Chapter 204: Crushing All Realms! The Stronghold Standing Above the River of Time!

Boom—

Shi Huang halted his absorption of essence, swinging the Heaven Emperor Spear, and boundless divine light exploded outward.

Countless Dao laws formed immense power, striking toward the force unleashed by Senior Gai Jiuyou.

Terrifying vibrations echoed throughout this starry void.

The two colliding forces vanished, and Senior Gai Jiuyou and Jiang Taixu appeared in this starry void.

"Ye Hei, if you're going to fight the Supreme Ancient Emperors, why didn't you call me?" Senior Gai Jiuyou said boldly, his body radiating complete Dao laws.

Even Shi Huang's pupils contracted at the sight of this man.

This human before him possessed strength infinitesimally close to those ancient human Emperors of the past.

But at least, his strength was not yet that of a true human Emperor, and his aura's fluctuations were highly unusual.

This eased Shi Huang's breath.

"Senior elders," Ye Hei flashed forward, moving toward Senior Gai Jiuyou.

Yuanshi Tianzun made no move to stop this.

Even if he intervened now, it would accomplish nothing.

More importantly, why should Yuanshi Tianzun stop it at all?

"Little one, are these two your trump cards?" Yuanshi Tianzun walked through empty space, his voice slowly resonating across this realm.

Although Senior Gai Jiuyou and Jiang Taixu possessed considerable power, both had exploited certain conditions to temporarily ascend to this level.

But how long could their strength possibly last?

"Merely two more ants who forcibly boosted their power," the Lord of Reincarnation appeared with a sneer.

The Lord of Reincarnation was another Supreme Ancient Emperor who had never left Beidou, remaining in this star region.

"Senior Gai Jiuyou, you don't need to further refine your essence—it's too great a drain on your life," Ye Hei said, not addressing the others but speaking directly to Senior Gai Jiuyou.

Senior Gai Jiuyou's lifespan had already been severely depleted.

Now, forcibly refining essence like this—even if he survives this battle—he likely won't live much longer.

Of course, for a peerless powerhouse like Senior Gai Jiuyou, if he came here, he had long since placed his life beyond concern.

Ye Hei's situation was much the same.

If he had merely hidden away, avoiding the Dark Chaos, waiting to fight later,

then Ye Hei would not be the Ye Tiandi who suppressed all enemies under heaven.

"Too great a drain," Senior Gai Jiuyou smiled faintly. "Ye Hei, if you're fighting for Beidou, for this universe, how could I watch from afar?"

"Exactly," Jiang Taixu nodded. "How could you face them alone?"

"Senior elders, rest assured—this time, even greater senior deities will come to help us," Ye Hei said, hearing their words of sacrifice, yet speaking these words.

"Greater senior deities?" Jiang Taixu and Senior Gai Jiuyou both froze.

Did Ye Hei know some powerful pseudo-Emperor?

Or perhaps a Supreme Ancient Emperor like Yuanshi Tianzun who had self-severed?

"Greater senior deities?" The eyes of Yuanshi Tianzun, Shi Huang, and the Lord of Reincarnation—all three Supreme Ancient Emperors—held a hint of indifference.

To them,

what difference did one more powerful being make?

At most, another self-severed Supreme Ancient Emperor.

As for a Supreme Ancient Emperor who had not self-severed—they did not believe such a person could exist.

Having dwelled in the forbidden zones for so long, these Supreme Ancient Emperors had a general understanding of the powerful beings in this world.

"Could it be a self-severed Emperor?" Senior Gai Jiuyou asked.

In the Ancient Primal Era, those who achieved Dao were generally called Emperors.

This differed from the prior Ancient Era.

The Era of Concealed Heaven followed the Divine Era's Supreme Beings, the Ancient Era's Ancient Emperors, then entered the Ancient Primal Era's Emperors—a cyclical transformation.

Yet as time passed, the rules of this world underwent tremendous change.

Thus, Senior Gai Jiuyou assuming it was a self-severed Emperor was natural.

But if it was a self-severed Emperor, had that Emperor once unleashed the Dark Chaos?

After all, to survive in this world—even after self-severing and abstaining from absorbing essence—it was impossible to endure forever.