The first chapter was posted in the seventh update, sigh.

The eighth update begins—a new journey! Seeking monthly votes and subscriptions!!! …… Regarding Bai Long and the others, Ye Chen’s initial plan was to cultivate them into assistants for his future assaults on powerful ruins.

Drawing from the experience of his previous life, he deeply understood that unless one’s power reached an invincible level, some ruins could not be overcome by sheer force alone.

He distributed the corpses of monsters ranked between 1000 and 500 to Xu Tiangguo, Bai Long, and the rest, with no limits on quantity; whoever needed them could use them.

Everyone present was his trusted confidant, and he naturally would not be stingy with them.

Xu Tiangguo absolutely had to awaken his innate talent to unleash the achievements of his previous life; his talent was one of the top 10 in the Wind Element rankings, ferociously formidable! With a massive influx of resources, Bai Long and the others quickly surged past level 100 and awakened their respective innate talents after consuming several drops of blood from the Demon Bird leaders.

What greatly astonished Ye Chen was Bai Long’s talent: an almost insanely powerful Replication ability within the Water Element, ranked third! This talent allowed him to replicate anything using his Qi strength; once his Qi strength reached the level of a Qi Master and could condense into physical form, he could use this talent to create living beings! Replicate everything! Anything seen, anything heard, could be copied! It made even Ye Chen’s eyes burn with envy.

The next best was Zhuge Fan’s talent: Golden Body Augmentation in the Metal Element, ranking in the top 10 for that element.

Its defensive capabilities were unbelievably grotesque; once activated, a first-tier Qi strike couldn't penetrate his defense against a second-tier Qi strike, illustrating its brutal effectiveness! Following that was Yue Heng’s Earth Element Vibration talent, also quite terrifying with its destructive power.

The weakest was Mo Feng’s talent: the Wood Element’s Proliferation, ranked outside the top 1000 in the Wood Element.

It only accelerated internal Qi recovery three to four times faster than others, making it useful only for prolonged battles.

However, against true powerhouses, a single move meant instant death; where was the time for a lingering fight? What truly captured Ye Chen’s attention was his younger sister’s talent: Purification in the Light Element, ranking in the top 10 for that element.

It could purify miasma and toxins, and if powerful enough, perhaps even cleanse the entire world! Of course, that was merely a theoretical projection, much like no one knows the name of the number one hundred quintillion.

As for Xu Tiangguo and Huang Tianci, Ye Chen knew their talents without even asking: Wind Element Cutting Talent and Metal Element Golden Body Augmentation, respectively.

The title of Armored God in his past life was earned entirely through that latter talent; both were exceptionally powerful abilities.

Ye Chen couldn't help but muse at how potent the innate talents of Bai Long, Zhuge Fan, and the others he had casually saved turned out to be.

With the awakening of their respective talents, everyone sensed the existence of Qi strength—something far beyond ordinary human comprehension.

However, when Ye Chen introduced the term "Internal Arts" into the explanation, everyone quickly grasped the concept, exclaiming with joy and playing delightedly with the currents of Qi flowing within them.

By the afternoon, Ye Chen brought his sister to the designated area where 36 corpses of monsters level 1000 and above were piled up, enclosed by a wall large enough to resemble a stadium and guarded by formidable figures.

The two walked in unimpeded.

All they saw were towering piles of monster corpses, like mountains, inspiring a sense of insignificance.

Ye Chen’s expression remained calm.

He approached the corpses and told his sister, "Go to the other side, find the monsters suitable for your affinity, and absorb their vital energy." Ye Zhu nodded and turned toward an empty path nearby.

Ye Chen didn't look again, turning instead to a Green-Eyed Blood Tiger.

He extended his palm, and the dense, ink-like Devouring Qi shot out like the gaping maw of a sneering demon, sucking fiercely.

The Metal Element vital energy floating up from the level 1200 monster was rapidly pulled toward him, flowing through the Devouring Qi and into Ye Chen’s body.

The moment the Metal Element Qi made contact, Ye Chen’s body subtly shuddered.

He felt a surge of powerful Qi, like a mountain range, pressing down, trying to force its way into a narrow channel.

Though surprised, his composure remained firm; he swiftly activated his Devouring Qi to shatter the surging Metal Element Qi bit by bit.

The Qi energy from this Green-Eyed Blood Tiger had surpassed the level of a Qi Novice, reaching the first stage of a Qi Master, where the energy could condense into tangible substance.

Absorbing it was exceedingly difficult, like pounding cement with a fist.

Fortunately, Ye Chen’s Qi strength contained the power of Devouring, significantly speeding up the decomposition process.

He slowly sat down, assuming the Five-Heart-to-Heaven posture.

The Green-Eyed Blood Tiger's Qi was drawn in by the Devouring Power concentrated in his five major points, flowing ceaselessly toward him.

Ye Chen’s mind was as calm as a mirror, untouched by a single speck of dust, as he slowly refined it...

Under the torrent of immense Qi infusion, Ye Chen’s internal Qi surged uncontrollably, increasing every moment.

Soon, he advanced from the middle stage of the second tier to the late stage.

Ten small hours passed— With a "buzz," Ye Chen's mind seemed to vibrate, and his entire skin broke out in goosebumps.

The surging Qi expanded his body like a balloon; his bones, blood, intestines, and spleen were compressed, tempered, cleansed, and elevated by this force...

