Reincarnation Paradise: The Crucible

"He's quite a runner."

The cold voice echoed slowly in the tunnel. At the edge of the rock wall, Cang Chi, holding his broken arm, looked in the direction of the voice and saw the hateful human walking out of the darkness not far away. Not only was there no injury on his body, but even his clothes looked clean and new.

Seeing this scene, the fear that originally filled Cang Chi's eyes was quickly replaced by a touch of hysterical madness. It could accept death, but it would never allow such a complete defeat. Since there was no hope of escape, it would make the other party pay a painful price even if it tried its best.

"Human, die!"

With a roar, Cang Chi's half-human, half-wolf body instantly transformed into a ferocious wolf with a shoulder height of nearly two meters. A little blood dripped from the sharp fangs as thick as a dagger, and above it was a pair of scarlet beast eyes as big as copper bells, staring at the tall figure on the opposite side of the tunnel.

"Roar!"

With a violent roar that resounded throughout the corridor, the wolf with its fangs bared rushed straight towards Xu Yue. Except for the loss of one front paw, this time it was much more ferocious than the previous human form, but unfortunately the final outcome was not much different.

With just a side kick, the wolf in mid-air that had not yet landed was kicked away by Xu Yue again, and even a few bloody fangs could be seen falling from the air.

Although trapped beasts still fight, and desperate enemies should not be stopped, in the face of the absolute gap in strength, the so-called desperate fight is still meaningless.

The huge wolf body hit the rough rock wall on the opposite side heavily, and before it fell, a sudden evil wind hit its face in front of it, and then a large silver hand suddenly reached out and strangled the vulnerable neck of the wolf that was exposed outside.

From a distance, I could see shadows interweaving in the dim underground tunnel, and low roars. A human was raising his hand to firmly suppress a ferocious wolf that was much larger than him. Obviously, there was a huge difference in size between the two, but the wolf, which should have been more powerful, was now more like a piece of fish on a chopping board in his hand.

The silver hand, which seemed to be made of steel and iron, was sinking deep into the fur, and tightly clamped the relatively soft throat of the wolf and slowly tightened it. Under the pressure, the originally unobstructed trachea gradually turned into a narrow one, and the increasingly scarce oxygen intake also made the violent low roars quickly turn into hoarse and rapid breathing.

As the feeling of suffocation began to increase, the wolf that was pinned down on the rock wall began to struggle more and more violently. Large pieces of crushed gray-white stone powder fell from the surroundings. At the same time, the left front paw that was scratching hard also cut open Xu Yue's purple-quality tough outer shirt in the struggle. However, when it touched the silver skin under the clothes, it could only splash a few sparks in vain.

The next second, another silver hand suddenly grabbed the left arm of the wolf claw that was scratching randomly. Without any mercy, Xu Yue just pulled hard, and then the hot wolf blood gushed out instantly. In the splashing blood, half of the bloody and blurred forearm with faintly visible white radius was torn off by him.

At this point, Canglang's only remaining arm was completely scrapped. He threw away the half of his arm casually. Xu Yue, with blood stains on his cheek, looked up. Under the dual stimulation of severe pain and suffocation, Canglang's blood-red eyes had turned pale, but even so, the madness contained in them did not diminish at all, but became more intense.

Under normal circumstances, Xu Yue was not interested in torturing the enemy, but thinking back to the human female corpse in the cave that was disemboweled and eaten raw, he did not reject the use of some more brutal means, so...

"Puff!"

Another blood flower bloomed, Cangchi only felt a pain in his chest, and then he keenly sensed that a cold palm was forcibly tearing off the fur and flesh on his chest in the most brutal way, and then directly breaking the ribs, and finally reaching into the chest cavity and firmly grasping the strong heart that was still beating violently.

The whole process was quick and decisive, which reminded it of the cruel methods it used when hunting humans. The two were surprisingly similar.

To be honest, it had lived for hundreds of years and had always eaten other people's hearts. This was the first time it felt the extreme coldness of having its heart held by someone else. It was a strong suffocation that was far more unbearable than when the throat was locked.

Even if it was as crazy as a beast, when facing the slowly tightening cold hand on its heart, a lingering strong fear could not help but emerge from the madness in its eyes.

On the other side, watching the madness in the blood-red beast's eyes gradually replaced by fear, Xu Yue quietly relaxed the silver hand that was strangling the other's neck and said lightly:

"I ask you to answer, where is this place?"

After a few breaths of silence, a hoarse reply sounded slowly.

