Chapter 87

"Thigh?"

Ye Chen spoke softly, then exhaled a mouthful of turbid qi.

"I myself am my own thigh."

Ye Chen slightly raised the corners of his mouth, silently saying in his heart.

After all he'd been through, he also realized that relying on others is inferior to relying on oneself; only by being strong oneself can one have the capital to oppose everything.

As he was about to rise and swap identities with the paper effigy Ye Chen, the anomaly suddenly began.

Ye Chen was not surprised by this anomaly; he gazed at the oppressive dark clouds in the sky and softly said, "Anomaly... has it begun?"

"Paper effigy Ye Chen, protect my parents well; I'll go out to have a look."

After Ye Chen finished speaking, his figure instantly vanished from the spot, and the voice of the paper effigy Ye Chen also came from his mind.

"Good!"

Ye Chen didn't notice that a pair of eyes full of worry watched his receding figure as it flew farther away.

"My child... please come back safely."

Lin Ruoxi placed her hands before her chest, as if praying for Ye Chen.

After Ye Chen left, he flew around within the borders of China.

He wasn't afraid of being filmed; the great change had already begun, and now everyone was preoccupied with their own survival—who would dare to risk death just to take pictures?

Even if there were, they would be few; after all, China is vast, so there are always some special birds in the woods.

Moreover, the chance of capturing him on film is pitifully low; furthermore, with the great change underway, seeing people fly in the sky is no longer remarkable.

Not long after, Ye Chen's vanished figure appeared on Kunlun Mountain.

The Kunlun mountain range trembled violently; Ye Chen stood in the air, gazing at the trembling range, his expression extremely solemn.

"Something is about to emerge."

Hunyan's voice suddenly rang out; Ye Chen did not respond to Hunyan, his eyes fixed on the Kunlun range, naturally sensing that something heaven-defying was about to be born there.

Suddenly, the earth of the Kunlun range was torn apart; from within the range, a bronze altar slowly rose from the valley floor, the mottled copper rust on its surface flaking off bit by bit, revealing the ancient Dao patterns beneath that flowed with starlight.

Above the firmament, the Big Dipper's seven stars oddly linked into a straight silver line; the seventh star, Yaoguang, suddenly burst forth a piercing blood-red light. The entire night sky resembled silk torn by claws, ripping open a scarlet pupil that stretched across the horizon.

The Kunlun massif began to disintegrate; thousand‑meter‑high cliffs collapsed like melting candles, exposing the inner crystal‑clear spirit‑marrow veins, within which lay unimaginable pure energy.

"Hunyan, is there a way to collect it?"

Ye Chen spoke to Hunyan, asking.

"Wait a bit longer; the vein hasn't fully emerged yet, and extracting it now would only make its energy impure."

After Hunyan finished speaking, Ye Chen said nothing more; since Hunyan said to wait rather than that it couldn't be collected, it naturally had a way to collect this vein.

"You can go check other places for now; no one can currently compete with you for this vein."

After Hunyan said that, Ye Chen lightly nodded; the next moment, his figure vanished again.

Not long after, Ye Chen's figure appeared in the Bermuda Triangle sea area.

At that moment, twelve golden water columns rose from the Bermuda Triangle sea, each topped with a half‑broken obelisk.

On the obelisks were cuneiform inscriptions; at the moment they appeared, they turned into tangible golden rain that poured down.

When marine life came into contact with the golden rain, it underwent massive changes; unlike the previous cultivation by Country M, this time it was the nourishment of spiritual qi resurgence and the great upheaval of heaven and earth.

When the golden rain fell on marine creatures, their bones swelled explosively, and their dorsal fins pierced the sea surface, turning into bone‑white sword blades.

Ye Chen silently watched their mutations—some ferocious, some peaceful, and some barely changed from before.

And their spiritual intellect was rapidly increasing.

The fastest growth in spiritual intellect belonged to the orca pod; even before the spiritual qi resurgence, they were already among the clever creatures of the ocean, and during the great change they greedily absorbed the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.

Ye Chen just stood there watching silently, doing nothing, while his own body frantically absorbed the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.

Not long after, his cultivation broke through again, reaching the tenth layer of Foundation Establishment.

【Host's cultivation has reached the tenth layer of Foundation Establishment, capable of Extreme Boundary breakthrough; the Foundation Establishment Extreme Boundary Pill has been sent to the host.】

"Huh? Does Foundation Establishment also have an Extreme Boundary?"

Ye Chen softly asked the system.

【Yes, Golden Core also has it; it is also called the Three Great Extreme Boundaries. Those who possess the Three Great Extreme Boundaries and do not fall will become future great achievers.】

Just as Ye Chen was talking with the system, Hunyan's voice suddenly rang out.

"How do you have a Foundation Establishment Extreme Boundary Pill?!"

Hunyan's tone was full of shock, as if he couldn't understand why Ye Chen would have a Foundation Establishment Extreme Boundary Pill, especially since it had suddenly appeared in his hand.

"Never mind that for now; I merely obtained it by a fortunate coincidence."

Ye Chen gave a vague explanation; Hunyan saw that Ye Chen didn't want to elaborate and didn't intend to press further, after all everyone has their own secrets, though most secrets cannot hide from Hunyan.

But Ye Chen is an exception, because he has the system.

"Alright, we can head back now; the vein there has mostly finished condensing."

"Okay."

At the moment Ye Chen's words fell, his figure shot rapidly toward Kunlun Mountain.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, the great change continued.

Lin Ruoxi and Ye Nan are guarded by the paper effigy Ye Chen; he does not worry that they will encounter any danger.

However, the paper effigy Ye Chen is not him; the paper effigy Ye Chen did not sense that, not far away, Gan Yi was watching him.

"Sister, is it not a bit improper for us to spy like this?"

Gan Yi spoke timidly, but the next instant her expression shifted dramatically, becoming extremely alluring.

"There's nothing wrong with it; we're merely protecting him, he ought to thank us."

"But... shouldn't we be seeking opportunities amidst the great change?"

Gan Yi's expression changed again.

"Opportunity? Ye Chen... is the greatest opportunity."

Gan Yi smiled alluringly, her smile was extremely captivating.

Another voice no longer sounded, Gan Yi's expression also froze in an alluring expression.

In her hand slowly appeared a fiery red long spear, "Sister, we... will begin, action power."

At the corner of Gan Yi's mouth slowly rose a proud smile; in the next moment, her figure suddenly disappeared. If the muddy eye were here, they would certainly be able to sense Gan Yi's cultivation, which is astonishingly at the Golden Core realm!

At this moment, Ye Chen's figure appeared in the Kunlun Mountains, his gaze indifferent as he looked at the Kunlun Mountains beneath his feet, "Muddy eye, the rest is up to you."

After Ye Chen finished speaking, the muddy eye floated out from between Ye Chen's eyebrows; gradually, a huge eye emitting a murky haze aura appeared, gazing at that vein of ore.

Under the muddy eye's gaze, the ore vein disappeared at an extremely fast speed; at this moment, a voice suddenly sounded from the sky, as if it were the will of the Great Dao, and also as if it were the will of this planet.

"When the calamity ends, life arises; when the Dao falls, it returns."