53: Three guardian deities guard the mountain; the battle to break the formation.

The Dark Divine Mountain stood towering, pitch-black like ink. Its surface was not rock, but rather a solidified dark crystal that reflected a chilling, eerie light. The mountain was precipitous, stabbing straight into the dome of the eternal twilight sky. From the mountainside upward, it was shrouded in dense black clouds of Annihilation, making it impossible to see clearly. The entire Divine Mountain emitted a terrifying pressure that felt ancient, dead silent, and capable of swallowing all light, heat, and hope. Simply standing at the foot of the mountain made breathing difficult and caused the Divine Soul to tremble.

The three terrifying Auras, resembling giant black pillars supporting the heavens, were stationed at three different locations on the Divine Mountain: the foot, the middle section, and the Peak shrouded by the black clouds. Their Auras echoed each other, merging with the entire Dark Divine Mountain to form an impregnable System of defense and offense.

"Three Nirvana Venerables." Lin Fan scanned the Divine Mountain, sensing the dark pressure that far surpassed any previous opponent. Each one was at least at the Late-stage World Lord, perhaps even stronger! Moreover, relying on the Divine Mountain, their Auras were connected, meaning they were far from fighting independently.

"The one at the foot has the most tyrannical and ferocious Aura; that should be the main attacker. The one halfway up has an obscure and strange Aura, specializing in mental erosion and curses. The one at the Peak has the most immense and profound Aura, most deeply connected to the mountain's Origin; that should be the main guardian and coordinator," Ao Qingxin analyzed swiftly, relying on the Primordial Void Dragon Clan's keen perception of energy.

"We must first break through the defensive barrier surrounding the Dark Divine Mountain, otherwise, we can barely get close," Mo Yuan said gravely. Surrounding the Dark Divine Mountain was a nearly transparent black film of light. On this film, countless fine runes of Annihilation flowed like living things, emitting an Aura that isolated everything and dissolved all methods.

Lin Fan nodded; he had already been observing. This defensive barrier was connected to the entire Divine Mountain and even the earth's ley lines. Attacking it forcibly would only disperse strength throughout the entire mountain System, achieving half the result with double the effort. He needed to find a weak node in the barrier, or tear it apart forcefully using a stronger rule power!

He communicated with the System space in his mind, checking the "Eight Gates Heaven Sealing Formation Diagram" he had obtained from a previous sign-in. This diagram was not an offensive or defensive Formation, but an extremely sophisticated diagram for 'unraveling' and 'locking' Formations, specifically used to analyze, break, and temporarily seal the structure of various complex grand Formations!

"System," Lin Fan murmured in his heart, signing in before this final barrier, "Sign in at the Dark Divine Mountain."

"Ding! Detecting sign-in location—Final Barrier: Dark Divine Mountain (containing the ultimate Origin of Annihilation and guarded by Three Venerables), meeting special sign-in conditions. Sign-in successful!"

"Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: World-Piercing Drill (One-time use)!"

A Magic Treasure, about three feet long, entirely silver-white, with its tip flashing with a sharpness that seemed capable of piercing all realms, appeared in the System space. World-Piercing Drill (One-time use): A Sharp Weapon specialized in breaking various spatial barriers, energy barriers, and Formation screens. It contains a sliver of the 'Absolute Penetration' rule, with an extra bonus against barriers of Annihilation, but can only be used once.

"Heaven is helping me!" Lin Fan's spirit lifted. The Eight Gates Heaven Sealing Formation Diagram was for analysis, and the World-Piercing Drill was for forceful piercing. Combined, there was a great hope of breaking this barrier!

"Everyone, protect me! I need to analyze the nodes of this Formation!" Lin Fan shouted lowly, immediately sinking his Divine Sense into the Eight Gates Heaven Sealing Formation Diagram, while simultaneously sharing the Profound Truth of the diagram via Divine Thought with Mo Yuan, Su Zhiqing, and a few other core members so they could also assist in observation.

The diagram rotated profoundly. Driven by Lin Fan's Divine Sense, it transformed into countless fine light dots, like the most precise probes, silently attaching themselves to the black film covering the Dark Divine Mountain, beginning to rapidly scan and deduce its energy flow and rune structure.

This action immediately alerted the Nirvana Venerables within the mountain!

"Insignificant ants dare to spy on the Divine Mountain!" At the foot of the mountain, a tyrannical roar exploded like thunder! A giant fist print, condensed entirely from pitch-black flames, carrying the terrifying might to incinerate the Void and shatter stars, blasted out directly from the mountain's base, crossing dozens of miles to smash towards Lin Fan, who was concentrating on analyzing the Formation!

This punch was as fast as lightning and its might was heaven-shaking, having clearly reached the Peak of Late-stage World Lord! Wherever the fist print passed, the space was scorched with black marks!

"Your opponent is me!" Mo Yuan roared, and the Demonic Blade Domain he had long prepared erupted instantly! Demonic flames surged around him, and the Demonic Blade in his hand transformed into a black ribbon tearing through heaven and earth. Instead of retreating, he advanced, fiercely slashing towards the flame fist print!

"Rumble—!!!" When the blade met the fist, a destructive energy storm erupted! Mo Yuan's figure swayed slightly, retreating half a step, but the blade light forcibly shattered the flame fist print! Demonic light blazed in his eyes, his Battle Intent soaring wildly: "Is that all! Come again!"

