Ye Chen revealed a look of pleasant surprise.
Ever since obtaining the alien Great Power essence, he had been searching for an ancient Great Power-level essence, with the goal of fusing and refining it to achieve the peerless Chaos Great Power status.
However, he had never succeeded in fulfilling this wish.
Such an essence was incredibly rare and priceless, being the most fundamental essence of an ancient Great Power, containing their life essence power and Great Dao essence.
Theoretically speaking, obtaining an ancient Great Power's essence meant gaining everything that Great Power possessed, including the opportunity to become an ancient Great Power oneself. One could spend long years comprehending the Great Dao that the ancient Great Power had once grasped, walking the same path of enlightenment, taking a shortcut to most rapidly reach the realm of an ancient Great Power.
Of course, the prerequisite was not perishing and being able to refine that Great Power-level essence; otherwise, it was all just wishful thinking.
Back then, Ye Chen had been fortunate enough to obtain half a portion of alien Great Power essence from the Tian Du Continent, and later obtained another portion from the Gu Lan Great World.
Although some portions had been obtained by others, the alien Great Power essence in Ye Chen's hands alone accounted for eighty to ninety percent of what was available.
Ye Chen had never truly refined these alien Great Power essences, storing them within his body. From the very beginning, he had harbored great ambition: to completely refine both portions of Great Power-level essence and fuse them together, allowing the essence powers of the two universes to give birth to a Chaos Great Power-level essence, helping him achieve the peerless Chaos Great Power status in one fell swoop.
Unfortunately, such an idea was merely a pipe dream, because it was too difficult.
Because a Great Power-level essence was too hard to obtain, nearly impossible.
Ancient Great Powers, beings who looked down upon the myriad realms, were few in number even in the vast, boundless world of the myriad realms. They were all supreme existences, either ancestors of peerless Sacred Lands or Emperors and Sovereigns' clans, lofty and aloft.
Not only were they scarce in number, but when their heavenly life limit arrived and they passed away, aside from their immortal corpses remaining in the world, their Great Dao essence would generally dissipate into the world, making it extremely difficult to preserve.
Only some ancient Great Powers who died unexpectedly—such as those who passed away suddenly due to Qi deviation—might give birth to a Great Power-level essence. Or, like the alien Great Power sealed deep beneath the Tian Du Continent by September Great Power, they could be refined into a portion of Great Power-level essence.
Of course, such chances were rare. Moreover, generally speaking, any Great Power-level essence was a priceless treasure no less valuable than a Great Power-level ancient weapon, and would inevitably be strictly preserved by their respective major powers, sealed in the most secure locations.
Even ancient Great Powers would be wary of such places, finding it difficult to truly break in.
Ancient Great Powers without any backing were generally rare. Even if they aged and passed away, their Great Power-level essence would similarly dissipate into the world.
Therefore, considering all the above, it was truly difficult for Ye Chen to obtain a portion of Great Power-level essence, nearly impossible unless he had the ability to kill an ancient Great Power and forcibly refine a portion of Great Power-level essence.
But if he could do that, Ye Chen would already be an ancient Great Power.
For a long time, Ye Chen held little hope for this. He believed that to reach this step, he would at least need to attain the level of an ancient Great Power. Yet, he never expected to now see a portion of Great Power-level essence appear before his eyes within the Martial Arts Divine Stone.
Naturally, this filled him with immense joy.
Ye Chen was infinitely delighted; after countless calls, it had finally appeared!
That portion of Great Power-level essence was like an incredibly dazzling sun suspended at the very center of the martial arts space, radiating billions of zhang of light. It even faintly emitted a peerless ancient and modern Great Power-level supreme pressure, causing all the martial arts Imprint light clusters around it to scatter. Even Heavenly King-level martial arts Imprints were unable to approach, creating a vacuum.
Ye Chen coveted it. He absolutely had to obtain this portion of Great Power-level essence, as it was too crucial for the Chaos Great Power, indispensable. Otherwise, it would be truly difficult, nearly impossible, to obtain such a Great Power-level essence again in the future.
However, Ye Chen did not immediately act upon this Great Power-level martial arts Imprint, because his current strength was far from sufficient. Perhaps by utilizing the ocean of faith power and the essence power of the Gu Lan World, he could fight an ancient Great Power.
But that was the limit; defeating one was too difficult.
