46: A deep ocean trench? A seafood buffet!

In the deepest part of the Chaotic Star Sea lies the Abyss of No Light.

This is a Forbidden Ground that sunlight can never reach; the seawater is as pitch-black as ink, and the water pressure is terrifying enough to crush refined steel into iron discs.

Ordinary Golden Core Stage Cultivators would never dare to dive below a thousand meters without a top-grade water-repelling Magic Treasure.

But today, three uninvited guests arrived here.

"Warrior Gu, any further down is the ruin range of the 'Sea-Suppressing Divine Palace'."

Prime Minister Turtle raised a massive spiritual power barrier, shielding himself and Ao Li within it, and said with a grave expression, "The natural gravity Restriction there overlaps with the deep-sea water pressure, creating a terrifyingly formidable force. This old man's decrepit bones cannot withstand it; I can only take you this far."

Gu Yang was shirtless, with the heavenly demon meteor hammer hanging at his waist, floating in the deep sea as if it were nothing.

The glazed crimson-gold radiance on his body shimmered in the darkness, and the surrounding seawater bubbled and boiled from the high temperature radiating from his body.

"Fine, Old Turtle, you stay here." Gu Yang stretched his neck, which cracked with a loud pop. "The pressure here... is fine. It's a bit like getting a full-body massage."

Ao Li wore the Dragon Clan treasure, the "Water-Repelling Golden Eye Armor," and held the Sea-Blue Pearl tightly in her hand, looking at the relaxed Gu Yang with complex eyes.

Although she was from the Dragon Clan, even she felt chest tightness and shortness of breath in this ten-thousand-meter-deep trench, with her Yao power flow becoming sluggish.

Yet this human... was actually relying entirely on his Physical Body to withstand it?

"Don't push yourself. If you die, I'm not collecting your corpse." Ao Li snorted. Although she was stubborn, she still cast a water-repelling Spell on Gu Yang.

"Let's go, I'll take you to eat seafood." Gu Yang grinned and dove down first.

The further down they went, the thicker the darkness and the greater the pressure.

The ecosystem here was completely different from the shallow sea; it was filled with hideous, massive deep-sea mutated Yao Beasts.

Hiss—! In the darkness, two green lights like lanterns lit up.

A deep-sea lantern fish (a Golden Core Middle Stage Yao Beast) with a length of tens of meters, huge fangs, and glowing tentacles attacked silently from behind Gu Yang.

Its massive mouth was large enough to swallow a small house!

"Watch out!" Ao Li exclaimed, about to bring out her Magic Treasure.

"Don't move, let me handle this."

Gu Yang grabbed the glowing tentacle with a backhand grip and pulled hard.

"Come here, you!"

The lantern fish was forcefully dragged in front of Gu Yang by a strange power.

Gu Yang looked at the bright "lantern" and nodded with satisfaction: "This light is nice, the meat looks quite tender, it should be good for sashimi."

Bang! He punched the fish's head, and the lantern fish fainted on the spot.

Gu Yang skillfully stuffed it into a specially made, extra-large Storage Pouch (specifically for holding ingredients).

Continuing to dive.

A black-armored Emperor Demon Crab (a Golden Core Late Stage defensive Yao Beast) with crab claws ten meters long blocked their path.

It raised its massive crab claws and, with a snap, sheared a giant boulder in half.

"What a huge crab!" Gu Yang's mouth was watering, "If this were steamed, how much crab roe would there be?"

He rushed forward and grabbed a crab claw with both hands.

Extreme Dao Force Field—10 times gravity!

"Break for me!" Snap! The incredibly hard crab claw was actually snapped off by Gu Yang!

The Demon Crab spat out a stream of bubbles in pain and turned to run, but Gu Yang stepped on its back shell.

"What are you running for? Stay and become crab roe noodles!"

Along the way, Gu Yang acted as if he were strolling through a vegetable market; wherever he went, chaos ensued.

The originally perilous Forbidden Ground of the abyss was forcefully turned into a "Seafood Buffet City" by him.

Ao Li, following behind, went from shock and disdain at the beginning to her stomach starting to rumble later on.

"Um... that... crab leg, can you leave one for me?"

"So fragrant."

Finally, the two arrived at the very bottom of the trench.

A towering, ancient bronze palace exuding a desolate aura stood silently atop the submarine mountain range.

The palace gates were tightly shut, with four ancient seal-script characters engraved on them—【Sea-Suppressing Divine Palace】.

And around this palace, the gravity field reached a terrifying peak—two thousand times gravity!

"Ugh..." As soon as Ao Li stepped into this area, her knees went weak, and she almost knelt.

Even with the precious armor protecting her, she felt as if she were carrying a mountain on her back, finding it difficult even to lift her legs.

"I can't... I can't move anymore..."

Gu Yang looked back at her and sighed helplessly.

"What a burden."

He walked over, picked up Ao Li, and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of rice.

"Hold on tight, don't move around."

