The girl with the fiery red hair was livid, her face flushed, sharp little canines bared like a mischievous imp, glaring fiercely, "You bumpkin from Shiranui, daring to look down on me? Hmph, just watch how I deal with you!"

She swiftly fired off a flurry of emails.

Beep!

Beep!

Ye Chen’s inbox blinked incessantly, laced with a sense of urgency. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Clicking open the first email, he immediately recognized the sender's handle: Huohuo.

Huohuo: "Bumpkin, do you know who this Princess is?"

Huohuo: "Dare to slight me? Be careful I don't chop you into pieces! Hmph!"

Huohuo: "Are you scared yet? If you're scared, come apologize! This Princess is magnanimous and won't stoop to your level!"

Ye Chen scanned the messages, his brow arching slightly, and he replied with just three words: "You’re nuts."

In the email window, the other party was silent for a moment, then quickly flashed back a few words: "Go to hell!!!"

"Oh..."

Huohuo: "..."

Huohuo: "You, you, I'm going to kill you!!!"

Ye Chen casually typed back: "Welcome anytime."

Huohuo: "Aaaah, you bastard, you scoundrel, you big bastard, super big bastard, sob, you’re bullying me, sob..."

Ye Chen stifled a yawn and typed: "You could choose to surrender."

Huohuo: "..."

Huohuo: "Where are you right now? I'm going to kill you!"

Ye Chen rolled his eyes and replied, "I'm in the White Lotus Divine Province, at the headquarters of the Scarlet Demise Sect. Come and kill me if you dare!"

After a brief silence, the other side rapidly sent a few more messages.

Huohuo: "Fine, just you wait!"

Huohuo: "See how I put an end to you!"

Huohuo: "How do you want to die? This Princess will certainly grant your wish!"

Ye Chen casually replied: "Die old."

Huohuo: "..."

Huohuo: "I'm going to kill you!!"

Ye Chen grew slightly impatient and typed: "Stop bothering me. I wasn't raised to be easily frightened."

Huohuo: "Good, good! Very good! You’ve got guts, you’re amazing, really amazing, hello! You’re strong!"

"Thanks for the compliment," Ye Chen said, his expression unchanged.

Huohuo: "I compliment your @#￥#@￥—"

Ye Chen glanced over, directly closed the communicator, and with a flicker of movement, walked toward the Heavenly Dao Stele.

On the other side, within the majestic White Crystal Palace on the Floating Island, the girl with the fiery red hair rapidly sent over a dozen messages. After a while, receiving no replies, she clenched her teeth, her eyes blazing with intense rage, "That damn wretch, how dare he treat this Princess like this!"

"White Lotus Divine Province, Scarlet Demise Sect? Good! Very good!" Her small canines flashed with cold light, "This Princess will make your entire Scarlet Demise Sect vanish!!"

Ye Chen had absolutely no idea that his casual remark was about to bring a disaster upon the Scarlet Demise Sect. If the Master of the Scarlet Demise Sect knew about this, he would probably spit blood and die, digging up Ye Chen's ancestral graves in fury.

Before the Heavenly Dao Stele.

Ye Chen handed over 10 Divine Points, and his figure vanished from sight, arriving a thousand zhang before the towering Heavenly Dao Stele. The immense pressure of the vast universe surged toward him like a tide, squeezing his body. Countless profound principles arrived, flowing into Ye Chen’s mind, mystical and ineffable.

Ye Chen took a step, reaching the exact spot he had been last time, and immediately felt the pressure intensify tenfold. His body trembled slightly, his very pores quivering.

In Ye Chen’s vision, the towering Heavenly Dao Stele disappeared, replaced by a vast expanse of blinding white mist. This mist enveloped heaven and earth, resembling the primordial state before the universe opened, before the ancient era emerged—a chaotic, formless expanse everywhere.

Deep within the white mist, faint chants of Buddhas and celestial beings seemed to resonate, accompanied by the harmonious resonance of immortal music, evoking an infinite sense of longing. Yet, the white mist was ethereal and illusory, making clear sight impossible.

Ye Chen strained his gaze, vaguely perceiving, as if from within the white mist, a single ray of starlight. This light was dazzling and brilliant, shining undimmed through the haze of the mist, leaving a profound impact on his soul.

"One, the beginning of Heaven and Earth..."

"One, the fundamental source of all Great Dao..."

"One, the origin of all transformations..."

Mysterious truths floated and dissolved into his mind, granting Ye Chen a feeling of being both understanding and not understanding, knowledgeable yet confused. In this state of bewilderment, he completely failed to notice that he had already taken his second step!

Dong...

A resounding chime echoed, causing the white mist and the speck of starlight before Ye Chen to vanish. He snapped back to attention, realizing his viewing time was over, and his body was instantly transported thousands of li away from the Heavenly Dao Stele.

Ye Chen did not linger. He swiftly returned to his quarters, lowered his head in contemplation, internalizing the gains from this viewing of the Heavenly Dao Stele. He vaguely realized that many previous perplexities had been suddenly illuminated during this experience, especially the solitary ray of starlight, which had left a deep impression on him.

"One..."

"Everything is inseparable from One..."

That single point of starlight stood unmoving within the mist, like an ancient god established in the chaos, vast and unshakable.

