160: Chapter 160 Conspiracy

The battle continued.

Lin Mo's breathing had grown increasingly heavy; fine sweat seeped from his temples, and several bloody gashes had been added to his arms.

Yet his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Because he had finally discovered something.

Though the Martial Demon was strong, it was not invincible.

It possessed a fatal flaw!

It was trying to simultaneously accommodate too many residual martial intents, too many combat logics, and too many fragmented philosophies.

Lin Mo stared at the Martial Demon and suddenly smiled.

"This isn't your complete state, is it?"

He spoke softly.

As if understanding his mockery, the phantom of the Martial Demon suddenly let out a low roar, the ink-black residual patterns on its body surging abruptly.

In the next instant, every joint in its body exploded with sound simultaneously, as it directly entered an even more terrifying combat state.

It raised its hands, striking with both fists together.

An extremely violent pressure crashed down like a tsunami.

This strike was no longer a simple fist technique.

It was as if it wanted to crush Lin Mo along with the Bone Platform into pieces.

Lin Mo stood his ground, his gaze fixed intently on that fist.

At this moment, all the forces within his body that had not yet completely unified seemed to have finally been pushed to their limit.

Void-Treading Cloud-Scaling Steps activated spontaneously.

His entire being seemed encased in an invisible shell of martial arts, and his aura suddenly soared.

"Come."

Lin Mo gave a low shout.

Meeting the combined fist strike, he slashed out with his blade.

This strike was not as dazzling as the previous ones.

It even looked quite ordinary.

But at the moment the blade's edge collided with the fist's force, the entire ninety-ninth floor suddenly fell silent for half a breath.

Then—

BOOM!!!

A terrifying shockwave exploded, tearing the air at the top of the Bone Platform to shreds; even the dozens of steps below trembled incessantly.

Lin Mo's figure was knocked back thirty feet, bone shards flying beneath his feet, yet his long blade remained held steadily across his front.

And the phantom of the Martial Demon was actually forced back a step for the first time.

Only one step.

But that single step was enough to leave everyone completely speechless.

Ji Wuchen's eyes widened abruptly.

Gu Yunting's sword nearly fell from his hand.

Lu Chenzhou's mouth hung open, unable to make a sound for a long time.

Ye Huangyi, at this moment, truly confirmed one thing—

Lin Mo wasn't desperately fighting the Martial Demon.

He was using the Martial Demon to completely smash open his final 'door to unification'.

The elders fell silent as well.

Lei Wanjun watched that single step, his face turning pale as he murmured,

"He... forced the Martial Demon back?"

Shen Guhong did not speak.

However, a rare and profound shock appeared in Daoist Master Yun Yao's eyes.

Because she saw it most clearly.

It wasn't that Lin Mo's slash was particularly stunning.

It was that in that instant just now, all the power in his body was finally no longer scattered.

They began to converge toward a single center.

Like ten thousand rivers returning to the sea.

Like a hundred blades returning to their scabbard.

Like a person finally tempering themselves into being truly 'complete'.

The phantom of the Martial Demon looked down; for the first time, a hairline fracture appeared on its blank bone face.

It let out a roar so low it was almost eerie, and countless black residual patterns surged out from behind it, as if it were about to throw its final strength into the fray.

Lin Mo, however, slowly raised his head.

At that moment, there was no longer the slightest hesitation in his eyes.

Only a battle intent chilled to the extreme remained.

"It's time to end this."

He said in a low voice.

In the next instant, he stepped forward and struck.

All the power he had accumulated until now achieved its first true synchronized explosion at the same time.

The blade light was like a waterfall, slashing upward.

The phantom of the Martial Demon was pierced through by the blade.

Black patterns shattered and white bones disintegrated; the massive phantom twisted violently in the air before finally turning into countless points of light and slowly dissipating.

The entire Bone Platform seemed like a giant beast that had been slumbering for ages and finally opened its eyes.

BOOM—

From within the central formation eye, a pillar of light that connected heaven and earth suddenly surged upward.

It was as if the martial intent, killing intent, obsessions, and indestructible battle souls accumulated over countless years were all forcibly condensed into a single beam at this moment.

Lin Mo stood before the pillar of light, his robes fluttering, his long blade pointing diagonally toward the ground.

He was in no hurry to step inside; instead, he looked at the light first.

Because he could feel it—

Inside this pillar of light, there was more than just an inheritance.

The slaying of the Martial Demon did not mean its complete extinction.

The things it truly left behind were, in fact, the most core elements of this Bone Platform.

An extremely ancient, extremely pure, and extremely dangerous martial will.

That will was like a deep sea submerged in the depths of the light pillar—cold, sharp, twisted, yet carrying a nearly insane persistence.

Below, everyone saw that light.

Ji Wuchen's breath hitched before his chest tightened suddenly.

"What is that?"

His voice was somewhat dry.

Gu Yunting's pupils constricted abruptly.

He could see the problem more clearly than Ji Wuchen.

