A mound, nearly half a zhang in diameter, swept over the heads of the numerous warships, crashing down onto the ground ahead with a deafening boom. Some vessels that failed to dodge were instantly crushed beneath the mound, pulverized into dust!
Everyone fleeing was aghast.
A mound with a diameter of half a guangnian was actually thrown—what terrifying power must the thrower possess!
After a moment of stunned silence, Ye Chen roared, "Quickly, change course!"
Xiao Zhongsheng reacted the fastest. Hearing Ye Chen's voice, his mind processed data thousands of times faster than a peak Divine Emperor. His fingers flew across the virtual keyboard, and the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark executed a sharp turn, bypassing the mound half a guangnian in diameter, then frantically charging toward the entrance of the Ancient Realm Peak Boulevard.
Navigating around the mound took over ten minutes. This delay caused many fleeing warships to fall behind. The headless ancient corpses, chasing like ravenous beasts, pounded the earth as they raced closer. Every footfall thundered, shaking the surroundings and striking the hearts of the fugitives, making their hearts nearly burst from their chests.
Whoosh!
The Heavenly Dao Divine Ark pulled away from the remaining fleeing vessels. The flight speed of those peak warships simply could not compare to the Ark. Just as it seemed poised to take the lead, a sharp whistling sound tore through the air from behind. A magnificent, brilliant golden greatsword sliced through the void, faintly enveloped by dragon-like patterns. The sword was thousands of zhang long, and now, whistling through the air, its speed far surpassed that of the other peak Dao Artifact vessels.
Countless figures clung to the longsword. The two leading them were none other than Emperor Longquan and Saint King Lunzhuan. They stood with hands clasped behind their backs, exuding an imposing aura, their expressions grave as they pushed their speed to the limit while fleeing.
"It's them," Emperor Huang frowned.
"I didn't expect the Dragon Spring Divine Sword to fly this fast; truly worthy of being a Void Heaven Artifact," Nuwa murmured softly.
At this moment, Emperor Longquan and his group also spotted the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark. Their expressions shifted, growing somewhat somber. Emperor Longquan, especially, poured his entire strength into urging the Dragon Transformation Divine Sword, spiking its speed to the maximum, yet still struggling to catch the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark.
"GIVE—ME—BACK—MY—HEAD!!!"
The resonant roar echoed across the entire Ancient Realm Peak Boulevard. Countless people felt their heartbeats quicken, and some cultivators at the level of initial Divine Emperors felt pain in their eardrums, gasping in horror. To be affected by mere sound waves meant that a direct punch would leave them with absolutely no chance of survival.
The vast, azure sky slowly became obscured by dark clouds, blocking the light. Only a few weak rays managed to pierce through the gaps, while fierce winds howled through the heavens like cruel and ferocious devils, mocking everything in the world.
The myriad civilizations stationed along the Ancient Realm Peak Boulevard fled toward the entrance like swarming locusts, driven scattershot by the sudden appearance of the headless ancient corpses. They held no thought of resistance whatsoever. When peak Dao Artifact vessels could be smashed to pieces with a casual slap, who would dare oppose such monsters?
In his haste, Ye Chen glanced back, only to see that the headless ancient corpses pursuing them had increased from two to six. They were slowly emerging from the periphery of the Ancient Realm Peak Boulevard, lining up like ancient reapers of death, taking heavy steps. The once supreme and world-defying peak Divine Emperors now resembled panicked flying ants before these ancient figures, with escape as their only option.
Ye Chen’s heart pounded in silent shock. Watching the peak Dao Artifact vessels being grasped and effortlessly crushed by the headless ancient corpses, he felt no will to fight. He had no doubt that if the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark fell into these monsters' hands, it would likely be dismantled in a few moves!
Ye Chen’s heart hammered against his ribs. He ordered Xiao Zhongsheng to accelerate the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark, plunging toward the Ancient Realm Peak Boulevard. This boulevard, which had known peace for countless years, was now facing an apocalypse of world-destroying magnitude!
Ye Chen clearly experienced what it meant for all living things to be like ants!
More than ten minutes later, Ye Chen spotted the majestic entrance gate of the Ancient Realm Peak on the distant horizon through the external viewers. The towering stone gate stood like an unyielding monument.
"Faster, faster!" Ye Chen urged loudly.
Cold sweat beaded on Xiao Zhongsheng’s forehead. He gritted his teeth and pushed the entire Heavenly Dao Divine Ark to its maximum capacity. If not for the extremely unstable spatial currents within the Ancient Realm Peak—a jump now would make locking coordinates impossible, potentially sending them to another location—they could have easily avoided this danger.
Whoosh!
The Heavenly Dao Divine Ark sped past, rapidly approaching the mouth of the Ancient Realm Peak Boulevard. Suddenly, Ye Chen felt a strong jolt in his heart. He couldn't help but turn his head to look. He didn't know why he turned, but in that single glance, he saw that the two stone statues beneath the gate remained motionless. However, the statue of the man in black holding the exquisite woman in his arms seemed subtly different.
It was as if…
It was coming alive!
