23: A boost to 500-star base combat power

The giant face in the sky was wiped away as if by an invisible hand, instantly replaced by a churning, roiling expanse of pitch-black thunderclouds!

At the edge of the wasteland, a blinding purple curtain of light suddenly erupted from the ground, sweeping across a thousand miles with overwhelming force, turning heaven and earth into a cage.

Inside the light curtain, billions of electric snakes twisted and intertwined crazily, forming a web of destruction that devoured life.

The closer one moved toward the core, the denser and more violent the thunder became, until the deepest part was a blinding, pure incandescent white!

"The second stage: Thousand-Layer Thunder Prison." An icy, heartless voice exploded deep within everyone's Soul. "Pass one hundred layers, gain 100 points; for every hundred layers passed, the points double! During the challenge, you may consume 100 initial points to exchange for a Teleportation Talisman; crush it to retreat. After two days, the point rankings will be finalized!"

Lin Yuan slowly stood up. Beneath his skin, mysterious purple-gold markings flowed and flickered like living things.

His gaze was like lightning, piercing through the layers of thunder, locked firmly onto that ball of destructive white light at the core. A monstrous Battle Intent, nearly boiling, erupted, causing even the air around him to distort!

"I'll go scout the path." He spoke coldly to the Void Realm beside him, as if he had long since perceived that invisible scrutiny.

"Giggle~" The enchanting figure of Purple Rakshasa coalesced like smoke not far away, her laughter carrying a bone-eroding allure. "Little brother, don't get struck into ashes, or big sister will be heartbroken~"

Lin Yuan ignored her. His figure flickered slightly, leaving only a faint purple-gold afterimage in place! He had already become like an arrow released from a bow, tearing through the air and charging fiercely into that domain of deathly thunder!

At the same time, millions of Ultimate Realm Experts, like a swarm of locusts smelling blood, surged frantically toward the purple light curtain, dense and packed, with roars of despair or greed.

The moment he stepped into the Thunder Prison, the aura of destruction rushed toward him! The lightning of the first layer struck his body, but for Lin Yuan, it was nothing more than a faint tingling sensation; it couldn't even awaken the purple-gold luster hidden beneath his skin.

"Too weak." He snorted softly, his pace suddenly quickening as he walked forward as if strolling in a courtyard.

Ahead, a Cultivator in blue robes was struggling to take each step. Every few steps he took, a silver-white bolt of lightning would strike down upon his head, forcing him to desperately channel his Cultivation Technique to resist, leaving him charred all over, sweat pouring down like rain.

"Already so pathetic at the tenth layer?" Lin Yuan swept past like the wind, his eyes as indifferent as ice.

"Ah—!" A shrill, desperate scream suddenly rang out from behind! Lin Yuan didn't even turn his head, his Divine Sense sweeping past: that blue-robed Cultivator had been precisely pierced through the crown of his head by a bowl-thick purple lightning bolt. Before the faint light of the Teleportation Talisman could even activate, he was instantly reduced to a piece of charcoal, collapsing as smoke rose from his body.

"Trash!" A youth carrying an ancient bronze sword stepped over the charred corpse, his face showing unconcealed contempt and coldness. "How dare you set foot in this place?"

Lin Yuan did not stop. For him, the first fifty layers of the Thunder Prison were like a spring stroll. The falling lightning struck his body, but without even causing a ripple, it was silently devoured by the hidden Purple-Gold Body power.

However, as he went deeper, the air became thick and violent, and the power and frequency of the lightning strikes climbed at a terrifying speed!

The seventy-eighth layer! The scene suddenly turned ferocious! Three Cultivators were standing back-to-back in a Formation, their light shield teetering under the dense thunder. Suddenly, a purple-black thunder pillar, as thick as a water bucket and containing an aura of destruction, descended from the sky!

"No—!" The desperate roar was drowned out. Boom! The Formation shattered like paper! Two of them didn't even have time to scream before being vaporized! The remaining one, with half his body charred, crushed his Teleportation Talisman at the critical moment and escaped in a streak of light, leaving behind only a half-charred limb.

"Finally, something interesting." A trace of excitement curled the corners of Lin Yuan's mouth as his shoulders vibrated slightly. Hum! On the surface of his skin, radiant purple-gold divine patterns instantly appeared and flowed! The incoming violent lightning, as if finding a home, was actually swallowed into his body by the divine patterns, transforming into pure energy!

