77: Chapter 77 Five punches, aimed at your vital organs.

The altar trembled violently, and the beads of blood seeping from the cracks in the bronze bricks beneath Chen Fan's knees crawled down his torn pant legs toward his ankles, the sweet, metallic scent drilling straight into his nostrils.

He gripped Su Shuang's hand. Her hands were as cold as if they had been soaked in an ice cave, but just a moment ago, her little finger had suddenly hooked his palm lightly—like a butterfly whose wings had been crushed, making one last struggle to brush against his fingertips.

"Fan...zi..."

The sound was as light as ash swept away by a volcanic wind. Chen Fan suddenly lowered his head and saw the fox tattoo at the corner of Su Shuang's eye fading at a speed visible to the naked eye. Her eyelashes trembled violently, finally reflecting a faint light in his pupils.

Her lips were cracked with scabs, and blood threads seeped out with every word she spoke: "Don't... ruin yourself for me..."

Chen Fan's Adam's apple bobbed. He wanted to say, "This life of mine has long been yours," but the words caught in his throat—Su Shuang's eyes sunken again, the fox tattoo completely receding into her skin, even the last trace of color draining away completely.

His forehead rested against hers, and he could feel her breath as faint as a wisp of smoke, like a candle flame about to be extinguished by the wind.

"Damn it!" he cursed, his voice trembling. His fingernails almost dug into his palm. "Why didn't you say that when you burned your life force to ignite the Qingqiu?"

Before the words even fell, the critical hit system in his chest suddenly became scorching hot.

The energy bar, which had been half empty, instantly shot upward. The five bars of energy glowed with a sizzling golden-red light, like wax candles doused in hot oil.

Chen Fan froze—this system had only ever recognized his will since activation, but at this moment, he could clearly feel an extremely faint consciousness, carrying the sweet scent of osmanthus, drilling into the system through his blood vessels.

It was Su Shuang's.

"You idiot..." he laughed hoarsely, his fingertip lightly brushing the bronze coin in her hair. The faint green light left by the Jade Spirit suddenly flashed once. "Fine, if you're lending me power, I'll use this life—" He slowly stood up, his knuckles cracking loudly. His gaze swept over the main formation core entangled by seven chains. "—to smash this goddamn rule."

"Brother Chen!"

A shout mixed with the smell of scorching erupted from the direction of the formation core.

Chen Fan turned his head and saw Blue Scale clinging to the edge of the runes on the main formation core. The back of his hand was burned down to the bone, and the remnants of the Reverse Fire Talisman were stuck in his flesh, sizzling and emitting black smoke: "My little sister was dragged onto the altar this time last year; she was only seven, crying and asking for candied hawthorn..." He grinned, blood foam dripping onto the talisman paper from his chin. "Today, I'm collecting her debt!"

The system alarm suddenly pitched up three tones, making Chen Fan's eardrums ache. He watched as Blue Scale's figure was suddenly enveloped in red light—a sign that the self-destruct sequence had been initiated.

Blue Scale looked up and roared at him: "Three seconds!

Three seconds is enough for you to land five punches!"

"Blue Scale!" Chen Fan tried to rush over, but a fiery meteor suddenly smashed down from the high platform.

The ruined body of Tongue Burner was burning like a lump of live charcoal. His charred fingers were still clutching half a talisman, and his throat let out a sound like a broken bellows: "Go to hell... together!"

Chen Fan didn't retreat; instead, he charged straight into the ball of fire.

His left fist wrapped in the wind of a normal attack smashed toward Tongue Burner's face—this was a feint; what he wanted was Tongue Burner's instinctive sidestep.

As expected, Tongue Burner tilted his head. Chen Fan's right fist's energy bar jumped to the critical point, and a crimson-gold light solidified at the apex of the punch: "Critical Charge x 3!"

The moment the fist pierced Tongue Burner's chest, Chen Fan heard the crisp sound of bone shattering.

Tongue Burner's eyes widened roundly. With half a charred tooth remaining in his mouth, he was slammed straight into the lava, swallowed completely by the boiling crimson-gold liquid before he could even scream.

"One second!" Blue Scale's voice was already bubbling with blood. Half of his body began to turn transparent, like ash being blown away by the wind. "Quick!"

