This was a warship of solid, abyssal black, its hull studded with tiny, dark gems brimming with mysterious energy. Lines of arcane glyphs were etched across its surface, making the entire vessel resemble an ancient demonic ship, radiating a palpable, churning aura of deadly intent.

"Do it..." A cry, ragged with excitement and elation, boomed forth from within the runic vessel. The old Green Rune Man burst out, deliriously overjoyed, standing on the deck, hands planted on his hips, letting out a wild, triumphant roar directed at the heavens.

Ye Chen spared it a glance. Judging by the aura emanating from the refitted runic vessel, it indeed reached the standard of a mid-grade Dao Artifact, perhaps even at its peak, just a hair's breadth from ascending to a high-grade Dao Artifact.

"A mid-grade Dao Artifact vessel of this caliber is enough to be considered the finest tribute payment for the entire White Lotus Divine Province over the last hundred thousand years," Ye Chen mused inwardly. After a moment of consideration, he recalled the Little Nine Cauldrons, then stored the surrounding wreckage and the warship itself into his Fire Civilization Space for safekeeping. These materials, he thought, could be smelted alongside the remaining fragments of the Nine Cauldrons should he ever acquire them, imagining what kind of battle armor might result.

"We rest for a day, and leave tomorrow," Ye Chen said softly, turning to Bai Yijun.

"Mhm," Bai Yijun nodded gently. The two sat down in the open space, gazing at the faint purple electromagnetic waves flickering a hundred miles away. From the runic space, she retrieved a piece of soft silk and spread it on the ground. Ye Chen then produced some fragrant fruits and fine wine, arranging them neatly on the silk cloth.

"We've never actually gone sightseeing in the wilderness," Ye Chen remarked with a smile. "The scenery here is quite nice; let's treat it as a trip."

Bai Yijun couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, her voice as pleasing as the chime of silver bells. "Who goes sightseeing inside an electromagnetic storm zone?"

Ye Chen smiled. The two settled in like ordinary people, sitting on the soft silk, trading stories and laughing about various amusing things.

Time slipped away unnoticed.

A day later, Ye Chen's Little White Wolf Superman Mode had recovered from its fatigued state. Ye Chen gathered the wine and silk, leaving behind only the discarded fruit peels. He looked at Bai Yijun, who was now standing, and said, "We are leaving this place today. Perhaps you should enter the runic space first. Wait until I’m clear of the electromagnetic storm zone before I call you out."

Bai Yijun gently shook her head. "In that case, it would be better for you to enter the runic space. You can transfer the space to me, and I will guide us out."

A subtle smile touched the corner of Ye Chen's mouth. He reached out and stroked her smooth, soft hair, saying tenderly, "If I activate the Little White Wolf Superman Mode, my running speed will be too fast. At such high velocity, if you were holding onto my arm to keep up, your body would become exhausted. After about ten seconds, my Superman Mode will end, and then you can emerge. When I first obtained this runic space, it formed a sympathetic link with my soul, merging perfectly. Transferring it now would severely wound my soul."

Bai Yijun’s beautiful eyes flickered, reminiscent of gentle, rippling green water. She gazed at him intently for a moment before saying, "Then I will go in first. But you must call me out immediately once the Superman Mode ends."

"We’ll have plenty of time in the future," Ye Chen replied, smiling.

"That won't do!" Bai Yijun wrinkled her delicate nose and let out a small huff. "I want to be with you every single moment!"

Ye Chen felt a tremor deep within him, his blood surging with emotion. Deeply moved by Bai Yijun’s sudden display of charming petulance, he pulled her close, embracing her graceful figure. Feeling the fullness of her chest and inhaling the faint, lingering fragrance of her hair, he murmured, low and firm, "I love you!"

"Me too," Bai Yijun whispered, her cheeks flushed crimson.

After sharing the embrace for a moment, they slowly separated. Bai Yijun obediently stepped into the runic space. Once he saw her enter, Ye Chen activated the Little White Wolf Superman Mode, his silhouette transforming into a swirling hurricane as he charged toward the edge of the electromagnetic storm zone.

"Swallowing Mountains and Rivers!"

Ye Chen’s entire body morphed into a little white wolf, standing upright on its hind legs. His eyes flashed with an awe-inspiring, chilling resolve, sharp as blades. Staring at the electromagnetic storm ahead, his chest slowly deflated, and then, with tremendous force, he inhaled!

Whoosh!

A scene akin to a miracle unfolded. The entire 90-million-mile expanse of the electromagnetic storm zone began to tremble slightly, as if being pulled by some unseen, mysterious power. The changes on the periphery were negligible, but within a million miles of Ye Chen, the electromagnetic storm surged violently, like water brought to a rolling boil, eventually surging and converging upon him.

Ye Chen stood amidst the tempest, every strand of his white fur standing on end. Countless electromagnetic waves were drawn in through the tips of his fur, funneling into every single cell of his body.

All around, the view was filled with purple lightning, descending like a tidal wave, yet it flowed toward Ye Chen's body like a vast river pouring into the universe within each of his cells.

This technique, Swallowing Mountains and Rivers, was one of the innate secret arts of the Little White Wolf. Based on the memories contained within its genes, Ye Chen discovered that this art was a progenitor, perhaps even the very origin, of all devouring-type secret techniques.

