With a sweep of his palm, Ye Chen plucked a swarm of Black Blood Worms from beyond the black flames, gathering them into a dark, spherical mass that dropped near his feet. He pressed down with his hand, and the divine power within him, solid as palpable air, crushed the bodies of the worms until they burst open, melting into a large puddle of gore.

“Go on now,” Ye Chen flicked his hand, tossing Little Black over.

“Ouch…” Little Black landed like a rubber ball, tumbling a few times before yelping, “That hurts! Why so much force…” Even as it complained, the creature didn't pause, instead crawling slowly toward the pool of ichor.

Its myriad tendrils, fine as spun silk, brushed against the blood. At the tips of these filaments were minuscule suckers that instantly drew the liquid into its body. It didn't spare the fine threads of blood hidden beneath fragments of black carapace, devouring every last trace.

As the original hundred-plus Black Blood Worms were reduced to nothing more than dull, blackened shells, the color of Little Black’s countless tendrils deepened to an absolute, lustrous black, shining like polished jade. The aura within it surged powerfully, reaching the very peak of the Lesser Divine Spirit realm.

Ye Chen snatched another Black Blood Worm from the outside with a grab of his palm. He squeezed his fingers, and the boundless divine power inside him struck the worm’s soul, rattling it to the brink of dissipation. It fell limp before Little Black.

Little Black rolled over like a fluff ball and enveloped the worm’s body completely with its outstretched black tendrils. Moments later, its own form began to recede like black water, shrinking into the small body of the Black Blood Worm until it vanished entirely, leaving no trace.

Ye Chen couldn't help but stare for a moment. Little Black’s physical form was no different in size from a Black Blood Worm, yet now, contracted inside one, it was utterly undetectable, save for a slight indication that this particular worm was marginally larger than its brethren.

“Boss.” This Black Blood Worm pulled itself up from the ground and crawled upward along Ye Chen’s boot. “It’s done. This one had almost no memory; its mind was filled only with bloodlust and slaughter. Controlling it was far too simple. However, they seem to have a leader.”

Ye Chen held it in his palm. “What is the realm of their leader?”

“It seems to be at the level of an Initial Divine Emperor—very powerful. With this body, I stand no chance at all…” Little Black whined pitifully.

“Tell me the location of their leader,” Ye Chen commanded coldly.

Little Black chuckled slyly. “That’s easy. Their leader is in the main army behind the entire swarm of Black Blood Worms. Accompanying the leader is a small contingent of peak Divine Spirits acting as guards. Generally, only the common Black Blood Worms are sent out to attack. After securing food, they must present it to the leader first for selection before the rest can share the spoils.”

Ye Chen contemplated this, then connected his divine sense to the black flames, peering outward through the fiery barrier. He saw a tidal wave of Black Blood Worms roaring in from the deep, long, black corridor, as if an endless supply was pouring from the furthest recesses.

A flicker crossed Ye Chen’s eyes. He grasped Little Black’s body, and the intense black flames surrounding him roared as they blasted forward. The countless pressing worms seemed to form a massive black net, tightly binding him and making movement arduous.

Ye Chen frowned. Although the power of the black flames could incinerate the worms furiously, facing a swarm as vast as the sea would consume considerable time to eradicate entirely. In that span, the Jin Si Divine General on the other side might well slay the Earth Blood Beast or secure some residual treasures from its remains.

His mind raced. He suddenly looked at Little Black in his hand, his gaze sharpening. He instantly contracted his entire body down to a speck of dust and burrowed into the mouth of the Black Blood Worm Little Black controlled, transmitting a voice message: “Leave the protection of the black flame shield and stealthily approach the Black Blood Worm King. Once you locate it, I will strike immediately to execute it.”

Little Black whispered defensively, “Will I be in danger?”

“Do you have a choice?”

“No…”

Little Black drooped its head, accepting the fate of being commanded. It carefully crawled to the bottom layer of the black flame shield, immediately realizing that the intense, searing flames, which should have burned it, now caused it no harm whatsoever. Even the fierce waves of fire that consumed everything turned soft and warm as they washed over it.

It knew this was because of Ye Chen inside its mouth. Humbled, it kept its head down, sneaking toward the edge of the flame barrier.

Just then, the flame shield seemed unable to resist the onslaught of the massive swarm. The temperature of the fire dropped sharply, and numerous small holes were breached by the charging worms, allowing a flood of them to pour inside. Finally, the black flame barrier completely dissipated. The mass of worms pressing down collapsed like a shattered roof, drowning the area entirely.

