Roar—
An enormous black shadow suddenly appeared before his eyes, leaping out directly from the dark, boundless ocean below.
Upon closer inspection, it was a humanoid creature, but far more ferocious and terrifying. Its entire body was covered in dense, sinister scales, with thick, barbed spikes protruding all over. It was a full ten zhang in size, radiating an aura of immense terror.
As soon as this fearsome creature appeared, it swung a palm strike. Its palm was covered with thousands of upright sharp spines, entwined with a dark, murky light that gave off a dreadful sense of threat.
Ye Chen's expression immediately shifted slightly. He knew deeply that any living being capable of appearing in the depths of the Chaotic Sea was absolutely extraordinary and not to be underestimated.
Without a second thought, he raised his sacred fist and struck out directly, his attack wrapped in surging golden radiance from his Saint Body, charging forward recklessly.
Boom—
The collision between the two produced a massive shockwave of air, temporarily dispersing all the wind blades, lightning bolts, and yin-ghastly energy in the area.
The ferocious creature was sent flying, the scales and barbed spikes on its large hand shattered, oozing black blood. However, Ye Chen's Dao body was forced back over a dozen steps before coming to a halt.
Although part of the reason was that Ye Chen's Dao body was far from its peak state, it was also evident that this ferocious humanoid creature was powerful enough; otherwise, it would not have forced Ye Chen back.
Ye Chen's gaze sharpened, a cold light flashing within. This humanoid creature before him was indeed strong. Moreover, he suspected that within the Chaotic Sea, there was definitely not just one of these; there were likely others. If he encountered a group later, it would be the greatest trouble.
Therefore, he must end the battle swiftly and eliminate the source of the trouble.
Immediately, killing intent surged within Ye Chen. Without hesitation, his entire being condensed into a streak of golden light in an instant, soaring into the sky. He then unleashed the Heaven-Creating Earth-Forging Fist, its might dominating the area as he slashed forward.
Boom—
The ferocious, mysterious humanoid creature completely exploded, shattered into pieces. Only its massive head remained, enveloped by a sphere of gentle light from Ye Chen. Though its flesh was torn and its skin split, it was not pulverized. Within, flickers of divine sense flowed out, shining brilliantly.
However, the divine sense sea of this Saint-rank creature had been shaken into a shattered, dilapidated state.
Ye Chen's Dao body immediately extended a wisp of his own divine sense to probe inside, hoping to search for useful information about the Chaotic Sea. Unfortunately, nothing useful was found. Within the ruined divine sense sea of this Saint-rank humanoid creature, there was only chaos, filled with endless resentment and killing intent. It bore no resemblance to any form of sentience; it seemed more like a creature driven purely by bestial instinct.
This caused Ye Chen to frown slightly. Once a living being reached the Demigod realm, even demonic beasts would awaken from their bestial ignorance, developing proper sentience. Even ferocious beasts would exhibit this upon reaching Divine Transformation. Yet, this Saint-rank being was still dominated by bestial instinct—this was absolutely extraordinary and unusual.
Clearly, the Chaotic Sea was far more perilous and mysterious than imagined.
With a single punch, Ye Chen shattered the humanoid Saint-rank creature's head, completely annihilating its divine sense. A divine crystal dropped out, surprisingly containing vast, supremely powerful energy. This was evidently the power source of the humanoid Saint-rank creature, similar to the demonic core of a demonic beast—a manifestation of its Dao Fruit.
Ye Chen directly absorbed and converted it, obtaining a massive amount of power that flowed into his limbs and bones. His divine power also recovered considerably.
Afterward, his Dao body continued charging deeper into the Chaotic Sea, consciously reducing the consumption of his Dao body's divine power while displaying superb techniques. He advanced another five thousand li.
Along the way, aside from the increasingly dense and ferocious natural forces of the Chaotic Sea—such as wind blades, yin-ghastly energy, and lightning bolts—there were basically few other threats.
Even the ten-zhang-tall humanoid Saint-rank creatures like before did not appear again.
However, the deeper he ventured into the Chaotic Sea, the more terrifying the consumption of divine power became. Especially since the Chaotic Sea seemed to have a peculiar isolating effect on divine power, preventing Ye Chen's true self from transmitting his foundational power across the distance. His Dao body only possessed the power of an overlord.
Although this level of power could still allow him to roam freely across the Ancient Divine Continent, it was insufficient here.
Moreover, the heaven and earth spiritual energy here was extremely violent, making it difficult to absorb. This was the most frustrating aspect.
Fortunately, his Dao body was supported by a surge of Saint Body blood energy and the power from the humanoid Saint-rank creature, allowing him to continue deeper.
Thus, he advanced another eleven thousand li. By now, he had penetrated twenty thousand li into the Chaotic Sea. The various chaotic forces had become countless times more terrifying and dense, greatly hindering Ye Chen's progress.
At this point, even someone as powerful as Ye Chen was starting to feel a headache.
Despite his strength, even while minimizing his divine power output, the consumption was significant at every moment. More importantly, the heaven and earth spiritual energy within the Chaotic Sea was unimaginably violent. Even he struggled to absorb it effectively. Coupled with the need to constantly deal with terrifying bolts of lightning, yin-ghastly energy, and wind blades, how could he maintain his state?
He finally understood why, throughout the ages, the Ancient Divine Continent had found it so difficult to cross the Chaotic Sea. Merely these Black Storms and lightning bolts had blocked countless individuals; at the very least, cultivators below the Saint Lord level found it nearly impossible to fully traverse.
However, Ye Chen understood deeply that there must be even more terrifying obstacles ahead; otherwise, the Heavenly Kings of the Ancient Divine Continent would not have been unable to cross.
Swoosh—
Ye Chen's Dao body once again sped deeper into the Chaotic Sea.
Suddenly, he came to a halt. Ahead, within the Chaotic Sea, a massive island had appeared, barren and devoid of anything. But that wasn't the main point. The key was that above the island, there were densely packed, sky-blotting terrifying black shadows continuously circling the island in flight.
When Ye Chen truly got a clear look, he couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
Because those black shadows were none other than humanoid creatures identical to the Saint-rank being he had encountered earlier, though their sizes were generally much smaller, mostly comparable to humans. However, their numbers reached thousands upon thousands, perhaps even more, enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Naturally, not all these humanoid creatures were at the Saint rank, but the weakest were at least at the Demigod realm. Moreover, within this Chaotic Sea, they feared nothing. The lightning bolts, wind blades, and yin-ghastly energy could not harm them. Clearly, over endless years, they had gradually evolved to become immune.
More importantly, he clearly saw on the island over a dozen creatures as massive as the one he had encountered earlier, with several even larger, radiating terrifying auras.
Without hesitation, Ye Chen immediately chose to veer away, deciding to bypass this fearsome tribe.
Within this Chaotic Sea, every shred of divine power was precious and indispensable.
Rumble—
After penetrating twenty-five thousand li into the Chaotic Sea, a mysterious giant ship appeared.