Chapter 358: Destruction or Rebirth?

It succeeded… he arrived…

He lifted his head, his gaze burning as he stared at the ancient black stone platform at the center of the stage, and the three "Star-Shadow Fruits" hovering above it, slowly rotating like miniature black holes, devouring the surrounding energy.

Rich, pure Void-Star energy enveloped him like warm tides, and the azure star spark at the wound on his left shoulder danced joyfully, as if returning home.

Hope was right before his eyes.

But just as he struggled to climb onto the platform—

Buzz…

A cold, dead, lifeless will, like a guardian that had slept for eons, slowly awakened from the depths of the ancient black stone platform…

Around the platform, the metal structures covered in azure moss lit up one by one, their ancient and strange geometric patterns glowing with a blue hue.

A cold, emotionless thought, like an invisible shackle, instantly locked onto Lin Yifan and Lingling, who had just stepped onto the platform.

"Unauthorized life unit detected…" "Energy resonance matches… sequence verification failed…" "Assessment: intruder." "Executing… purge protocol."

Lin Yifan's body suddenly stiffened, his pupils constricted.

The land of hope is also a deathblow!

The cold, lifeless mechanical will, like a final judgment, hammered at Lin Yifan's nearly numb nerves.

"Purge protocol".

Two simple words, yet they signified absolute, unquestionable death.

Buzz—!

Around the platform, the geometric patterns on the ancient metal structures covered in azure moss flared suddenly, their light blinding! The pure Star-Shadow energy filling the air turned violent and hostile in an instant, like invisible shackles that pressed Lin Yifan and Lingling so hard they could not even move a finger.

At the center of the platform, the liquid azure glow flowing over the black stone platform boiled! The three slowly rotating Star-Shadow Fruits suddenly accelerated, their silver starry swirl patterns flashing wildly, emitting a heart‑pounding energy ripple!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Without warning, three ultra‑concentrated azure energy beams, like the gaze of death, burst from three different angles of the platform, instantly slashing the darkness and precisely striking Lin Yifan's head, heart, and the Lingling in his arms!

Fast! Faster than thought!

Unavoidable! Unblockable!

In Lin Yifan's pupils reflected the three expanding, cold death lights. His body was crushed by a powerful energy field, making even struggling a luxury. The searing pain in his left shoulder, the coldness of his body, the fatigue of his soul—all seemed to fade at that moment, leaving only the pure void that faces ultimate annihilation.

Is this death…

Ending like this…

In that one‑in‑10,000‑second instant—

"Cheep—!!!"

Lingling, cradled in Lin Yifan's arms, let out the sharpest, highest‑pitched, soul‑rending cry of its life!

The ancient rune on her forehead, long dim and lifeless, did not simply light up at this moment—it… ignited!

Yes, burning! Like a final candle, it erupted with light and heat that consumed everything! The silvery glow was no longer gentle moonlight, but a fierce, decisive supernova!

This is not inherited power; it is… the echo of the bloodline's origin! The core spirit of life itself is ablaze!

The burning silver light instantly pierced the azure energy field's suppression, not as resistance but… guidance? Or perhaps… deception?

Within that silver light, countless ultra‑fine, older and more intricate star‑rune phantoms than those on the platform emerged! These rune phantoms resonated profoundly yet fleetingly with the platform's energy and the three Star-Shadow Fruits!

As if declaring to the cold defense system: ally!

The azure beam aimed at Lingling, upon touching the burning silver light, veered sharply, grazing her fur before shooting into the darkness behind, vanishing without a trace!

And almost at the same moment!

Deep within the gruesome wound on Lin Yifan's left shoulder, the stubbornly flickering azure star spark, seemingly stimulated by Lingling's burning life‑burst ancient star rune and the nearby Star-Shadow Fruit, exploded violently!

It was not an energy explosion but a flood of… information! An imprint deep in the blood, belonging to Xiao You, a unique Void-Star origin seal!

The seal was like a key, a key forced into a lock, imperfect yet barely functional!

Buzz!!!

The two death beams aimed at Lin Yifan's head and heart, just before vaporizing him, suddenly halted! They were only a hair's breadth from his skin!

The cold azure light flickered and pulsed violently, as if the internal judgment program was in fierce conflict!

