Chapter 1363: Peak of the Cloud Sea, Karmic Fire Ignites Within the Soul!

Within the Human Realm, the Vortex, visible only to Wang Lin in the sky, suddenly collapsed, as if an invisible force tore it apart, gradually dissipating completely. After a moment, the sky returned to normal.

This brief scene, within the entire Human Realm, went unnoticed by anyone except Wang Lin, as if everything had never existed.

Wang Lin stood at the peak of the mountain, withdrew his gaze from the sky, and sat down cross-legged.

To ignite Reincarnation Karmic Obstruction, transforming a trace of obsession into Karmic Fire, not to burn the heavens and earth, not to destroy this world, but to burn one's own soul. In a situation of nine deaths and one life, at the moment the soul is completely burned and destroyed, to seize that sliver of vitality, transforming it into a Karmic Fire Seed, thereby having the opportunity to enable the Vermilion Bird's fourth Awakening, to Breakthrough from the Realm of Solid Fire, and step into the Realm of Void Fire, a Realm rarely achieved by anyone in the Vermilion Bird clan throughout history!

Void Fire is the Origin of all flames in the world. Whether it's the fire of jealousy, anger, madness, etc., anything related to emotions that can trigger one's illusory fire, can be called a Divine Ability of someone who has stepped into the Void Fire Realm!

A Cultivator who can reach the Void Fire Realm, their power, even if not equal to the Third Step, is enough to make a Third Step Cultivator take notice! When fighting such a Cultivator, you cannot be angry, cannot be joyful, cannot be agitated, and certainly cannot have any emotional fluctuations, because once there is a fluctuation, even a very small one, it is enough to become a Divine Ability for such a Cultivator to kill an enemy!

This is a terrifying Divine Ability technique. One must know that all living beings, no matter how high their cultivation, have emotions within them. Even the most gloomy person, the most skilled at hiding, these emotions still exist.

Even Daoist Blue Dream's longing for his wife and his love for his daughter can trigger Void Fire! Only those who can perfectly lock down all emotions, or those who are completely and utterly devoid of any emotions, can disregard Void Fire Cultivators!

The terror of Void Fire Cultivators is not primarily in individual combat, but in group battles!

A Void Fire Cultivator is enough to contend with a thousand armies… Throughout the heavens and earth, Third Step Grand-abilities all know that for a Lightning Cultivator to enter the Dao, opening the great door of the void is extremely difficult, because lightning was once controlled by the Heavenly Dao, making it even harder to break through the heavens with it!

The Origin of fire is also the same. Fire is one of the Five Elements of heaven and earth. Only after reaching Void Fire can one detach from the Five Elements, no longer being within them. If one can advance further, forming Dao Fire and achieving the Great Origin technique, it is possible to burn open the door to the void and become a Third Step Grand-ability!

Wang Lin's eyes were calm. The difficulty of Void Fire lay in the Fire Seed, and in the Vermilion Bird's fourth Awakening! But since he was unwilling to burn this world to form the undying Fire Seed, he had to choose the even more difficult path.

This path's outcome was unpredictable. Wang Lin could still choose to give up now, leave this place, and fail the trial.

"Old Vermilion Bird has treated me so well, how can I easily give up!" Wang Lin murmured, a determined look in his eyes.

Just as he was unwilling to burn this world, Wang Lin's character valued kindness greatly. He also could not disappoint the Old Vermilion Bird!

Wang Lin exhaled deeply, his eyes gradually closing. The moment his eyes shut, a blue flame suddenly erupted from his entire body. This flame did not spread outwards but burned fiercely within him.

Outsiders could not see this flame, but the intense pain of his soul being burned caused even Wang Lin's body to tremble. He gritted his teeth, enduring desperately, enduring the burning of his soul, enduring his own obsession, utterly destroying himself.

"I enter the Dao with this trace of obsession; even the Heavenly Tribulation cannot destroy me. Who can stop me!" Wang Lin suddenly looked up, his eyes wide with fury. The flames roared, enveloping his entire body. The blazing fire was astonishing, yet no one outside could see it!

Within this Human Realm, days passed. Li Muwan's visits to the mountaintop gradually increased. Each time Wang Lin saw Li Muwan, the pain of his soul being burned intensified several times over, yet not a hint of it showed in his eyes, which instead transformed into a deep, lake-like tenderness.

Li Muwan gradually adapted to Wang Lin's expression, sometimes even chatting with him curiously when she ascended the mountain.

However, the very observant Li Muwan slowly noticed that each time she came up the mountain, the peculiar Senior seemed to have grown a little weaker, and even his appearance slowly aged.

She had no idea that Wang Lin was currently enduring an indescribable pain. He was igniting Karmic Obstruction, relying on that trace of obsession in his heart. The deeper this obsession, the fiercer the burning would be!

Every time he saw Li Muwan, Wang Lin's obsession deepened! The flames grew fiercer, and the pain became more intense!

Time flowed, and it was unknown how long had passed. The flames in Wang Lin's soul had reached a certain intensity. His eyes were already unfocused, his body extremely weak, and even his appearance had changed from a youth to a middle-aged man.