The one-hundredth layer! The lightning had turned into a deep dark purple, each strike containing terrifying power capable of obliterating a 200-Star powerhouse! Many renowned Kings of the Extreme Realm had gathered here; some were sitting cross-legged to guide the thunder for Body Tempering, while others were treading carefully, as if walking on thin ice.

"Hahaha! Exhilarating! Give me more!" Amidst the deafening laughter, a giant nearly three meters tall, shirtless with bronze muscles coiled like dragons, actively welcomed the descending dark purple thunder! Boom! The lightning exploded, but it only left a few fleeting white marks on his skin!

"Hiss... It's the Major Achievement of the Indestructible Vajra Body!" Sounds of gasping came from all around.

Lin Yuan ignored them, took a step, and fiercely crossed the hundred-layer boundary! Hum! A curtain of light swept over him. "Passed the one-hundred-layer Thunder Prison, reward 100 points." A prompt sounded in his mind.

The moment the boundary was crossed, heaven and earth seemed to flip! The power of the thunder storm suddenly doubled! The violent energy impact caused Lin Yuan's body to sway slightly, but the purple-gold divine patterns beneath his skin suddenly lit up like burning stars, suppressing and absorbing all the incoming destructive force!

"This is more like it." Lightning flashed in his eyes, and his speed, rather than decreasing, increased as he shot into the deeper thunder storm like a purple-gold bolt of lightning!

The two-hundredth layer! The lightning had turned into an eerie crimson, pouring down from the sky like burning lava! Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes and saw Purple Rakshasa standing in the center of the most violent thunder strike zone, letting the crimson lightning snakes lash wildly against her enchanting body. Her long purple hair danced wildly in the thunder, and a kind of near-pathological intoxication appeared on her face.

"Little brother, not bad speed~" She cast a Soul-stealing, seductive glance at Lin Yuan. "The thunder here is as scorching as fire, why not bathe with big sister?"

"Not interested." Lin Yuan's voice was as cold and hard as iron.

"How heartless~" Purple Rakshasa pouted, but before her voice faded, her expression changed drastically! A thick thunder pillar, crimson mixed with destructive golden light, tore through space and struck precisely where she had just been standing!

Boom!!! A bottomless pit exploded in the ground, and magma gushed out!

"Oh my, the two-hundred-layer crimson-gold lightning; this little body of mine can't handle it~" She patted her towering chest, feigning fear, but her eyes were even more dangerous.

Lin Yuan said no more, his figure speeding through the crimson sea of thunder. Crossing the two-hundred-layer boundary, 200 points were credited. But the scene at the three-hundredth layer was no longer of this world! The lightning had turned into pure gold, and every strike that fell was accompanied by the wailing of space and fine cracks; the aura of destruction was enough to make ordinary Ultimate Realm Experts Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering!

The three-hundred-and-first layer! A pure gold divine lightning, as thick as a water vat and condensed to the extreme, carrying the might to judge all things, struck fiercely on top of Lin Yuan's head! Boom—!

The expected agonizing pain did not come! Instead, an indescribable hunger and ecstasy, originating from the source of life, erupted from within Lin Yuan's body! His Eternal Evolution Body, as if smelling a peerless delicacy, actually opened a "giant mouth" on its own, greedily and crazily devouring this destructive golden thunder energy!

"This is... Origin tempering?!" Lin Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoints, and then, a wave of ecstasy swept through his entire body! He did not hesitate, sitting cross-legged immediately. The purple-gold divine patterns all over his body swam and shone frantically like living things, actively guiding the even more violent golden thunder to pour into his body like a waterfall!

Sss sss sss—! Visible smoke of black Impurities rose from his body surface, only to be instantly annihilated in the lightning. The purple-gold divine patterns beneath his skin, as if having obtained the source of life, began to spread, grow, and become more complex and profound at a speed visible to the naked eye! 5%... 7%... Every strike of golden thunder, capable of killing top powerhouses, was like a divine hammer of heaven and earth, completely forging out the last trace of dross within him, causing his Physical Body to leap madly toward an inhuman, eternal realm!

"What is he doing?!" Not far away, a King of the Extreme Realm who was barely holding on had his eyes popping out, his voice distorted by fear. "Ab... absorbing golden thunder?! Is he crazy?!"

"Monster! This is a monster!!" Screams of horror echoed one after another in the golden sea of thunder.

When Lin Yuan opened his eyes again, the purple-gold divine patterns had covered 8% of his body! He slowly stood up, and as his eyes opened and closed, tiny golden lightning arcs jumped and flickered! An aura several times stronger than before erupted and spread, forcing the surrounding thunder back several feet! He took a step, turned into a streak of light, and charged toward the even more terrifying, more fatal core of the Thunder Prison!

