"I am not one of those three powerhouses," the youth in white smiled faintly. "I hail from the same world as you, and we even share the same surname."

Ye Chen paused, then asked, "Senior, is your surname Ye?"

"Indeed." The youth in white poured a cup of fine wine and handed it to Ye Chen, chuckling softly, "Come, taste what this brew is made from."

Ye Chen lowered his gaze to the cup. The liquid within was crystal clear, emanating a faint, lingering aroma that was pleasingly fragrant. He inhaled deeply, frowned slightly, and sipped a small amount. The wine dissolved instantly upon touching his tongue, permeating every gene and cell in his body, bringing an ineffable comfort.

When he was still an ordinary person on Earth, drinking wine merely brought a pleasing warmth to the throat. But true fine wine didn't just warm the throat; it made the entire body feel buoyant, as if one were a deity enjoying celestial pleasures with a single cup!

Ye Chen smacked his lips thoughtfully. "This contains extremely pure energy, mixed with chaotic energy, and two other mysterious energies, brewed using a unique method. My skills in discerning wine are lacking, so I cannot pinpoint them."

The youth in white laughed heartily. "It’s right that you can’t discern it, hah... Forget you, even the leaders of the Ten Palaces and Ten Kingdoms in the Ancient World wouldn't be able to figure out the composition of this wine. But then again, with their meager strength, they aren't worthy of drinking what I brew!"

Ye Chen smiled faintly. "Naturally. I thank Senior for this great honor."

The youth in white smiled slightly. "Would you like to know how I brew it?"

Ye Chen eagerly replied, "Yes, of course I would!"

Seeing his expectant expression, the youth in white felt a surge of pride and spoke softly, "The brewing method isn't actually complex. You only need the essence of chaotic energy, the energy of faith, and the energy of the cosmos, mixed with eighteen kinds of the world's rarest spiritual medicines, all aged in the sinews and bones of a Celestial Beast for 36.9 million years."

Ye Chen was shocked, staggered. "Using the sinews and bones of a Celestial Beast as a cellar?"

Had he heard correctly?

The youth in white looked at him oddly. "That’s right. Why?"

"N-nothing, nothing at all," Ye Chen quickly shook his head, a cold sweat breaking out. He knew that the entire Ancient World only possessed nine Celestial Beasts. The greatest ability of a Celestial Beast was time-space traversal, which included not just space, but also time—the ability to travel to the past and the future. In other words, in countless parallel dimensions of time and space, there existed only nine Celestial Beasts!

One could imagine how minuscule the odds were of encountering a Celestial Beast in this specific moment, this fraction of a second, in this particular space!

Yet, such a precious creature was currently being used by this youth in white as a vessel for aging and storing fine wine—it was an utter waste of heavenly resources!

The youth in white's eyes seemed to penetrate everything. He said lightly, "A mere Celestial Beast? It is nothing worth mentioning. It is a blessing accumulated over eight hundred lifetimes that it could serve as my wine cellar; it was lucky to be given such a purpose."

Ye Chen offered a wry smile and nodded. "Senior is truly magnificent, looking down upon the world. I toast you. I shall drink first!" Saying this, he tilted his head back and downed the entire cup. A wave of comfort washed over him, yet a thought surfaced in his mind: The 'Tao Te Ching' states, Heaven and Earth are unkind; they treat the myriad things as straw dogs. The Sages are unkind; they treat the common people as straw dogs. But the truly powerful are unkind; they treat all living beings as straw dogs!

The youth in white glanced at him and smiled gently. "Our meeting is fate. Since we are fated, I shall give you a small gift. You must keep it safe."

Ye Chen pondered for a moment. "This... very well. Since Senior shows such favor, this junior has no choice but to obey."

"Straightforward!" the youth in white laughed. "I like straightforwardness; it spares the tiresome pretense and false modesty—the agonizing display of wanting something but feigning reluctance. It's truly nauseating to watch."

Ye Chen rubbed his nose and chuckled lightly. "Senior is indeed a man of strong character."

The youth in white smiled faintly, then turned his head toward the blood-red eyeball lying suspended in the void nearby, daring not to move, and spoke softly, "This eyeball is a minor tonic. You can pledge it to me; later, I will use it to brew a pot of fine wine for you. What do you think?"

Ye Chen froze, staring at the blood-red eyeball. He looked troubled, pondering for a moment before gritting his teeth. "Since Senior wills it, this junior will risk his life! I will capture it now!" With that, he stood up, preparing to charge toward the blood-red eyeball.

"No rush," the youth in white chuckled softly. "With your current strength, defeating that thing will still be a challenge. I will teach you something fun to see how well you comprehend."

Ye Chen's eyes flickered, and he turned back, surprised. "Something fun?"

The youth in white smiled mysteriously. "First, manifest your combat weapon."

Without hesitation, Ye Chen flipped his palm. The Yan Mysterious Canon activated, and a radiant, exquisite pagoda shimmered into existence in his palm, slowly coalescing into a blood-red greatsword. A swirling, fiery red vortex opened slowly above his head, blasting out a mysterious energy that enveloped Ye Chen, boosting his total power tenfold!

