With a sinking feeling in his heart... a faint, scorching golden light slowly emanated from Ye Chen’s chest. Following that, the golden light gradually spread, like ripples of water, flowing outwards from the center of his heart.
As the golden light permeated his being, the skin of the soul-lost Ye Chen shifted from a pallid grey-white, slowly regaining a rosy hue; the epidermal membrane returned to its pristine whiteness, brimming with vigorous elasticity.
Bai Yijun’s eyes widened, her delicate mouth slightly agape, filled with disbelief. From Ye Chen’s body, she sensed a terrifying divine power, immense, majestic, and magnificent, as if it had condensed the awe-inspiring might of the entire universe, radiating a chilling solemnity.
“This, this…”
Bai Yijun trembled slightly, feeling the demigod power within her recoiling deep inside her body, coiling motionless and quivering under the immense majesty before it, as if encountering a venerable master.
“Could this be the power of a True God?” A trace of shock flickered in Bai Yijun’s eyes. The Ye Chen before her was merely a powerhouse at the Ghost God Realm, his physical constitution only at the twenty-thousand level. Even if he possessed miraculous ancient scriptures, this genuine divine power was absolutely beyond what anyone in the Ghost God Realm could wield!
At this moment, the scorching golden light in Ye Chen’s chest, like a consuming flame, slowly writhed and expanded to the size of a fist. Within the area shrouded by this golden light, faint wisps of black energy slowly permeated his skin, rising and dissipating into the mid-air.
The little white rabbit hopped down from Ye Chen, scrutinizing him intently. Seeing the golden light flowing autonomously, purifying the skin to a healthy white and ruddy tone, restoring its elasticity wherever it touched, it noticed the foul-smelling black vapors floating out.
It lowered its head slightly, the crimson in its eyes gradually receding like a tide, returning to a pure, deep black—like black jewels reflecting Ye Chen’s image, flickering intermittently, filled with curiosity.
Mountain winds swirled, blood blades sinisterly sharp.
Bai Yijun stood still in the wind, her figure unmoving, her black hair billowing softly over her shoulders. The Snow White Divine Sword behind her emitted a gentle luminescence. Cold sweat slicked her palms, and the shock in her eyes slowly transformed into grave seriousness as she watched the golden light in Ye Chen’s chest with intense concentration.
“This majesty…” Bai Yijun, despite her vast experience, felt a profound shock surge in her heart. “Even my father never imparted such boundless majesty to me. This divine power… could it be a Divine Emperor from the legends?”
Her beautiful brows furrowed as she gazed at Ye Chen’s face, recalling the battle in the jungle, her thoughts churning. “Possessing such a powerful secret scripture, allowing him to manifest a Blade Doubled power amplification at the Ghost God Realm—that scripture must be of the True God grade!”
“How can a martial artist at the Ghost God Realm possess such a precious scripture? Furthermore, the style of this armor on him… it looks so familiar… I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before?”
“They say he is from Earth, originating from the Source God Star?”
“There are countless treasures left behind by prehistoric civilizations there, and some people hadn't finished exploring them before arriving in the Ancient World. When they later wished to return, they found they could no longer cross over. The spatial barrier of this Ancient World is like a hard inner shell—you can only enter, not leave, unless you are a Divine Emperor strong enough to shake the past and shatter the present…”
After a moment of contemplation, she found Ye Chen increasingly enigmatic, and inexplicably, a sliver of joy surfaced deep in her heart. She lowered her gaze, glancing at the small white rabbit lazily leaning against Ye Chen’s arm, its eyes restored to pure black. Her gaze flickered momentarily before she looked back at Ye Chen, focusing intently.
She kept watching, and ten days passed!
For Bai Yijun, ten days felt like the blink of an eye. On the third day of waiting for Ye Chen, she recalled something, realized the necessity, and took a jade-green crystal sphere from her spatial folding bag, crushing it gently.
The crystal sphere dissolved into a shower of starlight, dotting the surroundings and illuminating the nearby thicket, causing the blood-red moonlight overhead to retreat significantly.
The light of billions of stars slowly gathered and condensed, forming the shape of a small pig’s snout.
Bai Yijun whispered a string of strange characters—the common tongue of her clan. The little pig’s snout slowly moved, recording her mouth shape and voice. Then, with a flash of light, it vanished into thin air.
“I have sent a message to the clan. I wonder how long it will take for them to travel from the Ancient Continent to this place?” Bai Yijun watched the dissipating specks of light, her delicate brows knitted slightly, her eyes distant. She hadn't expected her current adventure to lead to such an event.
Thinking of this, a touch of bitterness surfaced in the depths of her eyes. She closed the spatial folding bag, musing, “Even if I collect the remaining Dark Fragments and forge a complete set of True God equipment, what then?”
She quietly lowered her head. The soft, frost-like glow of the Snow White Divine Sword shone upon her, complementing her snow-white robes and porcelain-smooth skin. With her eyes downcast, she looked at the prone Ye Chen, and a gentle tenderness welled up in her beautiful eyes.
Over the ten days, Ye Chen’s entire body was suffused with the golden light. His arms and legs were enveloped in a faint golden aura, under which his skin grew even fairer and more vibrant. On his brow, between his eyes, a wisp of black energy slowly emerged, as if being expelled from the depths of his mind.
