City of Metal

"Hah!"

In the Universe Boat Core Region, within the City of Metal, the solitary Green-Robed Being suddenly rose to his feet.

His gaze locked onto the Bronze Octahedron before him, his entire frame trembling: "He... this little one, he actually did it!"

"Hahahahaha..."

A hearty laugh echoed through the City of Metal, carrying a note of release.

"How many years has it been! The Three Saints Palace, slumbering through endless cycles, is finally about to re-emerge... Ancestors bless us, the Three Saints Palace... has not been severed by this disciple!" The Green-Robed Being's voice quivered, his excitement barely containable.

He could not observe Shi Yan's inner world, but he had a full view of the Beast God True Form lying quietly within the Book of Three Lives.

The radiance of the True God Heart easily pierced through the gray light.

Though he did not know what Shi Yan had experienced, he understood clearly what this scene signified.

"Born divine and sacred, most have flaws in their state of mind, yet this little one has awakened a Mortal Heart, making him the most suited for the Three Saints Palace's cultivation methods. And he is so young, with excellent comprehension..." The Green-Robed Being gazed at Shi Yan, seated cross-legged with eyes closed in the Book of Three Lives, and spoke softly: "A future great existence, destined to far surpass me, comparable to the most brilliant ancestors in the history of the Three Saints Palace..."

The Green-Robed Being's eyes were filled with admiration and hope.

The massive light sword, terrifying in might, descended with twisted space-time, about to strike.

The Future Self, seeing Shi Yan standing frozen in place, assumed he had given up resistance.

A smug smile crept across the Future Self's face as he muttered to himself: "This battle, I have won!"

"Ancestor!"

"Palace Lord!"

Countless mortals wailed at the sight.

Yet the next second, the Future Self's smile froze on his face.

People across the world stared wide-eyed.

The entire world seemed to fall silent for an instant.

The scene before them was unbelievable.

Shi Yan merely extended his right hand casually and grasped the massive light sword with ease.

Like an adult effortlessly catching a toy swung by a child—relaxed and effortless.

"This I didn't expect. After breaking through in state of mind, my will has also undergone a transformation—Void True God level will..." Shi Yan sensed his own evolution, his expression utterly calm, as if deflecting the Future Self's attack was a trivial matter.

And indeed it was. With the breakthrough in his state of mind, Shi Yan had fully reclaimed his own power, and with the aid of this world's origin, defeating the Future Self was as easy as turning his hand.

The massive light sword trembled in Shi Yan's grip, struggling to break free, but the next moment, the Space-Time Origin power it carried was effortlessly seized by Shi Yan, and the light sword dissolved.

Without the resonance of the world's Space-Time Origin, the strength the Future Self could exert was drastically reduced.

"You..."

The Future Self's face was filled with shock and confusion, as if he wanted to say something, but Shi Yan said coldly: "I have nothing more to say to you, Future Self. Return to the true body at once."

With that, Shi Yan directly manipulated the world's origin and his own power.

This time, it was the complete ten origins, with space-time as the lead, commanding metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, light, and thunder.

A terrifyingly mighty giant millstone formed in the Origin Land, and at its center was the Future Self.

"Sizzle..."

The millstone spun. The Future Self stared fixedly at Shi Yan, but was utterly unable to resist the complete world origin power, and was directly crushed into countless specks of light.

"..."

The countless specks of light from the Future Self's dissolution all returned to the true body.

Deep within Shi Yan's consciousness, the patterns on the Beast God True Form's horns were fully perfected with the Future Self's return.

At the same time, with the Future Self's defeat, the time of this world seemed to fall into complete stasis.

Countless mortals' movements froze, the formations operating across the world halted, and even the world's origin ceased to fluctuate.

"..."

Shi Yan sensed a strange force attempting to shift him out of this world.

"...Time to return."

Shi Yan knew this meant the trial of the Strange Stone Book was over, and he had succeeded.

Yet at this moment of success, he felt neither joy nor sorrow—only resolve shone in his eyes.

Through the world's origin, Shi Yan took in the entire world.

His wife, sleeping in the grave.

Countless descendants and commoners who revered him.

And...

this entire illusory world.

If no influence is exerted now, then as Shi Yan departs, this world built upon his heart will completely collapse.

"Fall into slumber for now. In the future, when my cultivation is accomplished, you will all become real existences," Shi Yan said softly.

Though merely a thought, a single sentence, within this inner world, Shi Yan's thoughts were no different from the rules of creation.

A faint ripple spread across the entire world.

This heaven and earth would sleep within Shi Yan's heart, until the day he could make this Heart World descend into reality.

"Whoosh!"

Having done all this, Shi Yan's figure vanished from this world.

"Awakened, have you... Then come here directly."

Within the City of Metal, the mysterious Green-Robed Being watched Shi Yan slowly open his eyes in the Book of Three Lives, then manipulated the Bronze Octahedron to teleport Shi Yan directly into the City of Metal.

