Gaze and you will become stronger: starting from Doupo

Within the Heavenly Abyss, the clash between Ye Fan and An Lan intensified. The golden ancient spear blazed with divine light, the booming of the cauldron echoed through the heavens, and cracks multiplied on the spatial barrier, threatening to shatter completely at any moment, igniting this epic battle. Meanwhile, Jiang Han, atop the Imperial Pass, lingered at this crossroads of life and death. His decision might alter the course of the war between the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths and the alien realm.

The cultivators of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths were still discussing Ye Fan's identity. They looked at Jiang Han with awe and expectation in their eyes, as if they had already regarded him as the savior of this war. The alien creatures, on the other hand, were wary and hostile, staring intently at Ye Fan in the Heavenly Abyss and Jiang Han on the city wall, ready to attack at any moment.

Meng Tianzheng looked at Jiang Han, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes. He could sense that something was off about Jiang Han's current state, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Xiaobudian and Ye Qingxian also turned their gazes to Jiang Han. Xiaobudian's eyes were full of trust, while Ye Qingxian's were filled with a barely perceptible concern.

Time seemed to slow down at that moment, each second feeling exceptionally long. The system's notification sounds echoed repeatedly in Jiang Han's mind, and images of Ye Fan and An Lan confronting each other flashed before his eyes, along with the various consequences he might face. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and began quickly analyzing the pros and cons.

Activating ultimate power grants three minutes of immense strength, potentially turning the tide of battle, but at the cost of a corrupted mark—an unknown risk. Not activating it means that if Ye Fan wins, all is well; if Ye Fan loses, death is certain. In some ways, not activating it is riskier, as it essentially places one's life entirely in the hands of another, while activating it, though risky, at least grants a degree of control.

"Fine!" Jiang Han steeled his resolve. In this dog-eat-dog world, to survive and protect those he cared about, he had to be willing to take risks! His eyes narrowed, and he made his decision. However, just as he was about to respond to the system, a world-destroying aura suddenly erupted from the Heavenly Abyss!

An Lan moved! Holding a golden ancient spear, he transformed into a golden lightning bolt and fiercely thrust towards Ye Fan! The ancient spear tore through space and time, carrying an aura that could tear apart eternity. Wherever it passed, space and time collapsed, laws became disordered, and countless star shadows were annihilated under the sharp edge of the ancient spear!
Ye Fan's eyes sharpened, and the cauldron beneath his feet instantly expanded, blocking his way. At the same time, he pointed his fingers, and a beam of immortal light containing the primordial energy of all things shot out from his fingertips, colliding with the golden ancient spear!
Boom——!
A deafening roar echoed throughout the heavens and the earth, and into other realms. A terrifying energy shockwave spread outward from the two of them. The abyss churned violently, countless fragments of spacetime flew everywhere, and the entire desolate desert trembled violently under this power, as if it were about to be completely overturned!
The cultivators on the walls of the Imperial Pass were shaken by the shockwave, their blood surging. They scrambled to circulate their spiritual energy to defend themselves. Some cultivators with lower cultivation levels were even blasted away, coughing up blood. Jiang Han was also affected by the force, staggering and nearly falling.

Amidst the chaos, the system notification sounded in Jiang Han's mind again: [Countdown begins. Host, do you wish to activate ultimate combat power? Ten, nine, eight...]

The system had started its countdown! Jiang Han was filled with anxiety; he knew he had no time to hesitate. Gazing at the devastating battle scene within the Heavenly Abyss, and feeling the terrifying power far exceeding his own, Jiang Han gritted his teeth and roared inwardly, "Activate!"

[Ultimate combat power successfully activated! System blackening mark applied to host once! Duration: Three minutes!]

As the system notification faded, Jiang Han felt an indescribable, immense power surge into his body. This power was violent and scorching, as if it would tear his body apart, yet it also carried a cold, dark aura that relentlessly eroded his sanity. His eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and a faint black mist enveloped him. A terrifying aura, completely different from before, erupted from him, instantly silencing the surrounding cultivators who stared at him in terror.

Jiang Han could feel his power surging rapidly. The powerlessness he had felt against An Lan before had vanished, replaced by an illusion of complete control. But at the same time, he also felt an evil thought growing in his mind, a desire to destroy everything, a desire to kill everything.

