Li Cheng颐 floated silently, listening to the sounds within his body.

Time seemed to lose all meaning in that instant.

‘The Engraving Ball is here in the Black Sea; isn't this the perfect place to acquire engravings?! And I've also just broken through to the Dragon Realm, reaching the pinnacle of human power!’

Suddenly, a jolt of electricity flashed through Li Cheng颐's mind.

In reality, a person needs to open the Non-Gate within their body to truly access the Black Sea.

But he was already in the Black Sea.

Perhaps…

Immediately, he bent his body and forcefully raised the Engraving Ball he was holding to his chest.

‘How do I use this thing?’

He recalled the angel construction diagrams he had seen in the City of Death Angels and the death-energy-related information he had read.

‘It seems to be implanted into the body.’

Alone, floating in the Black Sea, not knowing how to return or how to leave, he decided to deal with the engraving first.

A thought flickered in Li Cheng颐's mind, and a layer of soft, golden firelight instantly unfurled around him.

It was the Flower Utterance Radiance Force Field.

The light-golden flames pushed away the surrounding sludge, creating a golden sphere less than a meter in diameter.

The force field, which was originally ten meters in range, could only extend less than a meter here.

But it was enough.

Within the sphere of light, Li Cheng颐 finally regained his other senses.

He slowly opened his eyes, standing in the center of the light sphere, and looked down at himself.

The black dragon scales of the Shadow Dragon seemed even darker.

An inexplicable change seemed to have occurred during the time he had just spent immersed in the Black Sea.

He frowned slightly.

He vaguely felt that his humanity was rapidly diminishing.

The Black Sea seemed to be devouring and destroying the human part of him, while the Shadow Dragon bloodline, which already belonged to the Black Sea, was taking the opportunity to grow rapidly within his body.

‘So, my Shadow Dragon bloodline was underdeveloped before? This is the old home of the Shadow Dragons, the most suitable environment?’

Li Cheng颐 suddenly understood.

No wonder he had always felt that the improvement from obtaining the Shadow Dragon bloodline was just so-so. Now it seemed that the environment was the cause.

Even if an eagle grows up to be strong, it will be scrawny if it doesn't have any insects to eat when it's born, due to congenital deficiencies.

Li Cheng颐 looked down at his body. Upon closer inspection of the purple-black, bristly, *Feilian* flower scale armor, he could see that each of its armor plates was quietly absorbing strands of black gas from the surroundings.

Even the golden Radiance Force Field could not stop this black gas.

It floated from the surrounding Black Sea and seeped into the flower scale armor.

He raised his eyes and looked out.

Outside the golden flame sphere was a distorted expanse of pitch-blackness.

"Let's deal with the engraving first."

After thinking for a moment, Li Cheng颐 dispelled the flower scale armor on his body, revealing his flesh.

He raised the Ying Dragon Sword and slashed fiercely at his right chest.

*Chih.*

Under the pressure of great force, the tip of the sword slowly cut into his skin and muscle.

A string of purple-black blood beads slowly slid down the blade.

Soon, a palm-sized cut appeared on Li Cheng颐's right chest.

He endured the severe pain, picked up the Engraving Ball, and stuffed it into the wound.

But obviously, the muscle was too hard and couldn't be forced open.

He picked up the sword again and slashed forcefully at the wound.

*Hiss.*

A large piece of purple-red flesh was forcibly dug out. A large hole remained in the original position of the wound.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Cheng颐 stuffed the Engraving Ball into the bloody hole, then covered the opening with his hand, bringing the skin on both sides together.

With a subtle sound of flesh growing, the wound had healed within seconds after he removed his hand.

‘Is that it?’

He wiped the blood off his body, enduring the intense itching of the flesh growing.

‘Doesn't seem like anything changed?’

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

*Boom!!!*

Suddenly, gray-white death energy flames ignited all around Li Cheng颐's body.

The golden sphere of light shattered.

Death energy replaced everything.

The massive amount of death energy he had absorbed in the City of Death Angels completely enveloped him at that moment.

The viscous Black Sea liquid and the equally viscous death energy flames came into contact.

The death energy rapidly contracted, solidified, and gradually formed a structure similar to a silk net, completely wrapping Li Cheng颐, turning him into a large sphere.

And seemingly called upon and attracted by the death energy.

Faint gray-white particles also floated out of the viscous liquid in the Black Sea, attaching themselves to the gray-white sphere that Li Cheng颐 had transformed into.

They quickly dissolved quietly, seeped into the sphere, and merged into one.

The engraving began at that moment.

As a steady stream of Black Sea aura poured in, the death energy combined with the Black Sea aura began to forcibly modify Li Cheng颐's current body structure.

The original flesh began to decompose, restructuring into a stronger, thicker, and more stable particle structure.

The human bloodline, which had reached its limit, completely combined and merged with the death energy, which had also reached its limit.

Under the effect of the Engraving Ball, both met the conditions for the birth of the Giant Force Engraving at the same time, and began to rapidly strengthen out of thin air.

At the same time.

In the Evil Flower mark on Li Cheng颐's body, the Violet Flower column lit up with purple light again.

