Chương 352: Reverse Refining

There were many puzzles from the beginning that Long Feng couldn't understand. How had dozens of Peak imperials died in here? Why wasn't there a single sign or corpse? What was this strange ominous aura that flooded the place? And right now, what was this orb? The extreme pain enlightened him to the answers to some of these questions. The orb was trying to assimilate him! That was the only explanation to everything. The tearing pain that filled him, his cells rupturing, his very body breaking down slowly…

This wasn't torture. This was refinement. The strange aura was the flame that would refine him into whatever the orb wanted. This space served as a furnace to amplify the effects, just like during pill refinement. Many past Imperials had tried to clear this so called inheritance ground. Over the years, people had different ideas about what the danger could be. But no one would expect that it would be the very aura that existed throughout this ground. Long Feng himself nearly died the first time.

His mind was conditioned to expect a danger he could see, calculate and respond to. That was a general understanding for all the disciples. Unfortunately, that expectation was a huge flaw here; the very core of the deaths. It was too easy to be caught off guard by this danger one couldn't even sense or anticipate. Deities wouldn't know that. They would only think the aura was meant to suppress their cultivation the deeper they went. At a certain point if they couldn't continue, they would retreat.

To them, they believed that the threat were the puppets. For Peak imperials though, it wasn't that simple. From the very moment they entered this hallway, they had already sealed their fates. There was no exit, and even if one stayed at the far end of the hall where the aura wasn't at all thick, it was likely that they would still be refined. This place was a huge trap, a burial ground for Imperials and some deities alike, and somehow, this orb was the foundation of it all.

"It's consciousness is even more unstable than that of a baby, making it's intelligence and sentience to be basically nothing. Back when I fell unconscious, it mistook me for dead, just like the many peak Imperials before me. It immediately brought me here, thinking I was a corpse." Long Feng's mind whirled rapidly as he deduced this. That would explain why there was no corpse at all in the hallway. Immediately an Imperial died, they would be brought here to be fully refined and assimilated by the orb.

The orb wasn't able to confirm if one was really dead or not with it's intelligence, but it didn't matter. Death was a foregone conclusion to anyone who entered this furnace. Long Feng was in that exact situation. The orb didn't immediately begin to refine him after it brought him here, which has actually kept him alive until now. Otherwise, if he was being refined while unconscious, his soul would evaporate silently without him ever knowing how he died.

When he woke up and stood up, the orb appeared, it's disordered mind feeling curious. Wasn't he supposed to be dead? Then the panic set in. That was why the orb had panicked fiercely. It seemed to dislike the idea of a living person being in this furnace. It's chaotic mind couldn't comprehend how a 'dead' person could move, so it panicked and reacted in it's panic which led to this very situation right now.

"I don't know what'll happen if I'm refined, but my soul will be destroyed. I will silently be erased just like the Imperials before me!" This thought cleared Long Feng's mind even more. The pain he was resisting had begun to affect his sanity slowly and he could only resist for a few more seconds. He focused his mind and began to rapidly think of a way out of this. Each second that passed meant more of his cells were slowly crumbling. His strong body had largely contributed to his continued survival even now.

Refining his body was slightly harder than usual but it still meant nothing. With enough time, he would have no body to speak of. It was now that his mind went to the orb inside his body. This was most certainly the process of the refinement. It would stay in his body and devour him as he broke down until nothing was left of him. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work! Another second passed and the extreme pain began to obscure his senses again.

Long Feng bit his tongue to forcefully clear his mind again, them gritted his teeth so hard that his gums bled.

"You want to refine me? F*ck! I'll refine you first! Let's see who wins!" He roared in his mind with scarlet eyes. He had thought of everything and couldn't figure out a method of survival. His strength was sealed, his body was breaking apart and his soul was slowly dimming. This was already the recipe for death in this place. But he wasn't willing to concede, not yet and not ever. The orb was already in his body… if he couldn't do anything outside, then he might as well turn his body into the battlefield.

If this orb could refine him, then he could also do the same! The orb was basically a big ball of unique energy that somehow gained a very tiny and unstable consciousness. Long Feng couldn't be bothered to ponder on how that could be possible. As long as it was energy, it could always be refined. That was a basic law of energy. It should be impossible for others. Their spirit cores were meant to hold energy which they actively refined, and it has certain limits. Pushing past those limits would cause disaster.

But Long Feng's spirit cyclone was different. It was unique in this world, a spinning cyclone that could absorb energy on it's own without end. Although it also had limits which was proportional to his cultivation, it was still a much more perfect system than the spirit core. The Cyclone was always revolving externally, releasing energy for Long Feng's use. Long ago he already had an idea that a real cyclone was more devouring based, meaning it devoured more than it released energy.

That principle could apply to his own spirit cyclone as well. If he could unfreeze his spirit cyclone once again and get it to revolve inwardly… the devouring force it would exude would be spectacular. Long Feng was fully aware that this was extremely risky. He didn't know if his cyclone could actually do it, nor did he know if it could withstand whatever energy this orb was formed from. But at this point, anything was acceptable as long as it didn't harm his cultivation or his life. Surviving came first.

"Even if I die, you'll damn sure not have it easy as well!" Long Feng grinned ferociously, revealing his blood filled mouth.

