Guilan District, Qingshui Bay.
Leaden gray clouds press heavily on the sea surface.
The wind carries cold rain, whipping the beach and waves incessantly.
The roar of the waves is deafening, as if a trapped giant beast is endlessly growling.
Yet amidst this violent display of nature,
a naked figure sits cross-legged in waist-deep water, like a stone.
Letting wave after wave pass over his head, breaking upon his solid chest, turning into a spray of white foam.
Rain washes over his chiseled face, cascading from his high nose and jaw, tracing the contours of each muscle on his bronzed skin.
Fang Cheng sits with legs crossed in the heaving waves, eyes slightly closed, breathing steadily.
As if using this storm for meditation and cultivation.
However, the slight furrow of his brow and his tightly pressed lips reveal the immense pain he’s enduring at this moment.
Even as the icy seawater continuously washes him, his body still radiates tremendous heat, skin glowing a fiery red as if an inextinguishable lava burns within.
Suddenly, a burst of dark crimson flame erupts from within him, engulfing his entire being in an instant.
The color of this flame is incredibly eerie, unlike the bright pure golden hue of past cultivation.
Instead, it seems stained by tainted blood, turning the once dazzling golden flecks sparse and dim.
Makes the flame appear a deeply unsettling red overall, no longer dazzling nor radiant.
In a flash, the water surrounding Fang Cheng boils violently, as if touched by a scorching iron.
Huge amounts of scalding white steam mix with the cold rain, creating a spectacle of water and fire merging on this dark sea.
The wild strength of the flame seems to have eluded his control.
Compared to the previous precise control that spared all external things, this is a far cry.
Fortunately, the seawater manages to carry away some of the searing heat.
Causing his contorted face to ease a bit, seemingly feeling a rare comfort.
At this moment, Fang Cheng is like an ignited torch, using his light and heat to fight against the boundless darkness around him.
The wind constantly howls at his ears; the black waves repeatedly attempt to engulf him.
It is then that his consciousness descends into a deeper battlefield.
This place has no life present.
The sky is frozen in blood red, the earth shrouded in thick mist.
From the depths of the mist come constant roars and chewing noises.
Countless eerie silhouettes flicker within, restless, exuding pure malice.
And in the center of this strange realm, an impossibly large eyeball floats silently.
Its surface is covered in numerous thick blood vessels extending outward like ugly roots.
Also resembling a blood-red sun hanging above, radiating twisted dark red light.
Fang Cheng stands beneath this gigantic eye, small like an ant.
The eye gazes down at him; its slowly rotating pupil resembles an abyssal vortex devouring all.
Like a divine force descending, a majestic presence suddenly arrives, almost solidifying the space, freezing the soul.
Ancient, cryptic whispering echoes throughout the space.
As if traversing from a distant prehistoric period, telling unknown secrets.
In the bloody sky, strange battle scenes flash like shadow images.
Like the end of the world, countless angels and demons with wings of light fall amidst blood rain, stars extinguishing like dust...
Fang Cheng lets out a muffled grunt, hands unconsciously clenching into fists.
The terrifying pressure bends his straight spine inch by inch, his bones creaking under the strain.
All his muscles tremble slightly, the flames on his skin dimming further, nearly turning black-red.
Blood vessels crawl rapidly across his eyes, fine sanguine lines extending from his eye sockets as if marking his face with a sinister curse.
Something pulsates beneath the skin at the sides of his forehead.
As if about to burst through the flesh, growing a pair of hideous horns.
A violent aura rooted in destruction and carnage seeks to devour him entirely, transforming him into a Demon King who only knows destruction.
The floating Deep Red Eye coldly gazes at the ant beneath, continuing its whispering.
The sound is both majestic and mysterious, unlike any language of this world.
Yet Fang Cheng, with his All-Knowing Language talent, understands it clearly. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel⸺fire.net
The whispers only repeatedly say one phrase:
"Merge with me, become part of me, and I will grant you eternity..."
How could Fang Cheng possibly believe such nonsense?
The Spiritual Fire in his mind is fiercely burning, counteracting all negative influences.
Nevertheless, the power of the Deep Red Eye is so eerie; it seems to act simultaneously on both spiritual and physical levels, intensifying its effect.
As Fang Cheng’s self-awareness fights against the Deep Red Eye,
A faint sound of the tide and grand chanting suddenly comes from a distant shore.
The familiar sound eases Fang Cheng’s taut spirit slightly.
He struggles to lift his head, looking toward the distance.
The enormous blue phantom that had appeared in his subconscious emerges once again.