285: Bottleneck and the Holy Land of Death

Inside the dim bridge, Zhao Linger's voice was like a pebble thrown into a still lake, sending out ripples.

"I seem... to be able to feel the location of another [leaf of the ancestral tree]."

"It is calling to me."

A flicker of realization flashed in Lin Fan's eyes.

It's here.

That unlucky fellow Si Kongya, as expected, brought the "treasure map" and plunged headfirst into the Shadow Hall's nest.

And the Shadow Hall, that group of shadowy assassins and information brokers, probably never dreamed that the sacred object they had guarded for countless years would be delivered to their doorstep by a fool from the Heavenly Charm Sect.

There is a wondrous resonance between the leaves of the ancestral tree.

With the Bloodline in Zhao Linger's body activated, she could naturally sense the presence of another leaf.

"Ignore it."

Lin Fan said casually, as if it were an insignificant matter.

"That leaf will soon deliver itself to our door."

He didn't explain much.

A fish that has taken the bait is best left undisturbed until it is reeled in.

Zhao Linger nodded half-understandingly, but seeing Lin Fan's confident look, her heart, which had just been in her throat, inexplicably steadied.

He was always like this, as if everything was within his calculations.

"Go and familiarize yourselves with your power first. The cultivation rooms on this ship can absorb universal Spiritual Qi at ten times the speed."

Lin Fan waved his hand and dismissed the three.

When he was the only one left on the bridge, he slowly sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

The Qi and blood in his body, like a surging golden river, were now replenished and even more refined after the consumption of cleansing his marrow and forcibly stabilizing the world passage.

Void Refining Great Perfection.

His cultivation remained steadily at this Realm.

Only one step away from merging with the Dao, wandering the Great Void, and entering the ranks of the truly powerful—the Body Integration Stage.

But this one step was like a chasm.

An indestructible yet intangible barrier lay between his Divine Soul and the Great Dao.

He could feel that if he wished, he could trigger the Laws of Heaven and Earth at any time to call down the Body Integration Heavenly Tribulation.

But that kind of Breakthrough wasn't what he wanted.

Too ordinary.

High risk, low reward—it completely went against his core values.

To comprehend the Origin of the Great Dao between life and death, to gain new life within destruction, he needed a... higher quality death.

Lin Fan slowly opened his eyes and walked to the main control console.

A massive star map light screen unfolded before him.

The light point representing Si Kongya's fleet had gone out deep within that bright red "Shadow Hall" territory.

Lin Fan's gaze swept over that area and finally landed on an even deeper, more ominous dark red nebula.

On the "Black Sail Eye" star map, that nebula was marked with a large, hideous skull, and next to it were four startling blood-red characters.

—Divine Silence Ruins.

A universal forbidden zone, a graveyard of life.

Rumor has it that it was the final battlefield of the ancient Great War of Gods and Demons, where more than one terrifying existence beyond the Body Integration Stage had fallen.

Their Dao, their Laws, their resentment and unwilling spirits had merged with the Star Domain itself over endless years, forming a death zone of extremely chaotic Laws and incredibly violent energy.

Let alone Void Refining, even if a Body Integration Stage expert barged in, if their luck was bad, they might not even last a single breath before being directly erased from the source by the chaotic power of the Laws.

Perfect.

It was practically a treasure land tailor-made for him!

A satisfied arc curled at the corner of Lin Fan's mouth... Half a day later.

Lin Fan called the three—Zhao Linger and the others, who had just stabilized their cultivation—back to the bridge.

"I plan to go into seclusion for a while to break through to the Body Integration Stage."

He got straight to the point, his tone flat.

Hearing this, Fatty Zhang immediately beamed.

"Brother Fan is getting stronger again? That's great! Once you become a Body Integration Stage big shot, can't we just walk with impunity?"

A hint of joy also appeared on Li Hanyue's cold face.

Only Zhao Linger frowned slightly, keenly sensing something was wrong.

Lin Fan ignored Fatty Zhang and instead swiped his hand across the main control screen.

Whoosh!

The perspective of the entire bridge switched instantly.

They seemed to have turned into deities hanging high above the starry sky, looking down upon the entire Netherworld Meteorite Field.

Deep within this vast meteorite field, rows of hideous, glimmering warships, like sleeping schools of sharks, were packed so densely that the end could not be seen.

