The Heavenly Vault was boundless, Heaven and Earth vast beyond measure.

The ninety-nine-layer Heavenly Towers spanned the ancient firmament, and an Emperor Palace sat upon the very peak of the ninety-nine-layer heavens. Without Ye Xuan’s permission, no one was allowed to set foot within.

Inside the Emperor Palace.

Spiritual Energy floated and surged, Law was born and nourished.

Ye Xuan sat cross-legged upon a cloud cluster, his brows faintly knitted, as if burdened with some immense concern, a trace of heaviness occasionally flashing across the depths of his eyes.

Ever since Ye Xuan returned to the Heavenly Burial Palace, he had secluded himself here, comprehending the Great Eternal Dream. Yet the more he understood of the Great Eternal Dream, the more uneasy his heart became.

"Great Eternal Dream, Eternal and everlasting!"

Ye Xuan murmured heavily, endless self-mockery in his eyes. This taboo, heaven-defying Law, if it was not a moment of utmost crisis, he would absolutely never use it.

To live forever within a dream, to have no self left in the world—this Great Eternal Dream was simply too perilous.

Whoosh!

Ye Xuan slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, letting his mood calm down, and for the time being no longer dwelling on the peril of the Great Eternal Dream.

Right now his only task was to open the Eleventh Heavenly Gate, and moreover to face the most perilous Chaos Heavenly Punishment.

What must be faced will be faced sooner or later; blindly avoiding it is the act of a coward, and would even affect his Invincible Heart.

This step had to be taken eventually; since he had to take it, there was no need for fear. Even if the Chaos Heavenly Punishment made even taboo beings dread it by three parts, he, Ye Xuan, must cross it. Only thus could his Cultivation continue to advance.

Rumble!

Ye Xuan’s thoughts settled. He formed seals with both hands and began to operate the Heavenly Burial Technique. The Ten Heavenly Gates revolved behind him, and streaks of Heavenly Burial Reincarnation wrapped around his body like ribbons.

During the tens of millions of years Ye Xuan spent in bitter Cultivation together with Ye Fengtian, it was not only Ye Fengtian whose Cultivation skyrocketed—he himself had also been arduously cultivating.

Now Ye Xuan’s Cultivation was at its peak, and he was not far from opening the Eleventh Heavenly Gate. According to his own estimation, at most another tens of millions of years, and he would be able to open the Eleventh Heavenly Gate.

Tens of millions of years seemed long, yet in truth it was already extremely fast.

One had to know that, according to Ye Xuan’s normal Cultivation speed, if he wanted to open the Eleventh Heavenly Gate, he would need at least half an Epoch.

For Ye Xuan’s body was like a bottomless abyss; the Cultivation Resources needed to open each Heavenly Gate were simply unimaginable.

This was thanks to the Heavenly Burial Palace Ye Xuan had founded, which provided him with endless Cultivation Resources, allowing his Cultivation speed to soar.

Cultivation was dull, and also tasteless. Only by enduring a loneliness that ordinary people could never endure could one make oneself stronger than anyone else.

Time flowed like water; Time cycled on.

Ye Xuan savored loneliness, and also enjoyed it. Every day he immersed himself in a sea of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to cultivate, madly devouring endless Spiritual Energy, letting his Cultivation continuously grow.

Time hurried by, sun and moon alternated.

In the blink of an eye, tens of millions of years passed. Over these tens of millions of years, the Heavenly Burial Palace developed and grew to an unimaginable extent.

Just at the level of Great Perfection in the Immortal Realm, more than a dozen had appeared; as for the rest of the Immortal Realm, they were beyond counting, and Disciples of the Daoist lineages spread throughout the Five Domains.

There were even Half-step Supreme Powers who had been silent for many years joining the Heavenly Burial Palace. This drove the Heavenly Burial Palace’s momentum to its extreme, faintly becoming the master of the Tenth Epoch, as if replacing the Spirits Heavenly Palace.

