On the shore of the underground ocean, hundreds of miles beneath Obast's surface, lay one of the eight remaining safe zones for the Lead Simian race on this planet.

  Yet, this safety was purely relative.

  It was akin to Zion's precarious existence within the Matrix simulation.

  Similarly, for the Agate Clan, a complete and systematically organized Lead Simian tribe held a far more terrifying value than merely scattered individuals.

  They were certainly aware of the underground ocean's existence, and they absolutely possessed the capability to obliterate it.

  In fact, it could be stated that if the Agate Clan truly desired to subjugate the underground ocean and completely eradicate the Lead Simian race, it would be as effortless as turning a hand over.

  But achieving that outcome would yield no significant reward.

  In this universe, aside from a minuscule fraction of supremely powerful entities who act only to satiate their own perverse amusements, the vast majority of life forms are fundamentally driven by self-interest and profit.

  The Agate Clan's Interstellar Mining Company was no exception to this rule.

  They traversed countless trillions of miles across the immense cosmos to reach the planet Obast not for sightseeing or casual 'hunting.'

  This collective of interstellar miners harbored a single, overarching desire for this planet: to excavate the Uranium Star and amass great fortune.

  And the Lead Simian race, naturally adapted to an ultra-strong radiation environment—even capable of absorbing and transforming it for their own sustenance—inadvertently became the most ideal selection for mining laborers in the eyes of the Agate Clan miners.

  Consequently, for such a superior source of enslaved labor, they had no logical reason to engage in meaningless, large-scale slaughter. Such actions would generate absolutely no quantifiable value.

  Therefore, as long as the Lead Simian race refrained from resistance, did not initiate troublesome wars for "freedom," "dignity," or "hope," the Agate miners of the corporation would naturally abstain from brutal suppression.

  But as the adage goes, certain birds simply cannot tolerate cages.

  Likewise, certain races cannot tolerate enslavement and subjugation.

  The Lead Simian race fit this exact description.

  Thus, for centuries, enslavement never ceased on planet Obast, and neither did the inevitable resistance.

  This forced the exceedingly burdened Agate miners, while exploiting the Lead Simians for mining operations and suppressing their uprisings, to simultaneously and actively seek out and introduce novel mining methodologies and apparatuses.

  Among these evolving tools were: concrete-integrated mining machines, modular nano-swarms, protein micro-mechanical units, composite bio-mechanical beasts, semi-mechanical Gynoid miners, AI brain-controlled cloned miners, multi-porous biological substance mining machines, AI bio-adaptive mining worms, and honeycomb neural network multi-arm mining machines... among others, all gradually integrated into use.

  But regrettably, despite their technological advancements...

  Despite the Agate Clan interstellar mining company's strenuous efforts to extract the precious Uranium Star—which remained vibrantly alive and distributed like coal seams deep within Obast's crust—

  Due to the intense, ever-present radiation field emitted by the Uranium Star, the majority of these innovative efforts ultimately proved impractical or short-lived.

  Fortunately, after dozens of intensive trials, the Agate Clan miners finally settled upon four mining protocols deemed safe and stable, albeit somewhat questionable regarding long-term sustainability.

  One, ultra-high-energy laser thermal fusion mining.

  Two, heavy metal crystal particle penetration and explosive excavation.

  Three, single-use directed automated mining.

  Four, strong acid leaching followed by directional spray collection.

  Among these, 'One' and 'Two' demonstrated the highest efficiency and effectiveness, yet they demanded prohibitively high energy consumption.

  Although civilizations capable of reaching the space age could generally achieve such energy self-sufficiency.

  The input and output power requirements for mechanical energy in these two mining methods were exceptionally rigorous.

  So rigorous, in fact, that after prolonged, super-overloaded operation, the mining machinery would 'protest' through frequent breakdowns and mandatory standby periods.

  Therefore, these two methods could only be deployed in emergency scenarios and could not function as the primary means of operation.

  The 'Third' method offered the second-best efficiency and performance metrics, but similarly incurred massive material expenditure.

  'Single-use,' as the name explicitly conveyed.

  Each dedicated mining operation resulted in the total consumption of one mining machine.

  Although the unit cost of the machine itself wasn't exorbitant, it was still economically unsustainable to constantly detonate the underground terrain in this manner.

  Thus, the third extraction technique was also relegated to emergency status, proving unsuitable as the primary mining force.

  Finally, the 'Fourth' method possessed the poorest efficiency and effectiveness, being particularly subpar in terms of precision.

  However, it did have one distinct advantage: it was exceptionally cost-effective.

  Therefore, over a slightly extended period, strong acid leaching and directional spray mining evolved into the preferred solution for the Agate miners, with the other three methods employed selectively in combination, based on the specific geological conditions.

  Of course, the primary workforce responsible for executing these extraction methods and delving deep into the crust still relied upon the Lead Simian race.

  After all, even ordinary Agate Clan miners would instinctively recoil from exposure to the dangerous radiation field emanating from Uranium Star.

  Time progressed.

  During one extensive military campaign aimed at subjugating the Lead Simian race, the Agate Clan, after absorbing the cost of dozens of crashed interstellar fighters and mechs, along with numerous soldier fatalities, unexpectedly managed to capture a critically wounded specimen claiming possession of 'Uranium Lightwave activation.'

  Out of sheer curiosity, the Obast branch of the Interstellar Mining Company initiated a series of intensely cruel experiments on this high-combat-level Lead Simian individual.

  Through various brutal trials involving physical matter and the subject's soul consciousness, the high-ranking Agate Clan officials of the branch company discovered that this Lead Simian, whose combat capabilities had reached Ordinary Stage Ten, could largely neutralize, or even entirely ignore, the detrimental effects of Uranium Star's intense radiation field.

  Shock!

  Following the initial shock, raw avarice naturally took root.

  It is important to note that Uranium Star ore was not exclusive to the planet Obast.

  Within the immense Golden Bough Civilization Zone, while planets harboring this mineral were scarce, there were still dozens of known locations.

  Much like the Agate Clan's mining branch, other civilizations and interstellar mining consortia on different worlds wrestled with the intractable and troublesome Uranium Star radiation field.

  So, the senior officials of the mining company branch conceived an idea: if they could research this unique Lead Simian individual possessing the 'Uranium Lightwave activation' physique, mass-produce the resulting subjects, and market them as loyal, reliable, and durable commodities across the vast interstellar market... this endeavor held far greater 'financial' promise than the Uranium Star ore itself.

  Thus, driven by this singular, lucrative path, the combined forces of the Agate Clan's mining company branch unleashed an unprecedented, sweeping extinction upon the entirety of the Lead Simian race.

  In an instant, lasers and overwhelming firepower swept across every corner of Obast.

  Led by Transcendent-level Agate Clan warriors, the Lead Simian race, hidden within thousands upon tens of thousands of colossal subterranean caverns beneath the planet's surface, were systematically hunted down—not a single one left alive.

