Chapter 766: Refining Under the Crimson Light, Surging from Behind
As everyone rushed toward the second floor of the Body Refining Tower, Cai Lin and Mang Lie instead moved to stand beside Mo Yu.
Seeing Mo Yu calmly accept the baptism of the crimson light, Cai Lin instantly understood his intentions. Though worried, she knew from their years together in the Dou Qi Continent how firm his resolve was and how terrifying his endurance could be. She also trusted his strength completely.
She smiled faintly and said softly, "I'll wait for you up there."
Beside her, Mang Lie hesitated and added, "This crimson light burns spiritual power. If you can't endure it later, just will yourself to withdraw. You can leave the tower at any time."
Mo Yu's lips curved into a confident smile. "Don't worry. You two go on ahead. I'll catch up soon."
Cai Lin and Mang Lie nodded. No longer lingering, they activated their power—nine-colored energy and seven-colored force bursting outward—before transforming into twin meteors that shot off into the distance.
Once they were gone, silence returned.
Mo Yu lifted his head, eyes fixed upon the dark red sun above, and his smile grew sharper.
It was time to refine the body.
Boom!
The moment the last traces of spiritual power faded from his skin, the crimson light descended like a flood. Terrifying heat surged in from all directions.
Mo Yu's flesh began to sear almost instantly. Under the merciless glare of the red sun, his skin split and charred, and a bone-deep agony tore through his nerves, forcing a sharp breath through his clenched teeth.
"Ngh…"
With a muffled grunt, he circulated his power. Black light slowly emerged across his body as the phantom of the Heaven-Shaking Force Ape within his Supreme Sea stirred to life.
Its strength flowed through his veins, mending the scorched flesh with astonishing speed.
A faint coolness spread through him, easing a portion of the pain.
Feeling the torment lessen slightly, Mo Yu exhaled. Without his strengthened Divine Beast Body, even enduring the first blaze of this red light would have been nearly impossible.
"Let's see just how terrifying this first floor really is."
His gaze turned toward the depths of the desert, eyes calm and resolute. With that, he stepped down from the stone platform and walked directly into the crimson sand.
…
Outside the Refining Tower.
All the watching experts had fixed their gazes on the weathered stone tower, eyes drawn particularly to its first floor.
There, lights gathered upon the tower's surface, forming a glowing curtain. No clear figures could be seen within it, only twenty glowing dots that flickered faintly.
Each dot represented one of the twenty entrants, their individual auras faintly resonating through the barrier so that those outside could roughly gauge what was happening inside.
At the moment, nineteen of those dots were moving rapidly, racing forward at astonishing speed.
"Looks like the Scarlet Pythons' Ran Ben is in the lead for now," someone remarked as the foremost light was quickly identified by its energy signature.
"He's awakened the Forest Titan Python bloodline. It's only natural his speed would be outrageous."
"Han Yue and Xu Lie aren't far behind either…"
"The rest of those prodigies aren't weak either. Some might still get ahead and reach the second floor first."
The gathered experts murmured amongst themselves, watching the light curtain closely.
"Hey… looks like one person hasn't moved at all?"
A woman's mocking voice suddenly cut through the noise. "Judging from his energy, that's the human boy from the Celestial Swallowing Python Clan. Looks like he's too scared to advance."
A brief silence fell. Then, more eyes turned upward.
Sure enough—while nineteen light dots streaked ahead, one remained motionless at the far rear.
Several onlookers traded amused looks before casting their gazes toward Mang Yu. Previously, that human brat had been dazzling outside the tower, and the Swallowing Pythons had even secured three slots.
Yet now, upon entering the Refining Tower, he seemed completely out of his depth, squandering a precious chance.
Mang Yu bit her lip lightly. She did not know exactly what Mo Yu was doing—but after their time together, she believed he had his reasons.
…
In the boundless red-yellow desert, the crimson light poured down endlessly, enveloping everything.
Rustle, rustle.
In the dead silence, faint footsteps sounded.
A lone figure walked slowly across the scorched sand—Mo Yu.
Agony gnawed at him with every step. His flesh throbbed and burned, but his pace remained steady, unwavering.
He could feel the red light searing his flesh and burrowing into his bones. The pain was like molten iron poured over his body.
Yet, as the torment reached its peak, something else stirred within his flesh—a faint, explosive power accumulating in the depths of every muscle and fiber.
The blood and muscle beneath the charred surface seemed to greedily drink in the invading crimson power.
Each time his body endured a fresh wave of agony, it absorbed more of that destructive light—then subtly transformed it into tenacious vitality.
His Divine Beast Body, it turned out, could devour this crimson flame as nourishment.
"So that's how it is…"
His hands, stripped raw like skinned meat, trembled as he clenched them slowly. But alongside the pain, he felt a vigorous, burgeoning energy pulsing deep inside.
Half an hour in this inferno had felt like a walk through hell. Yet the gains in his body's strength were shocking.
Just this brief torment equaled or even surpassed the benefits from the Blood Spirit Embryo he had refined earlier.
