Martial Ascent to Divinity

Liang Baiyin's small face had delicate skin, as if reflecting a faint moonlight. Her eyes shone like morning stars, and her pale lips exuded a pure and charming aura.

"Hello, Senior Brother Zhou Leng!" Liang Baiyin showed a joyful and kind smile. Clearly, they had just met a day ago, but there was no sense of unfamiliarity.

Zhou Leng took out the Magic Spirit Bag, handed it over, and said, "Thank you for the pill."

"Really grateful?" A look resembling a shooting star flashed through Liang Baiyin's eyes.

"Of course."

"Then to thank me, set a time to take me to the snack street for some snacks."

"This..."

"You were just talking about gratitude, and now you don't want to show it?" Liang Baiyin looked up, smiling cheerfully at Zhou Leng.

Zhou Leng nodded helplessly and said, "Alright."

"It's settled then!" Liang Baiyin exclaimed happily, waving her small fist.

Zhou Leng turned to leave, suddenly stopped, and took out two Wishing Pendants from his inner pocket.

"I borrowed the power of your Spirit Land Jade." Zhou Leng knew these two Wishing Pendants were very precious, but he had to bring them for safety.

"Ah?"

Liang Baiyin received them, stayed stunned for a moment, and then laughed, "Wishing Pendants are originally meant to keep people safe and sound. Helping you is for the best."

"Okay, then I'm off."

As Zhou Leng left, he was contemplating dispelling the demonic nature.

Liang Baiyin slightly opened her mouth, then waved and said, "Goodbye, Senior Brother Zhou Leng. Don't forget to take me for snacks."

"Alright." Zhou Leng left without looking back.

Liang Baiyin watched Zhou Leng's departing figure and couldn't help but laugh, "He's true to his name."

She gently caressed the two smooth Wishing Pendants.

"Just one year older than me, hasn't even finished the Replenishing Essence Pills, yet Elder Song praised him for two days. I really want to know how he cultivates..."

She spoke while spreading out her fair little hand, channeling True Qi.

The palm didn't move, but the two Wishing Pendants lightly bounced on it.

On the surface of her right hand, purple lines spread out.

A high school student, in the Early Period of Blood Transport.

Zhou Leng walked alone towards the station of the Shuizhou base.

Not far away, a team suddenly stopped.

Once Zhou Leng passed by, Fan Zhixing, with a pale face, looked at Zhou Leng's back and said, "It's him, I'd recognize him even if he turned to ash."

Tu Rong sighed, "Yes, it's Zhou Leng."

Mark looked at Zhou Leng's back, frowned, and said, "He looks a bit battered, with obvious injuries on his left leg, and demon blood and scars on his body. He must have fought with a demon, and it was a tough battle."

Fan Zhixing gritted his teeth and asked, "Just let him go like this?"

Mark chuckled and said, "In the territory of the Dragon Country, do you think I'm daring enough to act? Contact your boss; I can't be bothered."

Fan Zhixing sighed, picked up his phone, and contacted Yan Fenggang, the fifth of the Five Tigers of Shuizhou.

Zhou Leng didn't waste a minute and hurried back to Xiaoru Village at the fastest speed.

He posted a message in his friend circle about entering seclusion for cultivation.

Specifically told Xu Qingjin.

He ran to the Frost Giant Tree, where Huang greeted him with a joyful waggle.

Zhou Leng patted Huang's head and leaned against Elder Tree, briefly recounting today's battle.

Just in case something went wrong, he would have to rely on Elder Tree for support.

Huang kept pawing at Zhou Leng's chest, wanting to have a look.

"I have an idea, no need to rush," Zhou Leng said.

Huang nodded, lay down on the ground, and its black and white eyes looked at Zhou Leng with concern.

Zhou Leng sat cross-legged and circulated True Qi.

Qi Blood surged into his heart, flowing continuously through the blood vessels.

With the power of Martial Arts perception, he could feel a mass of flesh surrounding the heart, gradually merging with it.

This mass of flesh felt like a kind of pill, slowly integrating into his body.

However, deep within this mass of flesh seemed to hide a consciousness similar to a living entity.

Demonic nature, evil thoughts.

Zhou Leng didn't know how to describe it, the feeling was exceptionally clear.

Each time he sensed the demonic nature inside, Zhou Leng instinctively recalled the Magic Bag Garden and the Star of Dim Light.

Zhou Leng opened his eyes.

Whether it was Qi Manipulation or Blood Transport, neither had any effect on that demonic nature.

So he could only try his speculative methods.

Zhou Leng glanced at the Gate of Purgatory.

"Gate of Purgatory, first layer."

With a swoosh, Zhou Leng was pulled into it.

Returning to the Land of Blades, Zhou Leng was not afraid; instead, he was filled with anticipation.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, countless weapons continuously attacked.

Enduring pain on one side while perceiving the demonic nature in the heart.

At first, there was no change.

As more flesh was stripped away, the weapons began attacking the heart.

In the perception of Martial Arts, the demonic nature showed slight fluctuations.

Zhou Leng's eyes lit up, which meant his speculation was feasible.

One slash after another.

After more than a thousand slashes, more weapons hit the heart.

It wasn't long before the entire heart fell off.

