The waves crashed and churned over the inky Demon Sea, surging against the walls of the looming, ancient city. Dark clouds hung low in the sky, like a shroud drawn over the heavens, releasing curtains of black light that poured down—from a distance, the scene resembled a Shura city erected in another world.

Shortly after the arrival of these three figures, a silhouette suddenly shot across the black Demon Sea nearby, moving with the speed of a hurricane until it stopped before them. It was a man with golden, curly hair, clad in crimson armor, exuding an air of noble grace and commanding presence, every gesture hinting at absolute control.

This man was none other than Lox, the Master of the Dark Temple, guardian of this divine, dark expanse! Lox regarded the trio before him and offered a slight bow.

"Your subordinate pays respects to the esteemed Elders." The alluring woman nodded subtly, sweeping him with a seductive glance. "When did this Demon God Palace emerge?

You mentioned in your transmission that it forbids entry to beings above the rank of Middle God?" Lox affirmed, "That is correct. Any presence exceeding the aura of a Middle God triggers the Demon God Palace's systematic defense, resulting in the demise of my subordinates who have approached.

This palace was originally situated within the eye of this dark sea. About three million years ago, the eye of the Demon Sea became somewhat unstable.

I was in seclusion at the time and couldn't investigate immediately. Unexpectedly, in recent years, the entire Demon Sea has ceased to birth new kin.

After rigorous investigation by my subordinates, we discovered the eye was sealed, and the one sealing it is this very Demon God Palace!" The bewitching woman nodded thoughtfully. "So, the intelligent system of the Demon God Palace is still intact and operational, capable of automatic movement and positional shifts.

I never imagined this Demon God Palace would remain uncorrupted even after 100,000 Epochs since the last Great Saint War ended!" "Even weapons forged from the Metal of Time, condensed from the cosmic forces of the Chronos Masters, would degrade into mere scrap after such an immense span of corrosion." Her voice resonated with peculiar awe, as if fueled by some inner demonic power. Her bright eyes were fixed intently on the Demon God Palace, a flicker of deep-seated avarice surfacing beneath the surface.

Nearly everyone who had ascended to her realm knew a fundamental truth: 100,000 Epochs constituted a Grand Cataclysm; nothing, no one, could survive that long, let alone metal! Even 'Time' itself would be eroded to nothing within 100,000 Epochs.

"I shall test it," declared the towering man beside the alluring woman, taking a decisive step forward, his sharp, elongated horns pointing defiantly toward the heavens, emanating an air of disdain as he gazed down upon the colossal city spanning millions of kilometers below. "Let's see the true might left behind by the God Emperors from before the last Great Saint War!" "Collapse!" With a mere point of his finger, the very air and time of the entire realm reversed and churned into chaos.

From the boundless void, trails of ash-white energy floated forth, gathering at his fingertip into a point of light—perhaps the only beacon on the inky Demon Sea—which he suddenly shot forth! Pfft!

This beam pierced through the void and time, hurtling toward the ancient walls of the Demon God Palace. Yet, before it could draw near, it struck the palace's energy shield.

The entire Demon God Palace immediately flared, enveloped by an elliptical, obsidian barrier, turning everything within into a massive black sphere. The light struck the energy shield, erupting in a deafening roar.

Brilliant light rippled across the shield before vanishing entirely. "Alert!

Alert!" "Activate Level-A Defense System!" "SS2-Class Star Annihilator entering pre-charge!" All major systems within the Demon God Palace awoke, whirring into frantic operation. From the energy shield, a smooth, solid metal wall, roughly a thousand zhang high, slowly emerged.

A slit opened in this wall, revealing a dark, gaping maw. In the depths of this opening, light suddenly flashed, and with a thunderous boom, a beam of ash-white light, ten zhang thick, erupted outward!

The charging time was a mere 0.1 seconds. This light swept across the horizon, traveling faster than light, striking the three figures in the air almost instantaneously upon release.

Lox’s expression turned grim in a flash. He exerted his energy to the limit, manifesting a dazzling shield of golden light before him, protecting the vital areas of his upper body, even as he rapidly retreated, slipping behind the trio.

The alluring woman faced the ash-white beam that traversed space and time with an expression as placid as still water. She slowly extended a delicate, pale hand, upon whose palm a radiant purple light materialized.

Though only as thick as a finger, it distorted the surrounding void, and the moment it shot out, countless strata of spacetime were torn open, carving a shockwave that left a stark, black line in its wake wherever it passed. Bang!

The two beams collided. The blinding ash-white light was pierced and violently rent apart by the purple beam in the blink of an eye—it proved utterly fragile.

The purple light slammed into the energy shield. The entire shield wavered slightly, growing unstable, but it stubbornly held, finally resisting the incoming purple light!

"Alert! Alert!" "Activate S-Class Defense System!" "SS4-Class Demon Cannon entering pre-charge!" The Demon God Palace's energy shield pulsed with light, its black aura intensifying.

