Seeing Luo Lingkong and the other two looking so glum, everyone chuckled.
Hours later, Lu Xuan led the group back to the Yanwu Sect's territory.
Fang Yan, like a raging bull, charged straight at Ye Chen. “Junior Brother Ye Chen,” he bellowed, “I need to hit someone, and you’re not allowed to resist!”
Ye Chen: “...”
A resounding thud! Fang Yan's fist slammed into Ye Chen's chest.
Luo Lingkong remained silent, his hand resting on his spirit sword, lost in thought—or perhaps, deep in a sudden flash of sword enlightenment.
Meanwhile, Liu Xuan embraced Ji Fuyao, whispering into her ear, “Senior Sister Fuyao, I missed you so much!”
The sight of the two stunning beauties locked in an embrace was truly breathtaking, a scene too exquisite for words.
A moment later, Ye Chen produced the jade slips Xuanji Holy Lord had given him. “Senior Brothers, Senior Sister,” he announced, “I’ve found your Attain Emperor Opportunities.”
With a flourish, he tossed the slips to them.
Moments later, Luo Lingkong, Liu Xuan, and Fang Yan's eyes lit up like beacons.
“The Heavenly Sword Sect Branch!”
“The Immovable Stone Sect Branch!”
“The Thousand Illusions Sect Branch!”
These were practically tailor-made for them!
Liu Xuan flashed a charming smile, divine radiance blossoming in her eyes. “Junior Brother Ye Chen, thank you.”
Ye Chen chuckled. “Xuanji Holy Lord gave them to me. If you want to thank anyone, thank her.”
“Xuanji Holy Lord?”
Luo Lingkong, Liu Xuan, and Fang Yan were utterly dumbfounded.
Since when did Junior Brother Ye Chen have a karmic connection with Xuanji Holy Lord? Could it be because of Peak Master Lu? Rumors had been circulating in the Southern Wilds about an “unspeakable secret” between Peak Master Lu and Xuanji Holy Lord. Could this mean...?
At this point, Liu Xuan turned to Lu Xuan. “Peak Master Lu,” she asked, her eyes sparkling, “Are you still taking on new disciples?”
Lu Xuan offered a faint smile. “Taking disciples cannot stop.”
Liu Xuan and the others then recounted their agreement from the Martial Refinement Great Emperor’s secret realm: they'd challenge the third disciple. Only to be completely outmaneuvered by Chen Changsheng.
Everyone shared a laugh.
Fang Yan declared, “Peak Master Lu, once you take on a fourth disciple, we’ll challenge them to a fight at Azure Mystery Peak!”
Lu Xuan simply chuckled. “Sounds good.”
Before long, Lu Xuan and Chen Changsheng bid farewell to the others, rising into the air on a surging divine rainbow.
Boom! They headed straight for the Boundary Wall, stepping into the Above Emperor Realm Area.
Meanwhile, Tianyuan Old Ancestor led Liu Xuan, Luo Lingkong, and Fang Yan toward the Heavenly Sword Sect Branch's territory.
Ji Fuyao and Ye Chen entered secluded cultivation to stabilize their foundations.
...
At the Boundary Wall, numerous Great Emperors from the Demon Court, various alien races, Dark Shadow Island, and the Silent Destruction Sect were steadily making their way through. Their faces were etched with lingering fear. Lu Xuan was simply too terrifying! They couldn't stay in the Emperor Realm Area any longer!
The Great Emperors gazed at the Boundary Wall, a shimmering, thin heavenly curtain overflowing with divine radiance and profound mystery. From the other side, a power transcending the Emperor Realm slowly seeped out, imbued with rich Dao and Rhyme, and complex, obscure Rule Power surged through it.
Everyone felt a profound sense of dread. After a moment of hesitation, they stepped directly into the Above Emperor Realm Area.
Upon entering, all the Great Emperors froze. The Above Emperor Realm Area was utterly different from the Emperor Realm Area! It was an infinitely vast starry sky!
In this boundless darkness, brilliant lights flickered, like countless stars. From afar, it resembled gazing at the night sky from the Southern Wilds, a myriad of distant stars. Yet, it felt as if an ancient, colossal beast was staring down at them.
