This ancient site used to be a vassal state named Sunset within the divine rock empire. In the Sunset vassal state, there were sixty to seventy colossal cities and countless smaller towns. Each city housed populations reaching hundreds of billions; it was once an extraordinarily prosperous nation, now shrouded in an aura of death.

When the Fire Ship descended from the heavens like an extraterrestrial meteor, carrying the immense divine might of fire, whistling as it illuminated the land, one could vaguely discern, through the pervasive darkness, the crumbling ruins standing upon this soil.

The Fire Ship swiftly activated its stealth shielding, vanishing into the night in a blink, as if traversing into another parallel dimension. In reality, it slowly hovered above the Burial Ground.

"This is the Burial Ground," Bai Tian, Ye Chen, and the others stood in the main control room, viewing the projection cast by the ship, which showed a black expanse below, enveloped by swirling dark miasma, resembling a natural barrier.

"The last time we tracked the traces of that Void Realm mutated monster, we followed it from a light-year away until it vanished here. We were afraid of startling the snake, so we didn't pursue further," Bai Tian glanced at the Burial Ground below, his brow furrowed slightly. "This place was once a vast forest teeming with countless monsters. Now, under the mutation of the virus, it must be unfathomably perilous."

Huo Feng's expression was cool. He glanced at the map dismissively and said casually, "Just follow closely behind me later." With that, he turned and headed toward the ship's hatch.

Bai Long watched his retreating back, pursed his lips with an air of profound disdain, yet said nothing, following Ye Chen and the others behind him.

Bai Tian exchanged a look with the Wheel-Turning Saint King; both were visibly relaxed, following with gentle smiles.

After the group exited the Fire Ship, Huo Feng waved his hand, and the entire vessel dissolved like smoke carried away by the wind, retracted into his internal universe. Then, he raised his hand again and plunged headfirst into the black mist below.

Ye Chen and Bai Long followed closely behind.

This black mist resembled one unimaginably massive, dark clot, enveloping the entire land.

Huo Feng, engulfed in roaring flames, slanted downward and smashed into the black mass, stirring up countless streams of black energy that coiled and wrapped around him, only to be incinerated and purified by the surging flames emanating from his body.

Seeing this, Ye Chen and the others realized the black mist was unnatural. One by one, they unleashed their respective powers and struck out against the miasma.

Ye Chen held Bai Yijun’s hand. He exhibited no visible energy around himself, simply charging straight into the black mist. Yet, the mist recoiled as if suddenly terrified, shattering like a fragile eggshell to reveal a gaping hole.

Bai Long and Zhuge Fan, following behind him, couldn't help but freeze, initially thinking it was an illusion. In a flash of light and shadow, the few who followed soon made contact with the black mist. Bai Long manifested a dense blue light, enveloping his body, causing the surrounding temperature to rapidly condense.

Then he barreled into the mist.

Behind him, Yue Heng radiated an incomparably savage and primal power, as if the auras of countless ferocious beasts had converged, forming towering golden flames that directly tore through the mist before him, shooting inside.

Zhuge Fan and Yue Ling remained close behind. A shimmering layer, like stone dust, appeared around Zhuge Fan, enveloping Yue Ling as they breached the fog.

Further back, Bai Tian and the Wheel-Turning Saint King approached. Bai Tian appeared placid, manifesting a soft white light that encompassed the Saint King as well. The pure white sphere contrasted sharply with the black mist before they impacted it.

Entering the black mist, Ye Chen immediately felt the air thick with potent viruses and the acrid, unbearable stench of decaying corpses. Those who had never experienced it could never imagine such a smell—it was the concentrated essence of countless mixed corpses, along with undigested food, filth, and excrement churned together.

"You lead the way," Huo Feng stood tall in the void and instructed Bai Tian.

Bai Tian and the Wheel-Turning Saint King exchanged a look and nodded. They immediately lowered their flight altitude and focused on the ground below, spotting a gigantic footprint imprinted on the earth. Judging by its direction, it seemed to be heading southeast.

"This way," Bai Tian and the Wheel-Turning Saint King took the lead in flying. Huo Feng flickered and followed close behind. Bai Long and the others trailed Ye Chen, accustomed from their experiences on Earth to following his commands.

Ye Chen was in no hurry, maintaining a slow pace behind Huo Feng.

In this region, there were no structures on the ground; towering black trees surrounded them, standing sharp and straight like the dorsal spines of a coiled behemoth.

"These trees have also mutated under the influence of the virus," Bai Long stated grimly. "Everyone, don't get too close."

"Mm," Yue Heng and the others nodded in agreement.

