The spacetime before them was suddenly torn apart. Instantly, six formidable cultivators clad in golden armor charged out. When they emerged, six beams of golden light wove together into a golden net, covering Ye Guan and the others. Simultaneously, six waves of terrifying pressure surged around them like a tide. All six were Transcendent Realm cultivators—they were the Imperial Guards! These were elite warriors cultivated by the empire, never appearing before outsiders. Only the reigning emperor knew of their existence, and they answered solely to the emperor. Upon seeing the Imperial Guards, Tian He's expression drastically changed. As a sworn enemy of the empire, he knew something about this elite unit; the weakest among them was still in the Transcendent Realm! There weren't many of them, but each was incomparably powerful. At this moment, he truly felt regret, not for helping Ye Guan, but for underestimating Ye Guan's potential. Tian He wasn't the brightest, but he understood one thing—the more desperately the empire wanted Ye Guan dead, the more valuable Ye Guan had to be. Otherwise, the empire wouldn't have gone to such lengths. Tian He wanted to break free from this area, but just then, Ji Zhan activated the empire's supreme artifact, the Imperial Seal, sealing the spacetime completely. With this artifact, they couldn't kill Tian He, but stalling him was no issue. Tian He stopped worrying about the outside. Clenching his fists, he shot forward like a cannonball, crashing toward Ji Zhan. In the distance, Ji Zhan sneered as he activated the Imperial Seal, charging at Tian He. Empowered by the artifact, his aura was now several times stronger than before. Outside, the four Celestial Clan experts guarding Ye Guan also turned pale when they saw the six Imperial Guards. Six Transcendent Realm experts! And clearly, these weren't ordinary Transcendent Realm cultivators! One of the Celestial Clan experts immediately looked at Ye Guan and solemnly said, "Young Master Ye, we've already notified the clan's top experts. They'll be here in at most half an hour. "Go to the right, and don't look back. We'll hold them off. Please move!" Ye Guan didn't hesitate. He turned and soared away on his sword, disappearing into the depths of the starry skies. Staying here would only burden the Celestial Clan experts. Leaving was the best help he could offer them. Seeing that, the Celestial Clan expert sighed in relief. He feared that Ye Guan would stubbornly stay, which would force them to divert much of their energy to protect him. The Celestial Clan expert turned to the six Imperial Guards and growled, "Burn your souls!" When his voice fell, the four Celestial Clan experts simultaneously ignited their souls! He knew that they stood no chance, and they had to risk everything if they wanted to buy time. The six Imperial Guards hesitated briefly; they hadn't expected the four to ignite their souls! The leading Imperial Guard wasted no time and charged forward. Meanwhile, Ye Guan was flying swiftly, but without the Qingxuan Sword, he was slow. He dared not pause for even a second. Before long, his expression darkened. Ahead, spacetime exploded, and a golden-armored warrior slowly stepped out. Seeing them, Ye Guan's expression turned grim. The man's aura was only slightly weaker than Ji Zhan's aura. The newcomer was the Commander of the Imperial Guards, Di Chen! Di Chen stared calmly at Ye Guan, and his figure turned illusory. Ye Guan pointed forward, sending forth a beam of Invincible Sword Intent and activating all three of his bloodlines. However, Di Chen casually smashed the sword beam with one punch. The mighty golden fist aura sent Ye Guan flying away, shattering space along the way. He was blasted tens of thousands of meters away before stopping, and his already-healed body cracked open again, blood seeping out. Di Chen stepped forward, silent. As his foot landed, Ye Guan felt a terrifying pressure from his fist aura. This man's fist dao was vastly different from Ji Zhan's. Ji Zhan's style embodied his might as an emperor, and each punch felt like battling the entire empire. Di Chen's Fist Dao, however, embodied pure, absolute power. It was the pinnacle of brute force. Ye Guan stepped forward. His Invincible Sword Intent surged, transforming into a rain of swords bolstered by his bloodlines. Yet, the rain of swords was suppressed by the sheer pressure of Di Chen's fist, and it began to collapse! Just then, a sword cry echoed across the battlefield. A sword streaked across the starry skies like lightning and collided with the golden fist. The fist imprint shattered into countless golden fragments. The sword light remained and slashed straight at Di Chen. Di Chen frowned, launching another punch, this time, a fist imprint tens of thousands of meters long manifested. He blocked the strike, but both the sword and the fist imprint exploded in a fiery explosion. Di Chen waved his hand, dispelling the remnants of the energy. Staring at Ye Guan in the distance, his brows furrowed. "The Truth and Illusion Spacetime...?" A trace of surprise laced his voice. The sword strike just now contained the power of Truth and Illusion, meaning Ye Guan had essentially reached the Transcendent Realm. Unbelievable, Di Chen had never seen such a young Transcendent Realm expert. Even stranger, Ye Guan's realm was untraceable. Now, Di Chen understood why the emperor had ordered Ye Guan's execution so sternly. If he were allowed to live, he would surely become a future threat to the empire! After all, the empire had even tried using the Celestial Clan to kill him; how could Ye Guan not bear a grudge against them? Di Chen's eyes returned to Ye Guan. He clenched his right fist as terrifying fist energy surged. Ye Guan's palm quietly formed another sword of intent. The Truth and Illusion Spacetime! He hadn't been planning on using it yet, but he had no choice. Without it, he couldn't stand against Di Chen. He slightly regretted underestimating the empire. He hadn't expected Ji Zhan to act so decisively and give him no chance to escape. Di Chen vanished, and the space before Ye Guan was violently split apart as a fist imprint capable of destroying worlds surged forward. Ye Guan didn't retreat. Instead, he charged forward with his sword in hand. A deafening sword cry echoed through the cosmos. Their forces collided head-on with full force. The region exploded, and the shockwave spread in all directions, annihilating everything. Ye Guan was blasted over a hundred thousand meters away. When he stopped, his fleshly body exploded, and his soul turned faint. Di Chen was also forced back tens of thousands of meters away. He stopped, revealing deep sword wounds across him. At this point, his golden armor had been torn open as well. He looked at Ye Guan with a rare seriousness in his eyes. Elsewhere, Ji Zhan and Tian He were still fighting but were also paying attention to them. Their attitude toward the discovery were starkly different from each other. Ji Zhan was regretful. He realized that he had severely underestimated Ye Guan. Now, he truly regretted siding so firmly with the Great Daoist Brush Master. However, it was too late. The enmity was made, so the empire had no way out. A genius of this caliber had to be eliminated now, or he would become a disaster later. And the Great Daoist Brush Master was unfathomably strong. The empire had probably not made the wrong choice. Tian He, on the other hand, was elated. He helped Ye Guan mostly because of You Lian's request. After all, if Ye Guan weren't important, she wouldn't say, "Protect him at all costs." Seeing Ye Guan's potential firsthand, Tian He realized that he had severely underestimated him. This wasn't someone any ordinary faction could have raised. Even the Celestial Clan's top geniuses paled in comparison! After joy came worry. He was trapped here. Though the Celestial Clan had sent reinforcements, they'd need time, and time could bring complications. The four Celestial Clan Transcendent Realm experts were barely hanging on. Four versus six was already bad, but to make matters worse, their opponents were all Imperial Guards! Tian He was growing increasingly concerned. In the distant starry sky, Ye Guan stabilized his soul. In his palm, another sword intent quietly formed. He took a deep breath, raised his head to look at Di Chen, and laughed. "Come and fight!" This time, he didn't take a defensive stance. He launched an offensive first! A beam of sword light tore through space and flew straight at Di Chen.