Return Journey

Beast God Armor—a very ordinary name, so much so that in the Primal Universe alone, there were likely no small number of little fellows who named their own supreme treasures this way.

But the two words "Beast God" represented Shi Yan's origins, and naming his battle armor Origin Embryo this way was rooted in that very fact.

As if aware that its master had given it a name, the freshly minted Beast God Armor trembled slightly, and for a moment, the surrounding space itself began to shake.

"Haha... quite spirited." Seeing this, Shi Yan laughed heartily.

The Beast God Armor was still just an Origin Embryo; even though its effects were no less than those of an ordinary Supreme True Treasure, it had not yet reached the point of giving birth to an artifact spirit. Without an artifact spirit yet reacting this way, it truly deserved to be called spirited.

With a thought, Shi Yan absorbed the Beast God Armor into his body, fusing it onto the surface of his skin.

At the same time, the Secret Techniques Shi Yan had comprehended began to be inscribed onto the Beast God Armor, slowly elevating the divine armor's power.

Of course, inscribing Secret Patterns would take a considerable amount of time, and reaching the current limit of Shi Yan's nurturing would require much longer.

"Let's grow together, Beast God Armor."

Shi Yan said softly.

Having absorbed the battle armor Origin Embryo "Beast God Armor" into his body, Shi Yan's purpose for coming to the Hall of Myriad Treasures this time was considered complete.

With this full set of treasures swapped out, as long as he spent some time thoroughly comprehending the Secret Patterns on them, Shi Yan would be able to unleash top-tier Tenth Order combat power.

If he then took the time to organize his own insights and simultaneously began cultivating the Path of Heart Power and the "Space-Time Envoy" lineage, he would be able to erupt with Eleventh Order strength while still a True God.

Although ordinary True God-level treasures could not cause a qualitative leap for a Tenth Order True God, precious single-body Mechanical Path Supreme Treasures, Void Level, and even higher-level treasures could achieve this.

Aside from the Origin Embryo that had just acknowledged him as master, every piece of equipment Shi Yan now wore was at least at the Void True God level. As long as he could comprehend the Secret Patterns on them to their limit, raising his strength by another level would naturally be no issue.

"It's time to go back. There's no rush to cultivate; I can start after returning to my Miniature Universe."

He had already been in the core region of the Universe Boat for a long time. Although cultivating within the Guardian Tower was absolutely safe, Shi Yan still wanted to leave the Universe Boat's core region as soon as possible.

Now that Shi Yan wanted to return to the Inner Domain of the Universe Boat, he was no longer as clueless as when he first arrived.

As one of the core lineages of the Universe Boat back in its day, the Three Saints Palace stored detailed introductions to the Universe Boat within the Guardian Tower, and even a complete map was just an insignificant part of it.

Although some areas had changed due to the Universe Boat's damage, even so, the current Universe Boat was no different from a back garden to Shi Yan. At worst, it was a back garden that had been abandoned for a long time and grown some weeds.

But speaking of leaving, Shi Yan suddenly remembered his little disciple.

"Back then, I was blinded by the Book of Three Lives. My Miniature Universe probably reacted as well. That kid wouldn't have impulsively run into the Universe Boat's core region, would he?"

Thinking this, Shi Yan quickly sank his consciousness into his True God Heart and communicated with his Miniature Universe.

"Whoosh!"

In Shi Yan's Miniature Universe, ever since he left the Book of Three Lives, the operation of the Miniature Universe had returned to normal.

In the Origin Land, the Origin of One had become active again, no longer bearing the lifeless appearance it had while Shi Yan was slumbering.

At this moment, a large amount of divine power condensed, and a divine power avatar appeared in the Origin Land of the Miniature Universe.

"Sure enough, this kid has run off somewhere." Shi Yan's divine power avatar looked somewhat helpless.

This was his own Miniature Universe. With a slight sense, Shi Yan immediately understood that Qing Huan was not currently in his Miniature Universe at all.

The entire universe only contained some naturally evolved, low-intelligence beasts and plants.

"Forget it, I'll ask him first."

A Communication Tablet that he had left in his Miniature Universe appeared in the divine power avatar's hand.

This Communication Tablet was refined by Shi Yan in imitation of the Ancestral God Sect's Communication Token. Since Shi Yan was currently a lone wanderer with few friends, the Communication Tablet only had Qing Huan as a contact.

"Qing Huan, where are you now?"

Shi Yan sent out a message.

The Communication Tablet was silent for a moment, then it was as if a hornet's nest had been poked. In an instant, a barrage of messages began bombarding Shi Yan.

"Teacher? You're back? Really?"

"Teacher, you have no idea how worried I've been."

"I'm currently cultivating in the Black-Veined Stone Pillar Space, occasionally going out to explore."

"..."

In just a few seconds, Shi Yan received over a dozen replies. The Communication Tablet in his hand kept vibrating nonstop, giving Shi Yan a headache. He had no choice but to quickly send a message to his little disciple: "Alright, I won't go into the specifics. In short, I'm fine now. I estimate I'll be able to leave the Universe Boat's core region in a while. Be careful when you're out exploring."

