Ye Chen's gaze was icy, like a blade, fixed on the figure standing atop the bronze ancient spear. His fists cracked as he squeezed them. The Demon God Palace was an incomparable treasure; to repair even one damaged system would require an immense amount of energy.

The thought alone caused his heart to bleed metaphorical blood. He seethed with hatred for the mysterious figure that had suddenly appeared, gritting his teeth but not completely losing his reason. He roared, "Go, quickly!" Within Zi Xiang's eyes flickered reluctance; a mist seemed to gather in her watery gaze. From the power displayed by their opponent, she knew this formidable enemy was impossible to resist. With a sudden resolve, she bit down hard, guiding the entire Demon God Palace to speed towards the spatial rift at the edge of existence, instantly accelerating to the speed of light!

Swish!

The Demon God Palace shimmered once and vanished, diving headlong into the spatial opening.

The shadowy figure on the bronze ancient spear’s eyes flashed with two chilling beams of cold light. It stared intently at the spatial rift, the black mist composing its face churning violently. With a sudden upward sweep of its hand, the entire thousand-mile-high spatial rift exploded, the dark vortex at its center torn apart by streaks of lightning.

"Damn it!" Cold light flickered in the figure's eyes, edged with a hint of ferocity. "They actually escaped into the Ancient World, preferring to die there rather than let my Dark Race claim them—you wretch!" He stood before the scorched black vortex ripped open by the lightning, which had now lost all function of connection, becoming nothing more than a collapsed area of space. The fists beneath his sleeves cracked audibly. "If not for the laws restricting beings of my power from easily entering between the two great worlds—lest I violate the covenant—I would hunt you to the ends of the earth!"

"Great traitor!" "Just wait! Once you arrive in the Ancient World, the Samsara Saint King will immediately calculate your presence. The other Divine Emperor powerhouses within a thousand light-years radius will sense the aura of the Demon God Palace and strike without mercy!"

"Such a treasure, actually falling into the Ancient World..."

"Damned, hateful thing!!!" His fury burned fiercely. After standing motionless for a long time, he stomped his foot once, then turned and tore through the void, departing.

After he left, the city spanning millions of kilometers below fell into profound silence. Not a single human figure remained on the streets; all life, including domestic fowl, had been transmuted into energy by the strike of the white spear.

The vast city had been reduced to barren wasteland.

The mournful wind whispered down the streets, weaving a sorrowful, lingering tune, as if singing the entirety of the world’s grief.

In a counter-current of space outside the Emperor Star, a figure wreathed in flickering lightning fled in terror, drenched in cold sweat. Behind him, a beam of light piercing through time and space pursued relentlessly, locked onto his location, sticking close no matter how he tried to maneuver.

"My dear madam, what in the blazes is this thing?" The burly man was on the verge of tears, lamenting that merely defending his planet's dignity had brought down such a malevolent star that fired without a word.

"I will have my revenge," he wailed mournfully, soaring towards the distant sky, diminishing into a tiny spark of light.

Within the Ancient World, in the territory of the Blazing God Empire.

Dark Star Lake.

This was a free land within the Blazing God Empire, not belonging to any vassal state. The reason for its freedom was that it had been occupied by Dark Creatures, serving as their entrenched stronghold.

Furthermore, within several light-years around this area, resources were scarce. Consequently, the Blazing God Empire had never truly exerted itself to send powerful forces to annihilate the Dark Creatures garrisoned here. Occasionally, the top academies of some vassal states would dispatch a few students for trials to hone their skills.

Over time, this place had become a hunting ground for the Ancient World.

Dark Star Lake spanned 70,000 kilometers in diameter. Black water surged across its surface, waves crashing; many small islands dotted the immense expanse of water, hiding terrifying monsters in the deep, causing apprehension in all who saw it.

At this moment, on the central island of Dark Star Lake, there was a spatial rift. Dozens of soldiers were stationed around the opening, their auras dense, all at the peak of the Pseudo-God realm.

Suddenly, the spatial rift flashed brilliantly. Out of the sooty black vortex, a majestic palace slowly sailed forth. Its solemn and grand design caused the hundred-plus soldiers guarding the rift to stare, mouths agape in disbelief at the towering edifice.

Upon closer inspection, one could discern that within the palace walls lay a vast expanse of territory, containing numerous cities, as well as plains, forests, and various other landscapes.

"Master, there are our people here," Zi Xiang chuckled lightly, observing the surrounding Dark Creatures.

Ye Chen's expression turned cold. "Kill them all!"

"Ah?" Zi Xiang found it hard to believe her ears and asked hesitantly, "Kill them all?" Ye Chen shot her a cold glance. "Do I need to repeat myself?"

Zi Xiang shivered violently, shaking her head like a rattle drum. "I, I understand." With that, a purple light flashed in her eyes, and a command symbol was issued.

"Restore original form..."

"Initiate heavy suppression!"

The volume of the Demon God Palace rapidly increased, expanding from a few hundred kilometers to over ten thousand times its size, restoring its original diameter of several million kilometers, entirely obscuring the sky above the numerous islands in Dark Star Lake.

