"This is the Fountain of Divine Power," the Elder said, his expression somewhat solemn. "Each immersion has no time limit, but after reaching a certain duration, the body will absorb to its fullness. When you find you can no longer absorb, you can leave the Fountain of Divine Power. Lingering longer will not only fail to strengthen the body but will actually harm the bones and tendons."

Ye Chen looked at the golden pool, sensing the mysterious and immensely powerful energy radiating from the liquid through the Qi within his body, carrying an aura of sublime majesty. Following the Elder's instructions, he stripped off his clothes and stepped naked into the pool.

The moment he entered, the warm, golden liquid enveloped his entire body. Ye Chen sank beneath the surface but was astonished to find he could breathe, and his eyes could open, revealing a world of golden ocean before him.

Just then, enveloped by the golden fluid, his body felt as if trillions of tiny hands were massaging him—an exquisite comfort that invited deep intoxication. Ye Chen could feel his internal cells gradually becoming saturated under the mysterious energy, then transforming, then saturating, then transforming again...

"A slight strengthening..."

According to the introduction to the Fountain of Divine Power, the higher one's life level, the more energy one can accommodate, and the higher the level one can attain! If it were an ant, whose life level is only one-hundredth that of a human, it could only absorb a fingertip-sized amount of energy before reaching saturation!"

"And compared to a human, a tiger can hold AG where a human can hold PG. This is not determined by volume, but by the level of the genetic cells..."

Ye Chen pondered inwardly, "As a human, although my physique surpasses the people here, my life level is still human, not yet transformed, only one-tenth that of the primitive humans here. I wonder how much I can contain?"

He then quieted his thoughts, allowing his entire being to sink into the golden ocean.

Time flowed by...

It felt like an instant yet simultaneously like a thousand ages had passed.

In that feeling of deep immersion, Ye Chen seemed to dream a dream. He saw the surrounding Fountain of Divine Power churning like boiling seawater, parting around him. In the distance, a magnificent hall, large enough to obscure heaven and earth, stood tall and imposing like a towering mountain, slowly rising up. Within this divine temple, faint calls echoed...

And in the center of that temple stood a massive stone stele, reaching higher than the sky, exuding an ancient, weathered aura as if it were suppressing something.

The moment Ye Chen saw the stele, a fierce roar suddenly exploded beside his ear, startling him awake instantly. His mind buzzed, and his soul trembled.

"What happened!" Ye Chen's expression shifted slightly, filled with surprise and uncertainty... "Was that a dream, or was it real?"

If not for the golden ocean still before his eyes, Ye Chen would have fully believed that everything he just experienced was real—that towering palace and the ancient stele held a profound mystery...

Outside.

Huang Chui and the Elder stood quietly waiting at the edge of the Fountain of Divine Power.

Huang Zhong smiled slightly, "Our clansmen usually manage to last an hour in the pool; those with powerful physiques last even longer! I wonder how this child will fare?"

The Elder looked at the Fountain of Divine Power and nodded, "I have managed the Emissary duty for many years and have seen countless nascent prodigies. Although they all perished during the Demon Domain trial, the person who lasted the longest in the Fountain of Divine Power reached three hours!"

"Three hours?" Huang Zhong's pupils constricted, his voice laced with doubt... "How could anyone last that long? Could that person be a King-Grade expert?"

To last one hour meant hitting the bottleneck; every second beyond that was incredibly arduous!

The Elder nodded slowly, "It's a pity that person ultimately perished; otherwise, he might have become a major figure in the Divine Hall!"

Huang Zhong let out a wry laugh, "Back when I immersed myself, I only lasted for you minutes to achieve my current success as a Tenth-Rank Warrior. I am only a hair's breadth away from breaking through to become a King-Grade expert! The one who lasted three hours, if allowed to develop, would absolutely be the Island Master of the Six Divine Islands of the Inner Sea!"

The Elder nodded, "The last time, among the Six Divine Islands, the Island Master of Purple Vein Island immersed himself for six hours! His strength was terrifyingly formidable!"

Huang Zhong grumbled, "Figures like that must be incredible. Every Island Master of these Six Divine Islands is someone who has fought their way through the Demon Domain, even daring to traverse the great ocean!"

The Elder smiled slightly, and then both looked toward the Fountain of Divine Power.

Time flew by like a shuttle.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes... an hour passed...

As the first hour elapsed, the Fountain of Divine Power remained undisturbed, causing surprise to surface on the faces of the Elder and Huang Zhong. They exchanged glances, continuing to watch with curiosity...

Thirty minutes, forty minutes... fifty minutes...

Gradually, two hours went by.

The Elder and Huang Zhong grew solemn. Huang Zhong, in particular, began to sweat on his brow. He stared intently at the Fountain of Divine Power; based on his current achievement, Ye Chen had already surpassed him!

Inside the pool.

Ye Chen sat cross-legged, his Qi sinking to his Dantian. Under the infusion of mysterious energy, his entire body's cells underwent repeated sharp transformations, and his genes slowly strengthened. This process repeated tens of millions of times, seemingly without end...

