26: Rapidly advancing and breaking through enemy lines, the path of Heaven is severed, leaving no way back.

As the morning light pierced the bloody mist of the Desolate Plains, Lin Chen unfolded his Ancient God Wings, and a golden halo enveloped Clear Snow and Nian Xue, suspending them in mid-air.

Divine Thought spread out like a tide. Two hundred kilometers away, in the Heavenly Dao temporary stronghold, a hundred grandmist rank auras were circulating around a blood-colored magic array.

That was the Heavenly Dao Remnants attempting to rebuild the Sacrifice Array, and dozens of Survivors from various races were tied up at the core of the array.

[Heavenly Dao Remnants Configuration: grandmist rank Heavenly Dao Emissary ×20, chaos rank Heavenly Dao Puppet ×80, Sacrifice Array (Progress 30%)]

[Tactic: Puppets defend the perimeter, Emissaries control the formation, if attacked, sacrifice the Survivors to perish together.]

“We can't let them complete the sacrifice.” Lin Chen condensed Void Power on his fingertip, and Ancient Gods Pressure erupted instantly.

The Puppets on the stronghold's perimeter froze instantly. Clear Snow seized the opportunity to deploy her Ice Domain, and Void Ice Blades rained down on the Puppets' joints. The golden Dragon Scale Armor reflected cold light in the sun, deflecting all of the Puppets' counterattacks.

The jade pendant around Nian Xue's neck suddenly lit up. A Void Shield enveloped the tied-up Survivors, reflecting the blood-colored energy overflowing from the array.

Lin Chen instantly moved to the core of the array, aimed the Void-rank Sacrifice Cannon at the Emissaries' heads, and a golden beam of light surged forth. The 20 Emissaries turned to dust before they could even scream.

[Ding—Killed grandmist rank Heavenly Dao Emissary ×20, chaos rank Heavenly Dao Puppet ×80. Experience evenly split.]

[Lin Chen Rank: 80 (Attributes double every 10 Ranks after Rank 50. Doubling triggered.)]

[Lin Qingxue Rank: 80 (Doubling triggered.)]

[Lin Nianxue Rank: 30 (Lower Rank means faster leveling, cross-Rank experience bonus.)]

As soon as the stronghold was cleared, the rescued Machine Race Survivor rushed forward: “Sir! We found the Heavenly Dao's Storage Room deep inside the stronghold. There is a Grandmist Treasure Chest inside, but it is wrapped in heavy traps!”

Lin Chen followed the Machine Race to the Storage Room. The treasure chest was hidden behind an energy barrier, and the outside of the barrier was covered in Grandmist-rank Poison Thorns and Space traps. He activated the Space Law to relocate the traps, then used his Sublimation Talent to touch the treasure chest:

[Ding—Grandmist heavenly dao treasure chest → void-rank heavenly dao treasure chest (Cannot be Sublimated further)]

Opening the treasure chest, a black ring and a metal-covered handbook lay inside. The ring and handbook instantly shone with a Void halo:

[Void-rank Heavenly Dao Storage Ring]

[Effect: Storage Space 1000 cubic meters, automatically purifies Heavenly Dao energy]

[Void-rank Heavenly Dao Stronghold Distribution Map]

[Effect: Marks the location of all Heavenly Dao Remnants strongholds, displays the energy core]

“With this, we can clear the strongholds one by one.” Lin Chen handed the ring to Clear Snow. “You use this to hold supplies; it's easier to carry.” He then unfolded the distribution map, which densely marked over ten strongholds, the nearest one being only a hundred miles away.

They rushed without stopping. The Heavenly Dao Puppets outside the stronghold were already standing by—they had strapped chaos rank explosives to themselves, forming a suicide defense line, clearly having received the instruction to “delay time.”

[Monster Name: Self-destructing Puppet]

[Rank: 82 (chaos rank)]

[Characteristic: Detonates upon approaching the target, releasing a grandmist rank explosion]

“Want to self-destruct? No chance.” Lin Chen activated the Law of Light, and a golden light shield trapped all the Puppets.

