7: With his fist technique just beginning to take shape, he was attacked again.

In the basin, the storm of Baleful Qi gradually subsided. That hundred-zhang-tall Baleful Demon had completely disintegrated, transforming into the purest Origin energy. Like a black tide, it slowly swirled around Lin Fan, who sat cross-legged in the center. The star pagoda floated above his head, and the clear radiance it shed not only isolated any potential external interference but also acted like an invisible funnel, refining and purifying those violent energies, making them docile before continuously pouring them into Lin Fan's body.

Lin Fan closed his eyes and focused, circulating his Cultivation Technique with all his might. The Eternal Indestructible Body was like a bottomless pit, greedily devouring this majestic energy. His bones emitted a faint, imperceptible hum as their pale golden luster grew deeper. His flesh became tighter and tougher under the repeated washing of energy; his Meridians were widened, his Spiritual Sea churned, and the Realm barrier began to loosen under the impact of the massive energy.

After an unknown amount of time, it felt as if a certain critical point had been breached.

"Buzz!" The aura around Lin Fan's body suddenly surged, and a powerful Spiritual Pressure erupted from him, swirling up the bone fragments on the surrounding ground. His cultivation level broke through from the Early Stage of the Spiritual Sea Realm to the Middle Stage! Furthermore, this improvement did not stop; supported by his solid foundation, it continued to advance steadily, approaching the Late Stage of the Spiritual Sea Realm!

Simultaneously, the insights in his mind regarding the remnant manual of the Indestructible Divine King Fist became clearer and clearer. It was not just a simple Move, but a Concept—an invincible Fist Intent that used absolute power to break all shackles and suppress all enemies! This Fist Intent faintly resonated with the essence of his Eternal Indestructible Body, as if they shared the same Origin.

He subconsciously formed a fist with his fingers. Without using any spiritual power, he relied purely on physical strength, following that profound Concept to lightly swing toward the Void Realm in front of him.

"Rip!" The air seemed to be torn apart, producing a sharp sonic boom. An invisible fist wind swept across dozens of meters, plowing a shallow trench into the ground; the edges of the trench were as smooth as a mirror!

Just the airflow induced by the Fist Intent was already this powerful!

Lin Fan opened his eyes, a pale golden divine light flashing through them, as deep as the starry sky. Feeling the surging power within him and his initial understanding of the Indestructible Divine King Fist, a sense of heroic pride welled up in his heart. This Meteor Star Ancient Domain was indeed a blessed land for him!

"Congratulations on your great advancement, Divine Son!" Seeing this, Lin Xuan and the other two, who had been nervously acting as Protectors, hurried forward and bowed respectfully, their faces brimming with heartfelt joy and awe. They had personally witnessed how Lin Fan had heaven-defyingly slain the Baleful Demon and how he had broken through here; in their hearts, they already regarded Lin Fan as a god.

Lin Fan nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the three. He found that they had also benefited significantly from the energy dissipation earlier, and their cultivation had all improved. Especially Lin Xuan, who had already faintly touched the threshold of the Late Stage of the Spiritual Sea Realm.

"The energy here has not yet fully dispersed. You may Cultivate here for a while; I will act as your Protector," Lin Fan said. To win over people's hearts, one must use both kindness and authority.

Lin Xuan and the others were overjoyed. Such pure energy was hard to find in the outside world. After hurriedly thanking him, they each found a spot to sit down and seized the time to Cultivate.

Lin Fan stood up and activated his Delusion-Breaking Divine Pupils again to scan the basin. With the Baleful Demon fallen, the fierce Baleful Qi here had thinned out considerably, but an ancient and vast aura of Origin was revealed. At the core of that giant dark-metal ape skeleton, he discovered several fist-sized crystals shimmering with an eerie light.

"Baleful Demon Crystal Cores?" Lin Fan retrieved them. The crystals felt cold to the touch and contained extremely pure Soul power and Baleful Qi Origin. They were top-grade Materials for refining high-level Soul path Magic Treasures or practicing special pupil arts. He casually stored them inside the star pagoda.

While waiting for Lin Xuan and the others to finish their Cultivation, Lin Fan also continuously familiarized himself with his newly acquired power and the Concept of the Indestructible Divine King Fist. He sometimes pointed his fingers like a sword and sometimes threw phantom punches. Every movement caused the blood and Qi throughout his body to roar and the air to vibrate.

About an hour later, Lin Xuan and the others woke up one after another, all of them looking radiant, clearly having gained much.

"Thank you for your grace, Divine Son!" The three thanked him again, their attitude becoming increasingly respectful.

"Let's go, the trial is not over yet," Lin Fan said indifferently, leading the way toward the other end of the basin. Based on the direction Lin Sha had fled and the faint perception of his Delusion-Breaking Divine Pupils, the core of this Ancient Domain seemed to hide something.

The rest of the journey was much calmer. Perhaps because the aura of the Baleful Demon's demise had not yet completely dissipated, ordinary Baleful Soul Beasts did not dare to approach. The four increased their pace, crossing the Bones Burial Slope. Ahead, a more peculiar region appeared.

