Ye Chen looked at Mo Feng, the familiar lines of his face, the sharp eyes, the indifferent expression—exactly as he remembered. But was he still the Mo Feng of yesteryear?

“Call me Ye Chen,” Ye Chen suddenly smiled. “I prefer the name of this lifetime.”

Mo Feng’s gaze flickered, and he nodded. “You really are still you; not changed at all.”

Ye Chen smiled as he looked at him.

And you? Have you changed?

He didn't ask.

Some things, one knows the answer to without needing to ask.

“You have recovered the identity of the Dark Lord. What about Bailong and the others?” Ye Chen’s gaze swept from Mo Feng to the Goddess of Light, looking at this former little sister.

Now she was the chief of the Gods.

On her was nothing but majesty, purity, and power; not a trace of the fragility she once possessed. Yet, for some unknown reason, he found himself preferring the fragile sister of the past.

Is sometimes being powerful not as good as being vulnerable?

“You should be able to guess who Bailong is,” the Dark Lord suddenly spoke.

“Oh?”

“You have met him before, and you share a deep connection,” the Dark Lord said slowly.

Ye Chen paused, his brow furrowed slightly. After a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud. “You couldn't possibly mean that he is my Heavenly Dao teacher, could you?”

The Dark Lord nodded, speaking as if cherishing every word. “Besides the Heavenly Dao, who else possesses such immense power as to lure away three of the Ten Great Hall Masters from the Ancient World?”

Ye Chen touched his nose.

Few could accomplish such a feat.

It was just that he hadn't expected Bailong to be a reincarnation of the Heavenly Dao. According to the memories of all the powerhouses on the Ancient Continent, the Heavenly Dao should have died; he hadn't expected a reincarnation. Furthermore, when Bailong saw the Heavenly Dao Divine Ark, he showed no sign of recognition—perhaps the memories were sealed too deeply during the reincarnation.

Ye Chen sighed softly. “Mo Feng, there was something I once told you. I wonder if you still remember it.”

The Dark Lord frowned. “What was it?”

Ye Chen glanced at the Goddess of Light and the others, a hint of sorrow in his eyes, and whispered, “Regarding the matter of the Ancient World Peak and the secret of Earth, I once made you swear never to reveal it.”

Upon hearing of the Ancient World Peak and the secret of Earth, the gazes of the Dark Heavenly God and the Goddess of Light sharpened. These two matters had always been absolute secrets, perhaps known only to the Ancient War Venerable and the Ancient Gods. They were astonished that Ye Chen had actually confided in Mo Feng.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward the Dark Heavenly God.

The Dark Heavenly God slightly shook his head, looking at his son with suspicion. Had the emotions of this life changed him, causing him to conceal things even from his father? Or had there been some error upon his return, causing damage to his memory?

“I don’t remember you saying that. Stop trying to sow discord; such tricks are useless,” the Dark Lord said coldly.

Ye Chen sighed sadly. “I should have known long ago that when a person changes, they forget many past events—both the happy and the sorrowful. I just didn't expect you to forget so completely. I don't know if it’s genuine forgetting or just pretending. Regardless, I will tell you again, but you must promise me never to reveal it!”

The Dark Lord’s eyes flashed. “Why would you tell me? The current situation is clear: we are adversaries, enemies. If you do this, are you waiting until the matter concludes, for them to capture me and force the information out? You know I never trust oaths. If you tell me, I will certainly tell them.”

Ye Chen said with distress, “When a person gains too much power, they always desire companions. Even though you have changed, in my heart, you are still my companion. This point will never change!”

The Dark Lord fell silent.

The Dark Heavenly God and the Goddess of Light exchanged a look before the former slowly said, “Go ahead. Listen to what he has to say. He intends to tell only you this secret; it seems he wants to support you. Having a friend like that is your fortune.”

The Dark Lord nodded. “Understood, Father.”

With that, he walked before Ye Chen.

Ye Chen looked at him and transmitted his voice: “I said long ago that a secret is hidden within the Ancient World Peak, a secret concerning the Ancient Gods and the Ancient War Venerable, which is…”

Whoosh!

He suddenly struck, a sharp blade-qi, like an open hand, sweeping the Dark Lord toward him. All his power was instantly sealed, trapped within his body.

This sudden turn of events was completely unexpected by the Dark Heavenly God and the others. They had not tried to probe the previous transmission because they knew Ye Chen would detect any attempt to eavesdrop using their own senses. But seeing the solemn and absorbed state of the Dark Lord during the transmission, they had held their breath, completely unprepared for this shift.

The Dark Lord was even more unprepared.

He looked at Ye Chen with shock. “You—”

Ye Chen sighed softly, grasping him. “We have been friends for many years; you should know my temperament. Now that the Dark Heavenly God and the Goddess of Light, and the Earthly Heavenly God are all assembled, the combined strength of the Nine Heavenly Gods could probably only be matched by the Ancient God and the Ancient War Venerable. If they wanted to capture me, it would be easy. I have no choice but to take you as leverage.”