The four-hundredth layer! The lightning had turned into a noble purple-gold, each strike containing the great power to split mountains and break seas! There were fewer than ten thousand Ultimate Realm Experts who could reach this place, all of them true prodigies.

Lin Yuan's gaze swept over, seeing the youth carrying the ancient bronze sword, using the sword as a conduit, trying to guide the destructive purple-gold thunder into the ground. However, his extraordinary ancient sword was already as red as a branding iron, and the hand holding the sword had bulging veins and was trembling slightly, clearly reaching the edge of his limit.

"Hmph, you actually managed to walk this far?" The youth sensed Lin Yuan's gaze and forced a cold smile, though a hint of imperceptible panic flashed deep in his eyes.

Lin Yuan didn't say a word, his figure moving like lightning, instantly overtaking him. Crossing the four-hundred-layer boundary, 800 points were credited! And at the five-hundredth layer of the Thunder Prison, the scene was like the end of the world! The lightning had turned into a blinding white-gold, and with every strike, space twisted and groaned violently like fragile glass!

Here, Lin Yuan saw the giant with the Indestructible Vajra Body again. He was charred all over, with his skin torn in many places, yet he was still laughing and roaring in the thunder: "Exhilarating! Come again! I can still take it!!" However, before his voice faded! Sss-la—!

A white-gold thunder spear, condensed to the extreme and seemingly capable of piercing stars, silently pierced through his chest! "Urgh..." The giant's laughter froze on his face, and he looked down at the huge hole in his chest, its edges flickering with white-gold thunder light.

Boom! The thunder light exploded violently! When the blinding light dissipated, only a huge, charred skeleton remained standing in place. As the wind blew, it crumbled into dust!

"Hiss... Even the Major Achievement Vajra Body..." Lin Yuan's heart tightened. He operated his internal purple-gold divine patterns to the extreme, with light flowing over his body surface, and steeled himself to push forward, resisting the increasingly dense and terrifying white-gold thunder storm!

The six-hundredth layer! The lightning had turned into pure silver-white! Its power was so great that each strike was comparable to the full-strength blow of a 1000-Star powerhouse! There were fewer than a thousand Ultimate Realm Experts struggling here! The purple-gold divine patterns on Lin Yuan's body were shining and spreading frantically, covering 20% of his entire body! When the white-gold thunder struck him, most of it was violently devoured, while a small portion was forcefully deflected, exploding into balls of destruction all around. With every step he took, he left a footprint burning with purple-gold flames in the silver-white sea of thunder!

The 700th level!

The lightning shifted into a deeper, more dangerous dark silver!

Jagged, pitch-black cracks were torn through space, emitting teeth-aching ripping sounds!

The number of survivors had dropped below one hundred!

Lin Yuan spotted Purple Rakshasa.

Her enchanting figure was in a sorry state; her long purple hair was scorched and curled, her magnificent robes were tattered, her exposed skin was covered in burn marks, and fresh blood constantly spilled from the corners of her mouth, yet the flames of madness in her eyes burned to the extreme!

"Still want to continue?" Lin Yuan passed through the violent sea of lightning like a god or demon, pausing briefly beside her, his voice piercing through the deafening thunder.

Purple Rakshasa suddenly looked up, her blood-stained teeth baring in a ferocious and determined smile: "Of... course... I... am going to reach... the top... Urgh—ah—!!"

A bolt of dark silver lightning as thick as a water barrel struck down without warning!

She only had time to let out a short, miserable wail before the light of her teleportation talisman ignited just before the lightning engulfed her, sending her battered figure away from this death trap.

The 800th level!

The lightning transformed into a heart-palpitating pale cyan!

The terror of its power was beyond words!

Space was distorting and collapsing over vast areas!

Only a sparse dozen figures remained moving forward, each one a peerless Prodigy capable of shaking an entire realm!

The youth carrying a broken sword finally exhausted his last shred of strength at the 850th level.

A cyan lightning bolt struck like a poisonous Dragon; he had nowhere to dodge, and a huge hole was blasted into his chest, his internal organs scorched!

"Cough, cough... You... won..." The youth stared fixedly at the purple-gold figure standing tall as a mountain in the cyan lightning ahead, his eyes filled with unwillingness and a hint of... relief?

He used his last ounce of strength to crush his teleportation talisman, leaving behind a final whisper before vanishing.

The 900th level!

