242: Refining the body through thunder, living towards death

A second crack split across that black sun.

Another Oblivion Divine Lightning bolt fell silently.

This time, Lin Fan did not construct a spatial barrier.

He mobilized all the mana of his Soul Transformation Perfection stage, condensing it into an incredibly thick Profound Mana Shield to block his front.

This was a confrontation of the purest power.

However, that pitch-black lightning once again ignored the boundaries of matter and energy.

It penetrated the Profound Shield as if passing through a non-existent morning mist.

The moment the lightning touched his body, Lin Fan evaporated from the world once more.

[Ding!] [The host has died from the 'World-Ending Black Sun Tribulation'. The Divine Soul has been contaminated and erased by the 'Era Calamity Aura'!] [Comprehensive Evaluation: SS+!]

[Warning: Detected that the host's Divine Soul is contaminated with a high concentration of 'Era Calamity Aura'. The System has consumed a portion of the 'Indestructible True Soul' Origin to perform a forced purification!]

[Current 'Indestructible True Soul' Origin remaining: 99.8%!]

Within the anchor point, Lin Fan's figure re-condensed.

He immediately checked the System panel; the glaring number made his heart sink slightly.

Another thousandth was gone.

It seemed insignificant, but the black sun in the sky showed no signs of dissipating.

He didn't have time to think further.

The third black divine lightning bolt followed closely behind.

This time, Lin Fan tried to merge himself into a spatial interlayer, attempting to evade it through dimensional displacement.

The result remained the same.

That lightning seemed to carry its own law of karma, accurately plucking him out of the alternate dimension and then erasing him.

[Current 'Indestructible True Soul' Origin remaining: 99.7%!]

...The fourth time.

The fifth time.

The sixth time.

Lin Fan tried every defensive measure he could think of, even fleeing.

But before that black divine lightning, which locked onto his very existence, all struggles appeared pale and powerless.

With every revival, the loss of his Divine Soul Origin made his heart jump in fear.

The feeling of weakness from the deepest part of his Soul became clearer each time.

On the mountain wreckage, Yue Xi's pupils had contracted to the extreme.

Her body trembled uncontrollably due to extreme shock and fear.

What was she seeing?

She saw that man being blasted into nothingness time and again under a world-ending tribulation lightning that would drive even a Void Refining Powerhouse to despair.

Then, time and again, he reappeared in the same spot.

It was as if death to him was merely a game that could be restarted infinitely.

This scene completely overturned her understanding and struck at her Dao Heart.

But even so, she could keenly perceive that after every 'revival', Lin Fan's aura seemed a sliver weaker than the last.

That wasn't a loss of mana, but something more fundamental—a weakening of his life's Origin.

He wasn't truly immortal or indestructible.

He was being consumed.

Yue Xi's heart was gripped tightly by an invisible hand, making it almost impossible to breathe.

She had never seen such a terrifying Heavenly Tribulation.

Nor had she ever seen anyone undergo a tribulation in such a mad way... After the seventh death, Lin Fan's figure condensed at the anchor point.

[Current 'Indestructible True Soul' Origin remaining: 97.2%!]

Looking at this number, Lin Fan's gaze darkened completely.

Nearly three percent of his Origin was gone just like that.

A sense of crisis, like a cold tide, flooded his heart.

For the first time, he felt the threat of true death so clearly.

He couldn't go on like this.

Enduring it head-on was a dead end.

Relying solely on the System to revive, he would eventually be ground to death by this Heavenly Tribulation.

He had to find a way to break the situation.

Since he couldn't defend or evade... then he would understand it.

Feel it.

And... become a part of it!

An idea, mad to the extreme, sprouted in his mind.

The eighth tribulation lightning fell slowly under the dead-silent gaze of all.

This time, Lin Fan gave up all futile defenses.

He even withdrew all his mana.

He just stood there quietly, looking up, using his Divine Soul and all his mental focus to welcome that final pitch-blackness.

He wanted to feel every moment of himself being annihilated by this tribulation lightning in meticulous detail.

Buzz—

In the instant before his Divine Soul was completely erased.

Time seemed to slow down infinitely.

Lin Fan keenly noticed it.

Deep in his Divine Soul, that reward he had obtained through seeking death—that sliver of 'Era Calamity Aura' so weak it was almost negligible—actually produced an extremely faint resonance the moment it touched the Oblivion Divine Lightning.

It wasn't a confrontation.

But a kind of... affinity from sharing the same source.

Like a traveler who had been away from home for years seeing his own mother.

This is it!

Lin Fan's consciousness captured this key point before completely dissipating.

Boom.

Within the anchor point, Lin Fan's figure emerged again.

[Current 'Indestructible True Soul' Origin remaining: 95.9%!]

He didn't look at the continuously decreasing number again.

An unprecedented sharp light burst from his eyes.

It was a madness and determination born from finding life in death.

He thought of a plan.

A plan that any normal Cultivator would consider self-destruction.

Above the sky, the black sun rotated.

The ninth Oblivion Divine Lightning brewed and took shape, crashing down with a destructive aura even denser than before.

In the distance, Yue Xi's heart was in her throat.

But in the next moment, she saw a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.

Facing that lightning of death, Lin Fan not only didn't dodge, he didn't even defend.

Instead, he opened his arms and actively met it.

Deep in his Divine Soul, he mobilized that sliver of 'Era Calamity Aura' without reservation.

He didn't use this aura to resist.

Instead, he turned it into an invisible, fragile net, actively shrouding it toward the Oblivion Divine Lightning.

He wanted to use this same-source aura to guide, wrap, and 'capture' this world-ending lightning!

Boom!

Lin Fan's body exploded for the ninth time, erased cleanly.

But this time, there was a slight difference.

At the very point where he was annihilated, that sliver of 'Era Calamity Aura' used as bait, in the moment it shattered, acted like the toughest spider silk, forcibly dragging and sticking to a strand of black tribulation lightning power a hundred times thinner than a hair.

It prevented it from returning to nothingness immediately.

Within the anchor point, Lin Fan's figure condensed for the tenth time.

He ignored the System's prompt completely and moved his mind.

That strand of black tribulation lightning power that had been forcibly retained was immediately guided in from the outside by him, hovering in his palm.

Destruction, oblivion, termination.

Just this tiny strand of weak power made the surrounding space let out an overburdened wail.

Lin Fan took a deep breath, a look of resolve appearing on his face.

He opened his mouth and actually swallowed that strand of black tribulation lightning power directly into his stomach.

Sizzle—

Indescribable pain instantly spread through his entire body.

That wasn't energy at all; it was the pure Law of Destruction.

His bones wailed, his Meridians were torn inch by inch, and his internal organs were being assimilated into nothingness by that power.

His body began to collapse from the inside.

But there wasn't a trace of pain on Lin Fan's face.

Instead, he grinned, revealing a brilliantly extreme smile of victory.

He used his Indestructible True Soul to forcibly suppress this destructive power, madly analyzing its composition and refining its essence.

The path had been found!