The entire black skull seemed to gnash its teeth faintly, as if something within it was churning, colliding everywhere until the shriek gradually weakened, fading into absolute silence.
A massive surge of spectral energy flowed from the black skull into Ye Chen’s body, instantly restoring hundreds of points of his depleted essence, bringing him back to the peak state of Ghost God Sixth Tier.
Beyond the ghost energy, a torrent of vast information flooded his mind.
“Nine Absolutes Spear?”
“Demon Realm civilization?”
Ye Chen swiftly organized the data in his brain. Samsmit’s entire life flashed through his mind like a review reel—a child gifted from birth, raised on parental praise, enjoying smooth career progression and a successful marriage, and navigating the apocalypse with effortless grace.
He was intelligent, insightful.
Though he had never faced true adversity, he understood what he lacked.
This was a man destined for the pinnacle!
Perhaps due to the incomplete nature of the ghost energy, these memories were fragmented and imperfect. Moreover, there was an incredibly formidable and mysterious spear technique embedded within the data.
“Nine Absolutes Spear!”
“The first strike unleashes maximum power; the second stacks double that; the third triples it… By the ninth strike, the amplification reaches… times the original force!”
Ye Chen perceived the profound mystery of this spear art. From what was recorded, he could sense this was the very technique Samsmit had employed.
“Truly worthy of an ancient, arcane art—its destructive power is terrifying… With this spear method, at the Ghost God Sixth Tier, I can contend against a Ninth Tier expert!”
“For ordinary individuals…”
“To advance from Ghost God Sixth Tier to Tenth Tier usually requires centuries. Of course, it depends on the location. Without the Ghost Codex and Ghost Stones, one could toil on Earth for ten thousand years and remain stagnant.”
“In an environment conducive to growth, reaching the peak of Ghost God might take only a year or two!”
Ye Chen scanned the information quickly, then frowned sharply. “Only an incomplete half? Did Samsmit’s own vital ghost energy deplete so severely that much of his memory matrix vanished? No… Memory matrices only disperse when the core body is annihilated. The Samsmit just now, though his ghost energy was exhausted, still retained his cerebral matrix—unless his physical form was pulverized into dust finer than sand.”
“This means Samsmit himself only possessed a partial manuscript?”
Ye Chen fell silent for a moment, then sighed softly, casting another glance at the Nine Absolutes Spear. It detailed the cultivation methods for the first four stages, exquisitely mysterious and refined; the subsequent sections were simply blank.
“I’ll keep it for now. Even mastering just the first four stages will grant me four times my combat power!” Without further contemplation, Ye Chen waved his hand, drawing the skull into his body where it dissolved into countless wisps of spectral energy. Several objects tumbled from the air.
Ye Chen snatched them easily: a long spear, a suit of armor, and some small trinkets. It was a pity that Samsmit’s portable spatial relic had sealed shut upon his death; otherwise, Ye Chen could have claimed the treasures within. Given Samsmit’s reserves, those treasures would not have been few.
“Pseudo-Epic Divine Armor? Shadow Hunter Spear?” Ye Chen assessed the two ghost treasures. Based on the preceding battle, he swiftly calculated that the armor’s capability was likely formidable, at least at the level of a Peak Ghost Treasure!
A Peak Ghost Treasure signified the power to weaken any force below the Ghost God realm by ninety percent! Attacks originating from below Ghost God Fifth Tier would be dispersed and rendered completely immune before they could even penetrate the armor.
“This set of Peak Ghost Treasure might not even be common in the Ancient World. It could fetch a fine price. But naturally, I’ll keep the treasure for my own use.” Ye Chen flipped his hand, tucking the armor into his Rune Space. As for the Shadow Hunter Spear, a brief inspection revealed it to be a High-Grade Ghost Treasure, capable of amplifying Ghost Power fivefold!
Injecting 1,000 points of ghost energy could unleash 5,000 points of Ghost Power! This was negligible for low-tier Ghost Gods—a First Tier only held 100 points of ghost energy, yielding 500 amplified points. However, for a peak Ghost God expert, the amplification was staggering, spiking by tens of thousands of points! The spear’s upper limit was around 100,000 points of ghost energy; injecting more would destroy the shaft rather than augment it. Furthermore, the spear itself possessed intrinsic destructive power, capable of eroding 1,000 points of ghost energy with every strike. Against Mid-Grade Ghost Treasure-level armor, one thrust would be enough to pierce it!
Ye Chen didn't linger over it, tossing it into the Rune Space. While this ghost treasure was excellent, how could it compare to the Xuanyuan Divine Sword, which was a manifestation of a divine sword? The Xuanyuan Divine Sword was a Peak Ghost Treasure! If he hadn't faced that ‘Pseudo-Epic Divine Armor,’ the sword would have cleaved through most armor in a single stroke. Moreover, the divine sword carried an inherent 5,000 points of Ghost Power with every attack, instantly vaporizing anyone below Ghost God Fifth Tier! That was the true might of a Peak Ghost Treasure! And it could amplify Ghost Power ninefold, with a limit reaching one million!
