Chapter 788: My Mo Li (Part 1)
Yun Che casually examined his injuries, then gathered his focus and walked toward the Netherworld Brahma Flower. The four petals were releasing a dreamlike purple light that was eerily enchanting. When he got within fifty zhang of it, the sensation of an invisible hand tugging at his soul became clear. Yun Che stopped, took a deep breath, and said calmly, "Mo Li, rest assured. I'm not foolish enough to overestimate myself and go to my death, especially since my life is tied to yours. The reason I almost had my soul separated by the Netherworld Brahma Flower earlier was mainly because I hadn't experienced its terror before and lacked sufficient precautions."
"But now I roughly understand the method of its soul-separation, and with only four petals left, it's far less frightening than before. If I give it my all and try, there's a chance of success. And I have the Heavenly Poison Pearl on me; as long as I can get close to it, plucking it will be simple."
"If the final result ends in utter defeat and I feel there's no hope, I'll give up."
"Hmph!" Mo Li said angrily. "Anyway, no matter how much I try to stop you, it's useless. I can't be bothered to care about you anymore! When you're tormented to the point of begging for death later, don't blame me for not warning you multiple times!"
"I understand."
Yun Che's hands slowly clenched, and his brows furrowed so tightly they were almost vertical... The terror of having his soul seized by the Netherworld Brahma Flower earlier—he was certain he would never forget it in his lifetime. Just thinking about it now made his entire soul involuntarily tremble, and a strong fear began to fester in his heart.
If what lay before him were a rare treasure, a supreme profound weapon, or ten thousand jin of divine crystals, he would turn around without hesitation and not even spare a second glance... He absolutely did not want to experience that soul-separation pain again.
But what lay before him was the Netherworld Brahma Flower... the only Netherworld Brahma Flower in the world.
"I will succeed!"
"Hah!!"
Yun Che murmured softly, then let out a low shout. Flames erupted from his entire body, and he leapt into the air, charging with all his might toward the Netherworld Brahma Flower.
Last time, when he approached the Netherworld Brahma Flower and endured its soul-separation force, all his power instantly collapsed... So this time, he wanted to try using the inertia of his extreme speed to rush directly in front of the Netherworld Brahma Flower in an instant.
Ding...
The purple light before his eyes expanded, and the entire world suddenly lost sound. Then, countless icy steel needles frenziedly stabbed into his soul. Countless cold hands reached out from the abyss, desperately tearing at every corner of his soul...
Bang!!
Yun Che crashed heavily from the air, the flames on his body completely extinguished. The immense agony of his soul being torn and pulled caused his face, limbs, and body to convulse violently. Every cell and every strand of hair trembled and twisted in pain.
He clenched his teeth so hard they seemed ready to shatter, forcing himself not to scream. Under the tremendous pain, his vision became a blur, but he could still clearly see that unusually brilliant purple light, about fifteen zhang away from him.
It was precisely this purple light that tenaciously supported his will, which was almost completely devoured. He propped himself up with all his strength and moved one step toward the direction of the purple light...
That single short step of closing distance... In an instant, the original thousand needles transformed into ten thousand blades...
"Ahhh!!!!"
When he had killed the Shiyue Mojun at the cost of half his life, with his body nearly shattered into pieces, Yun Che hadn't let out a single groan of pain. But at this moment, he let out a blood-curdling scream. That one step felt like stepping from hell into the deepest hell within hell. He felt his soul, along with his body, being torn into thousands and tens of thousands of pieces in an instant. This pain exceeded the limits of what Yun Che could endure, and even surpassed his understanding of pain...
Along with the immense fear that wildly spawned from this pain!
Fear instantly swallowed all of Yun Che's remaining will and courage to move forward. His twisted body reacted instinctively, scrambling backward.
With each step back, the agony of his soul being cut and pulled rapidly diminished. As his mind cleared, he naturally regained more control over his power. Yun Che stumbled backward, then rolled on the ground several times before finally retreating to a distance he could bear. He knelt on both knees, supporting himself with his arms, panting heavily. Sweat poured down his head like rain, and the ground between his arms was quickly soaked.
"Haah... haah... haah..."
The heavy breathing and full-body trembling continued for over ten breaths without stopping. At this moment, Yun Che was like someone who had just endured the cruelest torture in the world—no! That pain was far, far more terrifying than any torture he could imagine.
He turned his head, lifting his ashen face to look at the spot he had reached earlier. There, only fifteen zhang from the Netherworld Brahma Flower, he had felt the limits of what he could endure. One more step forward—just a small step—and he couldn't bear it.
He simply couldn't imagine how terrifying the hell would be if he advanced another step. And within one step of the Netherworld Brahma Flower, what kind of horrifying world lay beyond.
