Using Wood as a Sword

Chapter 419 Bursting the Seemingly Bloated Balloon! Where is the Ding Tou Needle?

You must understand that this bolt of lightning was far from comparable to ordinary lightning.

Its energy source, driven by the Op-Op Fruit, was already astonishing enough.

After all, the Op-Op Fruit provided precisely the elements required for "surgery" in the previous world. Overcoming the rules of this world would be a simple matter.

Thus, the Mirage Demon was directly ensnared by this seemingly innocuous lightning bolt.

Crackling!

The Mirage Demon fully absorbed the lightning, becoming somewhat disoriented.

This electrical ability, named Cardiac Arrest, was indeed potent, specializing in affecting the mind and inducing paralysis.

Since the Mirage Demon had dared to approach, Lin Ran was able to shock it to his heart's content.

"You... you... you..."

Seeing that it could not escape Lin Ran's clutches, the Mirage Demon began to gnash its teeth in frustration.

Lin Ran paid it no mind and increased his electrical output.

As the crackling intensified, the Mirage Demon lost all ability to resist, only able to slump beside Lin Ran, emitting unconscious whimpers.

Lin Ran sneered:

"With your mere 'three-legged cat' skills, how dare you try to scam me?"

"I truly don't know who gave you the courage!"

"After thoroughly enjoying this electrotherapy session, you'll obediently return to your Mirage Pearl to be reborn..."

"Of course, there's no need to rush..."

"Once I've dealt with your brethren nearby, I'll personally come to settle the score."

"Just lie still in your pearl!"

"Eighteen Stars Congealing Blood Moon? Who are you trying to scare!"

Divine Might!

While taunting the Mirage Demon, Lin Ran rotated his Mangekyo Sharingan once more, engulfing the creature.

Unable to resist such an offensive after being firmly ensnared by Cardiac Arrest, the Mirage Demon dissolved into a cloud of smoke under Lin Ran's relentless assault.

As if anticipating this outcome, Lin Ran casually dusted off his hands and cast a disdainful glance in the direction the Mirage Demon had vanished.

"He... died?"

Luo Qingyan, witnessing the battle unfold in a flash and hearing their cryptic conversation, could only ask directly.

Lin Ran nodded casually:

"Otherwise?"

"Although the Mirage Demon race is somewhat similar to liches among the undead, they don't truly die until their life-essence, known as the Mirage Pearl, is completely extinguished."

"However, I've already pinpointed the location of its Mirage Pearl through its connection with this body..."

"If you wish, we can head there now and capture the Mirage Demon and its pearl; it would be a simple matter."

Luo Qingyan's eyes widened:

"You're that arrogant, daring to confront the Forgotten Ones head-on?"

"In their full strength, they're at least eighth-tier, and they possess methods to temporarily ascend to tenth-tier. How can we possibly compare..."

"Even if you unleash your black dragon, along with your black dragon body, it would only be two against eighteen!"

Lin Ran glanced at Luo Qingyan, whose eyes were filled with astonishment, and chuckled:

"We have a soul connection, and yet you're this slow on the uptake?"

"Haven't you realized by now that your husband's combat power has thoroughly surged to eighth-tier?"

Luo Qingyan's gaze became even more vacant:

"What? Eighth-tier? How can this..."

However, before she could utter the word "possible," Luo Qingyan felt an immensely powerful force erupt within her, surging upwards like a torrent, directly elevating her own cultivation to the eighth-tier.

"This... this... this..."

Luo Qingyan began to stutter again.

"I achieved a sudden enlightenment and breakthrough so rapidly only after you said that..."

"Because of our soul connection, you directly boosted my cultivation too?"

"But why now?!"

Lin Ran feigned nonchalance and laughed it off:

"Heh, what's the big deal..."

"It's just that when I was on the arena before, I wanted to conceal my strength as much as possible, so I used illusions to seal a portion of my true realm..."

"And, I also used the special effects of illusions to induce mental paralysis and deceive my own consciousness."

"So, it wasn't until after the forging was completed just now that I realized I could directly reach eighth-tier!"

Luo Qingyan looked at her sacred wings, which had suddenly grown from ten to fourteen, opened her mouth, but found herself speechless.

To be honest, she was discovering that she could no longer see through the man before her.

Although Lin Ran had constantly delighted her with surprises and unexpected events before...

Today, the surprises and unexpected events he had created were so immense that her mind could barely cope, feeling more like fright than delight.

What kind of cultivation technique did Lin Ran possess?!

He could, while dragging a soul-connected burden, disregard the bottlenecks between tiers and break through at will!

If that wasn't enough, the most outrageous part was that Lin Ran had leaped across so many combat power levels in such rapid succession...

Even a novel protagonist wouldn't experience such a surge in power so quickly, would they?

Seeing Luo Qingyan's bewildered expression, her composure starting to crumble, Lin Ran smiled helplessly and reached out to ruffle her hair:

"What? Feeling like your worldview has shattered?"

"It's alright, stick with your husband for a while, and you'll get used to it in the future..."

"Moreover, we don't have time to dwell on these things now. The important thing is to do what we need to do!"

Luo Qingyan's mind was still reeling.

She dazedly turned her head to face Lin Ran, asking foolishly:

"Ah? What important things?"

Lin Ran, disregarding whether Luo Qingyan could accept it, immediately shifted the topic to himself and boasted:

"What else could be important but this enormous barrier created by the Forgotten Ones?"

"I've already meticulously and thoughtfully studied everything within this barrier..."

"So, don't you want to know where the needle is that can puncture this seemingly bloated balloon?"