Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Cannot Live, Cannot Die

Shen Sang Ruo’s Formation finally took effect. The temperature around the volcano plunged, and in a blink the world turned into ice and snow. The Fire Phoenix froze under a layer of frost.

But the cold power inside this Formation was not enough to fight a whole volcano’s magma. Lava still moved under the ice, eating it away, and even the Fire Phoenix looked ready to break free.

“The Formation won’t hold for long. Move!” shouted Feng He Yun. He pulled the injured Bai Mu Mu up and said urgently: “Junior Sister, I’ll carry you!”

Wen Xuan came up from inside the crater, stowed the Fire-Scale Vine in his bag, and looked around, not understanding what had happened. His voice shook as he asked: “Little Ruo, she…”

Bai Mu Mu pressed her bleeding arm and said with a sob: “Second Senior Brother, I know you don’t want to accept it, but Fifth Senior Sister is gone.”

“What?” Wen Xuan’s pupils shrank and his face turned white.

“There’s no time to explain. Run first,” said Feng He Yun, then he realized someone was missing. “Where is Third Junior Brother?”

They searched, then saw Lu Shi Qing standing rigid, staring at the frozen Fire Phoenix with a terrifyingly dark face. His gaze slid to the volcano, his fists clenched. The next moment, he gritted his teeth and sprinted toward the crater, shouting: “Shen Sang Ruo, do not die!”

No one expected Lu Shi Qing, who always disliked Shen Sang Ruo, to lose control like this. Wen Xuan caught up and blocked him, saying sharply: “Shi Qing, calm down,” then he paused and forced out the words like they cut him, “Little Ruo can’t be found.”

Shen Sang Ruo had fallen into magma; even her bones would be gone. Wen Xuan’s voice went hoarse: “If you throw your life away, you betray all her efforts. She traded her life for our slim chance. The most important thing now is to get out alive.”

Strength left Lu Shi Qing all at once, and he could barely stand. He did not even know how they retreated to several kilometers away.

After they escaped, the volcano erupted again. Lava covered the whole mountain, and no one could set foot there. They said nothing, only stared at the volcano. In their hearts, they all knew: Shen Sang Ruo would not return.

Pain.

That word filled Shen Sang Ruo’s mind until there was room for nothing else. It wasn’t like the mental torture of the Confinement Chamber Formation, nor the cruel sting of the Seven Emotions Gu. This pain was raw and direct.

Boiling magma wrapped her completely and burned every inch of her body. Facing the Confinement Chamber Formation and the Seven Emotions Gu, she had kept a shred of reason. Now the agony swallowed even that. In just a moment, Shen Sang Ruo fainted.

The Blazing Heart at her chest thumped happily and released waves of energy. She should have burned to ash, yet she kept her shape. Her skin did not touch the molten rock directly; a gap as wide as a little finger lay between them. With that gap, and with her Fire Spiritual Root’s natural tolerance for flame, she did not turn to ash at once. Where she burned, new flesh kept growing to fill in, forming a strange balance with the magma.

So Shen Sang Ruo stayed whole inside the lava. It meant the fire kept burning her, and she had to endure the pain of being roasted alive. She could not live, and she could not die.

The purest fire Spiritual Power in the magma surged into her meridians and dantian at close range. Not long after she passed out, Shen Sang Ruo broke through to Foundation Establishment, Late Stage. But the good luck ended quickly. The inflow of Spiritual Power soon exceeded what she could bear. Her meridians swelled and burst, then rebuilt again and again, like her skin.

Fortunately, she was deeply unconscious. Otherwise the mixed torment would have driven her mad. She sank slowly, and when she touched the bottom of the volcano, she vanished at once.

Shen Sang Ruo woke to find herself in a room. She was shocked that falling into magma hadn’t killed her. She hadn’t lost an arm or a leg; not even a patch of skin was missing. She rolled her eyes to survey the place first. It seemed to be a Cultivator’s cave dwelling. [Why do I always end up in someone else’s house?]

This cave was tens of times bigger than that Nascent Soul Cultivator’s cave from before, almost the size of a small sect’s grounds. A residence this large… what realm had its owner reached? The decorations and furnishings were complete, unlike an abandoned cave. If the Master was still here, she would not survive. A casual sweep of Spiritual Power would snuff her out.

She did not know how she had lived, but a life snatched back must be cherished. She tried to sit up and found she had no strength at all. She reached for her Spiritual Power to probe herself, and felt nothing. Her eyes dimmed.

Had her cultivation scattered again? No, it might be worse. She could not even sense her meridians or dantian. If they were destroyed, she would be a cripple, unable to cultivate ever again.

She forced herself to calm down. [I only checked roughly. Maybe there is still a chance. For now, I need to recover some strength and get out.]

Suddenly her neck tightened, as if something yanked her a short distance. Alarms rang in her heart, then the pull went slack. A moment later it tugged again, moved her a bit, and eased off.

Shen Sang Ruo was confused. It felt like something was bouncing and dragging her along, like a fine thread around her neck. A fine thread at her neck?

She thought of something and spoke softly: “Blazing Heart?”

Silence.

Maybe she was wrong?

A cool, lazy voice sounded right by her ear, saying: “Don’t call me Blazing Heart, call me Immortal Lord Chang Li.”

Shen Sang Ruo’s eyes lit up at once. The Blazing Heart was formed from a wisp of Immortal Lord Chang Li’s soul. She said with proper respect even while half-paralyzed: “This junior greets Immortal Lord Chang Li.”

She asked with hope: “Has Immortal Lord Chang Li’s soul regained consciousness?”

The Blazing Heart form of Immortal Lord Chang Li’s soul had been in a chaotic state before, reacting only by instinct. The voice drawled in reply, not very serious: “Yes. Staying in the magma felt comfortable. I was in a good mood, so I woke up.”