185: Death Feast: The Coming of the Mighty Afterimage

The Chaos Qi from the abyss crack of Burial Immortal Valley suddenly accelerated.

It was no longer a gush.

But a geyser.

An ancient pressure, surpassing the cognition of all living beings in this Realm, mixed with a deathly silence capable of freezing the Divine Soul, instantly swept across the entire Cultivation World, centered on the crack.

Eastern Desolate.

A Transformation God Ancestor, who had been in seclusion for three thousand years, solely to break through to a higher Realm, watched as the ten-thousand-year jade bed beneath him shattered with a roar.

He violently spat out a mouthful of vital essence blood, his originally rosy face turning ashen in an instant.

His Dao Heart was forcefully cracked by that pressure.

The thousand-year-old calm in his eyes was completely filled with a gray called despair.

Southern Sea.

The gigantic Sea Race Emperor, who had just awakened and unified billions of sea creatures, preparing to restore the ancient glory, found his mountain-like body pressed firmly into a ten-thousand-fathom trench, unable to move.

Reflected in his giant lantern-like eyes was the deepest fear of a natural predator, originating from his Soul.

Western Desert.

The blood rain in the sky became even thicker.

Countless broken Battle Intents, who had just awakened from the ancient battlefield, couldn't even let out a roar before being erased from existence like wisps of smoke under that pressure.

Northern Plains.

The melting speed of the ten-thousand-year glaciers increased by a hundredfold.

The end of the world had arrived.

This was not a premonition.

But a reality unfolding.

Above the black altar in Burial Immortal Valley.

The Chaos Qi gushing from the crack no longer diffused chaotically.

They seemed to be guided by an invisible pair of hands, woven by a supreme will.

In the Void Realm, they slowly condensed.

Writhing.

Entwining.

Finally, forming a blurry yet massive Remnant Shadow.

That Remnant Shadow's face was indistinct, its form unidentifiable.

It was merely an outline.

An outline representing an end and destruction.

But the moment it appeared, an endless majesty, unique to a Void Refining stage powerhouse, mixed with the intent to destroy the world, suppressed the heavens and earth.

Remnant Shadow.

A Void Refining Remnant Shadow, projected from a higher-dimensional existence, spanning countless ages.

“Ah—”

Its aura had just been released.

In the Cultivation World, countless Cultivators below the Golden Core Stage, without even time to scream, had their bodies explode like inflated balloons, turning into blood mist.

And those blood mists were then swallowed by the invisible force in the Void Realm, becoming nourishment for that Remnant Shadow.

Nascent Soul Old Ancestors experienced the collapse of their Dao foundations, with cracks appearing on their Nascent Souls, causing their cultivation to regress.

And those Spirit Transformation Old Monster, standing at the pinnacle of the Cultivation World, without exception, coughed up blood again.

Their proud Divine Abilities, under the pressure of this Remnant Shadow, scattered on their own like candles in the wind.

“Evil creature!”

In the Eastern Desolate, a Transformation God Ancestor who refused to believe in evil, burned his essence blood, activating his Sect's protective treasure, a sword light that tore through the sky, spanning ten thousand miles, fiercely slashing towards that Remnant Shadow.

However.

That sword light, capable of shattering stars, instantly turned into nothingness without a sound the moment it touched the hundred-foot radius around the Remnant Shadow.

It wasn't blocked.

It wasn't annihilated.

But directly erased from the Law level.

As if that sword light had never existed.

The Transformation God Ancestor's body trembled violently, and the divine light in his eyes completely dimmed.

His strongest strike didn't even qualify to create a ripple in the opponent's outline.

This was Void Refining.

This was the absolute crushing of a higher-level life form.

Despair, like a plague, spread in the heart of every strong individual.

However.

In this desperate atmosphere where all things perished and all beings trembled.

Lin Fan, however, was an absolute anomaly.

He floated in the Void Realm, facing that massive Void Refining Remnant Shadow directly.

His body was trembling slightly.

But that wasn't due to fear.

But excitement.

An extreme, uncontrollable, almost frenzied excitement.