Having secured his spoils, Ye Chen moved swiftly, soaring into the sky. The high-rise buildings below rapidly receded, and the figures on the streets resembled ants. He spared them a single glance before taking a stride toward the distant Rune Spaceship, vanishing in a few blinks.
Below, on the main street, an absolute silence reigned. If not for the ravaged cityscape, the massive crater where the Forbidden Zone center used to be, and the surrounding debris, they would never have imagined the fierce battle that had just concluded there! And judging by the state of things, the victor had been the outsider!
Through telescopes, the numerous high-ranking officials observing from afar swallowed convulsively, their eyes wide with shock.
Dead!
A Ghost God expert, the Alliance Master, had been slain! And he had been tracked to his lair and literally consumed! For some inexplicable reason, not a single person dared to intervene as Ye Chen prepared to depart; no army was mobilized to intercept him.
Ye Chen entered the Rune Spaceship and addressed the Green Rune Elder plainly: “Send a message: In five days, an unprecedented catastrophe will strike Earth. If they wish to live, they had better quickly retreat into their respective relics or proceed to Shanghai in the China Zone and enter the Ancient World after five days!”
The Green Rune Elder startled, then grumbled, “Just let them all perish; it’ll save us the trouble later.”
Ye Chen shot him a look. “Less talk.”
The Green Rune Elder shrugged. “Fine, I don’t care either way.” Then, noticing Ye Chen’s strange gaze, he immediately backed ten paces away, stood solemnly before the microphone’s speaker, and proclaimed with righteous solemnity: “Attention, everyone!”
“All esteemed…”
“All esteemed…”
His voice echoed across the entire Base City, reverberating through every alley and thoroughfare. Whatever they were doing, everyone stopped, tilting their heads back to gaze at the white-gold spaceship hanging in the sky.
“My leader says that in five days, an unparalleled disaster will strike Earth, leading to human extinction. If you do not wish to die, evacuate quickly into the relics, or head to the coastal areas of Shanghai in the China Zone, and join our Chinese armies as we depart for the Ancient World!”
Every word pierced the ears of the populace like a bolt from the blue, leaving the entire Base City stunned into inertia.
After delivering the message, the Green Rune Elder glanced at Ye Chen, saw he had returned to the ship’s cabin to meditate, and immediately commanded the spaceship to depart directly from the Heaven’s God Alliance base.
Everyone watched the Rune Spaceship leave in a daze. After a long pause, the entire Base City erupted into a clamorous, seething uproar!
“What!!”
“A great disaster in five days? Is that true?”
“It must be a lie!”
“Not necessarily. Isn't that man the leader of the Brightness Base City? He wouldn't fabricate something like this, would he?”
The populace held varied opinions, but doubt and disbelief formed the majority stance. The city’s highest echelon and the leaders of various federations swiftly convened emergency meetings.
“Samsmit is dead, and the Vice-Alliance Master is dead. Who now holds the decisive voice in this Base City?”
“The one who killed Samsmit claimed a disaster is coming in five days?”
“What kind of disaster? A flood? Impossible. A meteor from outer space? The Research Department monitors the skies with relic satellites constantly; we would have spotted any incoming meteor.”
“Could it be geological?”
These individuals were exceptionally shrewd, which explained their high positions. They quickly surmised various possibilities. If an ordinary person had made the claim, they would have dismissed it as madness, but Ye Chen had killed Samsmit; his words demanded serious consideration!
“Perhaps it’s a deliberate deception meant to incite chaos within our Base City.”
“Given his power, that possibility is neither small nor negligible. Still, we must test it first. If a disaster truly looms, we need time to evade it.”
All federation high council members issued orders, swiftly initiating tests for every conceivable natural disaster. Since the Ice Age, low-lying areas were buried under glaciers thousands of feet thick, and high altitudes still held mountains of ice thousands of feet tall, severely limiting their understanding of geological conditions. Many instruments designed to probe the earth had been destroyed.
As the news filtered down, the Research Department immediately began investigations, soon discovering abnormal recent geological activity: a sharp rise in temperature and subtle movements in the earth’s crust.
Signs of a volcanic eruption!
Connecting this to the mass extinction of the dinosaurs in the prehistoric Jurassic period and the disappearance of numerous ancient civilizations, everyone envisioned the terrifying scenario of global volcanism! An event that could exterminate even microorganisms!
This would be a catastrophe far surpassing the Ice Age!
This finding was quickly made public. Though it caused considerable panic, the high authority of the Base City’s governing institutions prevented complete systemic breakdown; instead, it spurred intense mobilization.
Weaker individuals were shuttled into relics similar to the Xuanyuan Divine Tomb, places capable of growing sustenance. After all, no matter how much food was stockpiled, it would eventually run out; only finding arable land within a relic could guarantee survival.
Furthermore, they utilized the virtual communicators of Atlantis to link with other major Base Cities that had excavated Atlantean ruins, initiating urgent negotiations.
This explosive news swept across the globe like a hurricane!