Ye Chen experienced an insight, finding that his mental state had, without him noticing, broken through to the late stage of the seventh tier of the Wise. He sighed, then turned his thoughts back to that ray of starlight on the Heavenly Dao Stele, simultaneously entering the God of War Tower to hone various combat techniques.

Ten days later.

The rune spacecraft sped through the channel of the space jump point, and soon emerged into the next city: Dusk Drum City.

This city was in no way smaller than Sky Boat City and still lay within the territory of the Heavenly Witch King’s Vassal State.

Little Black and the green-rune old man, following Ye Chen's prior instructions, took the rune spacecraft to a repair station. Little Black presented the Heavenly Witch Token Ye Chen had given him, immediately securing a 90% discount on all expenses. After restocking supplies, they prepared to depart again.

Word that the Heavenly Witch Token had appeared in Dusk Drum City startled the City Lord, who immediately rushed over to pay his respects. However, Little Black refused the audience. Just as they approached the next space jump point, a medium-grade Divine vessel bearing the royal banner of the Blazing God Empire flew over from the distance, directly ordering the City Lord to halt all space jump points in the city so they could catch up to the rune spacecraft.

The City Lord of Dusk Drum was himself a peak Divine expert, but upon seeing the royal banner of the Blazing God Empire on that vessel, his face drastically changed. He respectfully greeted a middle-aged man emerging from it.

After catching up to the rune spacecraft, the middle-aged man stepped out of his vessel, approached the rune spacecraft, and executed a formal gentleman's bow. "Greetings. We have a gift for you here, please sign for its receipt."

The City Lord of Dusk Drum, traveling in his own vessel, arrived shortly after and froze momentarily at the sight. He then looked toward the rune spacecraft with a strange expression, speculating inwardly.

"A gift?" Little Black frowned, pondered for a moment, then turned and entered the spacecraft’s luxurious cabin to call Ye Chen.

"Hmm?" Ye Chen, having received the alert from the virtual world, immediately chose to log out and return to reality. He removed his helmet and turned to Little Black, frowning, "What is it?"

Little Black reported truthfully, "There's someone outside claiming to have a gift for you. I wonder if they have the wrong address."

Ye Chen paused, then his eyes lit up. He quickly strode out of the rune spacecraft to the middle-aged man. His gaze swept past the medium-grade Divine vessel behind the man, recognizing the royal banner with the flame totem, which further confirmed his suspicion. "Where is the gift?"

The middle-aged man studied Ye Chen from head to toe, then smiled. "Are you Mr. Ye Chen?"

Ye Chen nodded. "I am."

"Please allow me to verify your identity," the man requested politely.

Ye Chen didn't hesitate. "Go ahead."

Appearance could be altered; even highly skilled thieves could change their irises. However, certain inherent physical characteristics could not be changed.

The middle-aged man held up a detector that cast a red light, enveloping Ye Chen’s entire body. Moments later, the detector displayed two words: "No error!"

The middle-aged man relaxed. "Please wait a moment." With that, he turned and gestured toward the vessel behind him. The hatch opened, and two figures emerged, carrying jade-green chests that shimmered with flowing light, resembling exquisite jade boxes exuding a gentle green aura.

"This is a token from Elder Baiya. It is contained within these boxes," the middle-aged man said with a smile. "These boxes require a password to open. Otherwise, even a Divine expert would find it extremely difficult to break through."

"A password?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Understood."

After handing over the boxes, the middle-aged man took his leave immediately, ascending into his vessel and breaking through the air. Ye Chen took the boxes, returned inside the rune spacecraft, and immediately instructed the green-rune old man to seal the hatch and head toward the next space jump point, lest they waste any more time.

As the rune spacecraft traveled, Ye Chen impatiently donned his helmet and sent a message to Teacher Baiya: "Teacher, the goods have arrived. What is the password?"

Not long after, the reply came: "You're still alive? Hmm... right, the password is... this one."

Ye Chen nodded slightly. "Got it." He then closed the communicator and returned directly into the rune spacecraft, inputting the password into the jade-green chest.

Click!

The jade box sprang open. Little Black and the others crowded around, craning their necks to peer inside.

Within the emerald green box lay a crystal memory sphere, perfectly placed. It glittered with starlight, mesmerizing to behold, as if the entire world revolved around it.

"What is this?" Little Black asked curiously.

Ye Chen didn't elaborate. He reached out, picked it up, and instructed the green-rune old man, "If nothing important comes up, don't disturb me."

The green-rune old man muttered, "Sneaking around alone again..."

Ye Chen shot him a glare.

The old man shrugged. "Got it!"

Ye Chen then retreated into his bedroom, closed the door, and held the cold crystal sphere, examining it closely. In the center of the sphere, he noticed a small, pressable indentation.

Ye Chen reached out and pushed it.

Crack!

The entire crystal sphere instantly illuminated, emitting radiant light like a miniature sun. Numerous scriptures floated out, streaming directly into Ye Chen’s mind—a massive flood of information surged in like a tide.

"'Blazing God' First Level Secret Codex!"

...

Reflecting on this long period spent in darkness, from the start of July 2011 until now, nearly seven months, over half a year—I am deeply grateful for the support of my brothers. The most thanks go to my wife, who has been incredibly supportive. She truly supports me; if my updates lag even slightly, she urges me not to keep everyone waiting. With such a wife, what more could a man ask for in life?

Lao Gu (Old Ancient) owes so many people. Thank you to all my brothers for accompanying the darkness this far. I have read every single comment. Thank you all.