Today is the third update; I was about to upload yesterday at 11 o'clock, but the computer suddenly crashed. I was nearly furious, had it repaired today, so the upload is even later.

There are still two more updates to come. ...

After a fierce auction, the three sets of Python Scale Armor were quickly sold off, bringing in a substantial amount of funds, allowing the acquisition plan to proceed. As the meeting adjourned, many who failed to bid still lingered, looking after Xu Tianguo with regret, wishing they could rush up and search his person.

However, Xu Tianguo was, after all, a magnate of the Light Guild, so these people managed to forcibly suppress the impulse to rob him. On the other side, the pioneering effort continued fiercely.

Ye Chen led a host of elders, hall masters, and several powerhouses from the Blood God Hall, advancing in a straight line toward the Hubei region. Time flew by, and four days passed in the blink of an eye.

Near Shennongjia, in Songluoxiang. "Roar!" A King Kong Ape, entirely platinum in color, stood by the roadside holding a corpse.

Its broad, hairy palm pinched the human head, dragging it away into the distance. Ye Chen and the others were crouched on a distant slope.

The burly, bearded man glanced at the ape, then turned to Ye Chen and inquired doubtfully, "Guild Master, why isn't this King Kong Ape eating the corpse, but dragging it away instead?" "Nothing," Ye Chen said with an indifferent expression. "Most likely, it's taking it back to its lair to feed the young ones." Everyone paused, their expressions turning somewhat odd.

It was truly difficult to imagine that such a ferocious and terrifying monster outside could possess such a 'tender' aspect. Seeing their looks, Ye Chen let out a faint, cold laugh.

"Don't be careless. To this monster, we are merely feed for it to care for its 'family'!" A chill went down everyone’s spines, and their gazes toward the King Kong Ape became icy and cautious.

The weak are prey to the strong; whoever can gain a firm foothold on this land can dictate the order and define morality! After the King Kong Ape departed, the group finally stood up and headed toward the Shennongjia forest region.

Shennongjia was formed by the convergence of several tectonic plates, including the Himalayas, resulting in a stratum with highly distinctive features. In this area, peaks rose and fell, surrounded by mountains, white clouds drifted mistily, and the scenery was picture-perfect.

The forest was once home to many rare animals like the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey and the South China Tiger, but now, all these creatures had turned into monsters! Shennongjia proudly holds the title of the "First Peak of Central China." Its terrain is perilous, its peaks towering.

Establishing a base city here would be easy to defend and hard to attack. Moreover, the scenery is excellent, boasting four main water systems and 317 small rivers, ensuring ample water supply.

In the future, there’s also the potential to excavate prehistoric ruins buried within. The only drawback is the immense difficulty of fending off monster sieges!

However, compared to its advantages, this minor flaw was negligible. Not long after, the party reached the mountains of Shennongjia.

They felt the surroundings were ethereal and silent, broken only by the occasional roar of a beast. "We finally broke through Shennongjia!" the burly, bearded man couldn't help but laugh heartily, his face beaming with joy.

If not for Ye Chen's guidance, it would have taken them at least another month with their current capabilities. "Everyone, take a rest," Ye Chen said calmly.

He then stepped aside and dialed Xu Tianguo’s communicator. "Are the materials ready?" Xu Tianguo paused for a moment, then exclaimed in pleasant surprise, "You broke through Shennongjia?" Ye Chen nodded.

"The materials can be transported over now. My people will return to assist with the transport." "Great!" Xu Tianguo quickly replied.

"All the materials here are prepared. I'll have everyone start moving them now!" Ye Chen closed the communicator and instructed the burly man, "You all stay here and watch.

If the people behind you catch up, set up tents right here!" The burly man responded, "Yes!" He hesitated for a moment. "Guild Master, where are you going?" Ye Chen said placidly, "I’m going inside to check things out." Without waiting for a response, he turned and left, crossing several peaks and following the path they had previously taken to the mountain of the Earth Spirit Spring.

As soon as he reached the summit, he noticed many monster tracks—some large, some small—along with scratch marks left by serpentine creatures. Ye Chen’s brow furrowed slowly as he quickened his pace up the mountain.

A wave of foul stench washed over him. Ye Chen momentarily held his breath, and when he looked up again, he saw an open clearing.

The yellow sand was stained crimson with blood, which had turned black upon drying. Countless corpses were piled there—mangled limbs and severed remains of leopards, snakes, and tigers—all heaped like trash into a small mountain!

It was hard to imagine what a horrific battle had taken place here! On the other side of the mountain of corpses sat a beacon-like, white figure, cross-legged on the ground, still as an ancient fossil, its eyes closed.

Upon sensing another presence, its lantern-like eyes instantly flashed, emitting two cold beams of light. Ye Chen said, "It's me." The coldness in the white figure's eyes immediately shifted to reverence.

It slowly rose like a small hill, its resonant voice tinged with respect: "Greetings, Master!" Ye Chen glanced at it. "How much energy do you have left?" The Silver Mechanical Warrior replied, "8." Ye Chen swiped his hand, opening the Rune Space, and ordered the old man of the Green Rune People to take out an energy crystal and let the Silver Mechanical Warrior absorb it.

