"You are leaving?" a deep voice echoed from within the imposing stone gate, now tinged with warmth rather than the initial cold indifference.

Ye Chen nodded slightly. "I must go out."

The stone gate murmured, "Indeed. A man's ambition lies across the four corners of the world. Back in the day, the Master challenged the entire world single-handedly with a single halberd, fearing nothing. Since you have inherited the Master's legacy, I hope you do not tarnish his heroic spirit!"

Ye Chen's heart stirred deeply, and he nodded firmly. "I will not!"

"Very well..." the voice from the stone gate smiled faintly.

Ye Chen nodded again, turned, and walked toward the exit of the grotto. After he departed, the grotto sealed itself completely, never to open again. Not even Ye Chen could enter from the outside; he would only be able to gain access via a token.

Ye Chen activated Ghost/God Mode and shot directly through the earth, emerging into the outside world. He looked up; an eerie Blood Moon hung suspended in the sky, the stars twinkling. This familiar night sky fell upon his sight, carried by a cool breeze that brought faint scents of blood and flora.

Ye Chen couldn't help but spread his arms wide, facing the vast sky, and let out a long, resonant roar toward the heavens.

The mighty sound pierced the firmament, as if releasing all the accumulated longing of these past days in one breath. The roar caused the surrounding ground to tremble slightly, and some plants and trees shivered spasmodically, feeling on the verge of destruction under the powerful sonic waves. Demonic beasts hidden in the nearby jungle sensed the stern aura of the booming sound and dared not move rashly.

After the long cry finished, Ye Chen reached out and grabbed, opening the Talisman Space. He took out the Intermediate Pseudo-God level battleship inside, and a sudden thought struck him—he took out the Rune Ship as well.

"I wonder if the ships can be refined?" Ye Chen mused internally, asking the intelligence system contained within the Little Black Cauldron. He quickly received confirmation, which eased his mind, and he promptly initiated the refining process.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The two massive ships were bathed in the light emanating from the Little Black Cauldron, instantly shrinking in size, as if being drawn into another channel rather than actually diminishing. Ye Chen knew that what one saw was not always the reality.

He waited only a short while before a tiny black dot floated out of the Little Black Cauldron, seemingly refracted from another dimension, gradually expanding until it became a stream of light from a pale-gold vessel, radiating brilliance. Its surface was covered in numerous profound runes, its cannon barrels were enormous, and a faint fluctuation of Pseudo-God energy permeated its entire structure.

"Little Chen Ghost..." The old man with the green talisman floated out of the brand-new Rune Ship, looking at Ye Chen with utter delight. "Wow, I just blacked out for a moment! When I woke up, the ship had completely transformed!"

Ye Chen stepped forward and entered the vessel. Looking at the spacious and massive interior, the materials used far surpassed the previous ones. A Half-God realm expert would be utterly helpless against this ship and could be easily annihilated by it. Even an Intermediate Pseudo-God expert would have to give way and avoid a direct confrontation!

"Tsk tsk, the main cannon alone can annihilate a peak Half-God expert, and it might even injure an early Pseudo-God. If it hits the head, it might even be a one-shot head explosion!" The old man with the green talisman was fully connected to the ship, clearly aware of every function, his face flushed with excitement.

"Incredible, truly unbelievable! Even my former Master wasn't this formidable, tsk tsk, Little Chen Chen, I adore you! Come here for a hug..."

"Get lost!"

"Don't be so cold to me, woo..."

"Where is my blade?"

"Uh, cough, cough, Little Chen Chen, I was just expressing my 'joy,' don't get agitated, please don't get agitated, no, no..."

Ye Chen shot the old man a sidelong glance, wondering why the previous low-tier Rune Ship, which housed a peak Ghost/God level system core, was equipped with such a highly intelligent central processing unit.

"It's done," the old man with the green talisman looked at Ye Chen, his expression wounded. "Little Chen Chen, you promised to give me a body, and a Pseudo-God level one at that."

"Not anymore," Ye Chen stated coldly.

"You broke your promise..."

"Did you just notice?"

"..."

"Enough nonsense!" Ye Chen leaned back on the soft sofa, took a bottle of beast-blood red wine from the refrigerator, and commanded, "Head to Bìshuǐ City."

The old man with the green talisman pouted, slowly turned, and walked toward the central control room, beginning to search for the route, switching to standard mode, and hurtling toward the nearby night sky.

This ship had been refined with the Pseudo-God ship. Although it was still an Intermediate Pseudo-God level ship, its performance was slightly superior. If three or four Intermediate Pseudo-God ships were refined together, it might be possible to fuse them into a Mid-Grade Pseudo-God ship.

Across the vast night sky, the ship raced like a beam of light.

"After being away for so long, I must hurry to the Ancient Continent!" Ye Chen lay on the sofa, gazing out at the night sky through the tinted glass, deep in thought. "Last time, how did I survive against those few individuals? Was it maybe the little white rabbit? No, it was still sleeping when I lost consciousness."

Thinking this, he instinctively looked down at the Pseudo-God armor set he was wearing, feeling a small lump beneath the fabric. He gently stroked the area, then his thoughts drifted to other matters, and he continued to ponder.

