28: Infinite Brawl

Under the blood-red sky, the last pillar of light from the teleportation flickered out like a candle. The moment Lin Yuan's boots touched the scorched earth—

“Boom!!!”

The entire thousand-mile battlefield trembled violently as if stomped by an ancient behemoth! 128 figures solidified abruptly, and a dazzling crimson halo exploded under each person's feet, like an invitation from Hell.

“Fourth Heaven's Ultimate Trial—Infinite Melee! Kill!”

The sky tore open! A colossal vertical eye, flowing with lava, suddenly opened, and within its depths, burning rules churned:

Rule One: Slaughter Barrier, Devouring All Things!

Rule Two: Phased Elimination, Only Half Remain!

Rule Three: Ascend the Throne, Only One Survives!

Lin Yuan looked up; at the edge of the continent, a pale blue wall of death was silently advancing. Wherever it passed, ten-thousand-foot mountain rocks silently vaporized, revealing the boiling, roaring sea of lava below!

“Buzz—Boom!!!”

The roar of the barrier contracting tore at eardrums! A hundred miles away, the blue light that devoured the heavens and earth swept past, and towering ancient trees instantly turned to dust. A six-tier Yao Beast the size of a small mountain let out a desperate roar, its flesh and blood stripped away, its bones disintegrating inch by inch in an instant!

“Profound Nether Poisonous Miasma! Retreat quickly!” To the northeast, a dark green poisonous mist rose and spread like a living creature! A green-robed skeleton staff Cultivator grinned menacingly. Where the poisonous mist passed, three Extreme Realm Cultivators didn't even have time to scream; their skin sizzled, and they rotted and dissolved at a visible speed!

“Argh—my eyes!!” A Cultivator clutched his face, rolling frantically, pus and blood spurting from between his fingers. He had scratched himself so violently that his bones were exposed!

Just as Lin Yuan was about to withdraw, the ground beneath him suddenly burst open! Seven viscous, blood-snake-like chains erupted from the earth, coiling around his limbs and joints with lightning speed!

“Got you~ Little brother's flesh and blood, older sister has been craving it for a long time~” Purple Rakshasa hung upside down from a withered branch, her crimson tongue licking a poisoned dagger. Behind her, five Cultivators with sinister auras each tightly clutched the source of a bloodline. The hunchbacked elder cackled strangely, “Blood Fiend Soul Locking Formation, specialized in breaking Body Refining! Crush him for me!”

A cold arc appeared at the corner of Lin Yuan's mouth.

“Buzz—!”

Purple-gold divine patterns instantly covered his entire body like a living thing! An aura like that of a primordial beast erupted with a roar!

“Crack! Crack! Crack!”

Seven Blood Fiend Soul Locking Chains, strong enough to bind Dragons, snapped inch by inch like rotten straw ropes! Purple Rakshasa's pupils constricted, and her dagger transformed into a hundred streaks of life-taking blood light: “Retreat! Retreat quickly!!”

Too late!

Lin Yuan's figure left an afterimage in its original spot, his true self already tearing through the blood light like a phantom! His fist struck, and the air compressed and exploded!

“Pfft—!” The hunchbacked elder didn't even react; his entire upper body was blasted into a sky full of blood mist by the violent force! Shattered bones and internal organs splattered like rain!

With a backhand grab, the top of the right Cultivator's head was crushed by five fingers like a fragile watermelon! Lin Yuan's arm muscles bulged as he swung him around and smashed him into the other three!

“Boom!!!” The dull thud of bones and flesh exploding mingled with agonizing screams! The three Cultivators instantly turned into three puddles of mangled flesh, like ragdolls hit by a battering ram!

Purple Rakshasa was terrified, transforming into a blood shadow and retreating a hundred zhang, but she collided with an invisible sound wall with a “dong” — Bai Li's Nine-String Zither had set up an inescapable net at some unknown point!

“Bitch!!” Purple Rakshasa shrieked, and foul black blood suddenly spurted from her seven orifices, “Blood Demon Disintegration!!”

Her body exploded into a poisonous blood mist, attempting to reform and escape. However, a hand entwined with purple-gold divine patterns, like a sharp claw tearing through space, precisely struck her instantly reformed back!

“Wah—!” Purple Rakshasa, like a kite with a broken string, spewed fragments of internal organs, smashing heavily into the distant poison Formation area. The blood droplets scattered along the way corroded the ground, creating sizzling, deep pits.

“The barrier! The barrier is speeding up!!” To the southwest, desperate roars rang out! More than ten Cultivators were forced to the edge of the blue death line, and three of them, with a flash of fierce light in their eyes, simultaneously pounced on a terrified female Cultivator at the very edge!

“Sorry! You're my stepping stone!”

The female Cultivator was mercilessly pushed into the barrier, her body instantly melting like a candle, without even having time to scream! A twisted sense of relief had just appeared on the faces of the three men—

“Om!”

A Buddhist chant, like a great bell, resonated! A golden fist print, spanning a hundred zhang, carrying the supreme might of demon subjugation, crashed down!

“Puff, puff, puff!” The three men, along with the land beneath their feet, were completely obliterated by this punch, leaving only a smoking deep pit! The Ascetic Monk of Great Zen Temple, the Wrathful Vajra!

Lin Yuan's peripheral vision swept across the edge of the battlefield. Nether Spring, like the most insidious viper, extended countless black mist tentacles from beneath his black robe, precisely coiling around severely wounded and dying Cultivators, dragging them into the absolute shadow beneath him. With each person he devoured, the death aura swirling around him intensified, and the single eye beneath his black robe flickered with greedy, eerie light.

