Chapter 1408 - Karma Fire Rise In the Soul
Inside the Human Trial, the vortex only Wang Lin could see collapsed as if an invisible force had torn it apart. The sky gradually returned to normal.
No one else inside the Human Trial noticed this beside Wang Lin; it was as if none of it had happened at all.
Wang Lin withdrew his gaze from the sky and sat down at the top of the mountain.
To ignite the fire of karma, to create a fire with one’s thought. Not to burn this world, but burn one’s own soul. Using this dangerous method at the moment the soul was about to be destroyed to find path to survival and create the fire of karma. This will give the Vermillion Bird a chance to awaken a fourth time breaking through to the realm of Ethereal Fire that was extremely rare for the members of the Vermillion Bird Clan to enter!
Ethereal Fire, the source of all fire in the world. Whether it was the fire of jealousy, anger, madness, and such emotions, they could all be used by the people who had stepped into the realm of Ethereal Fire!
Cultivators who could reach Ethereal Fire were very powerful. Even if they weren’t as powerful as a third step cultivator, even third step cultivators had to beware! When facing such a cultivator, you couldn’t show any emotion, because even the smallest emotional fluctuation could be used by the enemy as a method to kill you!
This was a very terrifying spell. It has to be said that all living beings have emotions. No matter how indifferent a person is or how well they can hide their emotions, emotions still exist within them.
Even Dao Master Blue Dream’s longing for his wife and daughter could become fuel for Ethereal Fire! Only those who could perfectly block all emotions or completely remove them could afford not to fear Ethereal Fire!
The true terror of an Ethereal Fire cultivator wasn’t seen in individual battles, but in group battles!
An Ethereal Fire cultivators could contest against thousands… Third step cultivators knew that breaking the Void Gate as a thunder cultivator was extremely difficult. Thunder was something controlled by the heavens, so attempting to break the Void Gate with it was even more difficult!
Fire essence was part of the five elements. Only by becoming Ethereal Fire could it break free from the five elements. If it can evolve further into dao fire then one can use it to burn down the Void Gate to become a third step cultivator!
Wang Lin’s eyes were calm. Ethereal Fire was difficult to obtain because of the fire seed required for the Vermillion Bird’s fourth awakening! However, he wasn’t willing to burn this world, so he had to choose the more difficult road.
This path was a walk between life and death. Wang Lin could still choose to leave this place and fail the trial.
“The old Vermillion Bird treated me so well, so how can I give up so easily?” Wang Lin murmured, and determination filled his eyes.
Just like how he was unwilling to burn this world, Wang Lin cared a lot about his benefactor. He couldn’t disappoint the old Vermillion Bird!
Wang Lin took a deep breath and closed his eyes. As he closed his eyes, a blue flame erupted from his body. The flame didn’t spread but burned inside his body.
Outsiders couldn’t see the flame, but the pain of his soul burning caused even Wang Lin to tremble. He clenched his teeth and endured his soul and obsession burning until he destroyed himself.
“I will enter the dao with this obsession, and not even divine retribution will stop me!!”
 Wang Lin suddenly raised his head and his eyes opened. The flame burned brightly in his body, but no one outside could see it.
Time slowly passed inside the Human Trial. The frequency of Li Muwan’s visits to the top of mountain had gradually increased. Every time Wang Lin saw her, the burning in his soul became stronger, but he didn’t reveal any of it. The gentleness in his eyes was deep like a lake.
Li Muwan gradually became used to Wang Lin’s expression. Sometimes, when she came up the mountain, she would curiously chat with Wang Lin.
However, the very attentive Li Muwan slowly noticed that each time she came up here, the strange senior seemed a bit weaker. and even his appearance seemed to grow old.
She didn’t know that Wang Lin was currently suffering indescribable pain. He wanted to ignite the fire of karma, and he was using the obsession in his heart as the fuel. The stronger his obsession, the stronger the fire was!
Every time he saw Li Muwan, his obsession became even stronger! The fire would become more intense and the pain would intensify!
Time passed. After unknown amount of time, the fire inside Wang Lin’s soul had reached a certain degree. His eyes had become unfocused and his body weak. His face had aged from a young man to a middle-aged man.
It was as if 2,000 years of time had quickly descended on Wang Lin as his soul burned.
