Bai Yue paid little attention to the turmoil unfolding across the Nebula World.
Everything was proceeding exactly as he had anticipated. With the absolute strength gap laid bare, the Universe Exalts of the Human Race were more than capable of handling matters on their own. Victory, slaughter, harvest—none of it required his direct supervision.
As battles across the Nebula World concluded one after another, detailed star maps, environmental scans, and intelligence records were uploaded in batches to the Virtual Universe. Bai Yue skimmed through them calmly, his gaze pausing only when certain special locations appeared.
One name, in particular, stood out repeatedly.
Burning Breath Valley.
Time–Space Corridor.
Among the strong individuals of the Nebula World, opinions varied widely when asked about the most dangerous place. Some named forbidden star fields, others ancient battle ruins, and still others the domains of Overlords themselves.
But if asked which place was the most mysterious—
Almost without exception, the answer was the same.
The Time–Space Corridor, hidden deep within the Burning Breath Valley.
Its mystery did not stem from obvious danger, but from its almost mythological connection to the rise of the Nebula World's Overlords.
Legends claimed that many of the Overlords' breakthroughs, and even the origins of their most famous treasures, were directly tied to this place. One after another, the strongest beings of the Nebula World had supposedly entered the Time–Space Corridor in their youth, gained unimaginable opportunities, and then risen rapidly—eventually standing at the pinnacle of the world.
Whether these stories were exaggerations or not, Bai Yue knew one thing.
Any place repeatedly linked to the rise of so many peak existences could not be simple.
The Dead Star
The destination lay within a desolate star field.
Black meteorites drifted everywhere, far denser than in normal regions of space. There was no sign of life, no thriving celestial bodies—only scorched remnants floating silently through the void.
Even the stars here seemed exhausted, their brilliance long drained, leaving behind dim, burnt husks.
Bai Yue walked alone through the void.
Each step carried him across vast distances, yet his pace remained unhurried, almost leisurely, as if strolling through a quiet garden.
Soon, he reached the center of the star field.
There, suspended in space, was a colossal black celestial body.
At first glance, it resembled a dead stellar remnant—charred, lifeless, and cold. But upon closer inspection, the difference was striking.
Its diameter exceeded three light-years.
And it was not solid.
Its surface was riddled with ravines, tunnels, and cavernous openings, as though it had been hollowed out from within. Countless passages extended deep into its interior, forming a labyrinthine structure that defied natural explanation.
"So this is the dead star housing the Time–Space Corridor," Bai Yue murmured.
"It truly is… unusual."
Probing the Interior
A hazy Chaos Domain expanded outward, enveloping the entire dead star.
Like countless invisible tendrils, the Domain penetrated the surface caverns and extended inward.
Almost immediately, Bai Yue sensed resistance.
The material composing this dead star was extraordinarily hard, emitting a faint, dark jade-like luster. Even Universe Exalts would struggle to damage it. More importantly, it possessed an inherent ability to interfere with Domain probing, severely weakening the transmission of Domain power.
The Chaos Domain pressed on regardless.
Some passages looped endlessly within the star, eventually returning to the surface. Others twisted and branched, extending deeper and deeper.
As the Domain advanced, Bai Yue's perception began to detect scenes utterly out of place.
The deeper the passages went, the denser the Universe energy became.
Small worlds appeared—then larger ones—hidden within the interior like pearls embedded inside stone.
Finally, the Domain reached a massive inner world, far larger than the rest.
The moment his perception touched it, Bai Yue felt the difference.
Space was extraordinarily stable.
Law fluctuations permeated the entire world, forming a natural suppression that prevented teleportation entirely.
"This fluctuation…"
A faint smile appeared on Bai Yue's lips.
"This should be it."
The Inner World
He took a single step.
Space–time folded, and his figure vanished from the void.
When he reappeared, he stood at the end of a cavernous passage.
Before him was a sheer cliff face, draped in thick green vines. Small, nameless flowers bloomed among the foliage, releasing a faint, refreshing fragrance whenever the breeze passed.
Looking down, an endless sea of clouds churned below like rolling waves.
In the distance, massive mountain peaks rose above the cloud sea, unshaken by the constant surging white mist. Even more astonishing, colossal trees pierced through the clouds, their canopies spreading wide like verdant domes suspended in the sky.
It was tranquil.
Peaceful.
A stark contrast to the dead star outside.
Bai Yue stood silently for a long while, letting his mind settle.
Within this serenity, he gradually sensed the law aura permeating the world.
It felt… familiar.
