Boom!
Li Fan felt as though his divine soul had been plunged into magma in an instant.
The extreme heat threatened to incinerate his divine soul completely.
Enveloped in endless brilliance, Li Fan felt his divine soul dissolving and vanishing at a terrifying rate.
Yet in tandem with this, the thoroughly burned divine soul transformed into a mysterious form of nourishment.
The Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven trembled slightly, and a blood-red radiance appeared across each of the grotto-heaven worlds, casting the scenery of the five elements into an eerie yet mesmerizing beauty.
Under this bloody shroud, numerous anomalies were born across the grotto-heaven firmament.
Even more terrifying was that within the grotto-heaven, the circulation of five-element power accelerated nearly twofold in an instant. Furthermore, this violent catalytic effect seemed to have no upper limit, in turn causing Li Fan's divine soul to burn away even faster!
A fatal sense of crisis welled up in his heart. Li Fan understood that if he did not invoke True Reversion before his divine soul was completely burned to ashes, he would truly die!
Forcing down the impulse to use True Reversion, Li Fan quietly operated the Limitless Waxing and Waning Method.
An invisible vortex appeared at the confluence of the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens. Vast quantities of violent five-element power were evenly drawn out.
Convergence of the five elements. From nothingness, the power of waxing and waning was born.
What had resembled a seabed exposed after the tide receded was instantly swept over once more by surging seawater.
The portion of Li Fan's divine soul that had already vanished actually re-emerged under the nourishment of this waxing and waning power!
Although it was soon burned away again by the Soul Burning secret technique, the inexhaustible power of five-element waxing and waning caused this part of his soul to act like wild grass, defying all destruction!
Due to the Soul Burning secret technique, Li Fan's exterior was also shrouded in a faint bloody light.
He looked terrifying, radiating a murderous aura that pierced the heavens.
After a long time, Li Fan gradually adapted to his divine soul constantly alternating between the two states of Soul Burning and waxing and waning.
Upon inspection, not only had the power he could mobilize nearly doubled, but his cognitive processes were far more active.
The enhancement brought by burning his divine soul was truly comprehensive!
"And this is only burning the outermost layer of my divine soul. If I continue to use the more condensed, pure core portion of my divine soul as fuel..."
"The amplification effect will double once again!"
Li Fan closed his eyes and sensed his state for a brief moment.
"With my current recovery speed from the Limitless Waxing and Waning Method, it is sufficient to permanently sustain the initial stage of Soul Burning."
"Sustaining intermediate Soul Burning for extended periods might cause a degree of damage to the divine soul, requiring some time afterward to slowly recover."
"As for extreme Soul Burning..."
"There is no need for that."
With his swollen strength, Li Fan's hands itched for action.
With a shift of his thoughts, Tianyang flickered into existence before him, eyes burning with fighting spirit.
Passing through the newly connected entrance to the Hunyin Realm passage, Li Fan and Tianyang once again appeared in the empty void corridor.
With no need for restraint, Tianyang struck first.
Ever since his defeat at his Senior Brother's hands last time, he had been yearning to win it back.
Unfortunately, Li Fan had continually avoided battle.
Now that he had finally gotten another opportunity, Tianyang sensed that his Senior Brother's strength had made another massive leap.
Thus, his very first move was all-out.
Manipulating the space around Li Fan, he attempted to sever Li Fan's body with shattering force.
However, to his bewilderment, the tactic that had proven quite effective in their last bout had lost its efficacy!
Around Li Fan's physical body hung an eerie crimson glow.
Even as space fractured and collapsed, he remained entirely unaffected, standing tall amidst the shattered space.
"Body and divine soul, perfectly merged."
"Impervious to all techniques..."
Li Fan narrowed his eyes, feeling the surging power within him.
His figure flickered, and in the next instant, he appeared beside Tianyang.
Countless blood threads erupted from his body, like tens of millions of blood dragons howling as they whipped toward Tianyang.
At the same time, silver light flickered in his eyes, instantly laying down formations in the surroundings to seal off any chance of Tianyang's escape.
Facing Li Fan's overwhelming, ferocious onslaught, Tianyang's expression shifted slightly.
Realizing he could not dodge, his entire body transformed into a mass of blackness, colliding against the countless blood threads.
Boom!
A colossal roar reverberated incessantly. With every clash, the blackness representing Tianyang shuddered violently, dimming another fraction under the depletion.
In contrast, Li Fan's violent crimson power was near-infinite, showing no signs of slacking.
He even had the leeway to manifest his figure, watching the struggling Tianyang with keen interest.
Tens of millions of blood threads wrapped completely around Tianyang, congealing into a spherical blood cocoon on the outside. Left with no avenue of escape, Tianyang could only scramble to resist.
With the ceaseless spiritual energy supplied by the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven, Li Fan could remain in his peak state indefinitely.
Meanwhile, the sealed Tianyang's aura grew weaker and weaker.
Before long, he would likely be beaten to death by Li Fan.
Finally, Tianyang sent out a plea for mercy.
After bombarding him for a while longer, Li Fan reluctantly stayed his hand.
"Junior Brother, how is it? Still unconvinced?" Li Fan asked with a light chuckle.
Tianyang said sullenly, "I yield. You are stronger, Senior Brother."
Li Fan burst into laughter.
Overwhelming someone purely with brute force was far more satisfying than winning by clever tricks.
The myriad blood threads retracted into his body, but he did not cancel the Soul Burning state.
He merely reined in some of the outward phenomena.
Though no longer as intense as before, the blood light still lingered, leaving Li Fan with traces of an evil aura.
"As long as they aren't at Mr. Bai's level, ordinary Dao Integration cultivators—even three or five attacking in concert or taking turns—might not be able to outlast me."
"And that is without me using various divine abilities."
Having gauged his rough upper limit through the battle with Tianyang, Li Fan nodded slightly.
"It's time to visit the Empire."
Li Fan's eyes flickered.
Leading Tianyang, he familiarly located the entrance to the Empire pocket world.
Spurring forward, he soon arrived outside the Empire.
Making no effort to conceal his formidable aura, Qing and Hong had long since sensed his approach, waiting with solemn expressions.
"Senior..." Qing looked at the evilly-tinged Li Fan, a sliver of worry flashing through her eyes as she probed.
"I am the Myriad Realms Association Envoy. This pocket world of yours has been requisitioned!" Li Fan announced coldly.
The color drained from Qing and Hong's faces.
Even if the aura faintly radiating from him was at the Dao Integration level, wanting to subjugate the Empire with a single sentence was looking down on them far too much!
"Imperial Guard!"
Qing transmitted her voice in secret, forcing down her anger as she questioned again, "What Myriad Realms Association? We have never heard of it. Senior, this action of yours..."
Li Fan sneered sinisterly, "It seems you still harbor wishful thinking."
"Very well, then let me show you what true power looks like!"
Before his words had faded, the phantom of the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven loomed over the Empire.
Under the effect of Soul Burning, it resembled five interwoven blood moons, unimaginably eerie!
Chapter 880