City Governor Zhao's expression was dark as he stared at the departing figures of Little White and Ye Guan.

"Stop them!" City Governor Zhao roared.

However, no one made any moves. None were brave enough to challenge Ye Guan.

Frustrated, City Governor Zhao tried to take matters into his own hands, but a punch from Erya sent him flying away.

"Get out of my way!" City Governor Zhao roared, his face twisted with rage. He charged at Erya, but Erya was just too strong for him to fight head-on, and she easily repelled his attacks.

Refusing to yield, City Governor Zhao charged at Erya once more without caring about the consequences.

Qing Zhi and Qing Dai exchanged a knowing glance. They knew just how valuable the divine treasure that Little White had just discovered, so the two immediately chased after Little White and Ye Guan.

Little White and Ye Guan were racing toward a distant mysterious palace.

A black-robed figure stood in front of the palace, and he was eyeing both Little White and Ye Guan with suspicion.

Little White pointed at the black-robed figure and flicked her tiny paw to the side.

The black-robed elder instantly realized what Little White wanted to say, so he warned, "No one may approach come here without the City Governor’s orders."

In response, Little White whipped out a flaming hammer while Ye Guan unsheathed the Qingxuan Sword.

The black-robed elder wisely stepped aside. He wasn't getting paid enough to risk his life here.

“Do as you please…” muttered the black-robed elder before he proceeded to run for his life.

Meanwhile, Ye Guan and Little White entered the palace and saw a golden bracelet surrounded by intricate runes.

The golden bracelet was suspended in midair.

Intrigued, Ye Guan walked up to it and examined it closely.

"What is this?" asked Ye Guan.

Little White blinked in response and was about to respond when the bracelet trembled, sending a mysterious wave of energy in all directions.

Ye Guan frowned. He had no idea what was going on.

Before Ye Guan could even make any deductions, he felt his life force leaving him rapidly. In the blink of an eye, he lost a hundred years' worth of lifespan.

Flustered, Ye Guan jumped backward.

Meanwhile, Little White immediately made a move. She threw a hammer at the bracelet, and a loud

clang

reverberated throughout the hall.

The bracelet was struck, but it seemed impervious to any harm. To make matters worse, a mysterious energy burst out of it, and it was much stronger than earlier.

Ye Guan reached out to grab Little White and flee.

He had a ton of life force, but it wasn't unlimited.

Just then, Little White swung her hammer.

The bracelet trembled violently once more, and a ball of flame engulfed it.

A violent tremor ran across the bracelet. It seemed to be protesting against the abuse.

Little White inhaled, and the bracelet shuddered uncontrollably. Then, multiple bursts of the same wave of mysterious energy rushed out of the bracelet like a deluge.

Little White was unfazed, but Ye Guan was starting to feel the strain.

He had just lost thousands of years of lifespan.

Recognizing the severity of the situation, Little White waved her tiny paw, summoning a golden circle above Ye Guan's head.

Streams of golden light poured down from the golden circle, inundating Ye Guan.

Ye Guan was relieved, but it was short-lived. The golden light was struggling against the mysterious wave of energy.

Bewildered, Ye Guan started pondering over the nature of the mysterious power.

Meanwhile, Little White was still drawing in breaths, and she continued until the bracelet no longer resisted.

Little White grabbed the bracelet and stowed it away before revealing a triumphant grin.

Ye Guan's curiosity was piqued. “Little White, what was that?”

Little White merely shrugged.

“Master Pagoda, what did she say?”

“She said that she has no idea as well.”

“That was the Time Bracelet." A voice echoed.

Ye Guan turned and found Shen Qi, Qing Dai, and Qing Zhi. The voice just now had come from Shen Qi.

Ye Guan's curiosity grew.

Shen Qi noticed that and promptly explained, “It's a relic from the Forest Civilization, and it is capable of accelerating time within a designated area. Those weak are unable to withstand its power, and they typically die instantly.”

Ye Guan shuddered upon realizing that he had almost died just now. The Time Bracelet was indeed useful, but it was also a terrifying divine item to handle.

Shen Qi glanced at Little White and exclaimed, “That was incredible! You actually got it to submit to you.”

"Well, she's Spirit Progenitor, and she's not your ordinary Spirit Progenitor," Qing Dai introduced.

Although the Primordial Spirit Clan had encountered many Spirit Progenitors over the years, they had never seen one like Little White.

Little White's abilities were far more extraordinary than the Spirit Progenitors that they had encountered so far.

"I’ve read about your kind in books, but I'm still surprised to learn that Spirit Progenitors are actually so strong. You're amazing…"

Little White blinked and opened her tiny paw.

A hawthorn candy appeared in her paw, and she handed it over to Shen Qi.

