"You brat. I haven't finished speaking yet!" Teng Ye shouted. He rushed to catch up, only to start rambling endlessly again.

"By the time you finish talking, our spiritual energy will be completely depleted," Ji Changkong rolled his eyes. Ignoring him, he headed toward the Heart of the Sun with Meng Gang, paying no mind to Teng Ye trailing behind.

Teng Ye followed them with a dry chuckle, neither fast nor slow. He kept up a desultory chatter behind the two; it seemed all he needed was a soul to listen, and he would drone on happily whether Ji Changkong or Meng Gang responded or not.

Teng Ye was definitely a powerhouse at the peak of the Eight Trigrams Heaven Realm. He must have been immersed in this level for many years; both his Divine Soul cultivation and the depth of his spiritual power had reached their zenith. He stuck to Ji Changkong and Meng Gang so closely that the pair couldn't shake him off.

Especially since Ji Changkong had Meng Gang beside him; Meng Gang's cultivation was vastly inferior to Teng Ye's.

Ji Changkong smiled bitterly in his heart. He deeply sympathized with anyone who had to interact with Teng Ye, finally understanding why everyone from Teng Yang to those Sea Clan members had such strange expressions when discussing him.

So, this was Teng Yang’s overwhelming desire to confide!

"Kid, what are you doing going to the Heart of the Sun? There’s nothing fun there. If you want to cultivate, you don't need to enter the Heart of the Sun at all. I know some places perfect for two little guys like you to train. Interested? I can take you there."

"Not interested!"

"Hey, hey! Don't be so cold-hearted! I am Teng Yang's grandfather, after all; show some respect for his sake. I genuinely want to help you!"

"If you would talk less, that would be the greatest help you could give me!"

"Right, right. But seriously, why are you going to the Heart of the Sun? I'm telling you, it's no safe place. I know your might isn't weak, but even so, there are immense dangers inside. Don't doubt me when I say this,"

Ji Changkong remained silent.

Teng Ye continued his endless stream of nonsense, as if transmitting these intense soul thoughts cost him no spiritual power whatsoever. On this Sun, the ethereal forms manifested by souls possessed ears, yet there was no way to block the ingress of soul thoughts by covering them. Thus, Ji Changkong and Meng Gang had no choice but to listen, whether willing or not.

Though Teng Ye spoke a great deal of nonsense, there was some useful information hidden within.

Through his rambling, Ji Changkong vaguely grasped the situation within the Heart of the Sun, learning that certain terrifying experts lay dormant there.

The Heart of the Sun was where the Sun's power was most concentrated. Apart from the central Heavenly Fire Ocean continuously releasing terrifying power that made it impossible to approach, the surroundings held various marvels. Truly powerful cultivators seeking the fastest way to temper their Divine Souls would enter the Heart of the Sun to practice.

Inside, they could make the closest contact with the Sun's power, allowing their souls to ascend. By sensing the Sun's pulse and rhythm, many experts at the peak of the Eight Trigrams Heaven Realm could achieve breakthroughs and insights in the strange areas near the Heavenly Fire Ocean.

As Teng Ye explained, the profound secrets unleashed by Li Hentian's Blazing Sun Wheel were comprehended when Li Hentian cultivated near the Heavenly Fire Ocean. After returning to the Five Elements Continent with the power gained from the Heart of the Sun, Li Hentian imbued the Blazing Sun Wheel with some of those peculiar energies, turning it into the overwhelmingly dominant divine weapon in his hands.

Many experts like Li Hentian, who cultivated in the Heart of the Sun, gained its strange energies, and comprehended certain martial principles, would infuse that acquired power into their divine weapons upon returning to their respective continents, creating their own terrifying and unique secret techniques based on their insights.

Most Heaven Cultivators training on the Sun knew the marvelous benefits contained within the Heart of the Sun. Thus, many Eight Trigrams Heaven Cultivators who endured the incredibly arduous journey to reach the Sun would fearlessly charge toward the Heart of the Sun.

However, the areas near the Heavenly Fire Ocean had already been carved up into exclusive territories by powerful figures from various continents. Within the major regions surrounding the Heavenly Fire, an expert at the peak of the Eight Trigrams Heaven Realm stood guard over each. When newly arrived Eight Trigrams Heaven Cultivators came, they found no place for themselves.

Under these circumstances, they had two choices: either retreat sheepishly and wait for one of the cultivators near the Heavenly Fire Ocean to reach the peak of their training and depart, thus creating an opportunity to snatch that area; or rely on sheer power to blast directly into a region, killing or driving out the existing cultivator and seizing their training ground.

The Heavenly Fire Ocean underwent a change once every hundred years. As if opening up space, it carved out several strange zones, large and small, around it. The Heaven Cultivators on the Sun called these peculiar areas "Heavenly Voids" (Tian Xue). These odd "Heavenly Voids" could connect with the Heavenly Fire Ocean, and only by cultivating within these specific "Heavenly Voids" could one obtain certain miraculous energies from the Heart of the Sun.