"Revolve!" He roared, trying to push his spirit cyclone to move even a bit. But the suppression here was over twice the one in the hallway. Even back then, it wasn't easy for the cyclone to break free. It could only get harder. The cyclone didn't budge even a bit. Veins popped up in Long Feng's eyes as he roared mentally.

"Revolve! Revolve!! Damn it Move!" This was something he could do previously with just a thought and zero effort, but now he was giving it all he could to barely move the cyclone. His efforts weren't in vain though. A tiny fluctuation appeared in the cyclone, followed by a ripple passing through the frozen mass of energy. A terrifying force seeped out of the cyclone, crushing the invisible shackles binding it. A wave of energy burst out of the Dantian and spreading to his body with explosive power.

The aura suppressing his cultivation was like dry twigs standing in the path of a river, barely resisting before being shattered to fragments. Massive fluctuations of chaotic emotions emerged from Long Feng's body as a blue glow struggled to break out of his chest with panic and confusion being the most obvious emotions. A muffled laugh escaped Long Feng's mouth as he sensed the panic and escape attempt of the orb. His grin coupled with the blood smeared all over his face gave him a rather terrifying appearance.

"Want to run? Hahaha-…" his laugh was interrupted by a fit of coughing that sent waves of pain tearing through his brain.

"Reverse…" he muttered with exhaustion. His spirit cyclone instantly froze once again, but the fluctuations in it grew extremely destructive. An incomprehensible force seemed to be brewing within it, stretching a split second into several minutes. The orbs glow had already begun to penetrate Long Feng's chest. It was just about to exit his body and escape. But it was destined to be unable to escape easily. The spirit cyclone began to move… slowly… forcefully.

It rotated in a clockwise motion, but instead of revolving outwards, it did the opposite and revolved into itself. A terrifying devouring force poured out of the cyclone, filling this space of the Dantian and then exploding into Long Feng's body. Long Feng's blood, his energy, his organs, everything began to stretch under the devouring force, as though the cyclone was going devour him as well. All of his energy was directly swallowed into the bottomless cyclone before he could even react.

His blood began to flow in reverse, causing his body to twitch painfully while he coughed up blood. The blood that had flowed out of his body from the beginning was already enough to form a tiny puddle of blood floating around him due to the restricted gravity here. Long Feng's mind was overwhelmed by the pain, but his excitement was still palpable. This crazy plan of his… had actually worked! The devouring force rampaged through his body, searching for anything to devour.

And then it sensed the presence of the orb that was already halfway out of his body. More force surged as the devouring force latched onto the orb that was almost free. The strange aura in this space began to surge and thicken to a terrifying level, but no matter how the aura poured into Long Feng's body, it was not able to cause the slightest wave. It was directly devoured cleanly in a continuous flow.

It reached such an extent that the devouring force extended out of Long Feng's body and began to absorb the ominous aura that suffused this space on its own. This was nothing short of overbearing. The orb itself wasn't having an easy time. It's panic was palpable as it was slowly pulled back into Long Feng's body, unable to escape no matter how hard it struggled. Seconds later, it was fully restricted by the devouring force and was steadily being pulled towards the Dantian.

The already unstable consciousness of the orb began to unravel as it reached a level of panic it had never imagined. It's basic consciousness began to slowly crumble, and if it exuded more of this panic, it would destroy it's own mind without the devouring force doing much. Long Feng's lips rose in a thin smile as he finally succumbed to his exhaustion and most consciousness once again. The spirit cyclone was now acting entirely on it's own instincts, latching onto the most powerful energy nearby to devour.

And that energy happened to be the strange orb which was fiercely struggling. But no matter what it did, it couldn't break free from the shackles of the devouring force. Long Feng's chest was a mess already with his organs displaced and his blood flowing in reverse into his Dantian. Much more of this treatment would be the final string that would push him across the line of life and death. The orb's resistance grew weaker as it drew closer to the Dantian while the devouring force grew stronger.

At some point, the orb ceased it's resistance and became calm, exceptionally calm. Even it's emotions became as still as the surface of a river. One couldn't help but feel that this was a calm before the storm. The devouring force grew even stronger, pulling the orb till it was merely inches away from the Dantian. Suddenly, a tiny flow of crystalline blue energy erupted from the orb. The energy was very little, just about a few strands, yet the power it contained was soul stirring.

This was most certainly true essence, but one of a much higher level than anything Long Feng could imagine. It's power could easily outshine the true essence of mid stage deities. Long Feng's bones and organs around that energy silently crumbled into nothing from the sheer might of the energy. Even the devouring force was completely suppressed by the energy's appearance.

The orb lost a great deal of it's glow after releasing these few strands of aura and it quickly began to rush out of Long Feng's body, causing a great deal of damage to his organs. But just as it was about to escape, the devouring force rebounded with even stronger might, resisting the true essence and once again surrounding the orb. Even then, it was only able to stop the orb from escaping.

It was completely unable to devour it due to the energy protecting the orb, while the orb was unable to escape due to the terrifying devouring force. A temporary standstill between the two shocking forces was formed, with neither able to accomplish their goals. The devouring force held the advantage though. It was constantly devouring the ominous aura that filled this space, and it was slowly getting stronger the more it devoured.

In time, it would get frightening enough to disregard the mysterious true essence protecting the orb and devour it, while the orb itself was only weakening the longer it was here.