“Only seventy people left…” Bai Li wiped a blood bead from her zither string and approached Lin Yuan, her voice solemn, “To the southeast, something… has awakened!”

Before her words could finish—

“Rustle, rustle, rustle—!”

The entire silent forest suddenly became demonic! Bloodthirsty vines, thick as giant pythons, burst from the earth and strangled! On the trunks of towering ancient trees, countless blood-red eyes simultaneously opened, shooting out foul, evil light!

“Myriad Spirit Sect! Myriad Manifestations Formation!!” Someone let out a heartbreaking warning.

The taiqing xuana sword in Lin Yuan's hand flashed with cold light, and the attacking vines snapped in response. The pungent, foul-smelling sap that sprayed from the broken ends sizzled and corroded the ground, emitting green smoke! He abruptly pulled Bai Li, and a sharp claw glowing with an eerie blue death light narrowly grazed the spot where she had just been—it was the gloomy young man carrying a medicine basket, his fingernails highly poisonous!

“Thanks.” Bai Li's fingertips swept across the zither strings, and the sound of tearing silk forced the young man back.

The young man grinned strangely and vanished into the tree shadows: “Little beauty… what a pity…”

“Rumble—!!!”

The earth collapsed without warning! Countless colorful poisonous insects gushed out like a bursting flood! Amidst the insect tide, there were also dozens of swollen, greenish self-detonating Corpse Puppets! The nearest five Cultivators were instantly submerged!

“No—! Save me!!” A scream, too shrill to be human, lasted only half a breath before being completely drowned out by the rustling sounds of gnawing and the dull explosions of the Corpse Puppets! Only a few rapidly blackening and dissolving skeletons remained in place!

The Purple-Gold Divine Light around Lin Yuan surged like a blazing sun! All poisonous insects and Corpse Puppets that came within three zhang of him instantly vaporized and annihilated, like snowflakes thrown into a furnace! His gaze, sharp as lightning, shot towards the barrier—the blue wall of death was less than fifty miles away! The compression speed was accelerating!

“Form a Formation! Quickly form a Formation!!” The remaining Cultivators roared in despair, huddling together. The Big Dipper Sword Formation, formed by seven Sword Cultivators, was the most dazzling, its sword light converging like an inverted Milky Way, forcefully tearing open a rift of life in the terrifying Myriad Manifestations Formation!

“Go!” Lin Yuan grabbed Bai Li's wrist, and the two transformed into a stream of purple, white, and gold light, tearing through the gap at beyond-limit speed and shooting out!

Behind them was the apocalyptic wail of the Myriad Manifestations Formation as it was swallowed by the barrier! Towering ancient trees carbonized and collapsed in swathes! Just as the blue light licked at their afterimages—

“Buzz—!”

Sixty-four golden pillars of light, piercing the heavens and earth, descended with a roar, firmly enveloping the survivors!

【Phase One Concluded!】

【Survivors: 64】

【Base Combat Power +100 Stars!】

The deadly hum of the Slaughter Barrier restarting echoed through the scorching canyon, like the death knell of Hell. Lin Yuan stood on a protruding crimson giant rock, beneath which flowed a roaring river of lava, emitting a foul sulfurous stench. The terrifying heat distorted the air, making distant sights appear like flickering ghost shadows.

“Phew… this cursed place, even taking a breath is like swallowing knives!” Bai Li was drenched in sweat, the crystalline beads instantly evaporating. The strings of her Nine-String Zither glowed red under the high temperature.

Across the canyon, seven figures sped. Ye Gugyun, the green-robed Sword Cultivator leading them, suddenly stopped, and seven Flying Swords of various designs unsheathed with a “clang,” forming a rapidly spinning sword wheel in front of him. Sword Qi cut through the heatwaves, emitting sharp whistles.

“Daoist Friend Lin!” Ye Gugyun's voice pierced through the heatwave, carrying a hint of solemnity, “The barrier will reach the center of the canyon in half an hour! United, we both benefit; fighting, we both lose! Shall we join forces?”

Before Lin Yuan could respond—

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The giant rock beneath his feet exploded! Three crimson giant pythons, formed from pure lava and fire spirits, burst from the stone! Their gaping maws opened, and lava fireballs the size of human heads spewed forth like meteors! The air was scorched with a burnt smell!

“Lava Puppets from Blazing Heaven Valley! Be careful!” Bai Li's zither music sharply changed, transforming into invisible sound blades that precisely sliced open the foremost fireball mid-air! Scalding lava rained down!

A cold glint flashed in Lin Yuan's eyes. Instead of dodging, his figure transformed into a purple-gold meteor, actively crashing into the gaping maw of one of the lava pythons!

“Seeking death!” A cold sneer came from above the canyon.

“Pfft—!”

The next instant, dazzling purple-gold light shot out from within the giant python! Accompanied by a dull explosion, this formidable lava beast disintegrated inch by inch from the inside out, turning back into a sky full of flowing fire that plummeted into the lava!

“Now!” Twelve ghostly black shadows, like vultures smelling blood, swooped down from above the canyon! Each held strange hidden weapons coated with eerie blue poison, blocking all of Lin Yuan's escape routes!

Ye Gugyun's sword wheel suddenly turned, and the seven Flying Swords let out piercing shrieks that tore through the sky, transforming into seven streaks of life-taking light!