Ao Li's face turned bright red instantly, but feeling the firm, warm muscles on Gu Yang's shoulder, a strange sense of security welled up in her heart.

"Open up!" Gu Yang walked to the bronze gate, didn't look for a mechanism, and swung the heavenly demon meteor hammer.

Boom!!!

The gate trembled, revealing a crack. Gu Yang squeezed inside.

The interior of the great hall was incredibly spacious, with only a massive figure sitting in the center.

It was a humanoid skeleton, but the bones were dark gold, and a long bone tail trailed behind it.

It held a broken trident in its hand. Although it had long lost its life, the aura it radiated made one's Soul tremble.

Nascent Soul Stage Puppet! And it was a Dragon Corpse Puppet refined from the bones of an ancient Dragon Clan!

"Those who trespass in the Divine Palace... shall die!"

A hoarse mental fluctuation exploded in their minds.

Two ghostly fires ignited in the Dragon Corpse Puppet's empty eye sockets. It stood up slowly, and with just this movement, the seawater within the great hall churned wildly.

"Is this what you're looking for?" Gu Yang put down Ao Li, his expression becoming unprecedentedly grave.

This thing put more pressure on him than any previous opponent!

"No, this is the gatekeeper." Ao Li was pale, "We are looking for the box behind it."

"The gatekeeper is this fierce?" Gu Yang gripped the meteor hammer tightly, the glazed golden light on his body erupting to the limit.

"Looks like this meal is going to be a bit tough to chew."

Boom! The Dragon Corpse Puppet moved. It had no flashy Spells, just a simple thrust of the trident.

Fast! Too fast!

It was so fast that Gu Yang didn't even have time to activate his force field before the broken trident was already at his chest.

Clang!

Gu Yang barely blocked it with the meteor hammer, but he was sent flying like he'd been hit by a cannonball, crashing into the bronze wall and leaving a large crater.

"Pfft—" Gu Yang spat out a mouthful of golden stagnant blood, his arm numb, and a white dot had actually been pierced into the meteor hammer.

"What immense strength! This is definitely Nascent Soul Stage level Physical Body strength!"

"Watch out!" Ao Li exclaimed. The Dragon Corpse Puppet pressed its advantage, charging again.

"Comparing strength? I've never lost!" Gu Yang's ferocity was triggered.

He threw away the meteor hammer (this thing couldn't keep up with the rhythm), got down on all fours like a furious demon ape, and shot forward.

Extreme Dao Divine Ability—20 times gravity!

Primordial Indestructible—hundred-fold rebound!

Bang, bang, bang, bang! The human and the Puppet clashed wildly in the undersea hall.

Every collision triggered tsunami-like vibrations.

Gu Yang was completely at a disadvantage. His fists hit the Dragon Corpse, and the rebound made his own bones ache; meanwhile, the Dragon Corpse's attacks hit him, and even with his golden body protection, it left him covered in lacerations.

"These bones are too hard! I can't break them at all!" Gu Yang was beaten black and blue, cursing inwardly.

Besides, this Puppet didn't know fatigue and had endless energy; if this continued, he would definitely lose.

"Must find a weak point... or supplies!" Gu Yang thought while getting beaten, observing frantically.

He discovered a dark red light flickering at the Dragon Corpse Puppet's chest—that was its energy core, the source of its power!

It was a piece of... dried ancient True Dragon blood essence!

"A great tonic!" Gu Yang's eyes turned green instantly. His initial fear instantly turned into appetite.

"As long as I eat it, I can not only recover health but also level up!"

"Gamble it all!" Gu Yang stopped defending, letting the broken trident pierce his shoulder (avoiding vital points).

He used this opportunity to wrap his arms tightly around the Dragon Corpse Puppet's waist.

"Got you!"

He opened his mouth wide, revealing sharp white teeth, and bit down hard on the dark red light at the Dragon Corpse Puppet's chest!

Snap! Two of the hard ribs were snapped off by Gu Yang. He bit down on that dried blood clot. Gulp! Swallowed.

Boom————!!! A terrifying energy, ten thousand times hotter than magma, instantly exploded within Gu Yang's body.

That was the Origin power from an ancient True Dragon!

【Warning! Consuming high-energy material (ancient True Dragon blood essence)! Energy running wild!】

【Primordial Indestructible Golden Body overloading... forcefully digesting!】

【Obtained energy points: +10000...+20000...+50000!】

"Ahhh—so good!" Gu Yang roared to the sky, his wounds healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

On his skin, the glazed golden light instantly intensified, and even more complex Dragon scale magic patterns began to emerge.

Having lost its energy core, the Dragon Corpse Puppet's movements instantly stiffened, the ghostly fire in its eyes flickered twice and went out.

"Whew..." Gu Yang slumped on the ground, patting his bulging belly.

"This meal is really potent."

He looked at Ao Li, who was dumbfounded, and grinned: "Done. The skeleton is mine, the box is yours."