  Countless lives were lost during this brutal purge.

  Ultimately, only a small remnant of the Lead Simian race, having sustained catastrophic losses, managed to flee deep into the crust, their precise location now unknown.

  The mining company branch gave no heed to these scattered survivors.

  They even somewhat deliberately allowed these remaining Lead Simian individuals to escape, viewing them as 'renewable resources' meant to recuperate, multiply, and mature on their own.

  Only to be harvested once their numbers were deemed sufficient again.

  They dedicated all their resources to the research and rigorous testing of these 'new products.'

  Finally, after decades and the expenditure of countless test subjects, the mining company branch ultimately finalized the specific protocols and procedures required to successfully stimulate low-level Lead Simian individuals to evolve into the 'Uranium Light' tier.

  Although this composite and meticulously crafted methodology was undeniably gruesome and profoundly inhumane.

  It demanded the continuous injection of various chemical agents to induce irregular systemic disturbances, intense agony, and compelled self-cannibalism within the Lead Simian test bodies.

  Simultaneously, it required them to repeatedly endure life-or-death cage matches against their own kind—even forced cannibalism—in order to directionally stimulate specific, tiny neural structures within the subjects' brains and souls.

  But the naturally ruthless Agate Clan paid no mind to the life or death of the Lead Simian race. Instead, they enthusiastically and frequently organized Lead Simian blood-dueling 'performances' within their testing facilities.

  Solely to revel in, as they saw it, the absolute despair and mournful wails of 'the weak' tearing each other apart.

  Quite a few of the overly tragic, horrifying, and grotesque scenes from these blood duels were even covertly recorded by some mining company employees, transforming into holographic films that circulated within the interstellar market.

  And because of this, these 'productions' garnered no small amount of fervent support from curious alien enthusiasts.

  Of course, the resulting asset—the company's most critical 'new product'—the 《Uranium Light Warlord》 branded Uranium Star miner: a perfect slave laborer capable of being utilized for hundreds of years, one who could thoroughly participate in the entire Uranium Star production cycle from initial mining to sorting and deep processing.

  Once this 'product' was launched onto the market, it immediately became another best-selling, highly popular commodity from the Agate Clan Obast Interstellar Mining Company branch.

  The creation of this resource not only secured the Agate Clan Obast Interstellar Mining Company branch extremely high acclaim from its parent corporation but also generated substantial profits.

  Thus, several hundred more years passed, leading directly to the present day.

  ...

  Obast.

  Inside the vast conference room of the Agate Clan Interstellar Mining Company Branch.

  "The artificial Lead Simian life-state orb has been successfully completed and verified."

  An Agate Clan member, suspended mid-air amidst a glow of purple light, transmitted waves of mental information: "Therefore, esteemed Director Kudel, I propose we commence the 'harvest'."

  "Is that so? I haven't visited Obast in quite some time, and I am unsure of..."

  The slightly larger, orange-glowing Agate Clan member beside him replied casually. He then extended a neural tentacle, piercing the head of a comatose Lead Simian lying prone below, and gurgled contentedly as he sucked out its brain marrow, remarking: "And have you confirmed the status of all those 'small enclaves' of theirs? Ho, I must say, the brains of these lead-based monkeys are quite delectable."

  "It has been investigated thoroughly."

  An Agate Clan member, emitting a dark green glow, respectfully affirmed, "After the mass culling operation you initiated years ago concluded, those Lead Simian individuals who escaped managed to settle deep within the crust."

  "Indeed," a gray-glowing Agate Clan member added, "According to the Intelligence Department's long-term surveillance and covert investigation, these lead-based monkeys, after penetrating the crust, gradually fractured into eight distinct factions, settling in eight widely separated zones."

  "Eight zones? Ah, quite a tenacious group."

  Director Kudel stated carelessly, "Which eight locations are they?"

  Upon hearing the inquiry, the original purple-glowing Agate Clan member quickly responded: "Esteemed Director Kudel, the eight settlement points for the Lead Simian race are, in order: Stone Crevice City, Tungsten Cave, Dry Thaar Tunnel, East Star Valley, Leiha Forest, Violet Lake Shore, and Coal Marsh. Hmm, and one more..."

  "And one more!" The gray-glowing Agate Clan member quickly interjected, "There is also the largest sector in terms of territory and population: the shore of the underground sea."

  "Esteemed Director Kudel, I strongly recommend we initiate the harvest starting from the underground sea."

  "Hmm—"

  Director Kudel pondered briefly, then immediately struck the table, declaring, "Excellent, we shall begin with the underground sea!"

  Next, he looked toward the purple-glowing Agate Clan member and commanded: "Right, clear a section on the remote psychic control mechanism; I wish to partake in some amusement."

  The subordinate was momentarily stunned, then rapidly replied: "Yes, Director Kudel!"

  ...

  Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

  Rumble rumble rumble!

  Steam billowed for hundreds of miles, and massive waves swept across tens of thousands of units of terrain.

  Above the endless, boiling sea, dozens of sky-blue water columns, each several hundred meters in diameter, were currently surging down from the 'sky,' plunging straight into the vast underground ocean below.

  Tracing the source upward, the thick, massive water columns spiraled skyward. At the very apex of their several-thousand-meter-long shafts, hundreds of thousands of tons of water continuously cascaded every second through a colossal cavern opening that pierced through untold meters of the earth's crust.

  Simultaneously, numerous black-silver squid-shaped giant mechs continuously streamed out from the cavern opening alongside the massive water columns, swooping towards the nearby sprawling, boiling sea shore. They swiftly and indiscriminately captured the fleeing Lead Simian race, stuffing them into colossal, semi-transparent resin spheres suspended beneath the mechs.

  It was evident that these thick, massive water columns, which pierced through layers of the earth's crust all the way to the boiling sea, were clearly engineered by the Agate Clan's mining corporation, having activated numerous space laser cannon turrets. They gathered immense energy and repeatedly targeted and blasted through dozens of kilometers of dense rock layers.

  "Help me, someone help me!!"

  "Mommy! Wuwuwuwu!"

  "Children! My child, do not grab my child!!"

  "Ah ah ah, you Agate Clan scoundrels, may you suffer a terrible demise!"

  One by one, bio-mechanical tentacles extended, wrapping around the struggling Lead Simian individuals below, treating them like apples being packed into the giant resin spheres.

  On the vast plain impacted by the underground sea's shore, the Lead Simian race, weeping and fleeing, numbered in the tens of thousands, yet the majority were elders and children; there were very few robust individuals among them.

  Thus, facing the Agate Clan mechs swarming everywhere, they possessed absolutely no capacity to resist. They could only watch helplessly as their relatives and friends were forcibly taken, forced to kneel on the ground and weep.

  And on the colossal cliff further along the shore, which seemed to 'meet the sky,' the hundreds of thousands of honeycomb-shaped structures, arranged in precise order, were now more than half collapsed.

