Bai Yijun’s heart trembled slightly, the last trace of hesitation vanishing from her eyes. Her gaze grew damp as she slowly raised her palms, embracing that broad, sturdy figure. The two held each other tightly.

For a long, long while.

The entire crowd seemed to have lost the ability to speak, merely watching the two figures in silence. No one had expected Ye Chen to simply embrace her. Before this, perhaps people suspected he had ulterior motives, but now, there was only profound shock.

“Hmph!” A cold snort suddenly rang out, echoing through the entire sky, shaking the very clouds and mist until they trembled. Bai Tian’s expression turned icy as he spoke in a low voice, “Xiao Jun, step aside!”

Bai Yijun’s body stiffened. The oppressive weight accumulated by her father over many years surged into her mind. She bit her lower lip gently, her hands clutching Ye Chen’s slowly releasing, and she stepped away from his embrace, then turned around.

“Father!” Bai Yijun kept her head slightly bowed, her slender fingers clenched into tight fists. Due to the force, drops of crimson blood dripped from the edges of her palms. She slowly raised her head, looking directly at Bai Tian, and said, “This time, your daughter cannot obey you. Please allow me to make one decision for myself!”

A flash of rage crossed Bai Tian’s eyes. “Even you won’t listen to me now?!”

Bai Yijun lowered her head. “My daughter only has five years of life left. I wish to spend my final moments with the person I love.”

“Absolutely not!” Bai Tian was resolute.

Ye Chen looked at the delicate figure before him, lost in thought for a moment. Suddenly recalling something, he slowly clenched his fist, seemingly making a decision. He resolutely took a step forward and said, “Please allow me a few private words with Xiao Jun. After we finish speaking, I will leave on my own accord.”

Bai Yijun’s body shuddered. She spun around abruptly, gazing at Ye Chen in stunned silence. The stubborn defiance in her eyes collapsed in an instant. Her delicate frame trembled slightly, tears welling up as she choked out, “You don’t want me anymore?”

A sharp pain pierced Ye Chen’s heart, tearing at his soul. He gritted his teeth, forcefully suppressing the trembling in his body and spirit, and gently stroked her dark, fine hair with a tender expression. “Never. Don’t worry.”

Bai Yijun stared into his eyes. After watching for a while, she gave a slight nod.

Bai Tian frowned, glancing at his daughter’s retreating back, sensing a touch of exhaustion about her. His eyes flickered slightly, and he spoke indifferently, “I’ll give you one hour.”

Ye Chen’s eyes lit up with immense joy. He quickly took Bai Yijun’s small hand and said, “Follow me.”

Bai Yijun followed him like a fluttering butterfly, feeling an overwhelming sense of happiness in that moment, wishing only to walk to the ends of the earth with him and never be separated.

The onlookers watched the pair depart, none moving to stop them. However, all present were Divine Emperor powerhouses, and their spiritual senses remained entwined around Ye Chen and Bai Yijun, aware of their every move.

Ye Chen led Bai Yijun to the cliff face behind the mountain. Seeing they were alone, he stopped immediately, turned, and firmly clasped her small hand, gazing intently into her clear eyes.

A delicate blush rose on Bai Yijun’s cheeks. She lowered her head slightly. “Why did you bring me here? Even though they didn’t follow, they are surely monitoring everything here closely.” Her implication was that Ye Chen should not discuss any confidential matters.

Ye Chen smiled faintly. “I just wanted to see you. You must have suffered a great deal during these five years, haven’t you?”

Bai Yijun shook her head. “Not suffering, exactly. Since returning that time, I went straight into the White Cloud Grotto. With the assistance of Father and the Grand Elders, I suppressed the virus inside me. When I emerged, it was already time for the proposal selection five years later.”

Ye Chen questioned, “In that case, why has your power grown so formidable over these five years? From my assessment, your full strength could likely defeat the geniuses from all the major factions present!”

Bai Yijun smiled radiantly. “I have always been like this. The me you saw back in the White Lotus Divine State was merely one of my avatars. I possess a secret manual called The Great World. Cultivating it allows me to manifest billions of avatars, each possessing the peak strength of an ordinary Half-God. If I were to reach the Pseudo-God realm in the future, every avatar would hold Pseudo-God realm power.”