Simultaneously, a massive, airborne fortress emerged from within. This citadel spanned nearly a hundred kilometers, its surface dense with towering structures.

Now, it phased directly through the energy shield, positioning itself outside. The various buildings within the city-fortress merged and coalesced, forming a gigantic, super cannon barrel!

This super cannon seemed to use the entire hundred-kilometer city as its platform. Deep within its bore, a blood-red light glowed, intensifying as it drew closer, as if a long-dormant demon was about to shriek forth.

Even the alluring woman’s expression shifted slightly. She reacted quickly.

"Retreat!" With a sweep of her hand, she snatched Lox from behind her and pulled him into a mysterious black hole, then she blinked and vanished into thin air. BOOM!!

Almost the instant the figures disappeared, the super cannon fired. A brilliant blood-red beam tore across the heavens, forcing the entire Demon Sea to visibly depress and flatten, unable to raise a single wave.

The surging shockwave and force caused the tidal currents to automatically part, creating a trench. The red beam flashed and was gone in an instant.

In the next moment, several figures materialized out of nowhere in a void several light-years away. Before they could even draw breath, a chilling, murderous intent washed over their backs.

Turning around, they saw that the crimson beam had executed a spatial jump, tracking them down. "Damn it!" The alluring woman’s delicate eyebrows shot up.

She pointed a finger, unleashing a world-shaking aura. A small, obsidian sphere coalesced at her graceful fingertips, radiating an atmosphere of absolute terror.

The two men beside her involuntarily narrowed their pupils upon seeing the tiny sphere. They swiftly channeled their respective powers into the black orb, causing its aura to deepen significantly before it was suddenly shot forth.

BOOM!! A cataclysmic explosion thundered out.

In a radius of several hundred thousand li, everything was reduced to a stream of particles. All dark tribes and creatures within that range were annihilated.

A few moments later, several battered figures were thrown reeling out of the void, retreating thousands of kilometers before they could stop—it was the alluring woman and her companions. Their faces were grim, and their clothing showed signs of tearing.

The alluring woman, especially, spat out a mouthful of blood, her face flushed, deep terror lingering in her eyes. "Are you alright?" the fair-skinned youth beside her asked with concern.

The alluring woman shook her head slightly, wiping the blood from her lips. Her voice was low.

"The defense system of this Demon God Palace far exceeds our estimates. If I hadn't deployed the power of World Faith, we likely wouldn't have escaped disaster.

However, enduring that blow has severely drained my World Faith reserves." "Then what do we do?" the towering man with crimson skin and sharp horns frowned. "We must return to the Temple first.

With just the strength of a few of us, forcing our way to claim the Demon God Palace is unlikely. I will petition Lord Supreme Gold River!" the alluring woman stated grimly.

The fair-skinned youth paused for a moment, then his eyes flashed, and he said no more. Outside the Demon God Palace, the sudden battle concluded swiftly, taking mere minutes, yet it left an indelible impression on the distant onlookers.

"Holy hell! Is that the power of the Demon God Palace?" "That's insane!" "It truly is a treasure left over from the Prehistoric Great Saint War that hasn't decayed even now!" "Those few people commanded even Palace Master Lox to show such respect.

Who could they be?" "They must be powerhouses from the Inner Domain Star Zones!" Everyone was buzzing, reflecting on the shocking spectacle they had just witnessed. Meanwhile, inside the Demon God Palace, in a mysterious space within the vast cosmos, a youth sat cross-legged, cultivating with his black hair flowing freely, eyes closed.

On his forehead were two sharp, small horns, resembling those of a demon from the netherworld. After a moment, the black horns vanished, retracting into his body.

The youth’s frame suddenly convulsed violently, as if enduring a pressure of ten thousand jun. Blood seeped from the pores of his skin, coating his entire body in a terrifying, gruesome network of crimson lines.

"Endure!" "Endure!" Ye Chen’s teeth ground together with audible clicks, his very spirit on the verge of collapse. His eyeballs were bloodshot, glowing red like a starved beast, fixed madly on the miniature black hole before him as he strained against it.

One second, two seconds, three seconds..." Time slowly crawled by. At the eighteenth second, Ye Chen reached his absolute limit.

His mind exploded into a blank slate, and he lost consciousness. He awoke about six days later after falling unconscious.

Almost reflexively, he activated his Superman Mode and resumed cultivation. Through the previous trials, his state of mind had rapidly improved, and his physical transformation was swift.

His mental state had reached the mid-stage of Sage Rank Eight, and his body was significantly stronger than before. The boundless starry sky was silent.

One year later. The youth, still seated cross-legged in this star field, now had longer hair and short stubble, his face weathered by hardship.

He appeared more mature, his shoulders broader, his bone structure more robust. His dark eyes were so profound they mirrored the entire cosmos.

His physical state was unchanged, resting before the miniature black hole, yet his expression was utterly calm, like still water, devoid of any trace of pain.