The Ancient World. The sky was a hazy grey, dominated by an eerie, brilliant blood moon hanging like a sickle in the night, an exquisite ornament set against the dark tapestry of the heavens.

In the White Lotus Divine Land, nine colossal cities squatted upon the earth like immense beasts, their forms shrouded in an uncanny luminescence beneath the dim, cold night. Once bustling metropolises, though now deep into the night, were utterly silent.

A frigid, lonely wind swept down the streets, causing the door leaves to creak with a sound that set the teeth on edge. The entirety of Boshui City was plunged into an inky blackness, devoid of light.

A mist-like dust hung over the city, and under the lurid, bloody glow of the moon, one could discern that more than half of the formidable city walls at the main gate had collapsed. Whoosh!

Whoosh! Two sharp sounds of tearing air sliced from a distance, landing on the city streets.

The desolate, chilling wind howled around them, as if countless specters were lurking in the darkness. Ye Chen frowned, turning his head to look at Bai Yijun beside him.

They spoke almost simultaneously: “Danger ahead, stay alert.” Both froze for a moment after speaking, then shared a faint smile. Ye Chen took her hand and slowly walked down the street.

Sensing the overwhelming miasma of death permeating the entire city, it required no sight to know that this once-flourishing metropolis had succumbed to the ages, transforming into a desolate ruin. “There seems to be something in the air, obstructing divine sense,” Ye Chen murmured softly.

“I feel it too. It seems like mist, yet also like the air itself,” Bai Yijun frowned, gazing down the silent streets.

“I wonder what catastrophic changes have occurred here over ten thousand years.” For ordinary Divine Emperor experts, ten millennia was but the blink of an eye. Even refining a single Divine Artifact or fully comprehending one secret manual required thousands of years of dedication.

In this short span, the once vibrant White Lotus Divine Land seemed to have been utterly transformed. “Hm?” Ye Chen suddenly halted.

“What was that sound?” Bai Yijun’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. She listened intently, then suddenly turned toward the mouth of an alley leading into a building.

A fleeting black shadow darted past the pitch-dark corner, resembling nothing more than a ghost. Ye Chen and Bai Yijun vanished in a flash, instantly closing the distance.

Whoof! A strong, bright flame materialized in Ye Chen’s palm, illuminating the area with piercing clarity.

The dark, silent alley before them was not deep; it ended at a sealed wall, a dead end. At their feet lay a pool of viscous, greenish slime, emitting a foul stench.

“What is this substance?” Bai Yijun wrinkled her nose. “Judging by its form, it’s still fluid, and it has warmth.

It must have been left recently,” Ye Chen stared at the green goo. Since tempering his physical body in the Divine Fire, his senses had become acutely attuned to temperature.

Even without touching it, he could tell the viscous green liquid was warm. While the two were still murmuring, a sudden gust of strong wind swept up from behind them.

Ye Chen’s eyebrows shot up. He spun around and delivered a precise kick to the black shadow’s chest, sending it flying backward and tumbling onto the ground.

Under the illumination of the blood-red moonlight, Ye Chen and Bai Yijun focused their gaze. Lying on the ground was a person, yet this “person” possessed a grotesque appearance.

Hair hung loose, and the pupils were filled with an eerie crimson glow. Fingernails were sharp and elongated, and patches of skin, like dried lime, flaked off the body, revealing festering black scars underneath.

Most terrifyingly, the creature’s teeth seemed to have tripled in number, stretching its mouth to the point of bursting. Its lips were torn back to its ears, exposing rows of sharp, wolf-like fangs.

Drops of the thick, green slime oozed from its mouth, dripping down its clothes, which were already smeared with bright red blood mixed with the stench of intestines and excrement—intolerably foul. “A corpse!” Ye Chen frowned.

The creature before him reeked intensely of death; its cells were rigid, utterly devoid of life force. Shhh-shhh~~ Just then, from the desolate houses surrounding them, a chill wind arose, and a chorus of hoarse roars slowly converged.

Numerous black shadows began to emerge from the alleys, the doorways, and the darkest corners. The empty, vast street was suddenly filled with countless animated corpses.

Every single one stood baring its teeth and claws, staring fixedly at Ye Chen and Bai Yijun. These corpses, male and female alike, had mutated horribly for unknown reasons, resembling a pack of bloodthirsty monsters.

Ye Chen tightly gripped Bai Yijun’s hand and felt a scattering of fine goosebumps rise on her skin. He knew that anyone witnessing such a bizarre and hideous scene would feel their scalp tingle.

However, he had seen far too much. “Something definitive happened here,” Ye Chen watched the approaching corpses, noting the unnatural red light in their pupils, their savage fangs, and their contorted faces.

His heart sank slightly. With a sweep of his hand, the dormant flames within his body roared out like boiling river water, erupting fiercely and spreading outward from their center.

Boom~~ The intense blaze seemed capable of incinerating all worldly filth. The multitude of corpses pressing close to them were instantly obliterated into fine ash, leaving not a trace behind.

