Yao Yuezhi's father spoke with evident displeasure etched on his face. "Feng Youhuang from the Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan has arrived to challenge Ye Chen. She reached the Myriad Races Immortal City yesterday and demanded a duel right away. She's already set up the battlefield in the city."

"Given Ye Chen's unyielding nature—so far, he's charged ahead without fear or retreat—once he learns of this, he'll never back down. He'll accept the fight for sure. But after you drew so much from him, how could he possibly stand against Feng Youhuang?"

"With the realm gap between them, if he steps onto that stage, Ye Chen dies without question. So, talk him out of it later. Don't let him fixate on such trifles. Dodging the fight brings no shame—after all, she's a peak Half-Saint pulling rank on an early King realm. If she has no qualms about her own disgrace, Ye Chen needn't feel any either!"

Yao Yuezhi's father stood firm. This battle could not happen. At his peak, Ye Chen might have matched her, the outcome uncertain. But in his current state, he stood no chance.

Yao Yuezhi's willow brows furrowed as she narrowed her eyes. She knew Feng Youhuang all too well. A true apex existence—back then, facing her had stirred a visceral crisis in Yao Yuezhi's heart.

That chasm in strength lingered vividly in her memory. And after drawing so much from him, Brother's power must have plummeted beyond measure. In that condition, he couldn't possibly prevail. But why should Brother fight at all? She had changed utterly from before. Her strength now soared to heights she could scarcely fathom.

Yao Yuezhi's emerald eyes slitted, battle intent rising as she sneered. "A mere Feng Youhuang—does she even deserve Brother's personal attention? I'll handle her myself and suppress her outright. Last time I heard from the ancestor, Feng Youhuang was selected as one of Celestial Prince's handmaidens too. Once he emerges, she'll trail at his side! If that's the case, I'll capture her and gift her to Brother as a servant..."

Yao Yuezhi's words stunned her parents, their eyes widening in shock. Had she grown too arrogant? That was Feng Youhuang! Only then did Yao Yuezhi detail the changes to her cave heaven.

A hundred thousand li? Further metamorphosis and sublimation? And a full twentyfold temporal acceleration?

The revelation left the three frozen, expressions rigid. But soon, complexity deepened on their faces. They had always known Ye Chen was formidable, but never dreamed he could reach such heights—shattering a limit even the Heavenly Emperor hadn't breached.

The path to that must have demanded unimaginable trials. Yet when his daughter needed him, Ye Chen had cast aside his future without a second thought. This... it brought tears to their eyes!

The more they dwelled on it, the more moved they grew, rims reddening. No matter what they did, they could never repay Ye Chen's grace toward their daughter. His favor was truly beyond redemption!

As her parents and brother fell silent, Yao Yuezhi's eyes gleamed with cold light. "Don't tell Brother about this! I'll handle it!"

...

In Ye Chen's cave mansion, he closed his eyes, savoring the profound shifts within himself, a quiet elation filling his heart. His cave heaven had expanded noticeably beyond its former bounds. Chaotic mists now shrouded its edges, veiling depths that defied clear sight.

Clearly, as his strength grew, the domain held room for further reclamation. This revelation stunned him. After all, every cultivator's cave heaven locked into form upon creation—unyielding in size or scope, no matter how realms advanced.

Yet the greater the domain, the vaster the boons it conferred, fueling a symbiotic ascent. A sustainably evolving cave heaven amplified Ye Chen's power to unimaginable heights.

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Beyond that, the feedback from the domain surged with newfound potency, dwarfing its prior gifts. As the cave heaven swelled in the future, so too would its enhancements.

The spirit roots and flora thriving within sprouted with accelerated vigor, channeling richer spiritual resonance back into the core. Some spirit plants even teetered on the brink of mutation. Even the immortal roots flourished more lushly, their immortal essence thickening palpably.

Ye Chen sensed these immortal roots harboring potential for further evolution. As if they had found their ideal cradle. The entire domain's spiritual energy had condensed to near-tangible density. On top of that, the cave heaven now quickened his grasp of laws and principles. Newfound rules blossomed within, ripe for contemplation.

