Chaos Heavenly Emperor

Hai Cang couldn't conceal the excitement in his voice, "The secret realm has opened! Let's go in!"

Ye Chuan stepped through the luminous gate first, followed by Hai Cang, Yuyu, and several mermaid elders. The rest of the mermaid clan guarded the entrance. The moment they entered the secret realm, everyone was stunned by the sight before them—the entire realm resembled an underwater paradise, with the ground covered in glowing night pearls that illuminated the space as brightly as daylight.

The spiritual energy here was incredibly dense, even manifesting as shimmering fish-like shadows swimming through the air. From low-grade spirit crystals to high-grade ones, everything was abundant, and there were even rare top-tier spirit stones radiating rich spiritual energy.

What was even more astonishing was the spiritual herb garden at the center of the realm, where various ancient herbs—long thought extinct—were growing. Each plant exuded an alluring fragrance.

Next to the herb garden, a small pool held several fist-sized sea pearls floating on the surface. Inside these pearls was pure water-attribute spiritual energy, unmistakably top-tier cultivation aids.

The mermaid elders' eyes gleamed with excitement as they carefully began harvesting the herbs and collecting the spirit stones, their faces filled with exhilaration.

Yuyu, meanwhile, tugged at Ye Chuan's sleeve, curiously looking around. "Wow, there are so many treasures here! Benefactor, look at that flower—it's so pretty!"

But Ye Chuan wasn’t in a hurry to gather treasures. His gaze was drawn to the very center of the secret realm.

At the heart of the realm stood a small stone platform. Unlike the rest of the treasures, it held neither gold nor jewels, nor any rare spiritual herbs. Instead, resting quietly upon it was an ancient, unassuming jade fragment.

The fragment was gray in color, its surface weathered by time, yet it exuded a mysterious and archaic aura. For some reason, Ye Chuan felt an inexplicable pull toward it.

He walked forward and picked up the jade.

It felt cool to the touch, its surface inscribed with obscure ancient script.

"Is this also a treasure of the mermaid clan?" Ye Chuan asked Yuyu.

"Me?" Yuyu scratched her head. "It's so ugly. I prefer the pretty flowers."

Their actions didn’t go unnoticed by Hai Cang and the others, who also caught sight of the jade fragment in Ye Chuan’s hand.

"This object… it’s quite peculiar. Why would it be placed at the very center and guarded so carefully?" Hai Cang sensed something unusual.

The mermaid clan was an ancient race of demons. Though their branch had declined, they still retained some inherited knowledge.

"Benefactor, you might try channeling spiritual energy into it."

Following Hai Cang’s suggestion, Ye Chuan infused a trace of spiritual energy into the jade. Instantly, it emitted a soft glow, and lines of text materialized, filling the entire space around them!

"These words…" Ye Chuan was momentarily stunned.

He could actually understand them?

The other mermaids also looked up—clearly, they could read the script as well.

"It doesn’t seem like a cultivation technique or manual. More like… history?" Hai Cang remarked.

"Ah, these words appear to record an ancient tale about a figure known as the 'Chaos Heavenly Emperor.'"

"The Chaos Heavenly Emperor was the first being in existence to attain divinity. With power that spanned heaven and earth, he established the Divine Court, ruling over all races across the cosmos and ushering in an era of unparalleled glory."

"Not only was the Chaos Heavenly Emperor immensely powerful, but he also possessed boundless generosity. He shared his cultivation insights with all races, guiding countless beings onto the path of cultivation. Under his reign, all races coexisted peacefully, and the civilization of cultivation reached its zenith."

"However, this golden age did not last."

"As the Chaos Heavenly Emperor grew stronger, he drew the envy of other immortal emperors."

"Conspiring with malevolent gods from beyond, they besieged him. Calamities swept across the realms, and the Divine Court suffered unprecedented devastation. The war raged for a thousand years, shattering worlds and breaking the cycle of reincarnation…"

Hai Cang murmured the words, clearly astonished that such a broken jade fragment could contain such a staggering piece of history.

Though the mermaid clan was an ancient race, they never imagined this secret realm would conceal such a monumental secret. The tale of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor left them awestruck.

"Immortal Emperors are said to be beings who have ascended beyond the Great Ascension realm. The Tianxuan Continent hasn’t seen a single ascendant in a thousand years," Hai Cang said, calming his shock before addressing Ye Chuan.

"Had Benefactor not retrieved the spirit pearl, we might never have learned of this history."

A realm beyond Great Ascension…

It felt almost unfathomably distant.

"Truly incredible," Ye Chuan murmured, but as his eyes lingered on the text, an odd sensation stirred within him.

Chaos… Heavenly Emperor?

Could there be some connection to his own Indestructible Chaos Body?

Ye Chuan handed the jade back to Hai Cang and said calmly, "This jade records the history of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor. You should safeguard it well."

"Understood." Hai Cang carefully stored the jade away. After all, this was part of the mermaid clan’s legacy.

"Benefactor, as for the treasures here…"

Hai Cang was implying that Ye Chuan had yet to claim his share.

"I’ll take the spiritual herbs." Ye Chuan scanned the surroundings. His reserves of spirit stones and crystals were already plentiful, and he currently had no urgent need for enhancement. The rare herbs, however, intrigued him.

After all, he had his own spiritual field where he could cultivate them freely.

Extinct spirit herbs like these were truly once-in-a-lifetime finds.

"Just the herbs?" Hai Cang was surprised.

He had expected Ye Chuan to ask for more, but the herbs were the least valuable items to the mermaids.

"Yes." Ye Chuan nodded.

He had grown fond of the mermaid clan—their sincerity had left a good impression on him.

"In that case, Benefactor, please take what you need."

"Can I keep a pretty flower?" Yuyu circled around Ye Chuan eagerly.

Hai Cang interjected, "No, Yuyu."

"Oh."

Ye Chuan chuckled faintly and flicked his fingers. In an instant, all the celestial herbs from the distant garden flew into his storage pouch.

[Obtained Frostbone Jadebloom (Gold) x1—added to inventory.]

[Obtained Voidstar Vine (Gold) x1—added to inventory.]

[Devourmoon Grass (Gold) x1—added to inventory.]

[Abyssal Dragonheart Fruit (Gold) x1—added to inventory.]

The quality of the herbs surpassed Ye Chuan’s expectations. "Hm?" he uttered in surprise.

So these were ancient celestial herbs?

After a quick glance at his inventory, he planted all of them in his spiritual field.

"Clan Leader, the sea chart." Ye Chuan hadn’t forgotten his main purpose. Now that the secret realm was open, he didn’t intend to linger in the mermaid territory indefinitely.

"Of course, Benefactor. I’ll have someone fetch it immediately." Hai Cang nodded promptly. Not only that, he would also assign a few mermaid warriors to guide Ye Chuan on his way.