Ye Chen sat cross-legged, circulating the ghost qi within his body, guiding it around his frame to activate his essence and blood, significantly slowing the virus's spread. At this moment, the contagion had reached his arms via his fingers and was now creeping up his cheeks, just shy of his brain.

Once it reached the brain and heart, he would be completely lost, transforming into a Soulless One!

Like a zombie, a mere shell of a man—life force extinguished, and with time, the skin would begin to rot, leaving nothing but a corpse!

Seeing the black miasma clinging to Ye Chen’s jawline, Bai Yijun’s autumn-water eyes filled with sharp anxiety. "How could it spread so fast? It must be because you activated Superhuman Mode earlier, accelerating the flow of blood throughout your entire body, which sped up the virus's outbreak!"

While channeling energy to resist the internal virus and protect his heart and mind, Ye Chen opened his eyes and stated firmly to Bai Yijun, "Find a way to speed up the fusion of that 'Invisibility Talisman.' I’m running out of time!"

Bai Yijun bit her lower lip between her pearly teeth. "You need to find a way to slow the virus's circulation first. If you activate Superhuman Mode even one more time, the virus will immediately assault your heart, and you will completely degenerate into a 'Soulless One'!"

A slight curve appeared at the corner of Ye Chen's mouth, imbued with a certain nonchalance. "It’s not like I haven't died before; one more time won't matter much. But you must remember my promise!"

Seeing that Ye Chen was still preoccupied with his promise at this critical juncture, a trace of sorrow touched Bai Yijun’s eyes. "I will definitely fulfill it. Don't you have that 'Wandering Dragon Hand' technique? Can't you push the virus out from your neck? That way, the virus will return to your fingers, and you can infect it again, buying you a few more days!"

Ye Chen shook his head sharply. "This 'Wandering Dragon Hand' is ineffective on oneself. Moreover, my blood has been infected; even if I push the virus out from my neck, the infection on my fingers will quickly travel back."

Bai Yijun clenched her red lips. "Is there truly no way?"

Ye Chen gave her a gentle look. "You don't need to worry about me. I have no regrets."

Bai Yijun suddenly stood up, her resolution firm. "I will go find that ferocious beast right now, slay it, and get you out of here!"

Ye Chen quickly reached out and grasped her small hand, frowning. "I forbid you from doing anything foolish. Otherwise, you'll only die needlessly. Besides, once I become a 'Soulless One,' you must kill me, take my body out, and deliver it to my sister and the others. It can serve as their final farewell."

Bai Yijun tightened her slender hand, lightly biting her red lip; a glimmer of tears seemed to well up in her clear eyes. "Why are you being so good to me?"

Ye Chen paused, then released her hand, looking elsewhere and shrugging. "You saved my life; I repay you with mine. It’s quite normal."

Bai Yijun gazed intently at Ye Chen, a hint of sorrow and stubbornness mingling in her eyes. "Is it truly just repaying a debt of life?"

Ye Chen’s brow furrowed, and he remained silent.

Bai Yijun took a deep breath, then sat down opposite him. After a moment of silence, she murmured, "I have some cultivation methods here. I will teach them to you; hopefully, they can help you resist that virus."

A bitter smile touched Ye Chen’s heart, but he could not refuse her kindness, so he nodded. "Alright."

Bai Yijun seemed preoccupied, an inexplicable light flickering deep within her eyes. Casually, she said, "I will teach you the first chapter of the Dao Sheng Jing, a method for cultivating the spirit. This was personally inscribed by the original body of the Old Sage Li Er in the Primordial Era. It contains the ultimate principles of heaven and earth, totaling 17 million characters across three chapters. This first chapter is the introductory portion; once fully comprehended, one can reach the peak of the tenth layer of the Wisdom Realm!"

"Reaching the peak of the tenth layer of the Wisdom Realm would classify you as an expert even in the Beast Taming Civilization, capable of domesticating powerful, ferocious demonic beasts. Furthermore, among experts of the Pseudo-God Realm and God Realm, the state of one's mind is highly valued. Should you encounter someone with a powerful state of mind, even if they are weaker than you, they can use their spiritual state to convert you, making you willing to do anything for them!"

Ye Chen nodded, having always placed great importance on the significance of one's mental state.

In the Ancient World, experts who reached the Half-God Realm generally paid close attention to spiritual power! Among various civilizations, the Buddhist Realm Civilization, the Beast Taming Civilization, the Epic Civilization, and the Legend Civilization placed the most emphasis on spiritual cultivation!

Especially the experts of the Buddhist Realm Civilization; some, only at the Half-God strength level, could convert Pseudo-God Realm powerhouses into their enforcers!

Among the many civilizations, the Buddhist Realm, Beast Taming, and Epic Civilizations were the most troublesome, requiring defense not only against their overt power but also against mental assaults.

Moreover...

A strong state of mind offers immense help in combat; even if a blade cuts the throat or pierces the heart, one would not panic in the slightest.

Conversely, a person with a low level of mental fortitude would flinch and instinctively shut their eyes when someone raises a fist.

The so-called spirit or mind is essentially the intensity of brainwaves. Ordinary brainwaves measure only a few microvolts, and cultivating the mind means cultivating these brainwaves. To date, weapons or other objects capable of defending against brainwaves are exceedingly rare and precious because they require technology from multiple civilizations to produce. Every weapon demands patent fees from several civilizations, and when combined with the manufacturer's margin, the selling price becomes astronomical.

