481: Chapter 481 The Heavenly Emperor (46)

Xiang Tian stood beside Hegemon Ancestor, his body covered in wounds, yet he was in a decent mood.

There was honor in defeat, after all.

Then, he heard Hegemon Ancestor's words.

"Such a Prodigy, why is he not from our Hegemon Body lineage?"

"A pity, truly a pity."

The smile on Xiang Tian's face froze.

He turned to look at Hegemon Ancestor and found the old man staring in the direction Ye Yun had left, his eyes filled with regret.

That look—good heavens—having Cultivated in the Hegemon Palace for so many years, he had never been looked at like that.

"Old Ancestor, I..."

"If you had even half of his talent, I would wake up laughing from my dreams."

Xiang Tian felt his whole world crumbling.

He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word.

So in the Old Ancestor's heart, he, the legitimate successor of the Hegemon Body, wasn't even as good as the kid from their rival family?

What was this?

Favoring an outsider over his own?

Xiang Tian's face turned incredibly dark, his fists clenching with a series of cracks.

"Once my Hegemon Body reaches Major Achievement, I will definitely find him for another fight."

He gritted his teeth and turned to walk into the depths of the Hegemon Palace.

Hegemon Ancestor watched his successor's frustrated back, his lips twitching slightly, but he said nothing.

...

Ye Family Ancestral Land.

The entire Ye Family was in a frenzy.

The Emperor's Son had returned.

Fifty years.

A full fifty years.

For the new generation of the Ye Family, the Emperor's Son, Ye Yun, was a name that only existed in the stories of their elders.

They had heard too many legends about the Emperor's Son but had never seen him with their own eyes.

Today, the legendary figure had finally returned.

At that moment, a figure flew rapidly from the depths of the ancestral land.

The Empress.

Fifty years.

Fifty years of fear and worry, fifty years of sleepless nights.

Every day, she worried if her only child was safe.

Ye Yun looked at his mother and gave a respectful bow.

"Mother, your son has returned."

The Empress did not speak.

She simply stepped forward and pulled her son into a tight embrace.

...

As the news spread, Ye Wuchen rushed over immediately.

Fifty years had passed, and he had also made great progress.

A Cultivation at the Peak of the Human Venerable Realm would be considered a top-tier Prodigy in the outside world.

He was full of expectation, wanting to have a match with the Emperor's Son.

However, when he truly stood before Ye Yun and felt that unfathomable Aura, he was stunned.

Peak of the Earth Venerable Realm.

On the verge of touching the Heavenly Venerable Realm.

A surge of bitterness filled Ye Wuchen's heart.

He was many years older than Ye Yun, and his Cultivation time far exceeded his.

Yet the gap had grown even wider instead.

Ye Yun saw Ye Wuchen's disappointment.

He stepped forward and patted the other's shoulder.

"Brother Wuchen, the potential of your Qiankun Sacred Body is far from being fully developed. Once I've handled some matters, I'll spar with you."

Ye Wuchen smiled and nodded.

Though he felt dejected, he felt even more heartfelt admiration.

...

Ye Family Ancestral Land, the deepest part of the restricted area.

The Empress and the Divine Thought projections of the various Ancient Ancestors had been waiting for a long time.

The Great Ancient Ancestor had still not returned, having gone to the Land of Expedition.

Ye Yun reported the key highlights of his experiences in the Desolate Palace.

The Perfect Remains had transformed into a dao seed.

The remnant soul of the great terror was suppressed and obliterated by the Perfect Senior.

He concealed the secret of the Heart Sword, as well as the abnormal reaction of that clump of darkness Origin before its death, only revealing the parts that the outside world could accept.

Afterward, he informed the Old Ancestors of the critical information he had learned in the Desolate Palace.

"For the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body to reach Major Achievement, it requires many extremely rare Heaven And Earth Treasures to temper the Origin, as well as a special Cultivation environment for the final transformation."

He listed the detailed resource requirements one by one.

The various Old Ancestors did not hesitate.

"Once Yun'er's Sacred Body reaches Major Achievement, our Ye Family will have an additional Great Emperor-level combatant!"

"Open the treasury! Full support!"

Next, the various Old Ancestors relayed the instructions left by the Great Ancient Ancestor before his departure to Ye Yun.

"The Great Ancient Ancestor and the one from the Eastern Heavenly Court have gone to the Land of Expedition to investigate and have not returned yet."

"Before leaving, he left word that the situation in the Land of Expedition is more complex than imagined. It not only contains the main forces of the great terror but also involves a piece of history from the ancient era of the Three Thousand Dao Provinces that was deliberately erased."

"The Great Ancient Ancestor urged that Yun'er must increase his strength as quickly as possible. You are the key to the future expeditionary war."

"Additionally, the abnormalities in the Central Heavenly Court are becoming more obvious. The seclusion of the Son of the Heavenly Emperor is shrouded in suspicion; our Ye Family must prepare for the worst."

The Son of the Heavenly Emperor.

Ye Yun's eyes turned cold for an instant before returning to calm.

He still needed to become stronger.

...

Ye Yun decided to brave the heaven-reaching pagoda before entering seclusion.

Using battle as a form of Cultivation, he would test the results of his fifty-year seclusion.

The Fifth Ancestor and the various Ancient Ancestors gathered at the observation platform; the Empress came as well.