His Divine Beast Body was now at the peak of small completion. One more step—and it would ascend to great completion.
At that point, his Heaven-Shaking Arms would evolve into Heaven-Shocking Divine Arms, unleashing strength that would defy belief.
The thought made one corner of his mouth twitch upward despite the pain. Even that tiny movement sent a fresh wave of agony bursting through his nerves.
But Mo Yu didn't care.
His dark eyes burned with heat and excitement. He could feel his body gradually adapting to the crimson light.
If this continued, he truly might complete the great stage of his Divine Beast Body within the tower. At that time, his flesh alone would reach a level that would astonish even himself.
He also sensed that as he adapted more fully to this first floor, the increase in strength was beginning to slow.
Soon, this layer's trial would no longer challenge him at all.
He licked his cracked lips, then stepped forward again, letting his body silently writhe and transform beneath the relentless light.
…
Eventually, Mo Yu came to a stop amid the sea of red-gold sand.
He lifted his head and stared directly up at the blazing crimson sun, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"The first floor has done enough."
He could sense clearly that his flesh was now fully attuned to this level's crimson light. The pain had diminished, and the gains had become marginal.
The first floor's tempering had reached its limit.
Black light flowed across his skin. In moments, the burned and cracked flesh began to heal rapidly, returning to a healthy, resilient state.
His eyes gleamed as he looked toward the distant horizon.
Next target—the second floor.
Deep within the desert, the endless sand finally broke away, revealing an end point.
There, a colossal curtain of crimson light draped from the sky to the ground, like a wall of fire splitting the world in two.
Even from afar, everyone could feel its horrifying power. The heat it radiated warped the very air—space itself seemed on the verge of being reduced to ash.
Compared to this barrier, the sun's light across the desert felt almost tame.
Before the crimson screen, several figures hovered in midair.
Ran Ben stood at the forefront, holding an umbrella-like artifact above his head that shielded most of the falling light.
Even so, sweat poured down his face. His skin was bone dry, his features flushed an unnatural red.
Not far off, Cai Lin, Mang Lie, Han Yue, and Xu Lie had also reached this place. All of them stared at the barrier with grim expressions.
They all understood how dangerous this barrier was. One wrong move might not kill them outright—but it would strip their defenses away layer by layer, leaving them broken.
Others soon arrived one by one, but no one dared charge in recklessly.
After a long, tense silence, Ran Ben finally gritted his teeth. Green light erupted around him.
A layer of emerald snakeskin unfurled from beneath his own, and green scales fanned across his skin like armor, encasing his body in a living shell.
Still not satisfied, he tossed out his artifact. It flared into a shimmering barrier of light that wrapped him completely.
Only after stacking all these defenses did he take a deep breath and step into the crimson wall.
Sizzle…
The first instant he crossed the boundary, his face twisted in agony. White smoke rose from his body as the green scales immediately began to melt.
The pain was so intense he felt like his scalp would tear open.
Yet as a top prodigy of the Scarlet Python Clan, he didn't retreat. He clenched his teeth, poured everything into his defenses, and forced his way deeper into the barrier.
Behind him, Han Yue, Xu Lie, and others frowned, but none dared lag too far behind.
They activated their own defensive treasures and techniques one after another, then launched themselves into the crimson screen.
"Ah!"
Not everyone had judged the barrier accurately. Some were nearly roasted alive within moments, their spiritual power severely weakened even if their flesh wasn't outright destroyed.
The screams only made those still pushing forward even more cautious. Their speeds dropped sharply as they inched forward like snails, bracing themselves for every new wave of burning torment.
"Mm?!"
Then, suddenly, their expressions all changed.
They turned their heads sharply toward the far reaches of the desert.
There, a single streak of light raced straight toward them, cutting across the sky. In less than ten breaths, it reached the crimson barrier.
The speed stunned everyone.
Who would dare move that fast under such burning light? Weren't they afraid of being reduced to ash?
"That is…"
Dozens of eyes narrowed.
As the figure came into focus, a familiar silhouette emerged—a young man with black hair, standing tall and calm.
"That human boy!"
"That's Mo Yu?!"
Ran Ben's pupils shrank, his eyes growing darker. He could scarcely believe it.
They had left that human far behind them. Yet in such a short time, he'd not only caught up, but done so in a way that none of them could match.
Even he could not travel so swiftly beneath the sun's blaze.
At the side, Cai Lin smiled faintly, not at all surprised. Mang Lie let out a quiet breath of relief.
This, after all, was the external incarnation of an Earth Sovereign. Surprises like this were almost to be expected.
"Hmph. So he caught up," someone muttered darkly. "So what? The crimson light here is far more terrifying than outside. A mere human body stepping into that will be obliterated in an instant."
They sneered inwardly, convinced he would not dare enter.
Mo Yu, however, simply smiled.
Under their disbelieving gazes, he stepped forward without hesitation—and calmly walked into the crimson barrier.
(END CHAPTER)
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