497: Chapter 497 The Heavenly Emperor (62)

Ye Yun knelt on one knee amidst the ruins of the ancient battlefield.

Golden Emperor blood soaked his robes, snaking down from his cuffs to the ground, pooling into a small puddle.

His expression was calm.

But his mind never stopped for a moment.

The fragments of North Sea Heavenly Emperor Ji Fan's Five Elements insights were still surging within his Sea of Consciousness.

Ye Yun closed his eyes, his Heavenly Eye looking inward.

In his chest, five sacred bones were aligned.

The Fire Saint Bone, Sacred Flame Form, had already taken shape.

Crimson-gold patterns flowed slowly, warm yet domineering.

The Metal Saint Bone, Star Suppressing Form, had already taken shape.

The Gengjin Dao Patterns were sharp yet restrained, while the white-gold light was steady and heavy.

The Earth Saint Bone, Buzhou Form, had already taken shape.

The mountain-patterned Dao marks were simple and thick, containing the power to suppress all things.

The fourth one was the Water Saint Bone.

It was currently in a state of violent agitation.

Within the North Sea Heavenly Emperor's insight fragments, the supreme understanding regarding 'Water' was the most intense.

That power was frantically catalyzing the gestation of this sacred bone; blue-black water patterns flickered on the bone's surface, threatening to fully take shape at any moment.

The fifth one was the Wood Saint Bone.

It remained dormant.

But beneath that dormancy, there was a trace of imperceptible restlessness.

Ye Yun withdrew his perception, but his thoughts were racing.

Previously, he had always thought the five sacred bones were merely 'augmentation components' for the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body.

Sacred Flame was a Fire attribute augmentation.

Star Suppressing was a Metal attribute augmentation.

Buzhou was an Earth attribute augmentation.

Switching between five forms to complement the Physical Body Foundation of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body for flexibility in battle.

That was all.

But Ji Fan's insights shattered this perception.

In those fragments, the Five Elements were not five independent attributes.

They were a single whole.

Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood, Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal.

The Five Elements generate one another in a never-ending cycle.

The reason Ji Fan's Five Elements Saint Body could reach the Supreme level wasn't because he cultivated the five attributes to their limits individually, but because he found the method to make the Five Elements 'become one'.

The Five Elements Returning to One.

Ye Yun's heart rate quickened.

He looked down at the positions of the five sacred bones in his chest.

Five sacred bones.

Five attributes.

Five forms.

If he could fully gestate all five sacred bones and use Taiyi Transformation into Two Pure Ones as a bridge to fuse the five attributes into one—would it be possible to give birth to a brand new Saint Body?

Not as an appendage of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body.

But a truly independent Five Elements Saint Body, one of the Ten Strongest Saint Bodies.

The Desolate Ancient Sacred Body plus the Five Elements Saint Body.

Two of the strongest Saint Bodies existing within a single person.

He thought of a possibility.

An Desolate Ancient Sacred Body at Major Achievement could challenge a Great Emperor.

If the Five Elements Saint Body could also reach Major Achievement, it could similarly challenge a Great Emperor.

With two Major Achievements stacked, it wouldn't just be a matter of challenging; it would be a level of direct suppression.

Even more terrifying, if both reached the Supreme level... Ye Yun forcibly suppressed the thought.

He was thinking too far ahead.

The Water Saint Bone wasn't finished gestating, and the Wood Saint Bone was even further off.

He hadn't even touched the threshold of the path of the Five Elements Saint Body.

The urgent matter was the current situation.

...

Footsteps approached.

Ye Yun opened his eyes.

The figure of the Fourth Ancient Ancestor appeared before him.

This old monster of the Ye Family, at the Peak of the Third Heavenly Layer of the Emperor Realm, froze when he saw the Desolate Heaven Emperor covered in wounds and breathing weakly.

His mouth hung open.

The expression on his face solidified.

He had watched Desolate Heaven grow up.

From a prodigiously talented youth to a Great Emperor who swept through the Three Thousand Dao Provinces without rival, and then to the hero who resolutely went on the expedition.

Now, the hero lay in the arms of his own grandson, covered in blood and at death's door.

The Fourth Ancient Ancestor's eyes reddened.

