<h4>Chapter 772: Yi Nian</h4>


    Thedy in ck armor witnessed Ye Guan''s retreat, but she merely gazed at him before leading her troops past him.


    They headed straight for the suspended towering buildings and great pces. The starry region trembled as they departed.


    Ye Guan couldn''t help but feel a bit shocked. Every single member of the army had terrifying strength, and thedy in ck armor was especially terrifying.


    She was just a ny percent divinity expert, but her aura was overwhelming, and her battle intent was intense.


    The pressure she exuded was on par with that of a full divinity expert.


    The cultivators behind her were all seasoned experts as well.


    Just then, the army came to a halt. Thedy in ck armor scanned the towering buildings and pces with a frown.


    Recalling something, she turned to look at Ye Guan in the distance, but before she could speak, Ye Guan transformed into a streak of sword light, which disappeared into the boundary of the starry region.


    Ye Guan was no longer as reckless as he used to be. If he could win, he could show off a bit. If not, he''d run away without any hesitation.


    It was better to avoid unnecessary fights; he couldn''t just keep on making other people clean up his mess.


    Thedy in ck armor was stunned by Ye Guan''s decisiveness to flee.


    A cultivator beside her asked in a deep voice, "Should we chase him, Commander Panyue?"


    Commander Panyue stared at the boundary of the starry region and calmly replied, "He''s just an ant that has just touched upon the Divine Dao Realm. Why bother chasing him?"


    The cultivator nodded slightly and stepped backward.


    Commander Panyue then opened her palm, revealing a scroll. After examining it for a while, she frowned and muttered, "The ruins of a Tier Four civilization..."


    She put away the scroll and said, "Let''s go."


    Soon, the group headed off into the distance.


    Commander Panyue waved her hand, and the starry region behind her disintegrated.


    ***


    Ye Guan stopped and looked back. He was immediately relieved when he saw that they weren''t chasing after him.


    "Master Pagoda, the Asura Civilization is no joke!" Ye Guan eximed.


    "Oh?" replied Little Pagoda nonchntly.


    Ye Guan blinked. "Don''t you think they''re impressive?"


    "Stop wasting time," Little Pagoda replied, "Get back to work."


    Ye Guan was speechless. Then, he hopped onto his sword and transformed into a streak of sword light that disappeared into the stars.


    An hourter, Ye Guan found himself in a deste, starry region.


    A pale red was floating in front of him. For some reason, the pale red was surrounded by a pitch-ck ring that instilled dread in the hearts of anyone staring at it.


    Ye Guan opened his palm, and the Qingxuan Sword appeared in his hand.


    "Be careful," Little Pagoda warned.


    Ye Guan nodded and approached the pale red.


    Soon, a mysterious force blocked his path.


    Recognizing it as the array that the Forest Civilization had left behind, which Ming Jun had mentioned in the scroll, Ye Guan thrust his sword forward gently.


    The air in front of him cracked open, and the sound of shattering ss echoed around him.


    he transformed into a streak of sword light andnded on the pale red.


    A deep sense of unease filled Ye Guan''s heart as soon as hended on the. There was something dangerous here.


    Surveying his surroundings, Ye Guan said, "Master Pagoda, let me know if there''s any danger."


    "Got it," Little Pagoda replied.


    Ye Guan gripped his sword and started walking away. Soon, he saw a towering stone pir in the distance. The stone pir was so high that it pierced the clouds, and its summit couldn''t be seen from down below.


    A cliff with a menacing face carved into it was behind the towering stone pir.


    The menacing face had two long tusks, protruding eyes, and six arms. Overall, it looked pretty terrifying.


    Ye Guan''s heart skipped a beat as soon as his eyes pped on the terrifying face. He felt like someone had gripped his heart tightly, leaving him reeling in shock.


    He staggered backward and stared at the statue in horror. <i>How can a mere statue evoke such a sense of dread in me? What is that?</i>


    Ye Guan gripped his sword tightly, and his sword intent flowed out of him. However, the unsettling feeling persisted. In the end, he closed his eyes to try and calm his mind.


    <i>Step!</i>


    Footsteps echoed behind him just then. He whipped around and saw a young woman walking toward him.


    The young woman was wearing a red dress, and her hair covered half of her face.


    A small bamboo waist bag was also hanging from her waist.


    Ye Guan wasn''t relieved upon seeing the young woman. Instead, he cast a wary gaze at the stranger.


    Meanwhile, the young woman stared wordlessly at Ye Guan.


    After a while, Ye Guan hesitantly asked, "What is your name?”


    Thedy in a red dress held up one finger.


    "Yī[1]?"Ye Guan asked, puzzled.


    Thedy in a red dress blinked and replied, "Yi Nian."


    Yi Nian''s voice was as gentle as the water in a cidke.


    However, Ye Guan was still wary of her.


    "Did youe here to explore, too?"


    Yi Nian nodded.


    "What a coincidence. Me, too." Ye Guan smiled.


    Yi Nian smiled back; her visible eye formed a crescent shape.


    She seemed harmless, but Ye Guan dared not let his guard. Anyone strong enough to reach this ce was certainly powerful.


    "Lady Yi Nian, where are you from?" Ye Guan asked.


