That colossal dark silhouette was none other than the thousand-zhang crocodile, its eyes burning with savage light as it lunged to tear at Ye Chen! With its sheer size, opening its mouth caused the seawater to surge inward, like a bursting dam, whipping the current into a frenzy that dragged Ye Chen toward it.
"You seek death!"
Ye Chen’s eyes were icy. Clutching his divine sword, he plunged straight into the massive maw. As he neared, he abruptly stamped his foot, using the resulting force to propel his body toward the crocodile’s lower jaw. With a press of his finger, the seven-foot sword in his hand instantly swelled, growing to three zhang in the blink of an eye, swirling the seawater as it cleaved downward!
This divine sword, being a fragment of the Xuanyuan Divine Sword, possessed identical functions. Its entire body was forged from materials based on memory metal and retractable metal. Simply by pressing the switch on the hilt, it could extend or retract freely, growing larger or smaller—at its minimum, as short as a finger, and at its maximum, up to 10 meters!
As the divine sword amplified, its size could be fine-tuned. With the inherent power of the main sword, it could cleave mountains in half with a single swing when extended over a thousand zhang!
"Meteorite Profundity!"
"The Character 'De' Sword Art!"
Ye Chen’s eyes snapped wide open, veins bulging alarmingly on his arms. He swung the divine sword fragment, meeting the thousand-zhang crocodile’s lower jaw head-on. The aggressive current parted on either side, carved open by a vacuum path!
Shhhk!
The divine sword was sharp and tenacious, capable of slicing a single gene into a hundred pieces. As Ye Chen unleashed Meteorite Profundity, the longsword sped forward like the wind, imbued with an aura of absolute destruction. Its offensive power doubled, and it slammed directly into the gap between the crocodile’s lower jaw teeth, tearing open a bloody gash!
This thousand-zhang crocodile, one of the colossal sea beasts of the inner sea, possessed strength reaching the Ninth Tier of the Divine Grade. Upon breaking through to the Tenth Tier, it would attain transcendent power, comparable to a divine dragon!
Yet, here it was, wounded by Ye Chen's hand! Thanks to the profound mysteries of the ‘De’ Character Sword Art, the power of this strike far exceeded its norm. Coupled with the sword's keen sharpness, the sword force surged to the First Tier of the Divine Grade. Then, under Meteorite Profundity, the attack power doubled again, reaching the Second Tier of the Divine Grade, achieving this success in one go!
However, the immense impact swept over Ye Chen’s entire body, shaking his palm until it trembled. The tiger’s mouth split open, his five fingers completely numb, as if he had been run over head-on by a massive truck. The divine sword instantly slipped from his grasp and fell away.
Ye Chen startled inwardly, pushed back over ten zhang by the current, narrowly avoiding being swallowed by the thousand-zhang crocodile. He watched the divine sword drop, rapidly vanishing from sight, and quickly opened his Rune Space, retrieving the Sky Crystal Battle Blade from within!
As soon as the Rune Space opened, a torrent of seawater rushed in, but the spatial plane was immensely vast and remained completely unaffected. Ye Chen summoned all his strength, dragging out the Sky Crystal Battle Blade, which weighed 5 million g, before snapping the Rune Space shut.
Whoosh!
The tip of the sword pointed downward, sharp and piercing, instantly boring through the seawater and plunging below. Ye Chen gripped the hilt, pulled along like a cannonball.
An object weighing 5 million g, with a volume of 20 meters, dropped into the sea. Coupled with its razor-sharp leading edge, it was entirely unimpeded by water resistance, plummeting straight down at incredible speed!
On a scale of the thousand-zhang crocodile’s forehead, the Dark Prince slowly materialized from within a protective scale. Before a smile could even cross his face, he saw Ye Chen grasping the sword hilt, descending into the depths to chase his lost divine sword. His expression changed drastically, and he roared, "Chase!"
He had been concealed within the crocodile’s scales. Seeing the divine sword fall, he was initially ecstatic, preparing to rise and personally deal with the opponent. But as soon as he emerged, he saw only Ye Chen's receding back. Rage flared, and he knew he absolutely could not let Ye Chen reclaim the sword; otherwise, his own life would be threatened.
Furthermore...
That divine sword was, in itself, a Ghost Artifact!
It was something even Half-God experts fought over. After all, in the craft of artifact refinement, few civilizations truly mastered it, and the importance of weaponry was self-evident.
Swish!
The thousand-zhang crocodile roared once and dove straight down, its body twisting as it accelerated, weaving through the water. Its massive form, like a mountain, shot downward!
Originally, given the crocodile’s size and a weight near ten million g, its vast surface area created immense drag. Although its tail could provide propulsion, Ye Chen, clinging to the Sky Crystal Battle Blade, was falling purely due to the blade’s weight in a straight line. Furthermore, the blade’s sharpness meant the water naturally parted, leaving it unaffected by resistance.
As a result, their speeds were initially neck-and-neck. However, Ye Chen was descending faster, pulling ahead by a hundred zhang.
"Accelerate!"
"Accelerate!"
The Dark Prince urged anxiously. A hundred zhang in this sea domain was equivalent to more than ten thousand zhang on land! Moreover, as they descended, the surrounding water density increased, and crushing pressure assailed them. If he detached from the crocodile, his body would instantly be squeezed by the water, slowing his movements.
