Within the territory of the Black Warden Empire, there lay a demigod planet, vast and choked with yellow sand, an endless desert where withered grass lay like ash—a world seemingly on the verge of erosion.

In one stretch of this desert, several figures suddenly appeared, sprinting at breakneck speed. There were four in total. The man in front, clad in black, stood two zhang tall, his skin covered in dark blue scales. He was drenched in sweat, his body slick with blood, running frantically, his feet radiating potent demigod power, as if driven to use his hands and feet just to propel himself forward.

As he fled, he left behind bloody footprints on the ground. Where the blood soaked into the earth, sharp stone spikes immediately sprouted. Any veteran observer would recognize this man instantly as a stone-type dark creature.

Behind him trailed the three pursuers, cloaked in dust, their wounds splitting open. Their expressions were ferocious, their hair disheveled, suggesting they too were at the end of their tether.

They had chased one another across the better part of the planet. The man with the blue-black scales gritted his teeth, a determined glint in his eyes, clenching his fists tightly, running with wild desperation.

If only... if only he could escape, he could completely turn the tables!

The vision of a brighter future fueled his will to survive, driving him forward in a desperate flight. Soon, he arrived before the towering gates of a massive city. From afar, the fortress stood stark against the rolling yellow sands, seeming like the only beacon of life in this desolate wasteland.

Without a word, the man charged straight ahead.

The city gates were tightly sealed. Upon detecting an approach, the intelligent system on the gate hadn't even time to issue a warning before the man smashed through. With a slap of his palm, dazzling demigod power shot out as a beam of light, blasting the entire gate to pieces as he burst inside.

Shadows moved within the city; all inhabitants were dark creatures at the Ghost-God Realm. Dark creatures capable of shifting their forms below the Ghost-God Realm were not qualified to enter the city—unless they were on a Ghost-level planet.

The blue-black scaled man roared as he tore into the city. Panic erupted in the surrounding streets; everyone scrambled to get out of his way. He bolted straight toward the city center at a terrifying speed.

At the heart of this city lay a space-jump point.

Along the streets, all the dark creatures sensed the divine power emanating from the scaled man and immediately yielded the path, daring not to obstruct him.

Before long, the imposing structure of the space-jump point appeared ahead, like the dawn breaking.

A look of sheer relief flashed across his face as he prepared to surge toward it. Just then, the sky directly above the space-jump point suddenly darkened.

All the dark creatures looked up to see a sleek, pitch-black starship slowly descending from above. The ship was intricately carved with numerous mystic runes, radiating an aura of ancient power.

Click!

The hatch hissed open, and several figures leaped out.

“I didn't expect there to be a space-jump point here,” Yue Heng stretched his limbs, looking toward the nearby nexus, a slight curve lifting the corner of his mouth.

Bailong surveyed the surrounding dark creatures. Though these beings wore human forms, they couldn't conceal the thick miasma of negative energy they exuded. His eyes instantly grew cold. His hand clenched, and his body blurred as he charged into the fray, beginning a frenzy of slaughter.

Ye Chen stepped out of the rune-ship, issuing instructions to the Green-Rune Elder: “Check the space-jump point. See if it’s operational and what the maximum jump distance is in light-years.”

“Piece of cake,” the Green-Rune Elder yawned.

At that moment, the dark creatures on the surrounding streets revealed their true forms, transforming into a horde of Flame Demons and Ice Crystal Beasts, trampling buildings as they fled wildly in every direction.

Bailong and the others pressed the attack, chasing them down. Wherever they passed, countless dark creatures fell dead.

The blue-black scaled man, watching the sudden appearance of these newcomers, felt his heart seize up. He stared in disbelief: Who are these people? They carry such a rich scent of flesh—they aren’t dark creatures, they’re humans!

Terror flooded his eyes, and he immediately spun around to flee.

“Hmm?” Ye Chen glanced casually in that direction, detecting a dense surge of demigod energy. With utter detachment, he stated, “You arrived; you aren't leaving.” With a casual wave of his hand, the demigod power within him shot forth, coalescing into a massive, golden palm that seized the scaled man’s body, holding him like a captured rodent and tossing him onto the ground before Ye Chen.

The blue-black scaled man’s eyes instantly became stone-like, his skin hardening like rock. He struggled desperately against the golden grasp, his mind reeling in shock: What is this power? It’s only demigod power, yet it’s so terrifyingly strong—how is that possible!

Ye Chen spared him a brief look, and with a flicker of thought, the golden palm violently contracted, crushing the scaled man’s body inward.

“No, don’t!!” the scaled man shrieked in agony, “Don’t kill me!”

Bang!

His body exploded. All his energy was instantly drawn into a swirling black vortex contained within the golden palm. This dark creature had never intended to self-destruct; he had hoped to use it as a last resort if cornered, but the golden palm constricted suddenly, denying him even the chance to resist before crushing him dead.