All the Dark Creatures garrisoned on these islands instinctively looked up, immediately realizing the sky had turned black, and were struck with horror.

Rumble—

The Demon God Palace, millions of kilometers wide, violently slammed downward, its area completely covering Dark Star Lake.

BOOM!!!

The entire earth shook. The formerly boundless Dark Star Lake, teeming with ferocious beasts, was instantaneously pressed entirely into the depths. The lake water spilled out over the edges of the Demon God Palace, and the creatures within were crushed into the underground, leaving no bones behind.

"Master, it is resolved," Zi Xiang said demurely.

The coldness in Ye Chen’s eyes receded somewhat. He nodded slightly, his large hand suddenly grasping open the Rune Space. Inside, Xu Tianguo, Kaba, 1 Little Black, the Green Rune Elder, and others were present. Except for the Green Rune Elder, the rest were meditating with their eyes closed, absorbing the energy drifting through the heavens and earth.

The Green Rune Elder’s eyes lit up when he saw Ye Chen. He rushed over immediately, rubbing his hands together and chuckling obsequiously, "Fearsome Star—ah, Brother Chen, long time no see! I've been counting the days; it must be four or five centuries since we last met. Unexpectedly, your demeanor is as magnificent as ever, tsk tsk. My admiration for you is like the Milky Way, ceaseless..."

Ye Chen flicked his hand dismissively. "Hand over the navigation charts for the Bright Empire."

The Green Rune Elder paused. "Why would you need that? Eh? Where did you kidnap this child from?" His gaze fell upon Zi Xiang, and he couldn't help but look her up and down, smacking his lips. "Skin so fine and tender, truly excellent!"

Zi Xiang blinked curiously, tilted her head to look at Ye Chen, and asked, "Is this bad man Master's friend?"

"No," Ye Chen replied flatly.

"Oh." Zi Xiang seemed to understand, then asked excitedly, "Master, may I beat him up?"

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow, glanced at her, then at the Green Rune Elder, and finally closed his eyes. "Do as you wish."

The Green Rune Elder sneered at Zi Xiang. "With your little arms and legs, you think you can beat me? I am magnanimous; I won't stoop to the level of a child. Hurry up and kowtow three times to your Grandpa Green, then apologize sincerely, and I might reluctantly forgive you. Otherwise—Ouch!" Before he could finish speaking, Zi Xiang sprang forward, grabbed his beard, and pulled with all her might. The Green Rune Elder, who had maintained his soul form and was immune to all physical attacks, was suddenly seized easily by Zi Xiang's small hands. A large clump of white beard was ripped out, causing him such pain that tears welled in his eyes.

"You—you—ouch, my dear madam, let go! Hurry up, let go! You bear—why aren't you letting go, you—you—you!" The Green Rune Elder howled with utterly tragic cries.

Zi Xiang snorted, "Who told you to be so bad?"

The Green Rune Elder was utterly speechless. "You don't even know me, how do you know I'm bad?"

"Instinct," Zi Xiang asserted confidently.

Ye Chen addressed the Green Rune Elder. "Give her the coordinates for the Blazing God Empire headquarters and the maps of the Bright Empire." The Green Rune Elder froze, then began scrutinizing the Zi Xiang still clinging to him, his expression gradually growing solemn. When he turned to look at the hall around them, his pupils contracted sharply, and he exclaimed in horror, "Where is this place? How can there be such a massive control room?"

Zi Xiang said proudly, "This is the territory I manage. Not bad, right?" The Green Rune Elder looked toward Ye Chen, asking, "Brother Chen, what is going on?" Ye Chen shot him a look filled with killing intent. "The map!" The Green Rune Elder shuddered and immediately, without another word, plucked a chip from the back of his head and handed it to Zi Xiang. "This contains the maps of the Ancient World."

Zi Xiang glanced at him, casually took it, focused her gaze, and purple light flickered in her eyes, emitting waves of energy characters. After a moment, she returned to normal and tossed the chip back to the Green Rune Elder, languidly saying, "Copied."

The Green Rune Elder was astonished. "That fast?"

"Of course," Zi Xiang yawned.

Several blue veins bulged on the Green Rune Elder's forehead. If it weren't for the lingering, agonizing pain in his jaw, he would have nearly lunged forward to strangle her.

"Let's go to the Blazing God Empire headquarters first," Ye Chen commanded.

"Understood." Zi Xiang smiled sweetly, hopped back onto the metal seat in the control room, and pressed her fingers onto the desk. Her fingernails seemed to penetrate the metal surface, connecting to the entire control system of the Demon God Palace.

"Prepare for takeoff..." "Lock coordinates."

The Demon God Palace, which had flattened the entirety of Dark Star Lake, suddenly shot toward the capital of the Blazing God Empire. It did not engage its maximum speed but proceeded at a standard cruising velocity. However, for the Demon God Palace, a "standard" speed still exceeded speeds of over a hundred times curvature flight.

Ye Chen proceeded directly to the Rune Space, retrieved his dedicated virtual helmet, and returned to a standard room within the Demon God Palace. He immediately connected his signal and entered the virtual world.

Feeling a bit of a headache, I'll only post one chapter today and make up with three tomorrow.