Chapter 402 - 401

The ground beneath his paw did not simply crack. It disintegrated into fine dust under the gravitational pressure of his enhanced body, while the surrounding spatial laws bent away from him.

"You have killed me three times, Lin Yuan. In exchange, I have received the power of three additional phantom Primordial Spirits."

Bai Sha’s golden eyes narrowed.

"Tell me, how many more times do you intend to kill me before you realize that your attacks are helping me?"

Lin Yuan remained silent.

His Dao Fruit continued circulating, examining the changing structure of Bai Sha’s aura. The Rain Dragon hovered above the battlefield, ready to attack again, but Lin Yuan understood that repeating the same strategy without considering the consequences would be foolish.

He had already forced the Demon Lord to consume three phantom Primordial Spirits.

If every resurrection continued increasing Bai Sha’s combat strength, then allowing the battle to continue in the same manner could eventually push the White Tiger beyond his ability to suppress him.

The Demon Lord’s cultivation had not technically broken through into Body Integration.

However, his combat strength was approaching that boundary, and the difference between the two states was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Bai Sha smiled, revealing his enormous fangs.

"Let us see how your little water technique handles this."

He vanished.

There was no spatial tear, no visible distortion, and no elaborate movement technique that Lin Yuan could identify immediately.

Bai Sha simply moved.

His physical speed had become so terrifying that the surrounding air seemed to collapse behind him. The distance between the two combatants disappeared in an instant, leaving Lin Yuan with barely enough time to react.

Behind you!

The principle of Three Rebirths screamed through his consciousness.

Lin Yuan spun, commanding the Rain Dragon to intercept the incoming attack.

The colossal construct lunged downward, opening its enormous jaws toward the blur of silver-white fur. Origin Rain and Thunder surged through its body, and the surrounding space trembled beneath the force of its movement.

But Bai Sha was no longer the same opponent Lin Yuan had pinned moments earlier.

The power accumulated through three resurrections had dramatically increased his physical strength. His muscles contracted, and the slaughter intent surrounding his body condensed into an almost tangible force.

He swung his right arm.

His claws tore through the Rain Dragon’s body.

For an instant, the Origin water resisted.

Then the concentrated slaughter intent disrupted the conceptual connection sustaining the construct, severing the circulation of energy between its different components.

The enormous dragon split apart.

Silver-blue rain and golden-purple thunder scattered across the sky, dissolving into a storm of droplets and fading sparks.

Lin Yuan’s eyes widened.

The Origin spell had been physically overpowered.

It was not that Bai Sha had completely erased the authority of Origin energy. Rather, the Demon Lord had accumulated enough power to disrupt the structure through which Lin Yuan’s spell manifested that authority.

The distinction was important.

The spell remained extraordinary, but its effectiveness depended upon Lin Yuan’s ability to maintain the connection between the Origin principles and their manifestation.

Bai Sha had found a way to break that connection through overwhelming force.

Before Lin Yuan could establish another defensive technique, the White Tiger appeared directly before him.

His enormous body blocked the surrounding light, and his golden eyes burned with savage satisfaction.

"My turn."

Bai Sha raised both fists.

Then he brought them down upon Lin Yuan’s chest.

The impact was catastrophic.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The force of the double-handed hammer blow struck Lin Yuan’s True Elemental Body with overwhelming violence. The Qilin Secret Realm attempted to reinforce his physical defenses, while the Black Tortoise Secret Realm struggled to anchor his body against the incoming force.

But Bai Sha’s enhanced strength exceeded what Lin Yuan had anticipated.

The defensive circulation trembled.

The impact penetrated through the outer layers of protection, driving the force of the attack into Lin Yuan’s body and sending him crashing toward the ground.

The sky disappeared above him.

The ruins of the Grand Court rushed closer.

Lin Yuan struck the ground with such force that the remaining structures collapsed beneath the shockwave. Broken pillars shattered, defensive formations disintegrated, and the ancient platforms that had survived the earlier battles were reduced to fragments.

A massive crater opened in the center of the Grand Court.

It stretched hundreds of feet deep and nearly a mile across, swallowing the surrounding ruins beneath a storm of dust and pulverized stone.

The impact continued spreading outward.

The remaining orthodox cultivators were forced to reinforce their defenses, while several demons were thrown from their feet by the shockwave. Even the distant Golden Immortal Beast staggered in the air as the surrounding pressure surged.

Bai Sha landed at the edge of the crater.

His enormous paws settled against the broken ground, and his golden eyes looked down into the dust below.

The silver-white fur covering his body remained immaculate.

The ancient crimson scars across his chest glowed with renewed intensity, and the aura surrounding him had become far more oppressive than when he had first arrived.

He rolled his shoulders, seemingly satisfied with the result.

"Three lives for one," the Demon Lord rumbled. "A fair trade."

The dust continued drifting across the ruined Grand Court.

For several breaths, the battlefield remained unnaturally quiet.

The orthodox cultivators stared toward the enormous crater, unable to determine whether Lin Yuan had survived the attack. Bai Qingyue stood rigidly upon the Golden Immortal Beast, her fingers tightening around the Sun Shooting Bow as she tried to sense her husband’s aura through the lingering turbulence.

The Weapon Spirit’s voice rang urgently inside her consciousness.

Master, I cannot clearly determine his condition. The impact disrupted the surrounding energy, and the demonic pressure is interfering with my perception.

Bai Qingyue’s expression became cold.

She raised the Sun Shooting Bow.

The solar runes began to glow, and the weapon gathered energy for another attack. She had already learned that Bai Sha could regenerate from apparently fatal injuries, but that did not mean she would allow him to continue attacking Lin Yuan without resistance.

Ku Ming, still suspended in the air, struggled to stabilize his breathing.

His golden eyes remained fixed on the crater.

He knew that Lin Yuan possessed an extraordinary physical foundation and had survived battles against enemies far more powerful than ordinary cultivators could imagine. Yet Bai Sha’s last attack had been terrifying, and the increase in the Demon Lord’s strength had made the outcome increasingly uncertain.

The remaining Emperors watched in silence.

Emperor Tianxu tightened his grip on his halberd, while Emperor Nanheng’s flames flickered weakly around her shoulders. Emperor Beiming attempted to stabilize the defensive formations protecting the surviving orthodox cultivators, but even his Black Tortoise aura trembled beneath Bai Sha’s oppressive presence.

They had already lost Emperor Xiyan.

Now Lin Yuan, one of their greatest remaining hopes, had been driven into a crater by the White Tiger’s overwhelming strength.

Bai Sha raised his head.

His gaze settled upon Bai Qingyue.