Eternal Holy Emperor

At the same time, Ye Chen was still unaware of what was happening outside the Jiuyan Emperor Star. With Elder Xuan Dao’s help, he took Aben with him, stepped onto the big cauldron and left, shuttling rapidly through the endless space turbulence, his speed pushed to the extreme.

On the Chaos Tripod itself, even faint glimmers of time and space were circulating.

Right now, he was sitting cross-legged atop the Chaos Tripod, his aura withered.

Although he had broken through, it did not mean his Divine Power had fully recovered. On the contrary, that had only been a sudden surge of Divine Power; and under the execution of the Chaos Three Styles, it had been completely exhausted. At this moment, his Divine Power was depleted, and he was exceedingly weak.

Still, Ye Chen was by no means an easy character. Above his head a ring of black hole manifested, whipping up a boundless storm in the endless space turbulence, swallowing down immeasurable violent Divine Power.

These Divine Powers that even for Great Power experts could be called violent were drawn into the black hole. There, a mass of Chaos Dao Fire was born, refining and burning the incomparably berserk turbulent Divine Power, then a pure and vast Dao Divine Ability surged out, pouring into Ye Chen’s body.

Gradually, Ye Chen’s weak and withered aura began to strengthen slowly.

One day, two days, three days...

In this way, half a month passed. Ye Chen kept shuttling through the endless space turbulence, constantly devouring boundless violent Divine Power without a moment’s pause, and his aura also slowly grew stronger with the passage of time.

Aben remained at his side, protecting him throughout, her vigilance never relaxing as she swept her gaze over the endless space turbulence, lest anyone emerge and threaten her lord.

Half a month later, Ye Chen opened his eyes, shooting out strands of brilliant light infused with Chaos Ancient Energy. His entire being did not leak the slightest breath; instead, he seemed perfectly natural and complete, the Dao Returning to the basics.

Great Power Fifth Layer Heaven!

Ye Chen had not only recovered from his injuries, his realm had also fully stabilized at the Great Power Fifth Layer Heaven, round and complete, without the slightest flaw.

At last, he too had stepped into the realm of the Fifth Layer Heaven.

Twenty-five years of Enlightenment, a life-and-death battle, in the end he still stepped across the final threshold.

Yet he felt no joy at all; on the contrary, all of this was merely the natural course of things, nothing worth celebrating.

And his ability to escape from the Jiuyan Emperor Clan was entirely thanks to Elder Xuan Dao. If not for his personal appearance, blasting apart the Emperor Clan’s Sky, defeating the Eternal Sword God, and blocking the Nine Divine Monarch, Ye Chen would never have escaped.

The original plan had proved somewhat naïve after all.

Unfortunately, to truly grasp the Great Emperor Reincarnation requires more time; otherwise he would not have ended up this wretched.

He did not know how Elder Xuan Dao was now. Though Elder Xuan Dao was powerful enough to defeat the Eternal Sword God in the Nine Tribulations Realm, the other party was, after all, a true Ancient Monarch, a peerless existence above the Nine Tribulations Realm. How could such a being be taken lightly?

Not long after, Ye Chen and Aben left the endless space turbulence. The two of them withdrew all traces of Dao aura and entered a Life Ancient Star named Chuxia Star.

Chuxia Star was also very powerful, having birthed Great Power Level experts and left behind a millennia-old Daoist legacy. It could be called flourishing, and in the scope of the entire Ancient Universe it was considered mighty.

Thus, there were strong cultivators on Chuxia Star who had walked out into the starry sky, communicating with the universe and acquiring much information.

Such as the fact that Elder Xuan Dao’s true identity was actually the Protector of the Combat Saint King, and so on; there was also some information about the Ultimate Ancient Road. Yet regarding the Jiuyan Emperor Star there was very little, and no one knew that Ye Chen had once broken into the Jiuyan Emperor Clan and thrown the entire clan into utter disgrace.

Naturally, there was not much information about Elder Xuan Dao either.

This inevitably made Ye Chen’s heart sink. No need to overthink it; the Jiuyan Emperor Clan had clearly sealed off all information. Yet precisely because of this, he could not learn anything about Elder Xuan Dao’s current situation, which was what worried him the most.

"I wonder how Senior Xuan Dao is doing now."

