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nAfter their meeting, Chen Yiming and the leader of the dire wolves immediately rushed towards the ruins of the strange mountain village.

n“Let’s start with the nearest four foundation bases.”

nAlong the way, Chen Yiming’s gaze swept across the space-travel passages. Not only was the dark forest world connected to the blue planet, but there were also other worlds in the galaxy.

nAdvancing to the fusion realm was not even a small goal for him. The foundation of the formation was right under his nose, and he could obtain it at any time.

nAfter he broke through to the fusion realm, the resources he could get on the blue planet and the dark forest world would slowly start to fall short of his needs. They wouldn’t be enough to provide what Chen Yiming wanted.

nAccording to the leader of the dire wolves, a demon god could only be born after 1000 years of accumulation in the devil’s den. It was rumored that the demon god was an existence that surpassed the fusion realm.

nHowever, just by relying on the advantage of numbers, could creatures at the fusion realm could seal a demon god that had surpassed the fusion realm?

nChen Yiming’s intuition told him that there was a lot more to this than met the eye. It was a little similar to the human, Zhang Cheng, who had eaten the dark fruit.

nThe demon god might also have a limit of the time when it was active. As time passed, its cultivation level would naturally decrease, and it would eventually be sealed away.

nThe last time the demon god caused a disaster, the dire wolves’ leader had probably not grown to the point where he could truly participate in the main forces.

nAfter that, due to the invasion of the black tide, the dark forest world had suffered heavy losses. Many of the truths behind the ultimate secrets of the world were often passed down by word of mouth. The secret of the demon god had completely become a part of history, and the more they spread, the more exaggerated they became.

n“After converting all the accumulated energy from the foundation bases over the years into Skill Points, if my main body successfully breaks through to the fusion realm, then if I want to improve further, the first thing I have to consider is how to squeeze out the value of the dark forest world, which is the remaining three foundation bases refined from the core of the world.”

nChen Yiming turned around and seemed to see the war weapon lying in ambush in the oceanic trench.

n“If we get our hands on the remaining three foundation bases, it will undoubtedly affect the foundation of the dark forest world. Once we take away all the foundation bases, the dark forest world will lose its foundation and gradually head towards its doom. The cultivation environment will become worse and worse as time passes.”

n“The goal of the black tide is to harvest the negative emotions of living creatures. If it affects the foundation of the dark forest world, there will be an irreconcilable conflict between the two sides. The war weapon in the depths of the sea is an unavoidable opponent.”

nAs Chen Yiming traveled, he thought about how to break out of the situation.

nOne’s desire was often proportional to one’s strength. Before his main body broke through to the fusion realm, the attack from the black tide was already repelled by him.

nWhat if his main body really broke through to the fusion realm? What level of qualitative change could be achieved by joining forces with the spiritual figure?

n“The main goal of breaking through the blockade and escaping from the blue planet will never change. After all, the black tide is an existence that can dominate the universe.”

n“From the female spirit that found its way to the dark forest world and the blue planet, there are other worlds around the dark forest world that have also been invaded by the black tide. From the fact that the supreme will in the black tide did not descend during the early stages of the invasion of the blue planet, many factors indicate that the scale of the black tide invasion is unknown. There’s a high chance that it is far beyond the imagination of humans.”

n“Taking advantage of the fact that the black tide hasn’t really paid that much attention to me, I can use the battles to continuously grow stronger. Perhaps I can reap a large amount of benefits from the world that the other party has occupied before we really escape, so that humans can be more secure after stepping into the unknown deep space.”

nChen Yiming and the leader of the dire wolves traveled with the wind, moving side by side with the sun and the clouds. A simple idea had gradually formed in his mind.

nWhat was the attitude of powerful civilizations in the universe towards unfamiliar civilizations? Before one truly entered the circle, everything was just a guess.

nHowever, there was one thing that was absolutely certain. If he wanted to take control over the fate of humans to the greatest extent, he had to become stronger first. Only by becoming stronger would he have the right to speak on equal terms with them.

nThis was a fact that had been revealed in history from the wars on the blue planet over thousands of years.

nChen Yiming was no longer the young man who had just walked out of East Lake City. Other than to his own family, he was as hard-hearted as steel to outsiders.

nIf necessary, he could even consider sacrificing the dark forest world or the surrounding worlds.

nNot long after.

nThey arrived at the ruins of the strange mountain village and passed through the space-travel passage.

nThe scene flashed past, and the Gobi Desert appeared in front of them. It was still filled with yellow sand and sand mountains. Very few creatures stayed in this area for a long time.

n“Boom!”

nA terrifying spiritual storm swept across the Gobi Desert, like a huge spider web that scoured through every inch of the area.

