The Exiled Immortal had fallen. Yet the impact of this battle showed no signs of subsiding. The Eighth Realm was left riddled with holes, its landscape completely transformed. Countless cultivators remained immersed in shock. Everything they had witnessed and learned today carried far too much weight for them.

First, the Exiled Immortal had broken through to Quasi-Immortal in the middle of battle. Then, the Heavenly Emperor's heir had blocked an immortal artifact with his bare hand and even suppressed it inside his internal world. After that, they had learned the true origin and history of the Other Domain.

For the cultivators of the cultivation world, the impact was simply too great. Some even felt a wave of despair. In the past, they had heard of the Other Domain but had only regarded it as a world on par with the Immortal Realm. With the Heavenly Emperor standing guard, they had assumed the situation was manageable.

Now they finally understood the true severity of the threat. If the Immortal Realm fell, the cultivation world would naturally cease to exist as well. This concerned every single person's life.

The greatest problem, however, was that although these matters affected their very survival, they were completely powerless to do anything about it. They could not even reach the Immortal Realm. That was true helplessness.

Yet when they looked up at the sky and saw the distant figure of the Heavenly Emperor's heir, their eyes were still filled with awe and reverence. If the Heavenly Emperor alone could not hold back the invasion, there was now an even more terrifying heir.

He was still only a Great Saint, yet he had already far surpassed every record left by the Heavenly Emperor and created a new myth. If the Heavenly Emperor's heir continued to grow, he would undoubtedly surpass the Heavenly Emperor himself. Perhaps he could stand together with the Heavenly Emperor to guard the Immortal Realm and block the assault of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths!

In this manner, only after the Heavenly Emperor's heir had completely vanished from sight did the watching cultivators slowly disperse. They began gathering in small groups, exchanging words and sighing over everything they had learned today.

…

Inside Immortal City, it felt as if a pot had exploded.

Not only the younger cultivators, but even the Great Emperors and Quasi-Immortal old antiques were shaken to the core. Their faces were full of doubt and disbelief at what had happened on the Immortal Path.

It was simply too inconceivable. A peak Great Saint fighting a Quasi-Immortal was already close to mythical. But using his physical body to block an immortal artifact? That was truly unprecedented.

That was an immortal artifact. Even a single wisp of its awakened aura could shatter a Great Saint. One could imagine its power. Could a cultivator's flesh truly achieve such a feat?

Most importantly, how much time had passed?

So much had already happened. It was simply outrageous.

Thus, everyone stared fixedly at the Immortal Ascension Array.

Moments later, the array lit up.

When the divine light faded, a figure appeared within it. The robe embroidered with the yin-yang fish pattern representing Heavenly Evolution Holy Land made his identity clear. It was the Heavenly Emperor's heir.

The moment he stepped out, the outcome was obvious. The Other Domain's Exiled Immortal had truly fallen. The matter of the immortal artifact was also confirmed beyond doubt.

Among the Alkaid Holy Land cultivators in Immortal City, some revealed expressions of utter despair. First, their Holy Son—whom they had placed high hopes on and secretly supported with everything they had—had fallen at the hands of the Heavenly Emperor's heir. Then the Exiled Immortal, whom they had switched to supporting and even gifted an immortal artifact, had also perished.

At this moment, those cultivators were certain: No matter how the end of the Dharma era unfolded in the future, their Alkaid Holy Land had thoroughly offended the one who was most likely to become an immortal in this generation.

Destruction was already inevitable!

This left them in complete despair. As for the other forces, many had still been hesitating, weighing whether to side with the Heavenly Emperor's heir. They had worried that he might eventually lose and drag them down with him.

But now, countless powers made up their minds. They planned to dig out Feng Baiyu's old visiting card once more and draw closer to Heavenly Evolution Holy Land.

Back then, they had been extremely disgusted by Feng Baiyu's card. After all, while it was hard to say how strong he was as a prodigy wandering the Central Continent, his ability to disgust people was truly unmatched.

Yet now, no matter how much they still disliked him inwardly, they no longer had any other choice.

…

Ye Chen paid no attention to the surrounding gazes and flew straight into a pavilion within Immortal City.

The Holy Master and two Great Emperors, along with one Quasi-Immortal Supreme Elder, were already seated there. A cup of spiritual tea sat before each of them, with enlightenment tea leaves swirling inside. The Dao rhythm was refreshing and intoxicating.

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Some cups had already been drained. Others remained untouched. In front of an empty seat was also a cup of tea—clearly prepared for Ye Chen.

Ye Chen smiled, descended gracefully, and sat down. He picked up the spiritual tea; it was still pleasantly warm.

Feng Baiyu and the elders all stared at him in shock. They too found Ye Chen's battle record utterly outrageous.

Ye Chen simply took a gentle sip, then shook his head and sighed softly, "I came back a little too late. Listening to the Exiled Immortal talk at the end wasted too much time. The spiritual essence has dissipated quite a bit, and the flavor is slightly weaker."

Feng Baiyu's mouth twitched. He knew Ye Chen too well. He knew Ye Chen was showing off.

The other elders, however, were full of emotion.

"Blocking an immortal artifact with your bare body—neither the Heavenly Emperor nor the Devouring Female Immortal ever achieved that."

"You must be the final supreme prodigy of the end of the Dharma era, carrying the essence of this entire realm."

"Although I am a Great Emperor, I am no longer qualified to protect your Dao. Next time, I won't come to take advantage!"

"I feel the same. Someone who can block an immortal artifact bare-handed has no need for protectors in this cultivation world where Quasi-Immortals are the peak—as long as no true immortal appears."

