Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Great Devouring Technique

Lin Fan was undergoing a transformation; his vital energy surged and scattered, roaring like a boundless sea, radiant as if stars were glittering in the night sky. His body trembled, emitting an immortal brilliance, and from afar, he seemed like a deity comprehending the way, standing proudly atop the heavens, unrivaled across all realms.

Behind Lin Fan, phantoms began to appear—manifestations of ancient mighty beings from eras long past. Sacred scripture echoed, solemn and divine.

"The body holds a vast treasure, akin to another universe. If one reaches the end of this path, perhaps true invincibility can be attained."

Lin Fan opened his eyes, two celestial rivers crossing with dominance, an aura terrifying to the extreme. He was on the verge of transcendence, seeking the invincible way within himself.

The Milky Way hung upside down—an anomaly formed by the condensation of divine patterns. Lin Fan was dignified, his golden body indestructible, his black hair thick and dancing without wind. His gaze shone like the stars, his immense vital energy splitting heaven and earth.

Half an hour later, a sharp crack was heard as four Demon God Crystals shattered simultaneously, turning to dust, their contained energy devoured entirely.

"Not enough. I've already touched the barrier, but I lack the final half-step!"

Lin Fan muttered to himself, taking out eight more Demon God Crystals and smashing them directly, unleashing imperial-level power.

"Devour! Aid me in breaking through!"

He shouted loudly, his body swelling, nearly reaching ten feet—a manifestation of the body's extreme. At this moment, Lin Fan resembled a god or demon, breathing deeply and endlessly devouring. During this process, winds howled, clouds surged, lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled.

On the surface of his body, figures appeared one after another, sitting in meditation, chanting scriptures. Golden runes emerged, engraved upon Lin Fan's body, their majestic aura resembling the descent of gods, demanding worship from all.

Unaware, Lin Fan was being deliberately influenced by Heaven Within the Prison, guiding him onto another path—one treacherous and fraught with peril even in ancient times, where a single misstep meant complete annihilation. Only by reaching the end could one survive; otherwise, all fame would vanish like smoke.

"Break!"

Lin Fan roared, his body splitting apart and then recovering, repeating the cycle endlessly.

This was destruction followed by creation, pursuing an instant explosion. During this process, Lin Fan's body was further strengthened, and after a quarter hour, he broke through the power of three hundred units, reaching a new extreme.

Profound beyond measure, the Gate of Myriad Mysteries.

A portal manifested, the legendary Gate of Myriad Mysteries that transcended the Five Elements—a path and law of an ancient great power. Unexpectedly, Lin Fan's journey intersected with that of this extraordinary figure.

"Is this... the master's aura?"

A sonorous voice rang out. The black long spear in Lin Fan's embrace trembled, radiating a mist of light, then a figure appeared—a middle-aged man, dignified beyond compare, his eyes opening and closing as universes collapsed and perished, his terrifying presence too overwhelming to behold.

This was the spirit of the black long spear. He had always ignored Lin Fan, only now awakening.

"Sadly, you are not the old master."

The spear's spirit showed deep sorrow, then merged back into the weapon.

"Since your way is not far from the old master's, you may be his successor, or even his reincarnation. Though this remains uncertain, for the sake of this connection, I will lend you my strength."

The voice lingered, followed by a burst of divine light surging into Lin Fan's body—a divine radiance, carrying the aura of gods, sufficient to break all bottlenecks.

"What is this power? It doesn't seem of the mortal world—so sacred, so vast. Just a trace is enough to ascend and become immortal!"

Lin Fan was startled awake, sensing a foreign energy within him. With its arrival, he fully broke through the half-step he had taken into the Vein-Consolidation Realm, his aura skyrocketing, successfully breaking through. Now, he stood firmly in this realm.

"What terrifying power! It even refined the demonic energy within me, and returned that purified energy back to me. This is a supreme blessing—my realm may rise again!"

Lin Fan's meridians, bones, and internal organs shone, sacred light coursing through him. Three thousand phantoms appeared, all of himself, their voices echoing the way, expounding the path Lin Fan had traversed in his journey to the Vein-Consolidation Realm.

"What is this way? So powerful, unheard of in this era. And what was that force just now, evading my perception? This little one is backed by someone extraordinary, perhaps a hidden protector—it cannot be an ordinary person."

From afar, the old woman’s expression changed, a hint of solemnity appearing. She could see that Lin Fan after his transformation had exceeded all conventional limits, and the sudden emergence of that force had truly shocked her.

That was the moment the spear’s spirit awoke, naturally concealing itself from others with divine abilities.

"If I can't figure it out, I'll stop trying. I'm about to leave anyway—once I find the Yi sisters, my task will be complete. It's a pity the princess has already perished; if the master learns of this, the entire Jin Dynasty may be destroyed."

She murmured, her figure flickering and vanishing. She sensed Lin Fan had finished his breakthrough and was about to awaken.

Boom!

Lin Fan radiated light, fully awakened. His aura soared, finally settling at the peak of the second tier of the Vein-Consolidation Realm, with power reaching twelve hundred units, equal to the sixth tier.

He remained still, as the shattered stones trembled, a hot current surged into his mind.

"What is this?"

Lin Fan was greatly alarmed, witnessing characters flashing with overwhelming power. If the Divine Creation Fist he saw before felt vast and grand, what he saw now was boundless, shrouding the earth like night.

"The Grand Devouring Technique!"

Lin Fan recognized the ancient characters, as if the ability had been innate. Now he understood the cause and effect—the Grand Devouring Technique was the greatest secret within the shattered stone, one of the top three divine arts among the Three Thousand Great Ways!

Above and below, Three Thousand Great Ways—the Divine Creation Fist taught by Heaven Within the Prison was also one of the Ways, but ranked lower, not even qualifying as a true Way. Yet even so, it was terrifying. What then of the true Three Thousand Ways? They were nothing short of legendary.

"The Grand Devouring Technique is within the stone, but Heaven Within the Prison never mentioned it. Could it be he doesn't know?"

Lin Fan frowned, perplexed, but did not dwell on it. Speculation lingered in his heart, but soon his attention shifted entirely to the Grand Devouring Technique—a brand new field, full of unknowns.

Yet everyone knew that only those who cultivated the Three Thousand Ways could go farther; only such paths were truly invincible in the world.