"Haha, it's okay to tell you. This is the Qiongqi Cave of the Tiger Demon Clan. They kill and raise poisonous insects. You can only go in but not out. Even if you kill me now, you will not be able to escape the fate of being killed by others in the end. Hahaha, to put it bluntly, there is no difference between you and me. We are just prey to be slaughtered and poisonous insects to be raised. Hahaha..."

The hoarse laughter echoed in the corridor, but with the sudden lighting of a dark red flame, these laughters soon turned into heart-wrenching hoarse wails.

When it comes to torture, no matter how strong the pain in the body is, it is far less than even the slightest damage to the soul. Coincidentally, the hellfire that Xu Yue just mastered has the special ability to burn the soul, and the more serious the sins of the target, the more terrifying the burning feeling of the soul it brings.

Quietly watching the huge wolf struggling frantically in the boiling flames in front of him, Xu Yue took a few steps back. Judging from the current performance, this guy has committed many sins.

Anyway, under his deliberate control, the hellfire will not directly burn the opponent's soul in a short time, but will only make it fall into endless pain comparable to the torture of hell, so he doesn't mind delaying for a few more minutes.

I think this time is enough for this wolf demon to completely understand his situation. Sometimes, death may also be a relief that cannot be obtained.

In fact, it took less than a few minutes. After only forty seconds, Cang Chi in the flames was forced to return to the original werewolf form, and the remaining breath of life became vague.

Temporarily dispelling the hellfire that was still burning, Xu Yue did not immediately look at the black charcoal with weak breathing at his feet, but focused on the pale red illusory light spots that gathered around him at some point.

From the perspective of spiritual perception, he could observe that these light spots were not the thoughts or energy incarnations of a certain creature, but some more special existence.

They had no memory or thoughts, but when they came into contact with each other, they could condense into some unstable butterfly-like existence for a short time.

Then, after a moment, they disintegrated into scattered light spots and disappeared. When they were in a state of aggregation, they could also produce weak and real mental fluctuations, but these fluctuations were often more inclined to killing, devouring and other more violent aspects.

"Is this... spiritual essence? But why is it red..."

Spiritual essence is the core of this world's transcendence. Xu Yue certainly learned about the other party's various characteristics in detail before entering the world.

But as far as he knew, natural spiritual essence should be the most basic white or colorless, and would not form such a distinct tendency, which was obviously very different from the pale red light spots that were circling and gathering around him.

His fingertips brushed over a red butterfly flying up and down in the air, but as expected, he did not feel any touch. His eyes flickered, and Xu Yue retracted his gaze, and then lowered his eyes to look at Cang Chi who was lying on the ground in front of him.

Rather than making random guesses without any clue, it would be better to ask this wolf demon directly. After experiencing the pain of soul burning, the other party should be happy to answer all his questions.

"What are these light spots?"

After the words fell, Cang Chi's slightly trembling reply sounded immediately below. Although the soul burning in just forty seconds failed to burn his body, it completely destroyed his will.

"Spiritual essence, the evil spiritual essence unique to the Qiongqi Cavern. When evil things such as killing and torture occur in the cavern, these spiritual essences will manifest accordingly, come close to us 'evil men', and be absorbed by them."

"Qiongqi?"

Qiongqi, one of the four evil creatures in ancient times, looks like a tiger, is as big as an ox, has wings, is a cannibal, destroys trust and hates loyalty, punishes good and promotes evil.

As one of the four evil creatures on par with Taotie, Xu Yue still has some understanding of it. It seems that this world is far more extensive than what is shown in the comics. Not only are there immortals like Laojun and Nezha, but even the four evil beasts are also included.

"You said before that there is no way out of the Qiongqi Cave, what do you mean?"

"The cave is the breeding ground of the tiger demon clan, and it is isolated by a formation barrier. For hundreds of years, all the prey thrown into the cave by them has never been able to escape. No matter whether it is a human or a demon, as long as it falls into the cave, it will eventually become a nutrient food. This is the case for me, and you will not be an exception."

As he spoke, Cang Chi, whose body was charred, seemed to ease a little, but his eyes, which were originally blood-red, had quietly turned black and white for some reason. He first looked at the light red spots around him with hatred, and then looked at Xu Yue who was looking down at him. His pupils trembled, and then he continued to speak:

"See these fierce spirits, after hundreds of years of cultivation by the tiger demon clan, , all the natural spirits in the cave have been transformed into the ghostly appearance we have now. If we want to restore our spiritual power, we can only breathe them in and out. Once we take them in, it will be like drinking poison to quench thirst. These evil spirits will subtly make all beings become fierce and brutal, and eventually they will kill each other endlessly in this cave until they are completely extinct. "

"I was thrown into the cave three years ago, and now I eat monsters and humans, raw or cold. It won't be long before you become like me. To put it bluntly, we are all just a group of poisonous insects that are struggling to survive."

