A gigantic tree blotted out the sky, its dense branches and leaves still undergoing astonishing, frenzied growth.

Gradually, that colossal tree became grander and more magnificent than the Sea Shark Emperor’s crystal palace behind it. At a glance, the world seemed reduced to just that single tree, making even the ocean appear hidden and obscured.

As the great tree swayed, countless emerald-green leaves drifted out. Each palm-sized leaf bore intricate, complex grain patterns, as if branded with secret arrays.

The leaves surged forward slowly, like a school of flying fish. Streams of intensely sharp aura cleaved through the ocean, causing the surface of Shi Yan’s skin to ache subtly!

"Snap!"

Another bone spur on his shoulder shattered, the piercing pain spreading throughout his body. Shi Yan’s eye twitched, and he couldn't help but roar out loud.

Beams of stellar rainbow light materialized on the surface of Shi Yan’s physical body, like shimmering ribbons. He appeared as if bound by glowing chains.

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!"

His upper body clothing disintegrated, suddenly revealing his rigidly constructed body, as hard as poured molten gold and iron.

"Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!"

Clusters of leaves exploded around his divine body. Mysterious and exquisite diagrams manifested through the shining leaf patterns. These diagrams actually fused miraculously, transforming within an extremely short time from separate entities emerging from the leaves into vine-like tendrils resembling pythons.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The vines, covered in ferocious barbs, lashed out like dragons, sending seawater spraying as they struck Shi Yan’s shoulders.

"Boom!"

Shi Yan’s body erupted in a spray of starlight. Hit by the tendrils, he tumbled in the seawater, and the protective starlight coating his skin suddenly dimmed, on the verge of extinguishing.

Hujiao’s voice echoed again from within the ancient tree, "Bring out the Profound Meaning Talisman Pagoda and the Primordial Origin Talisman. Although you have grasped the true essence of Dark Energy, your realm is too low; you simply cannot unleash its profundity. You are no match for me."

The sky-shading ancient tree writhed strangely on the seabed. Its thousands of branching limbs shook, and countless leaves fluttered down with a "rustle," spinning wildly across the sky like tiny sprites, all descending upon Shi Yan.

Mid-flight, the leaves exploded, and the diagrams reappeared, solidifying into lethal vines that wrapped around Shi Yan’s divine body like giant pythons attacking a person.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

Vine after vine lashed out. Shi Yan swayed within the seawater like a piece of willow fluff. His divine body was covered in bloody patches, and the bone spurs protruding from his shoulders, knees, and elbows were successively breaking and shattering.

At this moment, Shi Yan looked utterly wretched, a truly horrifying sight.

"Shi Yan! If you can't hold on, just concede! You are only at the first heaven of Immortality; defeating a Duke is no disgrace. Don't push yourself!"

Mei Ji cried out, her heart pierced by pain, unable to bear watching. Deep worry etched her beautiful eyes.

"Elder, this child... must be dealt with carefully," behind the Sea Shark Emperor, a Sea Clan elder who had reached the peak of Immortality realm mumbled, hidden inside a massive conch shell, his voice deep and profound.

His eyes were also filled with worry. After noticing the Sea Shark Emperor paying attention, he lowered his voice gravely, "This child’s divine body did not shatter under Hujiao’s attack, and he even glimpsed the true essence of Dark Energy. If he survives this, he is certain to reach the Domain Ancestor realm in the future. To grasp Dark Energy at the first heaven of Immortality means he will surely become a paramount figure upon reaching Domain Ancestor."

The Sea Shark Emperor frowned. "Continue."

"We have seized the Profound Meaning Talisman Pagoda and the Primordial Origin Talisman today, so he will naturally bear a grudge. Given his talent and ability, even without those items, he will still be terrifying in the future," the elder stated seriously and cautiously. "If we let him leave alive, won't it be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains? We’d be planting a terrible seed that could lead to our own demise!"

If Shi Yan’s realm were ordinary and his talent mediocre, the elder would never have spoken this way.

If an ordinary martial artist had no chance of ever breaking through to the Domain Ancestor realm, letting them live would have no future repercussions.

However, the genius and talent Shi Yan displayed now caused the old man secret distress.

"This is a ferocious young beast that will grow into an unparalleled monster in the future. Since we have decided to seize the Profound Meaning Talisman Pagoda, I suggest we act decisively. Even if it means offending the Phantom Race, we must crush him in the cradle and eliminate the hidden danger that could cause our destruction!" The elder finally delivered his verdict.

The Sea Shark Emperor remained silent.

"Elder?" he inquired tentatively.

