Seeing Ye Chen and Bai Yijun standing together in such intimate proximity, even a fool could tell the nature of their relationship. A wave of frustration and helplessness washed over them, mixed with a touch of admiration; they hadn't expected to encounter two such exceptional young people here. Despite the anger churning in their hearts, they couldn't deny that these two, standing side-by-side, were truly a match made in heaven!

Following the previous youth's outburst, everyone understood that only two paths lay ahead: death or surrender. In an instant, they all abandoned their will to fight, implanting the slave control-chip into their minds and accepting the subsequent evaluation, instantly transforming into compliant slaves.

After subduing the powerhouses from eight civilizations, Ye Chen took stock: there were a total of 36 peak Divine Emperors. Although all were at the peak, their actual strength varied because some secret manuals offered higher amplification bonuses than others.

Ye Chen ushered this group into the Heavenly Dao Mecha, handing them over to Xiao Zhongsheng for supervision. He then collected all the scattered debris into his Runic Space, clearing the area before returning to the edge of the fountain pool.

"Are we waiting for more people to arrive?" Fuxi asked with a wry smile.

"Yes." Ye Chen nodded slightly. "Ancestor, I have already examined these civilizations, and I didn't find any fragments of the Ancient God's Cave Key. I suspect they are still with the others."

Fuxi chuckled wryly. "That's secondary. I'm mainly concerned about you. You've been fighting for so long, and just now you cranked the Self-Destruct Manual to such an extreme, unleashing such immense power. Can you still sustain yourself later?"

Ye Chen smiled. "That's fine. Even if I can't sustain myself, I still have the Heavenly Dao Mecha."

Fuxi considered this; it was true. Yet, looking at Ye Chen's expression, a thread of worry remained in his heart, which he could only suppress with a sigh. He said no more.

While conversing with Fuxi, Ye Chen initiated the circulation of the Ancestral Dragon Manual, drawing energy from the golden heart within him and channeling it into his body. This infusion nourished his fatigued flesh and cells, instantly revitalizing him with vigor. He felt his entire being brimming with strength, and the two trillion years of lifespan he had lost were gradually being replenished, promising a full recovery soon.

As the Ancestral Dragon Manual refined the energy, the golden heart inside him grew progressively smaller. Gradually, while devouring and refining the incoming energy currents, Ye Chen discovered fragments of information within them, causing him to feel a jolt of astonishment, and he began to examine them closely.

The first scene unfolded—

Amidst the dust and grit of the desert. A small, frail child was crawling through the terrain, snatching two earth snakes from the soil, biting off their heads instantly and chewing them down. The bodies of the little snakes were still writhing, twisting, and rolling until they gradually stilled beneath the child's jaws.

As the sandstorm passed, Ye Chen saw the child's face: a pale, delicate boy, his face filthy, blood smeared on the corners of his mouth, his vacant eyes reflecting despair and bewilderment.

The first scene concluded, and the second followed—

Inside an elegant palace of white bricks. A raggedly dressed youth secretly squeezed through a dog door, slipping stealthily inside. He cautiously made his way to the kitchen to scavenge. Just then, a clear, melodious voice drifted from outside, saying, "Mama, I know." It was approaching slowly.

The youth spun around in haste, and in that moment of turning, he saw a girl walking into the kitchen. This girl possessed silky golden hair, deep azure eyes, and pristine white skin.

Their gazes locked, and time seemed to halt.

When the youth snapped back to reality, he was slick with cold sweat, ready to flee. But the girl suddenly rushed over and whispered urgently, "Be quieter! If my mother hears you, she’ll call the guards and have them kill you."

The youth froze.

Immediately following was the third scene—

"No—" A heart-rending cry erupted before Ye Chen, who watched the unfolding events as if viewing a film.

In the vision, a young, beautiful, golden-haired, blue-eyed girl was being forcibly dragged away by several burly men. At the far end of the street stood a mature woman, hands planted on her hips, past her prime, her figure slightly overgrown. Though dressed in noble attire, she failed to project any aristocratic elegance.

Bang!

The youth was kicked sprawling. A hulking man in a guard's uniform snarled viciously, "Look at yourself, kid! How dare you dream of snatching a swan!"

The youth's face was bruised and swollen, completely distorted, his body covered in wounds. But as the guard turned away, the youth dragged his exhausted body forward and clung to his leg, making inarticulate noises, his throat beaten mute, his teeth and tongue numb.

"Get lost!" The guard flung his leg out, sending the youth tumbling far away.

The boy's body scraped across the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust, yet he struggled, trembled, and climbed up again...

Then came the fourth scene—

Before the entrance of a pitch-black cavern, icy winds howled. The youth stood before the opening, his small body shivering. He finally swallowed hard, mustered his courage, and stepped inside.

His silhouette vanished into the cave. A slight breeze swept past, brushing away fallen leaves from an ancient stone tablet beside the cavern, revealing two ferocious characters: Devil's Lair!

In the darkness.

"Youth, why have you come here? Do you seek power?" A low, cold voice inquired.

"Yes, yes, Demon Lord. I want absolute power, the strength to strike down all wicked people!" The youth's voice trembled slightly but was laced with irrepressible fervor and indignation.

