The Taste of Cursed Fire

The forest closed behind him like a dark green curtain, separating him from the clearing filled with the stench of blood and strangeness. Li Yuan's footsteps were quick and urgent, each landing with a fierce force, crushing the withered branches and fallen leaves underfoot with a crackle. Several night-dwelling crows were startled, flapping their wings and fleeing in panic into the deeper darkness.

He wasn't running away.

It was the thing inside his body, causing too much trouble.

That wisp of gray-black airflow forcibly pulled from the Black Bird Bone seemed to have been dispersed by the Crimson Sun Qi and Blood, but a trace of its purest, most insidious essence had burrowed in like a slippery venomous snake. At first, it was just a slight numbness in his fist. When he started running, the Qi and Blood surged, activating this thing, which then drilled along his meridians towards his Heart Meridian.

Cold! Not the cold of midwinter, but a bone-chilling cold seeping from the tombs, carrying a stench of decay and death. Wherever it passed, the surging Qi and Blood became like a frozen stream, its circulation suddenly sluggish, and his muscles stiffened and hardened. Even more unbearable was the "intent" – malicious and chaotic, like countless Vengeful Spirits whispering in his ear, disturbing his mind and nearly causing his Qi and Blood to go astray.

Li Yuan grunted, fine cold sweat beading on his forehead, which he wiped away haphazardly with his sleeve. He tried to fully mobilize his Crimson Sun Qi and Blood to contain it, but the wisp of chilly essence was cunning, darting left and right within his meridians. Relying on its opposing attribute, it was difficult to completely eliminate it for a time. Instead, due to the fierce conflict between the two forces, half of his body went numb intermittently, and his movements slowed down a bit.

"Damn it!" he cursed, anger flaring in his heart. This damned thing was more troublesome than the most venomous snake in the mountains.

He stopped abruptly, looking around. He was already far enough from the place where he had just fought. The trees were taller and denser, the light almost completely blocked, with only a faint snow light reflecting the bleak night. Nearby, there was a half-collapsed earth cave, like the abandoned nest of some large wild beast, its entrance half-hidden by withered vines.

He had no choice and plunged into it. The cave was narrow and filled with an earthy smell and the musky odor of residual wild beasts. He ignored it, sat cross-legged directly, leaning against the cold, damp earth wall, closed his eyes, and sank his entire consciousness into his body.

Under Internal Vision, the situation was clearer. That wisp of gray-black airflow, like a living creature, roamed rapidly through his main meridians, emitting a Faint Cold Light. Wherever it passed, the Meridian Wall was faintly covered with a layer of Thin Frost. The Crimson Sun Qi and Blood pursued relentlessly, its scorching breath continuously melting the frost, but it was always just a little short of completely engulfing it.

No, this was too passive!

Li Yuan gritted his teeth, his consciousness like a heavy hammer, striking fiercely at the Crimson Sun in his Sea of Qi.

"Swallow it!"

As if sensing its master's anger and the provocation of the chilly essence, the Crimson Sun trembled violently, its rotation speed suddenly accelerating! A torrent far purer and hotter than before, like a bursting Magma, erupted. Instead of scattering and containing, it condensed into Several fiery white lines, carrying a Resolute will to Burn All Things, wrapping around that wisp of gray-black airflow from all directions!

"Sizzle--sizzle--"

A clearer, more intense burning sound echoed within his body. This time, it wasn't simple dispersal, but true refinement! The gray-black airflow was like ice cubes thrown into a furnace, emitting sharp, silent cries, twisting and struggling violently. Each collision exploded with a turbulent flow of ice-cold and scorching heat, impacting Li Yuan's meridians and will.

Pain! Extreme pain!

Half of his body felt like it was thrown into an Ice Cave, his blood about to freeze, while the other half felt like it was roasted over a fire, his internal organs convulsing. The alternation of cold and heat was like torture. His body trembled uncontrollably, his teeth grinding, and a trace of blood foam mixed with ice shards seeped from the corner of his mouth – blood from his internal organs frozen by the chilling power.

In the narrow space of the tree cave, his breathing was terrifyingly heavy, white mist spewing out, instantly condensing into frost flowers in the cold air. The muscles of his Whole Body bulged and swelled again, completely tearing his tattered clothes. The crimson glow under his skin flickered unstably, fiercely contending for every inch of territory with the gray-black cold air attempting to Spread.