  Surrounding the colossal cliff, hundreds of squid mechs hovered, emitting piercing sonic disruptions as they relentlessly attacked every Lead Simian individual who dared to offer resistance.

  For a moment, Lasgun beams flew everywhere, and the sounds of impact echoed endlessly.

  In the larger high-altitude zones, the dozen or so 'Uranium Light' level Lead Simian individuals, traversing rapidly, became the primary focus of concentrated assault.

  What was truly terrifying was that those besieging them were also 'Uranium Light' level Lead Simian individuals, and their numbers were overwhelmingly greater—approximately five or six times the besieged group.

  These Lead Simian aggressors, who ruthlessly attacked their own kind with brutal techniques, each bore ash-colored eyes and utterly indifferent expressions, suggesting their minds were completely controlled.

  The dozen or so besieged 'Uranium Light' level Lead Simian individuals, despite their ability to nullify kinetic and thermal energy—and even transmute it into miraculous personal abilities—found themselves struggling futilely against the siege of so many peers, compounded by continuous harassment and sneak attacks from the numerous mechs hovering at a distance. They visibly lost all capacity to fight back.

  Just at this critical juncture, perhaps unable to wait any longer, a Transcendent-level Agate Clan member suddenly launched itself from a colossal mech. From a distance spanning several thousand meters, it calmly unleashed a surging, immense mental tide towards the besieged group. This overwhelming force instantly hypnotized and mind-controlled them all, causing them to float obediently in place. They were then swiftly snatched up and captured by the surrounding mechs, not a single one escaping.

  But at that very moment.

  Deep within the shattered honeycomb structures of the colossal cliff, Tiyan lay paralyzed on the ground, looking in despair at the cold man opposite him, who tightly clutched his mother's head in one hand, holding her suspended in the air.

  He cried out in disbelief: "Father! Weren't you captured by the Agate Clan? Why are you alive again? Why are you attacking Mother and me?!"

  Quietly listening to his son's pathetic cries, the man's cold, ash-colored eyes flickered with an extremely faint, minuscule trace of pain, before immediately reverting to complete indifference. He spoke with an incredibly cruel, mocking voice: "How fascinating. This pitiful lead-based monkey is actually your father. Hahahaha, killing wives and children, hahaha, truly entertaining."

  "Ugh... Ugh..."

  The injured woman, whose head was being held, could only struggle to open her swollen eyes to look at her son, saying brokenly: "Tiyan... Go... quickly... Go..."

  Crack!!!

  Before she could complete her sentence, she was gripped tighter by the man behind her, and her head was crushed instantly. She became a lifeless, headless corpse, falling limply to the ground.

  "Mother..."

  Tiyan froze in that instant, his eyes widened to their absolute limit. Then, like a desperate young beast, he roared and charged at the man: "Ah ah ah ah, I'll destroy you!"

  "Heh heh heh heh."

  The man, however, chuckled grimly, slightly raising his sturdy arm. His entire body's latent power suddenly surged, and just as he was about to vaporize his own son with a single palm strike.

  Bang!!!

  Elder Yan suddenly materialized, violently blasting the man away. He crashed through multiple layers of rock walls, flying thousands of meters away into the dim sky.

  Then, ignoring everything else.

  Elder Yan grabbed Tiyan's arm, and their figures blurred, creating twin rings of sonic boom clouds as they vanished instantly from the spot.

  ...

  On the shore of the underground ocean, deep within the colossal cliff's honeycomb architectural zone.

  Clang!

  A door cracked open in the mottled, silver-gray wall. Elder Yan, leaning heavily on his staff, was about to step inside, followed closely by Tiyan, whose expression was heavy with dull grief.

  Entering through the threshold, what greeted them was a somewhat cramped, ancient stone workshop.

  The hall was cluttered with several dilapidated wooden tables, upon which were haphazardly stacked piles of circuit boards, a dozen thick cables, five or six bundles of thin electrical wires, and various sundries like metal plates of differing sizes.

  The somewhat stained walls on both sides were also adorned with power drills, electric welding guns, wrenches, pliers, and an array of other essential tools.

  These tools did not appear new; they suggested constant, intensive use.

  Further ahead, at the very end, was a seemingly ordinary stone wall.

  But what was peculiar was that from behind this thick barrier, a faint, surging sound of ocean waves could be clearly discerned.

  **Whoosh ~ Whoosh ~ Whoosh ~**

  Evidently, beyond the wall lay the sea—the underground ocean.

  "Grandpa, where exactly are we?"

  Tiyan slowly walked into the chamber, surveying his surroundings with a dazed expression.

  Clearly, he had not yet fully recovered from the recent calamity.

  "Don't ask so many questions; just follow me for now."

  Elder Yan bypassed the query. He gripped Tiyan's wrist and quickly moved toward the wall at the room's terminus. He raised his staff and rhythmically tapped the wall several dozen times.

  Click click click!

  As if activating some complex internal mechanism, the wall immediately split apart, revealing a somewhat archaic metal vessel.

  Strangely, the ship's outer hull seemed to be coated with a peculiar pigment, constantly emitting a mysterious purplish-blue phantom light within the dimly lit hall.

  Tiyan merely glanced at the phantom light, and yet he instantly felt the surrounding scenery blur and become indistinct.

  It was like being intoxicated.

  He quickly cradled his head and shook it vigorously, stammering: "What is happening? This feels like an illusion."

  "This is 'Invisibility' paint, created by mixing a minute trace of Uranium stardust with various radioactive minerals, following an ancient formula," Elder Yan quickly whispered, gripping the youth's wrist, and immediately leaping into the ship.

  "Concealing from mental scans?" Tiyan exclaimed, startled. "Does that mean it becomes undetectable in the mental field? Can it block the Agate Clan?"

  "Regrettably, it only offers a momentary diversion. Being undetectable for an instant is sufficient."

  The old man turned his head, flashing a brief smile at the youth. "The actual escape 'route' is concealed within this vessel."

  The Elder Yan quickly and skillfully piloted the ship down a deliberately constructed slope, sliding out of the narrow old chamber and rapidly plunging into the boiling sea outside.

  Once immersed in the scalding ocean, the ship, at full throttle, cut through the intensely hot seawater like a marlin, accelerating into the distance.

  Amidst the swift journey, Elder Yan, piloting the vessel, radiated a greenish-yellow light, activating the Uranium Lightwave.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  As waves of nuclear fusion power radiated outwards, the ancient ship, along with a surprised Tiyan in the cabin, vanished like an illusory bubble upon the surging, boiling sea.

  Only half a minute later.

  Boom!!!

  A room-sized cluster of greenish-yellow light, tearing through layers of grayish-white sonic boom clouds, arrived at their last known position, emitting powerful, rumbling waves of sound from the sky.

  The light cluster halted, then abruptly dispersed.