"Give me your soul and heart, and I shall grant you absolute power!" The low voice commanded coldly.

"If I do that... will I die?"

"No!"

"Will my memories remain?"

"They will."

"...I agree!"

In the abyssal darkness of the cavern, a flash of crimson light erupted, followed by a piercing shriek that echoed from the entrance across the distance. After a long silence, heavy gasps mixed with ecstatic fervor rose from the dark depths: "Good, such powerful strength!!"

"Indeed," the low voice replied, still cold, as if mocking the world's folly.

"Wonderful! I finally won't be bullied by villains anymore! I can defeat them!" The youth cheered, running out of the cavern.

From the dark mouth of the cave, in the profound gloom, a gaze seemed to watch his departing back coldly.

The scene shifted to a city.

"Ah, a demon!"

"Don't... don't come closer."

The entire bustling city descended into panic, everyone fleeing in terror down the streets. A bipedal, wolf-headed monster walked down the avenue, its eyes filled with a trace of confusion. "Monster? Where is the monster?"

It passed a clothing store.

Huh? The wolf-headed monster stopped. It stepped back, turning its head to look at its reflection in the glass window of the boutique...

"Aaaah!!!" A scream filled with infinite terror and despair tore across the sky of the prosperous city, echoing endlessly.

These few scenes ended. Ye Chen frowned. He didn't know why, but the youth in these visions seemed familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

After a moment of contemplation, a thought struck him. He immediately activated the Ancestral Dragon Manual within his body, accelerating the refining of the heart. As the refining continued, more memory fragments flowed into his mind.

A scene of a wolf-headed monster being chased by people wielding hoes and hunting rifles, desperately fleeing...

A scene in a dim jungle where the wolf-headed monster consumed a strange fruit and transformed into a human...

A scene of numerous ships and battleships landing on a planet and commencing a massacre. The youth, desperate and alone, desperately searching for that golden-haired girl in the ruins of the city...

A scene where the youth was captured by space pirates and taken away from the planet...

A scene of a middle-aged man fighting fiercely in a grand martial arena...

A scene of an old man wandering across vast lands...

"Hmm?" Ye Chen's gaze suddenly sharpened, his eyes fixed intently on that old man. This familiar countenance was etched into his bones; he would never forget it in this life—it was his very first master, Bai Ya!

"Could this all be Master's childhood memories?" Thinking of the middle-aged man in the vision, whose facial contours still held traces of the youth, Ye Chen’s mind seized upon a terrifying realization, and his heart pounded: "How could my Master's images be inside this heart? This heart was strange from the beginning. Could it be... could it be..."

His body trembled uncontrollably. Recalling the benevolent, smiling master who used to play chess with him and playfully scold him, hot blood rushed to his heart, and two clear tears streamed down his cheeks.

"That day, when we were chased, I escaped alone, and Master disappeared. His heart is inside me. He must have perished alongside those wretches for my sake!!" As the image of Master Bai Ya's kind smile filled his mind, Ye Chen could no longer hold back, letting loose rolling tears. He threw his head back and roared toward the sky, the sound shaking the surroundings and echoing up to the vault of the treasure vault.

Bai Yijun and Fuxi, standing nearby, were startled by Ye Chen's strange behavior and gathered around him.

"What's wrong?" Bai Yijun murmured, her delicate brows furrowed, clutching Ye Chen's visibly throbbing hand, her voice soft with concern.

Ye Chen cut off his roar, his heart heavy with sorrow. He looked at Fuxi and the others, and then at Bai Yijun, shaking his head. "I'm fine, don't worry. I just recalled some painful memories." With that, he closed his eyes and rapidly continued refining the heart.

The energy flowing from the heart was compressed by Ye Chen into a sphere and stored within his Dantian, reserved for his future breakthrough to the Divine Emperor realm.

During the refinement process, numerous memory sequences appeared, detailing Bai Ya's entire life: enduring various hardships and encountering countless bizarre fortunes, eventually rising to become an Elder of the Blazing God Empire—a path fraught with difficulty, marked by numerous life-and-death turning points and endless suffering.

Contained within these memories were also many of the secret manuals Bai Ya had cultivated, along with all his life's accumulated experience, which flowed directly into Ye Chen's brain.

"So, that was Master's hometown..." Ye Chen murmured after viewing all the scenes, falling silent for a long time. He thought of how his master had been separated from the person he loved in his youth, and later, due to various circumstances, could not return. By the time he was finally free, his own power was too immense to break the barriers of the ancient world and return to that small planet in the primal universe.

"Returning home was Master's only wish."

Ye Chen felt a deep melancholy, murmuring softly, "Master, once I settle matters at Ancient Realm Peak, I will certainly return to the Primal Universe, travel to your homeland, and bring your spirit home. Your final wish, your disciple will help you fulfill! And while I'm there, I can check on Earth..."

"The place that bore and raised me..."

"After being away for so long, I wonder if the fragrance of the flowers and grass there has changed..."

... This chapter sets a crucial foreshadowing; it's not just filler. O(∩_∩)O (To be continued)