208: The Battle of Transformation

The second step, the third step... Heart Demon illusions arrived one after another. There were afterimages of Chaos Fierce Spirits tearing through space to bite, their sharp claws carrying a fishy wind aimed straight for his back; there were the cold, heartless faces of Demon-Slaying Dao Envoys, their chains wrapped with the power of restriction descending upon him... Every time, Lin Yuan was like dancing on a knife's edge. He used the unevenness of the steps to dodge, grabbed scattered metal fragments from the ground to throw as distractions, and even traded injuries for kills, using the most primitive and dangerous combat techniques to tear apart and strangle the Heart Demon phantoms one by one!

When he stepped onto the ninth step, he was covered in blood, his clothes in tatters, his body riddled with bloody gashes from claws and blades. His left arm had even had a chunk of flesh torn off by the fangs of a Heart Demon fierce spirit, deep enough to see the bone, and the intense pain surged through his nerves like a tide. However, the cracks on the surface of the seed of martial dao within his Sea of Consciousness were being filled and mended by an invisible, searing energy full of unyielding will after every Heart Demon he slew! An unprecedented "fearless" Battle Intent fed back from the depths of the seed's core, nourishing his exhausted mortal body and resilient Soul! seed of martial dao incubation: 20%!

Boom!

The moment he stepped onto the ninth step, the tightly closed tower doors swung open silently. A tragic aura mixed with blood, rust, dust, and the roars of countless vengeful Souls rushed toward him! Inside the door was not a tower room, but a vast, ever-changing blood-colored battlefield!

Rules within the Myriad Battles Pagoda:

1. The battlefield environment evolves randomly (lava seas, frozen abysses, poisonous swamps, endless mountains of blades...), with no fixed form.

2. Weapons can be seized by killing enemies! Or forged from remains on the battlefield!

3. Kill Branded War Souls; their core power condenses into Battle Intent Blood Crystals, the best nourishment for the seed of martial dao!

Lin Yuan took a deep breath of the air heavy with the scent of blood and stepped inside!

This was a true meat grinder!

Upon entering, he found himself in a boiling sea of lava, with only scattered obsidian platforms to stand on. Countless "Lava Shadow Wolves" with crimson eyes and sharp claws and teeth leapt from the churning magma, swarming like a tide! Lin Yuan was empty-handed and could only use the environment! He constantly jumped and dodged between the scorching obsidian, luring the wolf pack to gather at the edges of thin rock layers, then kicked the edges with all his might! Dozens of shadow wolves wailed as they fell into the lava. He grabbed a shadow wolf that pounced close, snapped its neck with brute force, and ripped out its sharp fangs. The high heat of the lava roasted the tips of the wolf fangs, and a crude but lethal "Molten Fang Dagger" was born! The slaughter never stopped! He turned into a shadow fighting for his life in the sea of fire, every dodge, every thrust, every block pushing his mortal potential to the limit. When the last elite wolf king was pinned to the scorching rock wall by his dagger, wisps of crimson "Battle Intent Blood Crystals" merged into his Sea of Consciousness, and the cracks in the seed of martial dao healed further! Incubation: 35%!

In an instant, the battlefield transformed into a frozen dead zone. The cold wind was like a knife, and the ice was as smooth as a mirror. The enemies were "Frost Gargoyles" that moved in packs and could glide at high speeds on the ice. They possessed immense strength, their claws could shatter stone, and their mouths breathed out frost that could freeze the Soul. Lin Yuan's Molten Fang Dagger was almost useless here. He used the momentum of the gargoyles' dives, risking a roll to dodge as they neared the ice, then grabbed their thick ankles, using his own weight and clever force to slam them hard onto the solid ice! Ice shards flew everywhere! He broke off a gargoyle's sharp wing bone and used frozen blood and ice shards to crudely fix it, making a rough "Bone Bow." He then used his own warm blood to instantly freeze into ice shard arrows in the extreme cold! Holding his breath, predicting, drawing the bow! Squelch! A blood-ice arrow accurately pierced the core rune of a gargoyle gliding at high speed! The combat in the face of death forcibly awakened his Combat True Spirit even in his mortal state! When the overwhelming swarm of gargoyles finally turned into a ground of ice fragments, the seed of martial dao greedily absorbed the azure Battle Intent Blood Crystals. Incubation: 55%!

After the frozen dead zone came the Mountain of Blades Hell! Countless broken, giant blades were thrust upside down into the earth, forming a forest of death. The Guardian was an "Eight-Armed Shura War Soul," ten meters tall, wielding a giant axe, with eight arms as knotted as rock! Every time it swung the axe, it brought a wicked wind that tore through the air, easily shattering the weapons Lin Yuan had painstakingly collected!

This was a pure, absolute suppression of strength and skill!

Lin Yuan dodged wretchedly among the forest of blades. The giant axe brushed past him, and the wind pressure it generated could knock him flying, leaving deep bloody gashes on the mountain of blades. The Bone Bow in his hand had long been shattered. The pressure of despair felt tangible!

"Roar!" The Shura War Soul swung all eight arms, and the giant axes turned into a curtain of destructive light, sealing off all paths of retreat! There was no way to dodge!

At the line between life and death, a beast-like ferocity erupted in Lin Yuan's eyes! Instead of retreating, he advanced! He actually faced the storm of axe blades and proactively thrust his left arm into the joint of one of the axe-wielding arms!

Pfft!

His left arm was severed at the shoulder! Blood sprayed wildly! The unimaginable pain almost made him faint!

But it was in this thousandth-of-a-second opening created at such a tragic cost! Because one arm was injured, the Shura War Soul's massive body experienced a tiny loss of balance!

"Now!" Lin Yuan endured the pain of his severed arm, and like an arrow leaving the string, his remaining right hand erupted with the final strength of his life, fiercely grabbing a broken giant spear stuck in the ground! Taking advantage of his forward charge and the opponent's imbalance, he poured all his strength, will, and all his anger and unyielding spirit into this thrust!

"Die for me!!"

Pfft—!

Carrying Lin Yuan's death-defying will, the giant spear accurately pierced through a gap in the Eight-Armed Shura War Soul's armor and into its beating crimson core!

Rumble!

The massive war Soul's body froze, its core shattered, and it dissipated into a sky full of light specks. An enormous dark-gold blood crystal containing violent Battle Intent emerged.

Lin Yuan knelt on one knee, blood pouring from his severed arm, his face as pale as paper. But the fire burning in his eyes had never been so bright! He struggled to reach out his right hand and grasped the dark-gold blood crystal.

Buzz—!

A vast, pure torrent of energy carrying unyielding Battle Intent surged into his body! In his Sea of Consciousness, the final core crack of the seed of martial dao finally mended completely under the wash of endless Battle Intent! The seed core shone brilliantly, throbbing like a war drum! Incubation: 90%! A rounded, fearless, and indestructible embryonic will had already taken shape deep within the seed core!

Space distorted once more, and the battlefield transformed into a bizarre space composed of countless blood-colored mirrors—the Heart Demon Mirror Realm!

Nine figures stepped silently out of the mirrors. They looked exactly like the current Lin Yuan! The severed arm, the bloodstains, the tattered clothes, and even the fatigue and pain in their eyes were identical! In their hands, they all held weapons exactly like the broken giant spear beside Lin Yuan's severed arm! More terrifyingly, they shared all of Lin Yuan's combat memories, skills, and even his thought patterns!

The nine "Lin Yuans" remained silent, carrying the same cold killing intent as they thrust their spears from nine directions with perfectly synchronized movements!

This was the ultimate challenge to his own limits! The final battlefield to slay all hesitation and cowardice in his heart!