Daoist Fire Crane stroked his beard and smiled. "Go on in, nephew."
Liu Yunche did not hesitate. With a light leap, he sprang into the air and landed inside the ancient, heavy bronze pill furnace.
Once the young man had landed firmly, Daoist Fire Crane swept his sleeve.
Whoom—
The heavy bronze lid flew through the air and clamped precisely over the furnace mouth. It fit without a crack, cutting off every trace of light from outside.
Inside, the furnace was pitch-black and silent.
Liu Yunche sat cross-legged, gently running a hand over the cold, thick furnace wall as he focused on sensing his surroundings.
Then, without warning!
Wisps of warm fire rose slowly from the furnace floor.
The flames were strangely uncanny. Their searing glow was plain to see, yet they paid no heed to his white robes.
They passed through the fabric as though his clothes were not there, slipping through every pore and burrowing into his limbs, bones, meridians, flesh, and blood.
In an instant, threads of scorching true fire spread through every inch of his sinews and flesh!
Flames burned through his sinews!
Agony beyond words erupted, far worse than any wound to the skin. It pierced straight through his flesh and ate into his bones and meridians.
It was as though countless red-hot needles were stabbing and searing every sinew in his body. The blazing fire kept tempering, tearing, and melting through his bones and flesh.
"Urgh..."
Liu Yunche's brows knotted. His face turned deathly pale, veins bulged at his temples, and cold sweat instantly soaked the hair at his forehead.
The extreme pain swept through him, battering the defenses of his mind.
He clenched his teeth, pressed his lips into a taut line, and balled his hands into fists so tightly that his fingertips