The earth was no longer purely black but showed a dark red hue, as if it had been soaked in blood for countless years. Broken ruins of ancient-style buildings began to appear on the ground, along with more strange plants. Some plants were entirely crimson, like burning flames, while others bloomed with eerie blue flowers that emitted a hallucinogenic aura.

The energy in the air also became complex. Besides Baleful Qi, it was mixed with a scorching aura of earth-vein fire and faint stellar radiation.

"Divine Son, ahead is the junction between the 'Molten Fire Ruins' and the 'Shattered Star Canyon'." Lin Xuan pointed to a stretch of ruins ahead shrouded in pale red mist, and further away, a massive canyon rift that seemed to tear the sky apart, flickering with starlight. "It is said to be even more dangerous there. Not only are there more powerful Baleful Soul Beasts, but there are also Yao Beasts mutated by the Ancient Domain's environment, and there might even be some fragmented Restrictions left over from ancient times."

Lin Fan nodded. Looking toward that area with his Delusion-Breaking Divine Pupils, he could sense many hidden energy reactions; it was indeed more dangerous than the Bones Burial Slope. But similarly, there might be more opportunities.

Just as they were about to step into that red mist area, Lin Fan's footsteps suddenly halted, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.

"Be careful!" Before his voice could fade, a sudden change occurred!

"Swish! Swish! Swish!" Dozens of bone arrows shimmering with eerie green light shot out like venomous snakes from the shadows of the ruins ahead and to the side. They were incredibly fast, with tricky and ruthless angles, covering all the space the four could use to dodge! The potent poison coated on the arrowheads even caused the air to make a "sizzling" corrosive sound.

Simultaneously, the ground suddenly bulged, and several tentacles condensed from dark red mud and bone lashed out like lightning to entangle Lin Fan's legs! The tentacles were covered in suckers and emitted a powerful binding force.

"It's an ambush!" Lin Xuan shouted in shock and anger. His longsword was unsheathed in an instant, and sword light splashed out as he tried to block the bone arrows. The other two also reacted quickly, using their own means to defend.

However, those bone arrows were extremely powerful, each comparable to the full-strength strike of a Late Stage Spiritual Sea Realm Cultivator. They were clearly specially made Sharp Weapons for slaughter. Lin Xuan and the others struggled immensely to resist, finding themselves in a perilous situation in an instant.

But the killing Moves aimed at Lin Fan were far more than that.

At the moment the tentacles on the ground wrapped around him, a patch of space behind him distorted slightly. A figure that completely blended into the environment and was almost imperceptible appeared abruptly, holding a pitch-black dagger and silently stabbing toward the back of Lin Fan's heart! Destructive runes swirled upon the dagger—this was the path of an assassin aiming for a one-hit kill!

An ambush! A meticulously planned death trap!

First, the dense cover of bone arrows to restrict movement, then the underground tentacles to bind him, and finally, the fatal strike from the hidden assassin! Each step was linked to the next, utterly vicious!

Facing this sudden threefold attack, there was no surprise in Lin Fan's eyes, only cold killing intent. His Delusion-Breaking Divine Pupils had long since detected the energy anomalies in those ruins; he just wanted to see what tricks the opponent could pull off.

"Hmph, petty tricks!" He didn't even turn his head to look at the lethal dagger. His legs, entangled by the tentacles, suddenly exerted force!

"Bang!" The dark red tentacles, which were strong enough to bind a Peak Spiritual Sea Realm Cultivator, snapped inch by inch like rotten straw under his struggle!

Simultaneously, the pale golden blood and Qi within his Physical Body erupted with a bang, appearing on his body's surface like a miniature sun!

"Indestructible Divine King Fist, Shock!" He threw a backhand punch behind him! It was still pure physical strength, but this punch contained that trace of Indestructible Fist Intent he had just comprehended!

As the punch went out, space seemed to freeze! The pitch-black dagger, which contained destructive runes, came to a sudden halt three feet in front of his fist, as if it had struck an invisible wall of divine iron. The runes swirling upon it shrieked and shattered!

Immediately following that, the Fist Intent crushed forward!

"Puff!" That hidden assassin couldn't even let out a scream. His whole body was like it was struck by an invisible giant hammer; his chest collapsed instantly, his eyes bulged out, and his body flew backward like a tattered sack. Before he even hit the ground, his life force was completely gone!

At this moment, those eerie green bone arrows aimed at Lin Xuan and the others had also reached Lin Fan.

Lin Fan didn't even look. He casually waved his other hand, and as his sleeve swept out, a majestic force of blood and Qi surged forth like a storm!

"Clang, clang, clang!" In the face of this pure storm of power, those dozens of powerful bone arrows were like fragile stalks of wheat, being shattered and ground to pieces one after another, turning into a cloud of green powder that drifted away!

In a flash, the threefold killing Move was easily dismantled by Lin Fan with overwhelming force!

A dead silence fell over the ruins. Only the heavy breathing of Lin Xuan and the others remained, along with the expressions on their faces—a mix of relief at surviving and absolute shock.

Lin Fan slowly turned around, his cold gaze casting toward the shadows of the ruins from which the bone arrows had been shot. His voice was like ten-thousand-year-old ice: "Lin Sha, and you rats in hiding, get out here and meet your deaths!"