Unleashing the Light of Civilization, Ye Chen managed to slay two Electromagnetic Beasts in quick succession. He was momentarily stunned, having initially braced himself for a desperate battle against the pair, only to see them dispatched with surprising ease!
Ye Chen stared blankly at the corpses of the two beasts for a moment before snapping back to reality. With a wave of his hand, he recalled the Light of Civilization, giving the remains a final look before drawing it back into his body.
Glancing at the dead beasts—their bodies nothing more than highly concentrated electromagnetic waves, potent enough to instantly radiate and kill vast numbers of cells upon contact—Ye Chen lingered no longer, swiftly departing the area and returning to the Rune Space.
The old green-rune man approached, noting Ye Chen's expression. "Finished them off?" he asked, surprised.
Ye Chen nodded slightly. "Unless something crucial happens, don't open the Rune Space," he instructed, before heading into the cultivation chamber. He settled onto the alloy bed, resting while mentally replaying the recent skirmish.
"What exactly is this Light of Civilization? It's terrifyingly potent..."
Ye Chen frowned in thought. "Activating ten Civilized Talents births the Light of Civilization. Judging by its power, if this Myriad Heavens Smelting God Technique is cultivated to its peak, its might will certainly rival the Heavenly Dao Scripture! How could such a precious manual never have been mentioned throughout the ages? With my access level, the same as Ancestor Fuxi and the others, I can't find a single piece of information on the Myriad Heavens Smelting God Technique, yet many juniors—Ghost God Realm, Demigod Realm, or even ordinary deities—have self-created manuals with that very name."
"Once I leave Ancient Peak, I must return to the Great Dark World. Since breaking through to the Deity Realm, I know where the latter volumes of the Myriad Heavens Smelting God Technique are hidden. I can't let someone get there first..."
Ye Chen’s eyes flickered slightly as he pondered for a moment, then shook his head. He retrieved some ice wine from the adjacent refrigerator and took a drink. An indescribable loneliness settled in his heart.
"I wonder if she is safe..."
Ye Chen fell silent for a while, letting out a sigh. He leaned back on the bed, sipping the ice wine mouthful by mouthful. The cold liquid brought a burning sensation as it traveled down his throat—comforting in a strange way, yet incapable of easing the sorrow in his heart.
After a brief rest, Ye Chen sat cross-legged and began cultivating the manual. Ever since his heart was forged, all the knowledge and countless manuals learned by his master, Bai Ya, had been transferred into his mind, including the cultivation methods for the second and third stages of the Yan Mystic Canon!
However, the third stage of the Yan Mystic Canon was legendary; no one in the Yan God Empire had ever succeeded in cultivating it.
Ye Chen paid it no mind for now, starting instead with the second stage.
Cultivating the Yan Mystic Canon seemed incredibly tedious, demanding immense patience as he etched one complicated rune after another—a carving technique comparable to inscribing a hundred thousand characters onto a single grain of rice!
Ye Chen composed his mind, focusing intently on the etching. Once the second stage of the Yan Mystic Canon was complete, the amplification multiplier would jump from 100 times to 1000 times!
...
After two days of rigorous cultivation, even with Ye Chen’s fortitude, he began to feel strained. The second stage of the Yan Mystic Canon was nearing its later phases, but he was still far from mastering it completely.
Ye Chen didn't force himself. He took a timely break and used the interval to leave the rune spaceship and investigate the exterior. The moment he looked out, he noticed something amiss: the two Electromagnetic Beasts he had slain earlier had somehow vanished without a trace.
A strange thought crossed Ye Chen’s mind: perhaps because the beasts were born from electromagnetic waves, they simply reverted back to waves upon death?
He walked over to where the corpses had been, checking the ground. He detected a faint, fishy smell mixed with the scent of sandalwood, causing him to frown.
Just then, a flash of purple streaked out from the electromagnetic waves behind him, moving like a hurricane, lunging at Ye Chen’s back.
Every hair on Ye Chen’s body stood on end. A large patch of skin on his back felt as if pierced by needles, rapidly necrotizing and turning to blood that streamed down. His internal life force surged, rapidly repairing the damage as he dodged aside. Without even turning, he knew the attacker had to be another Electromagnetic Beast!
A cold glint flashed in his eyes. He raised his hand, swiftly activating his ten Civilized Talents. An unparalleled aura seeped out from every pore. His long white hair whipped around him, and a mercury-colored light slowly materialized in his palm. The surrounding electromagnetic waves and all ambient energy swirled around this Light of Civilization, daring not to approach.
It was as if...
A commoner encountered an emperor and immediately knelt in worship.
Ye Chen sensed no fluctuation of elemental energy above him. All electromagnetic waves and elemental forces recoiled, seemingly unwilling to exist above the Light of Civilization!
Ye Chen's blood boiled with excitement. Looking up, he saw that the attacker was a nine-zhang Electromagnetic Beast, towering nearly five stories high. It stood on all fours, its fangs looking ferocious, its hair, crackling with electrical energy, stood on end. It glared at him fiercely but kept glancing toward the Light of Civilization in his hand.
"Roar..."
The beast slowly backed up two steps, fear evident in its eyes.