  A sturdy figure emerged from within, standing firm upon the boiling sea surface, rapidly sweeping his surroundings with keen mental power.

  This man was Tiyan's father, the very individual who had just been blasted away by Elder Yan—the artificial Uranium Light Warlord whose consciousness was controlled by high-ranking Agate Clan officials.

  Time dragged on slowly.

  The man's expression grew increasingly grim.

  "Running so fast, damn it."

  The man's thick eyebrows furrowed, his murderous eyes scanning the area.

  After sensing for several minutes, he suddenly turned and looked toward the direction the ancient ship had fled, and smiled coldly:

  "Do you genuinely believe such clumsy, laughable spiritual concealment techniques can hide anything from my senses?"

  The ground vibrated beneath his feet.

  Bang!!

  As if detonating an explosive charge.

  Amidst waves of scattering water and roaring echoes, the man kicked off the boiling sea, leaving a vast fissure in his wake. He swiftly pursued the ancient ship’s trajectory.

  Bang bang bang bang bang!!

  Amidst extreme velocity.

  The man moved like a ferocious, violent dragon, accompanied by thunderous sonic booms. His feet continuously ignited with crescent-shaped hot vapor, rapidly propelling him forward.

  In just one minute of flight.

  He sensed a rapidly moving, indistinct entity upon the vast sea surface.

  Elder Yan's Uranium Star paint, filled with misplaced confidence, was completely unable to obstruct the man's mental power.

  "Where do you think you are going!!!"

  The man let out a loud shout, then stomped down, blasting a large section of the sea surface. Using that thrust, he leaped into the air, dozens of meters above the ancient ship. He then brought his fingers together and pointed with ruthless precision.

  "Vibrant Art —— Blades of Friction!"

  Buzz—

  In an instant, nine nearly materialized, greenish light blades, coiled from blazing Nuclear Fusion Power, shot out like lightning from his palm. They shimmered as they swiftly struck the ship below.

  Bang!

  High-frequency vibrations precisely impacted the main body of the ship with the nine light blades.

  Boom boom boom boom!!

  A rapid series of explosions.

  Suddenly, the entire ship, along with a large area of the surrounding sea, was violently pulverized into endless dust.

  Boom!!

  Furthermore, amidst the evaporating, roaring steam and mist, dozens of hundreds of slender light spears suddenly erupted, cruelly and mercilessly piercing and scouring back and forth, covering a hundred-meter radius of devastation.

  However, Mithra couldn't detect a single trace of blood when those light spears struck.

  "Something's amiss."

  His mental perception stirred, and he frowned again, sweeping his awareness across the surrounding sea.

  Buzz—

  After a meticulous scan with his mental power, the man realized that within a thousand-meter radius, there wasn't the slightest breath of living Ether, not even a minuscule drop of blood.

  "Gone?!"

  He instantly scoffed in anger, raising both hands as if lifting some invisible giant mass, and fiercely slammed the boiling ocean below from a distance.

  In an instant, hundreds of thousands of withered, spectral claws, emanating a shimmering green luminescence, suddenly shot out from various parts of the man's body.

  "Vibrant Art —— Fiendclaw!"

  Thousands of green talons, like individual projectiles, bá bá bá plunged into the turbulent sea, then automatically roamed and searched beneath the surface.

  Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

  The green light claws navigated the sea for several minutes.

  An area spanning ten kilometers of the sea surface, and even the water body several hundred meters deep below, was vaguely scoured.

  Nothing was found.

  "Damned little insect!"

  The man snorted angrily, then helplessly turned around, hurrying back towards the underground sea shore, where the fires of war still raged.

  ...

  Buzz buzz buzz—

  The internal engine of the ship continuously emitted a deep, muffled vibration.

  Elder Yan pressed the control keys a few times, then turned and walked into the rear compartment.

  Tiyan pursed his lips and followed him inside.

  Inside the rear cabin, what should have been a resting area had completely vanished.

  In its place sat a dark-green miniature submarine, large enough to accommodate only two occupants.

  Judging by the phantom light emanating from its surface, it was clearly coated with 'Invisibility' paint as well.

  The old man walked to the submarine, which was closely affixed to the ancient inner wall of the vessel, and bent down to operate a rugged, rudimentary machine on its exterior.

  A long time ago, Elder Yan, who preferred a peaceful life but always prepared for hardship, had completely refitted this entire ship—from the inside out—which was hidden within a secret chamber inside the colossal cliff.

  The specific purpose was to install this nuclear-powered submarine so that he could use the outer ship as a decoy to mislead the enemy, then escape using the submersible.

  Now, the time had come.

  "Grandpa, did you build this submarine yourself?" Tiyan asked in surprise, pointing at the submersible.

  "Yes."

  The old man nodded, his expression composed. He pressed a red button on the mechanical panel.

  Click!

  A coarse, jarring sound rang out.

  Clack... Clack... Clack...

  In an instant, the dark-green submarine slowly, section by section, sank into the specially equipped hangar bay beneath the ship.

  "Simple invisibility paint is utterly insufficient to block the Agate Clan's mental scans."

  Elder Yan continued, stepping down the simple ladder, "But if you add several hundreds or thousands of meters of deep, boiling seawater filled with various complex substances, it becomes enough to obscure their 'eyes'."

  Tiyan nodded in understanding, chasing after him down into the suspended compartment.

  Clang clang clang!

  The opening above their heads quickly sealed shut, and the compartment became dim.

  In the low light, the two quickly settled into the narrow submarine cabin.

  Clack—

  The compartment below immediately opened.

  Accompanied by the sound of surging seawater flooding into the space, the submarine plunged straight down into the depths of the sea.

  Gurgle gurgle gurgle—

  The seabed below was equally turbulent and surging, its waters a murky, dark blue.

  The dark-green submarine, like a large fish with an unmoving head and tail, dove fearlessly into the boundless deep ocean.

  100 meters.

  300 meters.

  500 meters.

  As it descended, the outside of the submarine grew darker.

  Beyond five hundred meters deep beneath the sea, no light could penetrate, and this was the reality at this moment.

  Dong—

  The submarine's two large headlights suddenly illuminated.

  Through the thick glass porthole, Tiyan widened his eyes, gazing outside the submarine with an expression of shock.

  He had never witnessed the sight of the boiling deep sea before.

  He could clearly sense the intense heat and surging water outside, yet he couldn't visually discern anything.

  It was as if everything in the present world was receding further and further away from him, with only endless darkness occupying all his thoughts.

  Tiyan slightly parted his lips, his expression astonished, as he looked at the gloom beyond the circular window and murmured:

  "Grandpa, where exactly are we escaping to?"

  Elder Yan, seated in front, did not turn his head. Instead, while expertly maneuvering the submarine, he slowly unrolled an ancient scroll map and stated: "We are heading to the Solid Ancient Temple."

  "Solid Ancient Temple?"

  Tiyan asked, confused, "Where is that? I don't recall ever hearing of this location."

