Chapter 124: I Must Return Alive!

Page 1 of 3

Time passed second by second. In the blink of an eye, nearly half an hour had gone by since Lu Zhe swallowed and refined the Extreme Mountain Fire Sunflower. The waves of heat that had been bursting outward grew weaker with time, and their frequency gradually diminished. Before long, they stopped erupting altogether.

“Why has it gone quiet?” Old Six Oil frowned in puzzlement as he watched the searing waves suddenly vanish from the top of the altar.

He turned to the Medicine Elder, only to find the old man frowning as well. Clearly, he too was wondering why the waves of heat had disappeared so abruptly.

“Sir, why did the heat suddenly vanish?” Old Six Oil asked.

The Medicine Elder lowered his head and remained silent for a moment, as though considering something. After a while, he looked toward the top of the altar.

“I don’t know either.”

He pondered briefly before continuing, “Let’s go up and take a look.”

Old Six Oil nodded in agreement.

With a wave of his hand, the hemispherical green flames surrounding the altar suddenly gathered toward the center. In no time, they transformed into a long tongue of fire and drilled back into the Medicine Elder’s hand.

Once the green flames had been completely withdrawn, he slipped his right hand back into his robe and said, “All right. Let’s go up and see what’s happening.”

Old Six Oil nodded, and the two of them climbed side by side onto the altar.

What they saw upon reaching the top left them stunned.

Lu Zhe, the young man who was usually so close to them, sat naked in a pool of medicinal liquid with his eyes shut and his teeth clenched. Every inch of his skin had turned the color of blood. Wisps of steam continuously escaped from his pores, while the agony on his face had twisted his features into a terrifying grimace. It was easy to imagine how much suffering he had endured moments before.

Old Six Oil was just about to step forward when the Medicine Elder stopped him. Puzzled, he glanced at the old man and heard him whisper sternly, “You cannot go over there now. You might disturb his mind. If that happens, he could easily lose control of his inner energy and be reduced to ashes.”

Old Six Oil nodded and halted. The two men stood roughly thirty feet from Lu Zhe, silently watching him in the medicinal pool.

Boom!

Only a few minutes after they reached the altar, a soft explosion suddenly sounded. Then a wave of heat capable of turning ice into water burst from Lu Zhe’s body and surged outward in every direction.

“Not good!”

Both men immediately sensed the searing temperature, and their expressions changed. The Medicine Elder waved his hand, sending green flames shooting from both sleeves. The flames then formed a hemispherical shield that tightly enveloped him.

Old Six Oil, meanwhile, pressed his palms together before thrusting them forward. In an instant, a thick wall of ice more than ten feet high and over three feet wide rose from the ground a foot in front of him, blocking the terrifying heat like a blazing sun.

The heat wave continued rolling into the distance, but before long, it vanished without a trace.

Old Six Oil stared at the ice wall before him, now as thin as paper, and swallowed nervously.

“What frightening heat. It actually melted a wall of ice that thick.”

The Medicine Elder waved his hand and withdrew the green flames burning around him. He nodded in agreement.

“Yes. It is indeed far stronger than my green fire.”

Old Six Oil reached out and shattered the paper-thin ice before him. Then he looked toward Lu Zhe and saw that the young man had begun to tremble. The medicinal liquid in the pool around him had also fallen several inches.

“What is happening?” Old Six Oil asked, frowning in confusion.

“Wait and see.”

The Medicine Elder stared at the trembling Lu Zhe, his brows drawing even tighter.

So hot… So hot… Why am I so hot?

That voice continued echoing through the depths of Lu Zhe’s mind, endlessly repeating itself.

Page 2 of 3

Lu Zhe opened his eyes, only to find himself surrounded by darkness. It was so black that he could not see even his own hand before him. He looked around, but everywhere he turned there was nothing but an endless void.

“Where… where is this?”

Lu Zhe sat upright in the darkness and muttered in confusion.

Just as he was utterly baffled, a faint glow suddenly appeared not far before him. It resembled a small flame burning quietly in the darkness.

“What is that?” Lu Zhe murmured, staring at the dim light.

As he wondered what it could be, the faint glow suddenly began to change color. It started as pale yellow, then deepened into golden yellow, shifted to reddish brown, and finally became light green. One color after another flashed and transformed, beautiful and dazzling.

Watching the strange light change, Lu Zhe slowly rose to his feet and began walking toward it.

One step, two steps, three steps, four…

He drew closer and closer. Yet when he was less than five feet away, the shifting light suddenly trembled, as though it had noticed him approaching.