"What kind of creature is this Little White Wolf to possess such terrifying power?" Ye Chen wondered inwardly, ceaselessly devouring the surrounding electromagnetic storm. The ancient information encoded in the wolf's genetic cells described Swallowing Mountains and Rivers as one of the ten great primeval secret arts!

Ye Chen himself was a practitioner of a devouring-type secret art, making him intimately familiar with the structure and energy pathways of such techniques. He realized that the highest level attainable by his own Devouring Secret Art was likely just an evolution branching out from Swallowing Mountains and Rivers.

Since reaching the realm of Spiritual Civilization, Ye Chen had learned many hidden truths.

Innate secret arts were divided into three tiers.

At Tier 100 Physique, the innate secret art was awakened.

Upon breaking through to the Divine Realm, the innate secret art underwent a second awakening and reshaping, becoming vastly more terrifying in power and gaining broader utility.

For example, Ye Chen’s initial secret art allowed him to devour the Life Qi of other creatures and the energy within beings possessing different talents—such as fire or ice talents. Initially, only those of the same elemental alignment could absorb such energy; however, the Devouring Talent Secret Art allowed him to consume any type. This was the initial form of the secret art.

Once Ye Chen attained the second manifestation of the Devouring Talent Secret Art, he could utilize it to absorb the energy released by a Nine Palace Explosion. Instead of fully integrating it, he compressed this energy to enhance the multiplier effect of his own secret manuals. The application method was significantly more refined than in the initial form.

The third tier of the Devouring Talent Secret Art required reaching the level of Peak Divine Emperor and achieving this through a rare stroke of fortune. This form of the Devouring Secret Art was simply referred to as: The Black Hole!

A Devouring Secret Art reaching this echelon was as terrifyingly powerful as an actual black hole, capable of consuming everything in the heavens and earth, even tearing light apart. It could devour mountains, rivers, weapons, sand, stone, and vegetation, converting them into the most primal energy for its own use. Practitioners of the Devouring Talent Secret Art at this level were the most formidable among all talent practitioners!

It would still take Ye Chen some time to reach this pinnacle. However, at this moment, he realized that the Swallowing Mountains and Rivers technique inherent in the Little White Wolf far surpassed the capabilities of the Black Hole form. This technique could consume everything in the universe, and its sphere of influence was terrifyingly vast. If Ye Chen had not been situated in the Ancient Boundary Peak, suppressed by the laws of this world, he might have devoured an entire cosmos in a single gulp!

Now, with Swallowing Mountains and Rivers pushed to its absolute limit, the range of his consumption instantly ballooned to tens of millions of kilometers and was still expanding.

Ye Chen spread his two claws and roared toward the sky. Countless electromagnetic storms howled toward him from every direction. As they rushed within dozens of kilometers of his body, they vanished without a sound, directly absorbed into Ye Chen’s form, injected into the cosmic realms within his individual cells. On the Nine Star Diagram within each cellular universe, the purple lines slowly lengthened.

Devour! Devour!

Ye Chen exerted all his strength, consuming frantically. Suddenly, strands of dark matter began to emerge from within the electromagnetic storm, these inky black currents mixing with the storm and flowing toward his body.

Ye Chen paused briefly. After pulling these dark currents into himself, he did not integrate them into his cells, but instead condensed them into a single mass held against his chest. A quick look confirmed that these dark currents were not just any energy; they were the exceedingly rare Primeval Dark Matter!

"There is such a precious substance even within this electromagnetic storm zone?" Ye Chen's eyes lit up. He had never expected to encounter the legendary, rare Primeval Dark Matter here. Before coming to the Ancient Boundary Peak, he had heard tales of its value; it was only thanks to Primeval Dark Matter back in the Demon God Palace that his own genetics had surged forward.

This Primeval Dark Matter had the effect of tempering bone and skin, capable of making genes more robust! For instance, the Sky-Crossing Bridge over the Heavenly Crossing River outside the Bai Family residence was constructed using Ancient Void Material from the Ancient Boundary Peak. This material was lighter than air; if one possessed a small vessel made of Ancient Void Material, one could travel anywhere in the world, even across gorges where gravity had collapsed.

Streams of Primeval Dark Matter drifted over from the electromagnetic storm zone. Ye Chen hurriedly collected them, compressing the substance into a mass that floated a few feet before him, forming a large black sphere of churning, dark currents.

Ye Chen cupped the large black sphere with his wolf paws, resembling a ritual performed by an ancient barbarian tribe. His soft white wolf fur billowed out, sparking with purple lightning. The electromagnetic radiation bathing his body no longer harmed his genetic cells; instead, under the stimulus of the waves, they were evolving to become even mightier.

While devouring the electromagnetic waves, Ye Chen mentally estimated the remaining Superman time. From activation until now, only eight seconds had passed; he still had half his time remaining. In the final second, he absolutely had to cease the secret art and retreat rapidly. Otherwise, once the Superman Mode disengaged while enveloped in such concentrated electromagnetic waves, the nascent vitality in his body might fail to form new flesh and blood before the radiation could directly destroy his brain, leading to instant death.

Whoosh!

A sound like a squall line whistled rapidly near. Within the dense, liquid-like electromagnetic waves, a creature suddenly darted out: an Electromagnetic Beast, its tusks monstrous, its eyes savage, its entire body bristling with spines of purple fur like steel needles. A blazing purple character for "Electric" seared its forehead, radiating immense power as it lunged forward, mouth agape, to viciously bite.