Ye Yunfei followed a mountain path upwards, encountering no trouble along the way.
Finally, Ye Yunfei reached the mountaintop.
The summit featured a flat expanse, where lush green grass stretched like a carpet and vibrant flowers bloomed in splendid profusion.
In the middle of this clearing stood a grave!
A tombstone was erected before the grave, inscribed with four characters: Gu Huang's Tomb.
A terrifying Imperial Aura emanated from the grave. Even while standing at a distance, Ye Yunfei halted his steps, not daring to approach any closer.
Ye Yunfei finally realized that the source of the Imperial Aura pervading this mountainous area was precisely this grave.
"Could it be... that a Heavenly Emperor is buried here? That can't be!"
Standing afar, Ye Yunfei examined the grave, finding it somewhat hard to believe.
Ye Yunfei knew all too well just how formidable a Heavenly Emperor's strength was.
Back then, if he hadn't been undergoing his divine ascension tribulation at the most critical and perilous moment, simultaneously ambushed by the Three Great Heavenly Emperors, he would never have fallen so easily.
Killing a Heavenly Emperor was far too difficult!
Moreover, the fall of a Heavenly Emperor would inevitably cause a massive shockwave throughout the world, like a towering tsunami, sweeping across countless planes and altering the power structures of many realms.
This was because a Heavenly Emperor would inevitably establish their own lineage, offering protection to factions across numerous worlds.
There were untold numbers of superpowers in the world who enshrined a Heavenly Emperor's memorial tablet within their ancestral lands, paying respects for generations, hoping to receive the Heavenly Emperor's protection.
Once a venerated Heavenly Emperor fell, these factions would inevitably face a bloody purge!
In short, the fall of a Heavenly Emperor would certainly stir up the entire Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds!
But Ye Yunfei had never heard of a Heavenly Emperor named Gu Huang existing in the world, nor had he heard of such a Heavenly Emperor perishing.
"It seems the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds still hold many secrets unknown to me," Ye Yunfei couldn't help but murmur with emotion as he gazed at the grave permeated with dreadful Imperial Aura.
"Brother Gu Huang, it seems we share a similar fate."
Ye Yunfei bowed respectfully towards the grave, sighing silently in his heart.
Originally, as a Heavenly Emperor standing atop the world's pyramid, possessing a lengthy lifespan, one could almost dominate the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds for endless eras.
To end up fallen—it was truly a lamentable matter!
Ye Yunfei himself had a similar experience, so he couldn't help but feel a sense of shared sorrow towards this Gu Huang.
Next, Ye Yunfei sat cross-legged, circulating his Nine-Yang Scripture. The two golden orbs above his head spun rapidly, absorbing the Imperial Aura emanating from the grave.
As more and more Emperor-tier energy was absorbed, the two golden orbs began swelling at a terrifyingly fast speed!
Especially the golden orb representing the First Yang—it expanded at a startling pace.
Six hundred meters!
Nine hundred meters!
One thousand meters!
Two thousand meters!
Three thousand meters!
...
Nine thousand meters!
An unknown amount of time later.
The diameter of the golden orb representing the First Yang reached nine thousand meters!
The diameter of the golden orb representing the Second Yang reached one thousand meters!
"The First Yang of the Nine-Yang Scripture has finally reached a true state of Great Perfection!"
Ye Yunfei glanced at the nine-thousand-meter golden orb above his head, feeling a pleasant surprise.
The Nine-Yang Scripture would give birth to a single golden orb for each Yang cultivated.
A volume reaching nine thousand meters signified that this particular Yang had achieved a true state of Great Perfection!
It would allow one to unleash the true might of that Yang.
As one of the world's most supreme cultivation techniques, even the First Yang possessed terrifying power.
"My spiritual power realm... I actually can't suppress it anymore."
Ye Yunfei revealed a bitter smile.
In truth, while absorbing the Emperor-tier energy, Ye Yunfei had been forcefully restraining his spiritual power realm, preventing any breakthrough.