"Levels twenty-one to twenty-five are guarded by imprints of Great Emperor Giants. Levels twenty-six to twenty-nine are imprints of Peak Great Emperors."

The Fifth Ancestor's voice paused.

"The thirtieth level is guarded by the imprint of an ancestor of our Ye Family who was at the Ninth Heaven of the Emperor Realm."

Ye Yun nodded and stepped into the heaven-reaching pagoda.

Levels twenty-one to twenty-five no longer posed a challenge to the current him.

Using the Sacred Flame Form in conjunction with his sword Dao, he resolved each level within a hundred moves.

His progress was unstoppable.

On the observation platform, the Ancient Ancestors praised him repeatedly, though they all knew the true test lay ahead.

Starting from the twenty-sixth level, the guardians were imprints of Peak Great Emperors.

The difficulty surged.

Ye Yun had to use all his means.

Sacred Flame Form, Star Suppressing form, Heavenly Eye Myriad Phenomena, Heart Heavy Pupils for prediction, Emperor Techniques from the Primal Dao Canon, and his three major sword moves were all deployed.

Every level was a hearty battle; after fighting to exhaustion, he would use Myriad Things Born to recover before continuing the challenge.

At the twenty-ninth level, he even used Amaterasu to narrowly win and pass.

Everyone on the observation platform held their breath.

The Empress clenched her hands, her heart in her throat.

...

heaven-reaching pagoda, thirtieth level.

The moment Ye Yun stepped in, an intense sense of pressure rushed at him.

The guardian condensed into form.

A majestic figure wearing ancient imperial robes appeared, his Aura so strong that the entire heaven-reaching pagoda trembled.

Ninth Heaven of the Emperor Realm.

A being who had touched the threshold of the Heavenly Emperor.

The imprint attacked, throwing a punch.

There were no flourishes.

It was a punch that returned to simplicity, yet it contained terrifying power.

Ye Yun was knocked back a hundred steps, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.

All his form switching, pupil technique predictions, and sword Dao Divine Abilities could only barely maintain a stalemate before this imprint.

This was a true battle of limits.

The two sides fought for three hundred rounds.

Ye Yun was covered in blood, his golden sacred blood soaking his robes.

The blood and Qi in his body were churning; he was nearly at his limit.

At this critical juncture.

In his chest, the long-dormant third sacred bone suddenly vibrated under the catalysis of this immense external pressure.

Earth-attribute Dao patterns lit up wildly.

Buzz!

The third sacred bone had finished gestating ahead of time.

Buzhou Saint Bone!

A power as heavy as a mountain range erupted from within Ye Yun's body.

Ancient mountain-pattern Dao marks surfaced on his skin, his entire Aura becoming as profound and towering as a mountain.

Desolate Ancient Sacred Body, Buzhou Form!

This form focused on defense; once activated, Ye Yun's Physical Body defense skyrocketed several times over.

The ultimate strike from that Peak imprint slammed into him.

Boom!

Ye Yun did not retreat a single step.

He tanked it head-on.

The next moment, he switched forms.

"Sacred Flame!"

Red-gold divine flames flared up.

"Amaterasu!"

The Saint Eye at his brow suddenly opened, and a red-gold spark flashed past.

"Shatter!"

The imprint of that Ninth Heaven Great Emperor cracked down the middle, turning into a sky full of light dust before completely dissipating.

The heaven-reaching pagoda shook violently.

A massive amount of Origin power poured down from the top of the pagoda.

Ye Yun's Cultivation barrier shattered under the impact of this power.

His Dao fruit reached fifteen hundred feet!

The Buzhou Saint Bone was now completely stabilized and formed.

Ye Yun walked out of the heaven-reaching pagoda.

On the observation platform, there was absolute silence.

The Ancient Ancestors looked at the youth, who was covered in blood yet possessed a steady Aura, unable to speak for a long time.

"Thirty levels... he actually cleared thirty levels."

The Empress's tears finally fell uncontrollably, her face filled with relief.

The Fifth Ancestor simply looked at Ye Yun quietly, his face full of smiles.

...

Seclusion.

This time, Ye Yun completely settled his heart.

With the towering tree of the Ye Family at his back, he intended to develop his strength to the fullest.

Five hundred years passed in a flash.

His Dao fruit climbed from fifteen hundred feet to four thousand feet.

Though the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body had not reached Major Achievement, his attainment was already extremely deep; Major Achievement was just around the corner.

The fourth sacred bone was gathering momentum, about to be gestated.

Sword Dao, pupil techniques, and the Primal Dao Canon had all seen comprehensive progress.

Over the five hundred years, the Ye Family had also changed.

The Fifth Ancestor's Emperor Realm had completely stabilized, and his strength had increased greatly.

The Great Ancient Ancestor had still not returned, and news from the Land of Expedition remained a mystery.

Ye Wuchen had also made Breakthroughs, but the gap between him and Ye Yun had become an unbridgeable chasm.

...

Ye Yun emerged from seclusion.

His Aura was restrained like an abyss; his face was as handsome as ever, but his eyes were deeper and steadier than five hundred years ago.

Heavenly Venerable Realm.

Dao fruit of four thousand feet.

Combat strength capable of challenging the Saint Realm.

Even when facing a Saint Realm expert—a full major Realm higher than the Heavenly Venerable Realm—he could fight, and even kill.