  "Of course you haven't heard of it. Ninety-nine point nine percent of all Lead Simian people haven't heard of that place."

  Elder Yan slowly spread the map, explaining, "That Ancient Temple predates the Lead Simian race developing written language. Legend holds it was constructed by the Lead Simian Ancestors in ancient times to worship deities, and it has existed for untold tens of thousands of years."

  "Deities?!" Tiyan’s voice dropped, "If there are truly deities in this world, why do they remain indifferent while we suffer?"

  Elder Yan sighed: "Perhaps... the deities have not yet awakened from their long slumber."

  Suddenly, his expression brightened. He pulled out a nearly perfect golden orb from his chest and stated eagerly: "But this time is different! This time... the deity has truly awakened!"

  "What is this?"

  Tiyan looked at the golden orb in Elder Yan's hand, murmuring, "It looks incredibly beautiful."

  The golden orb before them appeared perfectly smooth, without the slightest blemish or any intricate patterns.

  Although its shape and structure were exceedingly simple, it conveyed to the youth a sense of comprehending all things within the vast cosmos.

  "This is the divine artifact passed down through generations in our clan, capable of communicating with deities—the Ancient Golden Orb. Fifty thousand years ago, it 'awakened' once, radiating ten thousand rays of golden light!"

  Elder Yan recalled, "At that time, after the divine artifact awakened, the Ancient Ancestors, as if guided by fate, journeyed to the terminus of the boiling sea to construct the supreme Ancient Temple. They then placed the golden orb upon the altar and gathered to pray for the deity's grace."

  Tiyan listened intently, pressing for details, "What happened next?"

  "Then... the deity responded."

  The old man looked up, his eyes shining as he declared: "The deity, through the golden orb, bestowed the nuclear fusion martial arts upon the Ancient Ancestors, enabling the Lead Simian race to vanquish the ancient beasts and truly ascend."

  The youth was stunned: "So the entire nuclear fusion martial arts system... was a gift from a deity?!"

  "Yes! And this occurred just a few days ago!"

  Elder Yan said excitedly, "The golden orb has awakened once more!"

  Tiyan instantly understood, murmuring: "So this time... we are venturing out to implore the deity to descend."

  "Yes." Elder Yan pointed at the map and stated, "We must travel 3,000 kilometers to the very end of the boiling sea to locate the supreme Ancient Temple, place the golden orb upon the altar, and finally awaken the deity!"

  "The terminus of the boiling sea... Stone Crevice City is apparently located nearby."

  Tiyan turned his head to peer into the darkness beyond the porthole, suddenly noticing that the submarine felt slightly warmer than when they had first submerged, though he paid it no mind.

  Time, much like dissipating heat, quietly slipped away.

  Since making their escape from the tiger's jaws, the submarine had traversed several hundred kilometers.

  And Tiyan, seated toward the rear, was now entirely flushed, his eyes exhibiting a slight glaze of confusion.

  Elder Yan, who was piloting the vessel, also observed this change.

  "Blast it, I am such a foolish old man! I only considered my own resistance to heat, forgetting entirely to install proper insulation in the submarine! The boiling sea at this depth must be several times hotter than the surface!"

  He reached out to touch the youth's burning forehead, frowning deeply. "If this continues, Tiyan will succumb to heat exhaustion before we even reach the end of the boiling sea! No, we must resurface immediately!"

  Elder Yan made a firm resolution, decisively maneuvering the submarine to ascend rapidly.

  In less than a minute, the submarine broke the surface.

  Hiss—

  The hatch opened, allowing the trapped heat to rapidly escape.

  Tiyan also slowly opened his eyes, meeting the old man's concerned gaze, and weakly managed to say: "Grandpa, you don't need to worry about me, quickly... drive the ship."

  Elder Yan parted his lips, just about to respond, when he heard a sharp whistling sound approaching from the horizon.

  He instantly became vigilant, looking up toward the sky.

  He saw a squadron of squid mechs swiftly passing by along the edge of the visible sky.

  "This is not good; the sea surface is too exposed to linger. We are exposed."

  Elder Yan frowned and muttered, "But Tiyan cannot endure the high temperatures beneath the waves. However, if we don't dive deep enough... we are too easily detected by the Agate Clan. So, what is our recourse now?"

  He turned to look at Tiyan, who was slowly recovering, his eyes filled with deep contemplation.

  Five minutes later.

  Five hundred meters below the surface of the boiling sea, the dark-green submarine was traveling rapidly toward the crushing depths.

  On the exterior of the speeding submarine, Elder Yan had tightly bound himself with a long, slender iron chain, wrapped around him repeatedly for security.

  Concurrently, he fully activated the Uranium Lightwave, rapidly absorbing the excess heat flowing into the submarine's cabin from the searing environment of the boiling deep sea outside.

  And in the cabin below, only Tiyan remained, holding his breath, concentrating entirely on piloting the submersible.

  Indeed, this was the desperate solution Elder Yan had conceived.

  For this vast journey spanning over 2000 kilometers, he intended to personally serve as a photothermal conductor, absorbing the immense thermal energy surging from all directions of the Boiling Deep Sea.

  This extreme action was undertaken solely to preserve Tiyan's life.

  The young man piloting the submarine in the cabin was overcome with tears of warmth and gratitude.

  Because he understood perfectly for whom the old man's near-suicidal action was being performed.

  Tiyan had strenuously objected to Elder Yan's decision earlier, but ultimately could not sway the old man's absolute resolve.

  He knew that with his Grandpa's capabilities, even in the scorching, hellish depths of this underground ocean, he could move freely without concern.

  It was purely to shield him that the elder had fallen into such peril.

  Tiyan had never so intensely resented his own inherent powerlessness.

  Powerless to protect his mother, powerless to shield himself.

  "Be a man, good Tiyan! Stop sitting there lamenting!"

  Elder Yan, seated cross-legged outside the vessel, truly could not bear to see Tiyan in such a state below. He sent a mental message, instructing him to compose himself and pilot the submarine with concentration.

  The youth was startled and responded loudly, "Yes!"

  Then he wiped his eyes and seriously piloted the submarine, speeding forward into the dark, silent depths.

  ...

  In the lightless, boiling abyss of the sea.

  A fist-sized orange light orb was playfully drifting back and forth in this boundless darkness.

  But just as it was frolicking happily, a head-sized, hideous black fish suddenly materialized and swallowed it whole.

  Before the orb could even reach its stomach, the black fish immediately stiffened, and its wide mouth slowly opened.

  The light orb within its mouth had now shifted to a dull, sickly green. While releasing faint wisps of greenish venom, it was suddenly yanked out at extreme speed by a black tentacle connected to the back of the light orb.

  The light orb was retrieved, and in the darkness, a black fish, several meters in length, utterly devoid of eyes but possessing a broad, gaping maw, emerged.

