The Golden Mink was a digital entity replicated by the Heaven Illusion Mirror, not a creature of flesh and blood; every action it took was governed by the intelligent system within the Mirror.

At that moment, the Golden Mink merely glanced at Xiao Hei before swaggering over to the frozen Golden Mink, letting out a low growl. Then, a brilliant light erupted from its eyes, akin to a bulb, blasting forth a powerful surge of spiritual energy.

Given Xiao Hei's strength, attempting to possess the body of this Epoch Realm Golden Mink was clearly impossible. The moment Xiao Hei entered the creature's mind, the Golden Mink could unleash its own soul power and instantly obliterate Xiao Hei.

Therefore, Ye Chen had no choice but to use the Heaven Illusion Mirror to create a copy of the Golden Mink, using the replica's power to launch a soul attack intended for mutual destruction alongside the original Golden Mink.

The formidable nature of the Heaven Illusion Mirror lay in its ability to perfectly replicate any being below the Heaven-Defying Realm; this was no mere surface cloning, but an exact duplication, even down to the strength of the soul.

If the Heaven Illusion Mirror hadn't remained within the Fire Blood Phoenix's internal world for too long, making its departure difficult, Ye Chen's power—even though the Light of Civilization could not be replicated, leaving that as his sole true opportunity—would still have required significant cost to fully secure the Heaven Illusion Mirror, potentially even risking his life.

Now, the soul power radiating from the Golden Mink's eyes struck the frozen Golden Mink like countless needles, passing through its body like phantoms, stabbing deep into its soul like daggers.

However, the soul of the paralyzed Golden Mink was not frozen; with Ye Chen's current understanding of ice and snow profound principles, he had not yet reached a level capable of freezing a soul.

Thus, as the original Golden Mink’s power penetrated its body, the frozen Mink’s own soul power immediately unleashed an enraged roar, surging out like a golden lion to pounce upon the invading duplicate Golden Mink.

The two powerful soul forces battled fiercely within the Golden Mink’s body, entangling one another, until the duplicate Golden Mink, under Ye Chen’s command, initiated a soul self-detonation.

The original Golden Mink was utterly shocked; it never expected this powerful and mysterious golden soul force to resort to such a desperate, mutually destructive tactic.

It roared in fury as its body was engulfed by the explosive soul power of the replica.

In Ye Chen's sight, the body of the duplicated Golden Mink beside him disintegrated into motes of golden light, retracting into the Heaven Illusion Mirror held in his hand.

The inherent majesty on the body of the Golden Mink before him vanished as well, as if something had suddenly lost its vitality, transforming from a living being into an inanimate object.

Ye Chen waved his hand, lifting the ice and snow seal on the Golden Mink. Xiao Hei, seeing the opportunity, immediately leaped onto its fluffy ear and slowly burrowed inside.

Moments later, the dull, lifeless gray in the Golden Mink’s eyes instantly returned to brilliance—sharp, spirited, and sly. It lifted its front paws to examine them, then spotted Ye Chen, immediately breaking into a fawning smile and rubbing against his leg with its face.

Ye Chen promptly kicked it away, "What treasures are here?"

Xiao Hei, deeply wounded, rolled up from afar like a kitten and walked over with a mournful whine, "I look this cute, and you still have the heart to be so brutal to me, truly a bad person..."

Ye Chen got instant goosebumps and shot it a stern look. "Hurry up and talk!"

Seeing Ye Chen's murderous gaze, Xiao Hei dared not joke anymore, instantly sobering up and stating with gravity, "This monster was dispatched here by the Earth Blood Beast because this location is a vital, fleshy appendage of the Earth Blood Beast."

Ye Chen listened quietly.

"The Earth Blood Beast is a very special creature; its outer shell body contains many critical components that serve as energy base stations to power the shell's movements. Here, much like how trees bear fruit, something called a [Term Missing] grows, condensing the majority of the energy from the Earth Blood Beast's shell. You could even say the massive mobility of the Earth Blood Beast's external shell is entirely dependent on these Blood Crystals."

Xiao Hei finished speaking in one breath and looked at Ye Chen. "Buried within the flesh we are standing on is one Blood Crystal!"

Ye Chen looked down at his feet, his gaze flickering slightly. "Lead the way."

Xiao Hei nodded, raising the Golden Mink's paw. Steel-like, sharp claws extended from the fluffy golden fur, gently gripping the flesh-and-blood ground. Immediately, a large amount of blood seeped out, flowing around them and filling the air with a thick, coppery stench.

