Ye Chen burrowed into the thousand-zhang crocodile, sinking deep within, sensing the Dark Prince's aura and pursuing it relentlessly. As he charged, he obliterated the massive creature's tendons, flesh, and bone, causing the monster agony close to unconsciousness.

The Dark Prince’s body was ethereal, passing straight through the flesh without resistance. He watched Ye Chen rush towards him, a cold smile playing on his lips, his figure darting left and right, Ye Chen instantly appearing wherever he went.

Whoosh!

He moved, drifting out of the thousand-zhang crocodile’s body, hovering briefly in the mid-air to catch his breath. Engaging the Ghost God Mode was extremely draining. Seeing that Ye Chen hadn't immediately followed, the Dark Prince breathed a sigh of relief and deactivated the mode, planning to reactivate it only when Ye Chen burst out.

Suddenly—

Whoosh!

A whistling sound shot toward him. The Dark Prince turned, a massive black palm filling his pupils. Struck by horror, he frantically engaged Superman Mode, narrowly dodging the blow.

The Dark Prince spun around, glaring furiously. That claw belonged to the thousand-zhang crocodile. Seeing his sneak attack fail, the beast trembled in fear and quickly backed away several paces, deeply wary.

"Insolent beast! You dare wound me too!" The Dark Prince was consumed by burning rage. His expression turned ferocious as he charged toward the crocodile. He could never have imagined this monster would ambush him—the audacity!

Unbeknownst to him, the thousand-zhang crocodile had already been shattered by the terrifying power Ye Chen displayed earlier. Moreover, it was because of the Dark Prince that Ye Chen had been able to charge into its core. With its level of innate intelligence, the crocodile redirected its fury toward the Dark Prince, intending to strike him down and thus "redeem its failure."

"Die!" The Dark Prince lunged above the crocodile’s head, diving down to smash a palm strike fiercely!

Thwack!

Suddenly, scales burst open at that precise spot, and Ye Chen erupted, dripping with blood. He powerfully whipped his hand; under Superman Mode, his strength multiplied by sixty times, reaching a level of 300,000!

With that single swing, the divine sword in his hand spun like a massive windmill, hurtling toward the Dark Prince with lightning speed!

The Dark Prince’s pupils contracted, but his body couldn't react in time; he suddenly froze, the force of the blow sweeping him backward, piercing his body and pinning him against the rock wall.

Ye Chen pushed off with his feet, flying out, the divine sword gripped tightly. He looked at the Dark Prince, now cleaved in two, and let out a cold laugh. He shook his arm, unleashing the Zhen Character Sword Art. The divine sword in his hand instantly dissolved into ten thousand phantoms. Under the terrifying power of Superman Mode, although his technique hadn't fully mastered it, the sheer brute force ripped out an additional 9,000 projections!

"Die!"

Ten thousand sword lights enveloped the area, raining down upon the Dark Prince. The latter's rigidly fixed body suddenly saw his pupils narrow; abandoning any pretense of death, he shrieked and tried to flee, but it was too late.

Boom!

The Dark Prince’s entire body collapsed into dust!

Ye Chen watched the chunks of flesh scattering in the air with an indifferent expression. To prevent any further mishaps, he thrust out a hand, unleashing his Devouring Power, which formed a black skeleton that opened its maw to consume everything.

"No—" A miserable shriek echoed from the shredded meat, and then all the fragments began to coalesce, reforming the Dark Prince’s body. His face, however, was deathly pale, his expression one of sheer terror as he looked at Ye Chen: "No, please, I beg you, spare me. I will become your slave. If you don't believe me, you can implant a contractual rune in my mind."

Ye Chen stared coldly at him. After a long pause, he spat out three words: "Unnecessary!" He suddenly exerted force with his hand, slicing out hundreds of sword shadows, chopping the Dark Prince back into mere pieces. Immediately, the vital energy in his body surged forth, engulfing the remains, furiously devouring the scraps!

"Ahhhahhh…" The Dark Prince’s voice rose from the shredded flesh, piercingly mournful. Realizing his pleas were useless, he began to rage, cursing wildly: "I will never let you go! When I die, my uncle will certainly avenge me!!!"

Ye Chen's expression remained cold as he accelerated the consumption.

"Wait to accompany me to the grave!!" The Dark Prince’s voice was sharp, agonizing, and filled with venomous spite. "Not just you—countless people across this entire planet will pay! Remember that! Remember me!!!"

Ye Chen snatched the air, his Devouring Power completely enveloping everything, forming a great black fog that swallowed every last shred of flesh. Every thread of energy acted like a viper, shredding the meat.

The Dark Prince was in such agony that he could no longer form coherent speech, only screaming madly.

As he furiously refined the essence, Ye Chen’s internal aura surged. Streams of energy refined from the remains flowed through his meridians, like a massive dam breaking, rushing into rivers and instantly overflowing.

Boom~~

Ye Chen’s consciousness roared. The vital energy within him expanded, threatening explosion. With every contraction and expansion, his muscles and bones were rapidly tempered under the immense pressure of the energy.

After a moment, this bizarre transformation slowly ceased. Ye Chen’s eyes blazed with piercing light as he felt the surging power within. His vital energy alone had reached the Seventh Layer of the Qi Master realm!

And his physique had reached Level 5300!

The Dark Prince sensed Ye Chen's surging aura and was nearly driven mad with fury, crying out shrilly: "May you die a horrible death!! I will not forgive you even as a ghost!!"

