2036 Return Ruin Sea The silver bug clearly hated Han Sen, perhaps because Han Sen had stolen the Beginning of Ancient God. No matter how hard he tried to climb onto the shore, the bug would thrust him back into the water. The shadow was growing larger. Han Sen did not think it was just his imagination, and he earnestly believed that something was rising toward him from the depths. Han Sen wanted to live, so he scrambled toward the shore again. But he was too weak, and he was physically unable to climb up. Boom! The water exploded into a fountain as a giant monster’s head appeared. When it opened its mouth, Han Sen was as small as an ant in comparison. Water rushed toward the gaping maw, and Han Sen was pulled in with it. He found himself falling into a strange place that was as big as a house. “Am I in the monster’s stomach?” Han Sen fell into a strange liquid, and to his shock, he saw that it was corroding his armor. His Marquise class Soul Armor had strong defenses, but after being coated with that substance, the armor was already fizzing. The corrosive was very strong, and it wouldn’t be long before the armor was completely destroyed. He thought that, at best, his armor would buy him ten minutes. The walls were black. Han Sen swam to them and tried hitting them, but it felt as if he was striking rubber. His fists bounced off without leaving a single dent. Han Sen did not know if it was because he was too weak or if the creature was too high of a level. Either way, it had a strength that he just couldn’t overcome Regardless, he couldn’t bring down the walls, and the way back up had been sealed. Han Sen was soaked in a highly- corrosive liquid. Things were getting dire. The Soul Armor was plumes of bubbles as it fizzed. It was being corroded at an alarming rate, and it’d soon break. Han Sen knew that there was no way out. His only hope was to regain some energy while he was in the substance. The Soul Armor was breaking down too quickly, though. It was on the precipice of breaking. So, Han Sen took a deep breath and returned his Soul Armor. He used the dregs of his strength to cast Petrify, turning his body into stone. Now, he had nothing left to do. Life or death was now at the whim of destiny. Petrify could turn Han Sen to stone, but it wasn’t very strong. There was a difference between it and the defensive petrification geno arts. The liquid was strong enough to melt the Soul Armor of a Marquise. He did not have much hope of Petrify seeing him through the ordeal. He only made the attempt because he couldn’t think of anything else. The liquid surrounded his stone body, but surprisingly, his petrified body was not corroded. He slowly began to sink to the bottom. Han Sen could only cast The Story of Genes. It was the sole geno art he could make use of while using Petrify. Time went by, and the liquid churned around Han Sen continuously. He did not know what the monster was doing, and he did not know where he was. But to him, right then, it did not matter. On an island in Return Ruin Sea, there was a collection of the Dragon assembled. They looked like humans, but they had dragon horns. They were in the process of conducting a strange ritual. They threw the xenogeneics they had killed into a pool on the island. They mumbled something to the pool, but it wasn’t clear what they were saying. “Father, we’ve gathered such a small amount of food. Will it be enough to satiate the Dragon God?” A little boy, with red dragon horns, asked his father. “Maybe.” The father had to force a smile. Return Ruin Sea was one of the xenogeneic spaces that belonged to the Dragon, but it was not a primary one. The Dragon there was only one part of the greater Dragon host. Their blood was not that pure. Return Ruin Sea was like a training ground for the Dragon. The impure Dragons were often sent there, and only the strongest of them were taken seriously by the Dragon. Those who proved their power were taken away to become proper Dragons. The Dragon on that island had mixed blood. The pure Dragon had dragon horns and wings, but the people of that island only had horns. They were making sacrifices to something they called the Dragon God. They gave it food because whenever the Dragon God came there to eat, it would leave behind dragon scales. They were items of great importance to the Dragon. But the Dragon God ate a lot, and these Dragons were not strong. They could not hunt many xenogeneics, and so they could not offer much of a bounty. They were worried about whether or not the Dragon God would even like the food. If the Dragon God was not fully satisfied, he would not leave them scales. That was assuming that he’d even eat at all, if the stuff was not to his liking. The Dragon were all very worried. The corpses inside the pool had dyed it red, but soon enough, the pool began to produce bubbles. Everyone stared at the water nervously. Boom! The red pool exploded, as a giant beast opened its maw and swallowed up the meat. The Dragon kept throwing food into the pool, and the Dragon God xenogeneic consumed everything it was given. Its maw was like a bottomless pit. The food that fell into it just disappeared, and the beast had a stomach that seemed infinite. Quickly, they threw the last of the xenogeneic meat they had into the pool. Everyone looked at the Dragon God, wondering if they had satisfied it. They did not know if it would leave them dragon scales. The Dragon God ate all the food, and when it was done, it roared to the sky. It made the entire island vibrate. The water for dozens of miles around was thrown into wavy turmoil. After it roared, it returned to the water and disappeared. Everyone was shocked, but after a while, their expressions turned to depression. They hadn’t given the beast enough food. Thankfully, the Dragon God hadn’t eaten the assembly, but it also hadn’t left them scales. But as the Dragon lowered their heads in exhaustion, the sound of thrashing water was heard once more. It sounded as if something was splashing its way out of the water. They quickly raised their heads again, and what they saw made their eyes widen. There was a silky-smooth man coming out of the water, clutching a white feather knife. They all stood motionless, unsure what was happening. Something alive had come out of the Dragon God. It was like a fairytale to them.