"Unknown sequence… detected high‑level permission fragments…" "Seal residue… partial verification matched…" "Life form severely mismatched… energy contamination severe…" "Logic conflict… re‑evaluating…"

The cold mechanical will became intermittent, filled with contradictions and instability.

The hovering death beams trembled slightly, advancing half an inch then retreating a point, the dangerous energy fluctuations wildly unstable, ready to erupt again at any moment.

Now!!!

Lin Yifan's consciousness, driven to the brink by death's terror and crushing pressure, erupted at this moment with unprecedented madness and clarity!

His intact right hand shot out like lightning! Not to block the hovering beam (which was meaningless), but to seize—within his grasp—the core fragment obtained from the Dark Golden Cocoon, containing pure, raging dark energy!

At the same time, he dragged his battered body, using his last ounce of strength, like a moth to flame, recklessly crashing into the hovering azure beam before his chest, slamming into the black stone platform at the center! His target: the three rotating Star-Shadow Fruits!

He must forcibly contact the Star-Shadow Fruits before the defense system's final judgment—either be redeemed by their power or be utterly annihilated together with the system!

Only a madman would make such a choice! Yet he has no way back!

"Zz—!"

His chest slammed into the hovering azure beam!

Instead of piercing through, the beam acted like a scorching branding iron, instantly scorching a deep burn on his chest, delivering indescribable agony! The defense system's energy field raged back, trying to push him away, to crush him!

But Lin Yifan, driven by sheer grit and the inertia of his forward thrust, somehow forced his way through the terrifying resistance and scorching heat, pressing onward!

His right hand, clutching the dark core fragment as if it were the last bomb, slammed it hard onto the rotating Star-Shadow Fruits on the platform!

"Get… out of the way!!!"

Boom—!!!

The dark core fragment collided violently with the outermost Star-Shadow Fruit!

The raging dark energy of the Dark Golden Cocoon and the pure ancient Void-Star power, two fundamentally different yet terrifying forces, met like water and fire, erupting in a cataclysmic explosion!

Pitch‑black energy and eerie blue light clash wildly, annihilate, and rampage!

The blast's shockwave hurled Lin Yifan violently into the air, slamming him hard onto the platform's metal floor; blood sprayed from his mouth as if money were worthless, his chest charred, and his right‑arm bones emitted a sickening cracking sound.

The whole platform quaked violently; the liquid eerie‑blue glow flowing over the stone slab flickered madly, its illuminated geometric patterns flashing erratically, while the cold mechanical consciousness emitted chaotic noise!

"Alert! High‑concentration external contaminant energy intrusion!" "Core sequence disrupted!" "Purge protocol… logic error… prioritize eliminating interference source…"

The defense system's assessment was completely scrambled by this sudden, externally sourced violent energy explosion! Its primary target instantly shifted from Lin Yifan—the "permission‑conflict" individual—to the core fragment that was wildly emitting dark energy!

And at the chaotic heart of the explosion, on the edge of the vortex where dark and eerie‑blue energy were wildly annihilating—

a miracle occurred.

Perhaps due to the blast's impact, or perhaps because the fierce clash of two high‑tier energies briefly warped the field around the stone slab, a relatively small Star‑void Fruit nearest the explosion was shaken out of its stable levitating state!

It broke free from the slab's range; the silver star‑swirl pattern on its surface grew chaotic, turning into a streak of eerie blue light that shot toward the direction where Lin Yifan fell… and bounced away!

Plop.

The egg‑sized fruit, brimming with overwhelming, desolate Star‑void power, landed precisely beside Lin Yifan's gaping, blood‑coughing mouth!

In close contact, the pure energy radiating from the fruit caused the dying eerie‑blue star flare deep in his left‑shoulder wound to surge like a shot of stimulant, exploding with unprecedented brilliance!

Desire! Ultimate desire! From his body's instinct, from the faint, subtle echo on the other end of his soul's link!

The will to survive overwhelmed everything!

A flash of wild, fierce resolve crossed Lin Yifan's eyes; with barely a hesitation, he thrust his head down, opened his mouth, and with his last ounce of strength, swallowed the icy, bone‑piercing yet irresistibly alluring Star‑void Fruit in one gulp!