  The black fish opened its massive mouth—half the size of its body and filled with intricate, needle-like teeth. With a guttural gurgle, it inhaled the poor, poisoned small fish into its maw.

  Before it could even continuously gulp down and savor the meal, it was violently struck in half by a colossal object rushing in from behind.

  Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

  Boiling water surged, and cloudy bubbles dispersed violently.

  The colossal object was the dark-green submarine controlled by Tiyan.

  It had been a full day and night since their last surfacing.

  Under Tiyan's non-stop piloting and relentless forward momentum, the submarine had traversed over 2000 kilometers.

  The boundary of the boiling sea was now almost within reach.

  And Elder Yan, who had been sitting rigidly atop the submarine, continuously absorbing external heat for an entire day and night, was now completely flushed red, resembling a glowing, white-hot branding iron.

  "Grandpa, hold fast! We are almost there!" Tiyan, his eyes bloodshot in the cabin, couldn't help but roar.

  But the old man outside the ship remained utterly silent, offering not the slightest response.

  Splash!

  The surface of the boiling sea. The submarine, like a rapidly darting fish, swiftly broke through.

  "Thud!"

  Tiyan forcefully shoved the hatch open and scrambled onto the deck. Just as he prepared to haul Elder Yan back into the cabin, he saw the crimson-colored old man sitting upright on the ship, his eyes tightly shut, appearing as if he were asleep.

  Tears streaming down his face, he rushed forward and embraced Elder Yan. Gritting his teeth, he endured the intense, high-temperature burning on his hands and arms, painstakingly working to unbind the crimson iron chains that were wrapped tightly around the old man's body, one by one.

  The temperature, soaring past a thousand degrees, scorched away patches of Tiyan's skin, revealing mottled, blackened wounds beneath.

  But he uttered not a single word. With trembling arms, he completely unfastened every single iron chain from Elder Yan's form.

  Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!!

  Boom rumble rumble rumble!!

  As Tiyan frantically pulled the old man into the submersible craft, an incomparably vast and fierce sound of water continuously surged from far ahead, echoing loudly in his ears.

  "What is that deafening noise?"

  Driven by curiosity, he looked up and glanced toward the source.

  Suddenly, he was startled by the distant scene, his pupils contracting sharply.

  Following his line of sight, several thousand meters ahead, there was a colossal cliff face, resembling a massive chasm, boundless on both sides, extending up to the heavens and effectively "connecting" with the sea. It formed an immense encircling barrier, completely blocking the passage through the underground ocean.

  "This... this is the boundary of the Boiling Sea? It's so magnificent," Tiyan murmured, his eyes wide with profound awe.

  Even more majestic was the sight of this chasm-like colossal cliff facing the endless, surging, boiling expanse. There were five enormous apertures, over a thousand meters in diameter, like chaotic, gaping mouths, furiously devouring countless torrents of boiling water.

  Waves churned violently, surging skyward.

  Under this immense suction, millions of tons of turbid seawater crowded and poured into the openings every moment.

  Tiyan, after taking a deep breath, quickly averted his gaze, instead vigorously shaking Elder Yan's body:

  "Grandpa! Grandpa!"

  But no matter how he shook him, the old man remained unconscious.

  Just then, a familiar voice arrived from the distance above:

  "It truly is the guidance of fate, my dear 'son'. We meet again."

  It was Tiyan's father.

  That artificial Uranium Light Warlord suddenly descended from the sky, his arms crossed, standing calmly right on the sea surface in front of the submarine.

  Tiyan froze in shock for a moment, then roared with intense hatred: "You! Why are you here?!"

  "Hahahaha." The man threw his head back and laughed smugly, "I can only say you had terrible luck. The underground ocean is so vast, why did you have to flee to Crack City?"

  "Crack City..." Tiyan's eyes widened in realization. He suddenly turned to look thousands of meters behind him.

  There, at the boundary between the distant mountains and the sea, was indeed a large complex of honeycomb-shaped structures built onto the steep rock face of a colossal cliff that scraped the sky.

  But now, those previously dense and intricate stone houses and towers were more than half destroyed, collapsed.

  Around that area of structures, hundreds of squid-mechs were hovering, flying, and stopping, continuously extending tentacles to capture fleeing Lead Simian individuals.

  At this moment, a malicious voice entered Tiyan's ears once more:

  "This harvest operation targets all Lead Simian gathering points across the entire planet Obast. So, no matter where you attempt to hide, it’s futile. You are destined to become slaves to my Agate Clan!"

  At this moment, the man's smile became even more sinister and malicious. Like a venomous serpent, he looked with cold gloom at Tiyan and the old man aboard the submarine, and cackled:

  "Rest assured, I won't dispatch you easily."

  He slowly walked toward the youth, laughing as he approached, "I intend to take you two..."

  Whoosh!!!

  At this critical juncture, Elder Yan, lying in Tiyan's arms, suddenly opened his eyes. From them, two thumb-sized beams of crimson fire shot out, swiftly sweeping past the man's neck like lightning.

  Swoosh—

  The man instantly froze, then his head tilted and slid off, falling into the surging, boiling sea below.

  His headless body barely lasted an instant before it too fell limply into the boiling sea.

  Plop!

  And after Elder Yan unleashed this move, the surging crimson light within his crystal-like body instantly dimmed.

  Clearly, that laser-eye-like attack just now consumed a significant portion of the thermal energy stored within his frame.

  However...

  Crack crack crack!!

  The old man's translucent body shockingly fractured, splitting into dozens of deep fissures that extended throughout his form.

  "Grandpa!"

  Tiyan's eyes widened in horror. He quickly embraced the flushed Elder Yan, examining him and crying out anxiously, "Grandpa, your body..."

  "Cease speaking!"

  The old man laboriously raised a hand, halting his words. He stretched out a single finger, pointing toward the enormous maw positioned far to the left, thousands of meters distant, roaring with sheer effort, "Head to the leftmost opening! Go straight ahead! Disregard everything else!"

  That single sentence had exhausted all of Elder Yan's remaining strength; he fainted once more.

  "Okay!"

  Tiyan nodded repeatedly, hastily assisting the old man into the seat. He then piloted the submarine, sealed the hatch, and immediately caught the rushing current, speeding rapidly toward the leftmost giant maw of the chasm ahead.

  Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

  Thousands of meters were traversed swiftly.

  The moment he entered the passage, Tiyan felt the external current suddenly accelerate dramatically.

  Under this intense surge, the submarine, without even needing its engine activated, swayed violently from end to end as it shot forward.

  Time slipped by in seconds and minutes.

  While piloting the vessel, the youth discovered that this enormous, unknown tunnel entrance was not a straight, one-way passage, but rather a winding, irregularly angled, looping labyrinthine tunnel.

  The tunnel walls were irregularly peppered with dark cave openings, varying in size from mere centimeters to two or three meters in diameter.

  He couldn't see the end, completely unaware of their ultimate destination.