Upon hearing that an energy crystal was needed, the old man of the Green Rune People immediately fixed Ye Chen with a resentful look and slowly retrieved the crystal, warning the Silver Mechanical Warrior, "Big guy, absorb less." The Silver Mechanical Warrior completely ignored him. For it, only Ye Chen and Ai Erwei were worth listening to; everyone else could be disregarded.

Ye Chen turned away, not paying further attention to the Green Rune Elder’s expression. He walked to the edge of the Earth Spirit Spring.

The water was crystal clear, without a trace of impurity. Now, in the fifth month, just a single sip of the spring water could raise one’s level to 50!

He allowed Xiao Hei and the other Black Snail Worms to finish absorbing, then retracted the energy crystal and closed the Rune Space. He instructed the Silver Mechanical Warrior, "You stand guard here." Having finished absorbing energy, the Silver Mechanical Warrior stood to the side, respectfully saying, "Yes!" Ye Chen waved his hand, and a surge of energy, imbued with the power of Devouring, enveloped the corpse mountain, forming a gaping black maw three zhang in diameter.

As it opened and closed, wisps and streams of light floated up from the mountain of corpses—some faintly green, some yellowish, some whitish, all belonging to different elemental attributes. The black maw sucked these lights in, chewed them slightly, and then decomposed the different elemental forces into fine particles, refining them into the energy flow.

An hour later. Ye Chen opened his eyes.

As if sensing the end, the black maw let out a whoosh, and the last few faint traces of energy floating off the corpse mountain were instantly swallowed, like a whale breaching. Then, the black maw slowly shrank, condensing into a black sphere that rushed toward Ye Chen, which he swallowed in one gulp.

A thin slit opened on his forehead, revealing the third innate Talent Eye. It gazed upon the world with cold, detached indifference, as if a hint of mockery played within its pure black pupil, where two points of light—one gold, one red—swirled around the edge.

If not for a close look, they would be hard to spot. Ye Chen felt his internal energy increase significantly, faintly reaching the mid-stage of the Second Tier.

His pure energy flow alone carried the force equivalent to that of a Level 250 expert! The beauty of this energy flow lay in its subtlety; it was nearly impossible to defend against for those who hadn't awakened their own physical strength.

Ye Chen looked at the mountain of corpses, which was rapidly decaying after losing its vital energy. With a cold expression, he thrust out a palm.

The energy flow formed a pitch-black giant palm that shot out, striking the corpse mountain and scattering it toward the cliff edge, where it tumbled over. Subsequently, Ye Chen dialed Bai Long’s communicator.

"You guys detach from the Huaxia Base City immediately and come station yourselves in Shennongjia." Bai Long sounded surprised. "It's established already?" "Not yet," Ye Chen replied calmly.

Bai Long rolled his eyes. "More manual labor!" Ye Chen shot him a look.

"There are plenty of monsters here, perfect for you to hunt, so you won't have to bother looking for them every day." "Who'd believe that!" Bai Long grumbled. "The Huaxia Base City has even been talking about promoting me to Senior Commander recently; the benefits are fantastic." Ye Chen said lightly, "My place offers zero benefits.

You earn your own food and lodging, no perks." "I knew it," Bai Long said with a look of 'just as I suspected.' Ye Chen glanced at him. "So, are you coming or not?" "Nonsense!" Bai Long shrugged.

"Of course, I'm coming! How could I let Little Chen Chen go without my company!" "Go away," Ye Chen dismissed him with a wave.

"Get here as fast as possible, and have Mo Feng bring the research tools. I need to extract genes." Bai Long pouted.

"Don't worry, that madman brings his precious suitcase everywhere he goes." In a certain laboratory far away. "Ah-choo!" Mo Feng, wearing glasses and dissecting the abdomen of a zombie, suddenly sneezed.

His hand trembled slightly, causing him to cut crookedly. He glanced at the cut and couldn't help but frown.

"Roooar!" The zombie howled in pain, nearly crying tears. ...

After closing the communicator, Ye Chen turned and walked down the mountain. After four continuous days of hunting, his physical constitution had reached Level 170.

The burly man and the others had also benefited, reaching as high as Level 70, with the lowest at Level 50—enough to become major generals in a base city! Just then, his ears twitched suddenly.

He quickly dropped to the sandy ground and looked up. He saw a beam of light swiftly flashing across the sky—yes, it was pure light!

The radiance flashed and vanished near them. Just as Ye Chen was about to look away, he suddenly saw the light beam slowly descend, stopping on a distant peak before disappearing from sight.

Ye Chen frowned slightly, his eyes showing contemplation. After a brief thought, he rose and began running toward the location where the light had landed.

Along the way, he traversed more than ten hills and jumped across seven or eight small streams. The water was clear enough to see the bottom, and fish monsters swam within.

Due to their size, their upper bodies were exposed to the air, and they moved in a very limited area. Even an ordinary person standing on the bank could slowly smash these fish monsters to death with stones.