“Puff! Puff! Puff!” The throats of the three leading attackers were instantly pierced, and blood splattered, sizzling in the high temperature! “Those who stab from behind, die!” Ye Gugyun's voice was as cold as ten thousand years of profound ice.

The remaining nine were utterly terrified, yet before they could land—

“Roar—!” Two giant lava hands suddenly shot out from the lava river, grabbing five of them! A bare-chested giant, whose body flowed with lava and whose muscles bulged, rose from the sea of fire, like a fire demon god! “This is Blazing Heaven Valley's territory, how dare you petty rascals run wild?!”

“No—! Spare me!!” The screams ceased abruptly! The five men were crushed like fragile insects by the giant hands, turning into a sky full of blood mist instantly evaporated by the high temperature! The giant's lava-like gaze locked onto Lin Yuan, his Battle Intent burning to boil the heavens and seas: “Come! Fight me!”

Just as Lin Yuan was about to step forward, Bai Li abruptly pulled his arm: “Don't go! They are stalling!”

Before her words finished, the canyon walls on both sides, like rotting wounds, suddenly oozed viscous, foul-smelling dark green venom! Where the venom passed, the hard mountain rocks rapidly corroded and melted like hot knives cutting through wax, converging into a surging torrent of highly toxic sludge that rushed towards the low-lying areas of the valley bottom!

“Myriad Poisons Return to Origin!” Ye Gugyun's face changed drastically. His sword wheel protected his body, and he retreated rapidly!

The Purple-Gold Divine Light in Lin Yuan's eyes surged to its Peak! The taiqing xuana sword was unsheathed completely for the first time! The sword body hummed, and a terrifying Sword Intent capable of severing Karma and shattering the Void Realm permeated the air!

“Rip—!”

Where the sword edge pointed, space was actually torn open with fine black cracks! All the surging toxic sludge, as if swallowed by an invisible giant maw, frantically poured into that spatial rift, disappearing without a trace!

“Go!” Lin Yuan growled, grabbing Bai Li's wrist. Their figures transformed into a sword light tearing through the poisonous waves, fiercely rushing to the other side of the canyon at beyond-limit speed!

Behind them, the unwilling, earth-shattering roar of the Blazing Heaven Valley giant came, immediately swallowed by the towering poisonous waves!

The barrier's contraction speed suddenly skyrocketed! The surviving Cultivators, like a flock of sheep being driven, desperately rushed towards the constantly shrinking center of the canyon. When the thirty-two golden pillars piercing the heavens crashed down, Lin Yuan clearly saw Nether Spring grinning sinisterly, kicking a severely wounded and dying Cultivator into the boiling lava river below! The Cultivator only managed to let out a brief, shrill scream before turning into a wisp of green smoke.

【Phase Two Concluded!】

【Survivors: 32】

【Base Combat Power +200 Stars!】

The dilapidated ancient divine temple stood in the center of the only safe zone, like the carcass of a giant beast. Twelve broken giant pillars were carved with faded runes, ancient rusty weapons lay scattered on the ground, and the air was filled with a strange smell of rust mixed with stale blood.

“Be careful! This place… is extremely dangerous!” Bai Li's remaining zither strings vibrated without wind, emitting a sharp, piercing warning tremor.

Lin Yuan kicked aside a still-warm corpse; the deceased's face was frozen in an extreme terror beyond death, as if they had seen the deepest parts of the Nine Nether. From deep within the divine temple, intense sounds of fighting, clashing weapons, and a bone-chilling, low roar filled with greed and Chaos mingled together.

“Arghhh—!”

A scream, cut short to the extreme, ceased abruptly! Five figures scrambled out of the inner hall like stray dogs, rolling and crawling! The last person's ankle was tightly entangled by a purplish-black tentacle covered in suckers, slimy and foul-smelling!

“Save me!!” He only managed to utter half a cry for help before he was instantly dragged back into the absolute darkness of the inner hall by an irresistible force! Horrifying chewing and sucking sounds came from the darkness!

“It's an ancient sealed demonic creature! Its aura… is utterly foul!” Ye Gugyun had appeared at the temple gate at some unknown point, his remaining five Flying Swords forming an even more condensed defensive sword Formation, radiating chilling Sword Qi.

Nether Spring's sinister voice drifted from the shadow of a broken pillar: “Hehe… with the demonic creature present, why don't we join forces? After dealing with this fiend, then…”

“Rumble—!!!”

The earth shook and mountains swayed! The ground of the divine hall violently cracked open with dozens of huge fissures! Countless slimy, suction-cup-covered tentacles oozing with foul-smelling mucus burst forth from the ground!

Even more horrifying was that the surfaces of these tentacles were embedded with countless distorted, pained, and constantly wailing human faces! Each face represented the desperate remnant Soul of a devoured Cultivator!

"Soul Devouring Demon Octopus! It's devouring Soul Spirits to recover its power!" Bai Li's face turned pale. She frantically plucked her zither strings, and the Void-rending sound waves temporarily repelled two incoming tentacles. However, when the sound waves touched the human faces on the tentacles, they triggered even more shrill Soul screams!

Lin Yuan's taiqing xuana sword radiated a Purple-Gold Divine Light that eradicated evil, sweeping horizontally with one strike and cleanly severing three tentacles as thick as water buckets!