‘Flower Utterance Lucky Activation Effect: The subject's aura has attracted the attention of many powerful beings in the Black Sea. But after observing, they discovered that this is a sphere of death energy composites, stained with the aura of the Death Angel King. To avoid possible conflict with the Death Angel King, they hesitated and chose to temporarily ignore the subject and avert their gaze.

But this false sense of security will not last long.’

The activation of the Flower Utterance made Li Cheng颐's heart stir.

He laboriously stroked the Evil Flower with his fingers.

Seeing that the Flower Utterance Lucky column had temporarily turned gray, it was clear that the activation had consumed too much of its power.

This consumption was not physical strength, nor mental strength, but something he could not detect at all.

And now, that something was used up, granting him temporary safety in the Black Sea.

*

*

*

Dead Angle - Grasping Hand.

"Brother! Brother, are you there?!"

Isilin, dressed in a black, fitted dress, held a pitch-black gemstone in her hand, exuding a dense black aura, anxiously calling out to Li Cheng颐, whose connection had suddenly been severed.

In the vast library, dim gray light shone in from the windows, illuminating her worried face.

Now, Isilin had grown to about eighteen years old, with a height of about one meter sixty-seven.

Her pure golden hair, like flowing gold, was scattered over her shoulders. Compared to the terrified little loli of the beginning, she was now fully grown.

Pure, beautiful, with a hint of childish innocence, and the full, curvaceous curves of a woman.

It was beauty that would make it impossible for any man to look away.

Unable to contact him, Isilin put down the gemstone and frowned in thought.

‘It seems he's lost in the Black Sea. According to the teacher's teachings, to contact any individual in the Black Sea, you must first possess a part of that person’s belongings. Then open the Non-Gate within the body and use a special formation to contact them. I am already a special individual with a partially opened Non-Gate, so that part can be ignored.’

‘And something of brother's’ She suddenly remembered that Li Cheng颐 had mentioned in reality that his special ability allowed him and a few of his subordinates to have a certain secret and deep connection.

"Perhaps I can try using his subordinates as a connection…"

Isilin knew that Li Cheng颐 had several subordinates with similar abilities to his. But the key was that she had no way to contact the others.

Unless they also entered the Grasping Hand.

But that was not something she could decide.

"If there was a door that could link to reality…" Isilin now desperately longed to return to reality.

But she couldn't think of a way for the time being.

Only when the Dead Angle people from reality entered her Dead Angle could she contact them.

‘Perhaps, the teacher will have a way!’

Helpless, Isilin knew that she couldn't delay any longer. Once her brother attracted the attention of countless individuals in the Black Sea, he could be torn to pieces in an instant.

The beings in the Black Sea were weak, but also incredibly powerful.

There were many world-destroying individuals like the Death Angel King.

The Black Sea was infinitely inclusive, and even stronger beings existed.

There was more than one terrifying existence like the giant beast Asla Duni.

No one knew how big the Black Sea was.

No one knew how many terrifying individuals it had bred.

Thinking of this, Isilin quickly walked to the only wooden door in the library.

Reaching out, her white hand gently grasped the brown wooden handle, shaking the string of copper bells hanging on the handle, making a light sound.

*Ka-chak.*

She twisted it forcefully and pushed the door open.

With a creak, countless gray lights shone brightly outside the door, dazzling.

The gray light quickly dissipated, revealing a gray-white study with black bookshelves.

A small round table, black wooden chairs, a three-legged bronze incense burner emitting green smoke, and a blurred human figure sitting on a chair, wearing a long robe with black and gold leaf patterns.

The figure's body was like it was shrouded in a layer of gray mist, making it impossible to see its outline clearly. One could only roughly judge from the overall shape that it was humanoid.

And the lower body was supported by countless pitch-black, octopus-like tentacles.

The figure held a dark red book in his hand, slowly turning the pages.

Suddenly hearing movement, he looked up at Isilin.

"Isilin?"

His voice was like countless rubbing sounds combined, and like a snake, with a heavy breathing sound.

"Teacher! Please teach me how to enter reality!" Isilin stepped forward, clasping her hands together and bowing deeply to the other party.

"My brother is lost in the Black Sea, and I need to go to reality to find his close belongings!"

"That's not difficult," the figure replied softly. "What's difficult is that when you enter reality, you will be suppressed a lot. And without a channel individual, you will not be able to contact any existence in reality. They will be like phantoms to you, only images."

"Is there a way to get around this? Teacher, I know you must have a way! Please!" Isilin pleaded.

"Remember the principle of equivalence?" the figure asked.

"I remember. Anything I have, I can give you!" Isilin said without hesitation.

"Although the endless Black Sea has no principle of equivalent exchange, I am willing to implement it and expand it. This is my wish." The figure seemed to smile.

"This time, I can help you. And the price is that I want you to execute the principle of equivalent exchange for eternity, just like me!"

"That's the price?"

"Yes. That's the price, because of the principle of equivalence, if you agree to this, I will give you more help to offset the extra part." The figure replied softly.

"I'm willing!" Isilin bowed again.

"Very good." The figure slowly stood up. "It just so happens that because of you, I recently mastered a portal to your homeland in reality."

"I hope you don't regret it," he said with some deep meaning.

(End of Chapter)