Ye Chen’s heart was full of worry, his sword-like brows tightly knitted. After all, with Elder Xuan Dao’s cultivation back then, leaving the Jiuyan Emperor Star would have been easy, but he had stayed behind to block the Nine Divine Monarch. Ye Chen naturally felt guilty.

"My lord, you need not worry too much. Senior Xuan Dao’s strength is mighty. Even if the Jiuyan Emperor Clan wishes to keep the elder, it will be very difficult," Aben comforted Ye Chen, though in her beautiful eyes worry still surfaced.

Ye Chen fell silent. After pondering for a long time, he finally made a decision.

"Aben, stay here for now. I’ll go to the Jiuyan Emperor Star to probe for information," Ye Chen said, startling Aben. She was immediately unwilling, firmly insisting on following her lord’s steps, worried that Ye Chen was going to his death.

But Ye Chen’s will was resolute. He refused Aben, saying, "I alone am enough to roam unchallenged beneath the Great Power Peak. There’s no need to worry, and I won’t be foolish enough to enter the Jiuyan Emperor Star. I’ll only observe from across the Star Domains."

Aben no longer insisted, and she understood that even if she went along it would be useless. For all that her cultivation was indeed very powerful—she was a Super Great Power, and moreover an Alien Species Insect Queen—before an Immortal Imperial Family that possesses an Emperor Supreme inheritance, she was still far too lacking, far from being able to contend.

If she followed Ye Chen, she would mostly be a burden.

"My lord must be extremely careful," Aben said.

Ye Chen nodded, then drifted away, stepping onto the Chaos Tripod and traversing the Star Domains, hurrying along without pause. Ten days later he finally arrived at a certain Star Domain that was a full nine Star Domains away from the Jiuyan Emperor Star.

He did not dare draw too close, because the Nine Divine Monarch had awakened. The nearby Star Domains were likely shrouded in the King’s Divine Thought, and even the slightest ripple might alarm this timeless giant.

Swish—

He opened the Heavenly Eye, deep as the Chaos Sea, gazing across several Star Domains at that Emperor Star wreathed in Emperor’s Aura and vast phenomena. He could see a Supreme and peerless Dao Qi Mechanism reviving there, like a giant dragon coiling above the Ninth Heaven, overlooking and intimidating the powerhouses of the Ten Thousand Domains.

Ancient Monarch!

The Nine Divine Monarch had indeed fully awakened. King’s Qi Mechanism rippled across the Emperor Star, and immeasurable King’s Divine Thought continuously shrouded the Star Domain where the Jiuyan Emperor Star lay.

Ye Chen could not see anything within the Jiuyan Emperor Star. The Emperor Clan’s Sky blocked it, the King’s Dao Trace disrupted heaven and earth; even with the Heavenly Eye, it was difficult to observe the Emperor Star across several Star Domains.

However, Ye Chen could sense that outside the Emperor Clan’s Sky there remained residual King’s Qi Mechanism. Dao Traces were still flickering there, the Qi Mechanism enduring without decay—very astonishing.

"Could it be that Senior Xuan Dao has been seized in anger by the Nine Divine Monarch and imprisoned within the Emperor Star?" Ye Chen was somewhat worried, yet he still could not step into the Jiuyan Emperor Star.

Thinking of this, Ye Chen felt guilt in his heart. If it truly was so, then he had indeed wronged Elder Xuan Dao. Although he had asked the elder to protect him for thirty years, he had never meant it like this.

If anything happened to Elder Xuan Dao, he would never be able to forgive himself for the rest of his life.

"Senior Xuan Dao!"

Ye Chen clenched his fists, an icy and ruthless Qi Mechanism unconsciously spilling from his body. His gaze shot out strands of brilliant light, carrying coldness as he stared toward the Jiuyan Emperor Star. If Elder Xuan Dao really suffered some misfortune, he would not let the Jiuyan Emperor Clan off lightly.

Boom—

Suddenly, on the distant Jiuyan Emperor Star, a vast fluctuation surged up, incomparably grand, shaking the myriad heavens and starry skies.

Ye Chen was startled, his heart jolting—this was bad. Had his inadvertent release of Qi Mechanism just now been sensed by the Nine Divine Monarch?