Clear Snow swept her ice crystal sword, freezing the Puppets' detonation devices with Void cold Qi. Then Lin Chen activated the Space Law and transferred all the Puppets to an empty field a thousand meters away.

“Boom—”

The explosion shook the ground, reducing all the Puppets to dust. Lin Chen instantly moved to the core of the stronghold and smashed his fist onto the energy core. The Grandmist energy instantly collapsed.

[Ding—Destroyed grandmist rank Energy Core ×1, Killed chaos rank Self-destructing Puppet ×50. Experience evenly split.]

[Lin Chen Rank: 83]

[Lin Qingxue Rank: 83]

[Lin Nianxue Rank: 40]

Nian Xue poked her head out of Clear Snow's embrace, pointing her small finger at the distant firelight: “Daddy, they blew themselves up again!”

Lin Chen walked back to his wife and daughter, wiping the dust from Nian Xue's face: “The bad guys' tricks are used up.”

Over the next three days, the group cleared strongholds one by one according to the distribution map.

Sometimes encountering illusion traps set by Heavenly Dao Priests, Lin Chen used the Space Law to tear through the illusions.

Sometimes encountering Remnants hiding underground, Clear Snow used the Ice and Snow Law to freeze the ground, forcing the enemies out.

Nian Xue's jade pendant reflected sneak attacks multiple times, protecting the rescued Survivors.

With every stronghold cleared, their Ranks rapidly increased. Nian Xue, in particular, relying on low Rank and high bonus, surged from Rank 40 to Rank 55. Lin Chen and Clear Snow also approached Rank 90.

[Mission Time: 5 days remaining]

[Lin Chen Rank: 88]

[Lin Qingxue Rank: 88]

[Lin Nianxue Rank: 55]

This evening, they arrived at the final stronghold—a Black Castle suspended over a Lava Pool. A blood-colored pillar of light on top of the castle shot straight into the sky, clearly marking it as the ultimate Heavenly Dao Remnants stronghold.

[Castle Guards: grandmist rank Heavenly Dao Commander ×5, chaos rank Puppet ×200, void-rank Trap ×10]

[Tactic: Commanders control the castle defense array, Puppets form the defense line, traps target void-rank objectives.]

“The final battle.” Lin Chen unfolded his Ancient God Wings, and golden light illuminated the Lava Pool. Clear Snow drew her ice crystal sword, and Void Ice Blades slashed toward the castle gate. Three golden Dragons simultaneously spat Dragon Breath, pinning down the Puppet troops.

Seeing this, the Commanders on top of the castle activated the defense array, releasing a blood-colored beam of light that struck directly at Nian Xue.

Nian Xue's jade pendant instantly lit up, and the beam reflected back, shattering one of the castle's towers.

Lin Chen seized the chance, instantly moving next to the Commander. His Ancient Gods Body erupted in golden light, and he smashed his fist into the Commander's chest, completely collapsing its Grandmist energy.

[Ding—Killed grandmist rank Heavenly Dao Commander ×5, chaos rank Puppet ×200. Experience evenly split.]

[Lin Chen Rank: 90 (Doubling triggered.)]

[Lin Qingxue Rank: 90 (Doubling triggered.)]

[Lin Nianxue Rank: 60 (Doubling triggered.)]

The castle collapsed with a loud crash, and the Lava Pool gradually cooled. Lin Chen brought up the three people's panels to confirm their current status:

[Name: Lin Chen]

[Race: Perfect Ancient God (Third Stage)]

[Rank: 90]

[Talent: Sublimation (Unique Rank · Conceptual Rank)]

[Attributes: Strength 6,418,880 (Rank 78 1,604,720 → Rank 80 3,209,440 → Rank 90 6,418,880), Agility 6,418,880, Physique 6,418,880, Spirit 6,419,680] (Doubled once at Rank 80, and once at Rank 90)

[Skills: Ancient Gods Body (Perfection), Ancient Gods Pressure (Perfection), Ancient Gods Divine Sense (220 kilometers), Thunder/Space/Law of Light (Control), Void Power Control (Perfection), Ancient God Wings (Perfection), Anti-Heavenly Dao Rule (Major Achievement)]