After that brief tremor, it showed no further reaction and continued its marvelous transformation of colors.

Lu Zhe tilted his head, perplexed, but continued walking toward the radiant flame.

After a few more steps, he finally reached it. Looking closely, he was astonished to discover that it was a tiny flame. It burned silently, its radiance continually changing color, making it extraordinarily beautiful.

Yet the flame seemed to be slowly shrinking, and its light was gradually weakening. It looked as though it might go out at any moment.

“Do you think it’s beautiful?”

A deeply familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.

Lu Zhe started and turned around. Standing thirty feet behind him was a person who looked exactly like him.

“Who are you?” Lu Zhe asked suspiciously.

The man gave a cold laugh without answering. He raised his right index finger and pointed toward the ever-changing flame behind Lu Zhe.

“That flame is beautiful, isn’t it?”

Lu Zhe did not reply. Only a cold, severe glint flashed through his eyes.

Seeing that Lu Zhe remained silent, the man did not become angry. He merely continued in a frigid voice, “Don’t you think the flame behind you is beautiful?”

After a pause, he went on, “Then do you want to know what that flame really is?”

Lu Zhe raised an eyebrow, evidently surprised. He studied the young man before him, whose features were identical to his own yet whose expression was cold and severe. After a moment’s hesitation, he finally asked, “You know what it is?”

A harsh curve appeared at the corner of the man’s mouth.

“Of course I do.”

“Then what is it?”

“Your Heart-Life Flame.”

“What?”

Lu Zhe was shocked. He turned to look at the flame behind him, burning and changing colors, his eyes filled with disbelief. After a moment, he turned back toward the young man.

“Then who are you?”

The young man said nothing. He merely gave a cold smile, a sharp gleam passing through his eyes.

“You really want to know who I am?”

Lu Zhe nodded.

“You need not know that for now. But do you want to know why the flame behind you is gradually shrinking?” the man asked indifferently.

Page 3 of 3

Lu Zhe glanced behind him and saw that the flame had already diminished to less than half its former size. Its radiance had weakened considerably, and it looked as though it were about to go out.

Seeing the astonishment on Lu Zhe’s face, the man continued, “I told you already: this is your Heart-Life Flame. As the name implies, it is the solid form of your life. In other words, that flame is your life.”

As he listened to the young man’s explanation, Lu Zhe never once looked away from the burning flame. After a moment, he asked, “Then why is it growing weaker?”

“You overestimated yourself and swallowed the Extreme Mountain Fire Sunflower to cultivate. That in itself was not wrong. Your mistake was being too impatient and consuming the miraculous herb before you were ready. Now its medicinal power is running rampant within your body, and your body cannot withstand it. That is why your Heart-Life Flame is gradually weakening. At this rate, it will probably go out before long. Once the Heart-Life Flame is extinguished, your life will end with it.”

“What?”

The words struck Lu Zhe like a bolt from the blue. His entire body trembled, and for a long while he could not utter a sound.

After some time, he turned toward the burning flame. Seeing it grow weaker, he hurriedly reached out to shield it. But no matter how hard he tried or what he did, the flame continued to fade. Panic seized him.

“It’s useless,” the man behind him said calmly.

Lu Zhe turned to face the young man who looked exactly like him. His expression was complicated, and he did not know what to say. After a long silence, he asked unwillingly, “Am I… going to die?”

As he looked at Lu Zhe’s conflicted expression, the man’s cold features suddenly softened. A trace of warmth appeared in his eyes.

“Do you want to live?”

At those words, Lu Zhe seemed to glimpse a ray of light. He raised his head and looked at the man, his voice filled with hope.

“Can I still live?”

“Who knows?” the man replied indifferently.

The hopeful expression on Lu Zhe’s face instantly dimmed.

Seeing him sink into despair, the man closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them again.

“Is there some reason you must stay alive?”

Lu Zhe, who had been dejected, suddenly stiffened. He touched his head as though searching his thoughts. After a while, he answered firmly, “Yes.”

“What is it?”

“A promise.”

“What promise?”

The severe young man seemed genuinely surprised by the answer.

Lu Zhe raised his head and gazed into the chaotic darkness above. His voice rang out with absolute conviction.

“A promise that I must return safely.”

He lowered his head and looked at the man before him. His eyes were filled with an unyielding determination, as though telling the young man that no matter how many hardships and dangers lay ahead, he would overcome them. He would never bow his head, surrender, or allow adversity to dictate his fate.

“I will return alive!”