While Shen Daolun desperately drew the Giant Bone Lizards away, Lin lan's battle inside the soul crystal had reached its breaking point.
Vicious souls poured out endlessly, surging toward his soul flame like starving beasts.
The pain was indescribable.
Each malevolent spirit tore at his soul, gnawing at his consciousness. Yet Lin lan endured it all, forcing the Eight Desolations Soul-Refining Technique to run without pause, refining the incoming spirits again and again.
Luckily, the ancient restrictions on the soul crystal had not been completely shattered.
The countless malevolent spirits trapped within couldn't flood out all at once. They could only squeeze through the narrow passage formed by Lin lan's divine sense.
That tiny margin of time—
Was the only reason he was still alive.
Otherwise, even if he were ten times stronger, he would have been devoured in an instant.
Lin lan was completely cut off from the outside world.
He didn't know that Shen Daolun was fighting for his life.
He didn't know that Giant Bone Lizards were closing in.
All he knew was this—
Survive. Or vanish.
Eight small silver vortexes formed across his skeletal frame.
From each vortex, streams of silver light burst forth, dragging shrieking malevolent spirits out of the black mist and grinding them down into pure death energy.
One by one.
Relentlessly.
The malevolent spirits were many—but not infinite.
As time passed, their numbers thinned. Their attacks weakened.
Finally—
The last shrill wail faded.
The final malevolent spirit within the soul crystal was refined completely.
At that instant, Lin lan's soul flame surged violently.
The accumulated spiritual energy reached its limit—
And crossed it.
Streams of energy spilled from the soul flame, flowing into the deepest layers of his bones. His skeletal structure reshaped itself in silence, reforged from within.
Then the energy returned.
Cycle after cycle.
Stronger. Denser. Sharper.
Lin lan let out a slow breath, instinctively stabilizing the circulation.
The soul flame within his eye sockets steadied.
No longer chaotic.
Its color shifted—from dull white, to pale red—
And then deepened.
Until it burned crimson.
A deep, saturated crimson.
In the Skeleton Wastes, even the most powerful undead barely reached pale red.
But Lin lan—
Had leaped two entire tiers in a single evolution.
At that moment, he stood at the absolute peak of the Skeleton Wastes.
The strongest undead in the entire region.
His bones had changed as well.
They were no longer rigid and crude. Their lines flowed naturally, joints tightened perfectly, lighter yet far harder than before. The white jade sheen faded, replaced by a faint crimson glow beneath the surface.
Power surged through him.
Wild. Exhilarating.
An urge rose from deep within—to roar, to tear something apart.
"Finally awake!"
Shen Daolun drifted over, his face flushed with excitement. "If you'd taken one more breath, we'd both be dead!"
Lin lan blinked. "What happened?"
Shen Daolun immediately launched into an animated account, dramatically recounting how he alone had bravely held off the Giant Bone Lizards, risking life and soul while Lin lan lay helpless.
Lin lan shot him a glance. "You added a lot of flair."
Shen Daolun coughed. "Details."
Despite that, Lin lan felt genuine gratitude.
Without Shen Daolun—
He wouldn't be standing here.
"Those damn Giant Bone Lizards," Shen Daolun snarled, jowls trembling. "I'm not letting this go."
Lin lan smiled faintly. "Good. I wanted to test my strength anyway."
He drew the Blood Slaughter Bone Blade from his spatial ring and stepped forward.
The pressure exploded outward.
A suffocating aura swept across the wasteland.
The five Giant Bone Lizards froze.
Fear replaced ferocity.
They backed away instinctively.
Lin lan raised the blade.
Spiritual energy poured into it.
The weapon blazed, crimson light shooting skyward like burning spears.
The Giant Bone Lizards panicked.
That power—
Only Dark Forest–level undead possessed it.
Why was it coming from a skeleton?
They turned to flee.
Too late.
Lin lan struck.
A crimson blade aura ripped through the air like thunder.
BOOM!
The ground shook.
Three Giant Bone Lizards were obliterated instantly, their bodies reduced to drifting bone dust.
The remaining two lunged forward in desperation.
Lin lan flicked his wrist.
The blade pierced straight through one skull, pinning it to the ground.
The last one snapped at him.
Lin lan grabbed its jaws.
Pulled.
With a brutal roar, he tore it in half.
Silence fell.
Shen Daolun stared, then burst out laughing. "By the Nine Nether! That's terrifying. Twice in one jump! That soul crystal was worth nearly killing us!"
Lin lan chuckled. "I'll take that deal."
Shen Daolun nodded vigorously while quietly sweeping away the remaining soul flames. After what he'd been through, a little compensation felt justified.
Lin lan didn't argue.
He activated the Piercing Void Divine Ring.
A blue portal opened.
It was time to return.
Nancy was waiting.
And the next battle—
Wouldn't be far behind.