His heart was pounding against his chest at an unprecedented speed.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

That wasn't an alarm bell.

That was a war drum.

Every cell in his body, under this pressure that could make a Transformation God Ancestor despair, let out a greedy, craving roar.

An incredibly clear voice echoed deep within his Soul.

“Opportunity!”

“This is a heaven-sent opportunity!”

His “death-seeking” instinct was completely activated by this extreme danger, by this unprecedented threat of death.

In his Sea of Consciousness, the Heavenly Dao fragment that had completely fused with his Immortal Soul did not collapse under the pressure of the Void Refining Remnant Shadow.

Instead, it emitted a faint resonance, carrying a certain homologous aura.

Through this resonance, Lin Fan clearly “saw”.

He saw the essence of that Void Refining Remnant Shadow.

It was very strong.

Strong enough to crush everything in this Realm.

But it was not complete.

Its body was covered with “scars” at the Law level, invisible to the naked eye.

Those scars were ancient and deep, like imprints left by a more powerful existence with supreme power.

They were scars that had been suppressed for countless ages but had never been erased.

More importantly.

Its power, during the process of projecting into this world, was subjected to an invisible restriction.

It had to abide by some of the “Heavenly Dao rules” of this world.

And the Heavenly Dao of this world was surnamed Lin.

A plan, bold to the extreme, crazy to the extreme, instantly formed and was deduced in Lin Fan's mind.

Direct confrontation was foolish.

Fleeing was even more useless.

This Remnant Shadow targeted the entire world.

The only way to survive was in death.

He could use his “infinite resurrection” to actively make contact, to analyze the will of that Remnant Shadow.

Each death would deepen his understanding of this power.

Each resurrection would be a piece of “flesh and blood” he tore from that Remnant Shadow.

He would use his life to fill it.

To exhaust this seemingly invincible Void Refining Remnant Shadow to death.

This would be a death feast, belonging to him alone... Ice Crystal Valley.

Li Hanyue's delicate body, seated cross-legged, suddenly trembled.

The blood color drained from her clear jade face, which had been frozen for ten thousand years, turning it utterly pale.

Through that tight Soul alliance, she clearly felt what Lin Fan saw and felt.

She saw that world-destroying Remnant Shadow, towering over the heavens and earth.

She also felt the crazy Battle Intent in Lin Fan's heart, which made her heart pound.

Immediately after.

Lin Fan's astonishing plan, using himself as bait and death as a blade, poured into her Sea of Consciousness without reservation.

Her Divine Soul swayed violently.

An unprecedented, bone-deep panic gripped her heart.

She wasn't afraid of death.

But she was afraid of Lin Fan dying.

Even knowing he could revive, the feeling of watching him actively walk towards destruction was still unbearable for her.

Lin Fan's will, at this moment, became incredibly clear and gentle.

“Don't be afraid.”

His voice resonated directly in the deepest part of her Soul.

“This is the only way.”

“And, I'm not alone.”

“I need you.”

These three words, carrying an unquestionable trust and a complete surrender of one's back, heavily knocked on Li Hanyue's heart's door.

The trembling in her heart caused by fear instantly subsided.

In its place was an unprecedented, resolute and fervent emotion.

Her Dao was protection.

Before, she thought what she was protecting was this ice valley beneath her feet, and the peace in her heart.

Only now did she truly understand.

What she had to protect.

Was this man before her, who dared to face the despair of the entire world.

Was this ultimate trust that saved her from eternal loneliness.

She didn't respond with words.

She simply transformed her purest, most steadfast will, the Origin of her Mystic Ice Art which she had Cultivated for a thousand years, all her emotions, all her resolve, into a cold yet fiery torrent.

Against the channel of the Soul alliance, it fiercely crashed into Lin Fan's will.

In that torrent, there was no hint of retreat.

Not an iota of hesitation.

Only one message.

“I am here.”

Lin Fan's will opened all its barriers, allowing the torrent to pour in.

His Supreme Origin Dao Unraveling power and her Mystic Ice Art power converged again.

This Fusion, more profound and essential than any previous one.

