Ye Chen walked over, inspecting some of the scattered cargo. He found quite a few precious items, including valuable elixirs, but much of it had been ruined by the electromagnetic radiation. Several mechanized weapons and armors of the Divine Spirit Realm had also been rendered useless, their internal components largely dissolved into molten metal streams by the wave interference.

Following a familiar sensation, Ye Chen searched among the ruins of treasures for a while. Since arriving here, that thread of familiarity had grown increasingly intense, like an invisible line leading him forward. He followed this feeling, collecting fragments of discarded armor, broken weapons, and a mysterious, ancient leather scroll from the ground along the way. Upon inspection, he noted they were all shards of Dao Artifact-grade equipment. The ancient leather scroll felt as smooth and soft as fine mutton fat under his touch, and it depicted a map.

Ye Chen examined the map and realized it detailed the treasury of a prehistoric cave dwelling on the Ancient Continent. He observed the markings on the map—several red crosses and golden arrows—with fine script noting items like “Peak Dao Artifact Fragments,” and so on. Such a treasure map would undoubtedly be considered top-tier on the Ancient Continent.

Ye Chen gave it a quick glance and moved on, stepping over sand and stone toward the damaged ancient spacecraft. Upon inspection, he identified it as a vessel of the Mechanical Civilization. Among all civilizations, the spacecraft of the Mechanical Civilization were known to be the most erratic and notoriously difficult to deal with.

“It should be right here…” Ye Chen felt the sensation in his core intensify, as if his very blood was about to burst through his skin, his vital essence surging. He immediately swept his gaze around the area, but found nothing.

Ye Chen frowned slightly, musing for a moment before coming to a halt and closing his eyes.

The entire world darkened.

Ye Chen’s mind became perfectly still, like water. Though his eyes were shut, everything around him seemed to manifest within his consciousness. The powerful summons was now slowly emanating from a spot six zhang in front of his feet.

Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes, two beams of sharp, cold light flashing forth. His figure swayed like the wind, and in an instant, he appeared six zhang ahead. He lightly tapped his toe, brushing aside the sand and stone, and spotted a small piece of cloth tail protruding from the ground. His gaze flickered, and he immediately knelt down to pull the fabric free.

The cloth was soft yet incredibly tough, seemingly wrapping something substantial inside. A knot, tight as death, secured it. Ye Chen glanced at it, sensing the object within was hard. When his fingers brushed against it, he felt a familiar sensation, a connection like flesh and blood, reminiscent of when he had first touched the treasure chest at the bottom of the fountain in that other treasury.

Ye Chen’s eyes flashed slightly. He pulled with both hands forcefully, but unexpectedly, the cloth proved immensely rigid. It took all his strength, straining every muscle, just to manage a ragged tear.

The instant a small opening appeared in the wrapping, Ye Chen saw a flash of black light erupt from within, followed by a shaft of dark, profound light that shot out. Before Ye Chen could react, it pierced his forehead with a speed akin to a laser beam.

Ye Chen’s entire body convulsed violently. Immediately afterward, he felt the blood within him boil and burn, a layer of goosebumps rose on his skin, and his body trembled slightly, his mind filled with a sense of congested pressure—an indescribable comfort.

Amidst this intense pleasure, Ye Chen retained a sliver of conscious clarity, clearly feeling his body’s genes, cells, and flesh rapidly dividing and reorganizing, generating threads of formidable power. It felt as though his entire genetic structure was undergoing another metamorphosis, reaching an even higher plane!

After a long while.

Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes, the internal transformation gradually subsiding. He let out a long, slow breath of stale air and looked down at his body, finding his skin supple and brimming with infinite strength. Beneath his thin clothing, muscle contours were faintly visible—the promise of earth-shattering power ready to be unleashed with the slightest exertion!

“This mysterious metal shard again…” Ye Chen frowned thoughtfully. “Ever since my body was reborn, I’ve had a special connection to this shard. Could the fact that my body revived be related to this piece of metal? I wonder what kind of treasure this shard is to possess such might.”

After a brief moment of contemplation, Ye Chen’s attention was drawn to a raised point inside the wrapping. A thought struck him: “Is there something else inside?” He immediately reached out and unfolded the cloth wrapping, quickly discovering a small, black cauldron nestled within. It stood on three legs, entirely carved with ancient patterns of dragons and phoenixes.

Ye Chen startled, hastily picking it up. He then drew out the small Nine Cauldron he carried and placed the two side by side for comparison, rising up in delighted surprise: “It’s a Nine Cauldron Fragment!”

Ever since acquiring the small Nine Cauldron, Ye Chen knew the story: Emperor Yu had forged the Nine Cauldrons of Kyushu, but during fierce battles in the Dark Great World, an enemy’s axe cleaved them into nine fragments, shattering the Primordial Spirit of the Nine Cauldrons. The spirit split into nine parts, each embedding itself into a fragment that flew off to various corners of the continent, vanishing.

The small black cauldron he possessed was one of those nine fragments, capable of refining any weapon or spacecraft of the Dao Artifact level—a truly divine artifact!

“I didn’t expect this person to also possess a small Nine Cauldron. Including the one I already have, I now possess three Nine Cauldron Fragments. I wonder what will happen when they merge? The intelligent spirit of the Nine Cauldron Fragment once told me that once I reach the Divine Spirit Realm, I can use the fragments to enter the Nine Cauldrons World!”

