160: Nirvana in a cage, the first experience of death in the lair of the god

Icy cold.

A bone-chilling cold was Lin Fan's first sensation after regaining consciousness.

He was not lying in the familiar Revival Immortal Cave.

This was a dim stone chamber, the air filled with the bitter taste of Medicinal Pills and the burnt smell of some metallic runes scorched by energy.

The four walls and the dome were engraved with twisted, wriggling, profound patterns; each pattern exuded a chilling power of Restriction, forming a giant cage that locked him tightly in the center.

His body was bound to a cold stone platform by dozens of dark chains; these chains were not physical, but formed by pure Restriction runes, one end embedded in his limbs and bones, the other connected to the four giant stone pillars of the chamber.

His Immortal Grade Nascent Soul was completely suppressed, as silent as a dead object.

The Spiritual Qi within his body had also turned into an unmovable mire.

"Awake?"

An old, hoarse voice echoed in the empty stone chamber, carrying a fanaticism akin to dissecting a rare creation.

From the darkness, Xuanji Zi's figure slowly emerged.

He no longer possessed the Immortal-like demeanor he had in the Immortal Cave; his cloudy old eyes now shone terrifyingly bright, like a hungry wolf spotting the fattest lamb.

He did not look at Lin Fan's face, his gaze greedily scanning every inch of Lin Fan's skin, every bone.

"A perfect Physique, without a single flaw of Acquired repair."

"His Divine Soul is incredibly resilient, and his life Origin is as vigorous as a furnace."

Xuanji Zi walked around the stone platform once, then stretched out his withered finger and pointed through the air at a row of jade shelves beside Lin Fan.

On the jade shelves were various strangely shaped Magical Artifacts.

There were Soul-probing needles, peeling blades, and a Soul Lamp holding a Dark green flame, specifically for scorching Divine Thought.

"Little friend, no need to panic."

Xuanji Zi forced a smile he believed to be benevolent, but his voice was like honey laced with poison.

"This Old Man harbors no ill will towards you."

"This Old Man is merely... very interested in this immense secret you possess."

His voice grew increasingly fervent.

"How did you die and come back to life? Is it some lost ancient forbidden art? Or an innate Divine Ability Bloodline?"

"Tell this Old Man; as long as you cooperate, this Old Man will not only take you as his sole Personal Disciple but will also pass on this Immortal Cave, along with all of this Old Man's lifelong learning, to you."

Lin Fan looked at him, saying nothing.

His eyes were calm, devoid of fear, panic, or even a ripple of emotion.

Yet, deep within his consciousness, the crimson System light screen was flashing frantically.

【Warning: Host's Revival Anchor Point has been locked and interfered with by the "Heaven-Stealing and Sun-Replacing Formation"!】

【If unable to escape imprisonment within seventy-two hours, revival ability will be temporarily sealed!】

【Emergency Mission Issued: Break Free from the Cage!】

【Mission Description: Escape from the research laboratory of the Spirit Transformation Old Monster, Xuanji Zi, and inflict irreparable, massive damage upon him!】

【Mission Reward: Soul Transformation Stage Cultivation Technique Random Draw * 1! Complete set of Xuanji Zi's Immortal Cave Formation Diagrams * 1! Special Physique Fusion Agent * 1 (Divine Demon Grade)!】

Lin Fan's heart was instantly ignited by these outrageously generous rewards.

The greater the risk, the higher the reward.

Xuanji Zi, this is not a cage.

You have personally constructed a brand new, luxurious scoring paradise for me.

Seeing Lin Fan remain silent, Xuanji Zi assumed he was scared silly.

He snorted, deciding to give this "experiment" a small deterrent first.

He made a hand seal, and the Restriction runes on the stone platform glowed brightly; a piercing, bone-deep pain instantly spread throughout Lin Fan's body.

"This Old Man's patience is limited; you had best think carefully before answering."

Xuanji Zi said coldly, preparing to enjoy Lin Fan's expression of painful begging.

Lin Fan's body did indeed tremble violently.

His face turned pale, fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead, and he looked extremely weak.

