145: Chapter 145 The Blind Man's Hammer, a Special Cure for Disobedient Thunder

Chen Fan knelt on the bluestone slab, blood foam dripping from his chin onto the thunder core fragments, sizzling loudly.

He raised his hand to wipe his face, but his fingertips brushed against something sticky and warm—it was his own blood.

The roaring sound of the thunder storm that should have been in his ears had vanished, as if someone had suddenly snapped the strings of a zither; the dazzling purple lightning before his eyes had dimmed, leaving only chaotic blackness.

Only then did he belatedly realize: his hearing and sight had truly been stripped away.

"Fan."

An extremely light tremor came from his heart, it was Su Shuang's consciousness.

Only then did he realize he was still carrying her on his back—her body temperature was even colder than before, her fingertips resting on his waist, as light as a leaf that might fly away at any moment.

Chen Fan's Adam's apple bobbed; he wanted to call her name but found his voice stuck in his throat, unable to come out.

He could only use his uninjured hand to tightly grip her wrist, his thumb gently brushing over the unique silver pattern of the fox demon around her wrist—this was their secret signal. Back in the Teahouse, she always said this silver pattern was the "mark of the living."

The critical hit system vibrated in his Sea of Consciousness, its mechanical voice like rusty gears: [Sense Deprivation x 2 triggered, Spiritual Body sustained combat time + 25 seconds, Cooldown 3 minutes; Cost: Randomly and permanently lose one sense].

Chen Fan had no mind to listen to the system's nagging. He could clearly feel the Spiritual Body pressed against his chest, trembling with every heartbeat—every three beats, the Spiritual Body would sweep the surroundings three zhang like a searchlight.

The first beat, he "saw" a cracked bluestone slab ten steps to his left; the second beat, thunder core fragments smoking seven steps to his right; the third beat, gravel falling from the beam pillar twenty steps directly ahead.

"Shadow Pavilion... Activate 'Thunder Punishment Hunt'! The three purple lightning chains have left the tower!"

Black Crow's transmission sounded like pebbles thrown into a deep pool, but Chen Fan couldn't hear it.

The Spiritual Body suddenly trembled violently, and Su Shuang's consciousness surged in again, fragmented like sparks scattered by the wind: "Thunder Chains... fear Heart Returning Blast... but... can only explode once."

His pupils constricted in the darkness—Heart Returning Blast was a combat skill he had enhanced using the critical hit system, capable of generating fluctuations that resonated with the Thunder attribute.

But Su Shuang saying "can only explode once" meant the Thunder Chains had a defense mechanism, and the second attack would be ineffective?

Chen Fan gritted his teeth and stood up; Su Shuang on his back felt so light it panicked him.

He untied the coarse cloth work uniform from his waist and wrapped it around the handle of the hammer of the thunder god, the handle still retaining the residual heat from smashing the thunder core.

The Spiritual Body scan showed fine cracks on the hammer handle—this was the backlash from excessive critical hits.

He tore off the coarse cloth from his left leg, wrapped it around the handle, and then slowly injected the blue flame, the fire seed in his Dantian.

The coarse cloth instantly carbonized, but it burned spider-web patterns onto the hammer handle—this was a trick he learned at the construction site, using high temperatures to fuse the fabric fibers with the metal, increasing grip strength.

"Buzz—"

The Spiritual Body suddenly stung. Chen Fan knew the first lightning chain had arrived.

He closed his eyes, his heartbeat roaring in his mind: the first beat, the Spiritual Body swept the lightning chain, which looked like a giant python, pouncing from thirty steps southeast; the second beat, it detected an extremely weak frequency fluctuation in the middle section of the chain—that was the energy node, the resonance point for Heart Returning Blast; the third beat, he violently raised his hand, the critical hit Spiritual Body wrapping around the hammer of the thunder god and shooting through the air!

[Skill Critical Hit x 6.1]

When the system prompt exploded in his Sea of Consciousness, Chen Fan was already thrown back two steps by the recoil.

He "saw" through the Spiritual Body's perspective that the lightning chain exploded in the middle section, purple lightning splashing everywhere like shattered glass.

How dangerous, the resonance point was found correctly!