However, the severed limbs did not die upon falling; instead, they transformed into thick black mist, rapidly flowing back to the main body. Flesh buds squirmed at the severed points, regenerating at a visible speed! The human faces on the severed tentacles let out even more venomous wails!

"Physical attacks are ineffective!" Ye Gugyun's Flying Sword entanglement also returned without success, its Sword Light swallowed and dissolved by the black mist.

A cruel cunning flashed in Nether Spring's single eye. He suddenly grabbed a Cultivator beside him who was lost in fear, and with a sinister laugh, threw him with all his might towards the Demon Octopus's main body: "Since it can't be killed, then feed it! Let it be too busy to bother with us!"

"Beast!!" Bai Li angrily rebuked, but her sound wave rescue was too late! The moment the Cultivator was ensnared by several tentacles, his entire body's flesh and blood withered and shriveled instantly, as if drained, turning into a charred, mummified corpse wrapped around bones before he could even scream!

The Demon Octopus's aura indeed weakened slightly, and its regeneration speed also slowed down a bit. This bloody and effective scene instantly ignited the flames of madness in the eyes of the other survivors! Countless gazes filled with malice and Killing Intent fell upon the "weaklings" in poor condition beside them!

A chaotic battle! A bottomless, chaotic battle for survival instantly erupted! The battlefield devolved into an Asura Field! Lin Yuan protected Bai Li behind him, his fists and palms flying, Purple-Gold Divine Light like surging waves crashing against the shore, consecutively sending three Cultivators attempting a sneak attack flying back, bones broken and tendons snapped, spitting blood! Ye Gugyun, on the other hand, stood back-to-back with two other Cultivators equally skilled in swordsmanship, their Sword Light interweaving into an impenetrable net of death, slaughtering everything that dared to approach!

"Found it! It's the thing suppressing it!" Bai Li endured the severe pain of the backlash and the discomfort at the Soul level, pointing sharply to the highest point of the divine hall's dome! There, an Ancient Bronze Mirror, covered in cracks and dimmed with dust, was emitting a faint yet ancient suppressive power!

Lin Yuan did not hesitate, his figure transforming into a purple-gold arrow that shot into the sky! His target was directly the ancient mirror!

"Trying to ruin my good deed? Dream on!" Nether Spring's figure, like a ghost, intercepted Lin Yuan's path! His black robe burst open, and countless black mist tentacles, condensed from pure resentment and Death Qi, swept over like an overwhelming tide, accompanied by Soul-eroding screams!

"Get lost!"

Lin Yuan's body erupted with Purple-Gold Divine Light like an exploding star! He did not dodge or evade, instead using his Physical Body to directly clash with the black mist barrier! Divine patterns flowed, emitting a roar like surging lava! The Death Qi black mist, which was capable of corroding the spiritual light of Magic Treasures, was forcibly smashed through and torn apart by this supremely firm and potent Purple-Gold Body!

The taiqing xuana sword, the moment Lin Yuan broke through the barrier, transformed into a purple-gold lightning bolt that pierced through time and space, shooting out of his hand!

"Clang——!!!!!"

The sword tip precisely struck the center of the ancient mirror! A clear, distant, and world-cleansing mirror sound resonated throughout the entire divine hall! The dim runes on the mirror surface suddenly lit up!

"Hiss, awoo, awoo——!!!"

The Soul Devouring Demon Octopus let out a heart-wrenching, ear-piercing shriek filled with endless pain and venomous hatred! All its waving tentacles twitched and contracted wildly as if splashed with boiling oil! The expressions on the wailing human faces on the tentacles instantly froze, turning into blankness of relief! The enormous demonic body trembled violently, and with an unwilling roar, it crashed and sank into the ground fissures!

Sixteen dazzling, life-filled golden light pillars descended, enveloping the final survivors. Before the teleportation light lit up, Lin Yuan clearly saw Nether Spring's gaze, filled with extreme venom, cast from beneath his black robe, as if to brand his Soul.

[Phase Three Concluded!]

[Survivors: 16 people]

[Base Combat Power + 300 Stars!]

The dizziness of spatial transition had not completely faded when deafening thunder roared like a billion war drums beating in his ears! Lin Yuan stood on a precarious floating rock, beneath him an endless sea of surging, bottomless clouds. Eight islands of varying sizes, broken and shattered, were precariously connected by rusty, shaky iron chain bridges. In the distance, a deathly light screen, devouring everything, silently erased the outer islands at a terrifying speed visible to the naked eye!

Bai Li pointed to the largest and most dilapidated main island in the center. At the heart of the island, eight tokens radiating brilliant golden light and flowing with runes quietly floated—the credentials to the final throne!

"Tokens!" Her voice was almost drowned out by the thunder.

Three figures, unable to hold back, had already transformed into streaks of light, rushing towards the nearest iron chain bridge! The burly man at the forefront had just stepped onto the iron chain—

"Rip—!"

A soft sound! The greed on the burly man's face instantly froze! His body, along with his Protective Aura, was diagonally split into two halves as if by an invisible, peerless sharp blade, without any obstruction! Organs and blood splattered, illuminated by the lightning! The cut was smooth as a mirror!

"Spatial rifts! Broken spatial fault lines! Difficult to discern with the naked eye!" Ye Gugyun's expression was grave. He hovered in mid-air on his sword, his only three remaining Flying Swords cautiously probing in front of him like sensors. Where the Sword Qi touched, tiny black cracks occasionally flickered in the air!