But with the First Yang of the Nine-Yang Scripture reaching true Great Perfection, Ye Yunfei discovered he could no longer hold back his spiritual power realm.
"Then I'll make a breakthrough."
Ye Yunfei relaxed his suppression on his spiritual power realm.
Late Star Bridge Realm!
Early Sea Splitting Realm!
Middle Sea Splitting Realm!
Late Sea Splitting Realm!
Instantly, Ye Yunfei's spiritual power realm broke through four consecutive levels, reaching the late stage of the Sea Splitting Realm.
If any outside martial artist were present to witness Ye Yunfei's breakthrough speed, they would surely be stunned speechless.
Breaking through spiritual power realms was even simpler than eating or drinking for Ye Yunfei!
One must understand that Ye Yunfei had just absorbed Emperor-tier energy. Although extremely dilute, it was absolutely incomparable to ordinary worldly spiritual energy!
"Enough, no more breakthroughs!"
After reaching the late Sea Splitting Realm, Ye Yunfei resumed suppression.
At that moment.
"Huh? What kind of tree is that?"
Ye Yunfei's gaze suddenly turned towards a tree beside the grave.
The tree wasn't very tall, approximately three meters high. Its trunk was gnarled and vigorous like an ancient dragon, carrying an aura weathered by time.
Each leaf on the tree was crystalline and translucent, as if carved from green jade, permeated with a rich aura of vitality.
Despite Ye Yunfei's vast knowledge, he couldn't immediately identify exactly what kind of tree this was.
Rustle, rustle...
When Ye Yunfei's gaze fell upon the tree, it suddenly emitted a radiant glow, bursting with dazzling light. Then, a shocking scene unfolded—the tree uprooted itself entirely and began sprinting away on its two large roots, which served as legs.
"This can't be... has this tree become a spirit?"
Ye Yunfei was somewhat taken aback.
"Hey! Don't run, I mean no harm!"
Knowing this tree must have an extraordinary origin, Ye Yunfei swiftly moved, chasing after it.
Having absorbed so much Emperor-tier energy, the Imperial Aura permeating the mountainous area no longer affected him. Thus, Ye Yunfei could display his true movement speed.
Following the tree, Ye Yunfei soon plunged into a dense forest.
Deep within the forest stood a three-story pavilion!
The tree whooshed straight into the small pavilion.
Ye Yunfei attempted to follow and rush in.
However, the tree had already charged back out from the pavilion, holding a gleaming, bright longsword pointed directly at Ye Yunfei.
Then, an aged face appeared on its trunk, its gaze wary as it stared at Ye Yunfei.
"A sword once wielded by a Heavenly Emperor!"
Staring at that sword, Ye Yunfei retreated several steps, every hair on his body standing on end.
"You needn't be like this, I bear no ill will," Ye Yunfei said.
"You, lad, are strange—you could actually absorb Guhuang Great Emperor's energy. Kid, what exactly is going on here?"
The aged face on the tree spoke, its voice somewhat raspy.
"A mere coincidence of fate," Ye Yunfei replied.
"I've encountered many races among the world's tree-kind, yet why have I never seen a race like yours before?"
Ye Yunfei examined the tree from top to bottom again, but still couldn't recognize it, feeling profoundly shocked.
"This old man is the ancestor of all tree-kind in the world. How could I be so easily recognized by the likes of you?"
The tree revealed a smug smile.
"Ancestor of all tree-kind in the world?" Ye Yunfei was stunned.
"I am the Chaos World Tree," the tree declared.
"Impossible! The Chaos World Tree is born from Chaos. It's said to possess boundless power, even capable of creating a real world through primordial separation! If you truly were the Chaos World Tree, even a Heavenly Emperor might not withstand your might!"
Ye Yunfei simply didn't believe it.
"What you say is correct. In fact, I am merely a single branch that broke off from the Chaos World Tree, having grown and evolved into what I am today," the tree explained.