Ye Chen shook his head. "Nothing much. I was just wondering who was bold enough to dare slay your nephew. Since he's your kin, he must have been quite powerful; ordinary people surely couldn't have harmed him."

Hearing this, the man in black armor’s expression darkened, a glint of murderous intent flickering in his eyes. "Indeed. After days of investigation, I've concluded that no common human on this planet possesses such skill. Understand this: my nephew was a powerhouse at the seventh layer of the Ghost God Realm. This entire planet doesn't even have a single Ghost God Realm entity; they wouldn't even qualify to wound him, let alone kill him."

Ye Chen pondered for a brief moment. "In that case, it can only be the monsters from the sea."

"En?" The man in black armor looked at him, puzzled.

Ye Chen analyzed the situation. "This planet is predominantly covered by seawater, and the biomass in the ocean is staggering. This has naturally given rise to numerous deep-sea leviathans, creatures teeming with hidden dangers. Apart from the denizens of the sea, I doubt any other living thing here could harm your nephew."

The man in black armor nodded slightly, then suddenly his eyes flashed with sharp light. He turned his head to look at Ye Chen, a half-smile playing on his lips. "I see your power is considerable. On this planet, where would you rank among your own kind?"

Ye Chen’s eyes flickered, and he replied with candor, "Among the humans, I should rank first."

The man in black armor greatly appreciated the confidence in Ye Chen's voice and let out a hearty laugh. "That's good to hear. I know you're saying that deliberately to stop me from harming the humans, right? Rest assured, for your sake, I won't kill them. However, have you agreed to become my sworn son yet?" His voice carried a distinct chill.

Ye Chen hadn't expected the man in black armor’s demeanor to shift so abruptly, without any preamble—his temperament was wildly unpredictable. Sensing the threat woven into his words, a feeling that a single 'no' would instantly trigger the slaughter of all humanity, a flicker of killing intent rose within Ye Chen. Yet, his surface expression remained unwavering as he nodded heavily without hesitation. "Agreed!"

"Hahaha…" The man in black armor burst into delighted laughter, satisfied. "You know what's good for you! From this moment on, you are my eighth adopted son. Once I find the one who killed my nephew, I will take you to the Dark Great World's Wuqing Planet."

Ye Chen's expression betrayed nothing; he cupped his hands in respect. "Thank you, Adoptive Father."

The man in black armor smiled faintly. "Then, I will allow you to enter the Ancestral Sea to cleanse your tendons and fortify your bones. You will transform into a magnificent Dark Being, your strength will surge exponentially, allowing you to break through to the Ghost God Realm in one swift move! Under the light of darkness, everything else will be pulverized!"

Ye Chen's fist tightened almost imperceptibly. His expression remained placid, tinged with curiosity. "What is the Ancestral Sea, sir?"

The man in black armor chuckled lightly. "The birth method of our Dark Beings is rather peculiar. We do not hatch from eggs like mammals. Instead, we emerge directly from the endless dark essence within the Ancestral Sea. The higher the rank of the Ancestral Sea where a Dark Being is born, the purer its bloodline. Once you become one of my race, your minimum lifespan will be ten thousand years, and with even slight cultivation, you can easily reach thousands of years!"

This was undoubtedly a massive temptation.

Ye Chen couldn't help but recall Quirun Saint’s brother, the black-winged man who contended for Divine Blood back then. That man was originally a supreme expert from the Atlantean civilization who subsequently fell and transformed into a Dark Being. It was highly likely he had entered an extremely high-tier Ancestral Sea to undergo the bone-cleansing transformation...

Ye Chen nodded. "Thank you, Adoptive Father."

The man in black armor laughed heartily and, with a grand sweep of his hand, brought Ye Chen hurtling away. Before long, they were hovering above the Antarctic sea region. Below them was nothing but endless white snow, devoid of any other color.

"Where is it?" The man in black armor scanned the area, frowning slightly.

Ye Chen recalled the map and pointed forward. "About three hundred li ahead."

The man in black armor said nothing more and sped forward. After flying roughly 200 li, they saw a vast expanse of ocean—a deep blue sea dotted with formidable icebergs and lakes. Dark shapes swam sluggishly in the depths, giving a chilling impression.

"Indeed, you were correct!" The man in black armor laughed again, guiding Ye Chen towards that sea zone. Flying over the waters, he peered down at the azure expanse, watching the dark silhouettes glide below. He sensed numerous powerful auras; most were Tier-1000 monsters, and occasionally, a few Whale Ghosts reaching Tier-10,000 appeared…

Monsters capable of surviving the transition into the Ice Age were no small fry. This period was the cruelest time for the ocean’s inhabitants, marked by ceaseless slaughter and cannibalism, ensuring that only the most colossal sea beasts survived.

The man in black armor's expression turned solemn. Witnessing this scene further validated Ye Chen's words. "Where do we activate the treasure vault?"

Ye Chen’s heart tightened. He hadn't expected the brute to still be focused on the treasure. Fortunately, he already had a contingency plan. He replied calmly, "I only heard some rumors; I’m not entirely certain. I only know the vault lies deep within the sea region. If we were outside, it would be the wealth of us humans."

The man in black armor nodded. "Good. Let’s go then!" With that, he grabbed Ye Chen with a massive hand and plummeted into the sea. Splash! A massive plume of water erupted.