“The Nine Cauldrons World is a universe created by Emperor Yu, containing countless heavenly and earthly spirit treasures. It’s just that I’ve been too busy with other matters to explore it.”

Ye Chen’s eyes gleamed. He immediately sat down cross-legged, placing the two small black cauldrons together, and took out the third small black cauldron he had obtained from the burly man on Genius Peak.

“Huh?” Bai Yijun noticed the small Nine Cauldron in Ye Chen’s hand and expressed surprise. “Is that… a fragment of the Nine Cauldrons of Kyushu? You actually have three.”

Ye Chen smiled faintly. “I was fortunate enough to acquire them.”

He then mentally connected with the intelligent spirit system of the small Nine Cauldron, inquiring, “How do the Nine Cauldron Fragments merge?”

The intelligent spirit system of the small Nine Cauldron replied apathetically, “Simply place the Nine Cauldron Fragments together. The intelligent spirit systems within the two fragments will communicate and initiate the fusion.”

“I see.” Ye Chen promptly placed the three small Nine Cauldrons together on the ground and stepped back a few paces.

The roaring wind seemed to hold its breath for a moment.

The entire world fell silent for a few seconds, and then, a dazzling, concentrated beam of light suddenly shot up from the three small cauldrons, soaring straight into the heavens, connecting with the cosmos and carving a swirling vortex of white clouds.

A white light energy hurricane expanded outwards from the three small cauldrons, rotating like furious, surging dragons. Fierce winds raged, whipping the clothes of Ye Chen and Bai Yijun, causing them to snap loudly. Standing in the open space, the two looked up silently at the hurricane of white light. The fine sand and stone beneath their feet were swept backward by the storm, rolling far away.

“I wonder what realm Emperor Yu, who created the Nine Cauldrons of Kyushu, had reached. Ancient records from the clan state that he was once a peer comparable to the Masters of the Ten Halls, but alas, he perished too early.” Ye Chen’s eyes flickered slightly. Judging by the mere momentum of this refining process, he could tell that the Nine Cauldrons of Kyushu were definitely not mere Peak Dao Artifacts. While perhaps not reaching the level of Void Heaven Artifacts, they were undoubtedly supreme treasures!

Under their watch, an energy formation array slowly materialized upon the white light hurricane. The sky seemed filled with countless stars, with strands of flowing light darting between each star, weaving together into an array that eventually coalesced into the illusory image of a magnificent landscape painting.

Ye Chen watched this magnificent scene, his eyes bright with wonder. When the majestic landscape projection finally faded, the white light hurricane receded and vanished completely.

Ye Chen looked down, finding only a small Nine Cauldron, the size of a wine cup, sitting on the ground. It was entirely black, inscribed with various dragon and phoenix exotic beasts, appearing no different from the previous small cauldron.

Ye Chen frowned slightly, inspecting it closely, and immediately discovered several faint lines of text inside the cauldron. The heading read: “The Rain Water Scripture, Upper Volume”!

Beneath these ancient seal characters were lines of smaller text, difficult to decipher, amounting to roughly a thousand characters in total. Ye Chen focused his gaze and read through them, realizing it was a piece of poetry written with powerful, vigorous strokes—the sharpness of the characters was like blades, carrying an overwhelming sense of heroic spirit and majesty.

Ye Chen pondered for a moment and immediately connected his consciousness with the intelligent system of the small Nine Cauldron, asking, “Is this The Rain Water Scripture the secret manual Emperor Yu cultivated back then?”

“Yes,” the intelligent spirit system of the small Nine Cauldron replied, its voice softening slightly. “In those days, my master used The Rain Water Scripture to dominate the Dark Great World, slaying nine thousand Divine Emperor powerhouses, causing blood rain to fall across the skies, before he himself was tragically besieged and perished from exhaustion!”

Ye Chen’s eyes flashed, and he nodded slightly. “I wonder if the Nine Cauldron Fragments can now refine Dao Artifact-grade weapons?”

“They can only refine Mid-grade Dao Artifacts,” the intelligent spirit system provided a precise answer.

Ye Chen’s eyes lit up. He hadn't expected that gathering three Nine Cauldrons Fragments would grant the ability to refine Mid-grade Dao Artifacts. While Mid-grade Dao Artifacts were of limited use to him now, he couldn't imagine the power unleashed if he managed to obtain all nine fragments!

Ye Chen temporarily severed communication with the intelligent spirit system and opened his rune space, retrieving the rune spacecraft. The old green-robed man immediately let out an excited howl upon seeing the sky outside, rushing out of the spacecraft and pointing toward the heavens, chattering incoherently with excitement.

Ye Chen remained aloof, paying no mind to him. With a sweep of his palm, he gathered the rune spacecraft, along with the old green-robed man, and tossed them into the small Nine Cauldron. Then, he threw all the scattered wreckage and armor fragments inside. He placed the higher-grade and peak Dao Artifact fragments into his rune space, tossing everything else indiscriminately into the cauldron.

“Refine.”

Ye Chen activated the small Nine Cauldron.

Hum~

The body of the small cauldron trembled slightly. After a moment, a white light flashed from its opening, and a mustard-seed-sized spacecraft drifted out. It rapidly grew larger until it attained a span of a thousand zhang, hovering suspended in the air above the clearing. (To be continued)