Time seemed to stretch, each One Breath feeling like rolling on the tip of a knife.

Under the entanglement of Several fiery lines, the volume of the gray-black airflow continuously shrank, and its color became lighter and lighter, but its resistance became more and more frenzied. It no longer fled but suddenly contracted, condensing into a black dot the size of a grain of rice, emitting an extreme chill and foulness. Then, like a dying venomous snake, it launched its final, most vicious counterattack towards Li Yuan's Heart Meridian!

A chill that seemed capable of freezing the soul instantly enveloped Li Yuan's heart!

Li Yuan's Whole Body stiffened, his pupils contracting sharply, feeling as if his heart was about to stop.

At this critical moment!

The "Crimson Sun," which had been passively refining, seemed to have its inverse scale completely angered by this direct attack on its core! The initially calm crimson-gold light at its core suddenly erupted with a dazzling halo like the sun!

An indescribable, primal desire to devour, originating from the source of life, descended fiercely!

The several scorching fire lines instantly retracted. Instead of entwining, they formed a miniature, rotating crimson-gold vortex in front of the Crimson Sun! The vortex generated an irresistible suction. It was no longer burning, but directly plundering!

In the face of this terrifying suction, the grain-sized, cold, dark spot had no room to struggle. Like a moth thrown into a raging fire, it was forcibly torn away from the vicinity of the heart meridian and, with a whoosh, was directly pulled into the crimson-gold vortex, disappearing without a trace!

"Boom--!"

It was like a muffled thunderclap exploding in Li Yuan's mind, making his eardrums hum.

The more intense pain he had anticipated did not arrive. Instead, there was a strange, ice-and-fire intertwined sense of fullness. The moment the extreme cold was devoured by the Crimson Sun, it was forcibly decomposed and assimilated by the ultimate yang and pure origin, transforming into a pure and peculiar coolness. Like a mouthful of ice spring drunk in the height of summer, it quickly merged into the surging Crimson Sun Qi and Blood.

His Qi and Blood seemed to have been thoroughly cleansed. It became more solid and pure. As it circulated, it even carried a faint, icy characteristic of Netherworld Curse Power, making the circulation of Qi and Blood less restless and more steady. The skin on his arms and chest, previously eroded by the curse power and appearing somewhat dim and stiff, recovered its healthy luster at a visible speed. The metallic texture became even more restrained and profound.

More importantly, a vague "understanding" surfaced in his mind. He gained a fundamental cognition of this cold, decaying, life-eroding power. The next time he encountered it, his body would instinctively know how to deal with it, how to... digest it.

Li Yuan slowly, and for an extremely long time, exhaled a mouthful of turbid air. This breath condensed into a straight white silk in the cold tree hollow, lingering for a long time.

He opened his eyes. In the darkness, his pupils were astonishingly bright, like two obsidian stones washed by a cold spring, yet deep within, a spark of scorching golden light flickered.

He spread his palm, and with a slight movement of his mind, a wisp of Crimson Sun Qi and Blood appeared in his palm. It was still scorching hot, but at the edge of the leaping golden-red light, there seemed to be a trace of an almost imperceptible, dark cold flame.

He clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking with a snap. An unprecedented sense of power, with a cold, penetrating force, condensed between his fingers.

The taste of this curse fire, initially a bone-piercing torment, but after enduring it... it turned out to be a unique form of nourishment.

He lowered his head, took out the bone whistle from his embrace, which had turned gray and white and no longer showed any abnormal fluctuations. He rubbed it between his fingertips and casually put it back. This thing might be useful to keep.

He crawled out of the low tree hollow. It was already late at night outside. The forest was so dark that one couldn't see their hand in front of their face. The cold wind whistled through the bare branches, sounding like ghostly wails. Yet, Li Yuan felt completely refreshed. His senses were terrifyingly sharp even in absolute darkness. He could even capture the subtle creak of pine branches under the weight of accumulated snow.

He oriented himself roughly in the direction of the martial arts school and started walking.

His footsteps landed, steady and firm, carrying a restrained ferocity, like that of someone who had just had a hearty meal.