Chapter 999 – Burn the Body

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Lin Ming completely relaxed his body as he focused his mind on resolving every wisp of fire energy and then absorbing them. Every one of these Laws was different, but combined together they faintly painted a picture of the complete Great Dao.

“I understand now… although the Fire Laws are incomparably mysterious, their essence is comprised of elements of the tiniest Laws. These tiny elements are like the imperceptible particles that form all of creation, and yet are extremely simple. According to the texts of the Divine Realm, there aren’t many types of these tiny particles that form all life, but when combined together they can actually evolve into infinite shapes and varieties, forming the 3000 boundless worlds. That is the charm of Laws.”

In that moment, Lin Ming could faintly feel the mysteries and Laws of the world. Although there were only a small number of these tiny particles, they were able to form the vast and boundless universe. In this universe there were celestial bodies, there was space and time, there were mountains, rivers, lakes, birds and beasts, bugs and plants. There were mortals without the strength to chop a chicken and there were martial artists that could move mountains and churn seas. The endless vicissitudes of life, all of the world’s laughter, anger, sorrow, happiness, love, hate, despair, hope, countless births and countless deaths continued in this world. The laws of the jungle where the strong eat the weak, the evolution of the universe where celestial bodies can change, all of this left one feeling drowned in the endless mysteries of the vast and infinite universe.

In front of the universe, a simple human was as unimportant as a mote of dust.

And all of this was composed of these most basic particles. And, the force that controlled the arrangement and interactions of these particles were the Source Laws of the universe.

Metal, wood, water, fire, earth, thunder, wind, time, space, light, darkness, life, death… everyone and everything that existed in this universe corresponded to the Laws. When one’s understanding of Laws reached the peak, that was when they could touch upon the very source of the universe!

However, within these Laws, the most basic types were limited in number. But in fact, when they were combined together, they were ever-changing with limitless variations. A simple word of complex wasn’t enough to describe them. Through countless years there had been an unimaginable number of supreme elders who had unceasingly perceived these Source Laws, in the hopes that they could identify the essence of the universe’s truths and become an immortal king. However, the so-called peak of martial arts continued to remain clouded in mist, impossible to understand!

If there was really someone that could comprehend all the Laws and rules that governed this universe, they could exist beyond the cycle of samsara and become a true god of the world.

As Lin Ming understood this, he suddenly experienced an enlightened feeling. In that moment, his mind shook, and he felt even more closely linked to the Fire Laws and fire origin energy that wrapped around him in the Hells of Flame. He faintly felt as if a great door had begun to swing open before him, and behind this great door lay the endless universe, with the mystical and profound aura of the Great Dao Laws rushing towards him head on.

As Lin Ming was fully concentrated on comprehending the Laws, what he didn’t know what that somewhere deep within the Hells of Flame, there was someone eyeing him the entire time.

“This little fellow is not bad. Although his bloodline density is weak, his perception is amazingly rare! No wonder he was willing to change the bet with that little fellow Chu Redcloud.”

A faint and ethereal sound echoed out, but no one was able to hear it.

The one who spoke was the Ruby Sovereign, the artifact spirit of the 18 Hells of Flame!

An artifact spirit lived far longer than a human martial artist did. The Ruby Sovereign was an ancient artifact spirit that had lived for countless tens of thousands of years already; he had even existed for longer than Phoenix Cry Palace and Charming Phoenix Palace! So, whether it was Lin Ming or Chu Redcloud, both of them were nothing but little babies in front of him.

“So that’s what is going on… this little boy’s perception has been enhanced by the Gate of Opening. A martial artist who dual cultivates in body and energy is very rare. Hmm… his Gate of Opening was actually opened to a perfect degree? Unbelievable… billions of years ago when the rules of the Heavenly Dao changed, the ancient body transformation technique slowly faded away from the Divine Realm. There are now very few martial artists who can stumble their way through this dual body and energy cultivation technique, let alone someone that managed to open the Gate of Opening perfectly. Just how did this little boy do this?”

The Ruby Sovereign’s interest was suddenly aroused. During the process of opening the Gate of Opening, one had to withstand endless temptations, heart demons, and all sorts of illusions and ghosts that would appear in your spiritual sea. Once you lost your mind, your consciousness would all be beyond saving.

It was already an excellent result to just barely open the Gate of Opening. Those that could perfectly do so were simply nonexistent. To accomplish it, their will had to be as tough as divine metal in order to resist all the temptations and heart demons.

However, when a martial artist opened the Gate of Opening, they had to do so before they attained a divine body. This meant that a martial artist was destined to have low achievements in the aspect of battle spirits when they opened the Gate of Opening.

“This little boy’s talent in battle spirits must be beyond extraordinary, that’s the only way he could perfectly open the Gate of Opening. No wonder he could have such perception and talent. Unfortunately, his bloodline density is far too lacking. Compared to that Yan Littlemoon girl, he is 108,000 miles away from being able to compare with her. It’s just like that Sun Cyprestar said. If these two little kids are able to dual cultivate then that would be interesting indeed! One has an extremely high perception and the other has an extremely pure and rich bloodline. If they could complement each other, then the effect would be… hehe…”

Deep within the Hells of Flame, the Ruby Sovereign revealed a sinister and sadistic smile. His eyes continued to follow Yan Littlemoon and Lin Ming, sighing and praising from time to time. Of course, no one was aware of this. Even Sun Cyprestar and Chu Redcloud, the two middle Divine Lord realm powerhouses, were also unaware.

