The message from the Eye of the World was packed with information.

Ever since entering the volcano, Shi Ming had felt his Right Arm Red Pattern begin to burn again, as if answering some unknown call. It roused every cell in his body, making them feel as if they were roaring in unison: BATTLE! BATTLE! BATTLE!

He understood. This was the craving of the "Eye of the Divine," a pure instinct.

It was an instinct to absorb the power from the flesh and blood of a Holy Hall-level Sea Beast and find a chance to evolve, just as the Eye of Intelligence had evolved into the Eye of the World using the blood of the Abyss Lord.

The Arm of Power and the Brain of Creation also yearned to evolve.

’Just 1000 grams to evolve?’

’Done! I’ll get it all!’

’Taking just 1000 grams feels like I’m getting off easy! But I can’t let the Right Arm Red Pattern touch the dragon’s wounds during the process. Otherwise, something bad will probably happen. I might lose control of the pattern’s instincts, causing power to surge into me until my body explodes... or I might suck the dragon awake!’

’Or maybe both?’

...

After searching for a while beneath the volcanic crater, Shi Ming finally found the "passage" the Eye of the World had told him about.

It had originally been a natural gap. While investigating Fujing Mountain, the Black Society’s exploration teams discovered it led to an area where energy seemed to be highly concentrated. They followed this natural channel, excavating deeper into the volcano to create a research tunnel a full meter in diameter.

High-tech detection devices were installed along the edges of the research tunnel.

’But to Shi Ming, this was all child’s play!’

’Mimicry mode, activate!’

Shi Ming transformed his canoe-like vessel, the Sun-Shooter, to mimic a current of water. Nestled inside, he naturally became part of the flow.

He easily fooled the detection devices and piloted the Sun-Shooter straight into the tunnel. The passage inside was narrow and winding, unsuitable for a drifting vessel, so Shi Ming put the Sun-Shooter away. He then activated the water-parting function of his Calm Sea Pearl and proceeded slowly forward.

meters... 200 meters... 500 meters...

The seawater grew increasingly scalding, giving him the sensation of entering the Sea of Silence.

Moreover, the scalding heat here wasn’t just physical; a violent, savage aura was hidden within it. The weak-willed would likely find their emotions agitated, their actions impaired.

The winding path led onward, then suddenly opened into a wide-open space.

After passing through roughly 1000 meters of the excavated tunnel, he entered a vast magma chamber. The chamber was a world of black and red—the color of searing magma turning black as it met the seawater. It constantly solidified and remelted, oozing slowly like toothpaste from a tube.

The temperature here was already approaching that of the Sea of Boiling’s core.

This was already terrifying.

Without any protection, even an A-rank Awakened would be incinerated here. Even with measures to resist the high temperature and pressure, it would be difficult to remain for more than thirty minutes. This was precisely why no one had ever dared to explore the depths of the Sea of Boiling; people would give out long before their ships could reach the center.

But for Shi Ming, who possessed the "Third Law," this level of heat was nothing.

His physical body alone could withstand it.

He could even take a bath in the lava. If he so wished, not a single strand of his hair would be singed.

’This lava is a treasure in itself!’

’From 300 tons of lava, you can extract a single drop of Dragon Saliva.’

’The Eye of the World didn’t explain what Dragon Saliva is, but anything it mentions must be precious. I just can’t take the lava with me, and I don’t have the tools to extract it. I’ll have to give up for now. I can try again later if I get the chance.’

Shi Ming blinked.

Thirty meters ahead and to your left, a scale of the Great Black Heaven Dragon is embedded beneath a pile of obsidian. Its aura is extremely subtle, but it is an exceptionally rare treasure.

Twenty-five meters behind you and to your right, a piece of ancient shed skin is suspended within the lava. You could probably call this remnant a 3,000-year-old antique. The Great Black Heaven Dragon sheds its skin even in its dreams, and this piece has somehow been preserved.

’Excellent!’

’I originally thought I’d have to search for the locations of the scale and shed skin myself. I didn’t expect the Eye of the World to be so cooperative, marking the spots to save me time.’

’Looks like it’s getting impatient, too!’

’Obsidian?’

