Torments like tearing gashes swept through his entire body, as if every shred of flesh were being shredded, scorched over an open flame. Ye Chen’s body involuntarily suspended in mid-air, countless surges of Qi contracting back into his core, flooding every limb and bone.

Pain!

Even with Ye Chen’s formidable willpower, the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably. Though he had no mirror, he knew his face must be ghastly. The Qi within him seemed to have lost all order, rushing wildly through his meridians, surging left and right. Wherever the streams of dark, blackish Qi flowed, it felt like fire burning, twisting his meridians until they spasmed, nearly snapping apart.

Ye Chen’s teeth ground together with a loud ka-ka.

Through his perception of the Qi, he knew he had reached the critical moment. His energy had peaked, ascending to the fifth layer of the Qi Source Realm. And as the Qi soared, his bones and meridians were undergoing transformation under the immense pressure.

Under normal circumstances, breaking through his Qi level would never be this agonizing. But at this moment, as his flesh and blood transformed, the originally bright, tender flesh gradually turned somewhat pale. Every cell emitted a faint, jade-like luster, squeezing out droplets of foul, blackish fluid.

His physical constitution was increasing, "9910, 9920, 9930..."

The evolution of his flesh and blood reached its zenith, on the verge of stepping into another plane. All of this was occurring silently within Ye Chen. From the outside, one could only see Ye Chen entirely enveloped by a shroud of black energy, his figure completely obscured.

The old man with the green runes stood nearby, utterly stunned, yet simultaneously filled with shock and anxiety, unsure of what to do.

One hour later.

Ye Chen’s flesh and blood reached a bottleneck, still compressed by the surging Qi. The flesh remained stubbornly fixed at level 9999, only a hair’s breadth away from the next stage! Innumerable streams of Qi roamed his interior, seemingly growing frantic. No matter how they battered and surged, the flesh refused to advance further, as if stubbornly clenching the final barrier, unwilling to yield.

Ye Chen’s eyes snapped open wide, his teeth suddenly clenched, a murderous madness flashing in his gaze.

In his previous life, his highest attainment had reached the Ghost God Realm. He had experienced this type of agony once before, and experiencing it again now was still soul-piercing and nearly unbearable.

He spread his arms wide, tilting his head back to stare at the curved ceiling of the cabin.

“Aaaaaahhhhh—”

A hysterical roar erupted, like a furious dragon bellowing, the sound echoing for hundreds of miles. It spread outward like a sonic wave, causing the nearby clouds and mist to ripple slightly, sweeping outward.

Boom! A sudden, deafening hum resonated in Ye Chen’s mind. His consciousness went utterly blank, hazy and faint, as if his soul had detached from his body, drifting loosely between heaven and earth, pulled towards another, unknown destination...

Not far behind him, a massive, ferocious maw seemed to vaguely appear, emitting a powerful suction that drew Ye Chen in. He seemed without consciousness, carried by the pull until he fell into that bottomless darkness...

Hoo!

An earth-shattering aura diffused from Ye Chen’s body, shaking the fine wine and exotic fruits in the cabin, crushing them into dust.

Ye Chen’s entire body of flesh and blood writhed furiously, gradually turning transparent.

Light flashed across Ye Chen’s vision, and his consciousness snapped back. What greeted his eyes was the interior of the rune spacecraft. He floated in mid-air, waves of tyrannical power surging from his body—it felt as if a single punch or kick could shatter the world.

Ye Chen had no time to think; he immediately began accelerating the transformation of the Qi within him!

Upon breaking through to the Ghost God Realm, the Qi within the body transforms into Ghost Energy!

When Ghost Energy merges with the physical form, one can enter the "Ghost God Mode"!

Originally, the subtlety of the Qi in the Qi Source Realm was sufficient to rival Ghost Energy, capable of harming those in Ghost God Mode, but it could not fully integrate with the body.

Now that his physical body had crossed the ten-thousand-level threshold, it possessed a unique function: the blood, cells, and genes could now accommodate Ghost Energy, entering a strange state—the Ghost God Mode!

The Qi within his body was transforming bit by bit. Refined by the recent ordeal, 40% had already transmuted into Ghost Energy, and this transformation was happening at an extremely rapid pace. Once the entire conversion was complete, Ye Chen would be a true Ghost God expert!

Furthermore, the Ghost Energy within him would then be at the fifth tier of the Ghost God Realm. Although his physical constitution would remain at the ten-thousand level, based on his Ghost Energy alone, he could contend against those at the fifth layer of the Ghost God Realm!

If he were to utilize secret arts like the Nine Palaces or the Blazing God Hammer, the amplification of his Ghost Energy would allow him to deal with even tenth-layer Ghost God experts without issue!

That Samsit, for instance, possessed a physical constitution of 15,000, but after his body surpassed the ten-thousand mark, he diligently cultivated Ghost Energy, which is how he reached the seventh tier of the Ghost God Realm!

As the refinement continued, much of the Qi converged, condensing into solidified specks of Ghost Energy.

Ye Chen felt the pain in his body lessen considerably; what remained was tolerable. He sat cross-legged in the air, his expression calm, though his heart sensed a profound danger. Had he been careless just moments ago, he might have suffered a critical deviation (Zou Huo Ru Mo) and exploded, dying on the spot.

However, he had calculated: relying on his fifth-tier Sage mindset, he could suppress all aberrant thoughts. At the moment of crisis, the chance of deviation was small, which is why he dared to attempt this risky breakthrough.