  During the transit, he also perceived that the current enveloping the submarine had grown significantly stronger.

  "No, this current is far too violent!"

  Tiyan had no choice but to decelerate, eventually pulling the engine down to its absolute lowest setting, bringing the submarine to a complete stop.

  But it was futile.

  The increasingly fierce current propelled the submarine uncontrollably deeper into the unknown depths of the tunnel.

  During this harrowing period, to maintain any semblance of safety, Tiyan had to maintain total concentration on maneuvering the vessel, preventing it from striking the tunnel walls—surfaces riddled with countless dark apertures and fissures.

  Simultaneously, he was forced to constantly monitor the portholes on both sides, searching for any drifting debris that could cause catastrophic damage.

  At this moment, not a single error was permissible. He absolutely could not collide with the walls or any solid objects.

  Otherwise, the submarine would instantly disintegrate.

  That outcome meant certain death.

  Rumble rumble rumble rumble——

  The colossal roar of the current poured unobstructed into the cabin, causing the utterly exhausted and dull-witted Tiyan’s face to drain of color.

  With the submarine constantly teetering on the verge of catastrophic structural failure, its speed had been abruptly accelerated to a terrifying degree by the turbulent flow.

  Under this immense, life-or-death pressure, he managed to pilot the vessel steadily through the complex tunnel for several hours.

  By now, Tiyan clearly felt he had reached his absolute physical limit.

  Perhaps in another hour or two, he would completely pass out from sheer exhaustion.

  After all, he was still underage; his core energy reserves and endurance simply could not compete with those of an adult.

  Furthermore, his shallow Nuclear Fusion Power was insufficient to compensate for the extreme physical strain he was enduring.

  But now, nobody could assist Tiyan; everything rested solely upon his shoulders.

  Just at this critical juncture, the speed of the outer current decreased for the very first time.

  Tiyan, forcing his eyes open to observe the path ahead, discovered that this terribly long tunnel had abruptly changed its trajectory.

  From its previous, relatively gentle downward slope, it had transitioned into a sharply inclined, upward ascent.

  Gurgle gurgle gurgle——

  Trailing massive amounts of bubbles, the dark-green submarine, illuminated by its two dim headlights, rapidly ascended along this passage, which now possessed an overall incline of 75 degrees.

  During the climb, the tunnel began to narrow progressively.

  "The destination must be near." The youth pursed his lips, carefully rolled up the map, and turned to glance at the rear seat.

  On the dilapidated back seat, a dozen irregularly shaped, blazing hot crystal fragments lay silently.

  These constituted Elder Yan's final physical remains.

  A few... radioactive crystal fragments.

  "One can only be born into a world created by deities and ancestors. Whether you appreciate it or not, when you discover a tragic situation, refrain from complaining or harboring hatred. That path only breeds a narrow mindset."

  Whispering Elder Yan's final counsel, Tiyan stated in a deep voice, "Rest assured, Grandpa, I will absolutely awaken the deity. However..."

  His eyes flashed with a fierce resolve:

  "However, I care little whether the deity chooses to save the Lead Simian race. I only wish to beg the deity... to utterly exterminate the Agate Clan!"

  Thump!

  He suddenly slammed the engine control to full throttle.

  Boom—

  In an instant, the water churned and violently fractured; the submarine, running at maximum velocity, surged toward the tunnel's terminus.

  After a brief interval.

  Tiyan finally reached the end of the ascending passage. It opened onto a dry, waterless, colossal, inclined plane made of volcanic rock.

  Connecting the murky water of the tunnel and the volcanic rock ramp were concentric layers of hardened mud.

  Clang clang clang!

  The submarine, driven by its full-throttle engine, shot forward like a projectile. It scraped and slid across the overlapping hardened mud layers due to inertia, generating brilliant sparks. After climbing the volcanic rock slope—which resembled a massive launch platform—it screeched and scraped for another dozen meters before finally shuddering to a stop.

  Thud!

  The hatch hissed open, and Tiyan immediately leaped out.

  But the instant his feet touched the ground, he suddenly collapsed.

  His body was utterly depleted, exhausted to its absolute limit, with no reserve strength remaining.

  "I cannot rest here. I absolutely cannot rest. No, if I pause for even a single breath, I won't wake up again."

  Tiyan vigorously shook his head, forcing himself to crawl forward on all fours up the colossal rock incline.

  As he crawled, he noticed the slope grew progressively steeper, and the passage walls began to narrow.

  Yet, the youth, driven by astonishing perseverance, continued his non-stop crawl.

  This agonizing crawl lasted for a full hour.

  During this period, his already scarred and wounded arms, subjected to the extreme exertion and constant friction against the rough rock surface of the slope, developed severe infections and rot, resulting in truly gruesome conditions.

  Fortunately, Tiyan finally reached the top of the slope, stumbling into a long, low hallway.

  Walking several tens of meters, a narrow, cramped, yet strangely luminous cave entrance appeared before his eyes.

  Without hesitation, his gaze resolute, he stepped inside.

  "Finally... I'm here."

  As soon as he emerged from the cavern, Tiyan's vision cleared completely and became unobstructed.

  Before him lay a vast, desolate, and lifeless plain of volcanic rock.

  Surrounding him were boundless, grayish-brown cliffs towering high overhead.

  Sparse symbols and intricate patterns were carved into those steep rock walls—mysterious and ancient, seemingly belonging to a long-vanished civilization, blurred and indistinct from millennia of erosion.

  However, what truly surprised Tiyan was why the area was so brightly lit, despite no thunder echoing in his ears.

  He could even vaguely discern the patterns on the cliff faces thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of meters in the distance.

  "This place... why is it like this?"

  Overcome with lingering confusion, Tiyan walked another hundred meters forward.

  Suddenly, his steps faltered, and he felt a distinct warmth and a brilliant light emanating from directly above his head.

  "Above... light..."

  As if grasping a profound realization, Tiyan stared blankly upward.

  A deep blue sky, boundless and flawlessly clear.

  At its very center, a fiery red Great Sun shone down brilliantly, radiating light and comforting warmth to the four cardinal directions of the heavens, and upon the Lead Simian youth standing below on the ground.

  "Sol!"

  Tiyan looked up, his eyes unfocused, staring blankly at the magnificent scene he had never witnessed in his life—only heard described by others—Sol. He felt his entire body tremble profoundly.

  Shafts of pure light penetrated his skin and entered his body, bathing him in an unprecedented comfort and warmth.

  "Ah, hahaha!"

  Tiyan suddenly burst into laughter, feeling all his prior fatigue and sleepiness instantly vanish, his entire being now flooded with abundant, surging energy.

  His laughter gradually subsided. He surveyed the surrounding mountain ranges that encompassed the terrain and murmured to himself, as if a realization had struck him:

  "The Supreme Ancient Temple, so the term 'Supreme'... refers to the surface."

  Indeed.

  This location was clearly the base of a colossal, dormant volcano situated on Obast's surface.