[Characteristic: Law Affinity (Control)]

[Held Items: Void-rank Heavenly Dao Sacrifice Token, void-rank Golden Dragon Guardian Token, Void-rank Sacrifice Cannon, Void-rank Heavenly Dao Storage Ring]

[Name: Lin Qingxue]

[Race: Ice and Snow Nine-Tailed White Fox (Transcendence Level)]

[Rank: 90]

[Talents: Heart of Ice and Snow (mythical-grade), Grandmist Ice Soul (origin level), Dragon Scale Guardian (void-rank)]

[Attributes: Strength 10,960,000 (Rank 78 2,740,000 → Rank 80 5,480,000 → Rank 90 10,960,000), Agility 14,320,000, Physique 10,960,000, Spirit 19,120,000] (Doubled once at Rank 80, and once at Rank 90)

[Skills: Ice and Snow Divine Power/Nine-Tails Power/Ice Domain (Perfection), Grandmist Ice Blade/Ice and Snow Origin Control (Perfection), Void Ice Blade (Perfection), Ice and Snow Guardian (Perfection), Anti-Heavenly Dao Ice Blade (Major Achievement)]

[Held Items: void-rank ice crystal sword, void-rank Ice Crystal Dragon Scale Armor, void-rank heavenly dao rule memorandum]

[Name: Lin Nianxue]

[Race: Ancient Demon God]

[Grade: void-rank]

[Rank: 60 (Doubled once at Rank 50, and once at Rank 60)]

[Talent: Void Immunity (void-rank)]

[Attributes: Strength 160,704 (Rank 21 10,044 → Rank 50 80,352 → Rank 60 160,704), Agility 160,704, Physique 160,704, Spirit 160,704] (Lower Rank means faster leveling, doubled at Rank 50 and Rank 60)

[Equipped Items: void-rank life jade pendant · Second Enhancement, Void-rank Heavenly Dao Crystal Stone ×1]

[Mission Time: 1 day remaining]

[Resting Period: Not activated]

“Finally reached Rank 90, but I feel far from being able to fight the heavenly dao main body.” Lin Chen clenched his fist. “Let's return to the Resting World to recuperate and then plan the next steps.”

The group arrived at the mission world's teleportation point. Lin Chen activated the teleportation command—the familiar white light did not appear, and the teleportation point only flashed a blood-colored prompt:

[Heavenly Dao Command: The Myriad Races of the Heavens Resting World has been permanently canceled. All Survivors must continue to survive in the mission world until the ultimate plan begins.]

“What?” Clear Snow's face changed drastically. “The Heavenly Dao canceled the Resting World? Then we won't even have a safe place anymore?”

Nian Xue gripped Lin Chen's collar, quietly asking: “Daddy, can we not go home?”

Lin Chen hugged his wife and daughter, a cold light flashing in his eyes: “The Heavenly Dao wants to trap us in the mission world and slowly wear down our strength. But it doesn't matter. As long as the three of us are together, anywhere is home.”

The rescued Survivors also fell into panic. The Machine Race Elder quickly said: “Lord Lin Chen, we know of a hidden grandmist rank safe zone with sufficient resources. Perhaps we can establish a temporary foothold there!”

Lin Chen nodded, looking at the sky gradually darkening in the distance.

Night was coming to the mission world. Without the protection of the Resting World, the dangers would only increase.

But he felt no fear. The Ancient God Wings spread out behind him, and golden light enveloped everyone:

“Let's go to the safe zone. No matter what tricks the Heavenly Dao pulls, we can handle it.”

Clear Snow gripped her ice crystal sword, standing shoulder to shoulder with Lin Chen. Nian Xue leaned against Lin Chen's chest, her jade pendant flashing with a gentle light, as if responding to her determination.

The Heavenly Dao's plot to cancel the Resting World was now exposed. This survival battle, concerning the fate of the Myriad Races, had completely entered a white-hot phase.

There was no retreat, only forward—using the power in their hands to carve out a path to survival in this cruel world, for their family and their allies.