524: Chapter 524 The Heavenly Emperor (89)

The Sword Intent of the Heart Sword was invisible and intangible, yet it enveloped the entire battlefield.

It was a form of absolute suppression originating from a higher level of the Laws.

On the battlefield, tens of thousands of low-level Fallen Beings felt their bodies tremble uncontrollably the moment that Sword Intent swept past.

Their minds, twisted by the power of the eerie, felt the most primal fear at this moment.

Rank upon rank of the fallen army dissolved silently, leaving behind massive voids.

The high-level Fallen Beings and the Saint Race fared slightly better, but not by much.

Their Origins were vibrating violently, as if they had encountered their natural nemesis.

This Sword Intent could kill them.

Truly, it could erase them from the very source.

"Retreat!"

Just then, a cold Divine Thought command exploded within the Seas of Consciousness of all the fallen high-ranking officials.

The one who issued the command was a Saint Race Heavenly Emperor of extremely high status.

The fallen army that received the command showed no signs of Chaos or collapse.

Like a receding tide, they retreated toward the depths of the eerie green sky in an extremely orderly and rapid manner.

One moment they were attacking frantically; the next, they had vanished without a trace.

The battlefield fell silent.

After the deathly silence of those who had survived the disaster, there was a sky-shaking carnival.

"We won! We won!"

"The Fallen Beings have retreated! They've been driven back!"

"It's Emperor's Son Ye! Emperor's Son Ye alone forced back an army of millions!"

"Long live the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body! Emperor's Son Ye is invincible!"

Cheers like mountain torrents and tsunamis resounded through this shattered Star Domain.

Countless Cultivators wept with joy, embracing one another to celebrate this hard-won victory.

However, in the middle of this ocean of revelry, Ye Yun stood alone, suspended high in the sky.

He did not smile; instead, his expression was even more solemn than it had been during the battle.

He watched the direction in which the enemy army had disappeared, his brow furrowed tightly.

The surrounding clamor formed a sharp contrast with his silence.

"Ye Yun."

Heavenly Emperor Dongjue, Heavenly Emperor Ximen, and several other powerhouses arrived at his side.

They looked at Ye Yun, and in their eyes, besides shock and praise, there was more of a heartfelt admiration.

"That sword strike of yours... was truly extraordinary."

Heavenly Emperor Ximen remarked with sincere emotion.

"Senior overpraises me."

Ye Yun withdrew his gaze and looked at the several Heavenly Emperors, his voice steady.

"Seniors, I'm afraid this matter is not that simple."

Heavenly Emperor Dongjue also noticed Ye Yun's abnormality and nodded.

"Are you referring to their retreat?"

"Indeed."

Ye Yun began to voice his doubts. His voice was not loud, but it caused the joy on the faces of the nearby Heavenly Emperors to gradually fade.

"First, the strength is mismatched. The high-end combat power they possess, especially the number of Saint Race Heavenly Emperors, is far above ours. In a bloody battle to the end, we would have no chance of winning. They have absolutely no reason to retreat so cleanly."

"Second, the goal was not achieved. They went to great lengths to set a trap and lure our main force inside; their purpose must have been to annihilate us all here. Now, they have retreated entirely after losing only one member of the Saint Race; it doesn't fit the logic."

"Third, the timing and manner of the retreat. It was too fast and too orderly. It didn't look like a rout, but more like a pre-planned strategic retreat. It's as if... their only purpose for this trip was to test my true strength."

The joy of victory vanished completely, replaced by an even deeper chill.

"The Abyss Lord..."

Combining the information he had obtained from the North Sea Heavenly Emperor's remnant soul, Ye Yun proposed a guess that made even him feel uneasy.

"All of this might be within the Abyss Lord's calculations. All the Fallen Beings before us, including these members of the Saint Race, might just be pawns in its hand. The loss of this battle might be a link in its plan."

"What is it planning?"

This question was like a great mountain pressing down on everyone's heart.

...