This black energy intensified, growing from a faint darkness to a black spot the size of a fingernail, stark as ink. Under the illumination of the golden light, this black energy slowly seeped out of the skin, rising in wisps, carrying a foul, pungent odor that made one’s brow furrow.
Bai Yijun watched silently, her bright eyes filled with hope and anticipation, observing nervously and never leaving his side. Although she had been exhausted enough to doze off ten days earlier, the sight of the expanding golden light purifying thread after thread of black energy filled her with excitement, making her forget her fatigue.
In the blink of an eye, five more days passed.
On this day, the final wisp of dark energy drifted up from Ye Chen’s glabella and dissipated in the air. The golden light enveloping Ye Chen suddenly flared intensely, hot as fire, encasing his entire body and forming a Golden Man! Under Bai Yijun’s clear, flowing gaze, the scorching golden light slowly sank into Ye Chen’s skin, as if performing a mysterious reconstruction. After a moment, the golden light vanished entirely, having thoroughly permeated him.
Just then, the little white rabbit nestled by Ye Chen’s arm suddenly seemed to sense something. Its bright, dark eyes filled with delight, and it leaped onto Ye Chen’s chest, extending its tiny, bright red tongue to lick his chin.
In the faint darkness, how many years had he slept?
“Brother…”
“Brother…”
“Xiao Chen Feng…”
“Old Man…”
Familiar calls echoed in the darkness before him. He slowly stopped his journey through the gloom, then lifted his head and opened his eyes.
A soft white light pierced the surrounding darkness, illuminating the entire world.
As Ye Chen opened his eyes, he saw a pair of clear eyes filled with hope, tension, and concern. He paused, and before he could take in his surroundings, he felt something fluffy under his chin. He quickly lowered his head to see the little white rabbit, which seemed unwilling to leave his side.
A warmth spread through Ye Chen’s heart. He slowly sat up, reaching out to hold the little rabbit close. Looking up, his gaze met those two shimmering, bright eyes…
A slight breeze stirred between the two figures.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Bai Yijun spoke, her voice tinged with surprise and disbelief, though she tried hard to suppress it, a slight tremor remained. “You, you’re awake?”
Ye Chen’s eyes were gentle and sincere. “Thank you for saving me.” Upon waking, he had felt his familiar body and knew this wasn't a dream. Though he didn't know the specifics, he guessed Bai Yijun was most likely responsible for his recovery.
This woman had always been mysterious, with an unfathomable background, surely possessing some secret remedy that could genuinely cure the virus.
Bai Yijun gently shook her head, a soft smile gracing her cheeks, and slowly walked closer. Looking at the little rabbit nestled in Ye Chen’s arms, she murmured softly, “It’s all thanks to this little rabbit. I don’t know what method it used, but it seems to have injected two drops of golden energy into your body, and then you recovered.”
Ye Chen started, looking down. The little white rabbit looked back at him.
Man and beast met each other’s gaze.
The rabbit’s eyes were clear and pure, like flawless black jewels, full of curiosity.
Ye Chen was momentarily stunned, then a gentle look appeared in his eyes. He softly stroked the rabbit’s fuzzy little head. Ever since that time outside the rune spaceship when the little rabbit suddenly transformed into a ferocious beast, he knew this bunny was no ordinary creature, but he hadn't expected it to be capable of curing the virus.
When the virus spread to the depths of his mind, his consciousness had plunged into complete darkness, devoid of thought, unaware of life or death—this must have been the sensation of death.
He had thought he would simply fade away silently, yet unexpectedly, he was healed and brought back. The moment he awoke, his consciousness regained its faculties. Many scenes from the depths of his memory surfaced, and his body felt filled with a surging power, as if a surge of vitality had been injected, reviving his consciousness, which had been nearly completely corroded by the virus.
Ye Chen closed his eyes slightly, assessing his body’s condition. He felt strength surging throughout him; his flesh and blood were more vibrant. Within his muscle cells, there seemed to be some kind of mysterious energy, vast and profound, as if a prehistoric fierce beast lay coiled inside, ready to erupt with earth-shattering might once provoked!
Ye Chen sensed it, and a look of shock suddenly filled his eyes, his voice laced with disbelief, murmuring, “Fifty thousand levels…”
Through his perception, he realized his physical constitution had skyrocketed from the twenty-thousand level to fifty thousand! It was well known that after reaching the ten-thousand level in physique, the only ways to advance further were by hunting "Soul-Lost Ones" to refine the body with Soul Crystals, or by consuming rare Celestial Elixirs!
However, such Celestial Elixirs were exceedingly scarce and precious, only stored by a few ancient clans with deep foundations. But those clans were massive, with millions of members, and the competition within was terrifyingly fierce, leaving very little medicine to be distributed to each individual.
Alternatively, one could seek out a high-level predecessor to exert divine power, using that power as a hammer to forge and temper the body in a spiritual furnace. But this was extremely taxing, and few high-level seniors would undertake such a task for unrelated individuals.
Originally, Ye Chen predicted it would take a very long time to jump from the twenty-thousand level to the fifty-thousand level—requiring painstaking effort to earn Ghost Stones, then purchasing various body-refining medicines. This also involved taking on more trial missions to slaughter Soul-Lost Ones among the Star Fragments!
All of this required a considerable amount of time…
Who knew that surviving this ordeal would bring such fortune?
A wave of pleasant surprise flashed in Ye Chen’s eyes. He clenched his fists, feeling the surging power throughout his body, then his expression stiffened. His eyes slowly widened, filled with shock.