It was the third day after the Fate Tribulation.
Ning Xuanyuan stepped out of his room. When the two warriors standing guard outside saw him, they hurriedly bowed.
"Your Highness."
"Mm." Ning Xuanyuan nodded. He noticed that the way the two warriors looked at him seemed somewhat different from before.
Ning Xuanyuan smiled faintly, knowing full well that it was because he had undergone the tribulation that day.
For these warriors who guarded the Myriad Heavens Battlefield year after year and fought bloody battles, only true experts could earn their recognition and respect.
Ning Xuanyuan made his way to the main hall of the marshal's residence, where Ye Xuankong was attending to military affairs.
A smile appeared on Ye Xuankong's face when he saw Ning Xuanyuan. He set down the jade slip in his hand and said, "You've come out of seclusion already?"
After undergoing the tribulation that day, Ning Xuanyuan had gone straight into seclusion to consolidate his cultivation realm. Only today had he finished.
Now, there seemed to be a subtle change in Ning Xuanyuan's whole bearing. The presence he gave off was quite restrained and not intense, yet it gave people a strange feeling, as though an invisible power of laws was constantly flowing around his body.
"Brother, I intend to return to the Ancient Imperial Mausoleum to cultivate." Ning Xuanyuan wasted no words and went straight to the point. The power of providence contained within the Voids in the Ancient Imperial Mausoleum was immensely beneficial to both him and the Chaos World inside him.
"In such a hurry? Won't you rest for another couple of days?" Ye Xuankong's eyes flickered. Ning Xuanyuan's diligence surprised him somewhat.
"My realm is completely stable now. There's no need to rest any longer," Ning Xuanyuan said.
"All right." After thinking it over, Ye Xuankong nodded. "I'll arrange for someone to accompany you."
"No need. I can go by myself," Ning Xuanyuan said hurriedly, shaking his head. He understood that Ye Xuankong wanted to ensure his safety.
But Ning Xuanyuan actually had plans of his own. This time, he intended to enter the seventh layer of the Ancient Imperial Mausoleum. The Great Voids there were all Gold Rank. An ordinary squad wouldn't be able to help him much and would instead become a burden.
"You're going alone?" Ye Xuankong frowned at once. Ning Xuanyuan was strong, but that was the Ancient Imperial Mausoleum, where countless Great Voids roamed. If anything happened, there might not even be time to send help.
"Don't worry, brother. I know my limits. I won't go too deep," Ning Xuanyuan said. "To put it bluntly, Chen Yuan and the others aren't strong enough. If something really happens, they'll only hold me back. As for the stronger squads, they all have their own missions, so there's no need to pull people away especially for me."
"Hmm..." Ye Xuankong fell silent, but under Ning Xuanyuan's expectant gaze, he finally nodded.
That Fate Tribulation had given Ye Xuankong a better understanding of Ning Xuanyuan's strength. With Ning Xuanyuan's current cultivation, he should be fine as long as he didn't venture into the eighth layer of the Ancient Imperial Mausoleum.
"All right." Ye Xuankong stood up, went around the table, and came to stand before Ning Xuanyuan. "But remember, safety comes first in everything. Don't rush recklessly ahead. You still have a long time to spend on the Myriad Heavens Battlefield. There's no need to rush."
Seeing the serious look on Ye Xuankong's face, Ning Xuanyuan grinned and nodded.
Ning Xuanyuan then left Asura City and headed for the Ancient Imperial Mausoleum.
He passed through the layers of mist at the entrance, and a familiar scene came into view. Without the slightest delay, Ning Xuanyuan sped straight toward the depths of the imperial mausoleum.
Along the way, the Copper Voids and Silver Voids could not slow him down in the least. Corpses littered the ground in his wake, and all those Voids became Soul Jades in his spatial ring.
Before long, Ning Xuanyuan reached the entrance to the seventh layer. Without pausing for even an instant, he charged straight in.
In the seventh layer, black currents of death flowed through the air, visible to the naked eye. That deathly Qi was so dense it was appalling. Not only did it give off an eerie, hair-raising chill, but it was also filled with terrifying fluctuations that caused all things to wither.
It was as though this entire space rejected the existence of life.
Behind the layers of black mist, figure after figure clad in golden battle armor could be seen. Two crimson lights flickered where their faces should have been.
Golden Voids were comparable to human experts at the Life Palace Realm. The power of will within them was even stronger.
"Clang!"
Ning Xuanyuan clenched both hands. Vast spiritual power rapidly gathered, forming a saber and a sword in the blink of an eye. Facing these Gold Rank Great Voids, even Ning Xuanyuan dared not let his guard down.
"Boom!"
Just as Ning Xuanyuan formed the saber and sword, an incomparably terrifying current of destruction came howling toward him, engulfing everything and descending upon him in an instant. Yet that terrifying deathly Qi and power of will failed to shake his body.
Ning Xuanyuan stood there, his body wreathed in dazzling light of the Great Dao. Supremely tyrannical power swept outward, sending ripples through the very void.
Just then, an infinitely violent pressure of will descended from the sky, and a Golden Void appeared before Ning Xuanyuan. Its palm slammed down, the terrifying force seemingly capable of shattering the void.
An invisible power of laws appeared around Ning Xuanyuan's body, slowing the descending palm imprint. But the Golden Void let out a roar, and the terrifying palm imprint continued to fall. With an earth-shaking boom, it struck the curtain of Great Dao light.
The curtain of light trembled, but stood as firm as a fortress. Immediately afterward, endless sword rays shot forth from within it to strike, ten thousand swords unleashed at once.
In a single instant, the Golden Void's body was torn apart by the razor-sharp sword rays, leaving nothing behind.
Even at the Soul Sea Realm, Ning Xuanyuan had been able to slay Golden Voids. Now that his cultivation had broken through, a single Golden Void posed no threat to him whatsoever.
But now, countless figures came striding toward him from every direction at once. Golden Void after Golden Void appeared, all attacking at the same time. In an instant, Ning Xuanyuan's body seemed about to be buried beneath them. Such a terrifying assault was enough to annihilate an ordinary Life Palace Realm expert.
Yet the light around Ning Xuanyuan grew even brighter. Great Dao laws flowed without end, and the radiance of countless dazzling particles bloomed, forming a terrifying particle storm that spun wildly around his body.
The attacks were shattered outright, destroyed within that swirling storm. Ning Xuanyuan's body soared straight upward as though bathed in boundless divine radiance.
In the next moment, Ning Xuanyuan spun into the air, the particle storm surrounding him. The saber and sword in his hands became rays of slaughter that burst forth.
"Slash! Slash! Slash!"
Saber and sword rays swept forth, blotting out the sky and sun. Figure after figure was mercilessly ripped apart, dissolving into black mist and scattering into nothing.