One day, two days, three days...
One month, two months...
Day after day, month after month...
Time turned, years flew by, and in the blink of an eye, Ye Chen had been in seclusion for over two months, yet there was still no sign of him emerging.
The place where he sat in meditation remained utterly silent.
By this time, even Xia Miao'er had long since awakened.
During this period, she had received guidance from the Peacock King and inherited the Dao of Space. Especially due to her dual-soul body, she was remarkably compatible with the Peacock King's Great Dao, having comprehended it to a rather profound level. Supplemented by her own cultivation, she could be considered among the top of overlord-level figures.
However, it was basically the cold, stern, elder-sister-type soul that was cultivating. Occasionally, the adorable version of Xia Miao'er would also appear, wandering around the demon race's important grounds.
Because of the Peacock King, she had practically become a little princess within the demon race. Basically, no one dared to offend this little princess, the Peacock King's disciple. Moreover, the Azure Dragon Great Saint and a host of other demon race Saint Lord figures had successively presented her with precious treasures.
Of course, the adorable side of Xia Miao'er, upon learning that Ye Chen had not yet emerged from seclusion, expressed slight worry: "Brother Peacock, hasn't Big Brother woken up yet?"
Compared to the cold, aloof soul who would respectfully and solemnly address him as 'Teacher', the adorable version more often called him 'Brother Peacock', also used to distinguish between the two sisters sharing the dual-soul body.
The Peacock King nodded with a grave expression. Although for an existence at the level of a supreme powerhouse like Ye Chen, entering seclusion for a mere two months, or even several decades to a century, was perfectly reasonable.
In the cultivation world, there were even ancient recluses in the Saint Treasury Realm who entered seclusion for eight hundred years.
But there were less than half a month left until the Martial Contest for Marriage. If Ye Chen could not emerge within the remaining half month, he would have to crush the communication jade token to awaken the secluding Ye Chen.
"Let's wait a bit longer. There's still half a month. If he hasn't emerged by then, we'll have no choice but to forcibly awaken Qian Yue," the Peacock King sighed.
The sun rose in the east, set in the west, and soon, another half month passed in the blink of an eye.
Night fell, stars dotted the night sky, the bright moon was pure and clear. This day was already the eve of the Martial Contest for Marriage.
However, Ye Chen had still not emerged from seclusion, remaining in his meditative state.
The Peacock King felt both anxious and somewhat pleased, because he had already sensed that from that place of meditation, a tremendous sense of oppression was slowly beginning to emanate, one that could make all heavens sink into oblivion.
He understood that Ye Chen was about to succeed, that he would formally emerge within the next two or three days.
Moreover, this situation was clearly in its most critical stage, not tolerating the slightest disturbance. Even the Peacock King himself was unwilling to disrupt Ye Chen's final breakthrough moment.
He had a feeling that once Ye Chen emerged, he would undergo a terrifying transformation.
But at the same time, the Peacock King also felt a deep anxiety, because the Martial Contest for Marriage was about to begin, and it was located in the central domain of the Ancient Emperor Continent, a distance of hundreds of millions of li away.
Even he could not arrive there instantly.
If Ye Chen did not awaken soon, the Peacock King truly had no choice but to take forceful measures to awaken him.
"Let's wait a little longer," the Peacock King thought to himself. He truly did not wish to shatter Ye Chen's moment of success, as such an opportunity was truly hard-won.
Time passed bit by bit. The night gradually receded, even the darkness before dawn had passed, and a round of dazzling, scorching suns rose majestically in the east. The ten great heavenly suns slowly ascended into the sky, once again illuminating this dark Ancient Emperor Continent.
And from this moment on, it officially signified that the day of the Martial Contest for Marriage was about to begin.
Yet Ye Chen still had not truly broken through and emerged. Xia Miao'er worriedly said, "Brother Peacock..."
The Peacock King sighed softly: "There's no other way. We have to call him now."
If they missed the Martial Contest for Marriage, he believed Ye Chen would go mad.
With a flip of his palm, a crystalline, translucent communication jade token suddenly appeared in the Peacock King's hand. It was the one Ye Chen had left behind, and now he had no choice but to use it.
"Sorry, Qian Yue—" he murmured in his heart, just as he was about to crush the token, he suddenly raised his eyes sharply, looking towards the place of meditation.
Boom—
At this very moment, from the deepest part of the demon race's important grounds, a powerful fluctuation transmitted out, causing this stretch of heaven and earth to tremble slightly, drawing the attention of all sides.
"What's happening? What occurred?"
The sudden tremor immediately caused quite a stir, because this was the demon race's important grounds, housing the Demon God Hall and gathering many of the demon domain's super-powerful figures.
For a moment, many people looked over, especially seeing that it was the Peacock King's place of meditation, which made them even more shocked, because wasn't the Peacock King on one of the three thousand Divine Islands?
Then who was the esteemed figure in that place of meditation?
They never connected it to Ye Chen, because he had disappeared for too long.
Could it be an invasion by an external enemy?
Instantly, the powerhouses within the Demon God Hall were on guard. But the Peacock King rose to his full height and shouted sternly: "No need for excessive vigilance. It is caused by this seat's good friend breaking through. There is no need for alarm."
Hearing the Peacock King's shout, the commotion immediately subsided considerably. Since it was the Peacock King's good friend, there shouldn't be much of a problem.
Boom—
Another vast, mighty fluctuation came, sweeping grandly. However, this time it did not originate from the place of meditation, but from the distant horizon.
The Peacock King's expression changed slightly. He suddenly turned to look towards that horizon. There, a purple light shadow was traversing the sky at an astonishing speed, grand and imposing, scattering all the clouds in all directions.
Finally, this purple light shadow suddenly descended into the airspace above the Demon God Hall. Its entire body was wreathed in the aura of a supreme Great Dao, causing heaven and earth to collapse, the six directions and eight wildernesses to sink into oblivion. Its power had reached the absolute peak.
A supreme powerhouse!
A demon race supreme powerhouse had arrived. As the purple divine radiance dispersed, it was visible to the naked eye that this was a heroic, stalwart middle-aged man. He appeared majestic and imposing, with a purple mark between his brows resembling a leaf, purple hair cascading over his shoulders. He wore a purple-gold crown woven from winding purple vines, clad in a purple divine robe adorned with a solemn painting of myriad demons bowing before a purple divine tree.
The appearance of this purple-crowned supreme powerhouse caused many of the demon race powerhouses within the Demon God Hall to kneel and bow respectfully: "We pay our respects to the Purple Heavenly Venerate."
The newcomer was none other than one of the demon race's five supreme powerhouses, the Purple Heavenly Venerate.
More importantly, the Peacock King's expression suddenly darkened, because this Purple Heavenly Venerate had long-standing grievances with the Peacock King.