"I have my own thoughts. Let's keep watching. For some reason, in this fellow, I see the shadow of a certain person..." the Sea Shark Emperor said calmly.

The elder, curled up in the conch shell, refocused his gaze on Shi Yan upon hearing this. Initially, his expression was one of deep confusion. After a while, as if recalling something, his eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had discovered a new continent, causing the conch shell to tremble slightly.

"Now that you mention it, there really is a bit of resemblance! That gaze, the bearing, and the aura—they are indeed somewhat similar!" the elder exclaimed in shock.

"Keep watching!" the Sea Shark Emperor reminded him.

The elder showed an expression mixing shock and delight, nodding excitedly, and said nothing more.

He was situated extremely close to the Sea Shark Emperor, and this man was also a very famous figure among the Sea Clan, once addressed as a brother by the Sea Shark Emperor. Therefore, their hushed conversation was entirely unknown to others.

But Mei Ji noticed it.

Clever and astute, she knew who the old man in the conch shell was. Seeing his grave demeanor and the cold glint in his eyes as he muttered, Mei Ji’s heart turned cold, and she immediately sensed that the situation was turning perilous.

She guessed the elder’s instigation!

A creeping dread began to grip her. Knowing that Shi Yan’s demonstrated potential was too astonishing, it might lead to extremely unfavorable outcomes, she grew anxious. Seeing Shi Yan battered again, her soul felt truly unsettled, and she racked her brain for a solution.

In a stretch of ocean not far from this spot.

A thunder sphere hovered silently in the water, flashing with bright electrical light, resembling an eye.

In fact, it truly was an eye!

If someone were to look down from above this sea area, with a clear and vast enough field of vision, they would discover that every hundred miles in this region, a head-sized thunder sphere floated silently, emitting a coruscating electrical glow.

Many martial artists from various factions operating in this sea area showed fear upon seeing the thunder spheres, instinctively bowing and retreating, softly stating their identities and origins.

For they knew that those thunder spheres were the Lightning Eyes of Feilei, and that Feilei could observe the scene within a hundred miles clearly through them, transmitting the movements and auras within that radius into his main sea of consciousness.

At this moment, one of the long-hovering thunder spheres slowly rotated, releasing a wisp of the aura of combat between Hujiao and Shi Yan.

In a corner of the seabed, Feilei, seated atop the back of a gigantic sea turtle, opened his eyes. His expression shifted, and he muttered to himself, "The aura of Hujiao, subordinate to the Sea Shark Emperor..."

After sensing for a while, his soul stirred. He saw the stationary thunder sphere that had been observing the aura spinning rapidly, diving toward the Sea Shark Emperor’s crystal palace like a bright lantern.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Tendrils hundreds of meters long lashed out like a python whipping its tail, fiercely striking Shi Yan’s divine body.

Shi Yan’s divine body resonated like a drum, emitting dull roars. After every boom, Shi Yan's skin would tear, leaving deep, visible lacerations on his flesh where veins and bone could faintly be seen.

Tears welled in Mei Ji’s beautiful eyes, and she could no longer restrain herself, crying out, "Just give them the Profound Meaning Talisman Pagoda! Stop fighting so foolishly! You are two entire realms below him; you absolutely cannot win!"

The Sea Shark Emperor and the Sea Clan members watched coldly from the crystal palace. Many stopped talking.

Silence descended upon the sea.

Even the Duke and the elder in the conch shell showed a flicker of admiration and respect in their eyes, appreciating Shi Yan’s tenacity and spirit.

The gap between the first heaven of Immortality and the third heaven of Immortality—two realms apart—was vast. In the long history of the Void Sea Realm, there had only been two recorded instances of successfully winning across such a gulf. One victor relied on a divine weapon, and that weapon was a Primordial Artifact...

The other victor caught the opponent in the critical moment of a breakthrough, striking first to inflict grievous wounds, then launching a desperate all-out assault, barely succeeding at the cost of his own physical body shattering down to only his sacrificial altar remaining.

Even then, after succeeding, that person's altar slowly cracked, and he perished entirely within a hundred days.

Therefore, in the hearts of the Sea Clan members and Mei Ji, although Shi Yan had comprehended Dark Energy early and possessed an immensely powerful physique, victory was utterly impossible for him.

They merely wanted to know how long Shi Yan could hold out...

And the duration Shi Yan had managed to endure clearly far exceeded their expectations, filling them with astonishment and regret—astonishment that he had lasted this long, and regret that it came at the cost of his body nearing collapse...

"Your persistence is utterly futile, a clearly doomed struggle that isn