He even began to feign madness, his eyes unfocused, muttering some incoherent nonsense that no one could understand.

Xuanji Zi frowned slightly.

He disliked disobedient experiments.

He slowly approached the stone platform, wanting to use his Divine Thought to check if he had been too heavy-handed just now and injured the boy's Divine Soul.

Just as his Divine Thought was about to touch Lin Fan's glabella.

Lin Fan's unfocused eyes suddenly regained clarity.

A faint, almost negligible trace of Spiritual Qi, which he had squeezed out from the depths of his heavily restricted Dantian with all his will, was subtly activated.

The target of activation was a speck of dust hidden between his teeth.

It was a fragment of a low-grade Magical Artifact, which he had picked up casually from the Immortal Cave ruins, damaged to the point where only a trace of its explosive property remained.

"Explode."

Lin Fan calmly uttered a single word in his mind.

"Boom!"

An almost inaudible soft sound.

That speck of Magical Artifact exploded with a roar.

Its power was so small that it couldn't even shake the ground of the stone chamber in the slightest; the energy of the explosion was not even as strong as a full-force blow from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

But its explosion location was too cunning.

It was precisely in the path of Xuanji Zi's Divine Thought probe, and also precisely at a miniature node where monitoring runes operated in this stone chamber.

The shockwave of the explosion accurately struck that node.

"Sizzle—"

A faint, crisp sound.

A section of Restriction runes in the southeast corner of the stone chamber instantly dimmed, and a brief, less than half-breath energy window appeared.

Xuanji Zi's pupils suddenly contracted, and he erupted in fury.

"You dare!"

He hadn't expected that a Nascent Soul ant, whom he had completely sealed with the Four Symbols Soul-Locking Formation, could still resist.

He struck out with a palm, and his profound magic power instantly mended the gap, reinforcing the entire chamber's Restriction tenfold.

Having done all this, his gaze towards Lin Fan was filled with shock, anger, and incomprehension.

How did this kid do it?

Was it a coincidence?

Lin Fan, at this moment, had reverted to his foolish, dazed appearance, as if everything that had just happened had nothing to do with him.

"Times have changed, old man."

He suddenly uttered a mumbled, unclear sentence.

"You are using a fishhook to catch a Dragon that has already leaped out of the water. How laughable, how pathetic."

Xuanji Zi's mind was violently shaken.

What did those words mean?

He suppressed the irritation in his heart, deciding not to waste any more words with Lin Fan, and directly resorted to the most brutal methods.

He was going to search his Soul.

He didn't believe that a Nascent Soul Cultivator's Divine Soul barrier could withstand the crushing force of his Soul Transformation Stage Divine Thought.

"Since you refuse a toast, then don't blame this Old Man for being ruthless!"

Xuanji Zi roared, and his vast Divine Thought transformed into an invisible giant hammer, fiercely smashing towards Lin Fan's Sea of Consciousness.

Lin Fan's body was struck as if by lightning, suddenly arching backward, and traces of blood seeped from all seven orifices.

His Sea of Consciousness, under the impact of the Divine Rank Divine Thought, churned violently, as if it could shatter at any moment.

In the intense pain, Zhao Linger's worried pretty face, Li Hanyue's cool and resolute eyes, Su Meier's fox tail tightly wrapped around him... all flashed through his mind one by one.

These Old Monsters only saw the secret of his immortality.

But they would never understand what he truly wanted to protect behind each death and revival.

Lin Fan's will, at this moment, became harder than adamantium.

He released the lowest layer of defense of his Sea of Consciousness, allowing Xuanji Zi's Divine Thought to penetrate unimpeded.

Yet, in the deepest part of his consciousness, almost drowned in pain, his mind was calmer than ever before.

He was like the most skilled hunter, using Xuanji Zi's Divine Thought as a "vision" to frantically observe, record, and deduce.

Xuanji Zi's Divine Thought was a line.

Following this line, he saw the Formation Veins that was spread like a spiderweb throughout this Immortal Cave.

He saw how energy was extracted from the Spiritual Vein underground.

He saw how this energy was gathered and transmitted through individual sub-Formations, ultimately supporting the entire Immortal Cave's defenses and Restrictions.

