214: SS-level reward, the body of Daojie!

That wisp of pure gold lit up from the dark center of the tribulation cloud vortex.

It appeared so abruptly, yet it felt as if it had existed since ancient times.

Throughout the entire Wu Wang Death Mound, all colors were stripped away in this instant.

The sky was gray, the earth was gray, and even the rolling tribulation clouds lost their original sense of oppression, becoming a mere background for this golden light.

Judgment.

Destruction.

This was a will that stood above all laws; it was the Heavenly Dao's final verdict upon an anomaly that dared to provoke its majesty.

Lin Fan had just resurrected at his anchor point.

He looked up, gazing at that Golden Divine Lightning that tore through the firmament and slowly descended.

There was no thunder.

The world was deathly silent.

But he could "hear" his Divine Soul screaming in frantic warning, every cell instinctively shrieking to flee.

This was a terror of true annihilation of both form and spirit, far surpassing any previous death.

However, far from showing any fear, a near-obsessive fanaticism appeared on Lin Fan's face.

He grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.

"Bring it on!"

Instead of retreating, he took a step forward.

Tribulation-Inducing Body Tempering Art!

The Heaven Rank Cultivation Technique he had just acquired was pushed to its absolute limit without reservation.

Every pore on his body burst open in an instant.

His flesh, Meridians, bones, and even his Divine Soul entered a strange state of resonance, as if transforming into an empty dining table awaiting a gluttonous feast.

He spread his arms, straightened his spine, and struck a pose of embracing the sky.

He went to meet that purest death from the world's will... Inside the Star Gazing Platform.

The breathing of the Cuiyun Sect Master and Elder Liu had long since stopped.

They were like two stone statues, staring fixedly at the world-destroying scene in the water mirror.

“Hea... Heavenly Wrath... This is the true wrath of the Heavenly Dao...”

The Sect Master's voice was dry and hoarse, each word squeezed out of his throat with difficulty.

When that Golden Divine Lightning appeared, even his Dao Heart as a Refining Void Realm expert trembled uncontrollably.

He knew this was no longer a trial.

This was erasure.

Even if a truly heaven-shaking powerhouse stood behind Lin Fan, there was absolutely no chance of survival under this judgment representing the supreme Laws of the Spirit Realm.

He saw Lin Fan in the water mirror, who instead of dodging, struck a welcoming pose.

“Crazy...”

Elder Liu's lips trembled, his face devoid of color.

“He has gone completely mad.”

The Sect Master's heart sank into a bottomless abyss.

He had even begun to rehearse in his mind what kind of monstrous fury that powerhouse would unleash upon discovering their junior had died within the territory of the Cuiyun Sect.

The Cuiyun Sect is finished.

The next instant.

The Golden Divine Lightning fell.

It silently touched Lin Fan's body.

The image in the water mirror went blank for a moment.

Immediately after, Lin Fan's figure, along with the vast stretch of land beneath his feet, completely vanished.

He didn't turn to ash.

He didn't turn into particles.

Rather, he was thoroughly and cleanly erased from this world, from Karma, and from all traces within the long river of time.

It was as if he had never existed.

Inside the Star Gazing Platform, there was a deathly silence.

The Sect Master's eyes were hollow, and the string in his heart named "luck" snapped completely.

It was regret.

And also a kind of fear akin to relief.

In the end, he had played himself.

Crack.

A slight, crisp sound.

The ten-thousand-year warm jade teacup in the Sect Master's hand finally could not withstand the violent fluctuations of its owner's Dao Heart, turning into a pile of fine powder that slipped through his stiff fingers.

However, just as his heart was as good as dead and he was preparing to welcome the Sect's doomsday.

In the corner of the water mirror.

At the coordinate anchor point where he thought everything had been completely erased.

A soft white light lit up out of thin air.

The light dissipated.

That familiar white-robed figure appeared in the image once more, completely unharmed.

He still maintained that posture of looking up at the sky, his clothes spotless and his aura stable.

“...”

The Sect Master froze in place, as if he had been repeatedly struck by Nine Heavens divine lightning a hundred million times.

His mouth slowly opened, wide enough to fit a fist, yet he couldn't make a sound.

His mind was a complete blank.

Everything he knew, the common sense he had cultivated for a thousand years, and his pride as a Void Refining expert were completely shattered and ground into dust in this moment.

Elder Liu was even more exaggerated.

He rubbed his eyes vigorously, thinking he was having hallucinations due to extreme fear.

“He's... he's alive?”

“Sect Master... am I... am I seeing things?”

His voice carried a sob.

No one answered him.

The Sect Master's Dao Heart was undergoing an unprecedented collapse... [Ding.]