    Yi Nian blinked and remained silent.


    "Forgive my rudeness," said Ye Guan, chuckling awkwardly. Unlike in the Guanxuan Universe, asking someone their origin was impolite here. Worse, it could sometimes provoke an attack from another cultivator.


    <i>Swoosh!</i>


    A white light descended in the distance just then. Ye Guan and Yi Nian turned to see a man in ck emerge from the light.


    The man in ck was carrying arge saber on his back, and he was exuding a formidable aura.


    The man in ck''s gaze immediatelynded on Ye Guan and thedy in red.


    He frowned and spoke, but neither Ye Guan nor thedy understood him. Since they were from different civilizations, theirnguages were utterly iprehensible to each other.


    However, thenguage barrier was just a tiny convenience in their eyes.


    Ye Guan opened his palm, prompting the man with the saber to nce at him before extending his right hand as well.


    Soon, a stream of information carrying their respectivenguages and scripts entered their minds.


    The man in ck asked, "Howe you guys are so weak?"


    Ye Guan nced at Yi Nian and noticed that her cultivation base was on the same level as him—she had just touched upon the concept of divinity as well.


    Ye Guan retracted his gaze and asked, "Are you a Divine Dao Realm expert, too?"


    Ye Guan had just realized that touching upon the concept of divinity was not enough. He actually had to umte divinity before he could be considered a top-tier supreme elite, especially among the experts of the other civilizations.


    The man in ck wielding a saber was an expert with eighty percent umted divinity.


    If it hadn''t been for the Qingxuan Sword, Ye Guan would have struggled to evene here.


    Yi Nian nodded slightly and opted to remain silent.


    Ye Guan found her silence to be quite strange.


    <i>Rumble!</i>


    A spacetime rift manifested in the distance, and a figure in white burst out of the rift.


    A spear was in his right hand, while his left hand was behind his back.


    His spear intent was powerful, and his battle intent was so domineering that the nearby spacetime seemed to tremble beneath it.


    The man in white nced at Ye Guan and the others beforeunching into a rapid, iprehensible tirade.


    Ye Guan shook his head in confusion. He couldn''t understand the man in white''s words.


    However, the man in ck abruptly unsheathed his saber and shed fiercely at the man in white.


    A powerful saber energy spanning thousands of kilometers manifested, creating spacetime waves that were like tsunami waves.


    Ye Guan furrowed his brow and released his own sword intent to shield himself. He didn''t bother protecting Yi Nian next to him, as he believed that anyone strong enough to reach this ce was certainly powerful.


    However, Ye Guan was stupefied by the next scene that unfolded before hm.


    The spacetime waves sent Yi Nian flying away, and she crashed heavily to the ground a thousand meters away. She rolled pitifully a few times before she managed to stop herself from rolling away.


    <i>What in the world? </i>Ye Guan stood stupefied. He couldn''t believe how weak Yi Nian was, in spite of her cultivation base.


    Ye Guan decisively rushed to her side and helped her up.


    Yi Nian shook her head, looking dazed as if her mind was still reeling from the impact.


    Ye Guan hesitated briefly before producing a pill and offering it to her.


    Yi Nian blinked and consumed it. She recovered a few seconds after consuming the pill.


    Just as Ye Guan was about to ask questions, another terrifying spacetime wave erupted in the distance, sweeping across them.


    Yi Nian blinked and formed a mysterious hand seal. Before she could make a move, however, Ye Guan wrapped his arm around her waist and retreated a thousand kilometers away.


    At the same time, his sword intent transformed into a shield that intercepted the oing shockwave.


    Releasing Yi Nian, Ye Guan turned his attention to the intense battle between the man in ck and the man in white.


    Ye Guan sighed inwardly. The two cultivators surely had fiery tempers... to think they''d fight each other at the slightest provocation.


    Just then, Ye Guan was reminded of something, and he turned to Yi Nian, asking, "Are you truly like me? Someone who has just touched upon the concept of divinity?"


    Yi Nian blinked and nodded.


    Ye Guan frowned and muttered, "How dare youe here with such a low cultivation base..."


    Yi Nian stared wordlessly at Ye Guan. She was silent, but her silence spoke volumes.


    "Tell me honestly, are you pretending to be weak?" Ye Guan asked.


    Yi Nian appeared puzzled, clearly confused by what Ye Guan was trying to say.


    Ye Guan sized her up with his divine sense and found that Yi Nian hadn''t lied. The two of them truly had a simr cultivation base—she was a Divine Dao Realm expert who had yet to umte any divinity.


    However, Ye Guan''s true strength was different. He was strong enough to fight cultivators with ny percent umted divinity, but Yi Nian was different. She seemed to be as weak as her cultivation base!


    it didn''t make sense at all.


    After a while, Ye Guan made a decision, saying, "Forget it. Stick with me for now. If you don''t mind, just call me brother—Brother Ye Guan. You can do that because I don''t have any younger sisters!"


    Regardless of whether she was a hidden expert or not, Ye Guan felt it necessary to establish a rapport with her. After all, he firmly believed that rtionships were everything in the outside world.


    1. pinyin for the Chinese character "一" ?