n“The Gobi Desert is surrounded by oases. The devil’s den is indeed a naturally dangerous place. No wonder the area deep underground is filled with demons and ghosts. The body of the 10,000-meter-long corpse seems to have been contaminated, and started to turn living creatures into mutant monsters.”

nThe secrets had been completely revealed.

nChen Yiming had created the trial grounds using the 10,000-meter-long corpse. But after it left the devil’s den, there would eventually come a day when it could no longer create mutant monsters.

nThis way, it was on a completely different level from the foundation base.

n“Mr. Chen, the exact location of the devil’s den is near the core of the dark forest world. We can enter through the underground passage left behind, or we can forcefully tear open the ground from here and go straight to the area where the devil’s den is,” the leader of the dire wolves said respectfully.

n“Can we still find out the exact location of the war weapon left in the dark forest world?”

nChen Yiming frowned and turned around.

n“No, in the past, it was the huge eye and the bone beast who were watching the war weapon. Most of the other terrifying creatures were just hiding away,”

nthe leader of the dire wolves replied truthfully. This kind of job of secretly monitoring the movements of the black tide was usually done by those who were talented in the spiritual aspect.

nIn the face of the black tide, the terrifying creatures in the dark forest world could still form a loose alliance without involving their own interests.

n“Let’s go underground. Let’s not provoke that war weapon for the time being.”

nChen Yiming nodded and made his decision.

nHe was not stupid enough to think that he was still in the same situation as before and could do whatever he wanted.

nIf he forcefully tore open the ground and the creatures at the fusion realm made a move, wouldn’t that be telling the war weapon to capture him?

nIf he wanted to test the waters, he should wait until his main body truly broke through to the fusion realm.

n…

nEven with the help of spiritual power, the speed of traveling through the underground passages was far slower than tearing open the ground with brute force. Along the way, they encountered underground passages that had already collapsed and had to reopen them intermittently, causing them to waste a lot of time.

nJust like that, after traveling for a day and night, Chen Yiming and the leader of the dire wolves finally arrived at the entrance of the devil’s den under the ground. The entrance wasn’t big, only a few hundred meters wide, but the difference between the inside and outside was obvious.

nThere was only an unusual sinister aura outside the entrance. One’s skin felt like it was being attacked, giving off the feeling that there was a huge horror lurking ahead.

nThe aura at the entrance became chaotic, and various whispers sounded in their ears.

nIf ordinary warriors accidentally entered the devil’s den, those with weak willpower would easily be corrupted by the chaotic aura and become food for the evil spirits.

n“Eh?”

nThe commotion coming from the interior of the devil’s den surprised Chen Yiming and the dire wolves’ leader. Countless chaotic spiritual fluctuations spread out along the intersection with the underground passage.

n“The dark forest world was invaded by the black tide a second time not long ago. Logically speaking, the devil’s den should be the main target for harvesting the negative emotions. Why is there still such a large-scale conflict between the evil spirits?”

nThis abnormal phenomenon made Chen Yiming wary.

nThe evil spirits were born with all kinds of negative emotions. Compared to ordinary creatures, they should be the preferred target of the black tide, or even the most delicious food to it.

nThe hair on the dire wolves’ leader’s body stood on end as it swept its spiritual power across the devil’s den. “This is definitely not normal. This situation should only happen during the legendary disaster that occurs once every 1000 years when a demon god is born.”

n“We’re in trouble this time. If we make a move and interrupt the birth of the demon god, it’ll be difficult for us not to be discovered by the war weapon left behind by the black tide.”

nChen Yiming glanced at the dire wolves’ leader and said calmly, “Then let’s go straight to the foundation base. At the moment, there aren’t any evil spirits that are strong enough to warrant our attention. Let’s hurry up.”

nWhen the dire wolves’ leader heard this, its metallic fur slowly fell back in place. It let out a breath and said,

n“What Mr. Chen said makes sense. It’s just that I haven’t gotten over my fear of the black tide completely for the time being. The foundation base is buried in the center of the devil’s den. We can just choose a random path leading in the direction we want to go.”

nChen Yiming’s calmness made the leader of the dire wolves subconsciously think that just because he didn’t deliberately provoke the war weapon didn’t mean that he couldn’t put up any resistance.

nIn addition, the exit to the surface from the devil’s den was very close to the space-travel passage. Chen Yiming had also defeated those who had surpassed the fusion realm during the siege, so he had nothing to fear.

nSoon, Chen Yiming and the dire wolves’ leader disappeared from the entrance of the devil’s den.

nThe devil’s den had a structure similar to a maze. The stone walls had been soaked in the chaotic spiritual power all year round, and had some special properties.

nSome could release illusions to guide the intruders in different directions from where they intended to go. Some had transformed into existences similar to special creatures with their own will. They would take the initiative to attack the intruders in front of them.

nThere were also evil spirits hiding inside that would launch sneak attacks on intruders or even their own kind.