"For ordinary people reaching the first layer of the Ghost God Realm, the Life Essence (Qi) within the body converts into Ghost Energy, resulting in just 100 units of Ghost Energy."

"Reaching the second layer yields 200 units, the third layer 400, the fourth layer 800, and so on. Currently, my fifth-layer Qi Source Realm Qi, if fully converted, equates to a fifth-layer Ghost God Realm expert, yielding 1600 four units of Ghost Energy!"

Ye Chen sighed inwardly.

"On Earth, Ghost Energy is virtually nonexistent! Once consumed, it is incredibly difficult to recover! Moreover, after achieving the Ghost God Realm, even devouring the Life Essence from monster corpses yields no effect; it can only be refined into Longevity Pills to extend the lifespan of ordinary people."

"There are only three ways to obtain Ghost Energy!"

"First, by acquiring Ghost Stones! But those things are extremely rare, almost non-existent on Earth. They are plentiful in the Ancient World, but obtaining them there—how incredibly difficult that is..."

"Second, according to the secret manual of the Ghost Arts, by slaughtering life forms and condensing the resultant energy into Ghost Energy! The Ghost Arts is a rare manual, seldom found even in Earth's ruins!"

Ye Chen’s thoughts raced. "In my previous life, I hadn't become a Ghost God expert when I entered the Ancient World with the army, so I paid little attention to the Ghost Arts. After leaving the Ancient World, obtaining it again became impossible."

"Fortunately."

"With the wealth I amassed later, I managed to purchase a copy from the top-tier shops in the Huaxia Base City of my past life. Even though I have been reborn, I haven't forgotten how to cultivate that set of techniques!"

In reality, that set of Ghost Arts was directly etched into his brain cells via the Knowledge Tower of the Atlantean civilization; forgetting it was impossible unless he excised that portion of his memory cells.

"With the Ghost Arts, I can kill monsters and extract their 'Death Qi' to condense into 'Ghost Energy.'" Ye Chen moved his mind, and a passage written in ancient seal script flashed through his brain, detailing the refinement method.

"In my previous life, my understanding was insufficient. Now, I realize that this 'Death Qi' is most likely 'Soul'! The so-called soul, according to Elva’s analysis, is merely a combination of the central nervous system, the emotional nervous system, consciousness, brainwaves, and other components."

"Souls are light."

"Simply put, it is consciousness carried by brainwaves—almost equivalent to the soul."

Ye Chen felt no aversion towards the practice of slaughtering and refining souls. He had killed enough in his past life to be completely accustomed to it.

"The final method to obtain Ghost Energy is by killing Ghost God Realm experts and plundering the Ghost Energy within them. However, once one reaches the Ghost God Realm, consciousness and body merge completely. Every speck of Ghost Energy contains a sliver of consciousness, making refinement quite difficult."

"If even a single thread of Ghost Energy escapes from a Ghost God Realm expert, they do not truly die!"

"One unit of Ghost Energy is equivalent to one clone."

"Once all my Qi is refined, I will be a fifth-layer Ghost God Realm expert, possessing 1600 units of Ghost Energy. As long as even a tiny bit of Ghost Energy exists in the universe, my consciousness will not be extinguished, giving me hope for a resurgence."

"Of course, it’s merely the hope of resurrection! The consciousness carried by one unit of Ghost Energy is too weak, and the memories incomplete. Although it is still me, it is also not me. Who knows if it will simply be scattered to the wind."

Ye Chen sighed faintly. "If the Volcanic Age wasn't imminent, I would have reserved my Qi until I reached the tenth layer of the Qi Source Realm and my constitution broke past ten thousand levels. That way, upon entering the Ghost God Realm, I would start with tenth-layer Ghost Energy! But now, obtaining Ghost Energy is too difficult!"

Thinking of the impending Volcanic Age, Ye Chen softly sighed, closed his eyes, and focused all his effort on refining the Qi within his body.

Time flowed by...

In the blink of an eye, a day passed.

The old man with the green runes observed Ye Chen's calm expression and silently thought, As expected, this fiend definitely had a contingency plan. It’s a good thing I didn't seize the opportunity to rebel, or my fate would surely be miserable. Now that he has reached the Ghost God Realm, he should understand its mysteries. And since I am merely a vessel for a soul, appearing in the form of an intelligent entity, if he were to fly into a rage and devour me to refine into Ghost Energy, this old life of mine would be over...

With this thought, his fear of Ye Chen intensified. He dared not act familiar or jesting in front of him anymore, remaining deeply worried.

"Chirp chirp..."

The detector suddenly sounded.

The green-rune old man was startled, recognizing the alarm. He hastily turned to look and saw two red dots rapidly expanding on the display, hurtling toward their location. He immediately issued a command to the system: "Analyze the strength of the approaching targets!"

"Chirp chirp..."

Two seconds later, the combat power of the two red dots was displayed: the one on the left was a seventh-layer Ghost God Realm expert, and the one on the right was third-layer!

"What!" The green-rune old man gasped. "Two Ghost God Realm experts! This is terrible. With just this fiend's current strength, he might not be able to hold them off. These two aren't just Ghost God experts; it means they also possess the Superman Mode. If one of them manages to force Ye Chen to deplete his Superman Mode, things will go very badly!"

Just then, the two figures arrived outside the cabin.

Through the display screen, they could see Samsit accompanied by another man in black armor, his face chiseled like a blade, with sharp eyebrows and piercing eyes, carrying a cold demeanor.

"Bastard, get out here for me!" A thunderous roar rolled in from outside. Even though the rune spacecraft had a sound insulation system, a faint trace of the anger could still be heard.