did not employ the Realm-Treading Secret Technique, for even that would be too slow. Instead, he summoned a divine platform—the Void God Platform. It flowed with five-colored divine radiance, moving at an extreme speed as it pierced into the void, traversing the infinite void at breakneck pace.
A journey that should have taken three days was forcibly shortened by Ye Chen to merely half a day. He traversed almost the entire Dragon Phoenix Province and once again appeared before the grand, magnificent main gate of the Dragon Phoenix Academy.
However, unlike the lively and glorious scene of tens of thousands of young geniuses gathered there when he had left, the main gate had returned to a state of solemnity. The geniuses from the Myriad Domains had mostly departed, clearly indicating that the trial had already concluded.
The Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor shook its head and said: "Don't think too much about it. You sat before Zhao Jingruo for a full half-month. The trial only lasted seven days; it's long over. Those geniuses from the Myriad Domains have all left one by one."
Ye Chen suddenly understood. So he had sat before the future body of the Primordial Female Saint Lord for a full half-month, causing him to miss the Dragon Phoenix Academy's trial.
This was something he had not anticipated.
He shook his head somewhat helplessly. He just didn't know if the Dragon Phoenix Academy's invitation letter would still be useful at this point?
Ye Chen walked straight up to the grand, imposing main gate of the Dragon Phoenix Academy. True Dragons and immortal phoenixes soared amidst dazzling streams of light, dragons and phoenixes bringing auspiciousness, creating an atmosphere of peace and harmony.
However, over a dozen powerful guards were stationed before the gate, guarding the mountain entrance.
One of them, a man clad in battle armor who appeared imposing and was clearly the leader of the group, blocked Ye Chen's path. He coldly shouted: "Who are you? This is the Dragon Phoenix Academy. Idlers are not permitted to enter. Either show your Hidden Dragon Token."
The so-called Hidden Dragon Token was a token given to Dragon Phoenix Academy disciples, allowing them to enter and exit the academy in the future. As the number one cultivation academy in the Myriad Domains, the Dragon Phoenix Academy was not an ordinary institution that one could simply enter at will.
Ye Chen shook his head and spoke softly: "My apologies. I had urgent matters that required me to leave the Dragon Phoenix Academy temporarily. Now I wish to re-enter the academy. I ask for your leniency."
"Did you pass the academy's trial?" the man asked coldly.
Ye Chen was slightly taken aback, then shook his head. He possessed an invitation letter; why would he need to pass a trial?
"In that case, get lost. The Dragon Phoenix Academy does not permit idlers to enter. Make it quick and scram," the man immediately shouted coldly, his words utterly discourteous.
The other guards all cast cold glances his way, their expressions icy.
However, one of the guards looked at Ye Chen and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "This person looks somewhat familiar, as if I've seen him before."
"What 'seen him before'? People like him are a dime a dozen across the myriad realms. You've mistaken him for someone else," another guard curled his lip.
"Perhaps," the guard nodded, though a sense of unease lingered in his heart, always feeling something wasn't quite right.
At this moment, the Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor immediately enlarged its form, becoming a massive demonic flood dragon about a zhang in length. It concealed its dragon-like features, soared through the void, and jumped up and down, cursing loudly: "Damn it! So what if he didn't pass the trial? Do you have to look down on people like that? Are you going through menopause or did your period just arrive?"
Although it wasn't clear what it was saying, the Commander of the Dragon Phoenix Academy gate guards immediately had a cold glint in his eyes. Without another word, he reached out with a palm that rapidly enlarged, directly covering a vast expanse of the void. Accompanied by a stern, cold shout: "You impure-blooded beast, how dare you speak recklessly before this Commander? Come down here!"
The massive hand blotted out the sky. At this moment, the true cultivation level of the gate Commander was fully revealed. Although he spoke arrogantly and acted overbearing, one had to admit he was truly powerful. A single hand covered the entire firmament, with thousands upon thousands of Dao marks descending, causing the void to tremble and crack. It could seal heaven and earth, transforming into a small world to restrain its target.
The Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor stood upright, its claws clasped behind its back, yet it also spoke arrogantly: "You dare to speak wildly before this great dragon, you imbecile whose brain hasn't fully developed? What a joke! Little Yue, take action, suppress him."
Even without its prompting, Ye Chen would have acted. He truly held no favorable impression of this Dragon Phoenix Academy.
He stepped forward, also striking out with a large palm to clash against the other's. Boundless golden light erupted, inundating the sky, then directly shattered the opponent's palm, transforming it into streams of essence energy filling the sky.
His expression also turned slightly grave as he slowly shook his head: "Are all people from the Dragon Phoenix Academy this arrogant? It's one thing to forbid non-academy members from entering, but to have such an attitude... it truly disappoints me."