Chapter 1262: The First Emperor Of Ancient And Modern Times

Tian Chen was utterly stumped. A single sword strike had instantly killed several Supreme Ancestor Realm experts? What kind of power was that?

And the one who made the move was my own brother!

Even Fan Shan stared at Ye Guan with her mouth agape and her eyes wide with shock.

Was little Ye Guan really

this

powerful?

Before they could process their disbelief, Ye Guan's face suddenly contorted in pain, and a blood-red mark appeared between his eyebrows.

It was Fan Zhaodi's seal on his cultivation base!

The next moment, Ye Guan felt as though he was being skinned alive and his bones pulled apart. Every inch of his flesh felt as if it were disintegrating, and the pain was so unbearable that he almost wished he were dead.

However, the worst pain came from his soul. It felt like it was being fried in oil, and the pain was so intense that he could barely stay conscious.

Ye Guan's will was incredibly strong, but even he couldn't endure the excruciating pain that tore through both his fleshly body and soul.

Moments later, Ye Guan couldn't take it anymore and collapsed straight to the ground.

Fan Shan and Tian Chen's faces fell.

They rushed to Ye Guan's side, horrified by the sight before them.

Ye Guan's face had turned as white as a sheet, devoid of any color. His body was covered in dense, blood-red cracks, which looked grotesque and disturbing.

"This..." Fan Shan froze in disbelief.

Tian Chen's voice was grim. "It must be because of the seal inside him."

With that, Tian Chen immediately took out a golden pill and tried to feed it to Ye Guan. As soon as his hand touched Ye Guan, a terrifying force erupted, sending him flying hundreds of meters away before crashing to the ground.

Tian Chen was completely bewildered.

What?

He got up and rushed back to Ye Guan's side. As he looked at the blood-red seal between Ye Guan's brows, his expression became even more serious, and his heart trembled in shock.

He had never expected that the seal would be

this

terrifying.

Fan Shan suddenly grabbed Ye Guan's hand.

Tian Chen's face changed drastically. "Little—"

Tian Chen froze mid-sentence, realizing that Fan Shan was completely unaffected.

To make matters even more mysterious, the faint red glow emanating from Ye Guan started fading away as soon as Fan Shan held Ye Guan's hand. The blood-red seal between his brows also started to disappear.

Tian Chen was astounded by the sight. However, the truth was that the red glow hadn't vanished; it was accumulating inside Fan Shan.

Just then, a middle-aged man walked up to Tian Chen.

He was Ah Weng. Unfortunately, the ambush had incapacitated him, so he couldn't be of much help in the fight. However, he was just as stunned as Tian Chen upon witnessing Ye Guan's terrifying sword strike.

Ye Guan had killed several experts with a single blow.

It was too frightening!

Rumble!

A spacetime rift suddenly manifested, and twelve armored cultivators emerged from the void.

The twelve cultivators rushed to Tian Chen's side and knelt in unison.

"We apologize for the delay. Please forgive us, Ninth Prince."

Tian Chen glanced at the group and calmly said, "Rise."

The twelve cultivators stood up.

The middle-aged man leading the group muttered, "Your Highness, this place isn't safe."

Tian Chen nodded and glanced down at Ye Guan. "Let's go."

The middle-aged man looked at Ye Guan and Fan Shan. "Do we take them along?"

Tian Chen glanced back at the man. "Of course."

Soon, everyone was on their way.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ye Guan slowly opened his eyes. He was on a bed, and he still felt incredibly dizzy.

He closed his eyes again, shaking his head vigorously. Once the grogginess had cleared up, he cautiously opened his eyes again and turned to find Fan Shan sitting beside the bed. Her head was resting on his hand, and she was fast asleep.

Ye Guan smiled bitterly, shaking his head.

Forcibly accessing his cultivation base had almost killed him...

That seal was truly terrifying, and breaking it would surely be no easy feat.

The power of that seal was so strong that Ye Guan wasn't sure if he could break it even if he were in peak condition.

Just then, Fan Shan looked up. When she saw that Ye Guan was awake, she immediately grabbed his hand, saying, "You're finally awake?"

Ye Guan gathered his thoughts and returned to the present moment.

"Yeah," he said with a smile.

"Are you hungry?"

Ye Guan nodded.

"Wait here." Fan Shan jumped up and dashed out of the room.

Ye Guan smiled and closed his eyes again. His head still felt heavy, as the seal's torture was too much to bear.

Not long after, Fan Shan returned with a bowl of porridge and walked over to Ye Guan. Seeing that he was about to sit up, she quickly rushed over and said, "Don't move, let me feed you."

Ye Guan chuckled and said, "I'll do it myself."

Fan Shan glared at him just before he could sit up. "Are you afraid that I might not feed you properly? I can feed pigs, so what's so difficult about feeding a person?"

Ye Guan was rendered speechless.

"Here, open your mouth..."

An hour later, Ye Guan, with Fan Shan's assistance, stepped out of the room.

The sunlight was warm—a welcome change after the tense battle.

Just then, Tian Chen approached them.

"Brother Ye," Tian Chen greeted with a smile.

Ye Guan smiled back, "Where are we right now?"

