On the walls of the ancient hall, there were over a dozen murals, all incredibly lifelike, remaining undamaged despite countless years.
Inside the ancient hall, the other prodigies who had broken in were racking their brains for a way to enter the Ancient Divine Domain, but Ye Chen paid no attention to any of that. He focused entirely, viewing the murals in order from left to right.
The first mural depicted a vast world, with myriad stars above and a towering divine tree reaching into the boundless starry sky, spreading its branches and leaves.
There were soaring dragon clans, circling Golden-Winged Rocs, heavenly phoenixes shrouded in immortal flames, and ancient beasts as massive as mountains.
Divine Islands floated up and down, and in the distant sky, divine cities hung suspended. Countless powerful races appeared, and all living beings emerged. Everything displayed a scene of prosperity and splendor.
Many of the races depicted were not seen in the present era, but Ye Chen had glimpsed them in the eyes of the supreme beings of the alien race—they were races from the Mythical Era.
Without a doubt, the first painting depicted a scene from the Mythical Era, showcasing the flourishing and prosperous state of that age.
Looking at the next mural, it was similarly a magnificent world with the same sky-reaching divine tree. However, there was a vast divine city floating amidst the clouds above the Nine Heavens, appearing impregnable.
In the heavens, a grand and majestic divine throne appeared, positioned at the very center of the mural. A tall, imposing figure sat upon the divine throne, draped in layers of divine halos. His face was unclear, but he was surrounded by myriad stars, with a bright moon hanging high above. He looked down upon all heavens, overlooking the world.
Beneath the divine throne, powerhouses from various strong races knelt and paid homage, as if worshipping a supreme sovereign.
The aura emanating from the sovereign on the divine throne in the mural was similar to that of the statue in the hall. Ye Chen knew this was the Dark Night Sovereign.
In the past, he sat upon a divine throne, receiving the worship of all living beings across the heavens.
One could imagine that this was not the entire universe of the Mythical Era, but rather a magnificent divine kingdom. The Dark Night Sovereign was the monarch of this divine kingdom, supreme and revered, receiving homage from the powerful races of the divine kingdom.
The next seven or eight murals all depicted how glorious the Dark Night Sovereign was in the past and how prosperous the divine kingdom was.
In one mural, the Dark Night Sovereign's dharma manifestation reached the heavens. He casually plucked stars from the sky to adorn the divine city, displaying supreme divine might, making the powerful races from all directions submit in awe and reverence.
All of this showcased how powerful, prosperous, and glorious the Dark Night Sovereign was during the Mythical Era.
"Huh?"
Ye Chen suddenly let out a sound of surprise, having discovered something unexpected.
Starting from the ninth mural, the scenes were no longer of the prosperous divine kingdom but of battle.
In the ninth painting, the world of the divine kingdom suddenly shattered, revealing a massive black hole. From it surged endless creatures with pointed horns on their heads, bat-like wings on their backs, bodies covered in black scales, and wielding tridents. Each exuded a dense, evil black aura.
Ye Chen knew these were alien race demons. They had breached the barrier of the divine kingdom's world, entered it, and prepared to invade.
The subsequent murals depicted the powerhouses of the divine kingdom engaging in a great war with the alien race creatures. Both sides suffered countless casualties, with mountains of corpses and seas of blood below.
One by one, divine kingdom powerhouses or alien race demons were slain and fell, staining the entire sky crimson. The battle was extremely brutal.
Like the Angel Race, the more wings these demonic creatures had on their backs, the stronger and more terrifying they were. Many even appeared with six or twelve wings, their black aura sweeping across the heavens.
There was no shortage of Great Powers among the alien race.
Numerous divine kingdom powerhouses were slain by them, their blood staining the world—an incomparably tragic scene.
The powerhouses of the divine kingdom also rose to fight back. Naturally, ancient Great Sages emerged, shaking heaven and earth as they engaged in fierce combat.
The Dark Night Sovereign personally took action as well, slaying several alien race Great Powers and exterminating swathes of alien race powerhouses.
However, later, a colossal shadow as tall as the heavens appeared, with demonic mist billowing to the skies and sixteen wings on its back. This was a Demon Monarch of the alien race, forcing the Dark Night Sovereign, the divine kingdom's monarch on his throne, to personally step forward and engage it in battle.
Moreover, there was not just one alien race Demon Monarch; three appeared in total. Even someone as powerful as the Dark Night Sovereign was suppressed.
In later murals, a sun appeared, shining across the heavens and dispersing the demonic mist in all directions. Without much thought, it was clear this was the Sun Sovereign appearing, entering the divine kingdom to fight side by side with the Dark Night Sovereign, slaughtering enemies in all directions.
The Twin Sovereigns, united, were invincible under heaven. This was almost depicted in the murals—they feared not the three Demon Monarchs.
However, for some unknown reason, several consecutive murals after that suddenly crumbled, making them impossible to see clearly.
One of them was not completely shattered but only half remained. The alien race Demon Monarchs were not visible, but the sun and moon were seen—precisely the Twin Sovereigns, united as one. The ground was littered with the bones of both sides, with no one else present except the Twin Sovereigns.
But upon closer inspection, it was clear that in the mural, the Twin Sovereigns, united as sun and moon, seemed to face the most terrifying situation. They were covered in blood, their expressions seemingly shocked, having encountered an unbelievable scene.
What terrifying situation did the Twin Sovereigns encounter back then? Powerful as they were, united as one and invincible under heaven, they were actually so shocked and found it hard to believe.
Ye Chen's mind was in turmoil. Unfortunately, only half of the mural remained; the ones before and after were shattered, making it impossible to see clearly. Moreover, mysterious laws flowed, affecting time and space, preventing Time Reversal from restoring them completely.
Skipping past several shattered murals in haste, when the fifteenth mural appeared, it too was seen to be half-cracked.
Only the scene of the magnificent divine city shattering and the sovereign's divine throne breaking could be seen.
The sun in the sky split into pieces, and the moon representing the Dark Night Sovereign also cracked, falling to the earth.
The Twin Sovereigns seemed to have fallen for some unknown reason.
The next image was not a mural but a stone carving, later added by someone else.
Although crude, the carver, while depicting it, imprinted Dao mark runes, actually imprinting a trace of soul, revealing a glimpse of that moment.
The world of the divine kingdom was plunged into terrifying darkness. The sun was extinguished, the dark night was annihilated, the divine tree collapsed—everything was extinguished. All living beings lay dead on the ground; it was the end of the world.
But in the heavens, a raging, boiling river appeared. No one knew where it came from or where it flowed. It was mysterious, extraordinary, as if it should not exist in this world, not tolerated by the mortal realm.
"The River of Time!?"
Ye Chen was startled. The river was depicted with only a few strokes, but the aura it exuded was very similar to the River of Time, so he recognized it.
On the River of Time, a hazy figure appeared. What shocked Ye Chen even more was that on this figure's hand was clearly worn an ancient ring—
Old Yan's Ancient Ring!