Chapter 13

In Room 401,

Jiang Yan sat cross-legged. Although it was cool at night on the mountaintop, he looked as if he had just been fished out of water; his clothes were soaked through with sweat.

"So hot!"

He furrowed his brows and gritted his teeth. At this moment, the world in his eyes had undergone a world-shaking change.

The entire room was engulfed in a raging fire, scorching every inch of space, making the air thin, breathing difficult, and his throat burn with pain.

Sizzle!

The fire continued to spread, and the room before him quickly turned into ruins. Ashes danced in the air like strange fire-insects, opening their hideous mouthparts and attaching themselves to Jiang Yan, flickering with sparks.

At this moment, Jiang Yan felt every inch of his flesh being roasted, as if thousands of ants were crawling and gnawing on him. The pain was excruciating, and he could see his body rapidly carbonizing, turning charred black.

Was he... was he going to be burned alive here?

He did not know how much time had passed, but Jiang Yan began to forget who he was, as if his memories had turned into ashes and dissipated.

Why am I here?

What... am I doing?

Where is this?

So tired, let it end like this.

The moment the thought of giving up arose, the world before him suddenly became icy and comfortable.

Hum!

The Spell Spirit deep within Jiang Yan’s soul trembled slightly, just about to bloom with radiance.

"No... neither life nor severe illness made me bow my head and admit defeat. What are you? Why should I give up? Who am I... I am... I am Jiang Yan!"

Jiang Yan murmured with slurred pronunciation and suddenly snapped back to his senses. He realized he had almost been devoured by the Fire House and was greatly alarmed, continuing to operate his visualization technique.

These flames continued to burn, but the Spell Spirit began to act; the lamp light shone, quickly suppressing these ashes.

He had expected a tug-of-war, but deep within Jiang Yan’s consciousness, the Demon God embryo rooted in the sea of dark chaos released a wisp of aura.

Boom!

Like a hot knife through butter, it extinguished the flames permeating the world, and the world returned to normal.

However, the scorched ashes did not dissipate. At this moment, Jiang Yan saw their true form; they were indeed a swarm of insects made of ash. They swarmed into Jiang Yan’s brow—the location known in Daoism as the Heavenly Eye or Upper Dantian—forcibly carving out a void and forming a dense, chaotic mass that ran everywhere.

Hum!

The Spell Spirit leaped into it, ignited the ash-insects, and merged with them. Finally, an Ash Lamp was born, with a faint gray flame jumping on it, shaking his soul.

In an instant, Jiang Yan suddenly felt as if he had been cured of nearsightedness. The entire world in his field of vision was clearer and brighter, and his perception became sharper; he could easily sense the movement of the wind, the crawling of insects, and the flow of air within a five-meter radius.

He had a vague feeling that if he continued to temper it, he could even achieve...

Interfering with reality through willpower!

"After condensing the Ash Lamp, my soul power should have stepped into the extraordinary stage."

Jiang Yan was pleasantly surprised but also felt lingering fear; he hadn't expected that even with the assistance of the Spell Spirit, he would have almost crashed.

This top-tier extraordinary knowledge derived from the long river of pathological history was indeed dangerous.

Fortunately, the risks were proportional to the rewards.

Among them, the Lamp-Lighting Fire Prison Visualization Technique jumped directly from entry-level (1%) to (10%).

As for the Ash Lamp, it was the core of the Lamp-Lighting Fire Prison Visualization Technique.

The Buddha viewed the world as a burning house; all troubles, external objects, attachments, and karma were flames. One needed to maintain tranquility within it to find the true self.

After the flames burned, the house was still a house.

You were still you.

When one saw through this point, one successfully passed the first Fire Tribulation.

During this process, one would precipitate things called "Karmic Ashes," which were those insect-like creatures. Their carcasses were the raw material for condensing the Ash Treasure Lamp.

And when the Ash Lamp was raised to the extreme, one would face new tribulations.

There were four levels in total. The Spell Spirit did not know the specific information, only that after passing them, one could transform into the Star Treasure Lamp, the Moon Treasure Lamp, and the Great Sun Treasure Lamp.

Each transformation would give birth to different abilities.

The union of the three lamps was the Lamp of the Gods!

This "God" did not refer to the immortals and deities in mythology, but to one's own will.

To see one's nature and find one's self, to break through the void.

However, by the time he reached that step, the essence of his soul should be no worse than that of immortals and deities.

After the birth of the Ash Lamp, one needed to uphold three precepts: no sexual misconduct, no harsh speech, and no consumption of meat or alcohol, while keeping the lamp burning bright. Once it went out, it would also invite unknown pathologies.

But how could this be possible?

Even a virtuous high monk who had seen through the red dust could potentially break the precepts.

Humans are not sages; who can avoid mistakes?

But for a skill-offspring... could it even engage in sexual misconduct? Or would it curse people?

As for eating, that was even more impossible!

It existed, yet it did not exist.