The lightning appeared a deathly deep cyan!

Each strike carried the implication of judgment and finality, like the descent of heavenly punishment!

Space looked like a shattered mirror!

Only three figures remained: Lin Yuan, a man shrouded in strange black robes, and a woman in white with a cold, moon-like aura who also exuded a terrifying presence.

At the 950th level node, where the destructive energy had almost solidified, a sudden change occurred!

"Hand over your Cultivation Technique!!" Greed and mad crimson flared in the black-robed man's eyes.

Ignoring the destructive cyan lightning around him, he exploded forward like a ghost, a claw wreathed in pitch-black Death Qi tearing through space as it struck directly at Lin Yuan's back!

This attack was insidious and vicious, timed perfectly, and contained his final desperate strength!

"Courting death!" Lin Yuan had long been prepared, cold light exploding in his eyes!

The Purple-Gold Body divine patterns in his body lit up instantly like a scorching sun!

He did not dodge at all, twisting his body and throwing a punch!

A simple punch, yet it carried the monstrous power of having devoured the 950th-level lightning prison, and purple-gold lightning exploded from his fist!

Boom—!!!

The fist and claw collided!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a dull, muffled thud!

The madness on the black-robed man's face instantly turned into boundless fear and horror!

The arm he had struck out with, along with half his shoulder, shattered and annihilated inch by inch like fragile porcelain!

The terrifying purple-gold power surged into his body along his severed arm!

"No—!!!" His desperate roar had barely begun before his entire body was violently blasted away by this irresistible force, hitting exactly into a just-formed, water-vat-thick, deep cyan destructive lightning pillar!

Zzz—!

Before his scream could even last half a second, the black-robed figure was completely reduced to nothingness in the blinding cyan-white light, not even leaving behind a speck of dust!

The woman in white witnessed everything, a deep shock and complexity flickering in her cold eyes.

She took a long look at Lin Yuan, as if to carve this figure into her Soul, her vermilion lips parting slightly, her voice penetrating the thunderstorm: "You won."

With that, she crushed her teleportation talisman without hesitation, and her figure dissipated.

Lin Yuan remained focused.

At this moment, the Purple-Gold Body divine patterns on his skin had covered 40% of his body!

The brilliant divine light was almost bursting out from within!

He was like a master of lightning walking in the mortal world, hard-carrying the dense cyan lightning that was enough to completely shatter space, stepping forward one print at a time, walking firmly toward that final destination!

The 1000th level!

When Lin Yuan took a step out, the violent thunder, the destructive aura, the distortion of space... everything vanished.

Before him lay an indescribable, purely white space.

Quiet, empty, as if standing at the end of the world, at the Origin of the Universe.

"Congratulations." A grand, ancient voice, as if from the end of space and time, echoed in this space, carrying a hint of imperceptible approval.

"After ten thousand years, you are the first in the Xuanxiao Great World to truly step foot here."

"Who are you?" Lin Yuan's whole body tensed, his Purple-Gold Body divine patterns flowing ceaselessly, scanning his surroundings with vigilance.

The voice did not answer.

Only at the very center of the space did a point of Chaos light quietly emerge, rapidly expanding into a slowly rotating Chaos Lightning Source that seemed to contain the birth and death of the Universe and the source of all lightning!

It exuded an indescribable, supreme aura.

"This is your reward."

Lin Yuan did not hesitate in the slightest.

He could feel the fatal attraction the Chaos Lightning Source exerted on the Eternal Evolution Body within him!

He strode forward, reached out, and firmly touched that mass of Chaos!

Hum—!!!

The moment they touched, the Chaos Lightning Source, as if having found a vent, transformed into a roaring Chaos Lightning Dragon and flooded into Lin Yuan's body crazily!

"Urgh—ah—!!!" An indescribable, excruciating pain that felt as if it were tearing, restructuring, and incinerating his Soul and Physical Body completely instantly overwhelmed Lin Yuan!

His knees buckled, and he knelt heavily to the ground, his body convulsing violently!

The Purple-Gold Body divine patterns on his skin spread and intertwined at an unprecedented speed, becoming even more profound and mysterious!

50%!

The divine patterns covered half his body, flowing with Chaos lightning, emitting an eternal aura that made even heaven and earth tremble!

[Eternal Evolution Body: Purple-Gold Body (50%)]

[combat power bonus: 800 stars → 3050 stars]

The excruciating pain receded like a tide, replaced by an unprecedented sense of strength and control!

It felt as if, with a mere gesture, he could summon the lightning of the Nine Heavens and shatter mountains and rivers for ten thousand miles!