As the cells transformed, Ye Chen could feel his overall strength slowly increasing. In this brief period... his power had jumped from Level 1000 to Level 1500!

In the blink of an eye, two hours had passed.

By the edge of the pool, the Elder and Huang Zhong stared at the pool, their faces filled with shock and disbelief. How could a mere Sixth-Rank Warrior remain inside for so long?"

"Could it be... could it be..." Huang Zhong was drenched in sweat, "Will he drown in there?"

The Elder rolled his eyes dismissively, "Nonsense! How could anyone drown in there? Unless he was too greedy and forced himself to stay, causing his body to collapse and be refined by the divine power."

Huang Zhong grew anxious, "What should we do now?"

The Elder pondered for a moment, "Let's wait a bit longer. Perhaps this outsider's physical structure is different from ours, which is why he can stay longer."

Huang Zhong managed a bitter smile.

As time dragged on...

Six hours, seven hours, eight hours...

After eight hours, even the usually calm Elder became somewhat inexplicably restless. A trace of resentment surfaced in both their hearts toward Ye Chen.

"We explicitly warned him not to force himself to stay inside. This young man insists on biting off more than he can chew!"

"Looking at the situation, he has most likely been refined by the divine power."

Both felt dejected. To lose a Sixth-Rank expert for nothing; even the people of the Six Divine Islands of the Inner Sea would find that loss painful.

Another four hours passed, bringing the total to exactly twelve hours.

"Forget it, I'll fish him out to see. If he's truly gone, then I'll have to close the passage," the Elder sighed, a hint of helplessness in his tone.

Huang Zhong's face was ashen, and he remained silent.

The Elder turned aside, picking up a tool resembling a net, preparing to probe the Fountain of Divine Power. Just then, the surface of the fountain rippled suddenly, and immediately afterward, a figure slowly rose suspended from within, his black hair dripping the golden liquid, his physique balanced, his skin fair—standing proud like a demon god!

Ye Chen!

Huang Zhong and the Elder froze upon seeing Ye Chen, then their eyes widened, and they exclaimed in unison, "You're not dead?"

Ye Chen's figure moved swiftly to the edge of the pool. With a grab of his hand, he quickly pulled on his clothes, then looked at the two strangely, "Why would I die?"

Huang Zhong swallowed hard, "How could you last this long? How much has your strength improved? Do you realize that even I could only last for yi minutes in the Fountain of Divine Power, yet you lasted twelve hours!!!"

Ye Chen paused, then asked cautiously, "Really?"

Huang Zhong nearly exploded, "Of course, it's real!"

"Oh..." Ye Chen suddenly understood.

He felt his body. After such a long immersion, his physique had risen from Level 1400 to Level 1800! This was equivalent to a full Sixth-Rank increase! Now, his overall strength was equivalent to a Second-Rank King-Grade expert!"

"It only increased by three ranks!" Ye Chen mused. If he revealed his true strength to Huang Zhong and the Elder, he might not receive awe, but suspicion instead. After all, these people were somewhat wary of outsiders. If an outsider became too powerful, it would raise questions about the outsider's intentions for coming here...

Even with the discount, upon hearing this number, the corners of Huang Zhong and the Elder's mouths twitched.

Three ranks!

It might take someone more than a decade of hard training from childhood to reach that level, but now, Ye Chen had surged terrifyingly in just twelve hours. This level of strength put him only one rank below Huang Zhong!

Ye Chen looked at them and asked, "You said I stayed in there for twelve hours?"

"Mm..." Huang Zhong replied weakly, his spirit severely traumatized...

"That long..." Ye Chen pondered. "Huang Zhong is Tenth-Rank, only lasting ninety minutes. I am only slightly stronger than him; logically, I shouldn't have been able to stay much longer, especially since his life gene level is ten times mine!"

"Calculating based on that..."

"Could it be due to my life gene level?" Ye Chen pondered, suddenly recalling the divine blood he obtained from the Atlantis civilization and his Superman Modes, his eyes lighting up.

"How did I not think of this! My Ant Superman Mode grants a tenfold amplification. My physique didn't change, but my strength surged. This comes from a change in the body's structure, which originates from the transformation of the most basic cells, genes, molecules, and atoms. This means that if I can withstand a tenfold amplification from the Ant Superman Mode, it implies my life gene level can withstand tenfold infusion!"

"And the Lightning Superman Mode is a fifty-fold amplification, meaning I can withstand up to four times the infusion maximum. These people here have a life level of tenfold, and I have four times, meaning I am one-tenth of their level! That's why I could stay so long!"

Ye Chen suddenly saw the light, even having an epiphany about another matter: "Does this mean that those who awakened Superman Modes and died because their gene chains collapsed did so because their life levels couldn't sustain the burden? And this Fountain of Divine Power can raise a person's life level, allowing their cells to possess greater width!"

Chapter 18:59:18 Finished? To be continued... H