Chapter 67: If Heaven Blocks My Path, I Shall Defy the Heavens

The speed of his descent grew ever faster, and the searing heat intensified. Su Fan felt as if he could breathe fire; his mouth was unbearably dry. His lips, pale as death, were on the verge of cracking, yet his gaze remained unwavering and resolute.

Suddenly, Su Fan willed his body downward with all his might. A flash of violet, and he vanished. Moments later, he reappeared—the violet robe he wore was almost entirely shredded, fragments drifting away as he continued his fall.

Disciples’ robes from the Celestial Origin Sect were crafted from the finest materials, impervious to harm by ordinary foundation-stage cultivators. Yet now, tormented by the blazing heat, Su Fan’s robes were reduced to tatters. He uttered a low cry and plunged further.

The protective jade pendant offered him some relief, but even with its aid, sweat poured from him like rain. His face was flushed and contorted with pain—a testament to his suffering.

Yet the sea of flames was still far below, and within this space, there was no spiritual energy. Without spiritual energy to sustain it, the jade pendant was useless. Su Fan attempted to enter the pendant’s inner space, but as he had for a long time, found himself unable to do so. He had speculated many times about the cause, but all in vain.

His fall accelerated, and as he drew nearer to the sea of fire, Su Fan sensed a strange force pulling him inexorably downward. Even if he wished to give up, he no longer had the chance.

Resolute, Su Fan shut his eyes tightly and became a streak of shadow, plunging ever deeper.

He lost all sense of how long he’d been falling. His clothes had been utterly destroyed, revealing a muscular frame marked by countless scars. Though his time in the cultivation world had been short, he had survived innumerable battles and brushes with death.

As he continued to fall, his wounds began to heal, fading away one by one. His skin glowed crimson, taking on the aspect of an immortal demon’s body, though his agony was evident. Strangely, though his clothes had been incinerated, his ashen hair floated freely, untouched by the inferno. The heat seemed powerless before his gray hair, which grew ever brighter, lending him an otherworldly air. Yet the deepening red of his skin exuded a demonic aura.

At last, the sea of fire appeared. Su Fan slowly opened his eyes—their fiery redness echoed the flames below, both blood-red, both exuding a ruthless pride.

With a leap, Su Fan plunged into the sea of fire. Like a needle dropped into the ocean, there was no ripple, no change. The fire continued to burn as before. Su Fan was gone.

Deep within the fiery sea, where the overwhelming redness seemed impenetrable, a powerful heat emerged. Su Fan sat cross-legged at the heart of the flames, his face twisted beyond recognition, his eyes blazing as if about to spit fire. He sat utterly still, as if in deep slumber, neither meditating nor cultivating.

A closer look would reveal his body sinking ever so slowly.

As the depth increased, not only did the heat threaten to melt all things, but the pressure intensified, threatening to crush everything. Su Fan’s hand moved to his waist and discovered his storage pouch. Astonishingly, despite the heat and pressure, the pouch remained intact. Su Fan couldn’t help but wonder what materials and forging methods had made this possible.

But as heat and pressure mounted beyond endurance, and with no spiritual energy left to sustain himself, Su Fan patted the pouch. A snow wolf’s inner core appeared, which he quickly swallowed. Instantly, a surge of wild spiritual energy swept through him. Amid this onslaught, the jade pendant activated once more, bringing a wave of coolness that allowed Su Fan to recover some strength and reserve his energy for the trials ahead.

While Su Fan suffered the torment of refinement, on the stone platform above, Dustbane bore a troubled expression. He traced his finger, a flame dancing across his nail, and murmured, “How strange. Even the most gifted princes of my clan require royal blood to reach this level—yet he’s managed it. Though it’s only a thousandth of the way.” With that, Dustbane joined his palms and sat cross-legged like a fiery beast.

Having absorbed the snow wolf’s core, Su Fan replenished some of his energy and, with a wave, summoned a flame to his palm. He tossed it into his mouth, circulating spiritual energy to dissolve it within.

The moment he entered the sea of fire, the jade pendant underwent a subtle change. Su Fan had felt this transformation before, whenever the pendant encountered unusual forces—once, in the Tomb of the Nether King, when he faced the Ghost General. Thus, he guessed the pendant would react uniquely within these flames.

Just as he predicted, as the fire entered his body, the jade pendant activated, converting the flames into a force Su Fan had never experienced. This energy coursed through him, as if reforging every inch of his flesh, making his body shimmer with red light.

Delighted, Su Fan continued to devour the flames, though the pain was excruciating. Each time he swallowed a flame, his body convulsed, yet he forced himself to seize another, eyes glowing red.

Soon, Su Fan’s figure was almost lost amidst the fire. His skin had taken on the very color of the inferno. He continued to descend, reaching the bottom of the sea of fire—a world of endless scarlet.

With a cry, Su Fan struck at the redness with his fist—a simple, ordinary punch, yet it tore open a rift in the void. Calmly, he stepped into the gap, entering a shadowy, gray realm.

Su Fan had never understood it: the immortal-demon’s body was not large, yet its interior contained endless mysteries. It seemed that within, there existed a world of its own.

Here, there was no sea of fire—only boundless blood, a stifling, metallic scent, violent killing intent, and surging demonic flames. Su Fan drifted through the blood sea, letting his body wander as he pleased. As he breached the rift, a sudden clarity flooded his mind.

“Enter the blood sea, obtain the inheritance—all depends on fate.”

The demonic aura nearly consumed him, and the stench of blood filled his heart with murderous intent. The faces of those he had slain over the years paraded through his mind.

In a dim room, Xiao Chen, owl-faced, attempted to steal Su Fan’s soul, only to be devoured by the jade pendant. Thwarted, he devised an even more vicious plan to kill Su Fan. The scene froze in the academy’s rear courtyard, with Xiao Chen being consumed by ten thousand ants—the horror of his final moments.

The vision shifted. A youth in red attacked a young cultivator who had just reached the fifth level of Qi Refining. Arrogant, venomous—the fear on the young cultivator’s face was stark.

Su Fan nearly screamed, “Hong Yuan, I’ll kill you!”

The scene changed again: in darkness, a white-robed youth was beaten nearly to death by an opponent wielding a crimson crossbow. In a desperate moment, the youth struck back, killing one of his attackers. Blood covered his body, his white robe stained scarlet.

The images churned—blood, blood, everywhere was blood.

Tears of blood streamed from Su Fan’s eyes as he muttered, “What path of immortality am I seeking? I brought ruin upon my parents, and in the end, I am left with nothing. Perhaps it would be better to die here.”

Suddenly, an angry voice rang out: “If you die, your parents may never have a chance at resurrection.”

It was Dustbane’s voice, laced with disappointment and disdain.

Su Fan opened his eyes and shouted into the void, “Can my parents still be brought back?”

Dustbane replied, “The heavens are vast. If one can comprehend the Great Dao, life and death can be mastered, and even reincarnation reversed. Though my immortal-demon clan is not the mightiest under heaven, at least we dare to defy the fates. If the heavens seek our destruction, we shall strive with all our strength to destroy the heavens themselves.”

Su Fan roared, “If the heavens block my path to save my parents, then I will destroy the heavens!”

His shout faded; the sea of blood vanished. Before him now floated a heart, about the size of a fist. It looked ordinary, but Su Fan sensed an immortal-demon aura within.

He raised his hand, and the heart flew to his palm. Sending his divine sense inside, he was instantly flooded with information like a raging torrent. Su Fan felt a sharp pain in his skull and hurried to sit cross-legged and meditate, beginning to sort through the immortal-demon’s memories.