Chapter 124: The Essence of Heaven – Forging Faith Beyond Life and Death

Humans are strange creatures. Sometimes, things that happen cannot be understood through common sense, because what occurs in one’s consciousness might never be remembered or recalled.

Time seemed to have passed unknowingly, and Liu Yi had no idea what time it was. He felt an intense heat around him, even hotter than that of fire. Thirsty and exhausted, he gradually opened his eyes. Slowly, he looked around—what had happened? Where was he? Why was he here?

Liu Yi appeared very weak. Using the last remnants of his strength, he slowly stood up. His unsteady body showed that he had little energy left. He realized that the “Lanerfina Qing” meditation technique within him was automatically activating, creating a protective aura around him to shield him from the extreme heat. Yet, despite this protection, he still felt unbearably hot.

He saw the “Sorrowful Dream” sword lying peacefully on the ground. Something must have happened. Liu Yi tried hard to recall from the depths of his memory, but all he could remember was descending into this volcano and arriving by this lake of magma. Then, a terrifying fire dragon appeared, and its aura caused him to lose consciousness. He had no idea what happened after that.

Liu Yi picked up the “Sorrowful Dream” sword and slung it at his waist, striving to remember more. But no matter how hard he tried, his memory only went back to the moment before he lost consciousness; he knew nothing else. As for where the fire dragon was now, he had no idea.

Lost in confusion, Liu Yi gazed into the magma. Suddenly, a flash of white light caught his attention. What was that? At the center of the magma lake, he saw a white, transparent stone, about the size of a fist, shaped like an octagon. Despite being in the midst of the magma, it was untouched by it, and its surroundings remained white, without any reflection of the magma’s red color.

At that moment, Liu Yi forgot everything else in his mind, completely absorbed by the wonder of this stone. It was exactly the “Heavenly Essence Ore” described by the Wolf King. But why hadn’t he noticed it when he first arrived?

Of course, Liu Yi was confused and unaware, as he couldn’t remember how he had killed the fire dragon. It was understandable—he couldn’t possibly know what happened in his own consciousness. And this “Heavenly Essence Ore” was the essence of the fire dragon. After its death, that essence floated above the magma. After all, evolved beings always leave behind something of great value. But this so-called evolution only applies to non-living entities such as elves, beasts, and demons. The evolution of humans, ghosts, immortals, and demons can only occur over a very long period of time.

Liu Yi could no longer contain his excitement. After traveling day and night without complaint, he had finally reaped the rewards. What he didn’t know was that he had almost been devoured by this sea of fire for this “Heavenly Essence Ore.” Without further thought, he turned sideways, gripped the black sword hilt with his left hand, and slowly reached for the long sword handle with his right, sensing the sword’s sorrow and its will. Weak as he was, he forced the “Lanelfina Qing” meditation technique to its twelfth level once again. He intended to use the “Sorrowful Four Styles” to sever that face forcefully, then rush in at top speed to retrieve the “Heavenly Essence Ore.”

A hurricane swept through his white hair, stirring up dust around him. As a red glow flashed in Liu Yi’s eyes, a crescent-shaped sword beam was instantly slashed out, swiftly splitting the scorching magma into two, creating a gap in between. Seizing the opportunity, Liu Yi quickly invoked “Sorrowful Dream” and rushed toward the “Heavenly Essence Ore” lying on the ground in the gap, lifting a wisp of dust that quickly merged with the molten rock behind it. Liu Yi had already grabbed the white “Heavenly Essence Ore” and headed straight for the open cave entrance. Strangely, the ore was not hot at all but rather carried a hint of coolness. It seemed that all things in the world were interdependent—just as where venomous snakes lurked, there were always flowers and plants within seven steps that could counteract their venom or serve as antidotes.

Liu Yi rushed straight up toward the cave above. He knew there must be something strange here, but in his urgency, he couldn’t afford to worry further, as time was running out. He activated the twelfth level of “Lanelfina Qing” and charged straight at the transparent barrier above, emerging without making a sound…

Yet success always comes at a cost. Already weak, he had exhausted a great deal of his vital energy by forcing the meditation technique to its limit twice in a row after waking up. His internal organs were also damaged from the backlash of such forceful exertion. Standing on his flying sword, Liu Yi quickly put on the “Wraith” mask and spat out a mouthful of black blood—blood of fury…

Liu Yi wasn’t worried that this blood of fury would attract the demon race, because aside from the fire dragon, there was only the green serpent on this island. In his memory, the fire dragon was sealed in that cave and couldn’t escape, while the green serpent didn’t have any strength to match him.

Liu Yi quickly flew back to Yucun and slowly descended, retracting the “Sorrowful Dream” sword. By now, many fishermen had gathered, as they had all witnessed the return of this “hero.” But they also saw the blood at the corner of his mouth.

Hailan rushed over with her younger sister Hailing, looking at Liu Yi’s pale face and saying, “Big brother isn’t that old. Why do you have so much white hair? Hmm… Why is there blood at your mouth?”

Liu Yi looked at little Hailan and said, “Big brother is fine. It’s just a minor injury. I’ll be fine soon.”

At that moment, Haicha approached Liu Yi and said, “Hero, I think you’d better rest here for a while. Your complexion looks very poor. I’m worried something might happen to you. You’re our savior. If anything happens to you, we won’t be able to bear it.”

Liu Yi shook his head and said, “Brother Hai, thank you. But I really have an urgent matter. I think… that matter is more important than my life. I came back here just to say goodbye to you.”
Hai Cha looked at Liu Yi, somewhat reluctant, and said, “If you have time, you must come and see us. We can’t travel everywhere like you can, nor can we reach your continent. We can only ask you to fly over and see us.”
Liu Yi smiled and nodded, saying, “I will.” It was another smile from Liu Yi. He felt the simplicity of these fishermen and their concern, which brought a warm feeling to his heart.
Hai Lan looked at Liu Yi and said, “Big brother, you must keep your word. We’re all waiting for you to come and see us next time.”
Liu Yi nodded and said, “Yes, Little Lan, be good. Big brother will definitely come back to see you.” Liu Yi glanced at everyone else and said, “Goodbye, everyone.” Without waiting for a reply, he summoned ‘Sorrowful Dream’ and, with his pale and weak body, coughed a few times before slowly disappearing into the night…
Perhaps this was fate, or perhaps it was predestined. At the moment Liu Yi flew into the air, a deep blue glow descended from the sky and landed on the ground.
Hai Lan rushed over with her sister Hai Ling, picked up the fallen object—it was a book. Under its golden cover were sixteen blue gems that reflected blue light, looking extremely beautiful in the darkness. Hai Lan said to herself, “This book fell from big brother.”
Hai Ling finally spoke. She was three years younger than Hai Lan, shorter in stature, and seemed not yet very sensible. She said, “Sis, we can’t read. Let’s ask the teacher in the village to help us look at it.”
Hai Lan nodded and said, “Okay, okay. Let’s first see what’s written in this book. Then we’ll wait for big brother to come and get it.”
And so things unfolded. The hand of fate reached out to these two children again. But could they understand this story? Even if they did, how many years would pass? By then, perhaps ‘Cursed Love’ would have already described Liu Yi’s three lifetimes, or it might leave something even more precious for these two little girls. But… what would that be?
Perhaps they would appear in the story, or perhaps they would simply vanish quietly… An inevitable destiny cannot be avoided, and ordinary people cannot become extraordinary.