Time ticked by, and the cracks on the relic grew larger and more severe. Finally…
"Boom!"
A violent explosion rescued!
Immense energy swept through the surroundings, instantly engulfing all trees and stones, crushing them into dust before they vanished from existence…
The power of the Great Dao's rules dissipated simultaneously! Jin Bao'er's vision went black, and her body uncontrollably plunged downwards! Her nearly depleted internal organs ached with a sharp, difficult, and powerless throbbing!
Though uncomfortable, it was still better than being forcibly absorbed by that thing. She thought this and immediately activated the power of a talisman to protect herself…
But in the next second…
Countless scattered fluorescent white dots flew towards her from all over the world – these were shattered fragments of merit, exploded from the relic!
At first, it was just a few white lights, and she paid them no mind! But after a while… the power within her clearly began to recover!
Jin Bao'er's eyes snapped open, and she looked around. Her pupils instantly constricted!
At this moment, white light dots filled the world, drifting slowly towards her. They seeped into her body bit by bit, and she could even feel the merit power that had been extracted from her being replenished.
Even if the merit power was useless to her now, it was still hers. It was good to get it back!
Thinking this, she relaxed her body, allowing the white light dots to enter her.
Unbeknownst to her, the shattered aura of the Great Dao's rules was also being absorbed, slowly transforming her soul…
Within her body, a faint golden soul form began to take shape at this very moment!
After a long while, the extreme comfort and gentleness of her body made her feel incredibly relaxed, as if she were soaking in a warm spring.
Then!
"Rumble!"
A thunderclap vibrated in her ears! It jolted Jin Bao'er awake, her eyes filled with wariness and vigilance!
However, there was no trace of danger around. Only…
She suddenly looked up, her gaze filled with horror!
High above, in the endless sky, an object glowing with purple sparks churned incessantly, its dazzling light blinding, coloring the clouds in a strange and mysterious hue!
Subsequently, a black void appeared in the sky, and a colossal energy, not of this world, suddenly emerged. The wind roared! A chilling aura swirled, forming a scene of rolling thunder and dark, dense clouds!
The fusion of black and purple brought an unprecedented strangeness to the sky…
"Crack!"
A purple lightning bolt fiercely descended, its thousands of meters long flash illuminating the entire land in an instant! The might of the Great Dao crashed down, striking her without mercy!
This time, Jin Bao'er did not evade. Her head was directly struck! Blood flowed down her forehead…
Pain! Heart-wrenching pain! It felt like a sharp dagger was stirring inside her skull, bringing a fine, tearing ache! Her entire body flickered with purple electricity, which, after tearing through her skin, continued to electrocute her flesh…
Almost instantly, her black clothes were blown to shreds, and dazzling purple lightning enveloped her. One could faintly see the horrific sight of her flesh torn open!
This time, perhaps due to her forcibly using the Great Dao's rules earlier, the Great Dao itself had descended to facilitate her advancement!
Unlike the advancement of other Heavenly Dao Emperors, Jin Bao'er's advancement was a brutal spectacle. After the first bolt of lightning, she had scarcely a piece of intact flesh. Her wounds were deep enough to see bone, flesh and blood flying, and the copious blood flowing from her forehead made her appear ghastly and terrifying…
The Great Dao is just and impartial!
For Jin Bao'er to be able to use the Great Dao's power ahead of other cultivators was inherently unfair! Furthermore, she possessed an extraordinary destiny, her cultivation progressing by leaps and bounds! She encountered few bottlenecks, always being the special one in the eyes of the world!
Even with her extraordinary origins, the Great Dao would not turn a blind eye! The pain and danger of advancement were the price she had to pay.
"Rumble!!"
The second purple lightning bolt followed swiftly, carrying a deadly intent, without a moment's hesitation!
Jin Bao'er now possessed almost no power to resist. Even breathing was intensely painful!
"Sizzle!"
With a tearing roar, her chest was directly pierced! Her body, like a tattered kite, plummeted and smashed heavily onto the ground! Not a trace of life remained…
Was she dead?
Yes, she was dead!
Her body lay motionless, her heartbeat inaudible!
However, Jin Bao'er only felt a sharp pain in her chest, nearly making her faint! In the next second, all sensation vanished. She opened her eyes and stared blankly at her body…
Naked, her skin was smooth, without a single scratch! It was as if everything that had just happened was a hallucination!
But inadvertently, she suddenly glanced at the ground. There lay her lifeless corpse, a broken figure with no breath, her body torn to shreds…
Wasn't that herself?
In an instant, her eyes widened, filled with utter disbelief!
If that was her on the ground, then who was she now?!
But no one around could answer her questions. The only response she received was an even more powerful, dense purple lightning bolt!
"Boom!"
The massive purple lightning directly struck her, frozen in shock in the air. The constantly swirling, stimulating lightning was too much to bear, her eyes uncontrollably reddened! Yet, she gritted her teeth, letting out no wail.
Her last shred of reason returned, and she clearly understood the current situation! She was dead, yet somehow not dead! The lightning seemed to target her soul specifically; this strike was aimed at her very life!
Agony was her only thought. She even wished she could die on the spot!
However, within two minutes, her body gradually numbed, the pain slowly receded, and she thought, perhaps… she could hold on a little longer?
"Rumble!"
The third lightning bolt descended again, bombarding her soul with a furious onslaught. She even felt as if her soul were about to collapse, a mixture of pain and numbness…
Who said death doesn't hurt? It hurts even more!!
Time ticked by. Under the surge of lightning, her physical body on the ground had long since been blasted into dust. It seemed as if she were the only one left in the entire world…
The repeated, continuous agony left her unable to even struggle! The power of the Great Dao that had flowed through her was gone. She had lost all power to repair her body. In her soul form, even elixirs were useless!
This time, it seemed she was truly doomed!
She could never have imagined in her dreams that the Great Dao's advancement tribulation would become more and more intense with each passing bolt, her soul being completely destroyed without any preparation or ability to resist!
Under the continuous annihilation by electricity, she could even vaguely sense her soul disintegrating…
Was she dying?
A pure white light spot suddenly appeared before her, so clean and sacred!
She stared blankly at the scene. As the white dots grew more numerous, the entire world seemed to change.