Ye Chen’s expression turned icy. With a sweep of his hand, the Light of Civilization shot out like a shooting star, smashing directly into the beast’s skull and blasting a massive hole through it.
The beast shuddered once, unable to even emit a scream, and its massive body crashed to the ground with a thud, kicking up dust.
Ye Chen retracted the Light of Civilization, noting the surge in ambient electromagnetic waves caused by the beast's appearance. Frowning, he moved, tearing open the Rune Space and instantly slipping inside.
Back on the rune spaceship, Ye Chen entered the cultivation chamber to rest. Continuously activating the ten Civilized Talents placed an enormous strain on both his spirit and body. Waves of exhaustion crashed over his mind, making him feel as if he could fall asleep instantly if he closed his eyes.
After a short rest, Ye Chen resumed cultivating the Yan Mystic Canon.
After persisting for about a day, Ye Chen wearily stopped his practice. He got up to move around, and suddenly an idea struck him. He walked to the Rune Space and opened a tiny crack, peering out at the Electromagnetic Beast killed the previous day.
A full day had passed, yet the corpse remained exactly where it fell, utterly motionless.
Ye Chen frowned, closely examining the beast’s hair and tail, finding them still rigid without any sign of softening.
As he pondered this mystery, a deafening BOOM suddenly erupted, shaking the very ground. Pebbles bounced off the surface, and the surrounding electromagnetic waves instantly thinned considerably.
Ye Chen startled, quickly looking out. What he saw made him momentarily bewildered.
In the distant electromagnetic storm zone, the purple energy waves were slowly dissipating, as if automatically vanishing into the void. As the massive booming sound approached, Ye Chen expected to see a mountain-sized behemoth. Instead, he saw no giant dark shadow. Rather, as the heavy footsteps drew nearer, a small wolf with silvery-white fur slowly emerged from the electromagnetic storm zone!
This little wolf stood about a meter high, reaching only Ye Chen’s waist. Its body was covered in silvery-white fur, and it stood upright on its hind legs, looking incredibly majestic. Its two small white paws were crossed over its chest, exhibiting a remarkably human-like posture that suggested an extraordinary intellect.
Ye Chen peered intently and saw a black character inscribed on the little white wolf’s forehead: Ancient!
Seeing this character, Ye Chen’s heart gave an involuntary jump. At that moment, the little white wolf spotted the fallen Electromagnetic Beast nearby. Like a mischievous child discovering a prized toy, it quickly trotted over. Each step it took landed on the ground with a mighty boom, yet mysteriously, the ground beneath its paws showed no indentation.
Ye Chen shrunk the crack in the Rune Space down to the size of an eyeball and watched closely. He saw the little white wolf approach the carcass, examining it up and down. It tapped the beast with its small paw, confirming it was dead, then leaped onto the corpse, opened its mouth, and began to devour it.
It ate rapidly; its fangs easily pierced the beast’s purple scales. Its protruding muzzle dipped inside, and with a few powerful sucks, the Electromagnetic Beast’s entire arm visibly shriveled.
After a few more strong sucks, the arm of the small mountain-sized beast had completely withered. The wolf bounced twice more to the beast’s chest, pierced the scales with its fangs, sucked a few times, and the entire body was drawn taut and dry.
Watching this bizarre scene, Ye Chen felt goosebumps erupt all over, his scalp tingling. He couldn't fathom what kind of monster this little wolf was—daring to feed on the Electromagnetic Beast, a creature feared by all. Telling this story would surely convince anyone it was a fabrication that a creature specialized in consuming electromagnetic energy existed!
As the massive beast was devoured by the little wolf in moments, Ye Chen's heart pounded. Just then, the wolf slowly turned, its dark, inky eyes fixing upon Ye Chen’s position.
"Not good!" Ye Chen’s tension spiked, and he swiftly prepared to shut the Rune Space.
Swish!
A flash of white light erupted before him. The little white wolf materialized right in front of the Rune Space—so fast that Ye Chen's brain couldn't even process the thought before it extended a small paw and forcefully pulled the tiny crack in the Rune Space wide open.
Crack!
The Rune Space was ripped apart.
The little white wolf stood erect, looking down, its front paws crossed over its chest in a very human-like stance. Its dark eyes surveyed Ye Chen, then suddenly settled on something cradled in his arms.
Ye Chen felt an overwhelming nervousness. He hadn't anticipated the wolf's speed; judging by how it consumed the beast, it was no ordinary monster. He thought he might need to activate his Blood God Mode just to offer a meager resistance!
As these thoughts raced through his mind, he felt a stirring in his embrace. Moments later, two fluffy little paws emerged from beneath Ye Chen's leather armor, followed by two pointed white ears poking out.
The little white rabbit poked its head out of Ye Chen's embrace, tilting its small head to examine the white wolf, its dark, gem-like eyes showing confusion.
The little white wolf gazed at the little white rabbit. The two small creatures stared at each other for a moment. Then, the white wolf suddenly extended a paw and beckoned toward the rabbit.
The little white rabbit scratched its head, glanced up at Ye Chen, and then leaped with a soft thump out of his arms. It moved across the void as if treading on solid ground, slowly crawling toward the little white wolf. (To be continued)