Lin Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly, purple-gold divine patterns flowing deep within his pupils. In his vision, the entire floating island area was covered with a dense, crisscrossing, constantly appearing and disappearing web of spatial cracks! In the most dangerous core area, the cracks were so dense that not even a bird could pass through!

"Follow me!" He let out a low cry, his figure like lightning, accurately landing on a safe floating rock. A flash of purple-gold light at his landing spot quickly vanished, steadying his form.

The other two Cultivators chose a different path. They jointly summoned a bronze flying boat with dim spiritual light, attempting to force their way across.

The flying boat had just lifted off the ground, less than three zhang high—

"Whoosh—!"

A sudden, violent, and chaotic spatial current swept in from thin air! It was like an invisible giant hand violently kneading!

"Crack! Poof—!"

The bronze flying boat, like a fragile toy, was instantly twisted, torn, and crushed into a pile of scrap metal! The two people inside didn't even have time to scream before they were pulverized into a rain of minced flesh and blood by the violent spatial power, along with the flying boat!

"Twelve left." Bai Li's voice held a trace of imperceptible tremor as she quickly scanned several cautious figures in the distance.

At the edge of the main island, Purple Rakshasa, covered in blood, weakened but with frenzied eyes, was confronting two Cultivators. Blood was still flowing from her severed arm, but she laughed savagely: "Come on! Let's see if you get the token first, or if this old woman drags you all to Hell with me!" Before her words finished, her remaining left arm violently self-destructed!

"Pfft!" A blood arrow, condensed to the extreme, like a deadly poison needle, instantly pierced through the brow of one of them! The person still had a look of shock on their face before falling straight down.

The other person was scared Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, turning to flee, but the rock they stood on suddenly collapsed!

"Ah! Help...!" In a panic, he clutched the edge of the rock wall.

A foot wreathed in purple poison mist stomped heavily on his gripping fingers!

"Go down and join him!" Purple Rakshasa sneered.

"No——!!!" Amidst desperate wails, the falling figure was silently swallowed by the rapidly contracting light screen below.

Lin Yuan and Bai Li had just stepped onto the cracked ground of the main island—

"Boom——!!!"

The entire island, like a small boat in giant waves, suddenly tilted violently! Countless huge rocks crumbled and fell into the bottomless cloud sea below! A giant, clad in heavy golden armor and over ten zhang tall, burst forth from the island's core like an ancient mountain! Each step it took caused spatial ripples to vibrate, emitting dull thudding sounds!

"Island Guard Puppet! The final barrier!" Ye Gugyun flew over on his sword, his voice grave. His only three remaining Flying Swords also seemed considerably dimmer.

The golden-armored giant's hollow eye sockets swept over everyone, then it suddenly raised its giant fist, comparable to a battering ram, and, imbued with the terrifying power to crush mountains, smashed it fiercely towards the area where Lin Yuan and Bai Li stood! Before the fist even arrived, the violent shockwave of Qi had already pressed down!

"Be careful yourself!" Lin Yuan shouted to Bai Li, not retreating but advancing! The taiqing xuana sword erupted with a hundred-zhang Purple-Gold Sword Aura, like a divine punishment opening the heavens, fiercely slashing towards the giant's knee joint that supported its body! Where the Sword Qi passed, space groaned under the unbearable strain!

"Zheng——!" Bai Li's zither music instantly reached its Peak! Invisible sound wave chains layered one upon another, like a giant python coiling around, tightly binding the giant's swinging right arm! Although the chains shattered inch by inch under the giant's terrifying power, they successfully made its movement pause!

Ye Gugyun's three Flying Swords transformed into three streaks of extremely sharp light, stabbing respectively at the giant's other knee, elbow joint, and the gap between its helmet and chest armor! The angles were cunning and ruthless!

"Die!" Purple Rakshasa, like a parasite, took advantage of the instant the giant was restrained from three sides, her figure like a ghost, Around to its back, her only remaining left hand tightly gripping a poisonous dagger, and with all her lifelong resentment and power, fiercely stabbed towards the gap in the giant's nape armor! The dark glow on the dagger surged!

"Crack—Boom!!!"

The golden-armored giant's knee was the first to shatter under Lin Yuan's Sword Aura! Its unbalanced colossal body was delayed for a crucial half-second by Bai Li's sound wave chains and Ye Gugyun's Flying Swords! Purple Rakshasa's poisonous dagger accurately pierced into its nape core! Venomous runes spread wildly along the armor's seams!

The massive golden-armored giant, as if its spine had been removed, let out an unwilling metallic wail and collapsed and disintegrated with a crash! Turning into a pile of giant scrap metal!

Just amidst the dust of the giant's collapse—

"Buzz——!"

Eight golden light pillars, symbolizing the final qualification, descended from the sky! Precisely enveloping the eight tokens!

Purple Rakshasa's eyes erupted with ecstatic greed, and she lunged desperately towards the nearest light pillar!

"Rip——!"

A tiny but fatal spatial rift, like the Grim Reaper's scythe, silently appeared in her path of charge! Mercilessly cutting her off from the token that was within reach!

[Phase Four Concluded!]

[Survivors: 8 people]

[Base Combat Power + 400 Stars!]

The dizziness of teleportation had not yet dissipated when world-ending thunder filled his ears! Lin Yuan stood at the Peak of a desolate black Peak, suspended alone in a sea of thunderstorms! All around, there were ceaseless, violent lightning bolts as thick as water vats! Thunder snakes danced wildly, tearing the sky into a dazzling, pale white!