Because he could feel that the pressure emanating from that light pillar wasn't just pure power; it even contained the martial will of the Martial Demon!

"The inheritance... has truly begun."

Ye Huangyi said softly.

But a clear hint of gravity had also been added to her voice.

The elders all held their breath simultaneously.

Lei Wanjun stared fixedly at that pillar of light, his expression heavier than ever before.

Daoist Master Yun Yao closed her eyes slightly, as if performing some deduction, and only slowly opened them after a moment.

"It is the primordial fragment of martial will."

"To be more precise, it is the sum of the understandings left by that Martial Demon, re-compressed by the Bone Platform and delivered before Lin Mo."

After hearing this, Wei Qianshan's expression became extremely complex.

He finally realized that this wasn't some so-called 'obtaining an inheritance by passing a test'.

This was the entire Bone Platform, after recognizing Lin Mo, personally handing its deepest secrets over to him.

And Lin Mo stepped into the pillar of light.

Buzz—

The light instantly swallowed his entire being.

In the next moment, countless images exploded within his sea of consciousness.

What he saw was no longer the distorted face of the Martial Demon, but the figures of one blurred martial artist after another, charging, falling, and rising again and again on an endless battlefield.

They had no names, no affiliations, and no glory.

They had only one thing in common—

They were all using their own ways to constantly approach the limits of martial arts.

That kind of will was crude, direct, and insane, yet pure to the extreme.

Had it been anyone else, their sea of consciousness would likely have been shaken by this massive and chaotic residual martial intent, or they might have even lost their sanity entirely.

But Lin Mo did not.

Because he had already been tempered, dismantled, and reshaped layer by layer on this Bone Platform too many times.

The questioning of martial arts at the seventieth floor.

The Reconstruction at the eightieth floor.

The unification at the ninetieth floor.

By now, his mind had been ground to a state of extreme stability, stable enough to face and receive this massive martial will head-on.

Even more than just receiving it.

He understood it.

"So that's how it is."

Lin Mo slowly closed his eyes within the light pillar, a very slight curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"So-called martial will is not simple killing intent."

"It is the trace left behind after pushing martial arts to the absolute limit."

At this moment, he actually seemed to be conversing with that will.

And that long-dormant residual martial intent also seemed to feel for the first time that someone truly understood it.

The pillar of light vibrated slightly.

Immediately following, three distinct light patterns began to slowly emerge around Lin Mo.

The first was blue-gray, as light and nimble as the wind.

The second was a dull, flowing gold, as sharp as drifting clouds.

The third was silver-white with a hint of cold, moon-like brilliance, flickering and uncertain, yet extremely stable.

Lin Mo's expression shifted as he looked at these three light patterns.

It was that the combat methods within him, which had already been approaching harmony, finally took the last step under the guidance of this martial will.

Void-Treading Cloud-Scaling Steps.

His understanding of this movement technique had completely integrated into his physical instincts.

As soon as a battle began, the movement technique would automatically find the optimal path for him.

Body moves, steps rise.

There was no need to actively activate it.

Aurora Flowing Cloud Slash.

The rise, continuation, transition, and conclusion of the blade's momentum were completely pressed into his combat instincts.

With the blade in hand, the momentum arose naturally.

There was no longer a need to deliberately accumulate strength.

Starlight Moon Condensation—this trait characteristic also seemed to find its true home under the wash of the martial will, completely integrating into his bodily instincts.

At this time, Lin Mo had not actively activated any traits.

But on the attribute panel, his Strength attribute had already climbed to a level equal to his Agility.

Starlight Moon Condensation had become a passive attribute! The state was permanent!

Immediately after, the three light patterns slowly merged into his body.

In the next moment, Lin Mo's aura did not suddenly surge, but his entire person was nonetheless completely transformed, his combat power several times higher than before!

In this state, let alone the late stage of the Fourth Order, even a Fifth Order existence could be wiped out at will.

And keep in mind, this was still under the suppression of the secret realm!

Outside the pillar of light, everyone below was dazed.

Ji Wuchen's lips parted slightly, but in the end, he couldn't say a word.

He had originally held a faint trace of unwillingness and a desire for comparison that he was reluctant to admit.

But now, those small things had been completely crushed out of existence.

However, just at this moment, before the light pillar atop the Bone Platform had completely dissipated, the distant sky cracked open first.

It was as if some formation that had long been lying in ambush had been forcibly detonated from the inside.

BOOM—

A dull, thunderous roar came from the southeastern horizon.

Immediately after, the entire sky seemed to be torn apart by countless black lines, and a mist as thick as ink seeped from the rift.

Amidst the churning mist, figures slowly stepped out one by one.

They wore the uniform attire of major sects, various factions, and even the border armies and academies.

But their eyes lacked even the slightest warmth of a living person.

Cold.

Empty.

Dead silent.

They were like puppets forcibly stuffed into human skins.

"Mimics..."

Someone below murmured in shock.