A glimmer of hope appeared in Tang Wulin's heart at the sight of the sympathetic look in the old man's eyes. "Senior, please help me; please help us. I can't take much more of this!"

Old Demon Scourge sighed, "I'm sorry, but I can't do anything to help you. Old Demon Nightmare is too powerful; I'm no match for him. I can only sneak over to visit you while he's resting. What is he making you do that's put you in so much pain?"

Tang Wulin hurriedly gave Old Demon Scourge a brief account of the mission that he'd been given. After hearing his recount, a wry smile appeared on Old Demon Scourge's face. "As expected, he assigned you a mission that's impossible to complete. Even three-word battle armor masters wouldn't be able to swim through this region of the sea, let alone a one-word battle armor master like you; there are 100,000-year-old soul beasts in this region of the ocean!"

Tang Wulin was even more disheartened upon hearing this. "Then what should I do?"

Old Demon Scourge replied, "Nightmare has always been an extremely impatient man with an unstable personality. The longer you go without completing his mission, the more danger your friends will be in. I have no way of helping you rescue them, but I have an idea that could help you swim to the other side. It's just that..."

"What is it? Please tell me, Senior," Tang Wulin hurriedly asked as if the old man were his final hope.

Old Demon Scourge sighed, and said, "This is a very dangerous method, and it'll be very taxing on your body. Are you sure you want me to tell you? Let me warn you; if you choose to take this path, even the slightest lapse could wipe you completely out of existence!"

Tang Wulin took a deep breath. "I can tell that Old Demon Nightmare only wants to torture, and he never intended to let us leave from the very beginning. We're going to die here anyway if I don't do anything. I can't just stand by and watch my friends being tortured, so please teach me, Senior."

Old Demon Scourge nodded, and said, "Alright then. We've met twice already, so we must have some kind of affinity with one another. Let me give you a potentially viable course of action. You see that fragment of destruction at the center of the demonic island? That thing contains extremely fearsome destructive power. However, what's really strange is that when it fell into the human world, it also contained powerful life force energy, which is the polar opposite of destructive energy. This is why the destructive energy of the fragment has been limited to this scope, and also why this oasis of sorts exists on a completely dead island. It's exactly because of the presence of these fragments of destruction that this cluster of islands came to be.

"All of the nearby sea soul beasts were actually attracted here by the life force energy that came with the fragments of destruction. To put it simply, sea soul beasts are very fond of rich life force energy, just like you are. Similarly, they're also very fearful of destructive energy. If you want to swim to the other side, the only way you'll be able to accomplish that is by getting the aura of the fragment of destruction to rub off on you. After sensing that aura, the sea soul beasts will be scrambling to get away from you, and without them in your way, I'm sure you'll be able to swim for 30 kilometers with ease."

……

"But how do I get the energy from the fragment of destruction to rub off on me?" Xie Xie asked as he appraised Old Demon Scourge with a hopeful expression.

A wry smile appeared on Old Demon Scourge's face. "The process will be extremely painful and dangerous. If your will isn't strong enough, the destructive aura will devour your soul, then engulf your body. Do you think you have the mental fortitude for this?"

Xie Xie immediately nodded without any hesitation. "I do, I can do this. I can do anything for Yuanen and everyone else, so please teach me the way, Senior."

Old Demon Scourge sighed, "Alright then, but mentally prepare yourself because this process is going to be very painful."

……

Indeed, it was extremely painful. Tang Wulin slowly approached the fragment of destruction, and even from a kilometer away, he was still struck by a sense of excruciating pain.

He was holding a purple crystal in his hand that was emitting bursts of strange energy fluctuations that just barely nullified or filtered out some of the destructive energy's terrifying aura.

Even so, after being filtered, the destructive energy only surged toward him as thinner streams.

This kind of agony was not something that one could withstand just by biting the bullet; it was as if his body were being torn apart, then put back together over and over again.

Every single feeling was crystal clear. Tang Wulin felt as if he could feel every single cell in his body being destroyed before being put back together again, and there were no words that could describe this pain. Even with Tang Wulin's superhuman mental fortitude, he still couldn't help but incessantly howl in agony.

Every time his body was broken down and rearranged, a faint trace of purplish-black color would stain his body. Tang Wulin knew that this had to be the destructive aura that Old Demon Scourge had been referring to.

Within a cave.

Old Demon Nightmare pursed his lips. "You're clearly putting them through even more horrendous torture than I am, but you're playing the good guy while I have to be on the receiving end of all of their hatred. You really are a sly old bastard!"

Old Demon Scourge chuckled, "That's the difference between us; you're destined to be a demon forever, but I still have the potential to become a saint."

"Piss off! Some bullsh*t saint you are! Those Destruction Crystals you gave them raise their sensory acuity by more than tenfold! Do you think they'll still thank you if they knew about that?"

Old Demon Scourge wore a completely justified expression. "I'm doing this for their sake. Only with increased sensory acuity can they accurately gauge the changes in their body, thereby telling them where their limits lie. If I had given them something to lessen their pain, they wouldn't know where their limits are, and if they stray too far, their bodies could break down. It truly astonished me how kind-hearted I am."

"Bullsh*t! You just want them to suffer even more pain! Without those crystals, they should be able to absorb enough destructive aura in about a month, but if they're carrying those things, they may not be able to absorb enough after three months!"

Old Demon Scourge countered, "Don't make it sound like you're not enjoying this as well!"

......

It was truly working!

After entering the black sea of destruction again, Tang Wulin immediately sensed the changes that had taken place in his body; the rate at which his energy was being devoured had clearly slowed down. He felt as if he'd combined as one with the sea of destruction around him, as if he were a part of this region of the sea.

Of course, this sensation only lingered for a very short time. His energy was still being devoured, just at a slower rate compared to in the past.

He swam out of the sea of destruction again and entered the region of the sea that was infested with sea soul beasts. He discovered that some of the weaker sea soul beasts didn't even dare to approach him now. Only the sea soul beasts that were over 1,000 years old dared to attack him.

Furthermore, due to the fact that less soul power had been expended as he'd swam through the sea of destruction, he was able to last longer here as well. On this occasion, he swam for a full kilometer before finally being overwhelmed.

He returned to the island using the Nightmare Crystal, and his body was still extremely feeble, but at the very least, he'd found an opportunity for himself to swim further through the sea.

The last thing he wanted to do was return to the area near the fragment of destruction, but he had no choice.

If he could swim to the other side, there was a chance that he'd be able to rescue his friends from this nightmarish place. Only by becoming more powerful could he rescue everyone.

With that thought spurring him on, Tang Wulin strengthened his resolve again as he arrived close to the fragment of destruction with his Destruction Crystal. He carefully approached the fragment of destruction one step at a time, experiencing the agony of having his body torn apart before being reassembled over and over again.

His Golden Dragon King bloodline surged violently during this process, but it didn't seem to change much. The purplish-black color on his body was becoming more and more pronounced as he approached the fragment of destruction.

……