But he didn't shed any tears.

He simply walked forward, knelt down, and reached out with his calloused hands to carefully take the Desolate Heaven Emperor.

His movements were very light, for fear of touching the wounds that were still seeping blood.

"Leave him to me."

Ye Yun nodded and stood up.

His gaze passed the Fourth Ancient Ancestor and looked toward the crowd in the distance.

Ye Wuchen was leading the Ye Family's prodigies over at a quick pace, while the Tianwu Saintess was being supported by others, following at the back of the group.

Further away, Su Wan sat on a piece of rubble.

No one was supporting her.

She just sat there alone, staring in a certain direction on the ancient battlefield.

There was nothing in that direction.

Not a single trace remained of where Xiang Tian had dissipated.

Ye Yun watched her for a long time.

Xiang Tian's final words flashed through his mind.

"Protect her for me."

...

The Heavenly Emperor of the Eastern Heavenly Court set up a Law barrier above the ancient battlefield.

This barrier blocked all outside investigation; the internal space was vast, enough to accommodate dozens of Emperor-level powerhouses for a council.

There weren't many people present, but the weight of each one was enough to shake the Three Thousand Dao Provinces.

The Heavenly Emperor of the Eastern Heavenly Court sat at the head, his aura deep.

The Fourth Ancient Ancestor stood on the right; the Desolate Heaven Emperor's injuries in his arms had been treated urgently, and though his aura was weak, it had stabilized, turning the corner from danger.

The Fifth Ancestor sat cross-legged to the side; his First Heavenly Layer of the Emperor Realm was newly stabilized, yet it did not appear superficial.

There were also several Great Emperors who had rushed from various places, lined up on both sides with solemn expressions.

Nourished by the Sacred Body's Qi and blood, the Desolate Heaven Emperor had barely managed to regain consciousness.

He leaned against the Fourth Ancient Ancestor, his face ashen, but those eyes remained sharp.

Ye Yun stood in the center of the area.

Everyone's gaze fell upon him.

"Speak."

The Heavenly Emperor of the Eastern Heavenly Court spoke, his voice calm and immensely majestic.

Ye Yun no longer hid anything.

He summarized the key points of all the information the North Sea Heavenly Emperor's remnant soul had projected to him.

"North Sea Heavenly Emperor Ji Fan told me the true reason behind the fall of the Hundred Emperors during the expedition back then."

As soon as these words were spoken, the gazes of several Great Emperors shifted toward him; some frowned, while others had complex expressions.

Ye Yun did not pause and continued.

"A great terror known as the 'Abyss Lord' exists in the Land of Expedition. It infiltrated the expeditionary force by possessing the North Sea Heavenly Emperor's sworn brother—a Half-Step Heavenly Emperor who possessed the Heavenly Eye."

"After that Heavenly Eye powerhouse was possessed, he used the Heavenly Eye to discern the weaknesses of the Hundred Emperors and launched a surprise attack in the depths of the Heavenly Abyss. The Abyss Lord even briefly invaded the North Sea Heavenly Emperor's consciousness through the Heavenly Eye Emperor's memories, twisting his obsession and causing him to kill his own comrades with his own hands."

"When the North Sea Heavenly Emperor regained his senses, he slew his possessed brother and walked out of the Land of Expedition alone."

The interior of the barrier fell silent.

Ye Yun's voice was calm, his words clear.

"But the Abyss Lord did not die. At the final moment when the brother was slain, it transferred into the North Sea Heavenly Emperor's body. From the day the North Sea Heavenly Emperor returned from the Land of Expedition, the Abyss Lord was already in the Three Thousand Dao Provinces."

"After the North Sea Heavenly Emperor discovered this, he chose to Seal himself. He constructed this tomb and used a method of self-severance to Seal himself and the Abyss Lord inside together."

Ye Yun looked up, his gaze sweeping over every Great Emperor present.

"But two or three eras ago, someone entered the tomb."

"A certain power carried by that person catalyzed the Abyss Lord's recovery."

"The Abyss Lord possessed that person and left the tomb."

"In other words—the Abyss Lord has been active in the Three Thousand Dao Provinces for at least two eras."