But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the Spiritual Body image of the second lightning chain was already approaching—this one was three times faster than the first.

His skull suddenly felt like it was being hammered by a chisel, and Chen Fan staggered, steadying himself against a nearby pillar.

The backlash from the Sense Deprivation had arrived, delaying the Spiritual Body scan by half a beat.

He bit his tongue until it bled; the fishy sweetness flowed down his throat into his stomach. The pain instantly washed away the dizziness.

The fire seed blue flame surged wildly in his Dantian, and he forcibly urged the Spiritual Body forward. The phantom image of the hammer of the thunder god once again drew an arc of light!

"Boom!"

The second lightning chain exploded into motes of light, but Chen Fan's right hand was shaking—that single strike had overdrafted one-third of his Spiritual Body energy.

Now, the Spiritual Body's sustained time was only 12 seconds left.

The movement of the third lightning chain was wrong.

In the Spiritual Body scan, it suddenly split into nine phantom images, each bearing the same lightning pattern, making it impossible to distinguish the real one.

Blood dripped from Chen Fan's forehead into his eyes, yet he felt no pain; his mind was filled only with what Su Shuang had said earlier, "can only explode once"—if he missed this time, they were finished.

"Go—!"

A furious roar struck the Spiritual Body like a heavy hammer.

Chen Fan "saw" the figure of the Silent Thunder Monk suddenly lunge out from the right side. His monk's robe had already been burned to shreds by the lightning fire, and there was a charred hole in his chest, yet he was still charging forward.

He crashed into one of the phantom images, and lightning instantly pierced through his body. The Silent Thunder Monk's spiritual fluctuation abruptly extinguished in Chen Fan's Sea of Consciousness—he used his life to buy Chen Fan a chance.

Simultaneously, the remnant soul of the Thunder Child flickered near the bell.

Chen Fan suddenly "saw" a vague premonition: among the nine phantom images, the seventh one's lightning pattern contained an extremely faint gray line—that was the mark of the Shadow Pavilion system, it was the real one!

"Go to hell!"

Chen Fan poured the last trace of the blue flame fire seed entirely into the Spiritual Body, and the critical hit system vibrated wildly: [Chain Critical Hit x 3]!

The phantom image of the hammer of the thunder god, carrying a blue-purple light, smashed precisely onto the node of the seventh phantom image.

This explosion was louder than the previous two. Chen Fan was thrown back against the wall by the blast wave, and Su Shuang on his back grunted softly, but he smiled—the Spiritual Body scan showed that all the phantom images were shattered, and the remnants of the real chain were falling down.

[Detected Triple Lightning Chain Resonance Wave, Infinite Multiplier Protocol - Preload 42%]

The system prompt disappeared just as Chen Fan collapsed onto the ground.

He fumbled to lower Su Shuang from his back, and his hand touched the cold sweat on the back of her neck, making his heart tremble. "Shuanger?" he called out hoarsely. Although he couldn't hear his own voice, the Spiritual Body scanned her fingertips moving slightly, transmitting two words: "Go home."

In the distance, the thunderclouds above the Shadow Pavilion suddenly churned even more violently.

Chen Fan "saw" a red silhouette standing atop the Shadow Pavilion tower in the Spiritual Body's view. Although he couldn't see the face clearly, he could feel that gaze was like a knife, fixed tightly on the hammer of the thunder god in his hand.

"Let's go." Chen Fan hoisted Su Shuang onto his back. Her head rested on his shoulder, her hair sweeping across his earlobe—this was an action she used to tease him with in the Teahouse.

He walked forward in the direction scanned by the Spiritual Body. The bluestone slabs underfoot were already cracked into a spider web, and the muffled sound of collapsing strata came from afar, like the earth grinding its teeth.

The Spiritual Body suddenly trembled, the scan showing the edge of a rift valley ten steps ahead.

Chen Fan stopped. He could feel the cold wind rushing up from beneath his feet, carrying the damp, earthy smell of soil.

He touched Su Shuang on his back; her breath was as light as a feather, yet it steadied his own heartbeat.

"Don't be afraid." He spoke into the darkness. Although she couldn't hear him, the blue light of the Spiritual Body was spreading along his blood vessels, illuminating the path ahead.