Little Black was like a single drop of water in the ocean, swiftly climbing over the bodies of the worms as they surged, making its way toward the rear of the Black Blood Worm army.

The entire corridor was filled with worms as thick as black pythons. Little Black exerted every ounce of its strength just to avoid being washed backward by the sheer volume of the swarm. It felt like navigating upstream against a vast army; one misstep and its body would be pulverized.

Ye Chen continuously fed his divine power into Little Black’s core, causing it to erupt with earth-shattering strength. With a slight push, it sent the obstructing worms flying away, roaring like a giant against a raging tide, pressing upward until it quickly reached the deepest part of the black corridor.

Ye Chen released his divine sense. Although suppressed within the shell of the Earth Blood Beast, it was still manageable to project it about a meter beyond his body.

At his current level, the Black Blood Worms detected nothing of the divine sense he projected. In the depths of the corridor, behind the main congregation of worms, stood a pillar of dark rock. Perched atop it was a Black Blood Worm the size of a fist—over a dozen times larger than the others—radiating dense Chaotic energy. The endless stream of Black Blood Worms was clearly being expelled from its inner universe.

A cold light flashed in Ye Chen’s eyes. He immediately directed Little Black toward that position. Beside this Black Blood Worm King were a significant number of guard worms, their pitch-black carapaces shimmering with purple light, their auras far surpassing those of the common worms.

“Get a little closer,” Ye Chen instructed Little Black.

Little Black, filled with suppressed resentment, could only advance slowly toward the Black Blood Worm King. Though inconspicuous among the swarm, its presence still drew the psychic sweep of the King. The Black Blood Worm King seemed enraged, letting out a sharp, piercing ‘squeak.’

Little Black grimaced. “Boss, the King is ordering me to turn around and attack the intruders. If I move any closer, it will kill me.”

Ye Chen frowned, pondering for a moment. Then, gritting his teeth, he abruptly shot out of Little Black’s mouth, expanding rapidly into human form like a streak of golden light, unleashing a torrent of intense black flames that instantly burned a large hole through the surrounding worms.

With a beckoning gesture, Ye Chen pulled Little Black back into the flame shield and then shot directly toward the Black Blood Worm King.

All this happened in the flash of an eye. The Black Blood Worm King seemed deeply shocked, letting out even more furious ‘squeaks.’ The large contingent of guards around it immediately swarmed it like ants, forming a tight protective ring.

Meanwhile, the massive army of worms beneath the black rock instantly surged toward Ye Chen from every direction.

Ye Chen roared and leaped out from the swarm, gathering all the black flames on his palm before slamming them down onto the black rock.

The group of guard worms atop the rock instantly erupted with a vigorous golden light, forming a divine shield to resist the black flames.

However, the black flames descended like a crushing mountain, violently forcing their way down. They shattered the divine power shield into shards of glittering light, striking the rock directly and instantly killing every worm upon it.

Ye Chen felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. The contingent of guard worms on that rock numbered at least a thousand. Although they occupied an area no larger than the stone itself, shattering their divine shield was akin to breaking the combined force of a thousand peak divine-level experts, draining his physical reserves significantly. Furthermore, the charge through the main army had cost him dearly, having slain at least a million worms—and each worm was equivalent to a Divine Spirit expert. Killing so many deities in such a short span taxed even his current strength.

Under the impact of the black palm, the rock instantly disintegrated like fine ash, vanishing completely. Under the intense black flames, everything was vaporized.

Ye Chen spun around, raising a vast black flame shield. He then reached out and seized numerous Black Blood Worms from the exterior, channeling his inner strength to shatter their souls to the brink of collapse, handing them over to Little Black for consumption.

Since breaking through to the Divine Spirit realm, Little Black’s unique properties had intensified. Moreover, the Black Blood Worm bodies Ye Chen had given it earlier were not dead but still alive, with their digestive and other internal systems fully intact. Now, by consuming these bodies, the flesh and blood were completely digested within the organs of the worm Little Black controlled, becoming nourishment that was rapidly absorbed by its own body, causing its strength to surge wildly.

Ye Chen took a deep breath, drawing in vast numbers of Black Blood Worms from outside to feed Little Black, ensuring the fastest possible digestion to utterly devour them.

If it were any other creature, transformation through consuming flesh and blood would require more time, as their digestive systems were not as potent. But the digestive system of the Black Blood Worm was terrifyingly powerful—that was the source of their horror.

Not long after, the black carapace of the Black Blood Worm controlled by Little Black began to emit a dazzling deep purple light. This light soon transitioned into a dense, absolute black, before suddenly erupting in a burst of golden light.

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