The Dark God stared down at Ye Chen and sneered, "In the River of Time, you are in a state of Phasing. You cannot tear open the void, nor can you return to the Ancient World. I will keep my eyes on you ceaselessly, ensuring you and the Ancient War Venerable never have a chance to reunite!"

Ye Chen gave a slight smile. "You truly have the leisure. Don't you find this a waste of time?"

"Of course I'm not afraid," the Dark God slowly approached Ye Chen. "I have enough time to waste. In a few hundred thousand years, the Ancient God should pay the price, and the Dark World's plan to invade the Ancient World will commence. By then, without you by his side, the Ancient War Venerable will absolutely be unable to suppress the Ancient God in a direct confrontation. By the time they are both severely wounded, it will be useless for you to rush back."

Ye Chen's eyes flickered, his fist subtly tightening, yet his expression remained detached. "Don't forget, my Sword Spirit is still in the Ancient War Venerable's hands. Relying on the unique connection between myself and the Sword Spirit, even temporal reversal cannot block it. I can report my situation to the War Venerable at any moment, letting him come to the rescue."

The Dark God stared at him, then suddenly laughed. "Don't forget, the age we were born is not much shorter than yours. Having reached our level, candidness is the best approach. Any scheme will only harm oneself. Earlier, when you held my son hostage, I ultimately held back because I suddenly deduced that there might have already been an understanding between you two—that he intentionally returned the favor. Don't forget how long my son has been with me; do you think I wouldn't know his character? So, when you speak of communication with the Sword Spirit, don't assume outsiders are ignorant. In the reversal of time and space, such communication is fundamentally impossible. Otherwise, the Ancient War Venerable should have appeared long ago."

Ye Chen’s expression darkened.

The Earth God sighed. "Give up. Come with us. Once the Nine Gods merge into one, our combined strength will definitely rival the Ancient War Venerable. If you become our blade, your title as Sword Emperor will certainly not be diminished. After we annihilate the Ancient God and the War Venerable, we are even willing to carve out one-third of the entire territory for you. You know, even though it's only one-third, the area is as vast as the Ghost Realm, God Realm, Chaos Realm, and Xuan Realm combined."

This was undoubtedly a tempting proposition.

"You are the one who should give up," Ye Chen looked at him coldly. "In this heaven and earth, only I pose a threat to you. Once they are dealt with, it will be my end."

The Wind God looked at Ye Chen and sighed softly. "Your words are fine, but no matter how much you struggle, in the end, even by force, we will make you our weapon. It's only a matter of time; we are not in a hurry."

Ye Chen snorted, glancing at the few of them. His figure flashed, and he returned to the skies above Earth. With another movement, he entered the River of Time, returning to the eve of the apocalypse.

The Dark God and the others followed him closely, like shadows.

Ye Chen paid them no mind. In this temporal setting of the "past," they dared not make a move, or the backlash would be too costly. Now that the Ancient God was on the verge of resurrection, they would never risk severe injury to themselves.

Ye Chen was like a temporal passerby, suspended above the city. His gaze swept across the streets, the hurrying pedestrians, the noisy traffic, the neon lights, the stark white crosswalks, and the tall, magnificent buildings.

He loved life; he loved everything here.

He saw his high-school-aged self, sitting at his desk, gazing blankly out the window—that was the most innocent period. Naturally sensitive since childhood, he preferred quiet and thinking things over.

When his parents' car accident happened, his grades weren't exceptional, just slightly above average in the class. When he later wished to study diligently again, the financial conditions were gone—a great regret in his heart.

In his middle school class, there was a petite girl wearing the dark blue uniform. Her slender, curved black eyebrows were like meticulously carved lines—naturally, this was Ye Zhu.

The Light God, trailing behind Ye Chen, noticed the girl, his gaze flickering slightly as he slowly lowered his head.

Ye Chen focused for a moment, then shook his head, turning to fly out beyond the atmosphere, as if the Dark God and the others beside him did not exist. He soared alone in the vast expanse of the starry sky.

Since the Dark God and the others posed no threat to him, he might as well treat them as air.

The Dark God and the others clung to him like shadows, not daring to relax for a moment.

Ye Chen quickly flew out of the Milky Way. The entire cosmos seemed limitless, without end. He flew continuously, not knowing where he was going himself.

When a person enters a larger space, they are easily lost.

Ye Chen soon stopped. After a moment of deep thought, he arrived on a desolate planet in the starry void. The planet was covered in red vegetation, resembling a fiery world. The soil was desert-like sand, yet signs of life existed—beasts resembling scorpions, entirely crimson, perhaps ten to fifteen feet tall, darted around in marshy areas.

Ye Chen glanced at them and proceeded alone to a mountain peak, sitting down. Like in meditation, he felt the changes within his body. He had recently acquired the Dark Flame, and his control was not yet flexible enough. He began to evolve it within his body, splitting the black flames into countless small fireballs, transforming the internal world into a vast universe through the illusion of "a world within an inch."