At this time, Lin Ming had unconsciously entered the ethereal martial intent. He felt as if his soul had left his body and every inch of his body and meridians were resolving the violent power of fire on their own, constantly illuminating the Laws within him.

Everything around was peaceful and serene. The only sound was Lin Ming’s slow heartbeat that thumped at intervals like a pendulum.

As time passed, the energy within Lin Ming’s body was unconsciously consumed. Even with the Gate of Healing replenishing his energy, it still wasn’t enough.

As his energy was consumed, his protective true essence also weakened. More and more fire energy rushed into Lin Ming’s body before it was resolved by him.

At the start, he had barely been able to keep up with resolving the Laws and energy. Slowly, the Laws and energy accumulated in Lin Ming’s body, raging around as they began to scorch his meridians.

Lin Ming frowned as he felt this. However, he was able to forcefully withstand it by virtue of his powerful body.

Even if his meridians were burnt, he still had the Gate of Healing supporting him. In any case, with the body transformation technique on his side, he didn’t fear that he would develop hidden wounds. He grit his teeth and withstood the agonizing pain, suppressing it all with his battle spirit.

“How interesting, I thought that he was about to give up, but he actually managed to last until now. The closer he approaches to his limit and the longer he stays there, the deeper his comprehension of the Laws will be. But now, every second he persists is a great test of his will, strength, and body! Normally, a martial artist would be able to last for less than half an incense stick of time. Even if they know their benefits would be much greater the longer they could persist, they still wouldn’t be able to continue.”

Deep within the Hells of Flame, the Ruby Sovereign’s senses locked onto Lin Ming. Most of the time, the Ruby Sovereign was in a deep slumber; he would only wake up when trial challengers arrived. After all, his responsibility was to protect the trial challengers from being caught and consumed by the wild and tyrannical fire energy within the 18 Hells of Flame.

The Ruby Sovereign thought that Lin Ming would falter at any moment and he was prepared to rescue him. But, he never imagined that even though Lin Ming teetered at his limit, he was able to grit his teeth and continue for an entire incense stick of time. This was already three times longer than an ordinary martial artist.

When a martial artist reached their limits, their protective true essence would weaken and fade away until it vanished. That was the same as placing oneself into a fire. Imagine, if a person was thrown into a stove and burnt alive, just what would that feel like?

Moreover, the fire within the Hells of Flame was dozens, hundreds, and even thousands of times hotter than the burning flames that existed in the world of mortals! This was a true hell of fire, a hell that not even martial artists could endure!

“Mm? He can still persist?” The Ruby Sovereign became more and more surprised. Two incense sticks of time passed and he could see that Lin Ming’s protective true essence had already begun to burn down. Then, it shattered. His clothes turned to ashes and his hair was charred by fire. His skin crackled as it began to burn. But, Lin Ming grit his teeth and persisted as before, not uttering a single word!

Any sweat that came out was instantly evaporated into steam by the flames. His entire body was roasted by a burning heat 40 times the temperature of magma. Even the oil was being baked out of his body; just how painful was that?

Lin Ming truly couldn’t bear this. At the start he had used the ethereal martial intent to hypnotize himself to ignore the pain. But afterwards, even the ethereal martial intent wasn’t enough. The grueling pain forcefully dragged him out of the ethereal martial intent state, forcing him to directly withstand the harrowing pain.

His burnt skin split apart and blood began to leak out. However, that blood evaporated once it touched the air. Every exposed blood vessel was cauterized by the fire. The taste of this sort of pain was enough to make one’s mind break down.

But underneath this state, Lin Ming could feel that the benefits he was obtaining were tens of times or even a hundred times better than before!

The mysteries of these basic Fire Laws were burnt into his body with the sizzling flames, directly etching them into his bodily memory!

One was memory of the mind and one was memory of the body; these were extremely different!

Those things that the mind remembered could easily fade away. After all, the Fire Laws were far too intricate. Even a martial artist with extraordinary memory couldn’t say that they could completely remember these Fire Laws with one try. But, those things that the body remembered were different. They would form conditioned reflexes that would stay with the body forever, lasting for a lifetime. This was the same even for mortals. If a mortal learnt how to swim, they would always know how to swim. This was the difference between memory of the mind and memory of the body.

Also, when the mind remembered something, a person would have to mull over and recall those memories, passing through various thoughts and delaying for the slightest moment before coming out. But, a bodily memory did not need to be processed by the mind in that manner. Instead, it became instinct! It was how a child learned to write. If they had to think about what brush strokes to make, they would have to ponder for a moment every time. But, if the strokes of a word were imprinted onto the memory of the body, then they would write much faster.

Lin Ming knew this point, that was why he continued to persist even through the unrelenting pain.

“What an amazing little boy, he’s lasted for a quarter hour!”

The Ruby Sovereign had guarded the 18 Hells of Flame for many years and had seen countless peerless talents pass through his trials. But, those individuals that could persist for a quarter hour at their limits were extremely rare!

In this quarter hour, the advantages one could obtain were far more than ten times the advantages they could obtain if they lasted for only half an incense stick of time!

“This little fellow’s willpower has reached a terrifying degree; he doesn’t even seem human. However, no matter how powerful his will is, it is impossible for him to continue on forever. This is because his body itself has a true limit. I estimate he will be able to last for another incense stuck of time.”