276: The era ends, the holy body suppresses the devil

Facing that black Domain capable of erasing Laws and returning everything to nothingness,

there was not a trace of fear on Lin Fan's face.

In fact, it couldn't even be called solemnity.

There was only the kind of pure, heartfelt excitement a hunter feels when seeing the perfect prey.

He had waited for this moment for a long time.

Ever since gaining immortality, what he pursued was no longer simply staying alive.

Instead, it was to touch the most fundamental rules of this world through repeated deaths.

Energy bombardment, physical tearing, the annihilation of the Divine Soul... he had experienced it all.

But this 'Return to the Void' Domain, formed by a cultivator burning everything to leverage the Laws of heaven and earth with their own Dao, was a first.

This was an erasure coming from a higher level.

Could the Overlord Saint Body withstand it?

If it couldn't, what kind of reward would he receive?

Everything was unknown.

And the unknown was what made it most interesting.

"Come!"

A light shout rang out, sounding less like a roar and more like an invitation.

In the deathly silence of the Universe, Lin Fan's figure pulled out a brilliant dark-gold trail, charging resolutely toward that darkness representing ultimate death!

No dodging.

No techniques.

Only an indomitable forward charge!

In the distance, Black Skull's body, burning with the light of his life force, had become semi-transparent.

He could clearly see that tiny figure actively welcoming his ultimate forbidden technique.

Madman!

A complete and utter madman!

A flash of sadistic pleasure flickered in Black Skull's eyes, which were burning with Soul fire.

You brought this death upon yourself!

Within this 'Myriad Souls Return to Emptiness,' no matter what kind of Body Cultivator you are or what heaven-defying Magic Treasure you possess, you will be completely erased from the level of existence!

Along with your bizarre secret of immortality, everything will return to nothingness!

He seemed to already see the scene of that man dissolving within the Domain, both Physical Body and Divine Soul turning into naught.

However, in the next moment,

the pleasure on Black Skull's face froze.

He saw Lin Fan, who had rushed into the edge of the Domain, without his momentum slowing in the slightest.

The dark-gold luster on the surface of his body suddenly contracted inward the moment it touched the black Domain; all the light and blood-qi seemed to be sucked into his right fist by an invisible black hole!

At that moment, his fist was no longer flesh and blood.

It was a pure singularity, condensed from power, brilliant to the extreme!

That light even penetrated the darkness of the Domain, illuminating Black Skull's face, which was filled with shock.

Then,

Lin Fan punched.

A plain and unadorned punch.

There were no earth-shattering phenomena, no resonance of Laws.

There was only pure power, condensed to the extreme, enough to shatter all logic!

Boom—!!!

The fist collided violently with the black Domain representing 'nothingness'.

Silence.

No sound traveled through the Universe.

At this moment, time and space seemed to lose all meaning.

The black Domain, capable of swallowing meteors and decomposing all things, actually came to a sudden halt the instant it touched the fist!

Its rapidly expanding momentum stopped abruptly.

Immediately following,

under Black Skull's incredulous gaze,

an imperceptible crack appeared upon that pure 'nothingness,' centering on the fist.

It was as if a perfect black mirror had been struck with its first crack.

Ka... Crack!

A shattering sound that seemed to ring out from the Soul level suddenly echoed.

That crack spread like a wildfire, crazily proliferating at an incomprehensible speed!

In an instant, it covered the entire death Domain!

The countless Soul shadows drifting and wailing at the edge of the Domain let out a final silent shriek at this moment, before completely disintegrating.

The Laws constituting the Domain were being fundamentally... pierced, torn, and crushed by a more tyrannical and unreasonable power!

"No... this is impossible!"

Black Skull let out a desperate roar.

The ultimate forbidden technique he had performed by burning everything and leveraging the Laws of heaven and earth was actually... actually shattered by a single punch?!

What kind of power was this?

This had exceeded all his knowledge of the cultivation system!

This was not the power of the Refining Void Realm! Even in the Late Stage of Void Refining, it would be impossible to use pure strength to counter the annihilation of Laws!

Rumble!!!

Finally, the fragmented black Domain could no longer maintain its form.

Like a punctured black balloon, it completely collapsed in an instant!