The Dark Lord stood frozen on the spot.

The Goddess of Light looked at Ye Chen, her beautiful face shifting slightly, tinged with anger. “How could you do this? After I trusted you so much! Just now, the Dark Heavenly God and the Earthly Heavenly God had already anticipated such a situation and wanted to empower the Dark Lord, but I vouched for him. I was mistaken about your character!”

Ye Chen smiled. “Everyone makes mistakes in judgment.”

In the Goddess of Light’s eyes, his smile was brimming with shamelessness and perfidy.

“Ye Chen, I never thought you would be someone who betrays friends,” the Dark Lord raged. “I must have been blind before to have followed you.”

Ye Chen tightened his grip on his throat and smiled meaningfully. “Your eyes were indeed blind, and your dog’s brain isn't very sharp either. You seem to have forgotten that I never have friends. The reason I reached this point is precisely because I have never had friends. You have friends, and that is why you are in my hands now. This is how friends are used.”

The Dark Lord’s face turned ashen, but he was speechless.

Sometimes, friends are truly a thousand, even ten thousand times more terrifying than enemies!

“My dear little sister,” Ye Chen said with a smile on his face, though a deep sorrow filled his eyes, “I must resort to taking a hostage to escape unscathed in front of you. You truly are my good sister.”

The Goddess of Light and the Earthly Heavenly God looked to the Dark Heavenly God.

Since the Dark Lord was being held hostage, the decision naturally fell to the Dark Heavenly God.

The Dark Heavenly God looked at Ye Chen quietly, his fists clenching until they cracked, veins bulging like venomous snakes across his face. A slow smile spread across his features. “Do it…”

As he spoke those three words, his body suddenly flashed, taking a step forward, his entire being erupting with surging energy.

Thud!

The sound of snapping broke the tension. Ye Chen casually twisted the Dark Lord’s arm, tearing it off, and it was instantly shredded into its most fundamental energy by countless streaks of blade-light, leaving no residue behind.

Cold sweat beaded on the Dark Lord’s forehead. Though at his level of cultivation, fear of pain was long gone, Ye Chen had intentionally amplified his pain receptors by billions of times. The agony of his arm being ripped away was equivalent to tens of thousands of times the pain of a woman in childbirth!

This was not something ordinary nerves or resolve could withstand.

Ye Chen smiled blandly at the Dark Heavenly God, slowly grasping the Dark Lord’s other arm and gently increasing the pressure. The sickening sound of bones fracturing echoed—like the shrill laughter of a demon, grinding against the nerves of the Dark Heavenly God.

His chest heaved with ragged breaths, his fists clenching so hard they seemed on the verge of crushing the air itself.

“See? This is kinship, how magnificent it is, to be able to disregard your life,” Ye Chen whispered with a smile into the Dark Lord’s ear. “You should also know how significant I am to them. Only when the Nine Gods are united and their divine imprints are fully merged into one body can they contend with me. And I am the best weapon—the only weapon capable of slaying the Ancient God and the Ancient War Venerable.”

The Dark Lord was so tormented he was drenched in cold sweat. He naturally understood the stakes involved.

“A person who strives for greatness can always let go of romance and kinship. Such a person will succeed in the end, but they will be lonely, for they have no one to share their joy with,” Ye Chen said, smiling at the Dark Heavenly God, unsure if he was provoking him into action or threatening him to remain still.

The Dark Heavenly God stared at Mo Feng’s face. This was his only son, the one he cherished most. He had invested countless efforts to cultivate Mo Feng to this extent. Yet, if he took even one step forward, all that effort would be lost, never to be regained.

He knew that if Ye Chen intended to kill someone, that person would never have a chance to be resurrected.

“Forget it. Let him go,” the Goddess of Light sighed, her gaze soft and warm as she looked at Ye Chen. “Brother, no matter what, you are my brother. Let me call you that one last time. From this moment forward, if I see you again, I will no longer be your sister.”

Ye Chen forced a smile with all his might, his body slowly floating backward. He tore open the spatial link to the Ancient World. Once inside the Ancient World, with the Ancient War Venerable presiding, there was absolutely no way the Nine Heavenly Gods could obtain him.

Including the Dark Heavenly God, the great Heavenly Gods watched as Ye Chen retreated, wishing they could charge forward immediately, but they could only endure.

Just as Ye Chen was about to step into the Ancient World, the Dark Heavenly God suddenly roared, tears streaming down his face, and shouted toward the heavens, “Kill!!!”

His blood seemed to boil and burn like a furious beast. His body flashed, and he charged directly toward Ye Chen. The Five Emperors Shield resembled a spinning Wheel of Wind and Fire, tearing the surrounding space into countless fragments.

Ye Chen frowned slightly, his hand successively snapping the Dark Lord’s [limbs]. The crisp, firecracker-like sounds cut like knives against the Dark Heavenly God's nerves, yet they did not halt his charge.

Ye Chen’s expression changed slightly. He pushed his palm forward, tossing Mo Feng away, and quickly plunged into the Ancient World.