Chapter 154: Flaming Fire Mantra Formula
Death. When Weng Han made this decision, he had already embraced the absolute resolve to die. Since he no longer cared about death, what could this mere physical agony possibly amount to?
The Blazing Fire Incantation was the most powerful and practiced art among all the techniques Weng Han had mastered.
This incantation drew upon the subterranean venomous fire, entangling it with one's mind and soul. Through years of relentless tempering, the practitioner would assimilate it into their own being, eventually infusing every single thought with both the scorching fury of fire and the vicious malevolence of poison!
The subterranean venomous fire was divided into three tiers: centennial venomous fire, millennial venomous fire, and myriadal venomous fire!
As the mind entangled with the venomous fire, every single second of the assimilation process was equivalent to subjecting oneself to the torment of the poison and the flames. Because it was merely the mind undergoing this burning, there was no danger of sustaining mortal physical wounds, yet the pain was not diminished by even the slightest fraction!
Across the three tiers, each level of venomous fire brought a completely different torment upon contact with the mind. Naturally, the higher the tier, the more excruciating the pain, escalating almost exponentially!
Weng Han had practiced the Blazing Fire Incantation and ultimately achieved the Lower-Grade Blazing Fire, which naturally meant he had only ever dared to use the lowest tier—the centennial venomous fire. It was not that he could not find millennial or myriadal venomous fires; on the contrary, such fires were abundant within the cultivation pagoda. He simply could not endure the suffering they inflicted!
Back when he was first cultivating the venomous fire, even the centennial variant alone had caused him pain so intense that he wished for death, writhing in agony through and through.
On one occasion, driven by a sudden impulse and emboldened by foolish courage, he decided to test the millennial venomous fire. In an instant, he felt an agony so overwhelmingly vast that it completely dwarfed the accumulated pain of all the years he had spent assimilating the centennial fire combined!
In the span of a single breath, tears and snot streaming down his face, he fled in absolute panic, crawling and tumbling away. From that day onward, he never dared to speak of the millennial venomous fire again!
If the millennial fire could reduce him to such a state, the even higher myriadal venomous fire was simply unimaginable, leaving him entirely devoid of the courage to touch it.
"Back then, I really was..."
Recalling his past self, Weng Han felt somewhat speechless. He truly looked down upon his former self now, yet he could also understand.
After all, having already given up out of fear of hardship and fatigue, the driving spirit within his heart had long since leaked away. What more could one possibly expect from a man who had already lost that resolve?
"If it had been before I gave up, could I have endured a torment like this?" Pondering the past, a sudden question popped into his mind.
"...Heh... What meaning is there in dwelling on such things now?"
After a long silence, Weng Han gave an imperceptible shake of his head, casting the thought away and paying it no further heed. Yet, the instant the question had arisen in his mind, he had already found his answer!
"Without a doubt, I certainly could have. Not just the millennial venomous fire and the mid-grade blazing fire, but even the myriadal venomous fire and the upper-grade blazing fire—I would have been fully capable of them all!"
Withdrawing his thoughts, he turned his focus inward, concentrating entirely on manipulating his mind to capture the acupoint spaces that had already shattered into countless fragments. He guided these pieces into his bloodstream, fusing them into the miniature reflection of Weng Han circulating within.
The Blazing Fire Incantation used the subterranean venomous fire as its foundation, the bloodstream as its vessel, and vital magic as its fuel to forge the blazing fire, categorized into upper, middle, and lower grades.
Once the blazing fire was formed, the curse was condensed!
A curse was like a bone-gnawing ulcer, consuming the essence, energy, and spirit of a person. Once these three elements dissipated, the person naturally perished!
Disregarding his future, Weng Han burned away all his magical energy to ignite the blazing fire, using his bloodstream as a container while dissolving his acupoint spaces, cutting off every possible retreat to fuel the fury of the flame.
"It has come to this step!"
Gradually, step by step, Weng Han methodically shattered every single acupoint space. He guided all the scattered, fluttering fragments into his bloodstream, driving the power of the blazing fire to its absolute peak—nearly reaching the might of a mid-grade blazing fire!
"Still a little bit lacking!" Weng Han murmured, gazing at the blood within his body, blending his consciousness with the thoughts embedded inside, silently feeling the magnificent spectacle of their interconnection.
The surrounding air suddenly grew very still. No one spoke. The only sounds in their ears were the wind and other murmurs of nature.
Zhou Yi was waiting for Weng Han's ultimate transformation and chose not to speak.
Dugu Shang stood straight, fully understanding what Weng Han and the other four were doing. With his posture, he expressed his utmost respect, awaiting the final blooming and fading of their ephemeral life force, lacking any heart to speak!
Weng Han was undergoing sublimation at the ultimate boundary, making final preparations before his performance, and remained silent!
The four individuals standing behind Weng Han had gradually recognized their true hearts through Weng Han's transformation, their minds clearing as they poured their utmost effort into their final curtain call. Naturally, they had no reason to speak either.
Thus, at this moment, utter silence reigned!
At that very instant, Weng Han abruptly opened eyes that had been closed for a long time. Ignoring Zhou Yi, who was watching him with curiosity, Weng Han looked past him toward the distance. The complexity of the emotions within his gaze was so profound that even Zhou Yi, who had been staring at him the entire time, was left dumbfounded, utterly unable to count how many distinct emotions were harbored in those eyes at that moment!
While Zhou Yi was still lost in thought, attempting to decipher the tangled emotions in Weng Han's gaze, before he could even begin to tally them, Weng Han slowly closed his eyes once again.
Within the physical space of his body, Weng Han gathered all of his scattered consciousness from his bloodstream. He concentrated and aligned them like a disciplined army, charging in unison directly toward the flowing blood!
Though formless, his thoughts now possessed a tangible substance. One after another, human figures marched forward with unwavering determination, plunging straight into the bloodstream without stirring the slightest ripple.
Hum!
An unprecedented, echoing roar suddenly erupted all around, piercing through flesh and bone to resound in the outside world and striking Zhou Yi's ears. An inexplicable shock overwhelmed his spirit, plunging his mind—still lingering on Weng Han's complex gaze—into a sheet of absolute blankness!
Boom!
Weng Han's physical body shifted forward with expansive, sweeping movements. His left hand hung loosely at his side, while his right palm thrust outward, wisps of flame flickering faintly along its edges. During the very moment Zhou Yi was stunned into immobility, Weng Han moved as if teleporting, his palm landing squarely against Zhou Yi's chest!
The trajectory was identical, down to the smallest detail, to the very first strike Weng Han had delivered to Zhou Yi at the very beginning!
Zhou Yi froze. Dugu Shang froze. But the four figures closely trailing behind Weng Han did not freeze at all. Following Weng Han's palm strike, they simultaneously unleashed their attacks together. Brilliant radiances of various colors burst from their bodies as fists, palms, kicks, and legs slammed toward Zhou Yi!
The coordinated blows of the five individuals struck Zhou Yi, instantly jerking him out of his mental blankness. He opened his eyes and looked at the five of them, yet he made not the slightest movement in return!
Zhou Yi raised his head to gaze at the five figures, his expression complex and filled with an indescribable weight.
They were dead!
Yes, having unleashed this final blow, these five people had passed away together before they could even witness the outcome. This final attack had consumed every single ounce of their remaining existence; they had already perished before the blow even landed!
The subsequent motions of their attacks were merely their physical bodies driven to completion by their final, unyielding obsession!
"Was it worth it? Why?"