Gripping two heavy tools, Ye Chen arrived at the assigned mine shaft and entered to begin procurement.

Since parting ways with Bai Yijun, he had been immersed in a frenzy of slaughter, decimating three out of the four Great Beast Caves on the C-0986 star fragment!

Furthermore, he hunted down and slaughtered numerous "Lost Souls," many of whom were powerful experts at the Half-God Realm, hailing from countless different civilizations.

Through fifteen days of relentless killing, he refined the corpses of those useless demonic beasts, extracting the special luminous matter within and integrating it into the Divine Flame Set. Although the special luminous matter from these beasts' bodies could no longer compensate for the Divine Flame Set's ravenous consumption—requiring the corpses of Pseudo-God Realm beasts for meaningful effect—it was better than nothing.

After slaughtering a large quantity of demonic beasts and Lost Souls, through the refinement of soul crystals, his physique surged by five thousand levels, reaching fifty-five thousand!

His Ghost Qi reserves also grew immensely dense. Occasionally, he unearthed precious medicinal herbs, top-grade Ghost Stones, or even Half-Divine Artifacts from the bodies of the Lost Souls.

These Ghost Stones and precious herbs were consumed directly, while the Half-Divine Artifacts were refined using the protective Divine Flames of the Divine Flame Set, transforming them into Half-Divine Power and storing them within the Set, thus enhancing its might to the point where it could now shrug off attacks from high-level Half-God experts!

Equipped with this Divine Flame Set, Ye Chen's current strength allowed him to dominate the entire C-class star fragment. Although his physique was slightly weaker, activating Superman Mode inverted the situation into a large-scale massacre!

Only when encountering more troublesome Half-God Lost Souls did the contest become even. Once he activated his Superman Mode, the opponent would immediately follow suit. Ye Chen’s advantage lay in the fact that even though the opponent's Superman Mode was formidable, he could barely evade and withstand it using the Lightning Superman Mode, and once their mode ended, he still had the Ant Superman Mode in reserve!

Since arriving in the Primordial World, Ye Chen gradually understood the critical importance of Superman Mode. Most descendants of the prehistoric civilizations originating here underwent safe Superman Mode Awakening Ceremonies from childhood; virtually everyone possessed this mode, and many were quite advanced, with numerous Ghost God experts reaching Superman Stage Three!

Some Half-God experts could even activate Stage Four!

Moreover, the demonic beasts of this Primordial World possessed vastly stronger genes, being rare specimens from the Great Desolate Era—for instance, the Dark Demon Beast from the Great Dark World, an ancient ancestor of the ant, could reach Stage Five, amplifying strength tenfold (1000x)!

Conversely, the Ant Superman on Earth, even at Stage Five, could only amplify strength 400 times.

"Once I find the right time, I’ll seek out the third type of gene!" Ye Chen thought silently, then swung his hoe, channeling all his arm strength, and brought it down heavily.

The rocks and sand of this mountain were immensely heavy; driving the ten-million-jin hoe down...

...only managed to carve out a fist-sized indentation!

Ye Chen paused momentarily, then his eyes flashed with contemplation. "These mountains can float freely in mid-air, lacking gravity, yet up here, there is gravity. Could it be that within the mountains, anti-gravity and pro-gravity devices are installed? That's why the gravity we feel up here is the same as on the ground."

Ye Chen shook his head, casting aside these perplexing thoughts, and buried himself in mining. After swinging the hoe seven or eight more times, Ye Chen suddenly felt the head strike something incredibly hard. He froze, then quickly crouched down, using his mining shovel to brush away the dirt. Revealed beneath was a dark, angular stone pulsing with immense energy.

"This is Ghost Stone ore?" Ye Chen glanced at it, sensing the vast energy within. His eyes flickered slightly. "This Ghost Stone ore cannot have its Ghost Qi directly extracted, because the Qi within this mineral is full of impurities. Accidentally inhaling it could cause the body to explode and die!"

"This explains why the foreman only prevents people from smuggling it out but isn't worried about anyone foolish enough to try and absorb the Ghost Qi directly from the raw Ghost Stone ore."

"This Ghost Stone ore needs to be taken to the Ghost Stone Processing Plant for smelting, purification, cutting, and then shaping into uniform Ghost Stones for the convenient extraction of their contained Ghost Qi."

Holding the piece of Ghost Stone ore, Ye Chen's eyes shone as he mused, "It's only the first day; I don't fully understand the situation here yet. There is plenty of time ahead; I'll figure out the methods later before attempting to devour this Ghost Stone ore!"

"For others, unable to process this raw ore, they can only stare longingly. But before the Power of Devouring, all energy is mere dross!" Thinking of this, Ye Chen felt a surge of excitement. He quickly dug out the piece of Ghost Stone ore and immediately resumed mining.

Strike one, strike two...

Sweat streamed from his body and arms, dripping onto the ground, leaving behind faint black marks that vanished into the soil. While digging, Ye Chen never stopped cultivating his Ghost Qi.

