"Roar! That half-god realm monster sprang from behind the jungle, its blood-soaked eyes fixed on Ye Chen.

With a powerful bellow, it lunged forward, its formidable divine power coalescing at its claws, radiating a chilling luminescence. Ye Chen inwardly cursed the situation; in an instant, he activated the Lightning Superman Mode.

"Run!" This tiger-like monster had already transcended the mere "demon beast" level, achieving the status of a "spirit beast." Although engaging its Ant Superman Mode would allow him to match its raw power, the enemy possessed half-god strength—even a mere fraction could pierce his soul! If only...

If only he could acquire a half-god tier weapon, then, even in Lightning Superman Mode, he would be sufficient to contend with an ordinary half-god spirit beast! But even the cheapest divine artifact seemed to cost upwards of a hundred half-god stones!

Whoosh! Ye Chen’s figure moved like a passing breeze, vanishing in a flicker.

The speed of the leader-level tiger monster was utterly inadequate for pursuit. Having distanced himself from that area, Ye Chen, taking advantage of his Superman Mode, rampaged recklessly through the jungle.

In mere seconds, he encountered two or three demon beasts, all of which he struck down the instant they spotted him! Swish!

Swish! Swish!

Ye Chen weaved through the trees, the Xuanyuan Divine Sword in his hand acting like the Grim Reaper’s scythe, madly reaping the lives of demon beasts. In about ten seconds, he had slaughtered over a dozen and flown more than ten kilometers.

"Still 'huā' 10 seconds to kill, 20 seconds to find a safe, hidden spot," Ye Chen determined internally. In the desolate jungle, he let out a sharp cry that made the surrounding trees tremble slightly.

Moments later, rustling sounds echoed through the nearby foliage, and then, demon beasts of various shapes scrambled out of the undergrowth, closing in to surround Ye Chen. Kill!

Ye Chen's long black hair flew backward, his eyes as cold as blades. His divine sword flashed like a beam of white light; with a few rapid passes, the seven or eight surrounding demon beasts were left headless.

Ye Chen snatched out the special light matter within their bodies, then swiftly relocated. Not long after, two minutes elapsed.

Ye Chen's form blurred into motion, charging wildly through the jungle. He killed any demon beast he encountered along the way.

After spending 15 seconds, he located a secluded small hill. He immediately dug out a cave, leaped inside, suppressed his aura, and entered secluded cultivation.

Without the Lightning Superman Mode as his life-saving charm, he had no choice but to cultivate in isolation for a period. Otherwise, encountering another spirit beast level monster leader would leave him no chance even to flee, forcing him to use that low-grade half-god talisman.

Time flowed by quickly. One day later, Ye Chen emerged unharmed from the cave and charged directly toward the east.

Along the way, he killed over a dozen demon beasts and four or five Lost Souls! These Lost Souls belonged to civilizations such as the Celestial, Dinosaur, and Psychic civilizations.

They tilted their necks, their bodies resembling zombies, bearing ferocious fangs, their eyes filled only with the lust to kill, having discarded all other emotions—the only thing they hadn't forgotten was their fighting methodology! The combat strength of every Lost Soul remained the same as in life, perhaps even more brutal, because they lacked consciousness and feared no death, fighting with their lives on the line!

Ten days later... Ye Chen slowly crawled out of a cavern.

He glanced outside and, seeing no sign of spirit beasts, finally let out a breath of relief. The previous day, while hunting, he had accidentally encountered an extremely terrifying half-god realm demon beast leader; fortunately, he was quick enough to escape.

"After ten days, my physique has strengthened considerably, reaching level 23,000. During this time, slaughtering hundreds of Lost Souls boosted my physique significantly!" Ye Chen clenched his fist and then rushed toward the next direction.

Not long after setting off... Ye Chen suddenly detected faint roars echoing around him, filling the dilapidated, withered jungle with a terrifying gloom.

He frowned, mused for a moment, then suppressed his aura and followed the direction of the roars. After walking a short distance, he arrived near a patch of tall grass.

Ye Chen reached out and pushed aside the broad, banana-leaf-like green grass. Peering through the gap, he saw a slight incline of a hillside not far ahead.

This slope was barren and grassless, currently occupied by various demon beasts: some with bull heads and python bodies, some with chicken bodies and snake heads, others with dog bodies and snake skin, and even beasts resembling Qilin—all varied in form. And at the center of this horde, a single white figure was dancing gracefully, like a lily blooming at midnight, exuding beauty and sorrow.

Dressed in white, with delicate hands, she moved like a swift autumn goose when active, and remained still as stagnant water when poised. She held a sword like autumn water, and with every swing, streaks of faint golden light shot out, piercing the bodies of numerous demon beasts.

The entire hillside was dyed red with blood. The dark clouds in the sky hung low, and the blood-red moon cast a hazy, crimson glow, making the scene appear even more sinister.

The white-robed figure, brandishing her long sword, seemed utterly oblivious to the demon beasts on the slope. She walked leisurely up the incline.

Any demon beast that dared to leap at her was instantly pierced by a streak of pale golden light, killed instantly. Bai Yijun!

Ye Chen's pupils constricted slightly. Although he had known this woman was terrifying, he hadn't expected her power to be this monstrous.