But as they traversed the void and drew closer, these points of light rapidly expanded, transforming into vast continents floating in the void. Some were as immense as an entire province of the Southern Wilds!
All the Great Emperors were utterly shaken. They had never witnessed such a magnificent spectacle. These were magnates who had weathered countless epochs in the Southern Wilds, yet they cried out in astonishment.
“Is this... the scenery of the Outer World?”
“The Above Emperor Realm Area is actually a boundless starry sky?”
Soon, some stepped onto one of these vast domains. Some continents were indeed no different in size from a Southern Wilds province, but their mountains were shattered, rivers dried, and the earth torn asunder, as if they had endured a heaven-shaking war.
Other continents, however, were incredibly eerie, even more terrifying than the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Zone itself. Within them, terrifying Heaven and Earth Momentum had manifested, and screams echoed through the air.
When everyone turned back, they saw a Nine-star Great Emperor being instantly erased by an eerie power! Pfft! All were utterly horrified. They hadn't seen any enemy; what had killed that Great Emperor was merely an ancient, lingering Dao pattern within the mountains.
Horrific events were constantly unfolding! For a Great Emperor to enter this place was to face certain death! Great Emperors were dying to these eerie forces one after another.
Perhaps a faint, almost invisible thread would descend, and a Nine-star Great Emperor would perish! Or a mysterious, eerie energy mass would attach itself to a Great Emperor, instantly draining a high-star Great Emperor into a withered husk!
This place held immense terror! Even peak Great Emperors who had mastered the “Extreme Dao” found themselves unable to move an inch. They had initially believed that just like the Emperor Realm Area, opportunities would be abundant here. Instead, they saw no opportunities at all; everywhere they looked, there was only killing intent!
This place filled the Great Emperors with despair! It was a Rule Power that transcended the Emperor Realm, completely beyond their cognitive scope.
Everyone exclaimed in shock, “This place is like countless Southern Wilds provinces, torn apart by a heaven-shaking war, their lands fragmented and floating in the void!”
“This is utterly terrifying. Could this be the aftermath of a true Supreme battle?”
Immediately, Great Emperors from various factions frantically used supreme secret arts to contact their respective Half-step Supreme Old Ancestors and One-rotation Quasi-Dao Supreme Old Ancestors.
Once the news spread, the major powers of the Southern Wilds erupted in fury.
On Dark Shadow Island, the Dark Shadow Monarch, Xiao Zheng, stood clad in black robes. A faint One-rotation Quasi-Dao Supreme aura flowed around him, Dao Rhyme swirling, capable of contending with the momentum of the surrounding mountains. He stood within a ruined Outer World palace, his face contorted in absolute fury.
“That damned White Robe Great Emperor! How dare he kill so many of Dark Shadow Island’s Great Emperors!”
Many elites, led by the Night Sky Great Emperor, were dead. Only a few scattered Great Emperors had managed to cling to life, fleeing into this eerie starry sky.
Xiao Zheng immediately activated a supreme secret art, sending a message to Xiao Chen. Trapped in the inner regions of this starry sky, he couldn't extricate himself. He could only send Xiao Chen, who was in the outer regions, to rescue the remaining Great Emperors. As a Half-step Supreme, Xiao Chen was more than capable of handling the common dangers of the periphery.
Swiftly, Xiao Chen, cloaked in black, merged with the obscure starry sky, moving like a shadow. He stepped out, traversing the void, each stride covering ten thousand feet!
On the other side, the powerhouses of the Supreme Profound Sect also received distress calls from their sect's Great Emperors.
A purple-clad man stood atop a towering mountain peak, endless Dao patterns surging beneath his feet, intertwining like lightning, manifesting a sun over the continent he stood upon. A ferocious expression twisted his face as he swept his sleeve. “Find those in the outer regions and bring our Great Emperors back!”
The speaker was Yetian, the leader of the Supreme Profound Sect's forces here, a One-rotation Quasi-Dao Supreme.
“As you command!”
At the same time, the Blood Spirit Race, Cold Race, Demon Court, and other factions were all enraged, each dispatching their Half-step Supremes from the outer regions to retrieve their own Great Emperors.
This time, the numerous factions were truly incensed.