With that, Shi Yan directly cut off the communication and couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief: "This kid really is impulsive. But at least he didn't run into the Universe Boat's core region."

Given Qing Huan's current strength as a Fifth Order Universe Master, it was somewhat possible for him to cross the Universe Boat's Inner Domain. But once he entered the core region, his chances of survival would be pitifully small.

Fortunately, Universe Masters could not exceed the speed of light, so crossing the Universe Boat's Inner Domain would take a considerable amount of time.

Having reported his safety to his disciple, Shi Yan on the other side had already walked out of the Guardian Tower.

With a thought, the two-story silver elegant pavilion that had stood in the City of Metal rapidly shrank and was absorbed into Shi Yan's body.

At the same time, an exquisite silver pendant appeared in Shi Yan's hand, engraved with a special beast pattern.

If any knowledgeable expert were present, they would likely recognize this as the Silver Token, one of the three types of tokens produced by the Universe Boat, and also the highest-ranking token.

And the City of Metal where this Guardian Tower was parked was actually a Silver Token Space within the Universe Boat.

"Rumor has it that silver tokens are only found in the two sacred lands, but I've always doubted that. With their scarcity of True God-level combat power, how could they have scoured the Universe Boat clean of silver tokens? Now it seems I was right."

Shi Yan looked at the silver beast-carved pendant in his hand and shook his head with a smile.

He had long harbored doubts about the rumors circulating in the Universe Ocean.

The True Gods of the two sacred lands had no Miniature Universes. Even if they carried a full set of Supreme True Treasures, they were only average in the Universe Ocean.

Their Universe Master-level combatants were elite—a fair number of Sixth Order Universe Masters among them—but they were still just Universe Masters, incapable of exploring the Universe Boat's core region.

When it came down to it, only the Eastern Emperor Ancestor and the Purple Moon Ancestor, both Void True Gods, might have had the chance to thoroughly explore the Universe Boat's core region in the endless ages before they entered reincarnation.

Perhaps it was back then that the two obtained some silver tokens and gained certain benefits within the Silver Token Space. But to claim they had scoured every last silver token clean? That was certainly impossible.

"It's a pity, though—this silver token of mine has belonged to the Three Saints Palace ever since the Universe Boat set out, and it never changed hands in between. So no other powerhouse has left any treasures stored in this space..."

Though his words carried regret, Shi Yan's face was full of smiles.

Could any treasures left by countless powerhouses compare to the Three Saints Palace's Hall of Myriad Treasures?

With the silver token in hand, Shi Yan quickly passed through the City of Metal and arrived at the exit of the Silver Token Space.

Before him was a spiral staircase made of purple liquid metal, extending endlessly downward into the depths.

Shi Yan studied the unknown liquid metal with some curiosity, then stepped onto it. Instantly, a chill swept through his entire body.

He couldn't help but shiver, and his mind sharpened by three parts.

"How marvelous—even with my Void-level will, it has such an effect?" Shi Yan exclaimed in wonder.

If it were an ordinary True God, merely standing on this liquid metal would likely aid their cultivation to some degree.

And such material was used in the Silver Token Space just to build an exit staircase?

Shi Yan couldn't help but admire it as he swiftly descended the spiral staircase to the bottom.

A golden arch came into view, surrounded by a resplendent palace forged from the same unknown golden metal. The walls and arch were covered in intricate relief carvings, mostly of towering war machines, exuding an imposing grandeur.

Shi Yan swept his gaze over the scene briefly, then walked straight toward the arch ahead. As the arch rippled like water, his body sank into it as if submerged.

The surroundings shifted, and Shi Yan found himself inside a vast maze. The maze's walls pierced heaven and earth, filling his entire field of vision—this was already beyond the Silver Token Space.

The entire maze was composed of countless rays of light. Even the walls were radiant light barriers.

He tapped the void lightly with a finger, and spatial ripples spread outward from his fingertip.

"According to the map's description, this maze is not only intricate but also riddled with traps in every part of the space. One careless step, and what seems like heading in a certain direction actually shifts you elsewhere without notice." Sensing the anomalies in the spatial ripples, Shi Yan nodded to himself.

If it were merely a maze, it wouldn't even trap True Gods, let alone Immortals or the little fellows at the Venerable level. With their superhuman memory, they could escape after some time.

Only the ever-shifting traps within this space could leave even True Gods lost here.

In fact, without any shortcuts, even Shi Yan, who had reached the Ninth Order in the Space Dao, wasn't confident he could leave smoothly.

"No wonder silver tokens have always been so rare. Even the maze around the token space is hard for True Gods to breach."

Of course, the owners of the Silver Token Space had the privilege of the silver token, granting them many conveniences in this maze, making passage far easier.

As for Shi Yan, besides the silver token, he also had the Universe Boat intelligence left behind in the Three Saints Palace, giving him full confidence in escaping the maze.

"This way."

With the Three Saints Palace's intelligence, the silver token's privileges, and his own mastery of the Space Dao, Shi Yan quickly pinpointed the correct path.

A figure swiftly wove through the maze.