Similar to the fluctuations that accompanied the breakthroughs of Immortal Gods and Universe Exalts—like the descent of the Law Origin Ocean, or the pouring down of endless divine power through a spatial passage.
But this fluctuation was different.
It had existed for an unimaginably long time.
Far longer than any breakthrough process should last.
"This isn't someone advancing," Bai Yue concluded calmly.
"It's something else entirely."
Without dwelling further, he flew out from the cave mouth and accelerated toward the source of the fluctuations.
Lightning crackled sporadically through the sky, violent and destructive—but Bai Yue ignored it completely, charging straight through.
The Guardian Awakens
As he advanced, the law fluctuations intensified.
Then—
A mountain ahead moved.
Four colossal arms, each covered in dense law patterns, burst forth from beneath the cloud sea and reached toward Bai Yue.
The attack was sudden and ferocious.
But too slow.
Bai Yue dodged effortlessly and halted midair, turning to observe.
The mountain continued to rise.
A beast-like head emerged, followed by a towering body carved seemingly from black rock. Stone armor covered it entirely, giving it the appearance of a living fortress.
A rock lifeform.
A powerful one.
"Interesting," Bai Yue said softly.
"I didn't expect such a being to exist here."
The rock lifeform gave no reply.
Instead, it exploded into motion, transforming into a black streak of light as it charged again.
Four massive silver war hammers appeared in its hands. Each swing shattered space, creating violent spatial fractures before the attack even landed.
Invisible force locked the surrounding space, sealing Bai Yue's movement.
For an ordinary Universe Exalt, escape would have been impossible.
"I had no intention of disturbing you," Bai Yue said calmly.
"But since you insist… you'll do nicely as a specimen."
The Chaos Domain expanded.
Time seemed to freeze.
The rock lifeform was instantly immobilized, then vanished—directly transferred into Bai Yue's Original Universe.
Memories of a "Creator"
Within the Original Universe, the rock lifeform's soul lay completely exposed.
Bai Yue read its memories effortlessly.
They stretched back across an immense span of time.
The rock lifeform had been born intelligent, yet utterly passive. It had never left this world, spending its entire existence rooted in place, unmoving.
Then, one day—
A being descended.
A being of overwhelming aura.
This being sensed the rock lifeform, yet did not harm it. Instead, over many years, he returned repeatedly, guiding it, teaching it cultivation.
He called himself Arceus.
The Creator of all things in this world.
He told the rock lifeform that all beings here—including itself—were his descendants.
The simple rock lifeform believed him completely.
When the rock lifeform reached the Universe Exalt level, Arceus descended once more. He bestowed upon it powerful treasures—the four war hammers and the stone armor—and taught it how to use them.
Finally, Arceus revealed its purpose.
Its mission was to guard the heart of this world.
No outsider was to pass.
For countless years, the rock lifeform fulfilled this duty faithfully.
It repelled every intruder—including the Overlords of the Nebula World, even the Light Overlord himself.
Its innate abilities were terrifying.
Its consciousness could merge with the earth itself, sensing any powerful being that entered the world. It could also draw upon the world's power to regenerate its god body rapidly.
With its enormous body and these abilities combined, even Overlords stronger than it could not defeat it here.
"They survived only because Arceus allowed it," Bai Yue concluded.
"This 'Creator'… is far more cautious than he appears."
Burning Breath Valley
No further obstacles appeared.
Bai Yue soon arrived before a colossal valley.
Flames roared endlessly within, filling the entire region.
This was Burning Breath Valley.
Even Universe Exalts would suffer severe losses here without sufficient treasure protection. Flame vortices appeared randomly, their suction capable of trapping and destroying even powerful beings.
Bai Yue walked straight in.
Flames crashed against his body, vortex after vortex colliding with him—
and dissipating harmlessly.
At the valley's center, he finally saw it.
A vast, twisting passage.
The Time–Space Corridor.
It radiated no overt danger, yet the law aura within it was profound and deep.
According to the rock lifeform's memories, Arceus had once brought selected geniuses through this corridor to cultivate in an unknown world, then sent them back.
But later, the entry method changed.
Even the Overlords who tried repeatedly were unable to enter.
Arceus had left behind safeguards—layers upon layers of them.
Bai Yue extended his perception and felt it clearly.
"This level of time–space secret technique…"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"It has already reached Universe Lord tier."
No wonder the Nebula World's Overlords had all been turned away.
Closing
Whatever lay beyond this corridor—
It was no ordinary inheritance.
It was something left behind deliberately, hidden with extreme caution.
And Bai Yue was certain of one thing.
The so-called Creator, Arceus, was not merely a legend.
He was real.
And his secrets were about to be unveiled.