Fifteen zhang... to him under normal circumstances, it was nothing but an insignificant distance.
But here, it was longer and more despairing than ten thousand miles.
One step, one abyss... one step, one chasm!
"Are... you alright?" Mo Li's voice carried concern. But she seemed to realize this and immediately switched to a cold snort: "Hmph! This is the result of your overestimating yourself! I'll say it again: the Netherworld Brahma Flower is simply not something someone at your level can approach! As for the pain of soul-seizure, you've experienced it twice now! Honestly, it's already quite impressive that you haven't broken down. Because this kind of pain—not to mention you—even I... or even the legendary gods, find it hard to bear!"
By the time Mo Li finished speaking, Yun Che had already stood back up. He turned around and stared once more in the direction of the Netherworld Brahma Flower. Only this time, there was no longer the same determination in his eyes; instead, there was a dense fear.
Over the years, Yun Che had known fear—oppressive pressure, the approach of death, uncontrollable natural forces...
But this was the first time he had felt fear because of "pain."
Crack!
Yun Che snapped the bones of two fingers on his left hand with his own grip... But not a single twitch appeared on his pale face, because this pain, compared to the soul-seizure agony just now, was no more than a mosquito bite or an insect sting.
He lifted his foot and walked step by step toward the Netherworld Brahma Flower.
"What are you doing?" His action startled Mo Li. She knew the horrific pain Yun Che had just endured and had sensed the fear it instilled in him. She thought Yun Che would never try to approach the Netherworld Brahma Flower again no matter what... maybe he wouldn't even dare to look at it again. But he was actually... approaching once more!
"I... haven't... failed yet!" Yun Che said heavily. Even the words he spoke now carried a faint tremor of fear!
"You... you really won't give up, will you? Are you the type who won't shed tears even at the sight of your coffin?" Mo Li shouted in exasperation.
"This Netherworld Brahma Flower... it's right in front of me, only a short twenty zhang away! If I lose the courage to even try again just because of such a small obstacle, how can I ever... face you in the future!"
"Me!?" Mo Li was stunned. "Such a small obstacle"? That was far from a "small obstacle"! The pain of the body is rooted in the soul, and the pain of the soul cannot be compared to physical pain at all. The true agony of a pierced soul—Mo Li had endured it herself when she inherited the Tiansha Xingshen's profound energy. So she understood what kind of pain it was! Someone as strong as her still trembled at the memory of it, and even in this lifetime, she would never have the courage to endure it a second time!
And yet Yun Che, for the sake of this incomplete Netherworld Brahma Flower, was going to endure it a third time!!
Yun Che didn't wait for Mo Li's reply. With a roar, and before Mo Li's subconscious cry of alarm, he once again charged toward the Netherworld Brahma Flower.
Fifteen zhang...
At this same distance, Yun Che's entire power dissipated. He fell to the ground in agony. He forced his eyes wide open, nearly bursting, clenched his teeth as if they might shatter at any moment, and roared as he took a large step forward.
"Waaaaaahhh!!"
A heart-rending scream spread through every corner of the Shiyue Demon Cave, so piercing that even the pebbles on the ground trembled. In that instant of soul-tearing pain, Yun Che couldn't describe it with any words. It even gave rise to the terrifying thought of killing himself immediately to escape this suffering.
All that poured into his body, his remaining will, and his remaining strength, was the urge to "escape"—escape at all costs! Amidst the continuous screams, Yun Che's body convulsed and rolled. When his consciousness returned to sufficient clarity, he had already rolled back to beyond twenty zhang.
Yun Che's face was even paler. His entire body curled up like a dying insect, trembling violently. Beneath him was a spreading pool of cold sweat. He clenched his teeth tightly... This time, it took a full thirty breaths before his body stopped shaking.
"Enough. Don't try again. How many times do I have to tell you? You can't succeed. You'll only suffer for nothing!" This time, Mo Li didn't scold him. Her words carried a faint tremor. She had been absolutely certain that anyone with the strongest will, after enduring the pain of soul-seizure once, would carry the shadow of a lifelong nightmare and wouldn't even dare to recall it. But Yun Che... had forced himself to charge forward again and again.
And the reason he was so desperate, even willing to repeatedly force himself into an abyss that even gods feared, was not for his own selfish desires... but for her!!
Back on the Primordial Mystic Ark, under the spatial storm, Yun Che had endured extreme physical pain. That he held on was admirable, but not too surprising to Mo Li. But compared to soul pain, physical pain... it was an entirely different level!!
Forcibly tearing the soul from the body... was infinitely more painful than pulling out every bone and blood vessel from the body, tens of thousands of times over!