The village was annihilated, consumed by a towering inferno that left no tree standing. The group boarded their Rune Ship and shot away, blazing across the inky expanse of the night sky in a fleeting spark.

Inside the Rune Ship.

Under the illumination, their silhouettes stretched long. In the very center of the gathering stood the two-zhang tall stone carving of the woman. Bai Long stroked his chin, voicing sincere praise: "Little Chen Chen did well this time, knowing to bring this treasure back."

"Is there anything special about this statue?" Yue Heng asked with curiosity.

Bai Long rolled his eyes. "Nonsense, of course it’s special!"

Yue Heng looked over, challenging him, "How so? I wonder if knocking on it will shatter it."

"I truly can't stand your intellect," Bai Long shook his head with a sigh. "You can't even spot something so obviously peculiar. Look there—didn't you notice the statue isn't wearing a bra?"

"..." Veins pulsed visibly on everyone's foreheads.

"I want to punch you!" Yue Heng stretched his limbs in preparation.

"I have no objection," Zhuge Fan raised his hand.

"Seconded," Mo Feng stated expressionlessly.

"We didn't see anything," Little Hei and the others turned their backs.

Ye Chen offered, "I can lend you a knife."

"You brutes!" Bai Long rolled his eyes again.

Zhuge Fan immediately piped up, "Little Hei, he called you beasts."

Little Hei and the other Black Silk Worms were struck dumb.

While they were playfully bickering, Ye Chen withdrew his gaze and turned to stare intently at the statue. On her forehead, two faint, jade-green star-points flickered, emitting a soft glow. He gazed at them, lost in thought.

Under Ye Chen's scrutiny, those two star-points seemed to be gazing back at him.

"These dark creatures worship this statue with such piety; who is she? Why do I feel an irresistible urge to worship her the moment I see her?"

Ye Chen focused on the statue's brow. "These two star-points seem to contain mysterious energy... what could it be?" He pondered briefly, unable to find an answer, and in the midst of the commotion, he managed to move the statue into the ship's storage compartment.

Just then, the old Green Rune Man looked at Ye Chen and said, "The Fiend Star has a planet not far from here. Which celestial body shall we head to?"

Ye Chen glanced at him before turning to look out the ship's window toward the sky. In the northwest, a colossal planet hung, brilliant and blinding like an enormous moon.

He paused for a moment, then nodded. "Let's go!"

From previous intelligence, Ye Chen knew that at the connection points of the Dark Great World in cities like Snow Moon City, there would always be a God-level planet serving as a beacon.

The Dark Great World, unlike the Ancient Continent, wasn't a single landmass but a vast, boundless cosmos, much like Earth's universe. Within this immense stellar sea floated countless planets, and the initial stopping point after entering the Dark Great World was almost always a God-level planet.

Therefore, this planet was immense, perhaps as large as the sun!

Centered around this Divine Planet were the powers ruled by its owner. Most likely, this owner perished in battle when Snow Moon City was established, or fled this planet.

As Ye Chen spoke, the Rune Ship whooshed and shot forward, slicing through the night sky, speeding directly toward that planet.

Strangely, this planet seemed to lack an atmosphere. Furthermore, in the surrounding vast universe, there was no intense gale force, no cosmic debris, no meteor showers or asteroids.

Leaving the planet's vicinity, the surrounding cosmos wasn't a vacuum; instead, there was air and oxygen within the 'space.'

At the Rune Ship's speed, once accelerated to light speed, they arrived outside the moon-like planet in moments. As they drew closer, viewed through the ship's deceleration glass, they could see many mountains, rivers, flora, and trees on the surface.

The planet was vividly green, exuding a vibrant sense of life.

Whoosh!

The Rune Ship plunged straight in.

This planet also had no discernible atmosphere. The ship's sensors calculated the planet's comprehensive data:

Planet Land Area: 183,029,820 kilometers! Planet Water Area: 294,856 kilometers! Planet Oxygen Content: Thin Planetary Elements Contained: Basic Metal Element, Basic Water Element, Basic Fire Element Planet Life Count: 18.338 Billion... Planet Lifespan: 1.93 Million Years!

The old Green Rune Man immediately activated the Dark World Planet Identification Instrument fitted on the Rune Ship. This device had been prepared beforehand; most Divine Ships possessed such an instrument—a small system that didn't occupy the ship's smart storage space.

Planet Level: Ghost Level!

Under the appraisal, it was determined to be merely a Ghost-level planet, meaning its strongest ruler was only at the Ghost God Realm.

"Should we loot it?" Little Hei asked eagerly.

"Yes!" Ye Chen stated coldly. "We only have ten minutes."