Ye Chen frowned slightly, summoning the Golden Mink into his embrace, then manifesting a fierce black flame on his body. The flame became a spiraling drill beneath his feet, boring down into the ground.

The flesh vaporized into fine ash under the black flames, and even the surrounding flesh ten feet away withered rapidly, curling up like a plastic bag being scorched by fire.

Ye Chen soon entered, discovering within the dense layers of flesh a vast cavity, warm like a beating heart.

His boots landed on the flesh, and he could feel the pulsation beneath him, throbbing as if alive. He looked around; vivid crimson plasma flowed over the surrounding flesh, emitting a rich, bloody fragrance. Ahead, a fleshy protuberance jutted out, bearing an apple-sized, bright red crystal—transparent all over, etched with countless small facets.

Ye Chen walked over slowly and reached out, tearing the apple-like Blood Crystal from its fleshy attachment point. The broken end retracted like countless severed whiskers; upon closer inspection, it was visible that the attachment was formed by the convergence of countless tiny, hair-like meridians.

"Boss, hurry up! If this Blood Crystal is taken, the Earth Blood Beast's main body will sense it and surely come after us," Xiao Hei cried out urgently.

Ye Chen frowned; there was no time to linger. He placed the Blood Crystal into his internal universe and swiftly fled, sweeping away through the external flesh tunnel.

Seeing that Ye Chen actually listened and quickly left the dangerous spot, Xiao Hei felt both happy and excited. Just then, it heard Ye Chen ask, "Where are the other important parts? Are they all guarded by monsters like this one?"

Xiao Hei was dumbfounded. "You want to go to other places?"

"Naturally."

"..." Xiao Hei was silent for a long moment before sighing, "I should have known you aren't the type to stop when enough is enough. Ah, there are a total of nine critical locations within the Earth Blood Beast's shell. The one we just obtained was one of them. The other eight places are guarded by different monsters... Boss, are you really going?"

"Nonsense."

"Fine... But Boss, what if the Earth Blood Beast's main body shows up?"

"It won't," Ye Chen stated coolly.

Xiao Hei was slightly surprised. "How do you know?"

"Someone else will be dealing with it. Don't worry about it; just lead the way," Ye Chen said, frowning.

Xiao Hei was silent for a moment, then pointed reluctantly toward the nearest location hiding a Blood Crystal.

"What is this Blood Crystal used for?" Ye Chen asked while speeding along.

Xiao Hei answered weakly, "This Blood Crystal contains immense energy. If absorbed, it can strengthen the human body. The energy from one Blood Crystal is enough to transform an ordinary Earthling rapidly into a Void Heaven Realm expert!"

Hearing this, Ye Chen was not overly surprised, considering the Earth Blood Beast's main body was nearly at the World Supreme Realm. The Blood Crystals forming its shell, acting as the primary energy source, naturally contained incalculable energy.

He frowned. "Can an ordinary person's body withstand such enormous energy from a Blood Crystal?"

"That is the most formidable aspect of the Blood Crystal: its energy is mild, not violent. No matter how weak or insignificant a person is, once it is transplanted into their body, it continuously supplies the maximum amount of energy that the body can endure. To put it another way, if a normal person can withstand 100kg of force, it will release 100kg of force, constantly increasing and modifying the body by the second, always maintaining an extreme state of training."

Ye Chen's eyes flashed. He nodded slowly, then looked up at the flesh tunnel, accelerating his charge forward.

...

The Shell of the Earth Blood Beast.

Within the crimson flesh walls, Kins walked slowly, yet with every step, his body appeared a thousand feet farther away, leaving afterimages as if teleporting.

It wasn't that his strides had lengthened; it was that the world beneath his feet had shrunk.

Kins maintained a handsome smile, walking through these flesh walls, which resembled a veritable hell on earth, as if he were strolling through a scenic garden—leisurely, unhurried, and comfortable.

A corner appeared ahead. A pure golden energy immediately manifested around him, shining forth like countless rays of golden brilliance, making his body look almost unreal.

Then, he passed straight through the flesh wall before him, bathed entirely in golden light, without staining himself with a drop of blood, emerging from the other side and continuing forward.

Not long after, he found a massive road paved with white bone, the material resembling white marble stacked and stretching toward the distance.

He alighted gracefully onto this white bone path, the smile on his lips growing richer and more captivating. "There isn't that disgusting odor in the air. It seems he hasn't found this place yet. I truly hope he manages to stay alive; it would be a shame if he died so easily..."

He strode forward, his golden robes billowing in the wind.

This long, white bone road seemed to lead to an unknown end, yet he appeared to know exactly what awaited him there... RQ