The Emperor Sovereign suddenly paused, letting out a soft sigh. Since the other party dared to come, they had already made corresponding preparations, completely confident in their own formidable skills.
If they truly offended him, the other party might have a way to break through. Moreover, no one knew what other trump cards this Battle Saint King still possessed. If they thoroughly offended him, it would be the greatest misfortune for the entire Tian Xu Imperial Dynasty.
He had a premonition that this Battle Saint King definitely possessed the ability to push the entire imperial dynasty toward destruction.
Furthermore, the Ancient Divine Continent was ultimately too limited in scope. The Tian Xu Empire had developed over countless millennia, having basically reached its peak. To advance further, the only way was to step out of the Ancient Emperor Realm and head to the myriad realms of the heavens. That was the true opportunity for immortality; they must not lose the greater for the lesser.
The powerhouses exchanged glances upon hearing this, sighing softly. They all understood that their perspective was ultimately too narrow. If possible, they should venture into a broader world.
On the seventh floor, Ye Chen put down the ancient book in his hand, as if he could see the scene outside. The corner of his mouth slowly curved into a faint smile.
In fact, Ye Chen had only stayed in the seventh-floor pagoda for ten days before leaving, having completely comprehended all the ancient texts and materials. His understanding of the Ancient Emperor Realm naturally deepened by another level.
Among them were also records about the curse issued by the supreme existence from the Primordial era of the Ancient Emperor Realm mentioned by the Tian Xu Emperor Sovereign. They originated from a rather ancient stone stele, all recorded in Primordial ancient script. If not for the faint traces of divinity still flowing within, Ye Chen would have found it difficult to grasp their meaning.
However, there was another piece of secret history that made Ye Chen shudder—the Demon God Ruins. Its existence spanned an astonishingly long time, also dating back to the Primordial era, and that old knight was the same.
Ye Chen was greatly surprised. This was a being that had almost spanned the entire epoch of the Ancient Emperor Realm and had appeared several times on the Ancient Divine Continent.
Historically, there had been an Overlord-level force, not inferior to the nine great imperial dynasties, that attacked the Demon God Ruins. They suspected that there were longevity elixirs there, as well as a passage to leave the Ancient Emperor Realm, and launched a forceful assault.
Unfortunately, that assault occurred at least a million years ago, before the Tian Xu Empire was even born. Only a few records remained, stating that the old knight appeared and, overnight, the entire Overlord-level force was utterly annihilated, shaking the entire Ancient Divine Continent.
There were also fragmentary records from ancient sites suggesting that the true origin of the Demon God Ruins was astonishingly significant. It was not a city ruin from the Ancient Emperor Realm but came from another realm, and it suppressed a gate, suspected to lead to the land of the undying world.
As for Yi Wu on the other side of the Chaotic Sea, the records were roughly similar to those on the ancient jade from that superpower's collection.
Ten days later, he bid farewell and entrusted the Tian Xu imperial family with one matter: to search for traces of the Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor.
Who knew what that bastard dragon had done? It actually disappeared. Weren't they supposed to meet in the Tian Xu imperial capital?
Not long after, Ye Chen arrived at the imperial capital of the Divine Wind Empire, appearing openly once again, releasing his supreme pressure and entering the imperial palace.
Similarly, he finally received courteous treatment from the Divine Wind imperial family, and they made a mutual promise, the same as with the Tian Xu imperial family: to lead the Crown Prince of that imperial dynasty away to the myriad realms.
In exchange, Ye Chen also gained the benefit of consulting relevant materials, which were even more extensive than those of the Tian Xu imperial family, immersing Ye Chen for a full half-month before he finished comprehending them.
Subsequently, he appeared in the Changhua Empire, the Nine Provinces Empire, the Guhua Empire, the Divine Might Empire...
His figure also appeared in the imperial capitals of the nine ancient imperial dynasties, all with the same exchange condition: reading the relevant materials. His understanding of the Ancient Emperor Realm deepened manyfold at once.
Such pooling of collective wisdom was of immense benefit for grasping how to leave the Ancient Emperor Realm and how to seek the supreme inheritance.
Most importantly, the deeper his understanding, the more he could sense the extraordinariness of the Ancient Emperor Realm. Moreover, from the ancient records collected by several imperial dynasties, through certain traces, he detected a crucial point: a fearsome contingency had been laid within the Ancient Emperor Realm, spanning ancient and modern times, with grand ambitions.
It made even Ye Chen shudder, not daring to delve deeper, and he decisively abandoned the pursuit.
When he appeared in the Guhua imperial capital, the people of the Guhua imperial family surprisingly showed no anger, made no move, and, like the other imperial dynasties, allowed Ye Chen to enter the collection area. The entire process was personally escorted by the Emperor Sovereign into a grand hall where a large amount of the imperial dynasty's treasures were stored.
However, just after the Emperor Sovereign left, that area immediately erupted with boundless, blazing radiance. Countless multicolored light blades appeared—slaughtering light, constructed to directly envelop that magnificent hall. Almost in an instant, the hall completely collapsed.
"Hmph, what Battle Saint King? Truly laughable. Did you really think our Guhua imperial family would compromise with you?"
Within the imperial palace, the powerhouses of the Guhua Empire appeared one after another, watching the isolated area with cold sneers.
Endless light flickered, clanging and humming, absorbing the spiritual energy of the heavens and weaving together strands of terrifying slaughtering light.
That area had completely become a forbidden land. Not to mention a Saint Lord, even a peak Saint Vault expert would inevitably perish if they stayed within for long.
No wonder—this was a killing array left behind by an ancient recluse from the Guhua Empire in the past. That old monster had already stepped into Samsara back then. Although he ultimately failed, he fortunately survived, lingering for another three hundred years and even managing to research this terrifying killing array.
Unless one was a Heavenly King, anyone who stepped into this killing array would inevitably die. It could be said this was one of the foundations of the Guhua imperial family, usually guarding the fortune of the ancient imperial dynasty. Today, to deal with Ye Chen, they had no choice but to deploy it.
Not just the imperial family, even the entire imperial capital could sense the terrifying slaughtering aura, enough to make Saint Lords tremble with fear.
The several imperial dynasties that had previously offered corresponding exchange conditions sighed gloomily. It couldn't really be called regret, but the Guhua Empire's madness had extinguished their hopes.
They had all planned to send their respective Crown Prince successors to be taken away by him, to leave the Ancient Emperor Realm.
Unfortunately, hope was extinguished, but they couldn't blame the Guhua Empire.
After all, the Guhua Empire had lost an important Saint Lord-level figure at the hands of the Battle Saint King. Such a figure was one of the few important individuals in the entire imperial dynasty. Losing even one was immensely painful, naturally an irreconcilable great enmity.
At the same time, far away in the void ten thousand miles from the Guhua imperial capital, a tall and blurry figure stood motionless in the sky.
Upon closer look, this person was none other than the Battle Saint King, whom the world believed was trapped within the killing array—
Ye Chen!