That drop of blood was so glaring, so dazzling, carrying the unique aura of Gu Changsheng.
It was a drop of blood that had accidentally stained Ye Chen's lapel during the battle, not yet removed, and was now taken out.
Had Gu Changsheng been defeated!?
Even though Heavenly Brow Mystic Elder had cultivated for who knows how many years, his state of mind had long been tempered to remain unperturbed, yet at this moment, he still felt immense shock.
The most powerful successor of the Ancient Divine Palace in countless years, far stronger than any previous successor, entrusted with unparalleled hopes, a successor expected to surpass the ancients—had he actually been defeated?
This news was simply too astonishing.
Heavenly Brow Mystic Elder immediately looked at Ye Chen with a cold gaze, an overwhelming aura of power slowly emanating from his body.
This was the great dao aura of a Heavenly King, earth-shattering and heaven-shaking, capable of tearing apart heaven and earth with a single move. It directly pressed down on Ye Chen, accompanied by a cold snort that exploded like Immortal Thunder beside his ear: "Brat, I don't care who you are, nor do I believe you have the strength to defeat Gu Changsheng. You must have used some despicable means. Perhaps your master is one of those old fellows from the Nine Great Emperor Dynasties; otherwise, how could you defeat Gu Changsheng?"
"Today, no matter who you are, since you dared to come here, do you want to obtain the successor status of my Ancient Divine Palace? Ridiculous. How could the successor status of my esteemed Ancient Divine Palace be obtained by an outsider, by a despicable scoundrel? Today, I will definitely suppress and kill you."
Boom! With a flip of his large hand, the dao techniques flowed naturally, emulating nature, and even contained the might of a Heavenly King, far surpassing that of a Saint Lord by who knows how many times. With a single move, it could shatter the heavens and annihilate the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths—this was no exaggeration.
The Heavenly King's large hand immediately pressed down on Ye Chen, and its reach extended without limit, covering the other Immortal True Kings as well, intending to kill everyone in one fell swoop.
Because in his eyes, these people were all doomed to die.
"Mystic Elder, you must not!"
Li Xuan shouted. It wasn't that he was worried about the lives of Ye Chen and the others, but rather that Ye Chen's entry had been witnessed by the entire world. If anything happened to him, the reputation of the Ancient Divine Palace would plummet to its lowest point in history.
This would be a loss outweighing the gain.
But he couldn't explain it clearly in a short time, nor could he stop it. Watching as Heavenly Brow Mystic Elder's palm pressed down, the other Immortal True Kings grew furious. Even facing a Heavenly King, faint mysterious light flickered within their bodies.
If the attack landed, given their status, how could they not have life-preserving trump cards?
Ye Chen, in particular, raised his hand and struck out, Faith Power flowing between his fingers and palm, colliding with the attack.
Boom—
The two collided, causing heaven to collapse and earth to split. Vast divine might shook heaven and earth, alarming almost everyone within the Ancient Divine Palace.
If not for the extraordinary nature of the Ancient Divine Palace, with divine radiance surging from the Ancient Divine Mountain to envelop this area and all the halls glowing, who knows how much destruction the divine might of their collision would have caused.
The void shattered, and Ye Chen was forced back several steps in a hurried defense that was less than ideal, putting him at a slight disadvantage.
But this scene fell into Heavenly Brow Mystic Elder's eyes with immense surprise. He never expected Ye Chen to be able to withstand it.
"Old fellow, do you really want to start a fight?" Ye Chen's expression darkened. Although the other party was a Heavenly King, he showed no fear. Faith Power poured down from between his eyebrows like an abyss and sea, flooding his body and allowing him to wield a power no weaker than that of a Heavenly King.
This was his confidence. If a battle truly erupted, he could fight to the end.
"It's Faith Power, and so much of it. No wonder."
Heavenly Brow Mystic Elder's pupils immediately contracted slightly. "What audacity! Those old fellows from the Emperor Dynasties must have eaten the guts of heaven, daring to lend out such powerful Faith Power without hesitation. Do they really want to oppose my Ancient Divine Palace and be erased from the map of the Ancient Divine Continent?"
At this point, he still believed Ye Chen was the disciple of some Heavenly King ancestor from an Emperor Dynasty, who had gone to great lengths, even lending out the Faith Power accumulated over millennia by the dynasty.
Li Xuan hurriedly transmitted a message: "Mystic Elder, you've misunderstood. He is not from the Nine Great Emperor Dynasties, and even those behind him are young geniuses from the myriad realms!"
"The myriad realms!?"
Heavenly Brow Mystic Elder was stunned for a moment before immediately snapping back to reality, looking at Ye Chen and the others in surprise. Given his status and position, how could he not know of the myriad realms?
His expression immediately changed repeatedly, turning rather unpleasant.
No wonder this youth was so powerful. He knew exactly how strong these young geniuses from the myriad realms were. Throughout history, they had far surpassed the geniuses of the Ancient Divine Continent, leaving behind many astonishing feats on the Ancient Divine Continent and even throughout the Ancient Emperor Realm, some of which were still circulating to this day.
When it came to the geniuses of the myriad realms, who wouldn't pale?
He never expected that the young geniuses before him were from the myriad realms, nor did he expect Gu Changsheng to have fallen at their hands this time.
But to let Ye Chen and the others go just like that, he felt somewhat unwilling.
At this moment, Li Xuan briefly recounted what had happened outside before Ye Chen came to the Ancient Divine Palace, persuading Heavenly Brow Mystic Elder not to act rashly and harm Ye Chen and the others.
Heavenly Brow Mystic Elder drew a sharp breath of cold air. He never expected Ye Chen to be so ruthless, inciting the emotions of the masses, nor did he expect the Heavenly Kings of the Nine Great Emperor Dynasties to indirectly express their support for him.
Now, capturing him would be somewhat troublesome.
Ye Chen sneered, the light between his eyebrows shining brilliantly. There, a lake of Faith Power flickered, vast and boundless like an abyss and sea, causing Heavenly Brow Mystic Elder some apprehension.
Then, he said to Li Xuan, "Fellow Daoist Li Xuan, please continue leading the way to pay respects to the Palace Master and the various Supreme Elders."
Li Xuan sighed inwardly. Seeing that Heavenly Brow Mystic Elder, despite his unpleasant expression, did not continue to obstruct, he led Ye Chen up the mountain.
The Ancient Divine Mountain was extraordinary, with an invisible pressure of the great dao pouring down. However, unlike the previous celestial staircase trials, it only prevented others from flying upward. Except for the few Supreme Elders at the Heavenly King realm, everyone else had to tread solidly and ascend step by step as a sign of respect.
The Ancient Divine Mountain was towering and unattainable. Li Xuan led Ye Chen and the others up step by step, their speed not particularly fast. A day had passed, but the group had only reached the halfway point up the mountain.
But Ye Chen and the other True Kings were in no hurry, because the pressure of the great dao pouring down from above was at the Heavenly King level. It had a certain effect on them, allowing them to sense a trace of the profound mysteries of the Heavenly King realm.
From the halfway point, they could see most of the Ancient Divine Palace's appearance: layers upon layers of halls and pavilions, as well as a gray, hazy sky. The concentration of spiritual energy was astonishingly rich, far beyond imagination, surpassing even supreme sacred lands.
Finally, two days later, under Li Xuan's guidance, Ye Chen and the others finally appeared at the mountain peak. Looking up, they saw a gray, hazy sky, and a majestic, solemn ancient hall stood there prominently. On its plaque were three large characters—
Ancient Immortal Hall!