Lin Yuan slowly stood up, his body standing tall like an eternal divine mountain, Chaos lightning flowing in his eyes; wherever his gaze fell, even this white space trembled slightly!

The woman in white's figure was long gone.

The entire Thousand-Fold Lightning Prison let out an unbearable groan and began to collapse inch by inch!

Lin Yuan's figure was enveloped by a gentle yet irresistible force and instantly teleported back to the wasteland.

The Heavenly Stele appeared!

Rumble!

Above the firmament, wind and clouds gathered!

A stone stele, so massive it obscured half the sky and radiated endless vicissitudes and majesty, slowly solidified!

Ten thousand rays of golden light, a thousand streaks of auspicious color!

On the stone stele, names and information shimmering with dazzling radiance began to emerge, proclaiming it to all the heavens and myriad worlds!

[Heavenly Stele Ranking · Thousand-Fold Lightning Prison] (Top 10,000)

[Leader]: Lin Yuan (Xuanxiao Great World · Tianqing Domain · Cangmang World · Lingyun Prefecture · Xuanmu District · Spirit Martial Hall)

Cleared: Thousand-Fold Lightning Prison!

Points: 51200!

Reward: Base combat power + 300 stars! Clear bonus reward: Base combat power + 200 stars!

[Runner-up]: Bai Li (Xuanxiao Great World · Tianxuan Domain · Piaomiao Realm · Yuqing Palace)

Cleared: 950th level!

Points: 25600!

Reward: Base combat power + 200 stars!

[Third]: Feng Mingyang (Xuanxiao Great World · Zixiao Domain · Tiancang World · Fengyun Sect)

Cleared: 800th level!

Points: 12800!

Reward: Base combat power + 150 stars!

(Subsequent ranking information scrolled into view)

The entire wasteland was deathly silent!

Then, there was an uproar like a landslide or tsunami!

"Lin Yuan?! Who is that?! What corner of the world did he pop out from?!"

"Thou... Thousand?! He finished the Thousand-Fold Lightning Prison?! Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! The Heavenly Stele must be wrong!"

"My god! He surpassed Fairy Bai Li! He surpassed all the famous Prodigies!!"

"51,200 points?! Don't those behind him combined add up to that much?! How on earth did he do it?!"

"Spirit Martial Hall? A tiny place I've never even heard of! This... this is simply Heaven-Defying!!"

Just as hundreds of millions of shocked, jealous, and incredulous gazes focused on Lin Yuan, the golden name belonging to the leader on the Heavenly Stele suddenly erupted with unprecedented brilliant divine light!

A golden beam of light, condensed to the extreme and seemingly containing the very first ray of lightning Origin from the creation of heaven and earth, tore through the firmament, ignoring all obstacles, and poured precisely and overwhelmingly into the top of Lin Yuan's head!

Boom—!

Lin Yuan's body shook violently!

A vast, boundless, and extremely pure power of Origin instantly filled his limbs and bones, merging into every inch of his flesh and bones!

[Base combat power: 290 stars → 790 stars!]

The surging sense of power was like a burst dam, washing over his body!

The brand-new data was clearly branded into his mind: Base combat power: 790 stars. Equipment bonus: 100 stars. Purple-Gold Body 50%: 3050 stars. Mental Energy conversion: 120 × 5 = 600 stars. King of the Extreme Realm: + 237 stars. Strongest Martial Skill: + 790 stars.

[Peak combat power: 5567 stars!!!]

Power!

A boundless power capable of shaking the heavens and earth, which he had never experienced before, surged and roared within his body!

Lin Yuan slowly clenched his fists, his knuckles erupting with purple-gold Chaos lightning, and the surrounding space emitted faint cracking sounds of being unable to bear the pressure!

He raised his head and looked toward the deeper, more unfathomable distance at the end of the wasteland, Chaos lightning blazing like the sun in his eyes, as if wanting to incinerate all obstacles!

"The third stage is about to begin." That cold, grand voice resonated through heaven and earth once again, carrying a hint of imperceptible anticipation.

"Prepare to welcome the first heaven—the final baptism!"

A sharp, extreme arc slowly curled at the corners of Lin Yuan's mouth.

The life-and-death tempering of two stages had already caused his power to undergo a heaven-shaking transformation!

And ahead, that final trial would only become a stepping stone for him to climb to even higher Peaks and absorb even more powerful strength!

He was incomparably eager for the challenge that could make even his current self feel excitement and pressure!