The discussion came to a temporary halt. The immediate priority was to treat the wounded and regroup.

Meanwhile, Ye Yun spread his Divine Thought, sweeping across the deathly silent battlefield.

He was searching.

Searching for the Ye Family.

Ten thousand years ago, the remnant soul of the Ancestral Heavenly Emperor had sealed and exiled the Ye Family's ancestral land, and he had been teleported out alone.

Now, he had already become a Peak Great Emperor, his Desolate Ancient Sacred Body was perfected, and he had even mastered the complete Heart Sword.

He had the qualifications and the ability to find the way to the Ye Family.

The pull of his Bloodline transformed into an invisible thread in the Void Realm, guiding his perception as it pierced through layers of spatial faults and probed into that unknown land of exile.

Soon, he found it.

Ye Yun's body suddenly jolted.

He tore through the Void Realm and stepped inside.

When he reappeared, the sight before him made his heart tighten.

In a grayish-white void, a floating island shrouded in a golden light screen hung silently.

That golden light screen was the last of the Ye Family's Ancestral Heavenly Emperor's power; it had dimmed to the extreme, as if it could be extinguished at any moment.

Through the light screen, he saw the scene on the island.

Petrification.

Everything was turning to stone.

The once glorious halls had now become grayish-white stone carvings.

The lush ancient trees had turned into lifeless stone statues.

What pained him even more were the clansmen.

Countless young Disciples of the Ye Family maintained the postures of their final moments, completely transformed into grayish-white stone statues with no trace of life remaining.

In the center of the ancestral land's plaza, Great Emperor Desolate Heaven leaned against a broken stone pillar, more than half of his body already petrified.

The Empress sat beside him, her feet also turned to cold stone.

The Fifth Ancestor, the Fourth Ancestor... all the elders he was familiar with were gradually losing the color of life under the erosion of that ruthless petrification power.

They used their own strength to slow the rate at which their clansmen were being petrified, but they themselves had become the first batch to wither away.

Ye Yun's eyes turned red.

He did not hesitate any longer.

Boom!

The power of the Major Achievement Five Elements Saint Body erupted without reservation.

Wood Saint Bone, Senluo.

That vigorous power of life transformed into a jade-green ocean, instantly flooding the entire Ye Family ancestral land.

The pure life Origin, like sweet rain, nourished this land that was about to die.

The process of petrification stopped.

The grayish-white color on those clansmen who had not yet completely petrified slowly faded, and they regained the color of flesh and blood.

Immediately after, Ye Yun activated his perfected Desolate Ancient Sacred Body.

Golden Qi and blood power, carrying an aura of the same source as all Ye Family clansmen, surged toward Great Emperor Desolate Heaven and several Ancient Ancestors.

The majestic Sacred Body power repaired their parched Origins and stabilized their crumbling Dao Emperor Foundations.

Great Emperor Desolate Heaven's petrified body, starting from his chest, regained vitality bit by bit.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw the figure standing before him, surrounded by golden and Chaos five-colored Holy Light.

Seeing Ye Yun's current strength, Great Emperor Desolate Heaven was very gratified.

He knew that the Ye Family now had a successor.

...

Western Dao State.

Under Ye Yun's leadership, the Three Thousand Dao Provinces allied army, having finished their rest, began the final clearing of the remaining Fallen Beings in this Dao State.

With his powerful Heavenly Emperor-level strength and precise perception of the eerie aura, Ye Yun commanded the various Emperors to conduct "targeted removals" of hidden strongholds one by one.

The efficiency was extremely high.

The entire Western Dao State returned to the control of the Human Race.

This phased victory allowed everyone to immerse themselves in the joy of reclaiming lost territory.

However, Ye Yun's gaze once again turned toward the depths of the starry sky.

The cloud of doubt in his heart regarding the Abyss Lord had not only failed to dissipate but had instead become even thicker because of this "overly smooth" victory.

"Abyss Lord, what exactly are you trying to do?"