Darkness.

Endless darkness.

This was the deepest part of the Spiritless Sea Region. The depth had long surpassed eight thousand meters and was now approaching the despair-inducing ten-thousand-meter mark.

The pressure of the seawater had reached an unbelievable level.

If a piece of refined steel were thrown down here, it would probably be crushed into a thin sheet in an instant.

In this pitch-black, silent abyss, where it seemed even time had frozen, two faint lights were struggling to descend.

Gu Yuexi was in a terrible state.

Even with the combat awareness of her past life as an Empress, and even with her iron-like willpower, this body of hers was, after all, only at the Fifth-Grade Early Stage.

At this moment, her face was as pale as paper, and she looked terrible.

It was only because it was her. Any other ordinary Sixth-Grade Martial Artist, unable to use their Qi Blood Spiritual Power, would have been crushed to a pulp long ago.

Beside her, Chu Sheng’s body was also starting to give out. He had no choice but to don the Silent Annihilation Battle Armor and activate its second gear mode.

BUZZ... ’Damn, this is way too deep.’

He glanced over at Gu Yuexi.

’This woman is still holding on for dear life.’

’But from the way she’s swaying, she must be close to her limit.’

Suddenly, a glimmer of light appeared in the darkness ahead.

It wasn’t the eyes of some ferocious Demon Beast, nor was it the lava from an undersea volcano.

It was a... sea of flowers?

Gu Yuexi forced herself to focus and looked intently.

In the deep-sea trench, countless bizarrely shaped plants were growing. They were completely transparent, emitting glows of deep blue, faint purple, and pearly white. They swayed gracefully in the silent abyss, a sight so breathtakingly beautiful yet so strangely unsettling it made one’s scalp tingle.

And in the center of that splendid sea of flowers was a giant, hemispherical... undersea bubble?

As they got closer, Chu Sheng finally saw that this "bubble" was a translucent, semi-circular Barrier.

’This is... the source of that aura?’

The Barrier was enormous, its diameter likely several kilometers.

Chu Sheng’s eyes lit up.

’The existence of something like this means there must be treasure inside!’

Relying on the protection of his Silent Annihilation Battle Armor, he charged forward first.

Arriving before the Barrier, Chu Sheng extended a sharp foreleg and poked it tentatively.

BZZ—

Ripples spread out.

The edge of the Barrier felt strange to the touch. It wasn’t solid, nor was it pure Energy. It was more like a layer of... some kind of higher-dimensional wall of rules.

It was very elastic, yet extremely tough.

"This is—a Realm."

A weak but still cold voice came from behind him.

Gu Yuexi had also descended. She stared at the huge dome of light before them, a trace of shock flickering in her eyes.

To support such a large Realm Space at a depth of ten thousand meters, under the terrifying pressure of billions of tons of seawater, and to maintain it for who knows how many ages...

The power involved was simply unimaginable.

Even she, at the Peak of her power in her past life, could not have accomplished such a feat.

If so, what was the source of this Realm’s power?

What was holding back the weight of those billions of tons of seawater?

They would only know if they went inside to see.

Chu Sheng and Gu Yuexi looked at each other.

Having come this far, there was no reason to back down.

In.

The human and the mosquito pushed forward at the same time, their bodies slowly squeezing through the flexible membrane of light.

POP.

It was like passing through a film of water.

The next second, the suffocating, terrifying water pressure, the bone-chilling cold, the sense of imminent danger that they could be crushed at any moment... instantly vanished without a trace!

In its place was dry, calm air, carrying even a hint of ancient, timeworn desolation.

’We’re really in!’

’Just as I thought, there’s no seawater inside!’

Chu Sheng shook his wings, looking around with some surprise.

It was indeed a huge, hemispherical Space. The light from the sea of glowing flowers outside shone through the translucent wall of the Realm, so it wasn’t dark inside. Instead, it had a dreamy, hazy quality.

But...

Soon, Chu Sheng realized something was wrong.

Very wrong.

He tried to circulate his Qi Blood, only to find his body was completely empty.

Qi Blood?

Gone.

Mental Power?

Gone too.

It wasn’t suppressed, nor was it just difficult to summon. It was utterly... inert!

It was as if his body had never gone through Cultivation, as if his Qi Blood and Mental Power had vanished into thin air!

"The rule here... is ’Mortal.’"

Gu Yuexi took a deep breath, her expression turning extremely grim.

She understood.

The rule suppression in the Spiritless Sea Region outside was merely a ripple effect emanating from this central Realm.

This place was the true source!

Within this Realm, all Extraordinary Power was stripped away.

Whether it was the Qi Blood Martial Dao, Spiritual Telekinesis, or the Bloodline power of a Demon Beast—all of it was nullified.

Here, all living beings were equal.

Everyone was just an ordinary mortal creature.

Gu Yuexi moved her limbs, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

This feeling of weakness from losing her power made her feel extremely insecure. Right now, aside from her tempered body being fairly sturdy, she was no different from an ordinary, strong human.

Without the nourishment of her Qi Blood, she even felt a long-forgotten sense of fatigue and hunger.

Thankfully, the terrifying pressure from the outside world was also gone. Otherwise, she would already be dead.

It was much the same for Chu Sheng.

He was now just a mosquito with a tough constitution.

However... he immediately tried to communicate with his system. All functions that didn’t require Mental Power or Qi Blood could still be used normally. For example, the Nether Flame Insect Nest, Primitive Form...

BUZZ BUZZ? ’This is going to be fun. Everyone’s turned into a weakling.’

Chu Sheng, however, had a good attitude about it.

’Since nobody can use their Skills, it all comes down to a contest of physical fitness!’

’When it comes to physical fitness, who could this Lord Mosquito possibly fear with this body that has evolved multiple times?’

"Let’s go. We’ll check out the center."

Without wasting any words, Gu Yuexi adjusted her breathing and strode toward the center of the Realm.

The Space was vast, and the ground was as flat as if it had been meticulously polished. Not a single blade of grass grew, only grayish-white sand.

The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet, without even the sound of wind.

And so, the human and the mosquito advanced toward the unknown core in the silence of the deep sea.

...

They walked for about half an hour.

Chu Sheng was fine; he could still fly.

But Gu Yuexi, now without the support of her Qi Blood Spiritual Power, had walked for so long that fine beads of sweat were forming on her forehead.

Her eyes, however, were growing brighter and brighter.

Because the aura of the "Divine Realm"—the one that made her very soul tremble—was growing ever stronger.

It was just ahead! 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Finally, they saw it.

In the very center of the massive Realm.

There was no magnificent palace as they had imagined, no mountains of gold and treasure, and no Divine Weapons radiating terrifying might.

There was only a...

...small mound of dirt.

That’s right, just an extremely ordinary, even crude, small mound of dirt.

It was less than two meters high, covered in the same grayish-white sand as its surroundings, and it looked just like a lonely grave one might find anywhere in the countryside.

In front of the mound stood a long, rectangular stone.

The stone was unpolished, its surface rough, exuding a primitive and rugged air.

Was this... a gravestone?

’This is... the core supporting this entire ten-thousand-meter-deep-sea Realm?’

’This is the source of the Divine Realm aura?’