Zhang Fan's body slammed against the subterranean rock wall, the immense force embedding him into the stone. He spat out a mouthful of scarlet blood.
His clothes, already torn by the impact of the blood sea energy, had long since turned to fragments. His broken body was completely exposed to the air, confronting the Blood Ancestor nakedly, a scene of extreme strangeness.
The Blood Ancestor was entirely white, standing a few inches taller than Zhang Fan, with a perfectly proportioned physique. His refined, flawless features made him as handsome as a celestial being.
In contrast, Zhang Fan's entire body was shattered by the blood sea energy. A vast amount of blood flowed from the cracks all over him. His face was a bloody mess, and he had become a figure of gore, a truly horrifying sight.
"Absorb for me!"
Ignoring his own injuries, Zhang Fan unleashed the Devouring Technique once more, continuing to absorb the blood sea's energy.
Under normal circumstances, cultivating the Divine Body Technique to minor completion would require at least the Golden Core stage, as only the profound mana of Golden Core cultivators could refine such immense energy to temper the physical body.
After all, even the weakest Divine Body Technique, once it reached minor completion, would allow one to fight Golden Core stage cultivators with bare hands without being at a disadvantage.
The resilience of such a physique was unimaginable.
And the Myriad Domain Suppressing Divine Body that Zhang Fan cultivated was a top-tier Divine Body Technique. According to his previous thoughts, even with his current conditions, achieving minor completion of the Divine Body would likely require at least condensing a Nascent Core, reaching the Core Condensation stage.
Only with the tempering of Core Condensation stage mana could his Divine Body reach its most perfect state.
However, he was currently at the peak of the Heavenly Human realm, yet to condense a Nascent Core. Forcing a breakthrough under these circumstances would leave significant flaws in his Divine Body, greatly hindering future Divine Body cultivation and making it difficult to reach the realm of transcendence.
But at this moment, he could no longer afford to worry about such things.
Only by breaking through his Divine Body could he gain the strength to overcome the tribulation before him.
"Such a formidable physique. Merely a minor cultivator who hasn't even condensed a Nascent Core, yet after my full power attack, not only did he not die, but he still has the strength to absorb energy."
The Blood Ancestor was filled with astonishment at Zhang Fan's performance, finding it incredible.
Even though he was heavily injured, with his strength less than thirty percent of its peak, his full power attack was enough to suppress most peak Core Condensation stage cultivators.
A peak Core Condensation cultivator against a peak Heavenly Human cultivator – even a casual blow would be enough to instantly kill.
The gap between them was even greater than the gap between peak Saint realm and peak God realm.
"It seems your will to survive is strong. However, today, you will undoubtedly die. Don't even think about making any waves!"
The more monstrous Zhang Fan became, the stronger the Blood Ancestor's killing intent grew. He also wished to devour Zhang Fan and explore his secrets. Such monstrous talent must be born from great fortune; talent alone could not achieve this.
The Blood Ancestor's entire body transformed into a streak of white light, appearing before Zhang Fan in the blink of an eye. With lightning speed, he unleashed a punch, landing precisely on Zhang Fan's chest.
"Boom!"
A deep sound echoed through the subterranean space, accompanied by the crisp crack of breaking bones. Zhang Fan was once again sent flying, embedding himself into the rock wall. Debris flew from the wall, and cracks spread outwards, as if it were about to collapse.
On Zhang Fan's chest was an imprint half a finger deep. Shattered bones pierced his skin, exposed to the air, stark white and terrifying. The scene was extremely bloody.
The searing pain almost made Zhang Fan faint. His powerful willpower kept him conscious, knowing that if he passed out, he would likely meet his end today.
"Just a little bit more, break through for me!"
Zhang Fan roared inwardly. The energy his Divine Body could bear had reached its limit. As long as he could take this step, he would undergo a sublimation!
Zhang Fan struggled out of the rock wall. Before he could even steady himself, the Blood Ancestor was before him again.
"It seems the body-refining technique you cultivate is extraordinary. Hand over the manual, and I might consider sparing your life. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to devour you and search your sea of consciousness for it myself!" The Blood Ancestor lifted Zhang Fan with one hand, speaking coldly.
Such a terrifying physique was something he had never encountered in his thousand years of life. Zhang Fan's body-refining technique greatly tempted him. If he could obtain it, no one on Earth would be able to stop him, not even that old guy from the Vatican.
Zhang Fan's expression was icy, his eyes calmly fixed on the Blood Ancestor. He remained silent, but a hint of mockery in his gaze instantly infuriated the Blood Ancestor!
"Stubborn fool!"
Zhang Fan's demeanor angered the Blood Ancestor greatly. He casually flung Zhang Fan, who became a streak of bloody light, smashing into the rock wall once more.
The Blood Ancestor channeled his Golden Core mana, unleashing a unique technique of the Undying Blood Ancestor – the Undying Divine Light!
The Blood Ancestor clasped his hands together, then slowly parted them. An incredibly scarlet droplet, like blood, appeared between his palms. This blood-red droplet was only the size of an eyeball, but the energy contained within was enough to make peak Core Condensation cultivators tremble.
"Go!"
Under the Blood Ancestor's control, the blood-red droplet shot towards Zhang Fan at high speed.
"Break for me!"
This time, Zhang Fan endured it, channeling all his strength to unleash a palm strike, colliding with the blood-red droplet.
At the moment of impact, Zhang Fan was, as expected, repelled again. The blood-red droplet emitted a fierce blood-light, continuously eroding Zhang Fan's palm. The entire subterranean space was enveloped in an intense blood-light.
The blood-light emanating from the blood-red droplet possessed strong corrosive power. A bloody hole was eroded on the back of Zhang Fan's hand, spreading outwards...
The intense pain made Zhang Fan's body tremble uncontrollably. He gritted his teeth, sensing the changes in his body, his expression gradually relaxing.
Finally...
Crack!
As if his body had reached a certain critical point, a mysterious鎖 was unlocked. Zhang Fan closed his eyes tightly, sensing meticulously, as if every cell in his body was cheering!
A powerful life force emanated from within. Zhang Fan, whose body was covered in cracks and blood, began to heal rapidly. Simultaneously, his height also increased slightly, and a layer of dried blood peeled off him.
In a mere instant, Zhang Fan transformed from a wounded figure of gore into a youth even more handsome and refined than the Blood Ancestor.
"Finally, a breakthrough!"
Zhang Fan clenched his fists, feeling the transformation of his body, his heart becoming empty.
From afar, the Blood Ancestor stared at Zhang Fan's instantaneous transformation, freezing in place for a second. Once he reacted, he charged towards Zhang Fan again.
However, Zhang Fan merely glanced at the Blood Ancestor indifferently, a cold smile appearing on his lips.
"You seemed to have a lot of fun beating me up just now. Now, isn't it my turn?"