Currently, there were eight "Heavenly Voids" of varying sizes near the Heavenly Fire Ocean. Each "Heavenly Void" housed a powerful cultivator from another continent. Even if Ji Changkong entered the Heart of the Sun, without special means to secure his own unique "Heavenly Void," he couldn't approach the Heavenly Fire Ocean closely. If he couldn't even obtain a "Heavenly Void," there was no question of entering the Heavenly Fire Ocean to retrieve the Nine Luminaries Life Tree within.

"Your cultivation is so profound; you should have a 'Heavenly Void' of your own, right?" Meng Gang listened intently for a while before finally asking Teng Ye.

Teng Ye, who had been ceaselessly talking, suddenly fell silent when Meng Gang asked. Under the strange gazes of both Ji Changkong and Meng Gang, Teng Ye looked quite awkward. He chuckled sheepishly, "Uh... previously, I did indeed possess my own 'Heavenly Void.' I cultivated there for a time, but now that 'Heavenly Void' no longer belongs to me..."

Ji Changkong stared blankly at Teng Ye and said bluntly, "Surely you didn't... surely you weren't driven out, which is why you decided to return to the Five Elements Continent first?"

Teng Ye nodded, extremely embarrassed.

Ji Changkong and Meng Gang exchanged a glance, both surprised, a strange feeling welling up in their hearts. They couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Both of them could tell that Teng Ye's cultivation realm was exceptionally high, and his spiritual power was the deepest they had witnessed on the Sun. If even he had been expelled from a "Heavenly Void," just how terrifying must those who occupied them be?

Meng Gang held onto a sliver of hope and asked, "Were you forced out simply because you were discovered first? Among the experts in those 'Heavenly Voids,' you shouldn't be the weakest, right? It couldn't be... it couldn't be that, could it?"

Teng Ye lost all pretense of pride and became surprisingly candid, nodding, "I was indeed the weakest! That’s why that person targeted me. Knowing I was no match for him, I voluntarily gave up the 'Heavenly Void.' That’s how it happened..."

Ji Changkong and Meng Gang were startled. Meng Gang paused for a long moment before saying, "Those monsters in the 'Heavenly Voids' are truly terrifying. Even you are no match for them, damn it!"

"Right, who was the old monster who drove you out? Do you know?" Knowing the enemy was key to any battle. Ji Changkong was contemplating forcefully seizing a "Heavenly Void," so he needed details.

"Old monster?" Teng Ye shook his head with a wry smile. "The one who drove me out wasn't an old monster, but a very beautiful girl. She looked about your age. She said she came from the Hailan Continent and was named Shang Bingjie. She explicitly stated she didn't want to hurt me and told me to leave on my own."

"Shang Bingjie!!" Meng Gang gasped softly. "How could it be her?"

"You know that girl?" Teng Ye asked strangely.

Meng Gang nodded solemnly. "I hail from the Hailan Continent. Any Heaven Cultivator from Hailan Continent likely knows her."

He turned to look at Ji Changkong. Meng Gang continued, "Shang Bingjie's great-grandfather was the most recent Ten Directions Heaven Cultivator on our Hailan Continent. Centuries ago, his physical body fell into the void, seemingly to explore the true meaning of power in the broader, boundless starry domain."

"On the very day Shang Bingjie was born, a jade pendant containing vast power suddenly fell from a distant star and struck her head. The pendant erupted with a gentle energy that enveloped Shang Bingjie, completely transforming her. Under the influence of that energy, Shang Bingjie was extraordinary from childhood. She rapidly mastered the heavenly techniques handed down by her great-grandfather, her speed surpassing everyone's expectations. She should only be twenty-four years old now, yet she has already reached the peak of the Eight Trigrams Heaven Realm—a genius rarely seen on the Hailan Continent in a thousand years."

"A genius rarely seen in a thousand years! Twenty-four years old!" Teng Ye shook his head and smiled bitterly, murmuring, "It seems I wasn't wronged then; that girl has such a powerful background. No wonder she's so monstrous..."

Having said this, Teng Ye suddenly recalled something and fixed his gaze on Ji Changkong: "Kid, I heard you only started cultivating the Heavenly Dao at seventeen. You can't be much older than that girl now, can you? And you're already in the Eight Trigrams Heaven Realm. You are truly a little monster in your own right! Hmm, are you... are you planning to drive that girl out?"

"Started cultivating at seventeen?" Meng Gang exclaimed, staring blankly at Ji Changkong, repeating repeatedly, "No wonder he's so powerful; he's a little monster too!"

"We are going to the Heart of the Sun. If you can guide us, that would be best. As for whether we choose to target Shang Bingjie, we'll decide when we get there," Ji Changkong said after a moment of thought.

"Alright, I'll lead the way. With me guiding you, I guarantee you'll be safe and encounter no trouble along the journey," Teng Ye readily agreed. Suddenly moving ahead, he started leading the way while continuing his chatter.