Within the mural, what terrifying scene did the Twin Sovereigns encounter in that battle, to be so shocked, so incredulous?
It was a pity the mural had vanished. Even if it hadn't, the section depicting that crucial moment was half destroyed, impossible to see.
On the River of Time, where did that ancient gate, which Tai Sheng Huang, carrying the fallen Twin Sovereigns, stepped into, lead to?
"The myth is shattered, death is not the end of everything, merely the beginning of another. Everything lies within the gate!"
Ye Chen kept repeating this mysterious phrase.
It seemed to emanate from the mural itself, but what did this phrase mean? What did it represent?
Death is not the end, merely the beginning of another?
Could it be that the Twin Sovereigns had not completely perished, and that stepping through that mysterious gate would resurrect them?
He didn't know. But where that ancient gate led was what truly piqued his curiosity.
Yet, why did the mural suddenly vanish, and why was there an eerie force erasing his related memories?
Everything was filled with too many unsolved mysteries.
In the hall, the various prodigies were all striving, attempting to touch the Sovereign statues to enter the Ancient Divine Domain, constantly resisting the Great Dao's hand. Only Ye Chen paced, pondering, yet finding no answers.
At this moment, the Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor from afar rushed over. Seeing Ye Chen deep in thought with furrowed brows, it couldn't help but ask curiously, "Little Yue, what are you thinking about? Tell me."
Seeing the Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor's gossipy expression, Ye Chen knew this fellow was well-traveled and knowledgeable. He said, "Do you know the meaning of the phrase: 'The myth is shattered, death is not the end of everything, merely the beginning of another. Everything lies within the gate!'?"
Hearing this, the Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor was greatly startled and hurriedly asked, "Little Yue, where did you hear this phrase?"
Ye Chen looked at this scoundrel of a dragon with surprise and suspicion. Could it really know?
"You tell me what it means first."
The Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor suddenly shed its usual lecherous demeanor, becoming solemn. "I have seen similar words on a ruin suspected to be from the Mythical Era."
"The myth is shattered, death is not the end, but a new beginning. Everything lies within the gate," it recited a similar phrase.
"It is rumored that some supreme existences in the world, upon nearing their end, did not suffer complete annihilation of both body and spirit. Instead, they passed through a mysterious gate into another mysterious realm to be reborn. That gate leads to all the secrets of the world—the Primordial Immortal Realm!"
The utterance of the four words 'Primordial Immortal Realm' seemed to stir a thunderclap from antiquity. A muffled thunder sounded from the lofty, unreachable sky, as if touching upon some kind of taboo.
"The Primordial Immortal Realm!?" Ye Chen was shocked. This was not the first time he had heard this term. He had heard of it back when attacking the Purple Mansion Sacred Land.
In some ancient rumors from distant ages, there were ancient records.
Above the myriad realms, there was actually a vast, boundless great world, a more majestic world, even more expansive and immense than the myriad realms, rich in immortal energy, filled with endless experts and powerhouses, stronger than the myriad realms.
That great world was precisely the Primordial Immortal Realm.
However, it had always been believed that the Primordial Immortal Realm was merely a world belonging to myth and legend, a fictional great world, not a truly existing realm.
Because throughout eternity, countless people believed it impossible for a world more vast and immense than the myriad realms to exist in the universe. It was merely a mysterious world imagined and fabricated by some, fundamentally non-existent.
Moreover, records of the Primordial Immortal Realm had always only existed in those unofficial histories. Even among the most ancient immortal legacies, only a handful of ancient histories recorded scant descriptions of the Primordial Immortal Realm.
And the related content was very little, pitifully little, only occasionally mentioning a sentence or two, all glossed over.
But at the Heavenly Pass at the end of the ancient path leading from the Purple Mansion Sacred Land, it was suspected to lead to the legendary Primordial Immortal Realm. This had once caused many Great Powers to join forces to attack the Heavenly Pass, blasting open a passage.
Over a hundred thousand years ago, the Purple Mansion Sacred Land, under the leadership of the Purple Mansion Great Power, mobilized the entire sect to advance into the Primordial Immortal Realm, only to be blocked and become sinners there, remaining stationed there for generations over a hundred thousand years.
Unfortunately, the other side of the Heavenly Pass was the Starry Land. But Ye Chen had a vague feeling that it might not be the final destination, merely a midpoint.
And what Ye Chen remembered most was a sentence once recorded on a stele at the Purple Mansion Sacred Land—
"The Emperors and Sovereigns of myth, could they all be in the Primordial Immortal Realm?"
This was a sigh left by the Purple Mansion Great Power when advancing towards the Heavenly Pass, speculating that the reason the Emperors and Sovereigns of the Mythical Era disappeared after that era was not because they went somewhere else, but because they all entered the Primordial Immortal Realm.
Combined with the mural he saw earlier, of Tai Sheng Huang riding the River of Time into a mysterious gate, and the Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor's explanation...
Could the Primordial Immortal Realm truly exist?
Upon thinking this, Ye Chen felt an indescribable shock in his heart.
"Does the Primordial Immortal Realm truly exist in the world?" Ye Chen inquired.
The Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor shook its head. "The Primordial Immortal Realm is too mysterious, never seen. Throughout eternity, the world has believed it to be illusory, impossible to exist in the world. But many ancient Great Sages believe the Primordial Immortal Realm exists. According to some mythical ruins, it once manifested in the world. And the disappearance of the Emperors and Sovereigns during the Mythical Era was because they entered the Primordial Immortal Realm."
"'The myth is shattered, death is not the end, but a new beginning. Everything lies within the gate.' This might be a kind of proof, suggesting that the Emperors and Sovereigns of the Mythical Era did not die, but passed through that gate into the Primordial Immortal Realm."
"But whether it exists cannot be verified, as it has never manifested in the myriad realms. However, the phrase 'death is not the end, merely the beginning of another' is said to have been spoken by an Emperor and Sovereign of the Mythical Era, suspected to confirm the existence of the Primordial Immortal Realm."
"The Slaying Immortal Great Emperor of the Mythical Era is also rumored to have entered the Primordial Immortal Realm and encountered invincible Immortals, comparable to Emperors and Sovereigns, rivaling the Heavenly Dao, engaging in a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering battle. The outcome is unknown, but legend says his later creation of the Eight Slaying Immortal Forms, intending to slay Immortals, was related to this."
"There are also rumors that there, one can become an Immortal, become an Emperor, achieve immortality, even comprehend the supreme Heavenly Dao, surpassing Emperors and Sovereigns."
"Unfortunately, everything is unknown, mostly deduced from unverifiable ruins or unofficial histories."
"Naturally, it might also truly be a great world imagined by the people."
"But where did the Emperors and Sovereigns of myth go? They were supreme, immortal, overlooking the heavens, unrivaled, the most powerful existences. Even during the Great Shattering of Myth, not all should have perished battling the alien race."
"Like the Heavenly Emperor, the Battle Saint Holy Emperor, Tai Sheng Huang, the Time-Space Great Emperor, the Slaying Immortal Great Emperor, and so on—all could look down upon past, present, and future. Could they all have perished?"
"The Heavenly Emperor was peerless, existing since the chaos of Heaven and Earth Creation, the most ancient Emperor and Sovereign, who once slew Emperors and Sovereigns, a heavenly stele burying them, Emperor blood staining the stele."
"The Battle Saint Holy Emperor defied the heavens to live another life, shedding his past self, creating the Battle Saint Art, his battle body peerless, causing even alien Emperors and Sovereigns to weep blood."
"Tai Sheng Huang nearly stepped onto the Chaos Dao. Yin and Yang, which is stronger? Combining Yin and Yang, proclaimed Emperor across the heavens—how dazzling."
"The Time-Space Great Emperor traversed past, present, and future, able to shuttle through them..."
"One after another, the Emperors and Sovereigns of myth, all the most dazzling figures of the world, where did they go? It's impossible they all perished."
"It is said an Emperor slumbers within the Heavenly Pass. It might be one of them, or it might not."
"The Primordial Immortal Realm might truly exist in the world."
The Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor, unusually solemn, recounted much about the Primordial Immortal Realm, also mentioning the most powerful Emperors and Sovereigns of past and present, discussing the proposition, deducing whether the Primordial Immortal Realm existed.
Ye Chen listened, lost in thought. The Primordial Immortal Realm was too mysterious. Perhaps it truly existed in the world; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many records.
The whereabouts of the Emperors and Sovereigns of myth were a mystery. No one believed they all perished in the battle of the Great Shattering of Myth; it felt like some were still alive.
The gate that Tai Sheng Huang, riding the River of Time, entered might also be the Primordial Immortal Realm. Otherwise, the phrase wouldn't have vaguely emerged: "The myth is shattered, death is not the end of everything, merely the beginning of another. Everything lies within the gate!"
Moreover, the Heavenly Emperor, the Saint Ancestor of the Battle Saint lineage, the Time-Space Great Emperor, Tai Sheng Huang, the Slaying Immortal Great Emperor—one Great Emperor after another, each dazzlingly talented, proud and overlooking past, present, and future.
Among them, some were even powerful enough to slay Emperors and Sovereigns. Could they all have perished?
In the present era, Emperors and Sovereigns did not appear, leaving only scattered traces of their legacies, untraceable.
Perhaps even the Emperor and Sovereign clans might not know the whereabouts of the Emperors and Sovereigns, even suspecting they were in the Primordial Immortal Realm fabricated by the world. Didn't the Angel Race's Holy Feather Venerable One personally move to forcefully assault the Immortal Heavenly Pass?
Death is not the end, but the beginning of another. Everything lies within the gate!
This phrase, suspected to have been spoken by an Emperor and Sovereign of myth, recorded on ancient ruins, also seemed to vaguely prove the existence of the Primordial Immortal Realm.
Tai Sheng Huang riding the River of Time into the gate, the phrase emanating from the mural—everything seemed to be confirming the correctness of this phrase.
But it could never be truly confirmed unless a true Emperor or Sovereign spoke.
In the world, perhaps only Emperors and Sovereigns knew. But Ye Chen knew there might be another person who knew—
The Human Sovereign!
Hailed as the existence closest to Emperors and Sovereigns throughout eternity, able to touch their domain. Perhaps the Human Sovereign might know these things.
But the Human Sovereign wouldn't tell him. And he knew there should be another person, perhaps even an Emperor or Sovereign still existing in this world, not vanished—
The mysterious figure shrouded in chaotic energy on the River of Time!