The blade’s shadow cut through the darkness with a lingering trail, stirring ripples across the void...

In the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark far away, Bai Yijun watched Ye Chen, who seemed suddenly possessed. Seeing him stand bathed in a sky full of golden light, on the verge of annihilation, her heart leaped into her throat. She immediately disregarded everything, her body flickering, preparing to teleport out and block that terrifying strike for Ye Chen with her own form.

Just then, Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes. His eyelids lifted very slowly, yet incredibly fast, because the golden light moved with the speed of light itself. But as his eyelids parted, the golden light had not yet descended.

He looked up, gazing at the sky.

Golden radiance flooded his vision.

A fierce gale howled relentlessly.

A deep breath.

Slowly, he raised a hand.

The deathly still, blood-red battle blade suddenly erupted with a scarlet glow that illuminated the entire world, waves of blood-colored shadows radiating outward, enveloping his own blood-red pupils.

Ye Chen's white hair streamed backward against the wind.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes; within the pitch-black, icy depths of his pupils, another blade shadow flickered.

The blade in his hand moved.

The blood-red battle blade rose slowly, trailing countless phantom images. A fiercely sharp blade aura materialized between heaven and earth, shattering the surrounding void, and cleaved down towards the blood-red eyeball.

Thwack!

This strike possessed world-shattering power, unlike anything seen before, as if it had been slashed from another dimension. It instantly pulverized the numerous golden divine lights before him. The blood-red blade light surged like an ocean wave, rushing directly toward the blood-red eyeball.

"What!!" The blood-red eyeball was struck with horror. Staring at the fierce blade aura surging towards it, even before it made contact, it felt as if its entire being was being sliced into countless pieces by the razor-sharp light. However, being immensely experienced in combat, it swiftly regained its senses at this critical juncture. With a flash of blood-light, it bolted away into the distance.

Ffft!

The blade light vanished from the void, reappearing directly in front of the blood-red eyeball, as if it had been there all along. The eyeball was filled with astonishment, but before it could react, the blade light sliced straight through its center.

The gentle breeze seemed to halt.

The previously chaotic dark clouds appeared to hold their breath.

Pop!

The blood-red eyeball abruptly burst open, splitting into two from the center. Blood gushed out like a splendid, unhurriedly blooming lotus.

The profound calm in Ye Chen's eyes slowly receded. He seemed to suddenly snap back to awareness, looking at the exploding blood-red eyeball in the distance, his pupils contracting, his expression filled with shock.

"Wh-what happened...?" Ye Chen looked down at the blood-red battle blade in his hand, his expression somewhat dazed. Then, a thought struck him, and he quickly turned his gaze to the mysterious runes etched onto the blade. He saw that these carved runes had now completely vanished.

Ye Chen’s gaze flickered thoughtfully. He reached out and snatched the two halves of the blood-red eyeball, turning back to face the white-robed youth, marveling, "Senior is truly formidable. Merely by etching one rune, you helped me slay this blood-red eyeball. If you had executed it yourself, I fear the owner of this eyeball would have been defeated by you."

The white-robed youth smiled faintly. "This is no ordinary rune. It is named Shattering Blade (Pò Miè Dāo). It possesses the power to destroy all things and is a supreme secret scripture passed down from the Ancient Realm."

Ye Chen froze for a moment, then his heart tightened with hidden awe. He hadn't expected this mysterious rune to be the Shattering Blade. Judging by its power, it might even contend with the Headless Corpse. Such a priceless text would surely not be recorded in the Remote Ancient World; it could only be treasured in that mysterious Ancient Realm.

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior," Ye Chen said, clasping his hands in salute.

The white-robed youth chuckled, stood up, and said, "Bring your girlfriend and follow me. I will take you somewhere."

"Where?"

"A place with good wine and meat, beautiful scenery—a remarkable place unmatched anywhere else in the world..."

Ye Chen returned to the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark with the blood-red eyeball, placing the halves in the main hall. He then took Bai Yijun's small hand and said, "This person wants to take us somewhere. I sense no ill will; let's disembark and walk with him."

"Mhm," Bai Yijun smiled sweetly and nodded gently.

The two descended from the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark. Ye Chen made a grab, and the Ark was instantly stored within his rune space. He then led Bai Yijun toward the white-robed youth.

The white-robed youth glanced at Bai Yijun with interest, nodded slightly, and remarked, "Not bad. It seems you two are back on the right track."

"Hm?" Ye Chen and Bai Yijun both started in surprise.

The white-robed youth laughed heartily and turned around. "Follow me." As he spoke, a mysterious energy enveloped the pair, sweeping them toward the distance.

Ye Chen and Bai Yijun offered no resistance, flying along behind the white-robed youth, enveloped by the energy. Ye Chen soon realized that although the youth's movements were casual and naturally elegant, every step he took traversed a distance of a light-year. The surrounding scenery shifted with incredible speed, yet it caused absolutely no sensation of centrifugal force or gravitational tearing that usually accompanies such velocity.

Before long, the white-robed youth arrived in a patch of pitch-black starry sky. Ye Chen recognized this place; it was a desolate, uninhabited region on the eastern edge of the Remote Ancient World. There were no stellar fragments or living creatures here, and it was often plagued by gravity storms, electromagnetic storms, and magnetic pole shifts.

