256: Cool and stylish, with counter-damage

Feeling the vast and surging power within his body, as if the world were being created, Chen Nian slowly opened his eyes.

Deep within his pitch-black pupils, the illusion of stars flickering out of existence and the birth of the Universe flashed by and vanished.

He gently clenched his fist.

"Crack—"

The subtle sound of his knuckles rubbing together was as clear as a thunderclap in the silent room.

He wasn't exerting force intentionally; merely the most natural contraction and relaxation of his muscles and bones caused the surrounding air to emit a faint, overwhelmed whimper.

"Level 8 Prison Suppressing Divine Body..."

Chen Nian muttered to himself in satisfaction.

This leap in life level and transformation in the essence of power brought not only a surge in strength but also a comprehensive sublimation of his understanding of himself and the world.

He felt like a fully awakened sacred mountain, with a solid Foundation, unmoving and unshakable, capable of suppressing eternity.

He was also like a bottomless abyss, capable of devouring, containing, and converting all external energy and impacts.

He even had the illusion that if he stood still right now and let the previous Incinerator strike him with full force, it probably wouldn't even be able to shake the divine light naturally flowing on his skin in the slightest.

This was the might of the Level 8 Prison Suppressing Divine Body!

Chen Nian moved his mind slightly and pulled up the System panel.

【 points: 829157 】

Nearly 830,000 points was still a huge fortune.

"System, how many points are needed to increase the Prison Suppressing Divine Body by one level from Level 8?" he asked directly.

【 Ding! Replying to host, for Prison Suppressing Divine Body Level 8, each level increase requires consuming 45,000 points. 】

45,000 points per level?

Chen Nian raised an eyebrow slightly.

Compared to Level 7, the points required had increased quite a bit.

However, considering the leap in strength brought by the Level 8 physique, this cost was reasonable and acceptable.

"Continue, use all points to upgrade the Prison Suppressing Divine Body!" Chen Nian did not hesitate at all.

The Foundation is always the most important thing.

As long as his Physical Body was strong enough, he could break all techniques with sheer force and handle the vast majority of situations.

【 Ding! Command confirmed! 】

【 Consumed 810,000 points, Prison Suppressing Divine Body Level 8 upgraded to Level 18! 】

The moment the command was issued—

"Boom!!!"

More majestic, purer, and seemingly vast energy originating from the Origin of the Universe poured in like the Nine Heavens Milky Way, rushing into Chen Nian's limbs and bones!

This reinforcement was no longer the violent, earth-shattering structural reorganization of before.

It was more like a kind of ultimate "refining" and "consolidation."

On his golden bones, those profound Dao patterns shone brightly, connecting with each other as if to form some kind of natural array.

The golden light in his blood became even more brilliant, and as it flowed, there was a faint sound of wind and thunder accompanying it.

The density of his muscle fibers reached an unimaginable level; they looked no different from an ordinary person's, but the explosive power contained within was enough to easily crumble high mountains and tear apart the earth.

His internal organs seemed to have turned into glazed divine jade, transparent and tough, forming a perfect resonance with his Qi and blood throughout his body.

Under his skin, a faint, almost invisible layer of golden light naturally flowed, containing an immortal and indestructible aura.

When this wave of reinforcement slowly subsided, Chen Nian felt as if his body had completely shed the "weight" of a mortal frame, becoming incomparably "light," yet also incomparably "heavy."

This was a contradictory yet unified feeling.

Light, because his control over his body had reached the microscopic level; with a single thought, he could erupt with thunderous power, without any obstruction.

Heavy, because the mass and energy contained within this body were simply too terrifying; if he completely released his restraints and just stood still, the ground within a hundred meters would likely slowly subside due to his existence.

"Level 18, that's enough."

Chen Nian felt the power within him, like a sleeping ancient star core, and a confident arc curled at the corner of his mouth.

Now, he was more than ten times stronger than before he entered the Luoxia Mountain demon cave.

Even if he encountered an opponent at the level of the Crimson Flame Demon Lord again, he was confident that without any technique, relying solely on this Physical Body, he could beat them to a pulp!

【 points: 19157 】

There were less than 20,000 points left, not enough to continue upgrading the Prison Suppressing Divine Body.

Chen Nian's gaze turned to the skill bar.

Besides the previous skills, a new icon shimmering with a dark red luster appeared at the very bottom—【 Crimson Flame Demon Armor 】.

This was the reward for killing the Crimson Flame Demon Lord; Chen Nian focused his mind on it, and the skill information immediately appeared.

【 Crimson Flame Demon Armor (Level 1): Condenses the power of flames to form a layer of flaming armor on the body surface, providing both physical defense and energy resistance. The armor comes with a "Burning Damage Reflection" effect, which can cause continuous fire damage to the attacker. 】

After reading the skill description, a flash of interest crossed Chen Nian's eyes.

Both physical and energy defense, and it even comes with damage reflection?

With a thought, he activated the skill directly.

"Hum—"

Dark red light suddenly lit up from the surface of his body!

Countless fine and profound dark red patterns emerged, spread, and intertwined from beneath his skin like living things!

Hot and pure demonic flames generated out of thin air, but they did not burn wildly; instead, they were like the most tamed spirits, perfectly merging with those patterns!

The next moment, a set of dark red armor with a ferocious, domineering, and powerful appearance.

As if grown from inside Chen Nian's body, it instantly covered his whole body!

The armor's lines were smooth and sharp, with sharp bone spikes protruding at the joints; the shoulder armor was as thick as a Vicious Beast's skull, and a dark red crystal core was embedded in the center of the chest armor.

On the surface of the armor, dark red demonic flames flickered like breathing, emitting a heart-stopping high temperature and a sense of solidity.

Chen Nian raised his hand and flexed his fingers; a crisp metallic rubbing sound came from the joints, but there was no sense of obstruction.

Moving his mind again, the armor instantly receded like a tide, hiding back into his body as if it had never appeared.

"Not bad." Chen Nian nodded, quite satisfied.

This armor certainly looked cool, its defensive power seemed quite impressive from the description, and it came with a damage reflection effect.

Although with his current Level 8 Prison Suppressing Divine Body, conventional attacks were almost impossible to break his defense, having an extra layer of protection never hurt.

Moreover, this skill seemed to share the same Origin as "Heaven-Burning Flame," both being fire-attribute, so perhaps there could be some synergy in the future.

"System, how many points are needed to upgrade the Crimson Flame Demon Armor?" he asked casually.

【 Ding! Replying to host, for Crimson Flame Demon Armor, each level increase requires consuming 1,500 points. 】

1,500 points per level?

Chen Nian raised an eyebrow.

After this period of frantic point farming, 1,500 points really didn't mean much to him anymore.

However, he had no intention of upgrading this skill for the time being.

As he had thought before, with his current physique strength, this layer of demon armor was more of an added bonus.

Its priority was not high.

"Let's just leave it for now." Chen Nian moved his gaze away and looked at another skill—【 Heaven-Burning Flame 】.