"Nine-Layered Lightning Tribulation!" Bai Li's voice seemed weak amidst the thunder. She pointed to the sky. There, thunderclouds were frantically gathering and swirling, forming a complex and profound, heart-palpitating Lightning Formation Diagram that covered the entire Peak! The aura of destruction solidified into substance! Her nine-stringed zither now only had four charred strings left.

Seven figures were scattered across the Peak, like lonely boats in a storm. Most striking was the figure always silent, shrouded in a thick cloak. In front of him floated nine pale Bone Shields inscribed with different blood-red runes. The Bone Shields slowly rotated, emitting an ominous, chilling aura.

"Boom-crack——!!!"

The first purple-white tribulation lightning, as thick as a water bucket, tore through the sky and struck down fiercely! Its target was a Cultivator holding a giant shield!

"Open!" That Cultivator and his companion beside him simultaneously crushed the shimmering golden life-saving Talismans in their hands!

Two thick golden protective shields instantly rose!

However—

An unexpected change occurred! Not only did the two shields not weaken the lightning, but they acted like lighthouses in the dark, instantly attracting dozens of surrounding wandering small electric snakes! These electric snakes converged onto the main lightning, causing the power of this tribulation lightning to surge several times over!

"No——!"

The Cultivator holding the giant shield bore the brunt! The golden protective shield shattered like a fragile eggshell! The violent lightning instantly swallowed him! After the dazzling electric light, only a human-shaped charred carbonized object remained, smoking faintly!

The other Cultivator was terrified Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, a crazy will to survive flashing in his eyes. He actually lunged towards a Cultivator not far away, who was holding a jade Ruyi and also resisting the Lightning Tribulation, intending to snatch the lightning-avoiding Magic Treasure from his hand!

"Idiot! Lightning has spirit, inviting disaster upon yourself!" The cloaked figure let out a hoarse sneer. A Bone Shield in front of him automatically met a lightning bolt striking at him. Runes on the shield surface flickered, actually guiding and deflecting most of the lightning power!

Lin Yuan endured a probing, small lightning bolt. His purple-gold Divine Body trembled slightly, and a trace of hot golden blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. But his eyes erupted with astonishing brilliance: "Good! Body Tempering Divine Lightning! Containing the power of creation!"

The third layer of Lightning Tribulation descended! The entire Peak was submerged in a dazzling ocean of electric plasma! The vision was a pale white! A Cultivator's eyes flashed with fierce light. Taking advantage of Bai Li fully plucking her zither strings to resist the lightning and being preoccupied, he pounced on her back like a hungry wolf, intending to use her as a human shield!

"Courting death!"

Lin Yuan's figure teleported to block behind Bai Li! His fist shot out like a Dragon! The Purple-Gold Fist Seal condensed into a solid mass! The violent power ignored the Protective Aura hastily raised by the opponent and smashed fiercely into their chest!

"Pfft—!" The attacker's chest visibly collapsed! The Protective Aura shattered! The whole person flew backward like a broken sack, caught by Lin Yuan who grabbed their ankle and swung them in a circle toward the area of the Lightning Tribulation that was currently the most concentrated!

"Boom-Crack—!!!" Several thick bolts of lightning struck accurately! The Cultivator was instantly reduced to a plume of ashes before they could even scream!

"Starting from the Fourth Stage, the lightning will lock onto the Life Force Origin, making it unavoidable!" The Cloaked Person suddenly spoke, their voice like grinding metal. "If you don't want to be struck down one by one, combine your strength and form a Formation! Resist the Heavenly Might together!"

Under the terrifying pressure of the Calamity Lightning, the five remaining people (Lin Yuan, Bai Li, Ye Gugyun, the Cloaked Person, and another Cultivator holding a Jade Ruler) temporarily suppressed their hostility, quickly took up positions in a Five-Pointed Star Position, and used their respective methods to jointly raise a defensive light barrier interwoven with five colors!

The Sixth Stage Lightning Tribulation roared down like a raging Dragon! The light barrier trembled violently! Just as everyone was exerting their full strength and the light barrier was about to stabilize—

"Explode!" A trace of cruel calculation flashed in the Cloaked Person's eyes as he suddenly detonated the two Bone Shields suspended on the outermost side!

"Boom! Boom!"

The chaotic and sinister energy instantly exploded! It not only offset part of the light barrier's strength but also severely interfered with the energy flow of the Formation! The entire defensive light barrier instantly warped and became disordered!

"You!!" Ye Gugyun's eyes were splitting with rage!

Amidst the chaotic lightning, the Cloaked Person shot out like a ghost shadow, aiming straight for the Lightning-Evasion Magic Treasure in the hand of the Cultivator holding the Jade Ruler! His withered claw-like hand grabbed toward the Jade Ruler like lightning!

"No! My 'Lightning-Guiding Jade'!" The Cultivator screamed in terror, subconsciously shielding the Jade Ruler.

The Cloaked Person's other hand silently struck the Cultivator's back! A cold, malicious Palm Power penetrated his Physical Body!

"Ugh... you..." The Cultivator holding the Jade Ruler stiffened, the Life Force in his eyes rapidly fading. In the instant he froze—

"Boom-Crack—!!!"

An unusually thick, azure Calamity Lightning bolt struck down precisely! It instantly split him and the Lightning-Guiding Jade in his hand into fragmented, charred dust!