Even the surrounding houses and streets were instantly transformed into a scorched, black pit. “Go.” Ye Chen pulled Bai Yijun as they soared into the sky.

Clouds brushed past them as they ascended, bringing the entirety of Boshui City into view. This once prosperous city was now dark and silent, punctuated by faint, guttural growls echoing from below.

“How could this happen? What on earth happened here?” Bai Yijun could hardly believe what she was seeing; she had never encountered anything so utterly bizarre.

“They might have been infected by some kind of virus,” Ye Chen murmured, his brow furrowed. “The former Earth was destroyed under a massive viral storm.

Humanity poured all its effort into researching cures for cancer, even developing a gene that could evolve the human body, making it stronger and increasing vitality. The combined efforts of the world’s elite scientists ultimately lost control, turning it into a catastrophe.” Bai Yijun paused, then fell silent.

It was hard to determine if this situation was cause for elation or sorrow. Joy, in the sense that humanity could create something so intricate, capable of improving the body and prolonging life—an undeniable triumph for the scientific community.

Sorrow, because this very creation ultimately annihilated the human race’s home. “How could something so critically important become improperly managed?” Bai Yijun immediately focused on the crux of the issue.

Ye Chen nodded. “Precisely.

Logically, such a vital breakthrough would have been kept under the strictest quarantine. However, if my memory serves me correctly, agents from the Dark Great World must have infiltrated the area and deliberately released the successful scientific product.

It then spread rapidly through the air, mutating from something safe into an irreversible plague.” Bai Yijun gently squeezed his hand. “When you have time, we will go to the Dark Great World together!” Her voice was laced with glacial coldness.

Ye Chen felt a warmth spread through him and nodded slightly. He then swiftly guided her toward the spatial conduit at the city center.

Along the way, they saw countless Grav-vehicles scattered haphazardly in the streets, having run out of power and tumbled from the levitation paths to crash onto building rooftops. Traffic signals at complex intersections were dark, with vehicles smashed into ruin against each other.

Splashes of blood, like spilled ink, stained the walls and roadways everywhere. Ye Chen couldn't help but frown.

This scene suggested a sudden, overwhelming catastrophe had struck with blinding speed, obliterating the lives of citizens still engaged in their daily routines. How many lives had this single city contained?

Ye Chen didn't need to calculate to know that the total population of the entire White Lotus Divine Land surely exceeded the combined population of the old Earth! “I hope this is only localized to this area…” Ye Chen and Bai Yijun descended, landing on the open ground near the spatial connection point.

This area was littered with hulks of spaceships that had crashed down from above. Not far off, the City Lord’s Mansion had been impaled by a runaway vessel, leaving only a massive stern sticking out.

It was nothing but ruins. Scattered steel parts and metal sheeting covered the ground.

After ten millennia, those who died in the initial disaster were long gone, their very remains weathered to dust. The blood stains they saw on the streets were likely left by later intruders.

Within the shadowy wreckage of the surrounding spacecraft, it seemed as if a pair of cold eyes were fixed upon the retreating figures of Ye Chen and Bai Yijun. The cold wind whined mournfully.

Dust and the biting wind swirled up into the air. Ye Chen led Bai Yijun toward the spatial wormhole, when suddenly, a black shadow, fierce as a leaping tiger, burst forth from a broken ship behind them, lunging to attack.

A flash of cold lightning sparked in Ye Chen’s eyes. He spun back and lashed out with his heel, connecting squarely with the creature’s chest, sending it recoiling back faster than it had attacked.

Ye Chen didn't spare it a second glance. He kept hold of Bai Yijun’s hand, and they continued straight toward the wormhole, quickly reaching its entrance.

Ye Chen inspected it, then shook his head. “This one is damaged.

Both the energy and repair systems are offline. It’s depleted of power, and something must have happened inside the wormhole itself—the whole thing is destroyed.” Bai Yijun looked up at the black night sky.

“If we try to fly directly, who knows how many monsters we’ll encounter on the way? The avian monstrosities across the entire Ancient World are countless.

If even humans were infected by the virus, imagine what they’ve become…” “There’s no choice but this way,” Ye Chen sighed lightly. With a casual gesture, he summoned the Heavenly Dao Divine Boat from his independent universe.

Since achieving the rank of Divine Emperor, he kept virtually all his possessions stored within that private cosmos, which offered far greater security than a spatial pouch. After they boarded the ship, Ye Chen instructed Xiao Zhongsheng to initiate departure.

The Heavenly Dao Divine Boat’s thrusters roared, igniting a brilliant purple light that shot outward, causing the entire vessel to vanish in an instant, like a beam of light. “I hope the Ancient World at least hasn't suffered the same fate…” Ye Chen sat on the ship’s sofa, his brow tightly furrowed.

Unbelievable, I wrote this yesterday but forgot to upload it. I had a fever yesterday and managed to finish a chapter while enduring it, only to find I never posted it—I’m going crazy!