nIn a dark corner, the figure of the dark, many-legged mutant insect appeared, and a fierce glint flashed across its ferocious head. “Are we just going to let that human and the dire wolves’ leader go?”

nAt this moment, the progress of the birth of the demon god was more than half completed.

nThe dark mud monster emitted a spiritual fluctuation. “That human rose to his current level in the cultivation desert. He’s definitely not a pushover.”

n“Although it’s not difficult for us to defeat him in a two-on-one battle, this place is too close to the space-travel passage. If he escapes, it won’t be easy to trap and kill him.”

nThe dark, many-legged mutant insect fell silent.

nThis was indeed the case. Even though they also had combat strength that exceeded the level of the fusion realm by half a level, without the demon god holding the other party back, the chances of killing him instantly were still very low.

nThe dark mud monster emitted another spiritual fluctuation. “Don’t worry. When the demon god is born, you will be in charge of planting the control token. I will swallow the entire devil’s den. That human won’t be able to escape even if he has wings.”

nThe dark, many-legged mutant insect raised its ferocious head. “Alright, but there’s no need to bring the demon god to the other world. After killing that human and the leader of the dire wolves, I’ll make a move myself.”

n“Otherwise, if my precious time is wasted like this and I can’t let go of my resentment, it will become an obstacle for my breakthrough in the future.”

nThis time, the dark mud monster did not reply.

nWhat resentment? It was clearly just an excuse to hold a personal grudge against the leader of the dire wolves.

nBefore the dark, many-legged mutant insect surrendered to the black tide and turned into a dark creature, it had once clashed with the leader of the dire wolves. In the end, the leader of the dire wolves, who was known as the “killing weapon”, had won.

n…

nAlong the way, the maze did not pose any obstruction to them. Occasionally, an evil spirit that could not read the situation would suddenly attack, but it would naturally just be reduced to ashes.

nAfter it happened a few more times, no one else dared to show their face.

nChen Yiming and the leader of the dire wolves arrived at a place that looked like a spring.

n“A spring that emits a murderous aura?”

nThe spring was not deep, and it was completely black. From time to time, various scenes would appear around it. There were battlefields where demons were wreaking havoc, and scenes of natural disasters.

nThe bottom seemed to be connected to a distorted space. It was difficult to see it clearly with the naked eye or using spiritual power, and it would shatter if any gazes landed on it.

n“The source of the spring is the foundation base,” the leader of the dire wolves explained.

nThe five foundation bases were refined according to the requirements of a world-level formation. Not only were they of different shapes, but the positions they were placed in also had different requirements. Their functions were also different.

nSeeing this, Chen Yiming’s heart skipped a beat. “It seems that the main function of this foundation base is to gather murderous aura.”

nOn second thought. “All living things usually pay attention to the balance of Yin and Yang. Since the 10,000-meter-long corpse was abnormally emitting essence energy, where is the source of the essence energy? It must be this spring.”

n“If the source of the spring is the foundation base, without enough essence energy to balance the murderous aura, it would have long been completely assimilated by the murderous aura.”

nJust as Chen Yiming was about to pull out the source of the spring, the leader of the dire wolves stopped him. “Mr. Chen, each foundation base was refined from the core of this world.”

n“In other words, pulling out the source of the spring will definitely cause a huge change in the entire dark forest world. We can’t rule out the possibility that some space travel passages will disappear and new ones may appear.”

n“What I mean is that we’d better decide on our next move first. After all, the space-travel passage we came from is too close to here. It might be a little troublesome if something goes wrong.”

nThis referred to their failure to return to the blue planet in time, causing them to be targeted by the war weapon deep in the sea.

nChen Yiming retracted his hand calmly and smiled bitterly to himself. “This leader of the dire wolves was really fooled by me. Does it really think that I have the ability to fight a complete war weapon?”

nOn second thought, that was true.

nThe dark forest world was not a cultivation desert like the blue planet. The core of the world had the magical ability to absorb and transform energy from the void.

nThe essence energy that was suitable for the cultivation of living creatures originated from the core of the world.

nThe foundation bases came from the core of the world. Ever since the world-level formation was set up, they had been placed in a fixed place. If they were destroyed or taken away, it would cause a huge change in the dark forest world.

nChen Yiming glanced at the leader of the dire wolves, who was no longer panicked, and thought to himself, “He stopped me just in time. Otherwise, I might have been able to escape, but whether I could bring it back to the blue planet together with me is another matter.”

nSeeing this, the leader of the dire wolf clan thought that it had said something wrong, so it quickly explained, “Mr. Chen’s talent is unprecedented, so he naturally isn’t afraid of the war weapon. Even the attack from the black tide was forced back.”

n“But with a burden like me…”

nChen Yiming waved his hand.