Swish! The surging Qi suddenly vented, becoming denser and more refined, reaching the third tier.

With this Qi alone, Ye Chen could kill level 300 monsters from a distance; used cleverly and unexpectedly, he could even blind a level 1000 monster’s eyes.

During this Qi promotion, Ye Chen's bones and physical constitution also underwent a cleansing and improvement, rising from level 170 to level 200! Suddenly— His left eye flashed violently, becoming purely black like a deep pool.

Within it, a red dot slowly emerged, growing larger until...

Hoo! A burst of flames erupted from Ye Chen’s pupil, striking the hide of the Green-Eyed Blood Tiger before him.

Because the temperature wasn't high enough, it only slightly scorched the surface without igniting, yet it still startled Ye Chen.

This surprise wasn't due to the magic of his left eye, but rather the realization that the heat of this flame was sufficient to burn the hide of monsters between levels 200 and 300! Ye Chen wasn't overly alarmed by the anomaly in his left eye; this had always been within his expectation.

His left eye had been replaced by the Talent Eye of the Three-Eyed Wolf; the essence of this eye required reaching level 200 to awaken, resulting in abilities like light beams, ice, or flames! If a scientific professor were present to study it closely, they would be shocked to discover the eye’s extremely peculiar structure.

It could capture elements like fire and carbon from the air, and once absorbed, these elements would be compressed and stored in a specific location, forming a volatile, oily substance—much like a person holding gasoline and spraying it toward a flame to create a fire column.

This new level of evolution brought infinite possibilities to the body, similar to how some fish in peacetime can store water in their mouths and then expel it as a water sword.

Sensing the peculiarity of his left eye, Ye Chen smiled faintly, then applied himself even more diligently to absorbing the Qi from the Green-Eyed Blood Tiger.

After so much absorption, he had only consumed a small fraction.

As the Qi broke through to the third tier and condensed, Ye Chen’s absorption speed increased.

Time quietly slipped away...

Before he knew it, night had fallen deeply, and a bright, pure moon hung in the sky.

The moonlight was cold, casting down upon Shennongjia, where many peaks stood like bamboo shoots bathed in silver light.

Everyone was inside the buildings, adhering to an early-to-bed, early-to-rise routine.

Guards patrolled the city walls in three shifts.

These men were brimming with energy.

The thought of the distributed monster corpses made their hearts burn with excitement, as if they were hoarding a great beauty at home, lending extra vigor to their patrols.

Furthermore, the installation of surveillance cameras on the walls meant no one dared to doze off.

In the wilderness, only the low chirps of insects could be heard, one after another, echoing from the bushes, adding a hint of peril and a concealed savagery to the night! Time passed quietly.

Deep into the night, only Xu Tiangguo, Bai Long, and the others remained, all inside the monster corpse field, each seeking out monsters matching their affinity to absorb Qi.

They lacked the Devouring talent, so they couldn't absorb the Qi from just any monster.

Hoo! Ye Chen exhaled a breath of turbid air, feeling refreshed and light.

The Qi within him was now sufficient to support brief "air-walking"! Before him, the Green-Eyed Blood Tiger’s body was withered.

Its fiery red fur had turned slightly pale, losing its luster, and its skin was shriveled, crumbling at the slightest touch! Ye Chen waved his hand casually, sending out a stream of Qi that transformed into a black palmprint three meters in diameter, crushing the monster carcass into a lump, kneading it into a large black sphere, and tossing it into a corner nearby.

This black ball became corpse dross, emitting a terrible, foul stench.

By devouring one Green-Eyed Blood Tiger, Ye Chen’s Qi strength reached the level of a fifth-tier Qi Novice, and his physical body, thanks to the Qi promotion, reached level 300! Combining his Qi strength and physical constitution, Ye Chen’s combat power was now equivalent to level 800 without activating Superman Mode.

Facing a level 800 monster that hadn't awakened Qi strength, he could completely slaughter it! He glanced toward his sister’s location, seeing her diligently absorbing the vital energy from the monsters.

He nodded slightly, then walked directly to the next corpse, casually selecting a White Giant Ape carcass.

After checking its Qi affinity—it was Wood Element—he showed no hesitation and began devouring it immediately.

As his Qi strength advanced, Ye Chen’s absorption speed gradually increased.

The profit from this siege battle had been immense, especially the Qi contained within the two corpses of the level 3000 Demon Bird Leaders and the Purple-Scaled Flood Dragon—Qi reaching the third stage of a Qi Master.

Absorbing them would surely lead to an explosive surge in his true strength! In the blink of an eye, seven days passed... "Bang!" A monster corpse, entirely drained of its Qi, was crushed into a ball by a ten-meter-wide black palmprint and dumped into the corner.

Ye Chen stood up, his eyes turning pure black, emitting two cold streaks of lightning.

His overall aura was far more profound; compared to before, the difference was like that between a young novice monk and an old abbot—obvious to any discerning eye.

After seven days of continuous absorption, out of the 36 monster corpses, his sister Ye Zhu had absorbed 6 Wood Element monsters, reaching eighth-tier Qi strength and a physical level of around 400.

Ye Chen absorbed 28 of the remaining 30 monsters, leaving only the Purple-Scaled Flood Dragon and the Demon Bird Leader corpses.