Ye Chen's eyelids twitched; a feeling of bone-deep dread washed over him. He didn't dare linger, diving immediately into a channel just outside the Ancient Realm Peak Boulevard while the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark sped onward.
Returning to the [Heavenly Path] Universe, Ye Chen did not stay to observe. He did not deploy any monitoring devices for long-distance viewing. Although current technology was advanced, the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark would soon leave the [Heavenly Path] Universe for the Abyssal Prefecture, meaning any signal spanning a universe would be impossible to transmit.
Whoosh!
On the dark and silent [Heavenly Path], the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark whistled away, distancing itself from the ensuing calamity behind it, following the trajectory of the Heavenly Dao at full surge.
Not long after the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark entered the [Heavenly Path] Universe, led by Emperor Longquan and others, a large contingent of experts from the other major forces rushed in through the channel entrance, their faces filled with terror as they sprinted.
"We're safe for now," Shao Hao sighed in slight relief through the sensor scope, watching the remaining forces gradually catching up behind them. Recalling the headless ancient corpses he had just witnessed sent goosebumps across his skin, making his scalp tingle. He had lived a full life and seen countless strange things, but never anything so horrifying.
"ROAR!!!"
Suddenly, a roar erupted from not far ahead. Immediately after, everyone watched as, on the stone steps of the [Heavenly Path], riddled with stark white bones and splattered with blood, several bones began to shift slowly. Then, a sky-piercing light burst forth from within. Centered on that sound, an unparalleled aura ignited, sweeping away the surrounding skeletal remains, as a figure slowly rose from the pile of bones.
It was a skeletal being clad in black armor, yet currently, numerous blood vessels and threads rapidly interwove across its white bones, assembling into cells and then skin, instantly forming a truly flesh-and-blood person!
Fuxi and the others were deeply shaken, especially Nuwa, whose beautiful face paled as she cried out, "Heavenly Emperor!!"
Shao Hao and the others, already somewhat shocked, had their pupils contract upon hearing Nuwa’s words. Even Ye Chen’s heart began to pound, his palms slick with cold sweat.
From the ancient archives of his clan, Ye Chen knew that this Heavenly Emperor was a famous figure from the Ancient Continent tens of millions of years ago, having served as the sovereign of the Tenth Free Empire before abandoning his authority to wander the world, his whereabouts later becoming unknown. No one expected that he had fallen here!
Moreover, this Heavenly Emperor, dead for countless epochs, had now miraculously resurrected!
Under the gaze of Nuwa and the others, the Heavenly Emperor slowly turned his head. Two points of strange, bloody light flickered in his black eyes. He licked his lips, slowly raising a hand to draw a blood-red longsword from the ground. Wisps of blood-colored mist curled around the blade, emanating a sinister feeling.
The Heavenly Dao Divine Ark rapidly halted. Staring at this resurrected Heavenly Emperor, Ye Chen gritted his teeth and roared, "Charge through!"
Xiao Zhongsheng’s expression was grim. He pressed a key, and the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark shuddered slightly before suddenly engaging maximum speed.
Whoosh!
Fast as light!
As the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark forced its way forward, a strange, secretive smile flickered across the Heavenly Emperor’s eyes. His figure flashed, instantly appearing in front of the Ark, and he swung the blood-red longsword straight toward them.
"Charge!!!" Ye Chen bellowed.
The entire Heavenly Dao Divine Ark roared like an enraged beast, its thrusters emitting a sharp, angry sound. The massive ship hurtled directly toward the Heavenly Emperor.
Thump!
The Heavenly Emperor’s figure was scattered like a mass of bloody pulp before the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark, his bones shattered, flesh and blood flying everywhere, his sword flying backward to embed itself deep into the ground after countless rotations.
Ye Chen inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Although the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark could not contend with the headless ancient corpses, it proved effective against this Heavenly Emperor.
Nuwa and the others also felt a slight easing of tension. Just then, the flesh and blood that had been scattered by the flying Heavenly Emperor rapidly gathered together. First, a head coalesced, followed swiftly by the entire fleshy body. In an instant, the Heavenly Emperor, who had been reduced to a pool of gore and plasma, was restored perfectly!
He reached out a hand, and the fallen blood-red longsword flew back into his grip, radiating a sinister, sharp bloody glow and murderous intent.
Ye Chen’s heart shook. He dared not linger, urgently pressing Xiao Zhongsheng to accelerate their escape.
After the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark departed, the Heavenly Emperor did not pursue. He merely watched the Ark leave quietly. After a moment, he slowly turned his head, gazing into the endless void behind him, licking his lips as a sinister and cruel, aberrant red light flickered in his eyes. Within his line of sight, Emperor Longquan and the others were fleeing in terror from the outside of the Ancient Realm Peak Boulevard…
Darkness, on average, brought two updates daily; there would be no more two-day gaps. That was in the past, a period when Old Gu was chaotic and failed to manage updates properly. That time was already one or two months ago; he couldn't recall exactly, as a long time has passed. He hopes that the few individuals still concerned will let it go. Old Gu’s updates will gradually stabilize, and in addition to the guaranteed two daily posts, he will also squeeze in some extra explosive chapters when time permits. To be continued.