Chen Fan used the recoil force to leap into the air, his first punch aimed at the ring of the first chain.

The system prompt exploded across his retina: [Visible Critical Hit x 4]!

The instant the crimson-gold light cluster hit the chain, the originally scarlet chain body cracked in half with a 'kacha' sound, like a severed snake. Sparks sprayed from the break and fell into the lava, raising a large cloud of white mist.

"Two seconds!" The back of Blue Scale's bony hand suddenly erupted with ghostly blue flames from the Reverse Fire Talisman, and the runes of the main formation core began to twist. "Hold on!"

With the second punch, Chen Fan stepped on the splashing lava and jumped toward the second chain.

He deliberately paced the charging rhythm, unleashing the blow the instant the chain resonated from the break: "Hidden Critical Hit x 3!" The bronze brick at the chain's base instantly shattered, and the entire chain hung limply into the lava pool, like a dragon whose spine had been removed.

The third punch was the riskiest.

Chen Fan used the subterranean fire erupting from the ground to shoot into the sky, forcibly twisting his body in mid-air, aiming the apex of his fist at the thinnest joint of the third chain.

The system prompt nearly burned his eyes: [Environmental Resonance Critical Hit x 5]!

The chain reaction was fiercer than he had imagined. As the third chain snapped, the clasp of the fourth chain also exploded, the fragments raining down onto the altar like a storm.

"Three seconds!" Blue Scale's voice suddenly softened. His entire body began to dissolve into specks of light. "For me... pat her head..."

Chen Fan's Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed the word "I promise" back down.

He pulled out Su Shuang's bronze coin and pressed it into his fist. The residual fox blood suddenly glowed pink, intertwining with the system's crimson-gold to form a magnificent rainbow.

The moment the fourth punch was thrown, the system prompts merged into one: [Critical Charge x 4] + [Bloodline Amplification x 2]!

The fifth chain snapped in response, and even the runes of the main formation core cracked with web-like lines.

For the final punch, Chen Fan poured all the critical energy in his body into it.

He could hear the sound of his ribs breaking, and he could feel the blood vessels in his temples throbbing as if they were about to explode, but he still roared and charged forward: "This punch is for all the children who were burned—smash!"

[Five-Fold Stacked Critical Hit]!

The roar echoed throughout the entire underground space.

The crisp sound of all seven chains breaking simultaneously was more deafening than the war drums of a thousand armies.

The earth core flame marrow surged up toward the altar like a provoked crimson-gold dragon, rushing straight for the stone platform where Su Shuang was.

Chen Fan staggered forward and, in the instant before the flame marrow hit the stone platform, pulled Su Shuang into his embrace.

The moment the crimson-gold liquid enveloped them, he heard a very light moan from Su Shuang's throat—her fox blood runes were relighting, starting from her collarbone and creeping up her neck toward the corners of her eyes, like a slowly blooming flower.

But she still hadn't opened her eyes.

"Su Shuang?" Chen Fan lowered his head and called softly, his fingers gently touching her eyelids. "Wake up and see how well-behaved the flame marrow you saved is..."

Before he finished speaking, the lava lake suddenly churned violently.

A giant shadow composed of data streams rose from the abyss—it was a faceless visage, and the voice was like ice picks stabbing into his ears: "S-Rank Relic Holder, illegally seizing high-dimensional energy. Initiating 'Calamity Thunder' countdown—seventy-two hours."

Chen Fan looked up. The fingers of Su Shuang in his arms suddenly tightened slightly, her nails lightly pinching his palm.

He grinned, blood foam staining the corner of his mouth, yet it was hotter than the lava: "Come on, my ledger isn't finished yet."

The sound of the boiling lava lake gradually subsided, and the remnants of the altar began to sink, emitting a dull 'thud'.

Chen Fan sat on the cooled stone platform holding Su Shuang, feeling her body temperature slowly rising from the coldness of an ice sculpture to the warmth of a living person.

He lowered his head, leaned close to her ear, and whispered: "Open your eyes when you've slept enough. I'll take you to eat the osmanthus cakes you hid in the secret compartment at the Teahouse."

Su Shuang's eyelashes trembled, and she rubbed against his collarbone like a little beast just waking up.