"Unexpectedly, this mental clone consumes so much spiritual power." Ye Chen shook his head, stood up, flicked his hand to deactivate the gravity engine apparatus in the cultivation chamber, and activated the rune space.

"Token." Ye Chen retrieved the Heavenly Dao Mountain token from within the rune space, gripping the entire token in his palm; its touch was cool and yielding, like silk satin.

"Back then, time was pressing, and there wasn't enough time to fully comprehend the Heavenly Dao Scripture. Now, with the mental clone, I can let him enter it for comprehension. Since our souls are unified, any insight he gains, I will also know, allowing me to elevate my own realm."

"Once I cultivate to the third layer of the Heavenly Dao Scripture realm, the amplitude energy can surge tenfold again, reaching eighty million times!" Ye Chen's spirit soared. He clenched the token, pouring his internal energy into it, communicating with that faint, elusive energy, and instantly, a pitch-black aperture materialized out of thin air.

"Go!" Ye Chen urged the clone Ye Chen forward into the inky black opening.

Swish!

The aperture snapped shut. Clone Ye Chen felt his body tighten, then his vision blurred, suddenly assaulted by a glare so blinding he couldn't open his eyes. After a moment, as the light receded, he found himself facing a massive, imposing mountain.

This mountain was towering, saturated with a sacred and solemn aura, possessing a spirit that dared to challenge the heavens, like a slumbering, ancient sovereign, compelling one to refrain from touching it.

"Heavenly Dao Mountain..." Clone Ye Chen murmured softly, his eyes blazing with an unusual light.

...

After dispatching the clone, Ye Chen stood motionless for a long time, silent.

"Once I leave the Dark Great World, I can head directly to the Bright Empire via the Demon God Palace..." Ye Chen gazed at the infinite starry expanse, a hint of nostalgia and sentiment coloring his eyes. "It's been several years since we parted; I wonder how you have changed. You must wait for me..."

He stood lost in thought for a long while before quietly withdrawing his gaze. He sat down cross-legged, his eyes hardening with resolve. Clenching his hand, dense flames erupted from his palm, causing the temperature of the entire space to soar rapidly, reaching temperatures near the surface of the sun, exceeding 6,000 degrees Celsius.

"Back then, with the cultivation mindset of an Eighth-Tier Sage, I only managed to inscribe the second layer of this Yan God Hammer. Now, having broken through to the Saint Realm, it's a completely different world. I wonder if I can successfully cultivate the first layer of the Yan God Hammer."

Ye Chen's gaze became iron-firm. Gritting his teeth, his fingers swiftly moved across the surface, inscribing profound runes onto the fiery totem pillar. This intensified the heat, radiating waves of vast, heart-palpitating energy.

Ye Chen's fingers moved like flowing water, rapidly sketching out incredibly complex runes. With his current willpower and inscription skill, he could etch tens of thousands of characters onto the surface of a single grain of rice.

Time flowed by...

The Demon God Palace sped through the cosmic current, traversing the entire Central Region. Along the way, it alerted the attention of many God Emperor-level experts. These individuals awoke from their cultivation, ready to be on guard, only to see the Demon God Palace showing no sign of stopping, continuing its relentless trajectory into the distance, allowing them to relax.

However, not long after, another fierce aura swept in, seemingly tearing through the fabric of the universe, carrying alarming power as it shot past.

This aura also showed no deceleration or pause, streaking by and vanishing into the distant sky.

"What was that?"

"Which two were fighting?"

"I'm going to take a look."

"Interesting, very interesting!"

Passing countless planets along the route, within the domains of certain Imperial Stars, the God Emperors residing there felt suspicious. Some chose not to meddle, while others, intrigued, rose up and followed, harboring a slight hope of gleaning some benefit.

In the Dark Great World, the count of orthodox Dark Beings was actually much lower than that of ordinary Dark Beings. However, the innate strength of the Dark Race born from the Dark Demon Sea far surpassed that of common dark creatures.

Throughout the entire Outer Star Domain, all creatures were considered non-orthodox Dark Beings. Even if they cultivated to the God Emperor level, they were never accepted by the true Dark Race.

These God Emperors established their own Imperial Stars. The number of Imperial Stars in the Outer Star Domain even surpassed those in the Inner Star Domain. Yet, if a true war were to break out, these Outer Star Domain God Emperors knew their place; they understood they were no match for the Dark Race's power, which is why, across countless ages and epochs, they never dared to rebel.

Historically, there had been instances of rebellion, but the consequence was always immediate annihilation.

During the Demon God Palace's spatial warp, it arrived in the Outer Star Domain. As it traversed this region, many Imperial Stars passed beneath it. The God Emperors on these stars, driven by curiosity, rose to follow, though their speed was vastly inferior to the Demon God Palace.

Inside the Demon God Palace, within the cultivation chamber.

Ding!

A sweet notification chimed: "Cultivation time concluded."

Ye Chen, holding a Flame Crystal in one hand, was meticulously inscribing with the other. At the instant the sound echoed, his brushstroke concluded. A complex, nearly indistinct fiery-red energy rune slowly took shape and floated onto the Flame Crystal. The crystal flashed with light, its aura intensifying slightly, before returning to normal.