Ye Chen grabbed the air, pressing down with the crushing force of Seventh-Tier energy, coldly stating: "If you are a ghost, I will slay a ghost!"

Moments later, the Dark Prince’s tortured screams faded to a whisper. His fragmented remains were compressed together, completely losing their imprint of life. Ye Chen willed it, activating his Devouring Power to condense these pieces, forging them into nine portions, each roughly the size of a football!

At this point, Ye Chen’s Superman Mode ended, and intense fatigue washed over his mind. Yet, his expression remained unmoved. He waved a hand, looking at the nine suspended orbs of flesh before him, activated the Rune Space, and tossed them inside. Then, he turned to face the thousand-zhang crocodile behind him and barked: "Scram!"

The thousand-zhang crocodile shuddered. Seeing how the Dark Prince, who had blinded it, was killed by Ye Chen in such a brutal manner, its spirit recoiled in terror. It immediately spun around and fled, rushing back toward the opening it had fallen through, vanishing in an instant.

Ye Chen let out a breath of relief. If that giant crocodile had turned truly ferocious and hunted him down, he would likely have had to hide inside the Rune Space for safety.

Little did he know, the thousand-zhang crocodile had already been scared out of its wits by the power Ye Chen had unleashed earlier. It dared not linger, instead hoping desperately that Ye Chen wouldn't strike it next. When it heard his rough command, it was overcome with joy and immediately turned tail, secretly congratulating itself for escaping with its life.

After the crocodile left, Ye Chen finally took in his surroundings. He realized he was in a vast underground cavern illuminated by firelight. In the center lay a sea of flames. Most remarkably, there was no water here; like the Abyss of Buried Gods, this was dry land.

"Have I arrived at the Abyss of Buried Gods?" Ye Chen was momentarily stunned, then realization dawned: "That middle-aged man said the Abyss of Buried Gods was at the bottom of the great sea. This must be it."

He looked at the hole the crocodile had smashed open and saw that the area had somehow healed itself, seemingly covered by a layer of special metal, causing him to marvel inwardly. To forge solid land at such oceanic depths—the scale of this undertaking was immense.

Just then, Ye Chen heard a shuffling sound from beneath his feet. He looked down and saw several small, dark figures standing below. He dove down and recognized one among them: Huang Lu!

Ye Chen was somewhat surprised. It was said that entering the Abyss of Buried Gods required extremely high talent, followed by internal selection processes. By Huang Lu's mediocre, unremarkable aptitude, how could he have possibly made it in?

"Brother Ye!" Huang Lu shouted out in pleasant surprise.

Ye Chen landed beside him and asked, "How did you get here?"

Huang Lu glanced toward the side: "That elder brought us here. I don't know why." Ye Chen followed his gaze and saw a white-haired old man standing not far away. He looked ancient, his temples snow-white, holding a piece of withered wood, possessing a slightly frail appearance.

At this moment, the others nearby snapped out of their shock and looked at Ye Chen with curiosity, some wanting to approach but held back by a trace of fear. Ye Chen observed them—they were all boys, and though their faces were full of curiosity, his keen sight detected a deep-seated savagery hidden within their eyes!

Ye Chen frowned slightly. That savagery wasn't directed at him, but toward the entire world!

"Why are so many children filled with such violent intent gathered here?" Ye Chen frowned, turning to the white-haired elder. The elder also floated over, examining Ye Chen closely. His gaze finally settled on the divine sword, and his pupils constricted. He immediately bowed respectfully: "Greetings to the Lord of the Divine Hall!"

Upon hearing this, the boys beside him gasped in unison, staring in breathless disbelief at the young man who looked barely a decade older than them—could he truly be the Lord of the Divine Hall?

Even Huang Lu beside him wore an expression of utter bewilderment, completely confused.

Ye Chen glanced at the white-haired elder: "What are you doing here?"

The white-haired elder humbly replied, "Reporting to the Lord of the Divine Hall, this is the forbidden zone of the Abyss of Buried Gods. As the elder with the highest mental cultivation in the clan, I have guarded this place for generations!"

Ye Chen's eyes flashed. He looked toward Huang Lu and the others beside him and said sternly, "Why are you guarding them?"

The white-haired elder hesitated slightly, then respectfully continued, "Since you are the Lord of the Divine Hall, you must have received the acknowledgment of Lord Dragon Emperor. I shall speak truthfully. This is the greatest secret of our clan, never before divulged." As he finished speaking, his hand flashed out, releasing several bursts of kinetic energy that struck Huang Lu and the others, knocking them unconscious.

Ye Chen waved his hand, letting his vital energy rise to gently support Huang Lu and place him down quietly. He then looked at the white-haired elder and commanded: "Speak!"

The white-haired elder pondered briefly, then began slowly: "Ever since the second Lord of the Divine Hall took office, our Xuanyuan Clan initiated a major reform. He was exceptionally talented, mastering all rivals, a true master of his generation, possessing great vision and strategy. After learning of the battle waged by the Ancestor Huang Di, he conceived a brilliant strategy: striking violence with violence!"

Ye Chen frowned slightly, waiting for the explanation.

"The second Lord of the Divine Hall knew that it would be difficult to kill the sealed Primeval Dark Demon using the Xuanyuan Divine Sword. Thus, he channeled all his essence, passing his cultivation and the divine sword to the third Lord of the Divine Hall, Lord Dragon Emperor! Afterward, he abandoned the divine sword, deliberately corrupted himself, and refined his entire being into a Heart of Slaughter, which he placed here."