One of them descended before Ye Chen, its eyes radiating bloodlust and savagery. It swung a palm towards him, its hand covered with millions of inverted spikes entwined with a pitch-black, ominous light, exuding a fearsome sense of threat.
Boom—
Ye Chen's expression was icy cold. With just a single punch, he pierced through the powerful living being blocking his path, blowing apart half its body. His method was simple and brutal, yet overwhelmingly powerful.
He then slapped out with his palm, causing the void to collapse. The entire mountain cave nearly crumbled as that living being was directly blasted into smithereens, its Primordial Spirit shattered.
Only a divine crystal, larger than a human head, fell into his hand. It contained a vast amount of pure divine energy, which he absorbed into his body.
Facing the actions of the other True Kings, Ye Chen did not oppose them. Instead, the Great Dao Treasure Vase manifested above his head, transforming directly into a deep, dark Black Hole. A terrifying devouring force acted upon a vast swath of the eggs.
In an instant, the life energy of the young beings incubating within at least thirty thousand eggs was drawn into his body.
He could feel his own life force actually strengthen by a noticeable margin; his lifespan had increased, and his Battle Sacred Body had grown slightly more powerful.
This astonished him. No wonder some evil sects enjoyed harvesting the life essence of living beings. Not only could it delay the arrival of one's life limit, but it also had such wonderful uses. He wondered if harvesting all the life energy here could make his Battle Sacred Body grow even stronger.
Or perhaps, harvesting the life essence of the billions of living beings on the entire Ancient Divine Continent could elevate his Saint Body to an unprecedented height, maybe even to the point where he could confront, or even slay, a Heavenly King with his bare hands.
Undoubtedly, this was a temptation. With Ye Chen's current strength, if he returned to the Ancient Divine Continent now, which was experiencing a power vacuum, he might not be able to completely slaughter the entire continent due to the obstruction of the Ancient Divine Palace Master and a limited few Heavenly Kings. But if he truly went mad, he could probably manage half the continent.
Naturally, Ye Chen would not do such a thing. It would invite heavenly retribution; future tribulations would be laden with sin, and karmic flames would descend—that was the most terrifying prospect.
Moreover, his own conscience would not allow him to do it. It was a matter of morality, of conscience. He was unwilling to cause widespread suffering among living beings and would not allow others to do so either.
However, facing these ferocious living beings, he felt no such compunction.
Boom—
The Black Hole above Ye Chen's head suddenly expanded, its effect covering the entire mountain cave, enveloping at least over three hundred thousand eggs.
Strands of life essence were forcibly seized, drawn into the Black Hole, and then transformed into a pure source of life that flowed into Ye Chen's body. His physique glowed with radiant light, his height seemingly increased by several inches, and his blood energy grew much more vigorous and imposing.
The other True Kings, unwilling to fall behind, also took action one after another, frantically competing to seize the life essence within the mountain cave.
Visibly, large patches of the glowing eggs withered, completely losing their vitality. Meanwhile, the life force of the young True Kings continuously strengthened, their auras growing more intense.
In almost half an hour, seventy percent of the eggs in the mountain cave had withered, their life essence stripped away.
Eventually, even the powerhouses from the Ancient Divine Continent, who had finished paying respects to the Black Prison Heavenly King outside, entered. Witnessing their actions, they were dumbfounded, not with blame, but with regret for being late.
Especially the ancient recluses, who nearly beat their chests in frustration for missing a great opportunity. Absorbing a portion of that life essence could have delayed their own life limits by some years. Now, they too charged forward frantically, competing wildly with Ye Chen and the others, showing no regard for anything.
These were individuals approaching their life limits, the most reckless and fearsome; generally, no one dared to provoke them.
For the Heavenly Kings present, only these eggs were available, and absorbing them wasn't of much use. As they did not intervene, the other overlords dared not interfere either, forced to watch helplessly and with resignation.
In the blink of an eye, another full five hundred thousand strands of life essence converged, refined by Ye Chen into a source of life, making the other powerhouses green with envy. One ancient recluse, having lost his reason, charged forward with reddened eyes.
"Come back quickly!"
Another ancient recluse shouted, but it was too late!
Pfft—
The ancient recluse came fast and went even faster, sent flying while spitting blood, his face considerably paler. Only when he saw the Battle Saint King standing indifferently and mercilessly in the void did he snap back to his senses, filled with regret.
The thousands of life essence strands he had just devoured were all vomited out, and he was injured to boot—a classic case of trying to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice.
In the end, Ye Chen ceased his actions. The various True Kings had seized enough life essence. Continuing to compete would mean making enemies of those ancient recluses, which was clearly unwise.
Boom—
Suddenly, an unprecedented, terrifying aura erupted from the very center of the mountain cave. The entire thousand-zhang-wide, towering mountain cave began to shake violently, with numerous cracks rapidly spreading. Countless eggs exploded.
The various overlords retreated immediately.
At this moment, the center of the mountain cave exploded, revealing a massive, ferocious living being. It was a hundred zhang tall, not humanoid in shape. It resembled the skeletal form of a creature from the lower realms called a tyrannosaur, but its head was flat and elongated, covered in black spikes.
In short, it looked like a bony, rugged tyrannosaur, only far more ferocious. It possessed a thousand sharp claws, almost like a millipede, and beneath its abdomen was a huge, semi-transparent sac. Faintly visible within were numerous tiny eggs being incubated.
This living being was clearly the Mother Queen of the humanoid-like beings. All such beings were born from it. Its aura was unprecedentedly violent and intense. It let out a shrill, piercing shriek that shattered the void, containing a soul-piercing force that made even overlords turn pale.
However, with over a dozen Heavenly Kings present, each radiating a hazy light that protected the assembled overlords, their brilliant gazes fixed intently on that Mother Queen living being, flickering with surprise.
"What a Mother Queen. Although its race is unknown, it is a super being comparable to the Samsara level," a Heavenly King exclaimed in admiration. The world always gave birth to some special beings. Although this Mother Queen seemed like a ferocious beast, lacking corresponding sentience, its innately powerful physique and special abilities granted it strength surpassing the Saint Vault level even without cultivation.
What they didn't realize, however, was that after a few glances, Ye Chen's face showed astonishment, while the other Ten Thousand Domains True Kings simultaneously flashed brilliant light in their eyes.
For they had finally recognized the true origin of this Mother Queen—it was none other than the Insect Race Mother Queen from the myriad realms.