This region was always shunned, yet now the white-robed youth stood here, his expression placid. He reached out his hand and seemed to tear open the void before him like ripping cloth, pulling forth a swirling black hole. He chuckled lightly, "Enter." He stepped in first.

Ye Chen held Bai Yijun's small hand, and the two stepped in together. Behind them, the black vortex slowly closed, and brilliant light illuminated what lay ahead.

Ye Chen stared, slightly stunned.

It was a beautiful peach garden, brimming with spring vitality. A hundred flowers bloomed riotously, and the peach branches were graceful, like delicate women, making one loath to leave.

The white-robed youth led the way. Ye Chen and the young woman followed him down a small flagstone path, only for the scenery to shift again. The ground was covered in lush green grass emitting a light, ethereal medicinal fragrance that made every hair on their bodies vibrate with comfortable joy. Behind this field of herbs stood a small thatched cottage with a wooden pavilion in the center.

Seeing this simple, ancient dwelling, Ye Chen felt a peculiar sensation, as if the killing intent within his heart was receding like the tide, replaced by a sense of peace and harmony.

"How is this place?" The white-robed youth turned and sat gracefully atop the wooden pavilion, observing Ye Chen with interest.

Ye Chen smiled faintly. "It is very good."

"Oh? This is just a small thatched hut, a little peach garden. What's so good about it?" the white-robed youth asked with a smile.

Ye Chen replied with a gentle smile, "Although it’s just a small hut, it is very sturdy. Although it's a small peach garden, the flowers bloom profusely. In the outside world, there are no small peach gardens with flowers blooming this vigorously, nor huts this sturdy. Those are just palace structures built up with rare metals and massive human resources, and they are incredibly fragile."

"Nonsense," the white-robed youth scoffed. "How could a simple thatched hut be sturdier than a palace structure?"

Ye Chen smiled. "The simple thatched hut is sturdy in its simplicity, just as a palace is sturdy in its grandeur."

The white-robed youth laughed, genuinely happy.

"Come, where is that little eyeball? I'll brew you a cup of wine." the white-robed youth said cheerfully.

Ye Chen flipped his hand, retrieving the blood-red eyeball split in two. He walked to the side of the pavilion and placed it before the white-robed youth. The wound on the eyeball had already scabbed over with dried blood, testament to its terrifying vitality.

"Wait here a moment, I'll be right back," the white-robed youth said, sweeping his wide sleeves, taking the blood-red eyeball with him, before his figure flickered and he drifted away into the distance, leaving the message behind.

Ye Chen watched his retreating back, a light flickering in his eyes. He turned, took Bai Yijun’s hand, and led her into the wooden pavilion. "Sit down and rest for a while."

Bai Yijun shook her head. "I'm not tired. If this person sees us casually sitting here, showing no deference, I wonder if he will be offended. To be safe, perhaps we should remain standing."

Ye Chen smiled and gently stroked her fine hair. "Don't worry. My intuition tells me he won't mind. If we are too respectful, he might actually get angry."

Seeing him say this, Bai Yijun considered it, then nodded. "Alright then." She immediately sat on a chair inside the wooden pavilion. Her bright eyes gazed at the delicate, blooming peach blossoms outside, and she murmured sweetly, "You said earlier that this small hut is sturdier than a palace. Is there a reason for that?"

Ye Chen smiled softly. "The sturdiness of this small hut comes from the place it occupies—it is sheltered from the world, built in a place rarely trod by humans, so nothing damages it, and thus it remains sturdy naturally. No matter how hard a palace is, if it's built in a place with many people, with constant traffic and touching, even the finest things will eventually degrade."

Bai Yijun, intelligent and perceptive, understood immediately. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she sighed softly. "That's well said. The world is in great chaos now; the great empires are mired in conflict. Countless mysterious vicious beasts have crawled out of the very soil that nurtured humanity for countless ages, seeking to devour us. The main battlefield of this world is humanity itself. No weapon causes more devastation than that."

Ye Chen chuckled softly and nodded.

"As long as there are humans, there is war..." Bai Yijun murmured under her breath, a palpable sense of melancholy and regret in her voice. "Desire is buried within us; we advance because of desire, and we are destroyed by desire. Perhaps all of this is fate, and there is no right or wrong..."

Ye Chen remained silent.

At that moment, a soft breeze drifted by. The white-robed youth reappeared, crossing over a small wooden bridge in the distance. He carried several wine gourds, each the size of a water barrel, walking in a carefree manner. He placed them on the wooden table of the pavilion and laughed, "Come, taste my collection. These are all fine wines."

Ye Chen's eyes brightened. He leaned his nose close to a gourd and couldn't help but exclaim, "Indeed, this is excellent wine! The aroma is ten times richer than the finest wine before!"

"Of course!" The white-robed youth laughed heartily, looking immensely proud. Perhaps he had been lonely for too long, or perhaps he lacked a true confidant with whom to share fine wine, but he seemed rather excited. He glanced at Bai Yijun beside him and chuckled, "You should have some too. This will benefit you as well."

Encountering some massive issues today, alas, delayed the update. I was supposed to do three updates, but will only manage one today, I will make up for the debt next time. So depressed, sigh, my apologies to all my brothers, sigh, depressed.