Shi Lang had just picked up the soil in his hand and ran out of the garden, when he found that the heat from the soil did not only burn his body, but it was attacking his soul too. The Terran was strong but he still felt the burn from the heat.
He grit his teeth and rushed towards the exit. The distance that he covered in five minutes earlier was no longer as small as before. The hot winds were concentrated and rushed against him. Shi Lang's burns were getting worse, some places even revealed a little of his bone.
The Terran took a deep breath and bought out Raksha from his space ring. At this moment, he was not capable of channeling his sword intent because he was busy protecting his soul. The sword trembled and created a sword intent barrier around him. He was cutting through the hot winds.
Every step took a lot of effort from him. Raksha said, "Do you think you will last through this trial?"
Shi Lang said, "I might if I try. Don't be pessimistic about it and do not talk to me."
Raksha did not retort him, because she could tell that this heat was not ordinary. She was a heavenly artifact, even the hottest of the flames could not leave a mark on her. She said, "Blindly rushing forward will not help, try to comprehend the secret of this flame, it will help."
Since, Raksha was fending off the flames, the pressure on him eased up a little. Shi Lang closed his eyes to gain some insight on the flames. He began by sensing the heat from his body. Flames were not tangible, but the heat that burnt him left its mark.
Shi Lang sensed the heat, and his body and he found that his body was not completely damaged, his bones were constantly getting stronger, and the process wasn't slow either. However, while this was a good thing, if the pressure exceeded a certain limit, it will make his bones brittle too.
Shi Lang realized that this heat was burning away every smallest impurity in his body, and the soil was cleansing his soul. He took a deep breath and said, "Raksha, you might have to drag me forward. I cannot spend a long time here, but I know what I want to do."
Raksha nodded and waved her hand to pull him along as she moved slowly. Shi Lang focused on the heat that was channeling inside him. He used the element of lightning and was not unfamiliar with the heat and burns. However, while his lightning focused on destruction and eliminating everything in its path, the flames in his body burned to purify.
The Terran tried to sense the flames in his body, and succeeded too, his comprehension was not bad. He guided the heat inside his dantian. Raksha was carrying him, and she sensed this. She opened her eyes wide and said, "This guy, does he intend to burn himself to cinders?"
At this moment, she heard a mellow voice, "Oh, you are wrong."
The voice belonged to the blue sparrow that had a tint of red on her feathers now. Hou Bing had been sitting on Shi Lang's shoulder all this while, she was absorbing the heat from the flames to cultivate quickly. Raksha said, "You are the reason why the flames are surging so much?"
Hou Bing replied, "I cannot help it, I had to come here to cultivate. It would be a waste of an opportunity."
She was acting selfishly but it was not a big deal. Raksha narrowed her gaze and the bird said, "Do not look at me like that, I would have helped him when he really needed it. Do not underestimate him. He is just cautious and so he called you."
Shi Lang did not care, he did not have the luxury to divert his attention from the heat at all. It was going cause him to explode. As he condensed the swirling heat, the inflow of the energy increase even more. Raksha and Hou Bing sensed this change and they both smiled at each other.
Raksha was halfway through the distance and she said, "I will open a hole in the barrier, can you guide the flame to him?"
Hou Bing nodded and said, "Certainly."
Raksha opened a hole as she said, and Hou Bing waved her feathers, the hot winds formed a drill and hit Shi Lang directly on the abdomen. The Terran shivered, and coughed up some blood from the sudden increase of intensity.
His body shivered, but he grit his teeth and clenched his fists to stabilize the situation. The soil in his hand seemed to be squeezed of its juices and channeled the heat to his soul. Almost setting him on fire. Shi Lang groaned but he endured and channeled the energy in his dantian, his speed was quicker as he had the idea what to do.
The vermilion trace in his dantian intensified. Sparks of embers were flying every now and then. Shi Lang began to chant his cultivation sutra verbally. Raksha created a barrier around him that prevented any noise to be heard by any stranger.
Hou Bing was shocked and asked, "Does he often do it?"
Raksha replied, "You have no idea, this kid is anything but easy to handle. He is like a problem child, I swear. His genius aside, his flaws are seriously appalling."
Hou Bing nodded, and Shi Lang continued what he was doing, as he reached closer to the entrance the swirling heat in his body had transformed into a flame tornado. Raksha took him out of the garden and said, "Open your hand, idiot, your soul is injured."
Shi Lang coughed up a mouthful of blood and opened his eyes as he yelled, "Tsuu Ching, you brat, wait for me to recover, I will beat the shit out of you."
He fell to the ground and his body began to heal. While Tsuu Ching stood before him with an awkward smile and said, "Boss, you see, it is not me who made these rules."
Shi Lang did not reply, Raksha asked, "Can you tell him if he passed the trial?"
Tsuu Ching said, "My Lady, the trial is consisted of five rounds. Passing one does not mean anything. Boss will have till the morning to rest and go on for the next round."
Shi Lang barked, "Get out of my sight, you brat."
Tsuu Ching chuckled as he left, but not before saying, "Boss, your head will give the moon a run for it's money."