The two Saint-level gatekeepers had been killed, burned alive into ashes, their Primordial Spirits extinguished.
Li Xuan could not stop it, and the Ancient Divine Palace remained silent, offering no intervention. Even in its normal state, the situation felt somewhat eerie.
Nevertheless, the matter had finally come to an end.
Fortunately, in the end, these individuals did not come forward to demand another audience with the Palace Master. Otherwise, even Li Xuan would not have known how to handle it.
Because these Heaven's Pride from the Myriad Domains were far too dangerous. If they truly intended to cause trouble, he would be powerless to stop them.
Not to mention the most invincible Battle Saint King; even any of the other True Kings, despite Li Xuan being stronger than an ordinary Saint Lord, he likely could not kill them.
Moreover, these individuals simply could not be killed. He recalled what Ye Chen had said to him before entering the Ancient Divine Palace: these True Kings were not only immensely powerful themselves, but they also represented the mightiest forces across the myriad realms, backed by ancient Great Sages who surpassed even Heavenly Kings. Killing them would mean thoroughly offending the myriad realms, inevitably inviting the most terrifying punitive consequences, unbearable even for the Ancient Divine Palace, this most ancient orthodoxy, which could very well face annihilation.
He now had a terrible headache, wondering why he had ever allowed this batch of Heaven's Pride from the Myriad Domains into the Ancient Divine Palace. It was practically inviting the wolf into the house.
Cang Jitian calmly uttered a single phrase: "A True King must not be insulted!"
Li Xuan was taken aback, then fell silent. True Kings were the most formidable group of prodigies across the myriad realms, each like Gu Changsheng, peerlessly dazzling through the ages, destined for extraordinary future achievements, at the very least becoming a Heavenly King in their generation. How could they be insulted?
The two Saint gatekeepers had simply gotten what they deserved. Even if the Palace Master within the Ancient Divine Palace learned of it, he likely would not pursue the matter.
Before leaving, Ye Chen cast a deep glance at the Ancient Divine Palace, his gaze profound as the sea. "We request Elder Li Xuan to lead the way."
"Very well."
Descending the mountain was not like ascending, which required traversing countless steps; they could fly directly down.
The group of nine soared through the air and soon vanished from the Ancient Divine Palace.
Not long after, several ethereal strands of divine sense appeared in the void, materializing into a few hazy, illusory figures. Astonishing auras radiated from them—all were Heavenly Kings!
These were divine sense incarnations, their true bodies far away in various locations, using this method to converse above the Ancient Divine Palace.
"Third Brother, why did you stop me from acting earlier, allowing those juniors to kill two of our people?" one Heavenly King spoke first, his tone aggressive. Though merely a divine sense incarnation, terrifying divine energy fluctuations rolled off him, causing the surrounding void to crumble.
Judging by his appearance, it was none other than Heavenly Brow Elder, his two long eyebrows twitching.
"Didn't you hear what that junior named Cang Jitian said? 'A True King must not be insulted.'"
At this moment, another Heavenly King clad in a green robe spoke gravely, "True King, True King, what defines a True King? They are true monarchs, qualified to bear the title of True King. Such individuals are all genuinely dazzling, peerless geniuses of the ages, like Gu Changsheng, with the hope of surpassing Heavenly Kings to achieve the status of ancient Great Sages. Their potential is boundless, future titans and Great Powers. How can they be bullied?"
"Heh, boundless potential or not, if no accidents occur, that's one thing. But the path to achievement is fraught with hardships; how many geniuses have fallen along the way," Heavenly Brow Elder sneered coldly.
The Third Heavenly King Elder glanced at him. "At least they haven't fallen yet. And you should be well aware of the figures backing them. The two gatekeepers got what they deserved. This matter cannot be pursued further."
Heavenly Brow Elder could only snort coldly, offering no further argument.
But indeed, they were deeply wary of the figures behind these True Kings.
"Why did the heavenly thunder appear for no reason, and with a trace of taboo aura? What caused it to emerge?" Another Heavenly King Elder spoke, ranked fifth, his expression rather unpleasant. "Who exactly touched upon a taboo?"
Even for powerful beings at their Heavenly King realm, heavenly thunder carrying a taboo aura was something to be feared.
Once heavenly thunder became tainted with taboo aura, its terror would multiply many times over.
"Could it be that the seals within the Heavenly Cave have loosened? Or is someone approaching the sealed land, provoking the taboo and thus invoking the Taboo Lightning?" Another Heavenly King Elder spoke, his expression turning grave when mentioning the sealed land.
It wasn't just him; even the others wore equally solemn expressions.
Because the sealed land was of paramount importance within the Ancient Divine Palace. Once loosened, it would spell catastrophic destruction for the entire Ancient Divine Palace.
Thus, year after year, a Heavenly King Elder was assigned to monitor it.
However, the First Elder shook his head. "It's not an issue with the sealed land. I observed it just now; everything is normal. It seems someone touched upon a taboo, hence the descent of the Taboo Lightning. Fortunately, this bolt of heavenly thunder was only tainted with a trace of taboo aura. A few more traces would have been far more troublesome."
Clearly, the First Elder's words carried great weight. The other Heavenly King Elders nodded, visibly relieved.
As long as the sealed land remained secure, all was well.
"It couldn't be any of us, nor should it be anyone from our Ancient Divine Palace. It must be one of those juniors who inadvertently touched upon an unknown taboo, triggering the heavenly thunder's strike."
The Third Heavenly King Elder spoke, having deduced the cause and effect through brief deduction. "Based on my reverse deduction, someone among them attempted to deduce the origins of our Ancient Divine Palace. But that is a taboo. Anyone who tries to pry into Heavenly Secrets will incur disaster, hence the heavenly thunder striking down to enforce the prohibition!"
"No need to guess. I know who it is. It must be that junior called the Battle Saint King, trying to deduce the truth about our Ancient Divine Palace," Heavenly Brow Elder snorted coldly. "How laughable. Our Ancient Divine Palace is so extraordinary; how could an arrogant upstart like him dare to recklessly deduce it? Isn't it fitting that he was struck by heavenly thunder?"
The other Heavenly King Elders shook their heads. How could the origins of the Ancient Divine Palace allow others to deduce them? It was a taboo; disaster was inevitable.
"It is indeed his fault for attempting to deduce the truth about our Ancient Divine Palace," the Third Elder said, but then looked at Heavenly Brow Elder. "But Heavenly Brow, wasn't your action a bit excessive? Making them ascend the divine mountain step by step, granting them an audience at the Ancient Divine Palace, yet letting them leave empty-handed? After all, they are the victors of the Golden Great Era. It is only natural for him to come and claim the successor status. No one has the right to refuse this, not even the Palace Master should."
Heavenly Brow Elder, however, snorted coldly. "Wan Fang, you are too soft-hearted. Although this youngster is remarkable—indeed, based on the confirmed information we've received, even Gu Changsheng was suppressed by him, his talent dazzling through the ages—his temperament is far too arrogant and disrespectful. To obtain the successor status, he incited public opinion against our Ancient Divine Palace, showed no regard for us, and even damaged Changsheng's Dao heart. Such a junior, no matter how outstanding his talent, is not worth keeping. I propose that this youngster must be forcefully suppressed and killed. Otherwise, he will undoubtedly become a future mortal threat to the Ancient Divine Palace."
He advocated for direct, forceful suppression, to eliminate Ye Chen within the Ancient Divine Palace.