Chapter Thirty-Five: Emergence from the Cauldron

A great battle was on the verge of breaking out, casting a pall of darkness over all of Ancient Red City. This sight could not help but evoke memories of a distant era—here, too, humans and demons had once faced each other. Yet, the circumstances were now reversed. In those ancient days, the demons had been at an absolute disadvantage, crushed and driven into the depths of the earth after their defeat. But now, the tables had turned; humanity had grown weak and teetered on the brink of extinction.

Time slipped away like a fleeting horse, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed. The crisis only deepened. The demons mounted a massive offensive, and of the five strongholds established by the humans, only one remained. The three supreme human lords had all suffered grievous wounds; inside the last bastion, anxiety and dread reigned.

Were it not for the emergence of a new human lord at the Heaven and Man level during this period, the last of humanity might already have been wiped out. That new lord was none other than Duanmu Ci, once the Divine Child of the Heavenly Capital Sect.

From that moment, humans and demons were locked in a bitter stalemate, confronting one another but neither daring to advance recklessly.

All of this was unknown to Lin Fan. He was in the midst of a profound transformation, a metamorphosis so deep that even after half a month, it was not yet complete.

On this day, as he sat cross-legged within the great cauldron, Lin Fan suddenly rose to his feet, a terrifying aura surging skyward.

“Ninth level of the physical body, now break through!”

His tongue thundered like a spring storm, his shout echoing like the pounding of battle drums, reverberating throughout the confines of the cauldron.

At last, he opened his eyes—two beams of light shot forth from them like divine lanterns, striking heavily against the cauldron’s wall.

“Peak of the ninth stage, the strength of ten elephants!”

Lin Fan threw a punch. A mighty dragon surged forth, and ten fearsome mammoth phantoms floated behind him. The sheer force of his blow set the cauldron trembling, nearly splitting it apart.

“Good. Now that you’ve fully absorbed the power of the blood pill, your strength rivals that of an ordinary Condensed Meridian cultivator.”

The shadowy figure of Prison Heaven appeared at just the right moment, as enigmatic as ever.

“Is it enough to deal with the Ghost Domain elder outside?” Lin Fan retracted his fist; his eyes shone with fierce battle-lust. Now that his strength had soared, he yearned for a true fight.

“In theory, the little fellow outside possesses the strength of about fifteen elephants, so you’re still short. But the Fortune God Fist you’ve mastered can double your combat power—by that measure, it should suffice.”

Prison Heaven’s analysis was thorough, his conclusion decisive.

“Very well, then let us break out! The old man’s end has come.” Lin Fan spoke, his killing intent sweeping forth like ten thousand years of glacial ice, threatening to freeze everything around him.

“I recall I once promised you a treasure—what do you think of this cauldron?” Lin Fan abruptly changed the subject, glancing around.

“Haha! I thought you’d forgotten your promise. This pill cauldron may not be a peerless artifact, but it’s decent. It’ll barely restore a ten-thousandth of my wounds.”

Prison Heaven laughed heartily, but Lin Fan drew a deep breath. If a single treasure could only heal Prison Heaven by a ten-thousandth, who knew how many divine objects it would take to restore him completely?

“We’ve been cut off from the outside world for a month. I don’t even know if the Heavenly Capital Sect’s disciple exam is over by now. Let’s hurry and get out of here.” Lin Fan was eager; the adversaries he’d faced recently had all been far stronger than himself, giving him no chance to fully unleash his power.

“Break for me!”

With a long, resonant howl, Lin Fan pushed his power to the limit—a terrifying might swept the heavens. His body blazed with light, divine runes shot forth from within him, dragons roared, and his massive hand reached out, suppressing everything.

Thunderous booms echoed as the cauldron shook violently, then began to crack under the force of his blow.

“A divine pill is about to be born?!”

Outside, the Ghost Domain elder was first startled, then suddenly understood, bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

“A whole month! It’s been a full month! Never have I heard of a pill that takes so long to refine, not even in the Ghost Domain. Only the most mysterious divine pills under heaven could require such time! Hahaha!”

It was an ecstasy like never before. To the Ghost Domain elder, this was nothing less than a second life, the rebirth of a legendary master.

Half a quarter of an hour later, a sound of earth-shattering collapse swept through the entire cave. The radiance that burst forth was dazzling beyond compare, rivaling the sun itself.

“A divine pill with a spirit! It will try to escape—suppress it!”

The Ghost Domain elder’s face changed dramatically, sensing something was wrong, though he never imagined that Lin Fan still lived—he believed it was the divine pill rebelling.

“Look at me—can you tell who I am?”

At that moment, a clear, resounding voice rang out. The glow vanished, dragons roared to the heavens, and a great hand emerged from the void—a dragon’s claw, its scales shimmering dreamlike.

Lin Fan stood with his hands behind his back, his entire body crystalline. The dragon’s claw had been his doing. The Fortune God Fist could manifest the aspects of all races under heaven, and the true dragon was one of the mightiest beings in existence.

“What?!”

The Ghost Domain elder froze, dumbfounded. Before he could react, the dragon’s claw had already come down upon him.

“You’ve ruined my chance! You deserve to die—die!”

With anguished howls, the Ghost Domain elder’s hair bristled in fury; in his wrath, he unleashed all his remaining power, standing atop the peak of his strength.

“So it is—fifteen elephants’ strength. But I am no longer the naive youth I once was, while you are already dying. Since your life is at its limit, then go in peace.”

Lin Fan let out a long roar, striding like a dragon, moving like a tiger. Now, his power had reached that of twenty elephants; crushing the Ghost Domain elder was effortless.

“When I was unrivaled, you were nowhere to be seen. Now you want to take my life? Utterly laughable.”

The Ghost Domain elder sneered. Though he felt Lin Fan’s strength, as a Condensed Meridian master, he was confident in his ability to suppress any foe—unless the opponent too had stepped into the Condensed Meridian realm, none could be his match.

But his words were cut off. Two great hands collided, unleashing a cataclysmic crash like mountains falling and seas shattering.

Immediately after came the crackling of bones breaking.

“I told you—you are no longer my match. The Condensed Meridian realm is powerful, but not invincible. Today, with the strength of the physical body, I shall slay one who has condensed meridians.”

Lin Fan’s laugh was cold and domineering. Behind him appeared an enormous shadow, draped in multicolored light, violet energy billowing, crowned with a diadem of peerless splendor.

This was the Dharma Manifestation—a supernatural power. After reaching the Condensed Meridian realm, everyone would manifest their own Dharma form, also called a phenomenon. Once unleashed, all weaker beings would be suppressed.

“You! That’s your own face!”

The Ghost Domain elder was terrified, his arms trembling, both broken in the previous clash.

Yet his attention was not on his injuries. He was so shocked that he forgot to question how Lin Fan, who had not yet reached the Condensed Meridian realm, could already manifest the Dharma form.

It was known that most Dharma manifestations resembled the myriad races of the heavens. This was not because humans were weak, but because those other races possessed unique abilities, often far surpassing humans in certain respects. There were some whose Dharma manifestations took human form, but those were always the legendary, invincible figures of the ages. Never had anyone’s Dharma form been their own visage.