219: High-end game death experience, cultivation soars

Lin Fan appeared silently behind the dilapidated bunker.

He looked at the emerald green pillar of light that had once shot into the sky but was now gradually dimming, then at the young girl curled up in the corner, her shoulders shaking violently, and his brows quirked slightly.

This commotion was a bit too much.

Liu Qingqing was still immersed in immense grief and self-blame.

She had caused Elder Lin's death.

That man who had agreed to bring her to this forbidden land just to give her a slim chance of survival.

That man who, when she was most terrified and helpless, had calmed all her panic with a single "I'm here."

To protect her, he had stepped out voluntarily and been torn apart by thousands of War Souls.

This thought was like a poisonous thorn buried deep in her heart; every breath brought a tearing, sharp pain.

Just then.

A calm and familiar voice rang out behind her.

“What are you crying for?”

Liu Qingqing's body stiffened abruptly.

That voice... impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

She must be hallucinating from excessive grief.

She didn't dare turn around, fearing it was just a phantom born of her despair.

A warm palm gently landed on the top of her head.

“Alright, I'm fine.”

A real touch, a familiar aura.

Liu Qingqing jerked her head up, her tear-streaked face instantly freezing.

Lin Fan was standing before her, his clothes neat and his aura stable, looking at her with a slightly helpless expression.

“El... Elder Lin?”

Liu Qingqing's lips trembled as she reached out, touching the corner of Lin Fan's clothes as carefully as if she were touching a piece of fragile porcelain.

It was real.

It was warm.

Not a hallucination.

A massive, indescribable surge of ecstasy, like a flash flood or a tsunami, instantly washed away all her grief and despair.

“Waaah—”

Unable to control herself any longer, she threw herself into Lin Fan's arms and wailed.

In that crying, there was the relief of regaining what was lost, the lingering fear of surviving a disaster, and endless grievances.

Lin Fan's body stiffened for a moment.

He looked down at the girl in his arms, crying like a pear blossom in the rain, and helplessly patted her back.

After a long time, Liu Qingqing's emotions finally calmed down a bit.

She looked up from Lin Fan's embrace, her eyes red and swollen, filled with the confusion and bewilderment of a survivor.

“You... weren't you...”

She wanted to ask, weren't you torn apart by those monsters?

Lin Fan saw her confusion and, with a perfectly timed, slightly weak smile, began the explanation he had already prepared.

“The Cultivation Technique I practice is somewhat special.”

“It possesses a secret technique for feigning death to escape.”

He explained nonchalantly, as if speaking of a trivial matter.

“It's just that... the price of this method is immense. Every time it's used, it consumes a portion of my Origin, so it shouldn't be used unless absolutely necessary.”

Liu Qingqing listened blankly.

A death-faking secret technique?

She believed him.

Or rather, as long as Lin Fan was alive, she would choose to believe him without hesitation, no matter what explanation he gave.

Immediately after, a surge of guilt and heartache even stronger than before seized her heart.

So... Elder Lin had used such a precious and costly life-saving trump card just to save her.

“I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Elder Lin...”

Her tears welled up once again, her voice filled with self-reproach.

“It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have had to...”

Lin Fan waved his hand, interrupting her.

His gaze flickered over the extremely pure life aura that hadn't fully dissipated from Liu Qingqing's body, and a bold plan formed in his mind.

The expression on his face became serious.

“Qingqing, now is not the time for this.”

“Just now... did you feel the Bloodline Power within you going out of control?”

Liu Qingqing was startled and nodded.

Lin Fan's eyes grew deep, as if he were performing some difficult deduction.

After a moment, he spoke in a low voice.

“I understand.”

“The aura of death and slaughter here is too dense, forming a violent conflict with the life Bloodline Power in your body.”

“This conflict makes you the most delicious ‘food’ in the eyes of all the undead on this battlefield.”

Liu Qingqing's face turned a few shades paler.

Lin Fan changed the subject, his tone carrying a hint of determination.

“But, while this is a desperate situation, it is also an opportunity.”

He looked at Liu Qingqing and said word by word.

“We need to use this power of yours to find a way to defeat the enemy.”

“I need you to cooperate with me.”

Looking into Lin Fan's serious and trusting eyes, the last trace of doubt in Liu Qingqing's heart vanished.

She nodded vigorously, her gaze incredibly firm.

“Elder Lin, tell me, what do I need to do?”

“I'll do whatever you say.”

The corner of Lin Fan's mouth curled into an imperceptible arc.

He was going to start fishing.

“It's very simple.”

Lin Fan's voice carried a convincing magic.

“Restrain your entire aura, letting only a sliver leak from your fingertip.”

“Like... casting a shimmering bait onto a dark lake.”

Liu Qingqing took a deep breath and, following Lin Fan's guidance, began to carefully control the Bloodline Power within her.

Soon, a faint but incredibly pure emerald green life aura drifted out from her fingertip.

On this deathly silent blood-colored wasteland, this wisp of aura was louder than any sound.

In less than ten breaths.

The ground in the distance began to tremble slightly.

A terrifying aura, more than ten times stronger than the previous ordinary War Souls, suddenly rose from the end of the horizon.