The entire temple where Shi Yan had been previously existed within the interior of this supreme treasure, the Bronze Octahedron "Maze Lock."

Thus, as long as this Green-Robed Being wished, he could easily move someone out.

Of course, only those who had passed the trials of the Void Corridor and the Book of Three Lives.

"Hm?"

The surrounding scene shifted abruptly.

From the temple to the City of Metal, Shi Yan couldn't help but freeze for a moment, but he quickly noticed the mysterious Green-Robed Being before him.

"Senior, you are..."

With a flash of light, Shi Yan transformed from his Beast God form into human shape—not the silver-haired youth he had appeared as while traversing the Universe Ocean, but the exact likeness of his appearance from that lifetime in his inner world.

Yet compared to before entering the Book of Three Lives, Shi Yan had now been reborn.

Not only had his mental state and will achieved a breakthrough, but having experienced the dispersion and reunion of his Three Lives Bodies, he had also gained deeper insights into the laws of time.

He felt that with a bit of cultivation, his path of time could break through to the Ninth Order, even the peak of the Ninth Order.

Coupled with his path of space, which had already broken through to the Ninth Order, when time and space combined, Shi Yan would reach the Tenth Order on the Path of Time and Space—enough to rival the Original Ancestor before his suppression.

Additionally, solving 7,011 games of the Rhino Emperor Game had sharpened Shi Yan's comprehension. Though not immediately apparent, the benefits would subtly influence him over time.

In short, though the trial of the Book of Three Lives was arduous, the rewards after passing were equally immense.

"Hahaha... Little one, I am the final master of the temple that tested you," the mysterious Green-Robed Being said in excellent spirits, looking at Shi Yan before him with nothing but satisfaction.

"The master of the Space-Time Temple? I see."

Shi Yan showed no surprise, only nodding as if it were only natural.

Though that temple had been somewhat eerie, looking back with hindsight, the intent to test was quite clear, and it had shown a particular fondness for the path of time and space.

Now that he had passed the trial, being moved here by the temple's master was only to be expected.

"May I ask what senior's intentions are? This junior is still completely in the dark and hopes senior can enlighten me," Shi Yan said, bowing to the mysterious Green-Robed Being before him.

"No rush, little one. Come with me, and I'll tell you slowly."

The mysterious Green-Robed Being turned and walked toward the center of the City of Metal, where stood a two-story, elegant Silver Metal Pavilion.

Seeing this, Shi Yan quickly followed, anticipation rising in his heart: "It seems like a legacy similar to that of Duan Donghe's lineage?"

Seeing Shi Yan follow, the mysterious Green-Robed Being spoke slowly as he walked: "First, I can tell you that I am a disciple of the Three Saints Palace, one of the most core lineages aboard the Universe Boat.

You should be able to tell that the Universe Boat bears the marks of artificial refinement, and indeed it is so—the Universe Boat is a remnant force of the ancient civilization 'Wu Kingdom,' and my Three Saints Palace is the only one among the core lineages that is not part of the Wu Kingdom's direct line..."

At this point, the Green-Robed Being's tone seemed to carry a hint of anger, and he couldn't help but let out a cold snort before continuing: "My Three Saints Palace did not belong to the Wu Kingdom. Back then, the Wu Kingdom Lord had a deep friendship with the two founders of my Three Saints Palace. When the Wu Kingdom Lord faced a great calamity, he asked the founders for help but did not tell them the truth. The founders helped out of goodwill, which led to my Three Saints Palace being dragged down and destroyed along with the Wu Kingdom..."

As he spoke, the Green-Robed Being suddenly glanced back at Shi Yan, then corrected himself: "Hm, nearly destroyed... I digress. In short, after the Three Saints Palace was implicated by the Wu Kingdom, we were forced to board the Universe Boat with the Wu Kingdom's remnants and take risks in this Universe Ocean... Hmph, even before we set out, we knew this was a path to death, but we had no other choice—we could only seek life amidst death. And in the end, as expected, the Universe Boat was completely annihilated."

At this point, the Green-Robed Being suddenly stopped, looking up at the sky. Shi Yan followed his gaze and saw a vast, mighty presence suddenly descend, lingering faintly in midair.

It was the Origin Will of the Primal Universe.

Even here, in the deepest part of the Universe Boat, everything remained under its surveillance.

Shi Yan was extremely familiar with this will, having been born from the Origin Will of the Primal Universe itself.

At this moment, the Origin Will was staring fixedly at the Green-Robed Being, as if ready to act at the slightest provocation.

But facing the seemingly infinite might of the Origin Will, the Green-Robed Being merely let out a scoff and said, "Rest assured. Under the Supreme Rules, in the Universe Ocean, I know well what to say and what not to say. No need for you to worry."