“Give up… You can’t withstand the burning of your soul. Although this old man hasn’t experienced it, from what I heard from the Ancestor, I could tell that he still dreads that feeling…”
The collapsed vortex appeared once more in the sky. The old Vermillion Bird came once more because he was worried. His words were filled with worry.
Wang Lin clenched his teeth, and his mind was already unclear. The intense pain was like a tide that almost drowned him. This kind of pain was several times stronger than anything Wang Lin had encountered before!
Only when he faced the ancient god calamity, where his body continued to collapse and reform, did he experience comparable pain. However, there was still a big difference between these two types of pain.
“You’re still burning your soul, but your obsession hasn’t transform into the fire of karma. This degree of pain is only the beginning. Once the fire of karma has appeared, you will go through the nine karma retributions. Even the Ancestor could only pass it under someone’s protection. You can still give up now. Once your obsession turns into the fire of karma, it will destroy your soul in a flash. There will be no chance for you to turn it into karmic fire!
“If it wasn’t for the protection of the Celestial Emperor, the Ancestor wouldn’t have succeeded!” The old Vermillion Bird’s voice was filled with worry.
“That little girl is the obsession in your heart… In this Human Trial, everything is only an illusion. Why are you putting yourself in such a life and death situation for an illusion?
“Wang Lin, why are you so obsessive!?” The old Vermillion Bird’s voice became even more anxious, and there was a tone of harshness in his voice.
Wang Lin didn’t answer. At this moment, his mind was a blur. The pain turned into memories that flashed across his soul.
His first encounter with Li Muwan… the Sea of Devils… the Cloud Sky Sect… her death… Until she became a sleeping corpse in the coffin.
All of these memories burned in his soul.
“It has been a long time. If you continue, there will be life-threatening danger. Since you are unwilling to cut yourself off from this world, then even if you end up hating this old man, I’ll destroy this world for you!” As the old Vermillion Bird’s words echoed, a sea of fire suddenly appeared from the vortex. The fire spread in all directions, and in the blink of an eye, it surrounded the world. It was about to descend and burn everything!
At this moment, Li Muwan appeared on the top of the mountain. She was gasping for breath and had just reached the top of the mountain. She couldn’t see the fire, but in Wang Lin’s blurry vision, he could see the sea of fire attempting to devour Li Muwan like a big mouth!
At this instant, Wang Lin’s eyes became clear and a monstrous fire appeared in his eyes. The moment the fire was about to touch Li Muwan, Wang Lin hugged her and used his back to block that sea of fire!
Li Muwan was startled. As Wang Lin hugged her, he turned around and let out a roar at the sky!
“I can do it!!”
“You!!” The old Vermillion Bird was extremely angry, The fire he had sent from the sky was stopped.
“Ancestor, I have cultivated for my entire life only for her!! Even if it is only an illusion, this junior is unwilling to hurt her, much less destroy her!!” Wang Lin looked at the sky with tears flowing down his cheeks, landing on the Li Muwan in his arms. The hot tears seemed to enter her heart, and her eyes became filled with confusion.
The moment Wang Lin said these words, the fire in his soul erupted, becoming several times stronger than before!
There was a strand of black fire inside this fire. This black fire caused the world to change colors and completely suppressed the blue fire inside wang Lin’s soul.
“Fire of karma!” The old Vermillion Bird gasped and let out a sigh.
“Now that your obsession has turned into fire of karma, aside from the first generation ancestor, no one can stop you. Forget it… Since you chose it, forget it…” The old Vermillion Bird’s voice gradually dissipated, the sea of fire disappeared, and the vortex collapsed.
The black fire instantly filled Wang Lin’s body and took over the blue fire. In an instant, more than 80% of the blue fire had turned black.
Intense pain came from his soul, causing his body to tremble. The pain became thousands of times more intense than before. His soul was being rapidly destroyed.
His body rapidly dissipated, but his arms still held Li Muwan. He did his best to hide the intense pain, and he gently looked at Li Muwan.
Wang Lin looked at Li Muwan and softly said, “To have you accompany me for these days, I’m very happy… Even though you’re only an illusion, I won’t allow anyone to hurt you…”
However, his voice contained a force that shocked Li Muwan’s mind.
“You… Who are you…” Li Muwan stared at Wang Lin.