Ye Chen felt the Dark Prince pursuing him, his eyes chilling. He mused internally, "Instead of fleeing, he chases—he's courting death!" This suited his intentions perfectly. If the Dark Prince had fled now, leaving the Divine Tomb entirely, Ye Chen would never find him again.
As they plunged deeper, seabed reefs, strange rocks, and underwater mountains streaked past. The divine sword fragment, being immensely heavy, had fallen straight down after being jarred loose, plunging out of sight. Now, the surrounding pressure began to press in, slowly inducing a sense of suffocation.
"How deep is this ocean? I've been falling for so long and haven't hit the bottom!" Ye Chen was inwardly shocked. He felt he had sunk thousands of li below the seabed. The surroundings were pitch black, sight useless, though there were strange peaks, seaweed, and peculiar bioluminescent flora.
Roar!
A deep roar echoed behind him. The thousand-zhang crocodile was gradually closing in. Its tail thrashed rapidly, simultaneously ejecting internal energy to propel its body, causing its speed to surge!
Ye Chen frowned, sensing the monster approaching. Thoughts raced through his mind. Just then, he heard a massive boom from behind and looked back in surprise. Seeing the scene made his heart leap with hidden delight. As they went deeper, the surrounding rock formations grew denser. Given the crocodile's enormous bulk, it could have easily navigated around them, but in pursuit of Ye Chen, it had to crash straight through!
As a result, its speed immediately slowed.
The Dark Prince snarled angrily, "You fat oaf, why are you so bulky!" He completely forgot that without such a massive size, the thousand-zhang crocodile couldn't have kept up so closely with Ye Chen.
A moment later.
Man and beast descended further. The surrounding pressure squeezed in. Ye Chen’s arms began to tremble slightly; every bone felt as if it were being crushed, causing intense pain. Compounding this, falling rapidly behind the Sky Crystal Battle Blade meant the head-on water current blasted into his nostrils, making breathing excruciating. He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and fought the water pressure with all his might.
Crack! Ye Chen’s ribs were crushed by the seawater, breaking. Fragments poked into his intestines, the pain nearly bringing tears to his eyes. Yet, he silently endured the inhuman agony.
"Is there no bottom to this sea domain? How can it take so long to reach it!" Ye Chen clenched his jaw, silently circulating his internal energy to form a protective shield around his body. Combined with his full gear—Black Feather Armor, Blazing Flame Battle Boots, and Blaze Gauntlets—he could barely hold on. Any deeper, and he would simply suffocate to death!
"Today, only the Ant-Man Mode remains; I will not activate it unless facing absolute mortal danger!" Ye Chen gritted his teeth. Suddenly, his vision brightened, catching what seemed like firelight. His heart jumped, and he opened his eyes, immediately narrowing them. Before him, a magnificent, towering underwater volcano loomed. Rich magma flowed within the volcano, churning and boiling, turning the surrounding seawater into scalding vapor!
"Don't erupt, please!" Ye Chen silently prayed, watching the tip of the Sky Crystal Battle Blade. He noticed it wasn't pointing directly at the volcano, but slightly off-center. If he maintained a straight descent, he should pass the volcano’s edge.
"Thank goodness for the volcano!" Ye Chen thought. "If not for this, in the temperature down here, an ordinary person would freeze to death instantly."
He glanced casually and realized this seabed wasn't home to just one volcano but five, arranged in a pentagram pattern across five directions.
At that moment, the current behind him whipped violently as the thousand-zhang crocodile caught up. In this volcanic region, there were no constraining rocks. It moved freely, its body speed soaring as it expended energy to propel itself, quickly closing to within ten zhang of Ye Chen. The beast’s hot breath felt almost palpable.
"Damn it!" Killing intent flared in Ye Chen's eyes. Just then, the Sky Crystal Battle Blade struck the seabed with a deafening boom, smashing into the edge of the volcano. The sharp tip carved an incredibly deep furrow into the ground, slicing through metal like mud. Even the hardened seabed rock disintegrated like dried tofu as the blade plunged downward.
The sea domain was about four or five thousand li deep. Falling from such a height, the Sky Crystal Battle Blade pierced the earth for over a thousand zhang, creating a hole one zhang in diameter.
Roar!
The thousand-zhang crocodile chased, stopping abruptly and landing heavily on the volcano, causing the ground to erupt in cracks, though it only managed to depress the surface by about ten zhang.
"Bastard!" the Dark Prince roared furiously. He hadn't expected Ye Chen to burrow underground—the prize had flown away. Burning with rage, he leaped from the crocodile, ordering the beast to wait, then independently located the entrance to the hole Ye Chen had made and darted inside.
Underground, Ye Chen felt total darkness, unsure how far he had descended. He sensed the surrounding rock walls shudder as the thousand-zhang crocodile landed above. He secretly rejoiced; if he had still been on the surface, he would have been forced to activate Super Mode or perish at the jaws of the giant beast.
"Where did the divine sword go?" Ye Chen frowned, surveying the black rock walls. The instant the Sky Crystal Battle Blade hit the ground, he had looked around but hadn't seen the divine sword. He knew his landing spot couldn't be wrong; the battle blade’s trajectory was a perfectly straight vertical line, and the deep-sea currents wouldn't affect a weapon whose volume and weight were so disproportionate to its size.
Nor was it that he hadn't seen it clearly. With the divine sword’s 10-meter size and its golden glow, it would have been extremely conspicuous in these waters.
...
: Third update complete. Please give a flower; my hands are icy cold from coding—winter is truly cold. RO