In the center of these warships, a starry sky base made from countless massive meteorites crouched like a steel beast in the darkness, emitting a heart-palpitating aura.

"This... this is all ours?"

Fatty Zhang's tongue felt tied as he looked at the massive scale, enough to form an invincible fleet.

"Blood Crow Old Demon's entire fortune is now ours."

Lin Fan's fingertip tapped lightly on the light screen.

Hum—

The massive starry sky base and all the warships lit up with countless runic light points at the same time, forming an unimaginably huge defensive Formation that covered the entire meteorite field.

"During my seclusion, the highest command of the fleet will be transferred to the AI 'Black Sail'. It will be responsible for the base's daily operations and security."

Lin Fan looked at Zhao Linger, his tone becoming solemn.

"Your authority is Advanced. You can take over control of 'Black Sail' at any time."

"Remember, unless I contact you personally, do not let anyone or any fleet enter the Netherworld Meteorite Field."

Zhao Linger's heart sank suddenly.

This didn't sound like seclusion; it sounded more like... settling his affairs.

She took a step forward, her eyes fixed on Lin Fan.

"Where are you going for your seclusion?"

Lin Fan was silent for a moment, then pointed at the star map.

The position where his fingertip landed was precisely that dark red forbidden zone representing absolute death.

Divine Silence Ruins.

"No!"

Zhao Linger blurted out, her face turning pale instantly.

"You can't go there! That place..."

Although she had just arrived in the Upper Realm, the fearsome reputation of the Divine Silence Ruins had long permeated countless ancient records and legends. Even the ancient records of the Tianyuan Continent described it as 'the place where gods and demons fall, a land where living beings cannot step.'

"Brother Fan! Are you crazy?" Fatty Zhang also jumped up in fright. "That place doesn't sound like a place good people should go!"

Li Hanyue gripped her sword hilt, saying nothing, but her cold eyes were filled with disapproval.

Seeing the anxious expressions of the three, a hint of warmth flowed through Lin Fan's heart.

But he had to go.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable power.

"Ordinary seclusion is useless for breaking through to Body Integration. I must go to the place where the Laws are most active to gain enlightenment."

"I have a life-saving trump card; I won't die."

He was telling the truth.

Except, the name of that trump card was [Infinite Resurrection].

Seeing Lin Fan's determined expression, Zhao Linger knew she could not talk him out of it.

Once this man made a decision, no one could sway him.

Her eyes reddened slightly, but she could only nod hard.

"I'll wait for you to come back."

After settling everything.

Lin Fan went alone to the deepest part of that starry sky base.

This place had been transformed by him into a massive underground dock.

In the center of the dock, he used all the Materials claimed to be 'immortal' and 'eternal' found in the Blood Crow treasury to set up a new resurrection anchor.

The foundation was a whole piece of 'Primordial Divine Stone.'

The Formation lines were personally engraved with melted 'Void Divine Gold.'

The core was embedded with an 'Immortal Heart' dug out from an unknown creature's body, which was still faintly beating.

This was the most solid, luxurious, and ridiculous resurrection point he had built to date.

Safety measures had to be maxed out.

After finishing all this, he walked out of the dock with peace of mind.

The top-tier attack ship, shaped like a black sword, was already waiting quietly.

Under the worried gazes of Zhao Linger and the others, Lin Fan stepped onto the ship.

The hatch closed slowly.

Without the slightest hesitation, the black sword-shaped starship turned into a streak of light, rushing out of the meteorite field's range and heading resolutely toward that dark red nebula symbolizing death and ill omen.

Zhao Linger stared blankly in the direction the ship had disappeared until it became an imperceptible speck of light.

Just then.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

A piercing alarm suddenly echoed throughout the bridge!

On the main control screen, an enlarged star map popped up. Countless red dots representing hostility were converging on the Azurewood Star Region from two different directions at an alarming speed!

The cold, emotionless electronic voice of the AI 'Black Sail' echoed on the bridge.

"Alert: Large-scale fleet assembly detected."

"Based on database comparison, the identities are identified as... the main fleet of the Heavenly Charm Sect, and the Seventh and Ninth Patrol Fleets of the Shadow Hall."

"Target direction: Azurewood Star Region. Estimated arrival at the outskirts of this star region in seven standard days."