This time, the System's prompt seemed to delay for a moment before sounding.

[Host has been completely erased by the Heavenly Dao Judgment Lightning!]

[Comprehensive Assessment: Subjective provocation and death-seeking behavior detected, successfully inducing a mutation in the Heavenly Dao rules!]

[Death Evaluation: SS-Rank!]

Lin Fan's consciousness reconsolidated in the endless darkness.

He heard this pleasant evaluation.

SS-Rank!

An unprecedented evaluation!

Immediately after, the reward announcement sounded like heavenly music.

[Congratulations! You have received the reward: "Heavenly Dao Origin Fragment" x1!]

[Congratulations! You have received the reward: Divine Soul Origin +10%!]

[Congratulations! You have received a special reward: Special Physique "Dao Tribulation Physique (Initial Stage)" has been activated!]

Boom!

Lin Fan felt as if a Universe was being created deep within his Divine Soul.

An indescribable stream of profound information, originating from the most fundamental parts of the world, flooded into his mind.

That was the Heavenly Dao Origin Fragment!

His Divine Soul was elevated to an unprecedented level in this moment, becoming resilient and transparent, as pure and flawless as colored glaze.

At the same time, his Physical Body was undergoing an earth-shaking transformation.

Every inch of flesh and every bone was being reshaped.

A brand new Physique, carrying the aura of tribulations and Laws, was forming.

Dao Tribulation Physique!

Lin Fan slowly opened his eyes.

The world looked different in his eyes.

He could "see" those slender threads in the air that represented various Laws, which he had been unable to perceive before.

He could "hear" the joyful rhythm of the Spiritual Qi flowing between heaven and earth.

He could even "feel" a strange affinity between himself and this world.

It was as if he were no longer a mere living being, but had become a part of the world's Laws.

After the tribulation clouds in the sky sent down that Golden Divine Lightning, they began to slowly dissipate.

The suffocating heavenly might also receded.

Lin Fan reached out his hand.

A wisp of gray destructive aura representing calamity, which had not yet fully dispersed, was easily drawn over by him. Like a docile pet, it circled and coiled around his fingertips.

It posed no threat.

It even carried a hint of intimacy.

Lin Fan could feel this wisp of energy being slowly absorbed by his body, transforming into nourishment to strengthen his Physical Body and Divine Soul.

Dao Tribulation Physique Effect: Extremely high resistance to Heavenly Tribulations and Law-based attacks, and can absorb a small amount of their energy to strengthen oneself!

The curve of Lin Fan's lips widened further and further.

He looked down at his hands, feeling the surging power within his body.

The cultivation barrier of the Transformation Mid-Stage Peak was already as thin as a cicada's wing.

He had a strong premonition.

As long as he wished, he could take a step forward at any time and enter the Soul Transformation Late Stage Realm.

“The harvest... is too great.”

He exhaled a long breath.

As this turbid air was exhaled, his entire being's spirit, energy, and soul reached an unprecedented Peak state.

Heavenly Tribulations are my power banks.

The Heavenly Dao is my experience pack.

This feeling is simply too good.

The calamity has ended; it's time to go back.

Just as Lin Fan was satisfied and preparing to set off back to the Cuiyun Sect.

A completely different System notification, with a metallic texture, suddenly rang in his mind.

【Ding!】

【Detected that the host has absorbed enough Origin energy, System modules are beginning to upgrade...】

【Upgrade complete.】

【Congratulations Host, the "Gou Dao Mall" has been unlocked!】

Lin Fan was stunned for a moment.

A mall?

He immediately immersed his consciousness into the System interface.

Sure enough, on that familiar interface that previously only had the two simple functions of "Resurrection" and "Anchor," a third shining icon had appeared.

The style of the icon was an ancient character for "Commerce."

With a hint of excitement, he clicked on that icon with his thoughts.

A brand-new interface unfolded before his eyes.

A dazzling list of products emitted an enticing luster.

[Low-level Concealment Talisman (One-time use)]: Price 10 Gou Dao Points.

[Anchor Strengthening Stone]: Price 100 Gou Dao Points.

[Resurrection Cooldown Reduction Card (1 Hour)]: Price 500 Gou Dao Points... Lin Fan's gaze rapidly swept over the product list.

These products were all practical items related to "Gou" and "Life-Preservation."

And his gaze finally fixed on the very top of the mall, on the only legendary-grade product marked with a golden border and emitting a supreme aura.

In this moment, his breathing suddenly became rapid.

His pupils constricted to the limit.

The name of that product was—

[Anchor Cross-Realm Teleportation (Unique)]!