Lava Rift Wall

Li Yuan was embedded in the rock face, small stones rustling into the hollow of his neck, cold and rough. His arms felt as if they had been frozen solid and then thrown into a fire. The curse power of a Deacon-level cultivator was like countless ice needles, drilling into the gaps between his bones and battling the surging Crimson Sun energy, causing him to black out intermittently from the pain.

Around him, the glowing green eyes of twisted monsters drew closer, their low growls and crawling sounds weaving a net of death. The Deacon stood in the shadow of a corner, black mist coiling around his bone staff, his grey-green pupils like two pools of stagnant water, fixed on him.

I can't just wait to die!

Li Yuan let out a low roar from his throat, not directed at the enemy, but at himself, at the Crimson Sun in his Qi Sea, shrouded in grey-black mist, its light flickering uncertainly!

"Swallow them! Just like before! Swallow all this damned curse power!"

His will was like madness, carrying a desperate, "what the hell" resolve, slamming hard against the Crimson Sun!

The Crimson Sun trembled violently, its core crimson-gold light flashing with unprecedented frequency, as if struggling, or perhaps accumulating power. The grey-black curse power entwined around it was agitated by this sudden madness, churning fiercely.

The first monster to charge lunged, its claws carrying a foul wind, aiming straight for his face!

Li Yuan violently turned his head, the claws grazing his cheekbone, leaving a searing pain. He forcibly exerted strength with his right arm, embedded in the rock face, his muscles bulging to their limit. Under his dark red skin, veins writhed like earthworms, carrying the agony of tearing, as he wrenched himself free from the rock! Stones flew!

Ignoring everything else, the moment he pulled his right arm free, he spread his fingers, not to block, but to actively meet the bone blade, wreathed in curse power, thrust by another monster!

"Pfft!"

The bone blade pierced his palm, a searing pain shooting through him!

But a sinister smile spread across Li Yuan's face! He suddenly clenched his five fingers, gripping the bone blade tightly, allowing the curse power to surge into him through the wound!

"Come on! More!"

He roared, actively circulating his Crimson Sun energy, no longer for defense or dispelling, but for... devouring!

A powerful suction erupted from the wound on his palm! The curse power within the monster, along with the chilling energy clinging to the bone blade, surged into Li Yuan like a breached dam, uncontrollably!

"Hiss--!" The monster let out a sharp, terrified shriek, trying to retreat, but Li Yuan held on tightly!

More curse power poured in! It was vaster, more chaotic, and more violent than ever before!

Li Yuan felt his body about to explode! His meridians felt like they were about to freeze and crack, or be burned through by the subsequent Crimson Sun energy! Ice and fire waged the most brutal tug-of-war within him, each collision causing him unbearable pain!

Blood began to seep from his seven orifices, his skin alternating between freezing over with frost and becoming scorching red. His muscles spasmed uncontrollably, swelling. The form of the Crimson Sun Battle Body flickered in and out of existence, highly unstable.

The Netherworld Cult Deacon's expression shifted slightly. He sensed Li Yuan's aura becoming extremely chaotic and dangerous. "Stop him!" he shouted sternly, swinging his bone staff, shooting out another solidified bone spike!

The surrounding monsters also charged madly!

Li Yuan suddenly raised his head, his eyes completely filled with crimson-gold light, not a speck of white visible, only burning madness! He released the hand gripping the bone blade, letting the monster collapse, then clenched his fists, and let out a roar of accumulated pain and ferocity towards the rock face beneath him and the monsters swarming around him!

"Get lost, all of you!!"

His fists, carrying the chaotic, explosive ice and fire energy within him, smashed down fiercely!

"Rumble--!!!"

Not a dull thud of flesh hitting flesh, but a world-shaking roar!

Centered on Li Yuan's fists, violent energy exploded outwards like tangible ripples! The scorching Crimson Sun energy and the chilling curse power annihilated and exploded against each other, forming a destructive impact!

The first few monsters in the front disintegrated and vaporized instantly under this impact, like paper! Those slightly further away were violently flung back, crashing against the surrounding rock walls, their bones broken!

The entire passage shook violently, huge cracks appearing in the ceiling, and countless stones rained down!

The rock face beneath Li Yuan bore the brunt of it! Under the bombardment of that chaotic, immense force, the already eroded rock layers groaned under the unbearable strain. Spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly from the center of his fists!

"Crack... Boom!!"

Large sections of the rock face actually collapsed! Revealing a deeper, more expansive space behind it! A wave of scorching heat, mixed with a strong smell of sulfur, rushed out from the collapsed area!

Li Yuan fell with the rubble!

After a brief sensation of weightlessness, he landed heavily on the hard, warm ground, rolling a few times before stopping. Every inch of his body ached, his bones felt shattered. The side effects of forcibly devouring curse power and detonating his energy had fully erupted, making it difficult for him to even lift a finger.

Lying on his back, he painstakingly turned his eyeballs, looking upwards. From the collapsed opening, the Netherworld Cult Deacon and the remaining monsters poked their heads out, their grey-green pupils and glowing green eyes staring at him intently through the swirling dust, but they didn't immediately pursue him. They seemed hesitant about this new space below.

Li Yuan bared his teeth, attempting a smile, but it pulled at his internal injuries, causing him to cough violently, spitting out black blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.

He managed to turn his head, surveying the place he had fallen into.

This appeared to be a vast underground cavern, much wider than the passage above. The air was scorching, filled with a heavy smell of sulfur. In the distance, dim red light flickered, accompanied by the roar of an underground river rushing by.

And on the cave wall not far from him, he saw something.

It wasn't naturally formed rock, but... traces of artificial carving! Broken, moss-covered reliefs, fractured stone pillars, and metal components embedded in the rock face, long since lost their luster...

This was indeed a ruin!

Li Yuan's gaze finally fell on his own bloody, still trembling fists.

In despair, he had gambled and won again. In a near self-destructive manner, he had torn open a path to survival, and also found... a possible turning point.

He closed his eyes, feeling the Crimson Sun within him, which, though dim after the frantic devouring, seemed to have shed a layer of its shackles, becoming more condensed. He also felt the more intense icy characteristics in his blood and Qi.

"Cough, cough... Netherworld Cult... this place is mine now..."

He murmured softly, his consciousness finally giving out, sinking into darkness. All that remained were the wary and unwilling gazes from the cave entrance above, and the eternal heat and silence flowing within this ancient ruin.