The immense cold of "absolute zero" wasn’t worth wasting on this. Besides, Shi Ming wasn’t sure what kind of accident might occur if extreme heat met extreme cold. Shattering ordinary obsidian was a task King Slayer could handle. He took out the blade, which he hadn’t used in a long time, and easily broke apart the obsidian pile. In just three minutes, he found the scale solidified within.

It looked like jade but wasn’t, possessing a subtle and profound weight.

’This is the scale of a Holy Hall-level Sea Beast. It fell off thousands of years ago, yet it’s still so extraordinary.’

After storing the scale in his warehouse, he jumped into the lava.

After groping around in the scalding lava for more than ten minutes, he finally found a small, wrinkled piece of dragon skin. He unhesitatingly stored it in his warehouse to study later and then continued to dive deeper.

The black-red lava turned a pure crimson.

The conceptual tier of his "Absolute Zero" ability was far higher than that of mere nine-hundred-degree lava.

With it protecting him, Shi Ming needed no special equipment and could move through the lava as if it were water.

The Black Society had explored this area many times. They used specially developed "Lava Shuttling Capsules." Each capsule could only endure the nine-hundred-plus-degree temperatures for about thirty minutes before being damaged, requiring a huge cost to reconstruct.

They had two Lava Shuttling Capsules in total: one for entry and one for retreat.

They had attempted fourteen explorations and failed five times, each failure incurring massive losses.

As for the Awakened from Da Yu, they borrowed a wondrous exploration artifact from Nine Cauldrons, known as "Jade Sea Cangwu."

They had named it themselves, drawing inspiration from the line "Tour the jade sea at dawn, reach Cangwu at dusk" in *The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake*. This treasure was suspected to be on the List of Wondrous Items, though its rank was unknown, and it wasn’t mentioned in the middle or lower volumes of the *A Look at the Wondrous Items of the Endless Ocean*.

Its effect was to make the user immune to environmental damage for twenty minutes.

The duration was short, but the Awakened who came to explore were the absolute elites of Da Yu. They were incredibly fast, so twenty minutes was barely enough time for them to dive to the deepest point, complete their mission, and withdraw.

But there was truly no one else like Shi Ming, who could simply withstand the intense heat and swim his way in.

...

The aura of the lava grew more frenzied, thick with the essence of destruction.

Shi Ming frowned and continued his descent.

The atmosphere made him want to kill, fight, and destroy, inexplicably stirring a destructive urge deep within him. But this urge was just as quickly suppressed and dissipated—the entropy reduction of the Third Law was its perfect nemesis.

Be careful. One hundred meters below is the lair of the Great Black Heaven Dragon.

It is currently in a deep sleep. While in this state, the pressure it unintentionally releases is still 2.1 times greater than that of the S-rank Sea Beast, the Netherworld Feathered Serpent. You can find a location near its scales or claws and take a small piece of its flesh.

But remember! Do not let the Right Arm Red Pattern touch its wound!

Under no circumstances!

In front of the Great Black Heaven Dragon’s main head, a peculiar plant called the Sea-Rising Cherry Root is being nurtured. Others have already gotten to it first, but a few small, broken branches remain in the crevices—remnants left behind in haste and chaos.

Phew~

Shi Ming let out a breath, steadying his turbulent emotions.

’A Holy Hall-level Sea Beast.’

’I’m finally about to see one.’

He continued to dive, breaking through the thick subterranean lava and poking his head out from within a massive, mantle-like cocoon of magma.

Involuntarily, beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.

His bloodline began to sing.

But the sense of pressure on his body was also intensely real. The destructive will invading him from all directions caused him to freeze for several seconds.

Then, he recovered and looked around.

The magma chamber opened into a fiery red space. A multi-headed black dragon, nearly a kilometer long, lay coiled within. Its nine heads were lowered, covered in hard, jet-black scales. Its scaled armor, its claws and fangs, its heads, its body—even from a distance, they possessed a shocking beauty, the aesthetic of utter annihilation.

Its half-open draconic eyes, darker than the night sky, were like the eyes of Death in the heart of the lava, looking down upon all living things as if they were ants, even in its slumber.

Terrifying. Unrestrained.

’If the word "destruction" could be personified,’ Shi Ming thought,

’it would surely take the form of the Great Black Heaven Dragon.’