nThe dire wolves’ leader put a stop to its explanation. It heaved a sigh of relief in its heart. “It’s indeed not a wrong move to join the humans. However, there’s a saying in the human books that accompanying a ruler is like accompanying a tiger. I’ve really experienced it for myself this time. I have to think it through more carefully in the future.”

nAfter Chen Yiming stopped, he fell into deep thought. “If the space-travel passage really disappears, what should I do?”

n“If we are ambushed by war weapon while searching for a space-travel passage, just like in the sea battle, the black barrier that caused the bone beast and the giant on the warhorse to die after using up their Undying Marks will appear.”

n“Even if my main body has broken through to the fusion realm, the situation might change drastically when facing an existence like Zhang Cheng after he swallowed the dark fruit, but facing a complete war weapon, I’m still too weak. That is one of the things that the black tide is relying on to invade the world. If I am too complacent, I will lose my life.”

nHe searched through his memories. Previously, he had used his spiritual power to investigate the situation in the entire Gobi Desert. Soon, he remembered that there was only one space-travel passage in the Gobi Desert.

nThere seemed to be no sign of another space-travel passage even in the oasis thousands of kilometers away.

nThis was undoubtedly bad news, and it greatly reduced his options.

n“This is a little troublesome. It’s impossible for the huge eye, bone beast, and the other terrifying creatures not to know about the existence of this foundation base. Therefore, this foundation base is really a hot potato, which is why it hasn’t been taken away.”

nChen Yiming frowned. However, it was impossible for him to give up on the Skill Points that were right in front of him.

n“Since this foundation base is a bait, how will the enemy from the black tide stop us? Will it be similar to the last time? Or will they use the war weapon?”

nChen Yiming understood that he had stepped into a trap. Of course, this bait should have been prepared long ago. However, other than him, no one else dared to step in.

nHe thought for a moment. “Instead of taking the foundation base, can I run away after absorbing the essence energy accumulated in it?”

nIn the next moment, he immediately rejected this idea.

nThis way of thinking could only be used to deceive oneself. He had already stepped into the enemy’s trap. Did it matter if he took the foundation base or not? If he did not take the bait, the enemy could use it as bait again.

n“Perhaps I can let my main body absorb the essence energy from the foundation base and leave secretly, leaving behind the spiritual figure that can revive to pull out the foundation base before splitting up to break out of the encirclement?”

nAnother thought occurred to him.

nHowever, it was impossible for the enemy’s forces to be weaker than during the previous siege. The spiritual figure alone would definitely not be able to bring the foundation base back.

nMoreover, after being separated from the spiritual figure, he would automatically lose the ability to use his strongest form. He could not guarantee that the enemy would prioritize killing the spiritual figure holding the foundation base and not his main body.

nTime quickly passed by.

nThe leader of the dire wolves looked at Chen Yiming, who was deep in thought. It waited and waited, but didn’t dare to disturb him. It felt extremely guilty. “Mr. Chen, you should be thinking about how to bring me away safely. I’m too weak and am a burden.”

nAs a witness to the first wave of attacks from the black tide that had descended on the blue planet, the dire wolves’ leader knew that if it was in his shoes, it would easily have been surrounded and killed even if the opponents had not used the special sealed item.

nCompared to Chen Yiming, who could defeat the black tide that had invaded the world, they were clearly at the same realm, but the difference in strength was unimaginable.

nAt some point, Chen Yiming, who was frowning, suddenly relaxed.

n“Competing in strategy isn’t what I’m best at. My biggest advantage is my talent from the system. Why should I use my disadvantage to fight against the enemy’s advantage?”

nA smile appeared on his face.

nThe huge eye and the supreme will controlling Zhang Cheng both had the ability to teleport. It was not the first or second time that he had coveted this ability.

nHowever, since he had already activated three talents, the Skill Points needed to activate the fourth talent was something he could not afford at the moment.

nThe fourth talent required 3,000 Skill Points at the first level, and 30,000 Skill Points at the second level. It was too slow for him to break through to the next level.

nIt just so happened that humans needed time the most when they were threatened by the black tide. Time waited for no one, forcing him to increase his cultivation level as soon as possible.

n“Swordsmanship talent, Undying Body talent, and Giant Talent are all talents that lean towards long-term growth. However, there are also talents that lean towards immediate use. Even at a lower level, they can also increase one’s combat strength significantly.”

nThat’s right. The space-manipulation talent that Chen Yiming planned to choose this time wasn’t the most standard growth-based space-manipulation talent.

nPure space-manipulation talent might be very comprehensive, and the upper limit was extremely high. At a high level, one could master a large number of branch abilities, and their potential was unfathomable.

nHe planned to choose a space-manipulation talent that was more functional at the moment. Coupled with his current situation, he wanted to maximize his combat strength.

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