It turned into billions of shattered Law fragments and pure Soul Power, sweeping back in all directions!

An energy storm capable of destroying this Star Domain was about to take shape.

However, Lin Fan's figure had already passed through the collapsing Domain and arrived in front of Black Skull.

He simply opened his palm.

An invisible force field radiated from his palm.

That terrifying storm about to erupt was like a tamed beast; all the energy was smoothed out and absorbed in a gentle manner, eventually all flowing into his body.

The starry sky returned to a deathly silence once more.

It was as if that world-destroying confrontation just now had never happened.

"Pfft..."

Black Skull spat out his last mouthful of essence blood.

His body, which had been burning with light, became completely illusory, as if it would be blown away by the wind at any moment.

He had lost.

He had appeared in the most brilliant way, yet met his end in the most pathetic manner.

He looked up at the man before him, who was unscathed and whose aura wasn't even disturbed; in his nearly extinguished Soul fire, only endless confusion and absurdity remained.

"Wh... Why..."

Using his last ounce of strength, he voiced his question.

He couldn't understand.

He had plotted his whole life and dominated the sea of stars, only to lose so inexplicably in the end.

Who exactly was this monster? Where did he come from? And what was his purpose for doing this?

For the wealth of Black Sail?

For hegemony over the sea of stars?

Or was it simply for slaughter?

Lin Fan looked at him, the flush of excitement on his face slowly fading, returning to a calm like a deep, still well.

[Ding! Detected Host survived a 'Law Annihilation' type attack. Overlord Saint Body has comprehended a new trait: Law Resistance (Elementary)!]

[Ding! Detected Host defeated 'Myriad Souls Return to Emptiness' head-on. Overlord Saint Body proficiency has significantly increased!]

[Ding! Detected Host has absorbed a large amount of masterless Soul Power and Law fragments. Cultivation is being converted...]

The notification sounds ringing in his mind were pleasant to the ear.

A good harvest.

He looked at the overlord of the old era whose lamp had run out of oil, and finally satisfied his final curiosity.

In a flat tone that simply stated facts, he said softly:

"Don't misunderstand."

"I didn't have any special purpose in coming here."

"Initially, I just heard that your Black Sail was very fierce, killing without blinking, and that your defensive Formations were sturdy enough."

"So, I wanted to come over and see if I could find an opportunity to have you guys help... beat me to death safely a few times."

Silence.

Black Skull's illusory figure completely froze.

His dissipating consciousness struggled to process this simple sentence.

Then, a sense of absurdity infinitely stronger than death itself, stronger than the destruction of his fleet, and stronger than the breaking of his forbidden technique, instantly submerged his final remnant Soul.

He... he just... wanted to find death?

His life's work, the lives of countless brothers, this blood-soaked internal strife, this earth-shattering final battle... from beginning to end, it was all just a stage casually set up by this monster to 'be beaten to death safely'?

"Heh..."

"Heh... Hehehe..."

Intermittent, airy sounds like a leaking bellows came from Black Skull's throat.

He laughed.

On that crack-filled, soon-to-vanish face, he wore a smile more painful to look at than crying.

It was a final expression mixed with endless regret, absurdity, and relief.

So that's how it was.

So... it was like this.

He didn't lose to a conspiracy, nor did he lose to power.

He simply... lost to a madman he could never understand.

"Puff."

One last soft sound.

The founder of the Black Sail Pirate Crew, the overlord who had dominated the sea of stars for hundreds of years, Black Skull—

his final wisp of Divine Soul completely dissipated.

He turned into an inconspicuous speck of dust in this sea of stars.

Lin Fan quietly watched the place where he disappeared, where a shimmering Storage Ring and a pitch-black Jade Slip recording the core Legacy of Black Sail were floating quietly.

He waved his hand and collected them.

Thus, this great play of wiping out the main Black Sail fleet, which he had orchestrated and starred in, officially came to a close.

He surveyed this silent graveyard of stars, the countless ship wrecks, the floating supplies, and the massive fragments of the Leviathan containing vast life energy... Lin Fan nodded in satisfaction.

It was time to tally all the gains from this epic 'undercover' operation.