Ye Chen's expression was grave, his mind carefully considering: "In my previous life, based on the explorations of numerous global geniuses, powerhouses, and adventurers, sixty-eight ruins had been discovered beneath the ocean. The most terrifying of all was undoubtedly the one in the Bermuda Triangle, a place where even a demigod-level expert might perish!"
"In my previous life, Yun Shaojing, who had obtained divine blood and reached the demigod realm himself, died within that ruin."
"Over here in the Antarctic seas..."
Ye Chen pondered for a long time, then his pupils suddenly contracted. "Could this be the ruin of the Siphiel civilization, rumored to seal a colossal monster?"
Siphiel. A civilization from the First Solar Epoch.
A branch lineage of the Earth Civilization.
Legend held that within the Siphiel civilization was sealed an incredibly fearsome demonic beast, one that had slowly evolved from the remnants of primeval dark creatures. It was inherently ferocious and had ultimately been suppressed by the gods!
Of course, this was merely rumor gleaned from the data of other ruins.
The credibility of rumor was often quite low.
"This Siphiel civilization is a Level Seven ruin; its danger level far surpasses that of the Fire Civilization or the Xuanyuan God Tomb," Ye Chen thought, his heart growing heavy. He glanced at the black-armored man beside him, maintaining his silence.
Just then—
BOOM!
In the desert ahead, the sand suddenly trembled violently. Immediately, a small mound rose, spewing forth an extremely savage and terrifying monster. It possessed a pitch-black carapace, resembling a giant centipede beast, covered in sharp claws. Pale-green saliva dripped from its mouth, and its emerald eyes gazed greedily at the two of them.
The black-armored man glanced at the ten-zhang-long vicious beast, his brow furrowing slightly. He took a step forward, his arm moving like a blade. A layer of pale golden divine power gathered along the edge of his palm, condensing into a sharp blade, which he swung toward the beast.
SWISH!
A pale golden light-blade shot out, carving an elegant arc as it struck the top of the ten-zhang beast’s head with lightning speed.
The beast shrieked fiercely, spitting out a stream of viscous black saliva, highly corrosive, which surged forward to envelop the divine power light-blade.
PFFT!
A sound like a long bolt of cloth being ripped apart echoed, followed by the light-blade piercing the corrosive saliva without the slightest resistance. It sliced through the beast's head as easily as cutting tofu, cleaving the entire monstrous form in twain!
Pale green blood welled out from the beast’s body, scattering across the desert. Due to the intense heat, the blood quickly evaporated on the sand.
With a casual gesture, the black-armored man recalled the divine light-blade, which dissolved into a flash of golden light and returned to his body. He frowned slightly. "It consumed another two points of divine power. It seems I must conserve it a bit more."
Ye Chen’s gaze flickered, and he asked, "Can divine power not be recovered?"
The black-armored man spared him a glance, his brow loosening slightly. "Not exactly, it’s just that recovery is rather troublesome. You’ll understand once your physique evolves to the demigod realm. Let’s go; this place is not suitable for lingering." Saying this, he reached out and, grabbing Ye Chen, accelerated into a rapid flight.
Ye Chen caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye: not long after they departed, several identical monsters crawled out from the sand near the corpse of the ten-zhang beast and began to devour it.
The two flew across the boundless desert for a long time...
Because the artificial sun in the sky was currently set to a cooling mode, the weather was changing drastically. A biting, fierce wind swept across the land. Due to the world's different elemental structure, Ye Chen was surprised to find that even though the ambient temperature had dropped below 270 degrees, reaching absolute zero, nothing had frozen into ice!
Even with Ye Chen’s constitution, a distinct chill permeated him. He couldn't guess how low the temperature had truly fallen.
The black-armored man noticed Ye Chen's slightly trembling body and frowned. He pondered for a moment before landing on a patch of sand in the distance. He surveyed the surroundings, nodded, and said, "Good, no monsters here. We can stay temporarily. Let's dig a hole and burrow into the sand."
Ye Chen, shivering throughout, quickly nodded and asked, "How do you know there are no monsters here?"
The black-armored man smiled faintly. "By sensing with my divine power, I can detect life signatures within a certain radius." With that, he reached out, gouged a large pit into the ground, and pulled Ye Chen in with him.
This sand, having been scorched during the day, was quite warm inside. The two lay down, closed their eyes, ears, and nose, and entered a state of suspended breath.
At their level of strength, merely a minuscule amount of air was sufficient to sustain life.
Time flowed onward...
Around the fifth watch of the night—the coldest point of the day—Ye Chen, concealed within the sand, felt the surrounding yellow sand growing chilly, as if turning to ice. He couldn't help but be alarmed. If he were standing outside, he would surely have frozen solid by now!
Even a physique level of 7,000 couldn't withstand this; he wondered just how low the external temperature was.
Ye Chen circulated his vital energy, resisting with all his might. After two hours, that intense cold gradually receded. Soon after, a warmth began to emanate from the sand, rapidly heating up until it became scalding hot, as if fire itself!
Ye Chen burst forth with a tremor of his fists, kicking the sand away and scrambling out of the pit. The black-armored man simultaneously rushed out. Ye Chen looked up and saw that the artificial sun overhead had reverted to its daytime setting, its scorching rays burning the earth. The temperature differential between night and day was immense.