The youth in white looked intrigued. "You actually know the Ancient Corpse Summoning Technique. However, you haven't learned the highest level; this is just the rudimentary stage. You probably can't even summon a fraction of the corpse's body. But never mind, you must hold your weapon tight."

Ancient Corpse Summoning Technique? As confusion bloomed in Ye Chen's mind, he suddenly saw the youth in white tap his finger, a thin white line appearing on the fingertip, rapidly etching a profound rune onto the blood-red greatsword.

Having devoured numerous Civilization Talents, Ye Chen, in his current capacity, knew many secrets of the continent, including symbols from the Runic Civilization and the Epic Civilization. Yet, he realized this profound symbol belonged to neither, nor was it recorded in the ancient Babylonian, Immortal Realm, or Cultivation Civilizations.

Hiss!

The profound golden symbol, carved into the center of the blood-red greatsword, looked startlingly lifelike, emanating a fierce, ancient killing aura that made one tremble.

The youth in white withdrew his hand and chuckled lightly. "There. Go try it out."

Ye Chen stared blankly at the profound symbol on the sword, feeling somewhat bewildered. He clearly hadn't expected the "fun thing" the youth in white mentioned to be just a simple marking.

His eyes flashed. After a moment of thought, he nodded, then stepped toward the blood-red eyeball.

The blood-red eyeball, having heard the youth in white's words, watched Ye Chen approach slowly and couldn't help but sneer, "With your meager strength, you dare challenge me? Are you tired of living?"

The youth in white sipped his wine calmly. "If you can defeat him, you may leave."

The blood-red eyeball paused, then brightened with surprise. "Really? You must keep your word! If I kill this brat, don't come looking for trouble!"

The youth in white couldn't help but laugh. "With me here, would I let you kill someone right under my nose?"

The blood-red eyeball choked, looking somewhat embarrassed. "That’s very true. I was too presumptuous. As long as I defeat him, you let me go—no taking it back."

"You talk too much," the youth in white’s smile slowly faded.

The blood-red eyeball jumped, immediately ceasing its chatter. It focused entirely on Ye Chen, a sinister grin in its eye. "Brat, watch this Venerable One extinguish you in one move!" With that, it blinked rapidly, sending forth a golden beam that tore through the void, traveling at light speed toward Ye Chen. Before it even reached him, the fierce pressure of the wind whipped Ye Chen’s long white hair backward.

An icy, bone-chilling cold radiated from the dazzling golden light before him, enveloping his whole body. Ye Chen’s expression turned cold. A sharp glint flared in his eyes as he swiftly activated Blood God Mode internally, instantly incinerating a trillion points of life force. Raging energy surged through every fiber of his being, every gene and cell.

Every nerve was crammed with power from this explosion of life force. His muscles bulged, his bones creaked loudly, seeming on the verge of shattering.

Ye Chen roared, suddenly twisting his body. The imprints of countless civilizations flashed across his forehead, his entire being suffused with holy and righteous light. A void appeared above his head, within which a dozen or so civilization imprints floated up and down, flashing alternately—each imprint flickering faintly on Ye Chen's brow.

"I said, I shall surpass light, and thus I gained the speed of light..."

Ye Chen chanted softly, his figure suddenly blurring. His speed increased tenfold. Aided by the amplification of Blood God Mode and the positioning techniques of the Blind Heaven martial art, he narrowly dodged the attack at the very last instant.

Ye Chen gripped his greatsword and swung it down violently. However, the instant the sword began its descent, it suddenly stiffened, as if his arm had frozen mid-motion. It seemed a mysterious energy had encased the blood-red greatsword, preventing the strike from landing.

Ye Chen's pupils contracted. He quickly regained control, twisting his body to absorb the downward momentum, preventing his arm from snapping. He stared deeply at the profound rune on the blood-red greatsword, feeling both shocked and suspicious. The entity that had obstructed his attack must have been this mysterious rune.

Could it be that Senior Ye was intentionally messing with him?

Ye Chen shook his head. That was completely unlikely. If the senior intended to toy with him, he certainly wouldn't have invited him to drink his fine wine—that would have been a profound waste.

The youth in white's mysterious smile flashed through his mind, and Ye Chen felt as if he were vaguely touching something profound. He stood rooted to the spot, seemingly stunned.

The blood-red eyeball sneered wantonly. "Daring to be distracted in a fight with this Venerable One? You seek death!" It blinked over a thousand times in rapid succession, unleashing a barrage of golden beams that shredded the void above Ye Chen, churning chaotic flows of energy and elements. These golden lights shot down toward Ye Chen’s head.

At that critical, life-or-death juncture...

In that moment of absolute peril...

Ye Chen’s mind suddenly seemed to empty itself of everything. He forgot the sword in his hand, forgot the killing intent in his heart, forgot his own strength, forgot the surging power burning within him—he had even forgotten himself...

He stood there foolishly, unmoving.

After forgetting everything, his consciousness suddenly became brilliantly clear, like a ray of light piercing the heavens emerging from a dark, confused abyss.

A series of sword shadows slowly swept through this pitch-black world. The posture was simple, yet it possessed an impregnable perfection, so moving it almost brought tears to the eyes! (To be continued)