She took Ye Chen’s hand, feeling a subtle sweetness, and led him to sit at the edge of the cliff valley. A gentle mountain breeze blew, stirring their hair. She spoke in her dreamily beautiful voice, slowly saying, “That avatar was infected with the virus. Before I could sever the connection with that avatar, the virus infected my main body through the soul link. That is why the infection wasn't rapid. Otherwise, given the Blood Moon Virus, I might have perished on the spot!”

Ye Chen was stunned, exclaiming in astonishment, “Just because your avatar was infected, your main body was implicated?”

Bai Yijun offered a bitter smile. “That is the terror of the ‘Blood Moon Virus,’ and why countless civilizations throughout history have failed to crack it. It can transmit through any medium—be it wind, water, light, time, space, or metal. It can even infect anti-toxin elements. Those lost souls drifting among the stellar fragments outside were infected by the virus, swallowed their souls, and became half-dead monsters!”

“My Great World secret manual creates numerous avatars, and each is connected to the main body by a soul tether—a very thin bridge. Unexpectedly, the Blood Moon Virus exploited this soul tether to transmit to my main body, traveling thousands of times faster than the speed of light. Before I could react, I was infected.”

Ye Chen was momentarily stunned, his expression turning bitter. “Why would you send an avatar into such great danger? When it left, you didn’t equip it with a single powerful weapon. Furthermore, the Dark City you sought, after gathering numerous tokens, only amounted to a peak Divine Artifact. With your status in the Bai family, you wouldn’t lack Dao Artifacts, let alone a Divine Artifact!”

Bai Yijun sighed mournfully. “I hadn’t considered everything thoroughly beforehand. I sent out 30 million avatars to search across the entire Ancient Continent. Although my Bai family’s influence is vast, we didn’t have enough assets to equip 30 million avatars with a Divine Artifact each. Moreover, those avatars were highly likely to perish outside. Once destroyed, any Divine Artifact they carried would be lost, so I equipped them only with consumable Divine Artifacts.”

Ye Chen nodded, recalling a bead she once gave him, capable of resisting a full-power strike from a mid-stage Pseudo-God twice. However, since he later acquired the Rune Battleship, he rarely used the bead, though he always kept it close.

“The Dark City has three tiers, with 108 cities in each tier. Within every Dark City is a Dark Fragment. If all the Dark Fragments can be gathered, they can merge into a Void Heaven Artifact!” Bai Yijun calmly revealed this earth-shattering news. “I saw this in an ancient scroll.”

Ye Chen’s pupils contracted. He had heard of Void Heaven Artifacts several times and knew their power was peerless. In the entire Ancient World, only nine existed, born from the Origin Continent. Not even the Ten Great Sacred Halls or the Nine Ancient Families possessed them; these things were fundamentally beyond mortal creation. Unexpectedly, it was now possible to acquire one.

Ye Chen was not the only one surprised. The Divine Emperors watching this scene, as well as Bai Tian, all experienced a slight shock, silently awestruck.

“The Dark City!”

“It was that fortress destroyed in the last Great Saint War!”

“Legend says this was the fortress of the Sky Roc King, one of the Twelve Great Kings among the Dark Creatures!”

“This is someone from the previous Holy War, and he actually controls a Void Heaven Artifact!”

The crowd was deeply shaken, focusing their attention even more closely.

Bai Tian’s eyes flickered, a coldness stirring deep within him. He was surprised his daughter had not reported such an important matter to him, and a chill crept into his heart.

“Back in the White Lotus Divine State, following some clues, I discovered the ruins of a third-tier Dark City. I presumed that after so many years, there wouldn't be much danger inside. Even if I encountered real peril, sacrificing one avatar would be inconsequential; with my main body’s divine power, I could easily conjure another,” Bai Yijun said with a hint of sorrow. “Unexpectedly, I was accidentally infected with the Blood Moon Virus inside. One slip causes eternal regret.”

Ye Chen sighed inwardly, patting her delicate hand gently. “It’s all in the past. No one can predict the future. Don’t blame yourself. You aren't a Saint; oversights are inevitable. Furthermore, you must have been extremely eager when you found the intelligence, not expecting so many complications.”

Bai Yijun nodded silently. “You don’t need to console me. This is all my fault. Otherwise, we could have been together for a long, long time, right up until the Great Heavenly Tribulation arrived a million years from now.”

Ye Chen smiled softly. “Every second spent with you feels as long and blissful as a century. Just being able to see you satisfies me completely.”