Lin Fan's “Yang” power did not melt her ice.

Instead, it transformed into the strongest “dam,” constraining, condensing, and purifying her supreme Yin power, which sealed all things, to a new height.

And Li Hanyue's “Yin” power did not freeze his Chaos.

Instead, it transformed into the most stable “core,” giving his Supreme Origin Dao Unraveling, which encompassed creation and destruction, an indestructible “Dao bone.”

Yin and Yang cycle, life and death intertwined.

At the very center of their converging wills, that tiny yet indestructible “Order Domain” began to expand wildly.

It was no longer just a “point.”

Instead, under their combined will, it transformed into an invisible “armor” shrouding Lin Fan's Immortal Soul.

An Order Divine Armor, forged by the two extreme forces of “protection” and “destruction” working together.

Li Hanyue could clearly feel that Lin Fan had completely and unreservedly opened up control of this Divine Armor to her.

Through this Divine Armor, she could feel Lin Fan's every heartbeat.

She could share his vision.

She could mobilize his power.

She could even share all the pain he was about to endure.

Between them, there were no longer any secrets, no longer any barriers.

You are in me, and I am in you.

Li Hanyue's clear, autumn-water eyes, at some unknown moment, had become veiled with a hazy mist.

Her heart, which had been encased in mystic ice for thousands of years, completely melted at this moment.

An unprecedented emotion, mixed with heartache, love, and resolve, made her burning Divine Soul tremble.

“We, together.”

Her voice, for the first time, actively, with an imperceptible, gentle tremor, resonated in Lin Fan's Divine Soul.

“Good, together.”

Lin Fan's will responded to her.

Firm and powerful... “Save... save me...”

Just as Lin Fan and Li Hanyue achieved perfect resonance.

That distorted and broken voice belonging to Guardian of the Dao once again intruded upon his senses.

This time, it was no longer a frenzied attack, nor a plea for mercy.

Instead, it was a final wail, filled with extreme fear.

Lin Fan diverted a trace of his attention, easily perceiving Shou Dao Ren's current state.

His face, formed by the Laws of the Heavenly Dao, was currently being crushed into the purest fragments by the pressure of that Void Refining Remnant Shadow.

He, the original “firewall” of this world, couldn't even last a second in front of a more “Advanced” “virus,” and was completely “formatted.”

But in the moment before his complete dissipation.

Shou Dao Ren's last lingering obsession seemed to have seen something extremely terrifying.

He transformed the last remaining trace of his will into a shattered thought, and with all his might, transmitted it into Lin Fan's Sea of Consciousness.

“It... it's not all of it...”

“Just... a tentacle...”

“Be careful...”

Before he finished speaking.

Shou Dao Ren's aura completely vanished from this world.

Lin Fan's mind sank slightly.

A tentacle?

This Void Refining Remnant Shadow, powerful enough to destroy the entire Cultivation World, was merely a tentacle extended by some more terrifying existence?

He slowly took a deep breath.

The crazy Battle Intent in his chest, not only was not extinguished by this news.

Instead, it burned even more fiercely.

He raised his head, a dangerous yet brilliant smile appearing on his face.

He mobilized all his strength, fusing it with Li Hanyue's supreme Yin power in the final integration.

That invisible “Order Divine Armor,” outside his Immortal Soul, bloomed with an invisible light of order, yet bright enough to illuminate the Soul.

He was ready for everything.

To welcome the grandest death feast since his Transmigration.

As if sensing the incongruous, “disrespectful” Battle Intent on Lin Fan.

Above the altar, that massive Void Refining Remnant Shadow slowly “moved.”

Its indifferent “eyes,” formed by Chaos, for the first time, shifted from overlooking all beings to focusing on a single point.

It saw Lin Fan.

A silent will, yet capable of freezing time and space, locked onto Lin Fan.

Lin Fan did not retreat.

Instead, he took a step forward, facing that world-destroying gaze.

A startling arc curved at the corner of his mouth.

He murmured in a voice only he and Li Hanyue could hear.

“Come.”

“My Void Refining Dao begins with your death.”