143: Chapter 143 My eyes are almost blind, I rely on my heartbeat to find my way.

The moment Chen Fan broke through the thunder curtain, his retinas felt like they were splashed with boiling oil.

He staggered two steps, gripping Su Shuang's knee tightly with his left hand and supporting Flash Skin's lower back with his right—the weight of those two pressed painfully on his shoulder blades, yet it became his last anchor to this world.

"Fanzi..." Su Shuang's breath brushed against the back of his neck, carrying a hint of blood. "The spirit body... can see."

His Adam's apple bobbed.

The originally clear outlines were melting away. The exit stone wall, which he could still discern moments ago, was now just a chaotic gray shadow.

The spirit body floated up from his chest. The semi-transparent phantom's fingertips swept through the air. Every time it touched a protruding rock, a subtle vibration shot through his meridians and into his heart—thump, thump, thump, as if someone were tickling his ribs with a feather.

"The thunder core... isn't a weapon," Su Shuang's fingertip lightly tapped the back of his neck. The sensation of the spirit body communicating was lighter than a mosquito bite. "It's the system's backup energy source."

Chen Fan stopped abruptly.

Flash Skin's head bumped against his shoulder, but he didn't notice. blue flame rose from his Dantian, sinking through his fingertips into the ground—the spark burned almost imperceptible patterns into the rock strata, shaking his shock into ripples.

If the thunder core was the system's backup energy source... destroying it would cut off that thing's escape route?

"The ninth bell tolls..."

A hoarse child's voice seeped from the rock crevice to his right.

Chen Fan turned his head, only seeing a mass of dark red shadow writhing—Thunder Child, the kid who always squatted next to the bronze bell, now had blood streaming from his eyes. The drops of blood hit the rock with a sizzling sound. "Thunder stops for seven breaths."

The communicator on his waist vibrated. Black Crow's voice sounded like a Broken Gong struck by lightning: "The bell tolls are the system's countdown!

The Final Purification Ritual has been moved up!"

Chen Fan ground his back molars.

He tore off the lapel of his tunic, scorched black by the thunder fire, and covered his eyes—the gray shadow before him vanished completely, leaving only pure darkness.

The spirit body trembled even more violently. Every time it sensed an obstacle three steps away, a light tap struck his chest, like a mother patting a baby to sleep.

"Go," he said in a muffled voice. The spirit body lifted the hammer of the thunder god and floated beside him. "Su Shuang, you guide the way; Thunder Child, watch the bell; Old Monk..."

"This poor monk is here."

The Silent Thunder Monk's voice came from behind him.

Chen Fan could hear the rustling sound of his kasaya rubbing against the rock, followed by thunder exploding above his head—the old monk formed a hand seal, and a mass of dark purple thundercloud spread out above everyone's heads, blocking the pursuing thunder fire three feet away. "You use thunder to kill, and you use thunder to save people." His voice was much softer than before, like a prayer flag soaked by the rain. "This poor monk will no longer stop the thunder... only to protect a madman."

Chen Fan didn't reply.

He flicked his finger, and blue flame shot along the ground to the Silent Thunder Monk's feet, burning a string of scorched footprints into the rock.

The spirit body's vibration suddenly intensified—there was a raised piece of gravel two steps ahead.

He lifted his foot, accurately avoiding it, and then used blue flame to burn a mark in the new location: "Step on my footprints."

The Silent Thunder Monk was silent for a moment, then let out a low chuckle: "Alright."

The wind in the middle section of the rift suddenly changed.

Chen Fan could smell the ozone scent permeating the air growing stronger. The spirit body's vibration frequency changed from "thump - thump - thump" to "thump-thump - thump-thump - thump-thump."

Su Shuang's fingertips tapped his nape three times in quick succession. The sensation of the spirit body communicating was like tapping Morse code: "Thunder net... gap... heartbeat."

He stopped abruptly.

The sound of his heartbeat roared in his ears, one beat, two beats, three beats—the spirit body suddenly pierced through his chest, overlapping with the rhythm of his heart.

A flash of golden light from a system prompt crossed Chen Fan's vision: [Dual Source Resonance Detected (Spirit Body + Heartbeat), Danger Perception Increased by 300%]

"It's coming," Su Shuang's voice was as light as a sigh.

Chen Fan felt his scalp tingle.

The spirit body exploded in a blinding light three inches ahead—a hundred purple thunderbolts shot out from the cliffs on both sides of the rift, weaving into an impenetrable thunder net.

He counted his heartbeats: one, two, three—he lifted his leg.

The moment his foot landed, the thunder net shifted, leaving a gap. Purple lightning grazed his pant leg and struck the rock, kicking up a spray of debris.

"One step for every three beats," he gritted out, the spirit body's vibration completely synchronized with his heartbeat. "Su Shuang, count the heartbeats."

"One," Su Shuang's fingertip tapped his nape.

Chen Fan took his second step, and the gap in the thunder net was half an inch wider than before.

"Two."

When his third step landed, he heard a faint 'click' from within the thunder net—like the crisp sound of some mechanism coming loose.

"Three."

On the seventh step.

Chen Fan felt the ground disappear beneath his feet. When he landed again, the roar of the thunder net suddenly vanished.

He knelt on the ground, leaning on his knees to catch his breath. Blood dripping from the corner of his mouth stained the blindfold, blooming into a dark red flower.

"Vision... gone," he pulled off the blindfold. Only emptiness remained before his eyes. "Hearing... still here."

The system prompt exploded in his mind: [Sensory Deprivation x 2 (Vision, Hearing) Triggered Critical Hit! Spirit Body Evolution: Can act as eyes to scout the path, lasting 20 seconds, 5-minute cooldown.]

Chen Fan reached back for Su Shuang. Her fingertip lightly hooked his pinky finger. The sensation of the spirit body communicating felt like a feather brushing his heart: "Don't... stop."

A muffled sound came from the distance, like some colossal creature turning over underground.

Chen Fan gripped the hammer of the thunder god; the thunder patterns on the handle were hot enough to turn his palm red.

He could hear the Silent Thunder Monk's ragged breathing two steps behind him, the 'sizzle' of Thunder Child's blood hitting the rock, and Su Shuang's heartbeat—one beat, one beat, overlapping with his own.

"Even if I'm blind and deaf..." he chuckled hoarsely. The spirit body spread a pale blue light in front of him. "I will smash this thunder into the system's coffin."

The spirit body's detection range suddenly expanded.

Chen Fan 'saw' a bronze palace gate three hundred paces ahead. Nine thunder locks coiled around the lintel, each one flickering with a faint blue spark—that was the main hall of the thunder core.

The system prompt sounded again, this time carrying a hint of menace: [Destructive intent detected. Final Purification Ritual Countdown Initiated: 00:09:59]