Without these weapons capable of countering brainwaves, one must rely on self-cultivation.

When encountering experts from the Buddhist Realm, Beast Taming, or Atlantean Civilizations, most people turn and flee because these civilizations focused on spiritual cultivation are incredibly difficult to deal with; one false step can lead to being affected by their brainwaves, resulting in illusions or outright hypnosis and conversion.

This virus operates by first devouring all life force, then eroding the brainwaves until they are completely corrupted, turning the host into a 'Soulless One' whose every action is dictated solely by the virus.

In other words, the stronger the brainwave intensity, the greater the resistance to the virus.

Not only does Bai Yijun possess powerful brainwaves, but her entire body is a "Post-Heaven Medicinal Physique," causing the virus's infection and spread to be extremely slow; it takes a long time for it to reach the brain. Her blood, bones, and marrow are more valuable than rare elixirs; a mortal consuming even a tiny amount of her blood could extend their lifespan and maintain eternal youth.

Although this medicinal physique is slightly inferior to the high-ranking monks possessing the "Innate Medicinal Physique" in the Buddhist Realm Civilization—who can achieve eternal life simply by consumption—it is still an incredibly potent physique.

At this moment, Bai Yijun was imparting this priceless Dao Sheng Jing, a scripture coveted by countless Half-God Realm experts, to Ye Chen.

Though Ye Chen knew immediate mastery would be difficult, having nothing else to do but wait for death, he did not refuse and silently committed her words to memory. With his current brain storage capacity, he essentially never forgot anything he saw, even without deliberate effort.

Time flowed...

It took Bai Yijun an entire day to impart the entirety of this first chapter. Wherever there were obscure or difficult passages, she offered her own insights, allowing Ye Chen to grasp the concepts easily. His state of mind slowly ascended, his brainwave intensity increased, and he faintly felt the trend of breaking through to the sixth layer of the Wisdom Realm!

Merely listening once and practicing a small portion yielded such results, revealing the profound nature of this scripture.

"This is a top-tier manual for cultivating the spirit; I only know the first chapter, and I am still one step away from full comprehension." Bai Yijun looked at the dark energy creeping across Ye Chen’s face, which had now reached his lips, a faint crystal-like light shining in her eyes.

She paused, her voice trembling slightly, then continued, "There is another set, focused on offense, but it also has auxiliary benefits for the spirit."

Ye Chen glanced at her. Imparting the scriptures for a day required not just recitation but also heartfelt effort and immense energy. The woman looked somewhat fatigued, her cheeks pale. He frowned. "You should rest first. Take your time; I won’t be able to grasp it all immediately anyway."

Bai Yijun slowly shook her head, an unreadable light shining in her eyes. "Even if it offers the slightest bit of help, even if it buys you a tiny sliver of time, I cannot give up!"

Ye Chen looked at her deeply and fell silent.

Bai Yijun continued, "This method is called the Ta Tian Ge (Song of Trampling the Heavens), a top-tier secret manual that even God Realm experts would obsess over. It is divided into upper and lower chapters; I only know the upper chapter!"

"The Ta Tian Ge is divided into four layers!"

"The first layer requires a spiritual strength equivalent to the first stage of the Wisdom Realm to cultivate!"

"The second layer requires the spiritual strength of the fourth stage of the Wisdom Realm!"

"The third layer requires the spiritual strength of the seventh stage of the Wisdom Realm!"

"The fourth layer requires the spiritual strength of the tenth stage of the Wisdom Realm!"

Bai Yijun spoke rapidly, imparting the knowledge. "The following is the outline for the upper chapter:"

"When I seek to tread upon the heavens, all living beings become my stepping stones..."

"When I seek to slaughter the heavens, all living beings become my carving knives..."

"When I seek to defy the heavens, all living beings become my rebellious bone..."

Bai Yijun spoke for a long time. After finishing the outline, deep exhaustion showed in her eyes, and she took a slight breath. She then stated, "The first layer of this Ta Tian Ge secret technique can amplify combat power twofold!"

"The second layer, fourfold amplification!"

"The third layer, eightfold amplification!"

"The fourth layer, sixteenfold amplification!"

...

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, three days had gone by.

Ye Chen’s complexion was as pale as paper, utterly devoid of color. A wisp of black energy circled slowly above his brow as he furrowed it, concentrating all his brainwave power to fight the erupting virus.

During these three days, Bai Yijun had reviewed the Dao Sheng Jing with Ye Chen, causing his spiritual state to advance significantly, breaking through to the sixth stage of the Wisdom Realm! This, in turn, greatly increased his brainwave intensity, strengthening his resistance against the virus.

Bai Yijun, who was sitting cross-legged, suddenly had her eyes light up in joy. "The Invisibility Talisman fusion is complete! We can move now!"

Ye Chen looked exhausted but managed to nod. "Hurry up; I can barely hold on."

The smile instantly vanished from Bai Yijun's face; she bit her lower lip. "This time, when you lure the demonic beast away, you will inevitably have to activate Superhuman Mode, or you’ll be torn apart in an instant! However, doing so will accelerate the circulation of all your blood, and once Superhuman Mode ends, you will be infected by the virus and become a 'Soulless One'!"

Ye Chen waved his hand. "Just remember to take my corpse out."

Bai Yijun silently bit her lip, lowered her head, reached out, and handed the fused Pseudo-God Realm Invisibility Talisman to Ye Chen. Then, she pulled a white bead and a white-gold talisman from her embrace.