"I must guard my mind!" Jiang Han suppressed the destructive urge, his gaze fixed on the battle in the Heavenly Abyss. He knew he only had three minutes; he had to find an opportunity within those three minutes—either help Ye Fan defeat An Lan, or protect himself at the crucial moment!
Within the Heavenly Abyss, the battle between Ye Fan and An Lan intensified. The Golden Ancient Spear clashed incessantly with the Myriad Things Mother Qi Cauldron, each collision causing the heavens and earth to change color and the sun and moon to lose their light. Although Ye Fan possessed formidable strength, An Lan was, after all, a veteran Immortal King with unparalleled combat experience. For a time, the two were locked in a fierce and evenly matched struggle.

Jiang Han took a deep breath, suppressing the violent energy within him, and began to circulate the raging ultimate battle power within his body. He could feel his connection with the laws of heaven and earth becoming incredibly strong, and every move he made could draw upon immense power from heaven and earth. He tried reaching out and gently pressing his hand towards the direction of Tianyuan.

Om-!
An invisible force descended from the sky, landing on Ye Fan's cauldron. The cauldron instantly erupted with an even more dazzling light, blocking one of An Lan's fierce attacks. Ye Fan was slightly taken aback, sensing that familiar yet unfamiliar power. He subconsciously looked towards the Imperial Pass city wall, and when he saw Jiang Han's crimson eyes and the black aura surrounding him, a hint of surprise and worry flashed in his eyes.

An Lan also noticed the abnormality. He snorted coldly and glanced at Jiang Han with a hint of disdain: "An ant dares to interfere?" Before he finished speaking, he separated a wisp of divine power, which transformed into a golden spear and shot towards Jiang Han!

Although this divine spear was just a casual strike from An Lan, its power was enough to instantly kill an immortal-level expert! The cultivators of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths exclaimed in surprise upon seeing this, and they were sweating for Jiang Han.

However, Jiang Han showed no fear in the face of this deadly spear. A red light flashed in his eyes, he snorted coldly, and pointed his fingers, unleashing a beam of jet-black light that collided with the golden spear!
Boom!

The golden spear was instantly annihilated by the black beam of light, which continued to shoot towards An Lan with undiminished force! An Lan's expression changed slightly. He hadn't expected Jiang Han to be able to withstand his attack and even counterattack. He dared not be careless and swung his golden ancient spear to shatter the black beam of light.

“Interesting.” An Lan looked at Jiang Han, a serious look appearing in his eyes for the first time. “It seems your hidden strength is greater than I imagined.” Jiang Han didn’t respond. He knew his time was limited and he had to finish the battle quickly. His ultimate battle power was surging wildly, the black mist growing thicker and thicker, and the aura emanating from him becoming increasingly terrifying. He began chanting an ancient incantation, obscure and difficult to understand, yet possessing a bewitching power that unsettled the surrounding cultivators.

As the incantation was chanted, a massive black vortex slowly appeared above Jiang Han's head, with black lightning constantly striking down from within, emanating an aura of destruction and devouring. This was a forbidden divine power he unleashed using his ultimate combat strength; its power was boundless, but it also consumed a great deal of his own energy.

"An Lan, take this!" Jiang Han roared, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible madness. He waved his hand and pointed, and the black vortex above his head instantly swept towards An Lan in the Heavenly Abyss!

An Lan's expression was solemn. He could sense the terror of the black vortex and dared not be careless in the slightest. He poured all his divine power into the golden ancient spear, which burst forth with unprecedented light, as if transforming into a golden sun, and pierced towards the black vortex!

An even more terrifying clash is about to unfold, and Jiang Han knows that his three minutes have begun to count down... He doesn't know where this battle will ultimately lead, nor does he know what consequences the blackened mark will bring him, but he knows that he has made his choice, and from now on, he can only go all out and fight to the very end!
Within the Heavenly Abyss, or more precisely, in that alternate dimension isolated from the present era, colossal stars radiating ancient starlight slowly rotated around Ye Fan's body. These stars were no ordinary celestial bodies; their surfaces were inscribed with countless profound runes, exuding an aura of age and vicissitude, each seemingly carrying a forgotten piece of history. Faint bands of light connected the stars, weaving together a star map that covered the heavens, protecting Ye Fan at its center and emanating a majestic aura that suppressed eternity.

