Continuing forward like this, they gradually drew closer to the ancient bronze coffin.
They had thought everything would go smoothly, but in the end, something unexpected still happened.
Dust and sand rose to fill the sky, and a terrifying presence surged through the area. The movement of that presence made their hair stand on end, bringing an inexplicable sense of dread, as though it would surge straight into the netherworld.
As the view ahead gradually changed, Chen Yu looked forward again.
A man's figure stood ahead.
The man's eyes were bloodshot, and ferocious might billowed from his entire body. Even without approaching, merely looking at him from afar made their bodies feel on the verge of splitting apart, unable to bear that terrifying presence.
"How could this happen?"
Chen Yu's heart lurched.
For him to appear at this very moment, there was no doubt that this was the Crocodile Ancestor himself.
But why had this happened?
This was different from the original course of events.
Or was this a change he had brought about?
Chen Yu frowned, various thoughts flashing through his mind. That's right. I wasn't here in the original course of events. A group of mortals alone wouldn't have been enough to attract the Crocodile Ancestor's attention.
But now there's a cultivator among them. It's hardly strange that the Crocodile Ancestor noticed this place early.
A cultivator was still a cultivator. No matter how weak, he was a cultivator all the same.
Especially here on Mars, the appearance of a cultivator carried a different significance.
Under these circumstances, it did not seem particularly strange for the Crocodile Ancestor to devote a sliver of his attention to this place ahead of time.
But for them, this was undoubtedly a grave crisis.
The slightest misstep, and all of them would die right here.
Chen Yu did not panic. He merely took a deep breath, then stepped forward of his own accord.
"As a descendant of the Void Emperor in this generation, I have come here with my clansmen. We had no intention of disturbing you, Senior. Might you grant us passage?"
His manner was respectful, his courtesy impeccable.
Hearing his words, the Crocodile Ancestor's expression finally shifted slightly.
"A descendant of the Void Emperor?"
The Crocodile Ancestor lowered his gaze.
Clearly, despite having been suppressed and sealed here for many years, he still knew the Void Emperor's name.
His gaze first swept over Ye Fan and the others behind Chen Yu. After briefly sensing them, he passed over them.
To his senses, these people carried no trace of imperial blood. Even if they truly were descendants of the Void Emperor, their bloodline had probably long since withered and declined.
But when his divine sense fell upon Chen Yu, he could not help freezing for a moment.
As the technique activated, Purple Qi spread across the sky from Chen Yu, with laws of the imperial path faintly emerging within it. It felt exceptionally mysterious and powerful, as though an ancient emperor were awakening. That vast majesty spread outward, inspiring awe.
Beside him, Lin Jia and the others could not help trembling as they felt the majesty of that imperial blood, seemingly experiencing instinctive awe as an inexplicable sensation arose within them.
"Such concentrated imperial blood?"
The Crocodile Ancestor froze at first, then exclaimed in wonder, "Could you be the Void Emperor's own grandson?"
Generally speaking, the more concentrated the imperial blood, the closer one's relationship to the Great Emperor.
In the Crocodile Ancestor's eyes, with the imperial blood in Chen Yu's body so concentrated, his relationship with the Void Emperor was clearly far from ordinary.
He certainly could not be an emperor's son-it had not reached that level-but he was probably on the level of a Great Emperor's own grandson.
A genuine descendant of a Great Emperor!
The Crocodile Ancestor understood all the more clearly what a Great Emperor's bloodline at this level meant.
Though a Great Emperor's own grandson was not as powerful as an emperor's son, he still had a chance of pursuing the imperial path. So long as he did not perish along the way, his future achievements would, in all likelihood, surpass the Crocodile Ancestor's.
Even a Great Saint had to treat such a figure with respect.
"Since you are a descendant of the Void Emperor, leave."
The Crocodile Ancestor stood where he was, looking at Chen Yu for a long time before speaking.
He seemed unwilling to forge further karmic ties, or perhaps he was doing it for the sake of the Void Emperor's name. He simply let them leave.
"Thank you, Senior."
Hearing the Crocodile Ancestor's reply, Chen Yu let out a long breath of relief inwardly.
He bowed to the Crocodile Ancestor, then led the others behind him slowly toward the ancient bronze coffin.
With a group of mortals in tow, they were not particularly fast, simply walking forward at an unhurried pace.
But as they reached the final stretch, something unexpected happened after all.
Terrifying divine power surged, and saintly might filled the area, spreading toward them.
The saintly might that erupted in that instant was unmatched, as though it would shatter this star and sweep away every living being here.
The Crocodile Ancestor had struck!
Standing where he was, he had stared at Chen Yu for a long time before finally striking decisively, reaching out to seize him with one hand.
From the looks of it, he seemed to want to capture him.
Damn it!
Chen Yu cursed inwardly.
He had known it would not be so simple.
A descendant of a Great Emperor wandering beyond his clan, with the equivalent of second-generation imperial blood, might indeed prompt others to show mercy out of respect for his ancestor's name, but he might also stir their greed.
After all, someone with second-generation imperial blood was far too precious. His entire body was a genuine treasure body, more precious than the vast majority of special physiques.
To someone like the Crocodile Ancestor, he was so precious that the Crocodile Ancestor was unwilling to let him go.
After all, in the original course of events, he possessed a Divine Fetus Technique that could use other people's bodies to nurture a divine fetus and thereby obtain fortune.
It was only natural that he had now set his sights on Chen Yu.
But Chen Yu had already anticipated this.
Without the slightest hesitation, the instant the Crocodile Ancestor struck, Chen Yu immediately activated his fallback.
A wisp of divine power appeared, and in the next instant, dazzling radiance bloomed.
Terrifying saintly might manifested. In a mere instant, the presence surrounding Chen Yu changed.
Before this, he had merely been a lowly Bitter Sea cultivator. Now, he transformed in an instant.
Unmatched saintly might manifested around him. The moment that majesty appeared, it immediately clashed with the forces all around.
He stood where he was, even his gaze seeming to have grown much sharper. He looked ahead, his eyes shining as though they could pierce the void, shake the sun, moon, and river of stars, and shatter the heavens.
Bang!
A terrifying crash rang out from the clash between the two mighty figures in midair. Merely hearing it made everyone tremble from the depths of their souls, as though they had become tiny ants that might be destroyed at any moment and die here.
"Ah!"
Behind Chen Yu, several people could not withstand this terrifying presence. Blood actually streamed from their five facial orifices, and cracks began spreading across their bodies.
The sight horrified everyone around them and made Chen Yu frown inwardly.
He had just activated that Saint King Experience Card, obtaining the Saint King's Power in the blink of an eye.
But although he had obtained the cultivation instantly, there were certain things he could not control with such precision. He had actually failed to fully control his own presence, allowing it to leak out.
He spent a moment bringing it under control, then looked ahead and slashed his sword horizontally.