The Tianyuan Utopia.

A lake of lava lay deep underground in the southwest sector. Giant bubbles rose from the scarlet-red magma and violently burst apart, sending a spray of fire rain in all directions.

A terrifying heat filled the entire underground area.

Zhou Yuan was seated on a boulder that protruded from a cliff. After confirming his participation in the mystical creature battle, he had directly returned to the Tianyuan Utopia, ignoring the giant debate that had erupted due to the participant list. All doubts would naturally fade once the outcome emerged. It was meaningless to argue over it.

He had come to the underground lava lake to practice the newly obtained body-tempering little Saint Art, the Purgatory Great Flame Devil.

However, he had not started immediately. Instead, he was currently viewing the interior of his Divine Dwelling...

In the Divine Dwelling, Zhou Yuan’s consciousness hovered next to the Saint Rune light sphere as he curiously probed it.

The Saint Rune light sphere was made from the four Saint Runes. What sparked Zhou Yuan’s curiosity was that he was still unable to see the fourth Saint Rune!

Decoder, Earth and Heavenly Punishment. Zhou Yuan had already tasted the unique powers of three of the four Saint Runes. Only the fourth Saint Rune had long eluded him. He was still completely in the dark about its name and power...

Zhou Yuan’s Spirit scanned the glowing Saint Rune sphere before focusing on the fourth Saint Rune.

The moment he did so, Zhou Yuan felt his Spirit power be consumed at an extremely rapid pace.

However, he did not panic, because this had happened before. It seemed that merely viewing the fourth rune required extremely abundant Spirit power.

Zhou Yuan’s Spirit had been at the initial Transformative stage previously, and it had only managed to last for a dozen breaths before being exhausted, making it hard for him to make any progress in his probing. Now, his Spirit had advanced to the next lesser cultivation realm and should be able to last longer.

His Spirit power rapidly depleted.

In the blink an eye, several dozen breaths passed.

Zhou Yuan could no longer remain composed. He could feel his Spirit power approach rock-bottom. The amount of Spirit power needed to view the fourth Saint Rune far surpassed his initial expectations.

But he knew that giving up now would only end up wasting his earlier efforts. Hence, he gritted his teeth and urged out all his remaining Spirit power.

Rumble!

A ripple seemed to spread in his Divine Dwelling, and the glass Heavenly Sun violently flickered.

Zhou Yuan’s Spirit tenaciously focused on the side of the sphere where the fourth Saint Rune was. The surface rippled intensely as mist seemed to fade, and the silhouette of a single ancient word faintly flashed past...

Mysterious.

“Mysterious? Mysterious what?” Zhou Yuan felt a little agitated. This was clearly only half of the fourth rune’s name. Without knowing the whole thing, he would be unable to activate the fourth rune’s true power. Unfortunately, his current Spirit power was clearly still not enough to find out the rune’s true name.

Regret filled Zhou Yuan’s heart.

However, just as his exhausted self was about to withdraw, he suddenly saw the Saint Rune sphere violently shudder. Ripples spread across its surface as the sphere turned somewhat transparent.

To his shock, Zhou Yuan discovered that there was something inside the sphere!

What is this? It seems to be some kind of fragment?!

An indescribable power spread from the mysterious fragment that made respect rise within one’s heart. Moreover, Zhou Yuan felt a familiar feeling from it.

This is...

After several seconds of silence, Zhou Yuan's heart began to thump violently, and his eyes widened abruptly as shock filled his pale face.

The item hidden inside the Saint Rune sphere was...a fragment of the Cangxuan Saint Stamp?!

In the great battle of Canxuan Heaven, Zhou Yuan had ultimately borrowed patriarch Cang Xuan’s power to shatter the Cangxuan Saint Stamp. The stamp was smashed into numerous fragments that scattered throughout Cangxuan Heaven. Zhou Yuan never imagined that a fragment would be swept along with the four Saint Runes, hiding together with them in his Divine Dwelling!

Moreover, Zhou Yuan could clearly sense that this fragment was likely the biggest of them all!

“This…” In the face of such a discovery, even Zhou Yuan could not restrain his astonishment.

This was the Cangxuan Saint Stamp. Anyone who possessed it could become the master of an entire heaven. Such power and status were hard to even imagine. In the face of a true natural ultimate treasure like it, even the supreme sovereigns would be tempted.

Zhou Yuan gulped. It was no wonder the four Saint Runes had taken the form of a glowing sphere. It was likely to seal the fragment’s aura. Otherwise, who knows what the supreme sovereigns in Hunyuan Heaven may do if they discover its presence?

It was his earlier probing of the fourth rune that caused a disturbance in the sphere, resulting in the Saint Stamp fragment hidden deep within it being revealed.

To be honest, Zhou Yuan already had a faint feeling that there was something inside the sphere the moment the sphere had appeared. However, he had assumed he was overthinking things and did not give the matter much thought. Who could have expected that he would stumble upon such a discovery…?

His shock lasted for a long time before slowly fading away.

Zhou Yuan’s eyes twinkled in thought. Even with the Sacred Palace’s capabilities, it would likely take them some time to gather all of the fragments. However, once they collected all of the other fragments, the final fragment’s existence would likely be discovered even with the seal of the four Saint Runes sphere.

That old dog Sheng Yuan would never let him off.

However...

“If that time comes, who knows whether I will be the one who won’t let him off!” Iciness flashed in Zhou Yuan’s eyes. The day would eventually come when he would return to Cangxuan Heaven for his revenge. The old dog Sheng Yuan made Yaoyao fall into a deep sleep and nearly destroyed the Cangxuan Sect. Every single one of these debts was clearly carved into Zhou Yuan’s memory.

Zhou Yuan's continuous growth over the years was akin to a race with the Sacred Palace. He needed to return before the Sacred Palace gathered all of the Saint Stamp fragments. Otherwise, no one would be able to stop a recovered Sheng Yuan who had the majority of the Saint Stamp’s power.

In addition, Zhou Yuan owed a huge debt of gratitude to the Cangxuan Sect, and his parents were still in Cangxuan Heaven. Hence, there was absolutely no way he would idly sit by and watch the Sacred Palace lord over Cangxuan Heaven.

Zhou Yuan released a deep breath as his expression turned a little grave. What a tremendous amount of pressure.

However, he also understood that he could not rush his progress. He was already growing at a rapid pace, and it would only hurt his foundations if he were to single-mindedly pursue cultivation speed. That was a mistake he could not afford to make. The many factions in Cangxuan Heaven were well aware of the Sacred Palace’s ambitions. Hence, it would not be easy for the Sacred Palace to gather all of the Saint Stamp fragments.

“Old dog Sheng Yuan, let’s see who’s faster…” A determined light blossomed in Zhou Yuan’s eyes. He soon closed his eyes and began to recover his depleted Spirit power.

Half a day later, Zhou Yuan, fully recovered, opened his eyes and looked towards the magma lake below. It’s time to master the Purgatory Great Flame Devil...