Beneath his feet, a massive cauldron gushed forth a dense primordial energy, a chaotic color, viscous as paste, yet imbued with an inexhaustible vitality. This energy flowed slowly along the cauldron's patterns, nourishing every inch of its immortal gold. Within the cauldron's mouth, illusory images of celestial stars rose and fell, sometimes transforming into roaring azure dragons, sometimes into vermilion birds spreading their wings, enacting the cyclical nature of the universe's birth and death. Behind Ye Fan, a fruit radiating terrifying energy slowly rotated—the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. Around the fruit, lightning from the heavens gathered and swirled. Black lightning danced like ink dragons, purple lightning cleaved the sky like divine lightning, and green lightning spread like poisonous vines... The various lightning bolts intertwined to form a sea of ​​lightning, and some of them even transformed into the shapes of ancient mythical beasts—there was a thunder unicorn with a single horn on its head, a thunder roc with two wings on its back, and a thunder dragon that spat out thunder pearls... These thunderous mythical beasts were so lifelike that just one glance was enough to make people feel a pressure emanating from the depths of their souls, and they couldn't help but want to bow down in worship.

Boom!

A deafening roar, as if from the very beginning of the universe, traversed the endless river of time, piercing the barriers of space and time, and clearly reached the ears of every living being in the borderlands. Suddenly, Ye Fan's body erupted with dazzling divine light. This light was not a single color, but contained a rainbow of colors—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet—interwoven with black and white, symbolizing the balance of yin and yang. In an instant, the space around his body began to distort, countless tiny fragments of space falling like snowflakes, while fragments of time transformed into streams of light, swirling and dancing around him. Everything seemed to be reversing, as if pulling his time and space back to the distant past. The scene was terrifying beyond words, sending chills down everyone's spine.

At this moment, he possessed unparalleled divine power, his body shimmering with starlight and lightning, the great cauldron beneath his feet rumbling, as if he had transformed into the master of time and space. He took a step, each step landing on the invisible river of time, the water surging, waves splashing, carrying his figure slowly forward, about to cross the time barrier separating two eras and arrive in this war-torn era!

And so, carrying unparalleled power, like a celestial emperor stepping out of mythology, he approached An Lan step by step. The pressure grew stronger and stronger, as if the air in the borderlands had solidified, and even the wind and sand stopped moving.

However, facing such terrifying power, An Lan remained unmoved, maintaining his indifferent expression as he calmly observed the alternate dimension where Ye Fan was. He wore golden armor, the immortal runes engraved on it shimmering with a faint light, completely blocking Ye Fan's oppressive aura.

He is a Celestial King, an invincible being since the ancient Celestial Era! Having experienced the bloodshed of the ancient Celestial War and witnessed the rise and fall of all races, what kind of storms hasn't he weathered? Even when facing a Celestial King of the same rank, he has never shown the slightest fear.

He firmly believes that he is invincible in the world, and that no one, past or present, in heaven or on earth, can surpass him! This belief has long been ingrained in his bones and has become part of his strength.

He was proud and confident! This confidence did not come from nowhere, but was forged through countless bloody battles, stepping on the corpses of his enemies.

Because he possesses the necessary qualities, he has long since transcended the constraints of the mortal world and escaped the cycle of reincarnation. Even in the vast realm of immortality, he remains a king, one of the creators of the laws of heaven and earth, and the ruler in the hearts of countless beings!
Chi!
Suddenly, the cauldron beneath Ye Fan's feet transformed into a streak of light, carrying an unparalleled aura as it flew towards An Lan. That aura seemed to disregard the distance of space and time, instantly piercing through the thick barrier of space and time, causing a few strands of hair on An Lan's forehead to flutter slightly.

The mere rustling of a strand of hair sent shockwaves through the billions of alien beings. In their hearts, An Lan was an inviolable god, a symbol of eternity and immortality. To even let a breeze stir his hair, or even cause his robes to flutter, was unimaginable. "What is this person doing? He dares to challenge our faith, to challenge the supreme being in our hearts!" one alien being screamed, his voice filled with rage and fear.

Clang!
An Lan finally moved. He slightly raised the golden spear in his hand and thrust it forward. A dazzling golden light burst forth from the tip of the spear, piercing through the space-time barrier. It narrowly missed colliding with the edge of the cauldron, then slithered across the cauldron like a serpent, the spear tip pointing directly at Ye Fan's chest, carrying a sharp killing intent. (End of Chapter)