A furious snort echoed from the foot of the mountain. A ferocious figure, three zhang tall, clad in black flame armor, and wielding a giant axe, slowly emerged from the black mist at the base. With every step, the earth trembled. It was the guardian of the foot of the mountain, the Nirvana Venerable—Flame Venerable!

Simultaneously, the obscure and mysterious Aura from the mountainside also stirred. Without earth-shattering momentum, countless thread-like, almost invisible gray air currents, like venomous snakes, silently traversed space, winding towards the Alliance members, especially Lin Fan, who was analyzing the Formation! These air currents contained extremely strong mental erosion and curse power; once touched, they would cling like a persistent disease, constantly weakening the Divine Soul and vital energy.

"glazed heart lamp, illuminate and shatter falsehood!" Su Zhiqing cried out sharply. The sword-shaped jade talisman in her embrace shone brilliantly, transforming into a crystal-clear glazed heart lamp that hovered above everyone's heads. The lamp flame flickered, scattering clear and pure glazed light, completely blocking the incoming gray air currents, causing them to sizzle and dissolve. On the mountainside, a thin figure shrouded in a gray cloak could vaguely be seen, with a sinister light flickering in its eyes—Curse Venerable!

The Buddha's Son chanted true words, bathing the glazed heart lamp in Buddha light; Lina unfolded her Nature Domain, her vigorous vitality dispelling the curse aftershocks; Ethereal Moon circulated the Power of Reincarnation, stabilizing everyone's Divine Souls.

With Mo Yuan and Su Zhiqing blocking the first wave of attacks from Flame Venerable and Curse Venerable respectively, precious time was bought for Lin Fan!

Aided by the Eight Gates Heaven Sealing Formation Diagram, Lin Fan's Divine Sense operated at high speed, finally capturing a subtle "stutter point" in the energy flow of the Divine Mountain's barrier! This point was three hundred Zhang to the left of the mountain gate, where three main energy meridians intersected. Due to a slight conflict in attributes, it created an extremely brief vacuum period of energy—though only for one ten-thousandth of an instant, it was enough!

"Now!" Brilliant light shot from Lin Fan's eyes, and without hesitation, he unleashed the World-Piercing Drill! He poured his own immense Chaos Domain power madly into it, simultaneously drawing upon a trace of the chaos bell's might for reinforcement!

"Chii—!" The World-Piercing Drill transformed into an ultimate streak of silver-white light, moving so fast it surpassed the perception of time, instantly striking the "stutter point" Lin Fan had locked onto!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a faint yet incredibly clear 'crack' sound, like shattering glaze! Under the impact of the 'absolute penetration' rule contained within the World-Breaking Cone and Lin Fan's Chaos power, the black light membrane covering the Divine Mountain was forcibly pierced with a fist-sized hole during that one-ten-thousandth-of-a-second energy vacuum!

Although the hole was small, it instantly destroyed the overall energy balance of the barrier! Starting from the hole, countless cracks spread rapidly across the light membrane like a spider's web!

"Not good! The barrier is broken!" A grand and cold voice, laced with surprise and anger, came from the mountain Peak. It was Control Venerable, whose Aura was the deepest, guarding the summit.

"Attack the fissure with full force!" Lin Fan shouted sharply, launching his own attack first! The chaos bell suddenly expanded, its mouth aimed at the widening fissure, letting out an earth-shattering roar!

"Dong!!!!" The sound of the chaos bell, mixed with surging Chaos Qi, crashed down upon the fissure like a bursting flood! The barrier, already on the verge of collapse, could no longer hold under this combined internal and external assault!

"Rumble!!!" The black light membrane covering the entire Dark Divine Mountain shattered completely, like the shell of a broken egg! Countless Nirvana runes wailed and dissipated, releasing pure dark energy!

The outer barrier of the Divine Mountain, broken!

"Charge in!" Lin Fan retracted the slightly dimmed World-Piercing Drill, held the chaos bell, and took the lead, rushing towards the opened mountain gate!

"Stop them!" Flame Venerable roared, swinging his giant axe to cleave through Mo Yuan's blade light, attempting to reinforce the mountain gate. Curse Venerable also urged more bizarre curse techniques, trying to slow the Alliance's charge.

However, with the barrier broken, the Alliance's momentum was unstoppable! Mo Yuan fiercely entangled Flame Venerable, Su Zhiqing fully deployed her Glazed Sword Domain, purifying all curse gray energy, while the Buddha's Son, Lina, the Giant Clan Warrior, Zi Linger, Ethereal Moon, Ao Qingxin, and the others followed closely behind Lin Fan, surging like a torrent through the former location of the barrier, officially setting foot on the soil of the Dark Divine Mountain!

The final rampart had been torn open! The true bloody battle was about to unfold atop this Divine Mountain, the symbol of the authority of Annihilation!

Black clouds churned above the Peak, and Control's Aura, like an awakened ancient Vicious Beast, firmly locked onto Lin Fan, who was charging at the forefront.

Lin Fan showed no fear, looking up at the Peak. The chaos bell trembled slightly in his hand, emitting a hum that yearned for battle.

The three guardians for the final confrontation were right before his eyes. By surpassing them, he could directly face the ultimate Origin—the resting place of the Lord of Annihilation!