The Journey of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 174 - 117: Fire Refinement_2

Chapter 174: Chapter 117: Fire Refinement_2

Her gaze finally shifted to the spherical pearl being roasted over the Divine Fire. The orb was roughly the size of a tennis ball, completely sealed and made of some unknown material. Despite being baked by the Divine Fire, it neither burst nor blackened, allowing one to clearly see what was inside it.

Inside was something rather simple: a white mist that resembled smoke, fog, and clouds, shapeless and freely morphing. An ordinary person might be intrigued and come closer for a look, but Ning Xiaoxian immediately stepped back two paces instead.

With her eyesight, she could see clearly that the white mist in the orb had formed into the face of Liu Manzi! To be precise, the mist formed only the part of Liu Manzi above his shoulders, but it looked almost identical to the real person, down to each of the three strands of mustache that could be counted.

She knew in her heart what this was, but still couldn’t help asking: "Is this the soul of Liu Manzi?"

In her eyes, the soul of Liu Manzi was tumbling and rolling inside the orb, constantly condensing into a face against the inner wall before dissipating back into a wisp of white mist. Each time the face appeared on the wall, it was incredibly fierce, with eyes bulging as if about to split open, and a silent mouth wide as if screaming, every muscle on the face twitching non-stop, apparently enduring inhuman pain. Liu Manzi seemed to have lost his mind; aside from futilely slamming against the orb’s walls and desperately pounding with his incorporeal palms, he showed no other expression and was utterly unaware of her close presence.

His agonized countenance was so vivid that she empathized with his suffering, her hands breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Exactly," Qiongqi sneered at Liu Manzi’s soul, "This fool was captured and sent to the God Demon Prison; his eyes were darting around, and he seemed to be concocting lies to deceive us. Hmph, a frog in a well. With his insight, how could he know that Lord Changtian never needs to interrogate prisoners!"

"Why waste words on him? Just extract his Divine Soul. Everyone has a mouth that can say this and that, all capable of spouting endless lies of the world. However, a Divine Soul never lies! It spills everything just like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube."

The tiger atop the Pill Furnace glared at Liu Manzi’s soul as if the injury had been its own: "Lord Changtian said he injured your soul, so he shall meet a punishment that fits his crime. Slow roasting over a gentle fire is the most savory. Mortals describe the tortures of hell with terms like ’thrown into the frying pan’, but humans truly lack imagination. The pain of Divine Fire Soul Refining can be tens of thousands of times more excruciating and unbearable than that!"

"The Mysterious Netherworld Divine Fire of Shaking Heaven God, known for claiming any life and burning all things! Among them, the Soul Burning Fire specifically targets the Divine Soul. Back in the Ancient Times, not a single deity or demon from the heavens above could endure Lord Changtian’s Divine Flame torment. This mere Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage, heh, being graced with the Divine Fire is already elevating his status!"

Ning Xiaoxian felt that this furnace was entering a whole new realm of brown-nosing. "These little lamps on the wall, are they also torture devices of the prison?" She had roughly realized their function, indeed, beautiful things may not be as delightful as their appearance suggests.

"Correct! This set of torture instruments is terrifyingly effective, and their compact size has earned them a lovely name, ’The Most Leisurely’. The Glazed Treasure Lamp beneath can nourish the Divine Soul so it doesn’t weaken too much during punishment, making it easier for the Prison Director to continue dealing with these souls. This spherical orb is called a Sealing Soul Ball; once the soul is sealed within, not even a sound can escape. Otherwise, this prison would be filled with incessant wails and howls, what kind of place would that be? Those God Demons and Ancient Giant Demons might endure for decades before their souls shatter, but this Liu Manzi is just too useless. With every refining, his soul is directly weakened, yet within the Sealing Soul Ball there’s nowhere to run, and it regathers only to endure the torment of Divine Fire Soul Refining again and again. The length of this torture is entirely up to the Prison Officer’s whim; if he is particularly vexed, then the cycle repeats endlessly, without rest. Many ancient deities and demons, upon hearing the name ’The Most Leisurely’, turn pale with fear."

Within this Sealing Soul Pearl, to suffer eternally a fate more terrible than the Karmic Fire! Ning Xiaoxian clenched the railing, her face turning pale.

"Changtian," she stammered after a while, "let his soul out. Although this man is despicable, he hasn’t committed any heinous crime... "

There was no response, but the Mysterious Netherworld Divine Fire within the "The Most Leisurely" suddenly disappeared, and the Sealing Demon Ball burst like a pricked bubble with a "pop." Liu Manzi’s soul, as if pardoned, wobbled and dove back into his physical body. The next breath, he opened his eyes, and upon seeing Ning Xiaoxian, he trembled in fright, kneeled on the ground and incessantly kowtowed, unable to utter a word, his face filled with extreme fear and terror.

"Come down, there’s nothing more to see," Changtian finally spoke. The two upstairs exchanged a glance, obediently coming down.

He knew her too well, merely by the look on her face he could tell that the girl had been frightened. He glanced at her: "Scared of me?"

Ning Xiaoxian shook her head with force. He would never treat her like that, what was there for her to fear? Even if Changtian ever got furious and smacked her behind, he did so with the lightest touch; otherwise, with her frail body, he could crush her in one grip. After being with him for so long, she had almost forgotten that this handsome man essentially possessed all the traits of an Ancient Giant Demon: ferocity, tyrannical nature, horror, and capriciousness. He once stood among the highest gods, coldly observing the world, indifferent to the value of life.

The tender undercurrents of a civilized society do not apply here. In this world, the masks of politeness are stripped between the strong and the weak, where the powerful dictate everything and the weak are at the mercy of others. It is truly survival of the fittest. Just look at how Changtian dealt with Liu Manzi, simply because he was annoyed for hurting Ning Xiaoxian’s soul - to kill if desired, to flay if pleased, and if he wished him to suffer, then Liu Manzi would live a fate worse than death. (To be continued. If you like this work, please go to qidian.com to cast your recommendation ticket, Monthly Ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)

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