Time passed quickly; there were now less than three hundred million years left before the end of the Tenth Epoch. Although the entire Chaos Great World seemed calm, and the Heavenly Burial Palace’s prestige had reached its summit, beneath the surface undercurrents surged and storms were about to break.

Because whenever an Epoch neared its end, that stretch of Time was also the most tranquil age. Any person and any power would fall into沉寂.

Because everyone was waiting for the opening of the next Epoch; when the New Era opened, that would be the most brutal Chaotic Era.

Whether Great Sects and Daoist lineages, or Immortal Great Powers, or even peerless Heavenly Pride who had hidden themselves for countless Time, all would emerge when the New Era opened.

Who would become the master of the new Epoch?

Who would hold sway over the Eleventh Epoch?

Who could become the new Eternal Supreme?

All these answers would be revealed when the New Era opened.

Everyone was making preparations, and even some who had never appeared in the world were about to prove that saying true: when a bird that has never sung finally sings, it startles the world.

...

Rumble!

At the ninety-nine-layer Heavenly Towers, the great doors of the Emperor Palace rumbled open. A dense black mass of people waited outside the palace. As Ye Xuan strode out from within, a sound like mountains roaring and seas crashing accompanied him.

"We pay respect to our Lord!"

Mountains and rivers trembled, Heaven and Earth quaked. The crowd all prostrated themselves, shouting Ye Xuan’s name, fervent reverence and awe in every pair of eyes.

"There is no need for such ceremony."

Ye Xuan was dressed in black. The jet-black hair he once had had actually turned silver-white, now hanging behind his head, rippling slightly in the wind.

Tens of millions of years had passed. No one knew why Ye Xuan had become like this, why his originally black hair had turned snowy white after tens of millions of years. During these tens of millions of years of Cultivation, what exactly had Ye Xuan gone through?

Everyone was puzzled, but none dared speak to ask. Even Fatty Huang and Gu Beichen felt deep shock and unease in their hearts.

Ye Xuan!

His gaze was as deep as an ancient pool. Looking at the crowd worshiping before him, he found many unfamiliar faces, yet each possessed exceedingly powerful Cultivation.

Ye Xuan understood at a glance: these unfamiliar faces were all Cultivators who had newly joined the Heavenly Burial Palace.

"Three days from now, a great tribulation will descend from the heavens. All of you, disperse." Ye Xuan said calmly.

"We obey the Emperor’s Dharma Decree."

The crowd kowtowed in response and withdrew from the ninety-nine-layer heavens one after another, but Ye Xuan kept Fatty Huang and Gu Beichen behind, beckoning them to enter the Emperor Palace with him.

Inside the Emperor Palace!

Ye Xuan stood with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the myriad Chen Star above his head. His eyes were slightly unfocused, as though recalling something.

Fatty Huang and Gu Beichen waited in silence, for they knew Ye Xuan must have something to entrust to them.

"How many years have you followed me?"

At last, Ye Xuan’s thoughts returned. He turned and looked at the two.

"Eight hundred thirty-two million, eight hundred forty thousand years." Gu Beichen said solemnly and respectfully.

Ye Xuan nodded and said, "So many years have passed. You followed me from the Human World to Chaos. We have been together seldom and apart often. All these years, you have suffered."

"Sir, please don’t say such things. It’s only a pity that Beichen and I are useless. With this meager Cultivation, we cannot help you at all; we can only handle some trivial matters for you." Fatty Huang said with bitter self-mockery.

At this moment.

Gu Beichen had only opened the Seventh Heavenly Gate, and Fatty Huang only the Fourth. Within the Heavenly Burial Palace, they were indeed somewhat weak.

"In truth, after you have followed me for so many years, it is I who have wronged you." Ye Xuan sighed. He had only cared about his own Cultivation, and for the most part had no time to pay attention to the Cultivation of the two.

If he had been able to spare some time to instruct them in Cultivation, Fatty Huang and Gu Beichen would not have the Cultivation they had today.

"Sir, you must never say that. If you hadn’t taken us with you, we would probably have died of old age in the Human World long ago." Fatty Huang said, uncharacteristically serious.