Moreover, the martial arts Imprint was guarded by a Great Power-level combat Imprint, capable of unleashing the ancient Great Power's strongest divine abilities and bolstered by the Great Power-level essence. Defeating it was truly too difficult unless he invited an ancient Great Power to help him seize this portion of Great Power-level essence, which would offer some hope.
As for why the Ancient Divine Palace felt assured placing a portion of ancient Great Power-level essence here, it was likely because within the Martial Arts Divine Stone, no one could defeat a Great Power-level combat Imprint. Ye Chen believed that even if countless powerhouses throughout the ages in the Ancient Divine Palace had tried, probably none had ever defeated a Great Power-level combat Imprint. Otherwise, they wouldn't leave a portion of Great Power-level essence here unused.
Ye Chen looked at that sun-like, eye-catching Great Power-level essence, filled with hope, determined to obtain it.
But before he had sufficient strength, he chose to leave, letting this portion of Great Power-level essence rest quietly within the Martial Arts Divine Stone space.
Sooner or later, he would return to obtain this portion of Great Power-level essence.
Ye Chen resolutely turned and left, shifting his gaze to those Heavenly King-level martial arts Imprints. There were a full forty-nine clusters, seemingly many, but they represented the legacies of numerous Heavenly Kings throughout the many millennia of the Ancient Divine Continent's history.
Each cluster represented the strongest martial art legacy of a powerful Heavenly King.
Naturally, Ye Chen intended to take action against these Heavenly King-level Imprints, to obtain all the Heavenly King-level martial arts Imprints stored here by the Ancient Divine Palace throughout the ages and thoroughly digest them, making himself even stronger.
Whoosh—
In the vast martial arts space, Ye Chen took a step forward, moving swiftly. In the blink of an eye, he arrived before one of the Heavenly King-level martial arts Imprints, which emitted faint threads of Heavenly King-level pressure, imposing an indescribable pressure even on Saints.
Ye Chen reached out and actively touched the martial arts Imprint. With a whoosh, his entire Primordial Spirit-transformed figure vanished, immediately entering a strange space.
However, Ye Chen was unaware that the moment he touched the Heavenly King-level martial arts Imprint, he had already attracted the attention of many powerhouses within the Martial Arts Divine Stone space.
Because generally, few people challenged these Heavenly King-level martial arts Imprints. Even those famous peak Saint Vault ancient recluses wouldn't challenge them, as it was too difficult, the gap too vast. Challenging them was more like asking for trouble, resulting in instant annihilation.
But when everyone saw that the challenger was Ye Chen, they were all slightly taken aback. Some even sighed, "I wondered who it was. It's that madman again, actually challenging a Heavenly King-level martial arts Imprint."
It was because in the past two years, Ye Chen had become truly famous, known by many in the Ancient Divine Palace. Especially those powerhouses who remained in the Martial Arts Divine Stone comprehending other martial arts Imprints paid close attention to him.
Because over these two years, he had continuously challenged one martial arts Imprint after another without pause, ranging from the lowest-level Demi-Saint martial arts Imprints to Samsara-level martial arts Imprints.
Some busybodies among them had even investigated and compiled a startling statistic.
In just these short two years, this unknown young man had actually challenged every single martial arts Imprint below the Heavenly King level without missing a single one, not even sparing the lowest-level Demi-Saint martial arts Imprints. Everyone deemed him a complete madman.
They had seen crazy people, but never someone this crazy, who had continuously challenged a full 3,129 martial arts Imprints below the Heavenly King level in the Martial Arts Divine Stone, from the bottom-tier Demi-Saint to Samsara-level without exception.
Such an action was simply unprecedented, a thoroughly madman's move.
Throughout the many years of the Ancient Divine Palace, no one had ever accomplished such a feat.
Because generally, those who came to the Martial Arts Divine Stone space to comprehend the martial arts Imprints left by predecessors would select those suitable for themselves to comprehend and challenge. Someone like Ye Chen, who challenged them all, was truly bizarre, unprecedented.
However, once someone engaged a combat Imprint, the Martial Arts Divine Stone would transport the challenger to another strange space. Outsiders couldn't see the actual combat situation, and it was difficult to tell whether they had obtained the divine abilities and spells recorded in the martial arts Imprint.
Most people simply viewed Ye Chen as a madman, believing this madman wasn't primarily aiming to comprehend various martial arts Imprints but rather to use these combat Imprints to continuously cultivate and temper himself, becoming stronger.
Although it seemed inspiring, and even if one failed the challenge, was killed, and exited, they would be immediately restored. However, during the challenge, the sense of life and death was very real, sending chills down one's spine. Few would continuously experience life and death just to temper themselves.