Moments later, however, Little White revealed a look of hesitation before taking back the hawthorn candy and replacing it with an Ancestral Vein.

Ye Guan's expression froze at the sight.

In Little White’s world, Ancestral Veins weren't as precious as a hawthorn candy, and only her best friends could receive hawthorn candies from her.

Shen Qi smiled and replied, "No need."

Little White smiled as well before placing the Ancestral Vein in Shen Qi's hand.

Shen Qi grinned and took the opportunity to stroke Little White's tiny paw.

"Lady Shen Qi, can you tell me more about the Time Bracelet?" Ye Guan asked.

"Actually, I don’t know much. I only know that it’s a relic of the Forest Civilization, and it's the best treasure inside Daogu City at the moment. It's actually the reason behind City Governor Zhao's achievement of reaching ninety percent divinity. he had been receiving the bracelet's help, but he had yet to make the Time Bracelet acknowledge him as its owner, so he had no choice but to treat it like decoration."

"Time…" Ye Guan muttered. He could still remember his grandfather telling him that he ought to explore the domain of time more.

From Shen Qi's words, it seemed that the Forest Civilization had been exploring that domain for quite a while now.

"This is City Governor Zhao's most precious treasure, and he'll surely fight you to the death for it," Shen Qi warned.

"It's fine." Ye Guan laughed heartily. "He can’t beat Erya!"

City Governor Zhao had accumulated ninety percent divinity, but he was still too weak against Erya."

"But the Forest Civilization is coming back," Shen Qi added.

Ye Guan asked, "When?"

"I don't know when, but it should be soon."

"Do you know why?"

"No idea."

Ye Guan fell silent.

"However, City Governor Zhao might know something," Shen Qi suggested.

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Then we can't let Erya kill him..." Ye Guan muttered before turning around to leave with everyone.

Truth be told, Ye Guan wanted the Time Bracelet in Little White's arms, but he couldn't force Little White to give it to him.

If she wanted to give it to him, it would be great. Otherwise, he wasn't going to force her into giving the relic to him.

When they stepped outside, they saw Erya giving City Governor Zhao a thorough beatdown.

City Governor Zhao barely had any strength left to fight back.

It was a complete thrashing.

Qing Dai's eyes revealed a complicated light.

Ninety percent divinity was the pinnacle of power in the majority of the world out there, but a cultivator at that level was nothing more than an ant in the eyes of some people.

Her sister had spent her entire life pursuing that level of strength...

It was not necessarily wrong, as everyone had their own goals.

In Qing Dai's eyes, however, her sister's actions were foolish.

She had abandoned her husband and daughter, after all.

"Erya, just cripple him!" Ye Guan exclaimed, "Don't kill him."

Up in the sky, Erya nodded and said, "Got it."

With that, she stomped with her right foot and shot out like a rocket.

Boom!

A deep rift in spacetime was torn open.

City Governor Zhao flew thousands of meters away like a kite that had lost its strings.

When he finally stopped, his arms exploded into pieces, and the air was tainted with his flesh and blood.

City Governor Zhao's face was extremely ugly. He glared at Erya in the distance, but the fierceness in his eyes was slowly being replaced by dread.

He had used all of his cards, but he couldn't do anything against Erya for some reason.

Her defense was even more terrifying than her physical strength, which meant that she was impervious to all of his attacks.

It was a fact that made him feel utterly miserable throughout this fight.

Ye Guan walked over just then and stared at City Governor Zhao. "City Governor Zhao, can we talk?"

City Governor Zhao looked at Ye Guan and asked, "Is the Time Bracelet in your possession?"

Ye Guan nodded. "You can say that!"

City Governor Zhao's expression turned extremely ugly. He glared at Ye Guan with a killing intent so thick that it was almost tangible.

The Time Bracelet had provided him with immense help, allowing him to reach ninety percent divinity.

Ye Guan's act of stealing the Time Bracelet was tantamount to cutting off his path to the summit of cultivation.

However, City Governor Zhao forced himself to calm down, as he knew that he couldn't defeat the little girl before him.

Recklessness in the face of absolute power would only bring him suffering.

As long as there was life, there was hope.

Ye Guan stared deeply at City Governor Zhao and asked, "Why is the Forest Civilization coming back?"

City Governor Zhao calmly replied, "I don't know."

Ye Guan frowned. "Erya, kill him!"

Erya clenched her fists.

City Governor Zhao's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly said, "I don't know the specifics! They just sent someone who said that they're coming back here. That's all I know."

Ye Guan fell silent.

City Governor Zhao assumed that Ye Guan didn't believe him, so he hurriedly added, "They're already hunting you and your grandfather down; they want to send the both of you to the gallows..."

"Huh?" Ye Guan was stunned.