Observing closely, he realized a significant portion of those demon beasts were spirit beasts! Yet, before this woman, they were as fragile as straw, easily erased.

A tremor of fear ran through Ye Chen. He silently tightened his breath, lowered his stance, and dared not let his gaze linger on her for too long, lest he be detected.

The demon beasts on the slope roared in unison and charged toward the woman in white. Monsters, blood, dark clouds, a blood moon...

interwoven into a bizarre tableau. A desolate wind swept across the slope.

The blood had already dried and solidified. The woman in white strode away with ethereal grace.

Her snow-white robes remained immaculate, unstained by even a speck of blood despite the fierce slaughter, like a pure green lotus exuding freshness. Behind her departure, the ground was littered with monster corpses...

Ye Chen watched the woman ascend the slope. At the crest, there was a pitch-black cave mouth, exceedingly wide, descending hundreds of feet.

Faintly, countless red dots flickered from within, resembling the myriad glowing eyes of darkness, accompanied by terrifying, spine-chilling roars that echoed faintly. Ye Chen glanced at the entrance twice.

Only when Bai Yijun disappeared from sight did he slowly begin to tread lightly toward the hillside. Reaching the corpses, he activated his bracelet and began refining the special light matter from every body, integrating it into the Saint Flame Armor.

Refine! Refine!

After about ten minutes, Ye Chen finished extracting the special light matter from all the monster corpses on the slope, feeling that the power of his Saint Flame Armor had enhanced significantly. Ye Chen wasn't surprised by this.

After all, most of the monsters on this slope were spirit beasts, including some high-grade ones whose combat strength rivaled that of high-tier half-god realm experts! Ye Chen gazed at the cave entrance atop the hill, his expression grave.

He vaguely guessed that this place was likely... A nexus where countless spirit beasts and peak demon beasts gathered!

On this entire star fragment, there was no other location besides the demon beast dens. Ye Chen contemplated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and followed.

He moved quickly, soon reaching the hilltop. He peered into the distance and frowned when he noticed the red light spots inside the dark cave seemed to have vanished.

"Wasn't Bai Yijun resting on that tree trunk? How did she end up here?

And alone, too—surely she wasn't doing anything important? Killing these demon beasts wouldn't serve much purpose for her, would it?" Ye Chen was puzzled.

He flicked his finger, releasing a wisp of flame toward the cave. The flame arced gracefully through the air, landing inside the cave.

Ye Chen's pupils sharply contracted. Inside the cavern, blood flowed like rivers, and massive piles of monster corpses towered like mountains.

The blood still radiated warmth, clearly indicating they had died very recently! In just ten minutes, had this woman annihilated all the demon beasts outside the cave entrance?

Ye Chen felt a shock deep in his heart. After a pause, he calmed himself.

He peered into the depths of the cave but saw no sign of Bai Yijun, so he tiptoed forward cautiously. Guided by the faint glow of the flame, Ye Chen opened his bracelet and began refining the monsters on the ground.

Streams of pure special light matter floated up from the corpses, absorbed into the Saint Flame Armor. Ye Chen flicked his finger, sending a spark of fire deeper into the black hole, illuminating a large area.

Everywhere were bodies. He quickly followed, continuing the refinement process.

The cave was utterly dark, visibility reduced to zero, and completely silent. Ye Chen could only hear his own breathing.

He held his breath, testing his way forward step by step. When the preceding spark disappeared, he flicked his finger again, sending another flare of light forward.

The light arced in a half-crescent shape before landing, illuminating an open space. In that space stood a woman dressed in bright crimson, her hair disheveled, her face smeared with blood, staring intently at Ye Chen.

Ye Chen's pupils shrank, and his heart nearly stopped beating. After a moment, Ye Chen snapped back to attention.

Just as he was about to activate Lightning Superman Mode to flee, he noticed the woman was only staring at him with cold indifference and remained completely motionless, causing him to pause in confusion. "Could she be...

a corpse?" Ye Chen's heart hammered. With a sudden thought, he tapped his toe, hooked a stone from the ground, and kicked it toward the woman.

Thud! The stone struck the woman in red.

Her body swayed slightly, and then, the deathly gray eyes beneath her messy hair slowly rotated, fixing on Ye Chen. A chilling grin spread across her lips, revealing a pair of savage fangs.

"Roar!" The woman in red suddenly lunged toward him. Ye Chen's heart leaped.

Without a second thought, he channeled all his spectral energy into his divine sword and thrust it directly toward the woman. Thwack!

The woman made no attempt to dodge; the divine sword passed right through her chest. She gave a bizarre smile, then lowered her head, becoming motionless.

Only then did Ye Chen realize his back was icy cold, covered in cold sweat. He quickly swung his sword, tossing the woman's corpse aside.

With a practiced flourish, he severed her head and retrieved a dark black soul crystal from within. Ye Chen did not touch it directly.

Instead, he commanded the flames on his Saint Flame Armor to envelop the crystal, incinerating the blood coating its surface. After about two minutes, once the crystal had cooled down, he reached out and grasped it in his palm to absorb its essence.

The surface of this soul crystal contained intense viruses. If touched, even with his current physique, he risked infection and becoming a Lost Soul, just like the zombies on Earth.

"Who told you to follow?" Suddenly, a frigid voice echoed right beside Ye Chen's ear.