Having succeeded in one strike, the Cloaked Person retreated violently back to his original position, as if nothing had happened. The Seventh Stage Lightning Tribulation followed immediately, forcefully shaving three zhang off the entire Peak summit! The shattered rocks vaporized in the lightning!

When the world-destroying aura of the Eighth Stage Lightning Tribulation began to condense high in the sky, the four survivors were all heavily wounded and weak. Two of Bai Li's four remaining zither strings snapped! Cracks covered the bodies of Ye Gugyun's three Flying Swords, and their Spiritual Light was faint! Lin Yuan's Purple-Gold Body also bore charred marks from the lightning strikes! The Cloaked Person was left with only four Bone Shields!

"The final strike... I'll take it!" Lin Yuan's eyes erupted with determined and frenzied light! In the instant before the residual might of the Eighth Stage Lightning Tribulation dispersed and the Ninth Stage World-Destroying Lightning Tribulation was about to strike, he actually charged into the sky, transforming into a Heaven-Defying Purple-Gold Meteor that slammed resolutely into the core of the forming thunder cloud, which seemed capable of destroying the world!

As his body ascended, it acted like a bottomless black hole, frantically swallowing the surrounding power of lightning and electricity! The Purple-Gold Divine Runes on his body spread and lit up at an unprecedented speed! His muscles and bones emitted thunderous cracking sounds under the Body Tempering of the lightning! On the Data Panel, the progress bar for the Purple-Gold Body jumped frantically—53%... 57%... 61%... finally stopping at 65%!

"Rumble—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The Ninth Stage Lightning Tribulation—an Ultimate Lightning Pillar that pierced the heavens and earth, over ten zhang in diameter, and so blindingly white it was impossible to look at—collided violently with Lin Yuan's tiny figure high in the sky!

Time seemed to freeze at this moment!

The next moment—

Indescribable light and heat burst forth! The entire Solitary Peak, which had endured eight stages of the Lightning Tribulation, silently annihilated, decomposed, and turned into the finest dust under this ultimate collision! A violent energy shockwave swept in all directions, tearing a massive hole in the Sea of Clouds!

As the world-destroying light gradually dissipated, four Golden Light Pillars descending to receive the climbers appeared. In the light, the strange mask on the Cloaked Person's face cracked and peeled off with a snap under the impact of the residual lightning power.

Beneath the mask was Nether Spring's pale, twisted face, filled with endless resentment and malice!

[Fifth Stage Concluded!]

[Survivors: 4 people]

[Base Combat Power + 500 Stars!]

A transparent Energy Platform less than ten zhang in diameter was suspended above the boiling, roaring Chaos Vortex, like the last foothold in the Universe. Below was Chaos Turbulence capable of annihilating all things. Lin Yuan, Bai Li, Ye Gugyun, and Nether Spring stood separately in four directions, like four peerless fierce weapons unsheathed, their Killing Intent condensed into substance, clashing fiercely in the confined space!

"Finally... only we are left." Nether Spring's voice was like a poisonous snake spitting its tongue, carrying a pathological excitement. He slowly lifted the tattered black robe hood, revealing his deathly pale face. Insanity and greed burned in his single eye, staring intently at Lin Yuan. "Which of you three will offer up your life first to help me reach the Peak?!"

"I'll send your Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering first!" Cold light burst from Bai Li's eyes! Her two remaining zither strings were plucked violently!

"Zheng—Weng!"

It was no longer melodious zither music, but a Death Shriek that tore at the Soul! The sound waves transformed into visible crescent blades, cutting through space and slashing directly at Nether Spring!

"Jie jie! Petty tricks!" Nether Spring laughed strangely, sweeping his sleeve. A massive Black Mist Skull, condensed from countless wailing Grudge Souls, flew out and swallowed the sound wave blades whole! A grating, corrosive sound came from within the skull!

Ye Gugyun's three broken swords simultaneously emitted a mournful Sword Cry, transforming into three startling streamer lights that stabbed directly at Nether Spring's vital points! The Sword Qi was incomparably sharp!

However, just as the Flying Swords were about to touch Nether Spring, they strangely traced three arcs, carrying bone-chilling Killing Intent, and struck Bai Li's undefended back like lightning!

"Ding ding ding—!"

Three extremely crisp clashes of metal! The taiqing xuana sword had appeared horizontally behind Bai Li at some unknown point, deflecting the three insidious and fatal swords with perfect precision! The sword trembled, emitting an angry hum!

"You hid it quite deeply." Lin Yuan stood holding his sword, his gaze as cold as ten thousand years of profound ice, locked onto Ye Gugyun.

"The feeling is mutual." The gentle and humble smile on Ye Gugyun's face had vanished, replaced by the extreme coldness and sharpness unique to a Swordsman! In his hand, a nearly transparent, completely restrained Shadowless Short Sword had appeared sometime. "This 'Formless' is my true Natal Sword Soul! I kept it hidden specifically to sever your head!"

How could Nether Spring miss this perfect opportunity?

"Ten Thousand Bats Devour Heaven!"

His tattered black robe suddenly burst apart! It transformed into a sky-obscuring torrent of black bats! Every bat had glowing red eyes and spewed turbid black mist that corroded space! The seemingly indestructible energy surface of the platform was instantly eaten away with dense holes, emitting a sizzling wail!

Bai Li's Sound Wave Barrier fluctuated violently under the frantic assault of the black bats and the erosion of the black mist, its light rapidly dimming! She bit the tip of her tongue fiercely, spitting a mouthful of Heart Essence Blood containing pure Origin onto the broken zither body!