A virus capable of corrupting even an expert of the Void Realm could not be resisted by flora and fauna. Although they were plant-based life and not flesh and blood, under this terrifying virus, they had still been warped into fearsome, mindless monsters.

Bai Tian and the Wheel-Turning Saint King flew ahead, tracing the massive footprints on the ground. Ye Chen noticed that these giant prints exuded dense viral gas. If an ordinary Divine Emperor expert were to merely brush against such gas, they would instantly be infected and mutated into bloodthirsty creatures.

Within this area shrouded by the black mist, the viral concentration was ten times that of the outside world, exceptionally dense. However, Ye Chen discovered that as soon as the viral gas penetrated his pores, it was instantly incinerated and devoured by the black flames within him; he feared it not at all.

"Could it be that after being tempered by the Divine Fire, my body has become immune to such viruses?" Ye Chen’s eyes flickered. Under the refining of the Divine Fire, every part of his body—bones, blood, everything—had long since become the hottest, searing flame, granting him immunity to damage from all fires. He hadn't expected it would also grant resistance to such a terrible virus.

Ye Chen glanced at Bai Yijun and Yue Heng beside him, noticing various energies manifesting on their bodies, firmly protecting them.

"Brother Ye, if you don't deploy an energy shield to isolate the virus, you will be infected," Zhuge Fan urged anxiously upon seeing Ye Chen strolling casually.

Ye Chen smiled faintly and transmitted telepathically, "It's fine; my body is immune to this virus."

Bai Long and Zhuge Fan were stunned, then their eyes contracted sharply, their faces etched with disbelief. "How is that possible? This virus is difficult even for experts of the Heaven-Defying Realm to resist physically. How could you... Could it be, could it be that you have already reached the Heaven-Defying Realm, or perhaps... the World Sovereign beyond the Heaven-Defying Realm?"

Seeing Bai Long and the others' horrified expressions, Ye Chen rubbed his nose. "Not quite. This is just the result of the tempering received from Senior Fire-Blood Phoenix."

Bai Long’s eyes widened. "There’s such an effect? Impossible! Tell me honestly, what have you been doing these ten thousand years?"

Ye Chen shot him a sidelong glance. "I don't mind testing my cultivation results on you."

Bai Long shrank his neck. "Forget it; I still want to live a few more years and chase a few more girls."

Yue Heng shot him a look of contempt. "One day, you’ll die because of women."

"That would be wonderful; romance under the moon and flowers—even as a ghost, one can be dashing."

Zhuge Fan looked at him helplessly, then turned excitedly to Ye Chen. "Brother Ye, you must be much stronger now. When we find that Void Realm monster later, can we just keep it for ourselves?"

Ye Chen tapped his head. "Keep it your head."

Zhuge Fan rubbed his head, aggrieved. "Can you not beat Huo Feng? If you can beat him, just eliminate him directly."

"He still has uses," Ye Chen looked up at Huo Feng ahead, his gaze shifting slightly. Then he looked back down at Zhuge Fan and the others. "Later, when we see the monster, if the situation turns bad and I tell you to retreat, you must leave immediately."

Bai Long dropped the playful smirk, frowning as he transmitted his thoughts. "Did you discover something?"

Ye Chen glanced at him, recognizing that despite his outwardly frivolous demeanor, the man was astute. He nodded slightly. "Look at the natural black mist barrier outside. Anyone wanting to enter must, at minimum, be a Divine Emperor; otherwise, the moment they touch the natural barrier, they will be instantly infected by the intense virus upon it. And the area covered by such a barrier is nearly two light-years wide!"

"A Void Realm monster, while powerful enough to deploy such strength, would find it extremely difficult to maintain it continuously like this."

Hearing his words, everyone reacted instantly, looking up at the gray-black sky with furrowed brows.

"There’s one more thing," Ye Chen’s gaze deepened as he stared at the horizon ahead. "I don't know if you've released your divine senses here. After we entered this black mist, the space seems to be shielding divine senses—it’s just like when we were on Earth."

Bai Long frowned. "I sensed this earlier and thought it was just the local geography. Now it seems there is something powerful here capable of blocking divine senses."

"Precisely," Ye Chen nodded slightly.

Zhuge Fan was startled. "Then we must quickly notify the others to retreat together. Based on this situation, there must be something terrifying lurking here."

Bai Long let out a light laugh, watching him with amusement. "Don't you get it yet? Little Chen Chen is always extremely cunning. He intends to let them draw out that powerful entity. If we can beat it, we fight; if not, we run—we’re using them as bait."

Zhuge Fan suddenly understood and broke into a laugh.

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