190: Touching the Way of Refining Emptiness: A Deeper Understanding

That point of ultimate darkness appeared.

It did not devour light.

It was defining "lightlessness."

It did not distort space.

It was declaring "spacelessness."

The Refining Void Remnant Shadow burned away its last vestiges of Chaos and tyranny, returning everything to this purest, most primal Origin of "Annihilation."

A conceptual singularity.

Its target was Lin Fan's "existence" itself.

This strike was not about the strength of energy, nor the clash of Laws.

It was a higher-dimensional, brutal "nullification."

It sought to completely erase the entry "Lin Fan" from all rulebooks in the Universe that could be recorded or perceived.

Inside the Profound Ice Prison.

Lin Fan opened his eyes.

Reflected in his pupils was that absolute "nothingness" rapidly approaching.

There was no fear on his face.

There was no solemnity in his heart.

An irrepressible, almost frenzied heat rose from the depths of his immortal Soul.

He had been waiting for this moment.

Waiting for this purest "death," imbued with the full Dao intent of the Refining Void Remnant Shadow.

This would be his unique key to pry open the door to Void Refining and break through that last layer of paper.

"Come!"

He let out a silent roar in his heart.

He did not resist.

He abandoned all defenses.

He actively opened his immortal Soul, completely exposing his Origin imprint and all his Karma connections with this world.

He transformed himself into a perfect bullseye, a target for this ultimate strike.

A flashpoint...

Ice Crystal Valley.

Li Hanyue's delicate body had long become thin and transparent from the extreme burning.

When she sensed Lin Fan's resolute, almost mad will through the Soul covenant.

Her heart, instead, became calmer than ever before.

Her guardianship, her Dao, at this moment, sublimated to its extreme.

The instant that "Annihilation" singularity was about to touch Lin Fan's concept of existence.

Li Hanyue moved.

Her beautiful eyes, burning with silver-white immortal light, completely closed.

She fully immersed her last trace of mind into the "Domain of Order" constructed from her life Origin.

"In my name."

"By my Dao."

"By my existence."

Her will transformed into the decrees of Heaven and Earth.

"Anchor!"

Boom—!

Her immortal body let out a wail of unbearable strain.

Shocking cracks spread across her skin.

No blood flowed from those cracks.

Instead, tiny, extremely brilliant golden light fragments overflowed.

That was her life Origin, burned to its limit.

Pfft.

A small mouthful of golden essence blood coughed from the corner of her lips, instantly congealing into the most magnificent yet tragic blood crystals in the extreme cold air.

Her Divine Soul, her immortal body, her everything.

At this moment, all transformed into an invisible yet indestructible "Karma Anchor."

It did not resist the nullification power of the "Annihilation" singularity.

It merely, stubbornly, forcefully.

Re-nailed Lin Fan's concept of "existence," which was about to be completely erased.

Back into the Heavenly Dao rules of this world.

You cannot leave.

I won't allow you to leave.

As long as I exist, you must exist...

Lin Fan's consciousness plummeted.

Plummeted into a true "nothingness."

Here, there was no up, down, or four directions.

Here, there was no past or future.

Here, there was no light, no dark, no sound, no matter.

Even the concept of "thought" itself became incredibly difficult, on the verge of dissipating.

All the deaths he had experienced before were but a mere taste of a game compared to this moment.

This time, it was a complete, fundamental "nullification."

His existence became a blank slate.

His memories became a void.

However.

Just in this absolute, ultimate "nothingness."

Li Hanyue's all-burning protective will transformed into a faint yet eternal starlight.

Forcefully igniting his last wisp of "self" that was about to completely return to nothingness.

That point of starlight became his only coordinate in this boundless nothingness.

He "saw" her.

He "felt" her desperate resolve, her heart-piercing pain.

That pain penetrated through nothingness, imprinted deep within his Origin.

Immediately after.

He used this starlight to begin "examining" this nothingness.

So that's how it is.

Neither born nor destroyed.

Neither defiled nor pure.

Neither increasing nor decreasing.

Nothingness is not the end of "death."

Nothingness is the beginning of "life" and "death," and also the end of everything.

All things come from nothingness, and ultimately, all will return to nothingness.

The remnant shadow's "Annihilation" was an attempt to forcibly drag all things into nothingness.

And his "resurrection" was to forcibly create "existence" within nothingness.

Both were merely one-sided, distorted interpretations of the supreme Law of "nothingness."

True Void Refining... is not about control.

Not about creation.

But about understanding.

Understanding this "blankness" itself, understanding the "boundaries" of rules.

The moment he completely understood this point.

The Supreme Origin Dao Unraveling in his Sea of Consciousness, and that fragment of the Heavenly Dao, suddenly erupted with unprecedented brilliance.

The two perfectly fused together.

Rumble!

An ancient, heavy, invisible gate leading to a higher Realm, suddenly opened wide in the depths of his consciousness.

The path to Void Refining, at this moment, completely opened to him...

In Burial Immortal Valley.

The "Annihilation" singularity that had swallowed Lin Fan began to slowly dissipate after completing its mission.

It succeeded.

It had completely nullified that anomaly from the level of existence.

However.

Just at the last moment before it was about to completely return to nothingness.

At the position where it originally was.

A point of light, without warning, appeared out of thin air.

This point of light was completely different from any of Lin Fan's previous resurrections.

It was not dispelling darkness.

It was "existence" born from "nothing."

It itself was a higher-order, rule-defining, creation light.

The instant the point of light appeared, the remaining will of the Refining Void Remnant Shadow, which was about to dissipate, let out a silent roar filled with extreme confusion and horror.