"Using blood as the guide, Nine Heavens Thunder Sound, Suppressing Evil!"

Weng—!

The broken zither burst forth with its final swan song! The zither sound transformed into a violent purple thunder lightning net, sweeping across the entire platform centered on Bai Li!

"Squeak, squeak, squeak—Puff, puff, puff!"

Countless black bats wailed and turned to ash in the purple lightning! Nether Spring let out a painful muffled groan, clearly suffering damage to his mind! The bat swarm instantly thinned out by more than half!

A sharp glint flashed in Ye Gugyun's eyes, and his figure transformed into an invisible, shadowless sword light. Taking advantage of the moment the lightning net swept, Nether Spring was injured, and Bai Li was exhausted, he achieved Man and Sword as One. The transparent 'Formless' short sword, carrying an extreme sharpness capable of piercing the Void Realm, stabbed straight toward Bai Li's throat! Its speed surpassed visual capture!

"Clang—!"

A palm wrapped in boiling Purple-Gold Divine Runes, cast as if from Eternal Divine Iron, arrived later but struck first, precisely grasping the blade of the 'Formless' short sword!

The incomparably sharp Formless sword edge, capable of slicing space, only left a shallow white mark on Lin Yuan's palm, from which a few drops of light golden blood seeped!

Ye Gugyun's pupils contracted! Unbelievable!

Lin Yuan's other hand was pointed like a sword, the Purple-Gold Divine Radiance on his fingertip condensed to the extreme, as if holding a miniature sun. He pointed it toward Ye Gugyun's undefended glabella at a speed faster than thought! This single point contained a terrifying will capable of destroying ten thousand laws and penetrating the Divine Soul!

"Pfft—!"

With a soft sound! Ye Gugyun's Body-Protecting Sword Qi shattered like paper! His body suddenly stiffened! Golden blood mixed with shattered brain matter surged out of his seven orifices like a fountain! The light in his eyes rapidly dimmed, leaving only solidified shock and unwillingness!

"Ugh..." Ye Gugyun's body was sent flying backward by the terrifying force contained in that single point!

"Trash! Your essence blood belongs to me!" Nether Spring's malicious voice rang out! The remaining torrent of black bats instantly submerged Ye Gugyun's retreating body! Countless black bats frantically bit and sucked!

"Ahhh—!" Ye Gugyun let out a short, agonizing scream that was not human, and his body withered and shriveled at a visible speed, finally turning into a dry, skin-and-bones corpse that was torn apart by the black bats! His remaining power was completely swallowed by Nether Spring!

"Now... it's one against two! Heheheh..." Nether Spring's voice came from all directions, carrying an even stronger evil aura after consuming Ye Gugyun. The bat swarm reformed, becoming denser and more ferocious.

"It should end now." Lin Yuan's voice was frighteningly calm. The taiqing xuana sword in his hand suddenly erupted with unprecedented glorious Divine Power! The sword body trembled slightly, instantly splitting into ten thousand!

Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin!

Countless streams of Sword Qi condensed with Purple-Gold Divine Radiance, like precisely guided Destruction Meteors, each one locking onto every single black bat Nether Spring had transformed into! The Sword Qi crisscrossed, weaving a Death Sword Net that covered the entire platform and guaranteed annihilation!

"No—!!" Nether Spring let out a desperate and unwilling shriek!

The sword rain poured down!

"Puff puff puff puff puff—!"

Amidst the dense sounds of piercing and exploding, the black bat swarm, which had obscured the sky, melted and annihilated at an astonishing speed, like snow exposed to the blazing sun!

When the last trace of black mist completely vaporized under the Purple-Gold Sword Qi, the dust settled on the platform. Only Lin Yuan remained, along with Bai Li, who was weak but had complex eyes, standing behind him.

The death light barrier that swallowed everything had contracted to within arm's reach, its cold blue light reflecting upon the two of them.

Bai Li looked at Lin Yuan's towering back, and at the center of the platform, which was covered in cracks yet still exuded supreme majesty. A shallow smile, relieved, fatigued, and carrying a hint of inexplicable tenderness, suddenly curved her lips.

"I concede." Her voice was soft, yet clearly penetrated the roar of the Chaos Vortex.

She slowly turned around, her steps slightly unsteady but exceptionally firm, walking towards the edge of the light barrier that radiated the aura of termination. Her tattered clothes fluttered in the energy turbulence.

"The Peak of the Extreme Realm..." She stopped, tilted her head, leaving Lin Yuan with a stunning and sorrowful profile, her voice ethereal, "has always... only allowed one person to reign supreme."

Before her voice faded, she leaped, plunging resolutely into the swallowing azure light barrier like a moth drawn to a flame! Her figure was instantly consumed by the light, leaving no trace.

Lin Yuan's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. In the instant the final golden light completely enveloped him, he seemed to catch sight of the helpless yet utterly tranquil curve of her lips just before she jumped into the light barrier.

[Final Victor: Lin Yuan!]

Cumulative Reward: Base Combat Power + 2800 Stars!

Base Combat Power: 2160 → 4960 Stars

Equipment Bonus: +600 Stars

Purple-Gold Body (40% → 65%): +3800 Stars

Mental Energy Conversion (1600 × 5): +8000 Stars

King of the Extreme Realm (Title): +1488 Stars

Strongest Martial Skill: +4960 Stars

Ancient Body Refining Art: +4500 Stars

[Final Peak Combat Power: 28308 Stars!]