The moment they hit the water, a blast of icy current enveloped them. For anyone with an ordinary physique, the cold would have instantly induced stiffness.

Ye Chen opened his eyes and saw an enormous maw expanding directly into his vision. Before he could even turn or retreat, a golden light shot out from beside him, like a golden blade, slicing straight into the center of the giant mouth. It passed through unimpeded, tearing the entire maw in half.

Blood bloomed outward.

The man in black armor snorted disdainfully. "Such little strength, yet you dare try to swallow me? You must be tired of living." Saying this, he seized Ye Chen and shot away into the distance, clearly understanding that the blood would attract more monsters, leading to a chaotic battle.

Ye Chen’s gaze grew solemn. That monster just now was a White Slugsaw Shark, with a physique rating of 8000-Tier, yet it was slain with a mere wave of the hand. What was most terrifying was the golden light; it contained an immensely fearsome power, an intangible pressure emanating from it, suggesting that all physical defenses were utterly useless against that light!

This was Divine Power!

Ye Chen secretly noted this, daring not to act rashly.

They flew with the man in black armor for only a short while before encountering seven or eight more monsters in the surrounding waters, all of whom the black-armored man dispatched effortlessly. In an instant, the sea was stained red with blood, rousing many dormant monsters from their icy caves to engage in a frenzied feeding war.

Ye Chen quickly offered advice. "Adoptive Father, the corpses of these monsters will attract even more violent creatures. Next time I kill one, I'll first store it for you in my dimensional space and hand them over when we leave."

The man in black armor paused, surprised. "You possess folded space?"

Ye Chen detected a faint, almost undetectable trace of killing intent but remained composed, showing no panic. "On this planet, some treasures are hidden within alternate dimensional spaces. I was lucky once and stumbled upon one such treasure, and I took the spatial storage containing it along with me."

The man in black armor ignored the surrounding danger and showed keen interest. "Show me."

Ye Chen hesitated for a moment, then drew a symbol in the air, opening the Rune Space. Inside the oval-shaped void, a silver spacecraft was clearly suspended.

The man in black armor’s eyes lit up meaningfully. "This spaceship looks quite… promising…"

Ye Chen’s eyes flashed, and he cupped his hands. "If Adoptive Father likes it, I will gift it to you later."

The man in black armor laughed heartily. "Not at all, how could I accept your possessions? How about this: once this matter is settled, you will accompany me to the Dark Great World. I will petition the God Realm Planet to see if I can secure entry for you into their Ancestral Sea."

God Realm Planet? Ye Chen was secretly startled.

In the vague records of his previous life's ruins, there was a mention that the Dark Great World contained 3,000 God Realm Planets. Within the Ancestral Seas of these planets, there was a slim chance for Dark Beings with the potential to become Divine-level powerhouses to be born! However, that probability was incredibly minute, only one in ten million!

On ordinary planets, the chance of birthing a Divine-level powerhouse was merely one in a billion!

Ye Chen sneered inwardly. He had absolutely no interest in becoming a Dark Being, and he treated the lure offered by the man in black armor with utter disregard, though he quickly replied outwardly, "Thank you, Adoptive Father!"

The man in black armor laughed again and led Ye Chen to sink toward the seabed. Along the way, they encountered many monsters, but the man in black armor effortlessly slew them all. Their corpses were all collected by Ye Chen into the Rune Space, handed over to the old Green Rune Man for dissection! Now, the Rune Spaceship was repaired, capable of transforming its structure, assembling into a ship or a palace, with many functions accessible. Under the diligent management of the old Green Rune Man, they quickly processed the useless organs from the monsters, stacking the tender flesh neatly without wasting any space.

Collect! Collect!

The man in black armor slaughtered relentlessly, while Ye Chen followed behind, frantically gathering the corpses. Before long, they had secured the remains of over a dozen monsters, ranging in size from the largest, about a hundred zhang across, to the smallest, no less than ten zhang!

The capacity of the Rune Spaceship was maxed out, but fortunately, the entire alternate dimensional space operated on a circulatory system, allowing them to pack everything in tightly.

As he harvested, Ye Chen silently prayed that a powerhouse capable of contending with a Divine-level being would emerge from this sea region, so that the two mighty figures could fight each other to the death.

After sinking for a while longer.

The light above them grew dim, and the surroundings plunged into utter blackness. Even with Ye Chen's vision, he could only vaguely perceive objects within a 300-meter radius; anything further was extremely blurred. What did 300 meters mean in this environment?

For deep-sea monsters, they could cover that distance in less than a second. Sight and hearing were rendered useless. Whoosh!

A rapid surge of water rushed past him. Ye Chen was startled; his first thought was: Monster! Just then, the man in black armor beside him seemed to have seen it already, casually waving a golden light that instantly cleaved the creature in two. Blood diffused through the water, staining the surroundings crimson.

Ye Chen was secretly astonished. He glanced at the man in black armor and noticed that the latter wasn't looking around, yet appeared to know everything happening.

They continued their descent.

Soon, faint, strange rays of light began to appear in the surroundings. Light filtering down from above refracted through the seawater, illuminating the coral and rocks on the seabed, causing them to shimmer brilliantly.

The man in black armor led Ye Chen through the seabed. They consecutively annihilated hundreds of monsters. Most creatures here possessed physiques in the tens of thousands of Tiers, yet before the man in black armor, they remained fragile, instantly vaporized by a single strike.