"Seeking the Dao to Find Immortality, Eternal and Undying!"
These eight words exploded beside Ye Chen's ears like a thunderclap on a clear day.
It was as if they were a vast, profound Heavenly Dao resonance.
To bury an entire universe, just for the sake of eternal life and immortality?
The price paid was far too great.
Ye Chen thought it was not worth it and pressed further: "Aren't Emperors and Sovereigns already eternal and undying? Why must they seek the Dao to find immortality?"
Emperors and Sovereigns could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Heavenly Dao, possessing truly immortal lifespans. They could already stand upon the River of Time, looking down upon past, present, and future. Why would they pay the terrible price of burying a universe just to enter the Primordial Immortal Realm?
The figure suspected to be Old Yan now seemed like an enlightened master, with none of his previous confusion remaining. His voice was firm and resonant: "Immortals are eternal and undying because of the Primordial Immortal Realm!"
These concise words instantly made everything clear to Ye Chen. It was like a sudden enlightenment.
There are no immortal living beings, only indestructible heavens and earth.
Even Emperors and Sovereigns may not be eternal and undying. Just as in the Mythical Epoch, when numerous Emperors coexisted, they still encountered the terrifying battle of the Great Destruction.
Even a universe as powerful as this one could not escape unscathed; it was nearly completely buried. It was only preserved because the Emperors of the Mythical Era paid an unimaginable price.
But the Primordial Immortal Realm was truly eternal and undying, even far more powerful than the Mythical Epoch. A catastrophic disaster like the Great Destruction of the Mythical Era could not possibly occur there.
It was precisely because of this that immortals were eternal and undying.
Yet Ye Chen felt there was no true eternal immortality. Hadn't the Ship That Slays Immortals slaughtered true immortals?
What of immortals?
Hadn't they been slaughtered too!
What of the Primordial Immortal Realm?
Hadn't it been attacked too!
Although the price was the burial of a vast universe and the extinction of all life, it also represented that nothing in this world was completely eternal and undying—not even the Primordial Immortal Realm. It was just that it had not yet been fully breached.
The figure suspected to be Old Yan said: "'Seeking the Dao to Find Immortality' does not refer to immortals, but to the Primordial Immortal Realm. The Immortal Realm is undying, so immortals are undying. 'Seeking the Dao to Find Immortality' is seeking the Primordial Immortal Realm."
Ye Chen shook his head and let out a cold laugh. He firmly believed there were no immortal heavens and earth, only an invincible self.
Only by being truly invincible could one endure eternally, even if the Primordial Immortal Realm were to decay and perish.
Of course, he did not voice this, merely holding firm to his own Dao. He looked at the figure suspected to be Old Yan and asked again: "May I ask, have the Emperors of the Mythical Era, the undying ones, all entered the Primordial Immortal Realm?"
The whereabouts of the Emperors who did not fall in the Mythical Era had always been a subject of speculation among people—whether they had entered the Primordial Immortal Realm. But most believed they had perished, as the Primordial Immortal Realm was generally thought not to exist.
Now that Ye Chen had confirmed the existence of the Primordial Immortal Realm, he had this doubt as well.
Naturally, he also knew that some had not entered, such as the mysterious figure shrouded in chaotic energy upon the River of Time.
But what he wanted to ask was whether the Emperors and Sovereigns had all perished, whether some had entered the Primordial Immortal Realm, and how many had not.
"No, some entered, some did not," replied the figure suspected to be Old Yan. This answer was both within Ye Chen's expectations and beyond them.
Because he had not expected the figure suspected to be Old Yan to actually know, and he grew increasingly suspicious of this figure's identity.
Or rather, he was suspicious of Old Yan's identity. What exactly was he? At the very least, he was no weaker than an ancient Great Sage.
This had always been Ye Chen's assessment, but it seemed even more extraordinary now.
Judging from the words of the figure suspected to be Old Yan, it seemed more than one Emperor or Sovereign had remained in the myriad realms. There were others.
Who else?
Ye Chen was deeply puzzled, but unfortunately, he did not know. He pressed for an answer.
"It cannot be spoken of," the figure suspected to be Old Yan responded with these words. "Heavenly Secrets must not be revealed!"
Ye Chen looked up at the heavens above. He understood somewhat—perhaps the Heavenly Dao was monitoring, sealing off taboos. Certain things could not be spoken of to avoid creating certain causalities.
Boom! Rumble—
The Chaotic Sea erupted because the Ship That Slays Immortals was sailing toward Ye Chen's location. Towering waves exploded, rumbling incessantly.
Ye Chen's expression changed slightly. He hurriedly moved to evade, wanting to avoid it, but he noticed the figure suspected to be Old Yan remained motionless, actually staying in place.
"Old Sir, hurry and leave! If we don't go now, it will be too late."
Ye Chen called out. He could feel an unparalleled, overwhelming pressure emanating from the Ship That Slays Immortals, wantonly spreading out, suppressing the heavens, exploding the sea. It was utterly terrifying, as if it could shatter all realms.
That buried dark universe was rapidly sailing over alongside the Ship That Slays Immortals, carrying boundless deathly aura.
But the figure suspected to be Old Yan shook his head, gazing blankly at the approaching Ship That Slays Immortals ahead. "No, I can feel that on this Ship That Slays Immortals, there seems to be a point of contact with my memories. I need to go and search for it myself. I have lost too many memories. Perhaps there, I can find memories that belong to me."
Ye Chen was shocked, but with a flick of his sleeve, the figure suspected to be Old Yan actually shifted Ye Chen's Dao body tens of thousands of miles away, evading the Ship That Slays Immortals.
Subsequently, through his Eyes of the Heavens, Ye Chen saw from afar the figure suspected to be Old Yan soaring into the sky, charging into that enveloping dark universe and even boarding the Ship That Slays Immortals.
However, Old Yan's figure completely vanished.
In the hand of his true body outside the Chaotic Sea, the Tai Sheng Huang Ancient Ring lost its circulating radiance.
Ye Chen fell silent for a moment, no longer asking questions. He merely watched the distant Ship That Slays Immortals, steering that shattered dark universe, rapidly departing until it finally vanished into the endless chaos.
His Dao body dared not follow. This ship was inviolable; it had slaughtered true immortals and possessed an undying aura. If he charged in, his Dao body would likely be destroyed instantly, and his true body's location might even be tracked.
He did not believe he could escape such an invincible warship that had slaughtered true immortals.
After letting out a soft sigh, his true body looked at the Tai Sheng Huang Ancient Ring in his hand, feeling somewhat desolate.
Since this person was not Old Yan, where was the real Old Yan now? Why had he never appeared? What had happened?
This was a lingering doubt in his heart, one that had never been resolved.
Silently suppressing all his thoughts, Ye Chen's Dao body continued deeper into the Chaotic Sea. He wanted to continue investigating this sea and even attempt to cross it to reach the other side.
After advancing fifty thousand miles into the Chaotic Sea, Ye Chen felt the suppression of heaven and earth had reached a limit. His power was weakened to the level of an Ancient Saint, and he felt unable to proceed further unless his true body came.
It was at this moment that he vaguely saw a vast, boundless continent emerging.
The other side of the Chaotic Sea?