It was as if two thousand years of time had rapidly descended and accumulated upon Wang Lin during this soul-burning.

"Give up… you cannot endure the pain of this soul-burning. Although this old man has not experienced this feeling, I deeply felt the Old Ancestor's lingering fear from that scene during one of his conversations…"

In the sky, the Vortex that had previously collapsed reappeared. It was the Old Vermilion Bird, worried, who had returned. His words conveyed anxiety and also contained reluctance.

Wang Lin gritted his teeth, his mind already unclear. The intense pain, like a tide, had long since engulfed him. This pain was far more intense than anything Wang Lin had ever encountered in his life!

Only the repeated recombination and collapse of his Physical Body during the Ancient God Tribulation back then could compare to this pain, but these two pains were still very different.

"You are still only burning your soul; that obsession has not yet transformed into Karmic Fire, and the intensity of the pain is merely the beginning. But once Karmic Fire appears, you will have to undergo the Nine Revolutions Karmic Tribulation. Under that Karmic Tribulation, even the Old Ancestor needed protection to pass. You still have time to give up now. Once obsession transforms into Karmic Fire, your soul will be instantly destroyed by the burning Karmic Fire, with no possibility of turning it into Karmic Obstruction!

Back then, if the Old Ancestor hadn't been protected by the Immortal Venerable, he certainly wouldn't have succeeded!" The Old Vermilion Bird's voice was extremely anxious.

"That little girl, she is the obsession in your heart, isn't she… Everything in this Human Realm is merely an illusion. Why must you put yourself in this life-and-death situation for an illusory memory!

Wang Lin, why are you so stubbornly misguided!" The Old Vermilion Bird's voice grew even more anxious, subtly tinged with sternness.

Wang Lin did not speak. At this moment, his mind was in a trance, and the pain of being burned transformed into scenes of memories, pervading his soul.

His first meeting with Li Muwan… the Cultivation Devil Sea… the Cloud Heaven Sect… beauty turning to withered bones… finally becoming a sleeping corpse lying within the Heaven-Avoiding Coffin.

All of these things burned within his soul.

"A long time has passed. If you continue, there will be a life-and-death crisis. So be it. Since you cannot sever your ties with worldly affairs and cannot burn this world, even if you become indifferent to me in the future, I will help you destroy this world!" As soon as the Old Vermilion Bird finished speaking, a sea of fire suddenly erupted from the Vortex in the sky. The intensity of the fire was earth-shattering, sweeping in all directions across the sky in an instant. In a blink of an eye, it enveloped the entire sky of this world, about to descend and burn everything below!

At this moment, Li Muwan's figure appeared at the peak of the mountain, panting, having just climbed up. She could not see the flames, but in Wang Lin's blurred eyes, he clearly saw the sea of fire descending from the sky, like a giant fiery maw, heading straight for Li Muwan!

In this instant, the unfocused look in Wang Lin's eyes suddenly cleared. His eyes blazed with monstrous fire, and he abruptly stood up and took a sudden step forward. Just as the flames were about to touch the bewildered Li Muwan, Wang Lin's body embraced Li Muwan, shielding her back against the blazing sea of fire!

Li Muwan froze there. Wang Lin held her, turned around, and suddenly looked up at the sky, letting out a low roar!

"I can do it!"

"You!" The Old Vermilion Bird was enraged, and the descending flames in the sky were immediately forcibly halted.

"Old Ancestor, this Junior has cultivated the Dao his entire life, only for her!!! Even if she is an illusion, this Junior is unwilling to harm her, let alone destroy her!" Wang Lin looked at the sky, tears streaming down his face. These tears fell on Li Muwan's face in his arms, carrying a scorching temperature that burned into her heart, causing a look of confusion to appear in her eyes.

The moment Wang Lin uttered these words, the flames within his soul erupted once again, this time countless times more intense than before!

Furthermore, within those flames, a black inferno suddenly rose. As this black inferno appeared, the heavens and earth changed color, and it immediately completely suppressed the blue flames burning in Wang Lin's soul.

"Karmic Fire!" The Old Vermilion Bird gasped, then sighed deeply.

"Obsession transforming into Karmic Fire, no one but the first generation Old Ancestor can stop your Karmic Fire from burning your body. So be it… since you have chosen this, so be it…" The Old Vermilion Bird's voice gradually faded, the sea of fire in the sky vanished without a trace, and the Vortex collapsed.

The black inferno instantly enveloped Wang Lin's entire body, occupying more and more space within the blue flames. In just a moment, nearly eighty percent of the blue flames had transformed into black.

Excruciating pain surged from within his soul, making Wang Lin's body tremble. This pain was hundreds, even thousands of times more intense than before. His soul was rapidly being destroyed at a visible pace.

His body was also rapidly dissipating, but his hands still tightly embraced Li Muwan in his arms, his eyes doing their utmost to hide the distortion of pain, gazing tenderly at Li Muwan.

"To have you by my side these days, I am very content… Even if you are an illusion, I will never allow anyone to harm you…" Wang Lin silently gazed at Li Muwan, speaking softly.

However, his voice carried a tremor that was enough to shake Li Muwan's heart.

"You… who are you…" Li Muwan stared blankly at Wang Lin.