Then, he found it.

At the very center of the entire Formation network, there was a constantly pulsating ball of light.

That was the hub for all energy transmission, the "heart" of the entire Immortal Cave's Formation.

Xuanji Zi's Soul search yielded no results; he only felt Lin Fan's Sea of Consciousness was like a bottomless abyss, revealing nothing but Chaos.

Greatly exhausted, he could only withdraw his Divine Thought resentfully, his face so grim it looked like it would drip water.

"Hmph, let's see how long you can remain stubborn!"

He flicked his sleeve and left, preparing to refine stronger Soul-searching Medicinal Pills.

Inside the stone chamber, silence returned.

Lin Fan lay on the stone platform like a dead fish, motionless, his breath extremely faint.

As if he had truly suffered a severe blow to his Origin from the Soul search just now.

But deep within his body, in the depths of his sealed Immortal Grade Nascent Soul, a faint light was quietly condensing.

That was a trace of the same Origin aura belonging to Xuanji Zi's Formation, which he had just simulated through inverse deduction.

He blended this trace of aura with the last bit of Chaos Origin remaining in his body.

Then, following the Formation context he had just memorized, he lightly "flicked" it precisely towards the energy hub.

This attack was silent.

So faint that it couldn't even kill an ant.

But it was like a key, accurately inserted into a lock.

The next instant.

Xuanji Zi, who was meditating cross-legged deep within the Immortal Cave, suddenly opened his eyes.

"Buzz—"

A piercing alarm sounded throughout the entire Blessed Land.

Countless Formation runes flickered wildly in various corners of the Immortal Cave, their light uncertain.

The underground Spiritual Vein experienced violent energy turbulence, and the entire mountain trembled slightly.

In the Immortal Cave, the low-ranking servants responsible for cleaning were scared out of their wits by this sudden change, scattering in terror.

In the Spirit Beast garden behind the mountain, dozens of tamed Yao Beasts, sensing the Spiritual Qi riot, broke free from their Restrictions and began to attack each other frantically; roars and explosions turned into utter Chaos.

"Bastard!"

Xuanji Zi let out an enraged roar, his figure instantly disappearing from his original spot.

He appeared at the core of the energy hub, looking at the Formation eye that was on the verge of losing control due to energy conflict, he simply couldn't believe his eyes.

How was this possible?

That boy, whom he had completely sealed, how could he still remotely activate the core of his Immortal Cave's Formation?

An unprecedented sense of absurdity surged into his heart.

For the first time, he felt a hint of wavering about whether he could control this "experiment."

Kill him?

End it all?

This thought only appeared for an instant before being suppressed by the endless desire for the "secret of immortality."

No.

He absolutely could not give up.

He was Xuanji Zi of the Soul Transformation Stage, a Great Grandmaster of Formation Dao.

A mere Nascent Soul junior, even with some strange methods, could never escape his grasp.

He arrogantly believed that this was merely a cornered beast's struggle.

He would personally take charge; he would thoroughly tame this disobedient mouse, and then, little by little, strip away the ultimate mystery of "immortality" from his body.

And just as Xuanji Zi was busy suppressing the Immortal Cave's Chaos and reinforcing the Formation core.

Lin Fan, lying on the stone platform, slowly curved the corner of his mouth into an unnoticed arc.

The energy riot just now, although quickly suppressed.

It also tore a tiny crack in this impregnable Immortal Cave.

A faint, almost imperceptible aura, carrying extreme danger yet incredibly familiar, leaked out from the deepest part of the Immortal Cave.

Lin Fan's eyes lit up.

That aura was exactly the same as the "Monument of Immortality" in the Immortal Cave.

That's right.

How could an Old Monster like Xuanji Zi not collect some hidden treasures, unstable yet priceless, plundered from various Forbidden Grounds and Desolate Region?

His treasure vault.

That was the final stage for his "prison break" performance.

That was the best location to detonate the entire Spirit Transformation Old Monster's lair and obtain massive rewards.

A grander, crazier death-seeking plan began to rapidly form in Lin Fan's mind.