As if he had swallowed a miniature ice‑cold star!

Indescribable, soul‑freezing, tearing terror energy detonated within him in an instant!

"Ugh—aaaaaa—!!!!"

Lin Yifan's body convulsed violently, arcing like struck by electricity! Pale blue frost instantly crystallized on his skin, veins bulged, forming eerie blue patterns! His eyes snapped open, pupils reflecting a wildly spinning star‑swirl phantom!

The cold Star‑void Power surged like a breached dam, battering his limbs and bones, washing over every meridian and cell! It collided and fused with the remaining Yuan‑energy, spirit‑crystal energy, the residue of the Dark Core Fragment, and even his own life essence in the most violent, ruthless clash!

This process was millions of times more painful than perpetual torment!

His body seemed a battlefield, being utterly destroyed and reshaped from within!

Above the platform, the energy turbulence still raged. Most of the defense system's eerie‑blue light was drawn to the Dark Core Fragment, which it was frantically attacking and purifying.

No one noticed that in the corner's shadow, a tiny Human was undergoing a bone‑shattering metamorphic ordeal.

Only Ling Ling, weakly collapsed to one side, the burning silver light already extinguished, the rune sigil completely dimmed, leaving only a faint breath. She watched Lin Yifan's agonized struggle, her eyes filled with endless worry and fear.

Swallowing the Star‑void Fruit—was it rebirth, or a faster march toward another form of extinction?

No one can know.

Lin Yifan's consciousness, amid extreme icy cold and pain, sank completely into the endless star‑spiral abyss…

Absolute cold, as if even thought could freeze.

Lin Yifan's consciousness drowned in the boundless eerie‑blue star‑swirl, each thought shredded, reassembled, then vanished. His body ceased to be flesh, becoming a pure, wildly clashing energy battlefield. The Star‑void Fruit's massive, ice‑cold annihilating force raged like a bull storming a porcelain shop, smashing through his already riddled meridians and organs.

The excruciating pain could no longer describe the scenario; it was a disintegration and reshaping at the level of existence.

Yet, just as he felt he was about to be wholly assimilated and erased by this foreign force, becoming part of the eerie‑blue energy—

Buzz!

Deep within his soul, the symbiotic contract sigil forged from starlight, dark‑gold patterns, and his own unyielding will flared again!

This time, it was no longer simple harmonization. It resembled a commander driven to desperation, wildly mobilizing every usable force inside Lin Yifan for a hopeless self‑rescue.

The remaining gentle Yuan‑energy sourced from the Cave Spirit Crystal was forcibly drawn out, forming a fragile membrane that barely shielded his heart meridian and brain. The dark residue of Bloodsucking Vine lingering deep in his flesh, not fully purged, was violently ignited by the contract sigil, becoming a ferocious resistance that slammed into the raging Star‑void Torrent. Even his most primal life essence was set ablaze, poured into this doomed, brutal war like lamp oil!

This was akin to drinking poison to quench thirst! The burning dark residue further polluted his body, and the consumption of life essence directly shortened his lifespan!

But the effect was evident!

The three forces (Spirit‑crystal Yuan‑energy, dark residue, life essence) forcibly unified by the contract sigil briefly formed an extremely unstable triangular shield, which actually managed to restrain the rampaging Star‑void Torrent within Lin Yifan's left shoulder and chest cavity, preventing it from instantly annihilating all life!

The price: his left half became a veritable inferno.

Beneath his skin, veins rose and writhed like countless eerie‑blue earthworms; his bones moaned under the unbearable load, muscle fibers were repeatedly torn and forcibly frozen by the cold energy. At the gruesome wound's edge, a horrific mutation unfolded—

Chatter!

Countless fine, semi‑transparent eerie‑blue granulation tissues, their interiors glittering with stardust, proliferated, spread, and intertwined like frozen living matter! They greedily absorbed the Star‑void Fruit's energy, no longer the chaotic dark proliferation of Bloodsucking Vine, but a colder, more orderly, yet equally inhuman… construction!

These eerie‑blue granulations coiled around the broken bones, covering exposed nerves and vessels, and at a visibly rapid rate extended and molded toward the severed limb!