Moreover, more importantly, challenging a combat Imprint of a higher realm than oneself wasn't tempering; it was asking for trouble. Because often, such challenges resulted in complete suppression by the opponent, defeat in a single move, offering little tempering effect.
However, regarding Ye Chen's fame in the outside Ancient Divine Continent, few in the Ancient Divine Palace knew, because the vast majority who entered the Ancient Divine Palace paid no attention to outside affairs, focusing on secluded cultivation to break through to higher realms.
Therefore, Ye Chen's mad actions attracted the attention of many in the Martial Arts Divine Hall, especially when they saw him actively engaging those Heavenly King-level martial arts Imprints. Many were dumbfounded, finding it hard to believe.
"Quick, go see how this madman challenges a Heavenly King's method. Challenging Saint Treasury Realm ones wasn't enough; now he actually wants to challenge a Heavenly King-level Imprint. If he wants to die, there are better ways."
In the Martial Arts Divine Hall, many powerhouses had originally come to consult cultivation ancient texts, but upon hearing such news, they immediately entered the Martial Arts Divine Stone space.
Because Heavenly King-level martial arts Imprints were different; they could be spectated.
All along, they had been curious about this madman's strength, which had never been displayed in anyone's sight. Only some powerhouses whom Ye Chen had visited faintly felt he was an unfathomably powerful young expert; otherwise, his insights into the Dao couldn't be so profound. But as for how strong he was, they didn't know.
They were also very curious about exactly how strong Ye Chen was. Although they felt this young man couldn't defeat a Heavenly King-level combat Imprint, they should still be able to see part of his strength.
The news of the madman challenging a Heavenly King-level Imprint spread at an astonishing speed, quickly circulating throughout the entire Ancient Divine Palace.
Ancient Divine Palace, Yin-Yang Hall.
This was an extraordinary important location within the Ancient Divine Palace, where a Yin-Yang Divine Root was born innately, capable of continuously generating Yin-Yang Qi to nourish oneself and repair the Great Dao. It was one of the best cultivation sites.
Deep within the ancient hall, a hazy figure sat cross-legged. Faintly visible, this was a handsome, jade-like man, outstanding and extraordinary. Layer upon layer of brilliant Divine Halos manifested around him, a full ten layers overlapping and encircling his body.
One moment, the ten Divine Halos were dazzling and radiant, flowing with brilliant light that submerged the man's body, dreamlike and illusory, making him appear supremely sacred, as eye-catching as the Child of Light. The next moment, they abruptly transformed into deep Black Holes, like the maws of abyssal beasts, devouring all the Yin-Yang Qi evolved within the ancient hall and even swallowing the light in this void, plunging it into darkness.
Then the ten Black Holes transformed back into brilliant Divine Halos, erupting with dazzling light that continuously poured into this person's body, making his entire body glow, repeating this cycle endlessly.
Moreover, faintly, within the ten Divine Halos, there seemed to be mysterious figures sitting cross-legged, lofty and majestic, like ancient Great Emperors or Supreme Ones of antiquity, capable of overlooking eternity, reflecting this person as if he were a peerless Immortal King cultivating.
This person was none other than Yuan Yao Divine King.
Originally, this Yin-Yang Hall was the seclusion site of a highly respected powerhouse in the Ancient Divine Palace, a former Saint Lord who had once shaken the Ancient Divine Continent, with unfathomable cultivation. Invited by the Ancient Divine Palace to cultivate here, he was also granted this precious Yin-Yang Hall for cultivation.
Two years ago, after leaving Ancient Divine Mountain, Yuan Yao Divine King searched for cultivation sites within the Ancient Divine Palace and ultimately took a liking to this Yin-Yang Hall.
Because Yin-Yang Qi was very helpful for his recent cultivation, he initially visited quite politely, hoping to borrow the place to cultivate for a period.
But this request was opposed by that powerhouse, who issued a harsh statement: unless Yuan Yao Divine King could defeat him, he shouldn't even think of entering to cultivate.
As a result, Yuan Yao Divine King truly went to challenge this Yin-Yang Hall Master. The battle situation that day was unknown to anyone, but from that day on, that powerhouse withdrew from the Yin-Yang Hall, conceding it to Yuan Yao Divine King. The outcome spoke for itself.
At this very moment, that astonishing news arrived. Yuan Yao Divine King awoke from cultivation, looking toward the direction of the Martial Arts Divine Hall, his gaze as deep as a pool...