Chapter 404: The Principle Behind the White Tiger’s Immortality

Bai Sha’s enormous body remained motionless at the edge of the crater, his golden eyes fixed upon Lin Yuan as the silver-white fur covering his limbs stirred beneath the gathering storm.

The Demon Lord had already died three times, and every resurrection had made him stronger, yet the man standing opposite him continued to examine the changes in his aura with unsettling calm. Lin Yuan had no intention of allowing the White Tiger to dictate the rhythm of the battle any longer.

The rain surrounding Lin Yuan did not gather into another colossal dragon. Instead, millions of silver-blue droplets remained suspended throughout the battlefield, each one carrying a faint thread of golden-purple thunder. They were scattered across the sky, the ruined buildings, the depths of the crater, and even the space surrounding Bai Sha’s body, forming an invisible network that connected the entire battlefield.

Bai Sha narrowed his golden eyes as he sensed the change. His slaughter intent spread outward in a dense wave, attempting to crush the droplets before they could become another threat, but the Origin Rain did not resist him in the manner he expected. The droplets dispersed beneath the pressure, only to reform elsewhere, their connections continuing to circulate through the surrounding space.

“You have abandoned that oversized dragon?” Bai Sha asked, his voice carrying a low, contemptuous rumble. “Have you finally realized that your tricks cannot overcome the strength of my bloodline?”

Lin Yuan raised his gaze toward the White Tiger, his expression remaining unchanged. “I realized that destroying your body is not the same as defeating you, and that allowing you to consume your phantom Primordial Spirits is not a sustainable strategy. Your bloodline has turned death into a means of accumulating power, but every ability has a principle governing its operation.”

Bai Sha’s fangs emerged from beneath his lips. “You speak as though understanding a principle will save you from my claws. I have killed countless cultivators who believed their cleverness made them special, and I have watched even the most gifted among them become nothing more than nourishment for my strength.”

He stepped forward, and the ground beneath his paw collapsed under the weight of his body. The accumulated power of three phantom Primordial Spirits surged through his limbs, causing the air around him to distort, while his slaughter intent spread across the ruined Grand Court like a suffocating tide. His strength had already approached the boundary of Body Integration, and every passing moment made him more dangerous.

Lin Yuan did not retreat. “Then you should understand why I am giving you this opportunity to stop.”

The White Tiger’s expression twisted with fury. “Stop? You think you can command me?”

“No,” Lin Yuan replied. “I am simply telling you that your next death will be different.”

Bai Sha roared and disappeared from his position. The surrounding space collapsed behind him as his body accelerated, and his claws descended toward Lin Yuan with enough force to tear through the protective formations that had once defended the Grand Court. The speed of his movement had become so extreme that the surviving cultivators could barely perceive a silver streak crossing the battlefield.

Lin Yuan had already anticipated the attack. His Dao Fruit of Three Rebirths rotated within his Primordial Spirit, and the golden-purple thunder in its depths flashed as the incoming claw entered the network of Origin Rain. Several droplets trembled simultaneously, revealing the precise direction of Bai Sha’s movement before the White Tiger completed his strike.

Lin Yuan turned his body slightly and raised his left arm. The Qilin Secret Realm strengthened his bones and muscles, while the Black Tortoise Secret Realm anchored his body against the force of the collision. Bai Sha’s claws struck his forearm, producing a violent explosion that sent shockwaves through the surrounding ruins, but Lin Yuan remained standing.

The Demon Lord’s golden eyes widened. His attack had not been weak, and the power behind it was greater than anything he had unleashed before his third resurrection. Yet Lin Yuan had received the blow without being thrown into another crater, and the silver-blue droplets around them continued circulating as though the collision had changed nothing.

Lin Yuan seized Bai Sha’s wrist before the White Tiger could withdraw his claws. Golden-purple thunder wrapped around his fingers, and the force of the Qilin Secret Realm surged through his arm. He twisted his body, drawing upon Bai Sha’s forward momentum, then drove his knee into the Demon Lord’s abdomen with a concentrated burst of physical strength.

The impact forced the White Tiger to bend forward. Before he could recover, Lin Yuan released his wrist and struck him beneath the jaw, sending his enormous body hurtling into the air. Bai Sha attempted to stabilize himself, but the surrounding rain suddenly rose in spiraling streams, binding his limbs with threads of Origin energy that carried the destructive authority of thunder.

The White Tiger roared and tore through the first layer of restraints. His slaughter intent condensed around his body, forming a silver-white blade that severed the streams binding his arms, while the force of his movement scattered the surrounding droplets. However, every destroyed droplet left behind a thread of golden-purple thunder, and those threads immediately connected to the remaining rain.

Bai Sha landed on a shattered platform, his claws digging into the stone. “You cannot bind me forever!”

“I have no intention of doing so,” Lin Yuan answered. “I only need to understand what happens when you die.”

The Demon Lord’s expression changed. He had expected Lin Yuan to continue attacking his physical body, hoping to exhaust his remaining lives through repeated destruction. Instead, the man seemed more interested in the process of resurrection itself, as though the White Tiger’s greatest advantage had become the subject of a cultivation experiment.

Bai Sha did not allow him another moment to think. He opened his mouth, and a terrifying wave of slaughter intent erupted from within his body, spreading outward in the shape of a roaring white tiger. The manifestation swept across the battlefield, cutting through the suspended rain and crushing the weaker formations that remained around the Grand Court.