It was a knight clad in tattered black armor, holding a broken iron spear, and riding a skeletal warhorse.

Two clusters of ghostly blue fire burned in its hollow eye sockets, fixed firmly on the bunker.

Void Refining Late Stage.

War Soul Commander.

Feeling the pressure that almost froze her Divine Soul, Liu Qingqing's small face turned pale again.

Lin Fan gave her a reassuring look.

“Hide well.”

He instructed and turned around again, striding out from the cover of the bunker.

The War Soul Commander's ghostly fire instantly shifted from Liu Qingqing to Lin Fan, an even more conspicuous living being.

It let out a silent roar as the skeletal warhorse's hooves trod on air, turning into a bolt of black lightning and charging straight ahead.

The spear struck before the rider arrived.

A black spear beam containing the will to destroy all things tore through the air and reached Lin Fan in an instant.

This time, Lin Fan didn't even bother to strike a pose to embrace death.

He just stood there quietly, watching the spear beam rapidly enlarge in his pupils.

Puchi.

The long spear pierced through his body, pinning him firmly to the ground.

The violent aura of slaughter instantly destroyed all life within him.

[Ding.]

[Host was pierced through the heart by a War Soul Commander, achieving the death achievement “Sorrow of the Army Breaker”!]

[Death Evaluation: Grade A (Detected “protecting companion” related behavior, evaluation increased by one tier).]

[Congratulations to the Host for receiving the reward: Spear Intent of the Army Breaker (Minor Achievement), cultivation increased to the peak of Transformation Mid-Stage!]

...Over the next few days.

An incredibly bizarre scene played out on this unknown blood-colored wasteland.

A girl hid in the wreckage, acting like a precision sonar, releasing an enticing wisp of aura from time to time.

Then, a man would walk out and be brutally killed in various ways by the powerful War Souls that came at the scent.

Cut in half by a Battle Soul General.

Blasted into charcoal by a Wraith Mage.

Trampled into meat paste by several violent Battle Soul Behemoths.

With every death, Liu Qingqing, hiding in the shadows, felt as if her heart were being cut by a knife, her soul shattered by grief.

Every time Lin Fan “resurrected” and returned, the admiration and love in her heart would grow uncontrollably.

Elder Lin was too great.

He must be using this method to test the weaknesses of these monsters and find a slim chance of survival for them.

Meanwhile, Lin Fan was immersed in the thrill of his cultivation soaring like a rocket.

Soul Transformation Late Stage.

Soul Transformation Late Stage Peak.

He was only one step away from touching the threshold of the Void Refining stage.

His comprehension of the Dao of slaughter improved rapidly, and his mind was filled with various combat techniques and weapon masteries.

However, this behavior of repeatedly shearing the same sheep finally attracted the attention of a truly terrifying existence.

On this day, Lin Fan had just completed an A+ grade death by being “drawn and quartered” and was preparing to continue after resurrecting.

The entire world suddenly darkened.

An indescribable, mountain-heavy pressure enveloped the area from the deepest parts of the battlefield.

All wandering low-level War Souls were turned to ash under this pressure.

Even the Void Refining Realm War Soul Commanders crawled on the ground, trembling.

Liu Qingqing couldn't even breathe, feeling as if her Divine Soul were about to be crushed.

Lin Fan's heart tightened.

The main event had arrived.

He looked up.

In the distant sky, a blurry and massive figure slowly stood up.

Its mere act of standing up caused space to distort.

Body Integration Realm.

War Soul Monarch.

The Monarch's cold gaze pierced through endless space and landed on the spot where Lin Fan had just resurrected.

It seemed to feel a hint of confusion and wariness toward this little bug that could Infinite Resurrection.

The next moment.

Tens of thousands of elite War Souls under the Monarch's command moved.

They were no longer charging in a disorganized fashion but had formed a mysterious and ancient black Formation, like a giant net covering the sky and sun, slowly closing in on Lin Fan.

As the Formation operated, the aura leaking out was enough to obliterate any Divine Soul.

An unprecedented brilliance erupted in Lin Fan's eyes.

A Grade S evaluation was coming.

Instead of running, he actively charged toward that ancient killing Formation.

Boom.

The Formation closed.

The Formation's power, capable of obliterating all things, completely swallowed Lin Fan's figure without even a struggle.

[Ding!]

[Host was obliterated by an ancient killing Formation, achieving the death achievement “Formation Obliteration”!]

[Death Evaluation: Grade S (Detected “protecting companion” related behavior, evaluation increased by one tier).]

[Congratulations to the Host for receiving the reward: Introductory Explanation of Ancient Military Formations, Divine Soul Origin +3%!]

Lin Fan felt the comfort brought by the strengthening of his Divine Soul Origin and the mysterious insights about military Formations in his mind, feeling extremely satisfied.

Just as he was preparing to resurrect again to experience the power of this S-grade evaluation Formation...

A cold and urgent alarm sounded in his mind without warning.

[Warning!]

[An unknown powerful life form is approaching Resurrection Anchor No. 1 at high speed!]

[Estimated arrival time: Nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds!]