As the body ruptured, the golden energy hand dissipated, and a ring dropped onto the ground out of thin air.

Ye Chen snatched the ring, erasing the residual brainwaves with a thought. Probing it mentally, he discovered it contained numerous items: several crystal cores from dark creatures, some strange beast bones, and a black box.

Ye Chen glanced over the contents, then, with another mental command, extracted the black box.

The box was cushion-shaped, carved with bizarre patterns across its surface, emitting faint wisps of black energy. Ye Chen reached for it but found it sealed, equipped with a numerical input device.

Ye Chen frowned. He clenched his hand, retrieved the Heaven Mending Divine Sword from the rune-ship, tossed the box aside, and brought the divine blade down in a fierce chop against it.

Clang! The black box was repelled, spinning like a pinwheel tens of thousands of times, tearing through countless structures.

Ye Chen paused, then his eyes brightened. He swiftly moved, catching up to the box amidst the rubble and debris, and returned to the rune-ship.

By this time, the others had finished dispatching the surrounding dark creatures. The Green-Rune Elder, using the ship's integrated system, had successfully broken through the city's defense network, seizing control of the entire space-jump point. They chose a location nearest the central district for their next jump.

Inside the rune-ship, Ye Chen and the others began sorting through their spoils.

Ye Chen held the black box, examining it closely. He noticed a shallow score mark on the surface. Though damaged, the fact that it withstood a strike from the Heaven Mending Divine Sword proved that its metallic composition was far from ordinary.

Ye Chen studied it intently, entering several incorrect passcodes before letting out a wry smile. He stored the box away, deciding he would simply cleave it open later when he acquired a mid-grade divine artifact.

Over the next few days, the rune-ship executed continuous space jumps.

Experience revealed that virtually every demigod-level planet was equipped with a space-jump point. During this time, Ye Chen entered seclusion to meditate on his combat secret techniques. Whenever they encountered a suitable planet, he handed the Slaughter Blade to Bailong and the others, tasking them with using it to cull dark creatures and temper their blade souls.

In this span, the rune-ship had left the jurisdiction of the Left God Interstellar Empire, traversing two or three other empires, bringing them significantly closer to the central core of the Great Dark World. Time flowed, and a month passed.

Ye Chen’s current access level was that of a First-Grade Genius Hall member, allowing him to purchase more detailed maps of the Great Dark World at a lower price.

After a month of travel, the rune-ship had crossed over a dozen interstellar empires and countless planets, finally reaching the periphery of the Great Dark World’s central zone.

“In the central zone of the Great Dark World reside the Dark People of the Great Dark World! This core area is encircled by seven Emperor-level planets. Beneath these seven Emperor-level worlds are numerous Spirit-God planets and Pseudo-God planets, forming an interstellar route—a veritable wall of iron and steel—that completely isolates the central region of the Great Dark World.”

Ye Chen studied the complex routes on the map, his brow furrowing slightly. He pondered for a moment, then instructed the Green-Rune Elder: “Enter the planet located at Northwest Star Marker 29494, Point 1122:”

“Small matter,” the Green-Rune Elder replied with a carefree smile, piloting the rune-ship straight toward the coordinates.

Ye Chen’s eyes flickered. Out here on the fringes of the central zone, there’s a demigod planet every thousand kilometers, a Pseudo-God planet every hundred thousand kilometers, and a Spirit-God planet every hundred million kilometers, sealing the central region tightly. Does the Dark Tribe possess something so unique in that core area that it requires such intense protection?

Ye Chen frowned. As the rune-ship sped onward, they reached the designated planet. Just as they were about to enter the atmosphere, Ye Chen called for the Green-Rune Elder to stop. He then exited the rune-ship, opened his rune space, retracted the vessel, and proceeded alone, heading into the planet’s expanse.

This world was a Pseudo-God grade planet, steeped in deathly stillness. Swamps and dense thickets covered the landscape, showing no sign of life. White, bleached bones of beasts littered the ground, resembling a savage, untouched wilderness.

Yet, within those swamps, pairs of cold, keen eyes would occasionally open, observing everything on the surface.

Ye Chen landed on a mountain peak and quickly suppressed his aura. Looking up, he saw numerous starships patrolling the sky, their powerful space-searchlights illuminating everything within a hundred kilometers. Security was exceptionally tight; the moment an intruder was detected, an alarm would sound, summoning the guard teams from nearby planets, which would inevitably lead to a massive battle.

Even if Ye Chen could resist or escape, if he were pinned down, the arrival of entities from the Emperor Stars, or perhaps a mid-grade Divine Spirit expert, could spell his doom.

Ye Chen contemplated for a moment, then descended the peak, surveying the surroundings. He noticed a silent, deathly swamp to the east.

His eyes flashed, and he immediately rushed toward the swamp, slowly drawing out his replica Cosmic Disk.