At his level of cultivation, a single cell could evolve into a universe.

The black flames were differentiated within him, then shaped into planets, permeating his entire body, each operating like a galaxy. There seemed to be a strange force field between them, constantly transforming. Each flame would sometimes become sharp as a needle, other times transform into a spiked ball, utterly unpredictable. Sometimes they took the form of various ferocious beasts, changing with perfect fluidity.

Ye Chen slowly grew accustomed to this internal refinement.

The Dark God and the others stood beside Ye Chen, frowning slightly. They could tell Ye Chen was cultivating, which made them feel somewhat frustrated.

After exchanging glances, they all calmed down.

They knew that even if Ye Chen cultivated, he only had a few hundred thousand years. Once the Ancient God emerged, the real war would begin. For someone at his level, a few hundred thousand years was but the blink of an eye; they had infinite time and cared little for this delay.

What could he cultivate in a few hundred thousand years? The Dark God sneered internally.

Thus, time slowly flowed by. Ye Chen and the Dark God and his entourage stood on that peak for ten thousand years!

The climate on the peak changed, the earth cracked, continents fractured into drifting plates, and countless creatures perished in earthquakes and volcanic disasters—none of this affected them.

They had witnessed such signs of natural evolution far too often; they were already accustomed to it. Moreover, a true powerhouse faces everything with composure; even if they had never seen such events, they would certainly not be astonished.

"Black Flame, though my control over you has improved significantly over these ten thousand years, why can you still not integrate into the Sword Emperor? Otherwise, with your extreme heat, tempering my body would surely allow me to ascend to greater heights."

Ye Chen frowned, feeling a sense of heaviness in his heart. Within his body, the black flame seemed sentient, flickering and swaying.

Sensing the changes within, Ye Chen sighed inwardly. Suddenly, his heart stirred, and he recalled something vital. His eyes immediately shone with sharp light.

Whoosh!

His figure flashed, and he darted into the River of Time, arriving in the Ancient World.

The Dark God and the others, who had been watching constantly, had not relaxed even after ten millennia. Seeing Ye Chen suddenly depart, they immediately followed without a word.

Arriving in the Ancient World, Ye Chen estimated the time point to be about ten thousand years in the "past"—a time when Earth was likely in its early Shang Dynasty period.

Although they had returned to the Ancient World, he himself was in the Phasing state. Except for the Dark God and his companions who had traversed time with him, everyone else could not see them. They were like passengers on a time vehicle.

The Dark God and the others watched him calmly, unconcerned that Ye Chen would drop his Phasing state and summon the Ancient War Venerable. For them, the moment Ye Chen deactivated his Phasing, his aura would alter the fundamental operations of the Ancient World, triggering intense backlash punishment.

Ye Chen's purpose for coming to the Ancient World was not to lift the Phasing state. His figure flickered, and he entered the Ice and Snow Empire of the Ancient World.

"The Ice and Snow Empire contains 298 civilizations, of which the strongest 32 boast leaders at the peak of the Divine Emperor realm," Ye Chen recalled the data of the Ancient World. His figure flashed, and he arrived at one of these 32 civilizations—the Frost Civilization!

The headquarters of the Frost Civilization was a magnificent, flourishing city, housing the strongest members of the civilization. At the center stood a crystalline spire engraved with secret runes—the highest military institution for nurturing talent within the civilization. Any newborn detected with exceptionally high talent would be sent here for training.

"Civilization power can coalesce into the Light of Civilization. Currently, I only possess less than 100 manifestations of civilization. The Light of Civilization I can unleash currently has the strength equivalent to the Heaven-Defying Realm. I wonder what marvelous changes will occur when I master the civilization talents of all 3000 civilizations."

Dazzling light flashed in Ye Chen's eyes. His figure flickered, and his body passed directly through the crystalline spire. The runes on this spire were designed to defend against all external probes, yet now he passed through effortlessly, like a soul.

The Dark God and his group frowned slightly, following closely behind Ye Chen.

The crystalline spire had 99 levels. Each level housed individuals with varying degrees of talent, all around five or six years old, undergoing training in the vast, empty crystal training rooms. Ye Chen went directly to the top floor.

The structure here was divided into training rooms, leisure rooms, and dormitories. The training rooms were equipped with various apparatus: extreme gravity chambers, maximal-tension rings, simulated combat fighters, etc. The leisure rooms were for recreation, containing virtual shops and massage parlors. The dormitories were for sleeping.

Every member of the Frost Clan, upon birth, was brought here and submerged in a potion that caused no side effects. They were fed highly nutritious milk for eight hours a day. By age three, they possessed considerable strength. Formal training began at age six and continued until they reached 100, at which point they were permitted to leave. Among the Frost Clan, 100 years marked adulthood.