It was emptiness, and emptiness was it.

An innate Buddha-cultivating holy body.

It bore the precepts, and Jiang Yan used the abilities.

The Ash Lamp resided in the Upper Dantian and could help Jiang Yan see through illusions and glimpse the lamps of all living beings.

As for whether to turn them into lamp oil or to fuel the lights of ten thousand homes, he decided that himself.

The flame of the Ash Lamp had no temperature, but it had terrifying lethality toward wandering spirits.

It could be considered an extra trump card.

As a man without a sense of security, Jiang Yan wouldn't be able to sleep well at night without preparing hundreds of trump cards.

He sighed in his heart, glanced at the time on his phone, and prepared to take a shower, then use meditation to replace rest.

However, at this moment, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Thump!

Thump, thump!

Jiang Yan asked, "Who is it?"

"I'm the front desk clerk who checked you in today. My name is Chen Yu. I just watched a horror movie and I'm a bit scared being alone, so I wanted to find you to chat," Chen Yu’s soft voice came through.

Is that really just chatting?

It was clearly seeking scriptures!

However, Jiang Yan looked through the peephole and saw a young, pretty girl standing outside. Although she wore heavy makeup, he could recognize her as the hotel receptionist.

"Forget it, it's not very convenient for me..."

Jiang Yan had just wanted to refuse when he caught a glimpse of the Burial Coffin skillfully hiding in his backpack, blood threads gathering into a small hand to make an 'OK' gesture.

As a good child, the Burial Coffin would not disturb its master in conceiving brothers and sisters.

Jiang Yan was very moved, then zipped up the backpack, not wanting the child to see anything indescribable.

Chen Yu’s voice came from outside the door again: "Please, brother, I’ll only stay for a little while. It’s really so boring late at night."

A young girl of sixteen was not only soft-bodied, but her voice was also charming and moving.

Late at night, a lone man and a lone woman—it was indeed tempting.

Jiang Yan sighed and asked:

"I'll give you one more chance. Are you sure you want to come in? My temper is very hot."

"Mm-hmm," the girl’s soft voice came through.

Jiang Yan didn't dawdle and opened the door directly, "Come in."

After saying that,

He began to take off his clothes. His arms lifted, pulling at the feathered lines of his latissimus dorsi, and the mermaid lines on his waist rose and fell with his breathing. Under the light, sweat beads shimmered on his collarbone, displaying a muscular body like an ancient Greek statue.

He truly achieved the state of having muscle when undressed and looking lean when dressed.

Gulp!

This sudden sight made Chen Yu unable to help but swallow her saliva.

Men like the legs of beauties, and women also like the bodies of handsome men.

This is the human pursuit of beautiful things.

"Brother, you really are in a hurry..."

Chen Yu said shyly, her slender hand pressing against the door to close it. Her right hand quietly locked it, and then she walked toward Jiang Yan.

One step, two steps,

Her pace grew faster and faster,

Her gaze was no longer restrained, greedily sizing up Jiang Yan. Her body suddenly expanded, and dense white fluff began to grow on her cheeks, arms, and legs, covering her entire body in the blink of an eye.

Her originally slender arms turned into sharp claws, tearing through the air as she reached for Jiang Yan, letting out a low laugh:

"Little cutie, let's start the game now!"

"Use your screams... to please me!"

However, accompanied by a "ding" sound, Chen Yu’s smile came to an abrupt end.

She stared blankly at the scene before her. Her sharp claws landed on Jiang Yan but were blocked by a layer of faint golden light. Not only could she not touch his flesh, but she was also shaken by a great force that made the web of her hand go numb.

"What is this!?"

Chen Yu was shocked, and her first reaction was...

Run!

Boom!

However, before she could act, a golden light swept before her eyes, and a large hand directly gripped her head; her skull, unable to bear the pressure, emitted a "crackling" sound.

"Ugh!"

Just as she tried to struggle, a punch struck her abdomen, making her internal organs feel as if they were twisted into a ball; the taste of rust filled her throat, and she violently spat out a mouthful of blood, her body instantly going limp, and then, her feet uncontrollably left the ground as she was lifted into mid-air like a little chick.

"How is this possible!?"

She opened her eyes with difficulty, only to see Jiang Yan, whom she had originally regarded as prey, shirtless, with boiling air currents swirling around him; the right arm gripping her was covered in a layer of blood-colored arm armor, upon which antlers grew and spread, with golden light flowing across the surface and dense Sanskrit characters emerging, looking just like golden eyes squirming and quietly watching her.

There was no compassion of a Buddha, only...

Indifference.

In her ear, Jiang Yan's low voice sounded:

"I gave you a chance, yet you insisted on coming in to seek death."

At this moment, Chen Yu could not tell...

Who exactly was the monster?

Continuing to ask for follow-up reads, monthly tickets, and recommendation tickets! The black-feathered bird thanks you.





(End of this chapter)