After listening to Cang Chi's words, Xu Yue's expression did not change, but he looked thoughtfully at the other's pupils that were no longer occupied by blood. Compared with not long ago, the wolf demon now has a weak breath, but it seems a lot calmer.

So while the fire of hell burns sins, it also allows the other party to get rid of the influence of those so-called evil spirits?

His sight paused briefly on the reddish light spots around him, and then he met the pair of black and white eyes below again. He didn't care about the spiritual threat that Cang Chi mentioned. After all, even if he wanted to, he had no way to absorb these evil spiritual essences. Compared to this, he wanted to know why this cave was named Qiongqi.

Please...collect_6_9_book_bar (Six//Nine//Book//bar)

"Go on, what is the purpose of those tiger monsters building this Qiongqi cave?"

"Oh, what else could it be? Since ancient times, gods have never died. Those tiger monsters are just dreaming of breeding a new generation of fierce beasts, Qiongqi."

Hearing the four words "Gods are Immortal", Xu Yue narrowed his eyes slightly, but soon returned to normal.

"Go on, tell me all the information, including 'Gods are Immortal'."

"...Okay, but give me a quick death after you finish!"

Obviously, after getting rid of the influence of the evil spirit, the wolf has completely lost the last will to live and only wants to die quickly. Of course, with his current injuries, death is only a matter of time.

On the other side, Xu Yue nodded lightly after hearing the request. He was not very interested in torture itself.

"Okay."

…………

Thirty minutes later, the sound of a broken neck bone broke the silence of the corridor, followed by a large area of ​​​​enchanting purple flames rising.

[You killed the wolf demon Cang Chi]

[Cang Chi is an important member of the Cang Wolf Clan, and obtained 3.2% of the World Source. Now a total of 3.2% of the World Source has been obtained]

[Because of killing Cang Chi, the Cang Wolf Clan's reputation is -20, and the current reputation value is -20 (cold)]

[You get a treasure chest (purple)]

Soon after, the flames dissipated, and Xu Yue's figure also disappeared in the corridor. Only a human-shaped charred patch and those pale red light spots that were rapidly dimming were left.

More than ten minutes later, a green light flickered in the dim corridor, and a figure with long hair quietly emerged. He raised his foot and crushed the black scorch marks on the surface of the ground. The figure sighed lightly, and his tone was slightly surprised.

"Tsk, this dead dog died in the end. He wanted to resist erosion by differentiation. Humph, I, a spiritualist, dare not be so arrogant. It's my own fault."

"But... I don't seem to have felt the breath of this fire-type spirit before. It's a new fairy... Wait, this characteristic is... Big Sun?!"

After the words fell, the figure suddenly crushed the charred gravel in his hand, and then turned into a hurricane with ecstasy and disappeared in an instant.

…………

In the initial cave, after dealing with Cang Chi, Xu Yue returned here again.

Although the combat power of the Cang Wolf is average, the information in his head is particularly rich, especially the various information about the phrase "Gods are immortal", which is of great help to his awakening task.

The so-called immortality of gods means that as long as the existence of gods in this world can be promoted, they will have a certain degree of immortality. Even if they die, their unique spirituality based on the spiritual space will remain.

As long as certain conditions are met, these spiritualities scattered between heaven and earth will combine with material spirits to give birth to a powerful fairy who inherits their name and some talents. Although they have lost all their memories and are no longer their past selves, they can still be regarded as immortal to a certain extent.

Its existence is somewhat similar to the reincarnation of Ashura and Indra Chakra in the Naruto world. Of course, it is just similar, and the specific principles are completely different.

The reason why the tiger demon clan spent hundreds of years to build this thankless Qiongqi Cave is to create a special environment that perfectly matches the habits of Qiongqi, so as to attract the unique spirituality scattered between heaven and earth, hoping to breed a new generation of fierce beast Qiongqi.

It’s a pity that hundreds of years have passed. Although the environment in the cave has become increasingly harsh, even the natural spiritual essence has been infiltrated into a fierce appearance that worships evil and abandons good, the breeding of a new generation of Qiongqi is still a long way off.

Recalling the detailed information about the "immortality of gods", Xu Yue's eyes flickered in the cave. Since even a fierce beast like Qiongqi has a chance to be resurrected, then Chi You, who is known as the God of War and the Lord of Arms, and has an entire Jiuli tribe under his command, naturally has the possibility of reappearing in the world.

He may have guessed what the final link of the awakening mission will be.