"Yes!" Everyone's eyes brightened.

After the ship anchored on the planet, Ye Chen and the others burst out immediately, their forms flashing across the low-gravity surface. Everywhere they passed, they saw small villages inhabited by monsters like Imps, Stone Demons, Ice Crystal Beasts, and Moth Beasts.

Ye Chen gripped the Slaughtering Battle Blade and began a frenzied massacre. A flash of his blade leveled an entire village, sending countless dark creatures crashing beneath his blows. Streams of Death Qi were absorbed into the Slaughtering Battle Blade, making the blood-red weapon seem ravenous, its gore-light overflowing, creating a terrifying spectacle.

Eight minutes later, the group reassembled at the Rune Ship, quickly boarded, and departed.

Ye Chen felt the light of the Slaughtering Battle Blade become more restrained. Containing the Heart of Slaughter, the blade had become a living entity that could only grow stronger by devouring Slaughter Qi; the more it slaughtered, the more formidable it became.

As the Rune Ship sped through the vast cosmos, they descended upon smaller planets they encountered, landing briefly for everyone to emerge and carry out swift massacres.

After consecutively destroying the dark creatures on seven or eight planets without finding another stone statue, Ye Chen frowned slightly, a wry smile touching his lips. It was likely that the statues on these planets had already been claimed by previous adventurers.

As for the first village he entered, its location must have been obscure; in his frantic escape, he hadn't noticed the route, stumbling inadvertently into an untrodden spot, thus securing a statue.

While the Rune Ship traveled, Ye Chen entered the virtual world to search for information on the statues.

In the Dark Great World, the virtual world remained accessible. This virtual realm was rumored to be a phantom plane, accessible from anywhere—even back on Earth, using a virtual helmet, one could enter the Ancient Continent's virtual world.

Through his search, Ye Chen found only sparse information regarding the statues:

"Worship Faith Statue: This is the Imperial Statue of the Emperor Star in the Dark Great World; it serves as a medium to obtain Faith Power."

"Worship Faith Statues are categorized into five tiers: Elementary, Intermediate, Advanced, Peak, and Supreme!"

"Elementary Statue can only store 12 Star Points of Faith Power; purchase price is 100,000 Pseudo-God Stones!"

"Intermediate Statue can only store 36 Star Points of Faith Power; purchase price is 1,000,000 Pseudo-God Stones!"

"Advanced Statue can only store 108 Star Points of Faith Power..."

Reading this, Ye Chen began to understand, then a thought sparked, and he searched for 'Faith Power.'

"Your clearance level is insufficient for this query."

Ye Chen paused, then furrowed his brow. After a moment of contemplation, he returned to the storage room to examine the statue closely. He noticed it had twelve crystal points in total, but only two were illuminated with jade-green stars; the other ten were dull, almost invisible unless examined closely.

"This thing is worth 100,000 Pseudo-God Stones." Ye Chen studied the statue for a while. He had sensed from the start that it was significant, and now he confirmed it was indeed a treasure specifically for storing Faith Power.

But what exactly was this Faith Power?

He pondered briefly before returning to the ship to continue the slaughter. Upon encountering a planet, he would immediately charge in and cause destruction. While simply completing the main mission would be faster, encountering these planets offered a chance to temper the Slaughtering Battle Blade. After all, a part of his killing intent was now embedded within the blade, making it feel like an extension of his own body.

In the Dark Great World, the outer perimeter was filled with a sea of stars, countless planets suspended within. At the core were floating continents, upon which dark tribes resided!

As Ye Chen piloted the Rune Ship, he accessed the virtual world and purchased a partial map of the dark world. Utilizing his Second-Rank Genius Hall status, he received a 30% discount, bringing the map price to 700,000.

If he were First-Rank, he would have received a 50% discount! However, his rank would only be elevated next month.

Others waited for time; Ye Chen made time wait for him.

Guided by the map, Ye Chen located their coordinates on the star navigation chart, finally pinpointing their current location.

The entire Dark Great World was ringed by the Star Sea, where countless divine beings resided on planets, building empires and ruling over hordes of dark creatures. In the center of the Star Sea were the floating continents, densely packed with tribes and cities like mountains.

This mission was not to destroy the dark creature empires in the Star Sea, but the dark tribes within the continents. The dark empire Ye Chen currently occupied was the Left God Dark Empire.

The Left God was a divine being, and Ye Chen surmised he was likely the owner of the God-level planet they entered through near Snow Moon City.

His dominion extended for about one light-year in every direction.

This meant that even at the Rune Ship's maximum speed—light speed—it would take a full year to traverse the vast Star Sea to reach the central continents.