"This is Yu City; we're still within the Desolate Border."

"Were those people from the Ancient Demon Clan?"

Tian Chen nodded. "Yes."

Ye Guan simply nodded.

"Brother Ye, we really owe you a lot."

Ye Guan smiled and shook his head. "You helped me back then, so we're even."

Tian Chen smiled. "If you need anything, just ask."

Ye Guan thought for a moment. "I need some spiritual crystals."

Tian Chen grinned. "No problem. I don't have any right now, but I'll arrange it once we are back in Heavenly Capital."

Ye Guan nodded.

"What are your plans once we reach the capital?" asked Tian Chen.

"I'll find a quiet place to cultivate."

Tian Chen's eyes lit up. "How about coming to my palace?"

Ye Guan shook his head. "That might not be convenient."

"It's no trouble."

Ye Guan firmly replied, "Fan Shan and my status are a bit special. We might end up bringing you more trouble if we stay within your palace. I'd rather find somewhere more peaceful to focus on my cultivation."

Ye Guan probably didn't want to get involved in the Imperial Family's fight for the throne. Tian Chen nodded at that thought and replied, "I understand. Once we're in the capital, I'll arrange a place for you to cultivate in peace."

Ye Guan nodded. "I appreciate it."

Tian Chen smiled. "No worries."

"When do we leave for the capital?"

Tian Chen looked at the horizon. "Once the Desolate Border Guards are here. It's a long journey to the city, so for safety reasons, I sent word for them to escort us."

"Sounds good."

After chatting with Tian Chen for a while, Ye Guan obtained a general understanding of the world around him. He learned that they were in the Heavenly Tomb Empire—a part of the greater Heavenly Tomb Civilization—a Tier Nine Civilization.

The Heavenly Tomb Empire was the largest and most powerful empire within this civilization, but it wasn't the only superpower; there were three other superpowers—the Ancient Demon Clan from outside the Desolate Border Wall, the Grand Zen Monastery of the Heavenly Buddha World, and the Genesis Daoist Temple.

Ye Guan wasn't surprised. He had already learned that the Genesis Daoist Temple was from a Tier Nine Civilization.

The Genesis Daoist Temple wasn't originally part of the Heavenly Tomb Empire, but one day, the Creation God broke through the boundary and led the Genesis Daoist Temple into the Heavenly Tomb Empire, quickly becoming one of its most powerful forces.

It was a shocking event that stunned the Heavenly Tomb Empire!

Ye Guan returned to his bed and sprawled out on it before closing his eyes to meditate. His mind wandered back to the battle at the Guanxuan Universe; the Creation God of the Genesis Daoist Temple hadn't appeared at the time, so he had no idea just how powerful they were.

To make matters worse, Fan Zhaodi's strength upon merging with the Evil Dao was unknown to him.

Then, there was also the Great Daoist Brush Master...

Ye Guan took a deep breath.

These were all top elites!

The road ahead was harder than ever before.

Two hours later, four Desolate Border Guards finally arrived. With them as their escort, Ye Guan and his group easily made their way toward the capital of the Heavenly Tomb Empire, the Heavenly Capital.

Half a day later, they arrived at the Heavenly Capital.

The Heavenly Capital was a massive ancient city, and there were towering, mysterious statues all over the city, with each of them radiating an aura of antiquity.

At the city wall, Tian Chen turned and looked at the four Desolate Border Guards.

"Thank you for the escort."

The guards bowed slightly and left.

Tian Chen looked at their departing figures, and his tone was full of admiration as he remarked, "As expected, the members of the empire's most elite armed force are truly impressive."

Ye Guan nodded. Those four soldiers were incredibly strong. Although they weren't Supreme Ancestor Realm experts, their strength was on par with the average Supreme Ancestor Realm cultivator.

It was proof of how formidable the Heavenly Tomb Empire's overall power.

Once inside the city, Tian Chen turned to Ye Guan and smiled. "Brother Ye, would you like to visit my palace?"

Ye Guan shook his head. "I still need to bring Fan Shan to visit someone. I'll come to bother you afterward, though."

"

Hahaha!

" Tian Chen laughed heartily. "Alright!"

With that, he handed over a storage ring, saying, "Inside are some Creation Crystals. Use them first, and let me know if you need more."

Ye Guan accepted the ring with a nod.

"See you soon," Tian Chen said with a smile.

Ye Guan nodded and walked in the opposite direction with Fan Shan next to him.

Ah Weng turned to Tian Chen and sternly said, "Your Highness, their status is too sensitive for us..."

"Status?"

Tian Chen turned, and his gaze was firm as he asked, "What are you talking about? They're my friends. If my big brother wants to cause trouble, then let him do it. I don't care."

Ah Weng hesitated, but he was still worried. "Your Highness, this is no small matter..."

Tian Chen's voice was calm but resolute. "If I can't handle this, then what right do I have to covet the throne? My goal is to surpass Ancestor Tian Zhao and become the Heavenly Tomb Empire's First Emperor of the Ancient and Modern Times.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"I'm not going to hide anything. I'll send half my guards to protect them openly. I want everyone to know that they're my friends. Anyone who dares harm them will have to go through me!"