The Ghost Qi on this Ghost Stone mine mountain was extraordinarily dense, making the cultivation speed four to five times faster than anywhere else! Moreover, cultivating in this environment saturated with Ghost Qi would also slowly enhance his physique!

On Earth, where energy was sparse, even those who exercised daily absorbed minimal energy into their muscle cells. It was completely different from places like the Xuanyuan Divine Tomb, where cultivation automatically allowed muscle cells, when starved, to devour ambient divine power for nourishment, enabling one to reach extremely high physical levels just through fitness activities!

On Earth, one could, at best, achieve the strength of seven or eight men, or Physique Level One. Figures like the ancient War Gods Lü Bu, Xiang Yu, and Guan Fei were around Physique Level Two.

That was the absolute limit on Earth!

Here, in this dense Ghost Qi environment, as Ye Chen’s mining arms ached, his gene cells acted like famished children, greedily drawing in the surrounding Ghost Qi to undergo transformation, causing his strength to increase rapidly, albeit slowly.

Ye Chen realized that if mining could enhance physique, then the herb halls must be even more comfortable—merely smelling the medicinal power while watering the plants could lead to physical transformation. It was no wonder the burly middle-aged man claimed being assigned to the Ore Hall was the bitter lot...

Soon, a day passed.

When Ye Chen and the others returned, they underwent inspection. One individual was caught hiding a small piece of Ghost Stone ore in his clothing and was immediately given a major demerit!

This minor incident caused no significant ripple. Ye Chen returned to the headquarters of the Scarlet Extinction Gate in Azure Water City and immediately headed to Blue Moon Lake to soak his body.

This Blue Moon Lake was vast, resembling a small ocean, its waves surging, filled with countless figures—at least several million people—creating a boisterous din.

Ye Chen sought out a secluded area of the lake to immerse himself. Although millions swam and frolicked in the water, the Blue Moon Lake was completely free of impurities, exquisitely pure, and carried a faint, delicate fragrance.

Submerged in the lake water, the cool liquid felt like countless tiny hands crawling through his pores and caressing every inch of his skin, dissolving all fatigue, bringing a sense of deep intoxication.

After soaking for a short while, just as Ye Chen felt satisfied and prepared to leave, two figures approached from the distance, their boots stepping on the lake surface without disturbing the lapping water near the boot edges. These two were Nantian and You Yue.

"Junior Brother!" You Yue looked at Ye Chen, his smile warm and affable. "I finally found you! It’s been so long; I truly missed you. Are you settling in well in the Outer Sect?"

Ye Chen frowned slightly as he looked at You Yue's forced, insincere smile. "What is it?"

Seeing Ye Chen reluctant to engage in pleasantries, You Yue chuckled, drew closer, and said, "Junior Brother, last time we spoke, you promised to copy that manual for me when you returned."

Ye Chen nodded slightly, pointed a finger, and his surging Ghost Qi manifested, countless runes flickering as they slowly coalesced into a thin booklet. "Here it is."

Ye Chen casually tossed the small book to You Yue.

You Yue's eyes lit up as if he had found a priceless treasure. He quickly accepted it with care, then began flipping through the pages.

Lines of ancient text appeared before his eyes, outlining the structure and specific cultivation methods.

You Yue scanned through it roughly from beginning to end, then suddenly frowned. He closed the book and glared at Ye Chen with displeasure. "Junior Brother, are you mocking me?"

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. "Mocking?"

A hint of cold light flashed in You Yue's eyes. "This manual is too simplistic. While I haven't studied it yet, from the descriptions, I can tell that even upon completion, it can only boost combat power by five times! The manual you used before could amplify combat power by thirty times!"

Ye Chen nodded. "That’s correct."

Seeing Ye Chen brazenly admit it without any sign of apology, You Yue became furious, his face turning ashen. "Are you playing tricks on me? I wanted the manual that boosts combat power by thirty times, not this!"

Ye Chen slowly lifted his head and glanced at him. "A manual that amplifies combat power fivefold is still a top-tier technique within Azure Water City; the price is calculated in Pseudo-God Stones! With the two top-grade Ghost Stones you gave me plus one initial-level Half-God Talisman, I could barely trade for a manual that boosts power onefold. I gave you this manual out of consideration for the aid you offered when I needed it, even if your intentions were impure. If you don't want it, then don't force it." As he spoke, his will moved, and the book formed of Ghost Qi immediately collapsed into pure Qi, re-entering his body.

This manual was actually the first layer of the Nine Palaces Manual, which he had modified. It allowed the user to summon a Ghost Qi clone possessing 0.5 times the user's combat power; upon self-detonation, it achieved a fivefold boost.

You Yue watched the manual in his hand dissipate, exploding in rage, his body trembling slightly from fury. "You dare trifle with me! Do you think that just because you entered the Outer Sect of the Scarlet Extinction Gate, you can act as you please with impunity?"

Ye Chen looked back at him with cold indifference, saying nothing.

You Yue snorted coldly, extended his hand, and said in a low, angry tone, "One last chance—give me the manual!"

Ye Chen's expression remained calm, and he spat out one word: "Scram!"