"And if a true immortal does appear, no one would be qualified to protect you anyway."

The elders' hearts were filled with both admiration and regret.

No cultivator enjoyed being someone else's Protector, constantly watching over another. Especially watching battles of those at lower realms—it was particularly boring for high-realm experts.

Yet they had willingly offered to protect Ye Chen's Dao, only to find that he no longer needed them. It was truly a pity.

Ye Chen set down the cup that still had half its enlightenment tea left and smiled as he shook his head. "Even if I no longer need the elders to protect me, I will not forget the previous agreements. I will still show filial respect to all the elders!"

Now that Ye Chen had almost no opponents left, he still treated these old fellows with such respect. This made them all smile with genuine delight. In the cultivation world, they had seen too many cultivators who became arrogant the moment they gained power. Someone with Ye Chen's temperament was truly precious.

Feng Baiyu, who understood Ye Chen best, asked directly, "Where to next? The Heavenly Emperor Hall, the Lan Clan Immortal City, or the Myriad Races Immortal City?"

All three places had Ye Chen's women.

Ye Chen showed no embarrassment at all and answered with a smile, "All of them!"

Feng Baiyu's mouth twitched again, but he had nothing to say. Together with the elders, he rose and followed Ye Chen onto the immortal ship that had been summoned. They drifted away gracefully, leaving behind countless cultivators who had already seen the recorded projection stones, staring in stunned silence.

…

Aboard the flying ship.

Feng Baiyu, who usually loved to show off alongside Ye Chen, seemed somewhat downcast today.

The reason was simple. The Exiled Immortal's revelation about the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths actively pushing the Great Tribulation was news even to him.It made him suspect that the Immortal Realm's long survival might indeed be because the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths had been deliberately holding back, using the pressure to forcefully drive internal reform and trigger the Great Tribulation.

If that was true, how could the Immortal Realm possibly hold? Especially since the Heavenly Emperor, though not dead, had run off somewhere to "block a gate" and was nowhere to be found.

Without the Heavenly Emperor, the hearts of the people were not united. Many major powers would become internal traitors for the sake of a slim chance at survival. When the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths returned in full force, they might sweep through everything. The Immortal Realm would have no power to resist.

And now, a million years had already passed since the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths shattered their previous world. Even if the number of internal cultivators had been drastically reduced, they must be approaching their limit. The next invasion would not be far away.

Ye Chen was indeed a little stronger than he had been back then, and perhaps a bit stronger than the Heavenly Emperor as well. But would it be enough?

Feng Baiyu felt rather pessimistic. He looked at Ye Chen, who was brewing a new cup of tea in front of him, and sighed. "When you enter the Immortal Realm in the future, there is no need to become enemies with the Other Domain!

"The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths are tolerant toward top prodigies. They have always wanted to find a way to completely solve the problem of world decline, so they constantly absorb top prodigies. It is said that the top prodigies from the previous shattered worlds all entered the Other Domain!

"You are only a lower-realm person. You have no duty to protect the Immortal Realm. If the situation becomes impossible, just reveal your talent and join the Other Domain!"

Ye Chen pushed a fresh cup of spiritual tea toward Feng Baiyu and smiled upon hearing this. The Immortal Realm seemed even more chaotic than the cultivation world. But for him, it really was not a big problem.

After all, his internal world could exist independently. It was already almost as large as the cultivation world. Once he became a true immortal and his internal world transformed into a universe, it might even rival the Immortal Realm.

At that time, even if the Immortal Realm shattered, he could perhaps stand alone, exist independently, slowly grow stronger, and seek true transcendence. With such a backup plan in place, neither the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths nor the Immortal Realm would trouble Ye Chen. So Ye Chen said nothing and simply gestured for Feng Baiyu to drink his tea.

Perhaps influenced by Ye Chen's calm demeanor, Feng Baiyu drained the enlightenment tea in one gulp and regained his usual state. With a cold smile, he said, "With your battle record this time, Alkaid Holy Land will definitely become a target for everyone. Whether they want to get close to you or stir the muddy waters, the number of participating forces will be far beyond ordinary. Even if they still have one immortal artifact left, under siege, their destruction is inevitable.

"You no longer need protectors. I will start planning right away. When the time comes, I'll get you the Dragon-Patterned Black-Gold Cauldron—their main immortal artifact. Its power and grade are both higher than the Heavenly Tribulation Thunder Halberd.

"You and the Heavenly Emperor both possess the Armament Secret, so you can preliminarily awaken an immortal artifact. Do you want Alkaid's Holy Maiden as well?"

Ye Chen grinned. This was the Holy Master he knew. He shook his head and refused. He already had enough women, and Alkaid's Holy Maiden had almost no reputation. Her aptitude was probably average.

No interest.

Ye Chen was also pondering how to gift the items. An immortal artifact could only be barely used by a Quasi-Immortal. Gifting one to anyone below Quasi-Immortal would be too forced and unlikely to produce the most precious rewards, so he set that aside for now.

The World-Destroying Black Lotus seed, however, was excellent. It was most likely a lotus seed produced by a lesser world's immortal root—a top-tier treasure for condensing black holes. The only question was who to give it to.

Lan Nuo, Yao Yuezhi, and Yan Qingcheng had probably all reached the Great Saint realm by now, but none had likely reached its peak yet. They were not in the most urgent need.

So Ye Chen decided to check on all of them first. If their situations were roughly the same, he would give it to Lan Nuo, who had the highest multiplier.

The first stop Ye Chen headed to was the Myriad Races Immortal City. It had been a long time since he last went to Yao Yuezhi's place for tea. It was time to pay her a visit.

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