  Supreme, supreme—for beings dwelling deep within the crust, what term could be more fitting for the surface world than that?

  Considering all the perils he had endured on his journey, Tiyan couldn't help but let out continuous sighs.

  Next, he looked upward, beginning his search for the location of the so-called Ancient Temple.

  Perhaps, having endured all the suffering and navigated all the necessary risks, he was now due for something.

  Tiyan quickly discerned a dilapidated architectural complex, heavily obscured and shrouded in dense mist and dust, situated approximately two thousand meters from his current position.

  Vaguely, the area exuded a profound sense of dimness and absolute stillness.

  Upon entering this zone, he felt an incredibly thick, ancient aura of time swirling intensely around him.

  However, aside from the mysterious and inexplicable energy field, the location was pockmarked with breaches; not a single intact flagstone remained—it was nothing but ruined debris.

  Wandering through the area, past heaps of bricks, roof tiles, and rubble bearing the marks of immense age, Tiyan finally located one structure that barely maintained the resemblance of a temple.

  The temple's gate and roof had long since vanished. Only a dozen or so mottled, fractured white stone pillars remained, surrounding a few precarious, decaying walls.

  Those walls were crisscrossed with thick cracks and bore ruined, indistinct murals that could no longer be deciphered.

  Perhaps this site was once an extremely prosperous place of worship, but now it stood as a completely forsaken ancient ruin.

  Yet, within these seemingly dilapidated remains, directly behind this nearly collapsed temple structure before Tiyan, stood a circular stone altar, measuring about ten meters in diameter.

  This altar stood roughly two meters high, encircled by a tier of three or four low steps.

  At the very center of the altar, a perfectly pristine, pure white statue of a deity stood quietly, as if awaiting the arrival of devoted worshipers.

  This tall, majestic, and commanding statue possessed an extremely simple yet perfectly smooth and fluid curved aesthetic. Aside from its raised hands, palms oriented upward in a gesture seemingly supporting the heavens, there were no other superfluous embellishments. Its overall style was rustic and primitive.

  But its form was almost identical to the statue near Tiyan's dwelling by the underground sea.

  Its face was so lifelike it seemed real, yet simultaneously possessed a quality of immense divinity.

  Overall, it seemed to conceal endless secrets and potential miracles.

  It was strange to note.

  Although fifty thousand years had passed, and even the surrounding Ancient Temple complex, constructed from solid stone materials, had more than half collapsed.

  Yet this statue looked as if it had only just been created.

  Let alone accumulation of damage, it hadn't even gathered a single speck of dust.

  "Is this the deity's power?"

  Tiyan walked toward the statue in surprise, only to find it resting on a severely weathered and damaged altar.

  The interior of the altar featured a circular indentation, seemingly designed to cradle some spherical object.

  "Ancient Golden Orb!"

  Hastily pulling the golden orb from his chest, Tiyan carefully placed it into the indentation, then approached the statue's base, falling to his knees with a solid thud.

  Thereafter, Tiyan clasped his hands tightly, tilting his head up to gaze at the statue. With an extremely firm plea shining in his eyes, he opened his mouth and began to intone the prayer to the deity that Elder Yan had taught him before his passing, his voice loud and solemn:

  "Oh, Sovereign of the starry night sky, grant mercy upon all sentient beings.

  You are the shaper of our kind, the true ruler over all peoples on this world.

  You are the reliever of suffering, the wellspring of all blessings and auspiciousness..."

  As the prayer was recited sentence by sentence, the atmosphere within this dilapidated temple slowly grew heavy.

  It felt as though some immense power was continuously being nurtured, growing, and evolving...

  Until, finally, it erupted.

  Buzz—

  The golden orb resting on the ancient altar began to vibrate intensely.

  With its vibration, the entire surrounding space started to violently contort.

  Tiyan, trapped within the twisting space, noticed nothing, continuing only to loudly recite the prayer to the deity again and again.

  He remained unaware that at the very edge of the heavens, in the cosmic expanse one hundred thousand meters above the ground, a cluster of shimmering, dazzling, distorting light—a thousand or ten thousand times smaller than a coin—had suddenly manifested.

  Those flickering lights were all the released thermal energy generated when surrounding cosmic radiation particles annihilated upon contact with negative energy.

  Indeed.

  This localized distortion of space outside planet Obast, generated by Tiyan's fervent prayer... was a microscopic warp bubble.

  This warp bubble, upon its formation and complete stabilization, swiftly shot toward the vast universe at a speed far exceeding the established speed of light.

  At this precise moment.

  In another sector, extremely distant from planet Obast, vast expanses of shattered and twisted starship wreckage were scattered across space.

  And the creator of these interstellar remains was Godshell.

  At this moment, he stood solitary in the boundless cosmic void, clad in his heavy, pitch-black armor.

  Ten thousand kilometers ahead, the colossal ancient Rubik's Cube, massive as a star, stood motionless.

  Firmly affixed to one face of that Rubik's Cube, a surface several thousand, even tens of thousands of times larger than Earth's surface area, lay an orange-red planet completely 'frozen' and locked down by some terrifying field-like force.

  Simultaneously, a colossal circular aperture had cracked open on the face of the Rubik's Cube, from which countless powerful Tractor beams shot out, resembling numerous slender threads, completely enveloping the orange-red planet.

  Looking down, within those countless dazzling Tractor beams, spanning tens of thousands of kilometers, innumerable 'rigid' Agate Clan individuals were, every moment, forcibly extracted onto the Rubik's Cube from the planet's surface, spanning the immense distance.

  This entire scene depicted Godshell systematically harvesting the Agate Clan.

  In less than a minute, hundreds of millions of Agate Clan members on the planet's surface were captured without a single survivor remaining.

  Thereafter, Godshell pointed his hand from afar.

  Boom!!!

  In an instant, the orange-red planet violently exploded, shattering into endless millions of high-energy particles scattering into the boundless void.

  Just then, in front of Godshell, who loomed like a cosmic giant, a tiny, almost imperceptible warp bubble suddenly appeared.

  Next, the warp bubble instantly dissipated and disintegrated, and a high-density flow of information shot out from within it, striking his glabella (the point between the eyebrows).

  "Obast... Divine Throne..."

  A torrent of data suddenly erupted within Godshell's crimson-gold single eye.

  This influx of information, acting like a key, suddenly activated a certain innate power within his Saknussim body—specifically, the structural model and manufacturing specifications for directed Wormholes.

  At the same time, Godshell also learned from this new data that 'his' spaceship, lost millions of years ago—the Divine Throne—was currently situated on Obast.

  Thus...

  Buzz—

  In his god-like gaze, a dark Wormhole, its edges flickering with brilliant starlight, instantly formed ahead, then expanded to several thousand meters in diameter.

  He then raised his hand to reclaim the ancient Rubik's Cube, and with a single stride, entered the Wormhole.