All told, Ye Chen felt his cave heaven had become a sacred ground for cultivation. The benefits it bestowed upon him bordered on the infinite. And this marked only the beginning.

When the seventh heaven dawned and his domain ascended to a minor world, it could evolve straight into an Ancestral Realm. An Ancestral Realm needed no tether to a greater world—utterly self-sufficient. A flawless fallback in any apocalypse.

No matter what cataclysms or Ages of Dharma's End assailed the world, retreat to the Ancestral Realm would render them moot. He might even forge heavens and myriad realms of his own someday.

The thought filled Ye Chen with eager anticipation. After immersing himself in contemplation for a long while, unraveling the Primordial Cave Heaven's myriad wonders,

Ye Chen withdrew his mind at last, redirecting his focus to cultivation. The domain's feedback now flooded him with cultivation base, propelling his progress like a rocket's ascent.

First, the mid-stage of the third heaven. By his reckoning, another year or so would carry him smoothly to late-stage. Two or three years more, and Half-Saint realm—fourth heaven—would follow. With those projections in mind, Ye Chen soon sank into profound cultivation, his entire being surging toward the mid-stage threshold.

...

Time flew like a white steed vanishing in a flash, and in the blink of an eye, the appointed day of the duel set by Feng Youhuang had arrived. Though the Heavenly Emperor's heir had offered no response from start to finish—and hadn't shown his face in nearly a month—rumors swirled wildly through the Myriad Races Immortal City, whispers and gossip filling the air.

Yet Feng Youhuang still arrived at the battlefield, waiting patiently. She stood in a gown of pure white silk that danced with the wind, like a celestial descending to earth. Her features were peerless, her cool face veiled in frost and snow, evoking a phoenix aloof from the world—solitary and proud. She uttered not a word, simply standing motionless at the center of the arena, awaiting Ye Chen's arrival.

Such a spectacle naturally drew countless myriad race members to spectate, among them no shortage of powerhouses. The moment the crowd arrived, they found themselves captivated by Feng Youhuang's breathtaking allure, gasps of admiration rising in waves. Now, they buzzed with chatter.

"Feng Youhuang truly is a vision of devastating beauty—stunning beyond words!"

"Pity such heaven-defying talent should suffer diminished status in her clan, all because of that yet-to-emerge Celestial Prince. They fear she'll steal his thunder."

"I've heard that once Celestial Prince awakens, Feng Youhuang will serve as his personal handmaiden, attending him at all times!"

"Feng Youhuang's aptitude is already monstrous—must she stoop to servitude? That Celestial Prince was routed by the Heavenly Emperor back then, forced into divine source seclusion. Why does the Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan still revere him so?"

"Friend, mind your tongue. Losing to the Heavenly Emperor brings no shame..."

The onlookers all pitied Feng Youhuang. In their eyes, she stood as the unrivaled pinnacle among this generation's Myriad Races female cultivators, her talent second to none. She even rivaled the legendary beauty Yan Ruyu from the prior era. Though she might fall a hair short in sheer loveliness, she remained a world-shaking enchantress.

Yet with Celestial Prince in the mix, none dared press further, lest they court disaster. The conversation shifted swiftly to the Heavenly Emperor's heir. Even in seclusion, a minor realm breakthrough shouldn't take this long. Yet he remained absent.

Under such circumstances, many harbored doubts, speculating in hushed tones that the Heavenly Emperor's heir had grown timid, deeming himself no match for Feng Youhuang and slinking away in secret.

A lithe figure descended as if from the heavens, alighting gracefully in the arena. At the same instant, a cool voice laced with mockery echoed across the field. "You, a mere handmaiden to Celestial Prince—do you even deserve to challenge my brother? Have Celestial Prince come in person—that would be more fitting. He lost to the Heavenly Emperor once before. Losing to his heir now should prove equally entertaining."

The voice rang out, and every spectator jolted in shock. Who dared so brazenly, so openly, to mock Celestial Prince?