"Hoo!" Ye Chen exhaled lightly, showing a trace of fatigue. He slowly retracted the Flame Crystal into his palm, then stood up, stretching his limbs, and sighed. "I didn't expect that even reaching the Saint Realm in my state of mind wouldn't be enough to successfully cultivate it. This Yan God Hammer truly lives up to its reputation as the royal secret technique of the Yan God Empire!"

Ye Chen reached out and retrieved a bottle of fatigue potion from the reserve stores of the Fire Civilization Space, swallowing it down. He felt his spirit instantly lift and was somewhat satisfied with the dense energy within him. "Currently, the Yan God Hammer inscription has reached the sixth layer. I only need 98 more energy symbols to reach the seventh layer. After completing this, cultivating the Netherflame Shield will be much simpler. Once I master both, I can summon the soul of the ancient Great Emperor Yan God to possess me, amplifying my combat power by a hundredfold!"

"To master such a profound technique to this extent in such a short time isn't too slow," Ye Chen mused. He left the cultivation chamber. Stepping out of the majestic metal doorway, he saw a figure clad in purple.

Outside the door, sitting by the energy fountain, was a purple silhouette. Long, waterfall-like hair cascaded down, her skin was like snow, and her eyes gazed into the clear liquid of the fountain, lost in thought. The spray reflected in her dark, gleaming eyes, pure and utterly flawless.

As if sensing movement, the purple figure slowly turned her head.

Zixiang!

Ye Chen glanced at her and walked over, asking, "Did the pursuers catch up?"

Upon seeing Ye Chen, Zixiang's eyes suddenly lit up. She quickly scrambled off the fountain and hurried toward him, exclaiming with delight, "Master, you are finally out!"

Ye Chen gently rubbed the top of her small head, feeling the very real sensation as her soft, smooth hair brushed against his fingertips. A sudden wave of longing hit him—he wondered how his sister, who had been guided away by the mysterious person to the South Sea, was faring now.

"Master, that villain is in pursuit. They are 100 light-years behind us and closing the distance rapidly." Zixiang enjoyed the sensation of Ye Chen stroking her hair, not resisting, obediently stating, "Our trajectory is correct; we have reached the very edge of the Outer Star Domain. There is an Imperial Star eight light-years ahead. The space channel there must be massive; let's land there, shall we?"

Ye Chen frowned slightly. "That Imperial Star has a God Emperor guarding it. Do you think we can enter the space channel smoothly?"

Zixiang giggled, "I've scanned it. The God Emperor on that Imperial Star is only at the initial level. If he dares to provoke me, hehe, I'll blast him with one shot, make him regret it, hmph!"

Ye Chen gave her an exasperated sideways glance but said nothing more. "That one it is."

Zixiang chuckled and led Ye Chen to the central control room of the Demon God Palace. This was a vast area filled with numerous large screens displaying the external views of the ship. These screens showed the boundless starry sky, countless glittering stars, speckling the void.

This beautiful sky...

Stars and planets flashed rapidly backward on the monitors, showcasing the terrifying speed at which the Demon God Palace was currently traveling. Although it flew at superluminal speed, the advanced video capture technology outside the ship slowed the external view down to a specific frequency so it could be clearly projected.

Ye Chen watched, somewhat mesmerized. After about a few hours, the celestial bodies passing by shifted from planetary size to stellar size, each approximately the volume of the sun, often possessing even greater mass.

Along the way, Ye Chen witnessed many beautiful sights, such as a cluster of hundreds of thousands of asteroids circling nine massive stars. Around these asteroids orbited their own celestial satellites, all revolving around each other—a breathtaking, unforgettable spectacle of stunning beauty.

"Sublime simplicity." Ye Chen felt awe in his heart. "Indeed, what is naturally formed is the most beautiful. This is something no artist could conceive; only one who creates the universe can craft such wonders!"

Just then, a colossal planet suddenly appeared ahead of the Demon God Palace. This world was extraordinarily imposing, floating in the illusory void, entirely crimson red, like a ball of fiery heat. The surrounding atmosphere was breathtakingly beautiful.

The several-million-kilometer-long Demon God Palace appeared utterly insignificant beside this planet, no larger than a sesame seed.

"Switch to landing sequence."

"Entering flight path..."

"Scan planet!"

Zixiang’s expression turned serious, purple energy flickering in her eyes as she transmitted a series of commands. All the major systems of the Demon God Palace whirred into operation.

Not long after, the Demon God Palace successfully reconciled the gravity readings of the planet and began its landing procedure. The entire ship’s speed sharply decreased from superluminal speed to sub-light speed, moving slowly into the designated flight path, effortlessly piercing the atmosphere.

A stretch of beautiful, vast land came into view. Looking down from high altitude, Ye Chen felt the earth was magnificent and expansive. Mountains and rivers were mapped in detail by the Demon God Palace's satellite system, clearly visible. If needed, the image could be magnified, allowing them to see even the fish swimming in the rivers below.