The black-armored man glanced around, some irritation showing. "Damn it all, what in the blazes is this godforsaken place!"
Ye Chen remained silent.
The black-armored man grumbled, venting his frustration, then led Ye Chen onward. They hadn't gone far when suddenly, the sand ahead began to vibrate subtly, and countless tiny grains seemed to dance.
The black-armored man stopped abruptly, craning his neck to look far ahead. His face instantly changed color, and he cried out in alarm, "It's a sandstorm! Mother of—! Retreat, quickly!" Grabbing Ye Chen with one hand, he fled toward the distance at top speed.
Ye Chen turned to look and quickly saw a yellow tornado, connecting heaven and earth, swaying erratically toward them from the horizon where the sky met the land. Along its path, it swept up copious amounts of sand and stones that spun around the vortex. Many monsters hidden in the debris were involuntarily sucked into the storm.
Ye Chen’s face subtly shifted, but a thought sparked in his mind. He circulated a fraction of his internal energy to maintain his body's equilibrium, appearing as if his strength was failing, his entire weight hanging upon the black-armored man.
The black-armored man felt no suspicion. In this moment of crisis, sweat poured down his face. In the outside world, he wouldn't give a tornado a second thought, but this world's structure was different; the power of a local tornado was a hundred times that of the outside!
Even he had to retreat a considerable distance. One careless moment caught in the vortex would mean critical injury, if not death!
As for Ye Chen...
In his eyes, Ye Chen was utterly insignificant, a mere ant he carried along effortlessly. Thus, the man spared no thought for it. He darted left and right, but discovered his speed was far slower than that of the oncoming sandstorm, causing his heart to seize with anxiety.
Ye Chen looked down and saw dozens of ten-zhang-long centipede beasts and smaller scorpion beasts crawling out of the sand below, scurrying away in panic. Those who couldn't escape in time were snatched up by the wind’s pull and sucked into the vortex.
Faced with this natural disaster, all living things appeared minuscule.
"It seems hiding in the desert isn't a viable plan," Ye Chen thought silently, yet felt strangely relaxed, not tense.
If the black-armored man managed to escape the sandstorm’s perimeter, it would be his luck. If he failed to escape and was swept in, that would be his misfortune.
Even if engulfed by the sandstorm, Ye Chen was certain he could find a way to escape. With the boost from the Ant Superman Mode, contending with this storm was more than sufficient.
Despite his internal ease, his outward appearance was one of utter pallor, looking utterly terrified.
Flee! Flee! Flee!
The black-armored man ran frantically. Suddenly, he let out a low roar, his entire physique surging, expanding to about ten zhang in size. He then shook his body violently and began to fall downward.
The black-armored man was startled and quickly forced his body to shrink back down to a two-zhang height.
While reverting to his true form allowed him to exert 100% of his power, the gravity here was terrifying. If he reverted to his hundred-zhang size, even walking would become a struggle!
The black-armored man tried to run in various directions, but the tornado seemed fixated on him, pursuing relentlessly. In fact, as he darted about, the distance between them was actually closing.
The black-armored man gritted his teeth, watching the tornado draw nearer. He glanced down at Ye Chen in his grasp, noticing the latter's pale face and sweat-drenched brow. A flicker of cruelty crossed his eyes. "My good adopted son, this time, you shall sacrifice yourself for your father!" With that, he released Ye Chen, tossing him toward the vortex, and then accelerated his own escape!
Ye Chen had anticipated this move and did not panic excessively. As his body was enveloped by the tornado, he swiftly activated the Ant Superman Mode, enhancing his body sixtyfold, filling him with explosive power. If relying solely on this strength, even the black-armored man would be left in the dust.
However, the opponent could obliterate Ye Chen with a mere thought using his divine power.
Ye Chen’s body swayed with the tornado. Countless tiny grains of sand and stone battered his skin, pricking him like countless needles, causing intense pain. Fortunately, his body wasn't torn apart by the gale. He stood firm at the core of the vortex, moving with the storm, and a cold smile curled the corner of his mouth as he watched the black-armored man frantically fleeing ahead.
Even after discarding Ye Chen, the black-armored man’s speed hadn't increased significantly. Before long, he was enveloped by the tornado’s winds. It felt as if hundreds of thick ropes were pulling him from behind. He roared in anger, curling his entire body inward, resembling an infant in the womb, as he was drawn into the vortex.
Countless fine sands and the severed limbs of monsters battered the black-armored man's body, tearing open wounds that bled profusely. He buried his head between his knees, gritting his teeth, eyes squeezed shut, hoping the whirlwind would eventually fling him clear of the vortex...
Just then—
The tornado abruptly halted. Immediately following, an extremely strong gravitational pull emanated from beneath the vortex, drawing Ye Chen, who was hovering mid-air, the black-armored man, and the remains of several monsters still exhibiting faint life signs, downward.
Beneath the tornado, the sand parted like a curtain, revealing a black void, resembling the mouth of a massive monster...
Ye Chen’s heart startled. He quickly calculated: the Ant Superman duration had one minute remaining—enough time to fall without being instantly smashed to death. He offered no resistance, letting the gravity pull him down.