"Impossible..."

"Nothingness... birth..."

Its roar ceased abruptly.

Because that point of light, the moment it lit up, produced an absolute, crushing "correction" to its "conceptual Origin."

The blurry form of the remnant shadow, composed of "Annihilation," began to twist violently and uncontrollably.

Its existence seemed to become a faulty program code, forcibly deleted by a more fundamental, higher-level authority.

It felt no pain.

No resentment.

Only an absolute bewilderment, stemming from the complete negation of its existential Foundation.

Finally.

That vast Refining Void Remnant Shadow, which had plagued Burial Immortal Valley and driven countless Spirit Transformation Old Monster to despair.

Just like that, silently, it transformed into billions of points of purest Chaos fragments, completely dissipating between Heaven and Earth.

With its disintegration.

An extremely pure, immensely vast Void Refining-level aura erupted from where it dissipated.

This was no longer pollution.

This was a gift, returning to its Origin after being distorted for eons by the "Suppression Law."

The aura, like the most nourishing sweet dew, instantly spread and covered the entire Burial Immortal Valley.

The Spiritual Plants in the valley, which were on the verge of death from the erosion of Chaos Qi, grew wildly the moment they touched this aura, becoming even more lush and vibrant, exuding Spiritual Qi.

The few Spirit Transformation Old Monster, clinging to life under the light of their Magic Treasures, trembled violently as they bathed in this aura.

They felt that the Realm Bottleneck that had troubled them for hundreds, even thousands of years, had shown a slight loosening.

Their understanding of the Dao, at this moment, was forcibly elevated by a level.

Everyone stared blankly at the figure reshaping its form in the light.

Their eyes no longer held fear or shock.

Instead, there was an extreme reverence, like Mortals looking up at a deity, and gratitude from the depths of their Souls...

The light dissipated.

Lin Fan's immortal body re-solidified.

His figure was no different from before.

But he merely stood there quietly, his whole body exuding a profound Dao rhyme that was both distant and intimately connected, yet perfectly harmonized with this Heaven and Earth.

His eyes slowly opened.

Within those eyes, galaxies seemed to flow, and the Dao seemed to be born and die.

A faint, almost imperceptible pressure belonging to the Void Refining Stage flashed by.

Half-step Void Refining.

He had already stepped one foot into that legendary Realm.

He did not bother to feel the earth-shattering changes within himself.

Nor did he heed the reverent gazes of the Spirit Transformation Old Monster.

The first instant he opened his eyes, his gaze pierced through space, landing on the distant Ice Crystal Valley.

His heart suddenly clenched.

There.

Li Hanyue's aura was at an unprecedented low point.

Her flame of life seemed as if it could extinguish at any moment.

Whoosh!

Lin Fan's figure instantly vanished from his original spot.

The next second.

He had already appeared in the Ice Crystal Valley, in front of that tottering, delicate body.

He reached out and pulled her tightly into his embrace.

Her body was icy cold, without a trace of warmth.

Her delicate body was light, like a feather.

Lin Fan's heart was fiercely pained.

He didn't care to stabilize his newly Breakthrough Realm.

He didn't even care to comprehend the mysteries of the Dao of Void Refining.

He immediately mobilized the pure and clean Void Refining power he had newly comprehended, originating from "nothingness."

Mixed with his own life Origin.

Through the closely connected Soul covenant, it continuously and frantically poured into Li Hanyue's body.

Warm, vibrant power washed over her On the verge of collapse Divine Soul, repairing her cracked immortal body.

A faint trace of color slowly returned to Li Hanyue's paper-white face.

Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Those clear, cold beautiful eyes, which once burned with brilliant immortal light, now only held endless weakness.

But when she saw Lin Fan's face, filled with heartache and urgency, so close at hand.

Her lips slowly curved into a beautiful and reassuring smile.

Lin Fan lowered his head.

His lips gently pressed against her cold forehead.

His voice, with an undisguised tremor and infinite tenderness, softly sounded in her ear.

"My Dao is complete because of you."

Li Hanyue blinked weakly.

Lin Fan's figure was reflected in her eyes, misty with an unshakeable depth of affection.

She wanted to respond.

But she didn't even have the strength to speak.

She could only use all her strength to bury herself deeper into that warm and firm embrace...

As Lin Fan continuously fed her power, Li Hanyue's aura finally gradually stabilized.

In Burial Immortal Valley.

The huge crack leading deep underground, torn open by the Refining Void Remnant Shadow, also temporarily returned to calm due to the remnant shadow's dissipation.

It no longer spewed Chaos Qi outwards.

As if all crises had passed.

However.

Just as Lin Fan gently picked up Li Hanyue, preparing to take her away.

His movements suddenly paused.

His eyes, which had just stepped into the Half-step Void Refining Realm and could perceive deeper Laws, suddenly lifted, looking towards the deep, bottomless crack.

There, it was dead silent.

But in his perception.

A will far vaster, older, and colder than the Refining Void Remnant Shadow.

Had awakened.

That was not anger, nor tyranny.

That was a gaze.

A gaze of "scrutiny," with a hint of playfulness and interest.

It pierced through the endless darkness, completely locking onto Lin Fan.

As if a high-and-mighty chess player had finally discovered a chess piece that had jumped out of the board's rules, becoming somewhat "interesting."

Lin Fan held Li Hanyue tighter in his embrace.

His gaze became sharper than ever before.

He knew.

The crisis in Burial Immortal Valley was never that Refining Void Remnant Shadow.

That was merely a pathetic "prisoner" pushed to the forefront.

Now.

This game of chess had just begun.

And the true "chess player" had already developed a strong interest in him.