The painting had caught fire at some point.
The intense heat warped the air before it, making the tree in the painting seem to writhe constantly.
Vast amounts of black smoke seeped from the painting, hazy and indistinct, making the scene before him seem real and three-dimensional.
And the flames gave off a searing light, dotting the trunk of this Charred Tree like leaves...
[A painting comparable to a miracle. Your Sanity decreased by 50.]
Yang Yi's eyes widened. Both his Three Eyes and his natural eyes were fixed on the painting, unable to shift even slightly, utterly captivated.
Only after the flames had worked on it was the painting truly complete, receiving its final missing piece. Then... it came fully alive!
Even calling the painting immersive no longer did it justice, because Yang Yi had truly entered it!
Before him stood a towering charred tree, burning forever, never going out, never stopping!
It writhed its branches in indescribable heat, as though savoring the pleasure the flames brought.
Yang Yi was profoundly shaken, his entire body unable to move.
[You looked directly at the phantom of a great being. Your Sanity decreased by 100.] [You looked directly at the phantom of a great being. Your Sanity decreased by 100.] [You looked directly at the phantom of a great being. Your Sanity decreased by 100.]
[Having experienced a miracle at close range, you understood the pleasure of burning and unlocked an Extraordinary Path...]
The scenery changed.
Yang Yi stood on charred, cracked earth, his whole body engulfed in raging flames, his skin already burned away.
Only the sounds of boiling blood and popping fat came from within him, as though celebrating this moment.
"Is this me?"
Unable to believe it, Yang Yi looked at