"After the last incident, the Fengyue family must despise me to the core. Since they didn't kill me on the spot, they will surely be searching everywhere. It seems I need to maintain a disguise for now. Once I sell the several thousand sets of Half-God equipment from the Rune Ship, the resulting Half-God Stones can be used to cultivate the Heavenly Dao Scripture."

"With my current power, mastering the second stage will allow me to compress 10 million points of Half-God Power into 100,000 points, which is equivalent to a 100-fold increase in combat strength!"

The thought made Ye Chen even more urgent.

Whoosh!

Not long after, the Rune Ship arrived at the Thunder Roar Plaza. Due to route planning, the Thunder Roar Plaza was a necessary path when traveling to Bìshuǐ City.

The Rune Ship blasted into the atmosphere with a thunderous roar, friction igniting flames across its exterior. The entire ship seemed to be burning, but the automatic cooling metal on its surface quickly extinguished the flames. The internal temperature remained normal, completely unaffected.

Thunder Roar Plaza was unchanged, though the area where the Spiritual Civilization once stood was now a vast, somewhat desolate open space. The Rune Ship hovered above this location. Ye Chen stepped out, a gentle breeze caressing him. He gazed down, feeling a pang of emotion, as if seeing Bai Long and the others standing right before him; the unforgettable, deeply etched feeling was vivid in his mind.

He did not linger long. Soon after, he turned back into the Rune Ship and commanded, "To Bìshuǐ City!"

"A wonderful command!" the old man with the green talisman cheered, then piloted the Rune Ship toward the end of Thunder Roar Plaza. Along the way, they passed over the territories of many civilizations, drawing the attention of quite a few.

"That speed... that is definitely a Pseudo-God level ship!"

"Could it be a wandering Pseudo-God expert who has arrived here from somewhere?"

"No, we have records. It paused briefly near the Spiritual Civilization. Ah, look! Who is that?"

"What? It's him!"

"He's still alive!"

"How is that possible! So many Pseudo-God experts couldn't kill him last time?"

Every civilization erupted like a boiler being blown, the high-ranking officials shaken. Many were filled with shock as they viewed the surveillance records showing Ye Chen stepping out of the Rune Ship and standing above the Spiritual Civilization, lost in thought.

The civilizations Ye Chen had previously robbed had always held grudges and resentment, but seeing this scene now, even the slightest hint of hatred vanished. Even if Ye Chen himself did not possess Pseudo-God level strength, simply being able to command a Pseudo-God level ship meant that its power alone was enough to make early Pseudo-God experts retreat. After all, most early Pseudo-God experts didn't even possess an Intermediate Pseudo-God level ship.

Bìshuǐ City could be seen in the distance, a magnificent metropolis sprawling across the vast ground. There were no forests immediately surrounding it; typical cities were bare in their vicinity to prevent enemies from hiding during a siege. Above this great city, an oval, pale-blue energy shield enveloped the entire urban area, blocking the eerie moonlight and even isolating the viral gases lingering in the air.

Whoosh!

The Rune Ship pierced through the atmospheric shield and arrived at the docking bay outside the city. Ye Chen's figure flickered as he exited the ship. Amidst the resentful gaze of the old man with the green talisman, he reached out and swept the Rune Ship back into his Talisman Space.

Ye Chen walked toward the great gate of Bìshuǐ City alone. From afar, the gate loomed, towering and magnificent. When stepping out of the Rune Ship, Ye Chen had subtly altered his facial features so his appearance was not the same as before. Moreover, the population of the Ancient World was immense; a single Spiritual Civilization had nearly seven billion people in the 21st century, not accounting for births and deaths. It was not strange for some faces to bear a strong resemblance. The entire population of Bìshuǐ City numbered in the tens of billions.

Standing before the ten-thousand-foot-high gate, Ye Chen felt an involuntary nervousness. However, his expression remained composed as he stepped forward. As he passed the gate, an optical scanner automatically scanned Ye Chen's iris, immediately emitting an eerie red light that shone upon him. An alarm blared: "Warning, Warning! Wanted Fugitive Bì18688 Identified!"

All nine great cities of the White Lotus Divine Province had wanted criminals; once wanted, they were barred from entry into any of the nine cities, forced to survive only in the wilderness. Ye Chen was a wanted fugitive of Bìshuǐ City, hence the 'Bì' prefix before his number.

As the alarm sounded, the surrounding soldiers instantly snapped to attention, quickly drawing their Half-God firearms and aiming them at Ye Chen. The leading figure, a burly man, looked coldly at Ye Chen, raised his arm, and tapped his watch. A virtual window popped up, displaying a small, automatically rotating virtual figure—it was Ye Chen's likeness.

"Change your appearance back!" the burly man commanded coldly.

Ye Chen frowned. He hadn't expected to run into trouble with an arrest warrant immediately upon entering the city. Although he had anticipated such an event, facing it now still brought a measure of dejection. After all, to reach the Ancient Continent, one had to pass through the central core teleportation array located within one of the nine major cities, utilizing its spatial jump point to fly directly to the Ancient Continent. Therefore, even knowing the risks, he still had to come.

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