"Hmm?"

Zhou Leng noticed that the weapons here were divided into two parts.

One part continued to attack his body.

The other part attacked the heart like mincing meat.

Soon, the heart was chopped into pulp, and the various weapons still kept attacking.

After an unknown period, Zhou Leng became completely numb, his body tilted, and his skeleton scattered.

Long after, Zhou Leng awoke, first consumed a pill, and then perceived his body.

Sure enough, the demonic nature weakened slightly.

And the number of attacks he endured had exceeded 4,000 slashes.

Zhou Leng withdrew his Martial Arts perception and pondered.

As his willpower strengthened with the tempering in the Land of Blades, what if the demonic nature also grew stronger?

The mere Land of Blades couldn't completely resolve the demonic nature.

Zhou Leng secretly glanced at the tree canopy.

Elder Tree seemed to have no intention of directly intervening.

Currently, there was only one solution.

Enter a higher level of the Gate of Purgatory.

As for the Evil God's Gaze... forget it, it's not necessary.

If it really doesn't work, he could only try layer by layer and see which level's trial had the greatest impact on the demonic nature.

After restoring his spirit, Zhou Leng ate a meal, turned, and looked at the Gate of Purgatory.

"Gate of Purgatory..."

Before Zhou Leng could say which layer, with a swoosh, he was pulled in.

Zhou Leng's vision alternated between darkness and light as overwhelming flames surged toward him.

The sky and the earth, in every direction, were all filled with dense, consuming flames.

The intense sensation of burning spread through his entire body, even stinging his nasal passages.

Zhou Leng hurriedly calmed his mind, visualizing the Frost Giant Tree while immersing himself in the flames, accepting the scorching heat.

Before long, his entire body was charred black, the skin cracking open.

This pain far surpassed that of the Land of Blades.

In mere seconds, his mind became dazed.

Zhou Leng gritted his teeth and persisted.

The more excruciating the pain, the more likely it was to dispel the Demon nature.

Ten seconds... Twenty seconds... Thirty seconds...

As soon as thirty seconds passed, the flames roared, engulfing Zhou Leng.

His flesh and blood fully carbonized, falling away in chunks.

Soon, his heart fell to the ground, leaving only an empty skeletal frame.

Afterward, Zhou Leng sensed that the flames around him had indeed faded significantly.

Though his eyes were scorched blind, unable to see the scene specifically, he could feel that at the spot where his heart fell, the fire blazed fiercely.

Suddenly, a subtle ripple of consciousness vibrated.

Right at the place where the heart had fallen.

Like a worm in a hot pot, bouncing about.

Zhou Leng, about to faint, sensed the Demon nature's struggle, and his spirit was invigorated.

The Mountain of Will glowed faintly.

An invisible power enveloped his body, reducing the sensation of the flames' burning pain.

The heart before Zhou Leng slowly turned to ashes.

A speck of dark light struggled and churned within the flames.

Like a prawn dropped in boiling water, it jumped frantically, distorted.

Sixty seconds passed.

The flames roared with a thunderous sound, the flames climbing as high as a story, growing increasingly vibrant red.

The crimson flames inundated the world.

Zhou Leng exerted every bit of his strength, gritting his teeth to endure.

Soon, his body turned to flying ash.

Time unknown, Zhou Leng slowly opened his eyes.

"Hiss..."

Looking downward, Zhou Leng realized he was outside, where everything seemed fine.

Yet, his body still felt scorching, as if being roasted by fire.

Zhou Leng immediately realized that the previous trial's impact on his spiritual will had materialized from the abstract.

The consciousness was so severely scorched that it believed the body couldn't heal, thereby affecting the brain, causing an illusion that the flesh was also injured.

Zhou Leng consumed a pill, lying quietly, awaiting the pain to dissipate.

He glanced at the Gate of Purgatory, information surfacing in his mind.

Gate of Purgatory, Fourth Layer, Red Lotus Fire Purgatory (75 seconds).

Then, Zhou Leng perceived his body through martial arts.

"Hmm?"

A glimmer of light flashed in Zhou Leng's eyes.

The unknown flesh and blood power actually accelerated its integration into the heart.

And, along the heart, it merged into the blood vessels.

The heart and blood vessels became stronger.

Originally, the method to enhance and cultivate the heart could only be accessed after advancing to the Innate stage.

Yet, deep within the heart, that Demon nature was faintly visible.

Weak like a candle in the wind.

It seemed, the Red Lotus Fire Purgatory suppressed the Demon nature far more than the Land of Blades.

Zhou Leng knew he had to root out the Demon's nature, so he rose to cultivate.

Gradually, the burning sensation waned.

Once the burning subsided, Zhou Leng immediately said, "Gate of Purgatory, Fourth Layer, Red Lotus Fire Purgatory."

The Gate of Purgatory spun again, drawing Zhou Leng in.

This time, with experience, the desire to erode the Demon nature grew stronger.

Zhou Leng's heart remained as calm as ice.

Before long, the flesh burned, the heart fell.

The flames split into two, one part burning Zhou Leng, the other the Demon nature.

The Mountain of Will released an invisible power, protecting Zhou Leng.

The minuscule Demon nature wriggled ceaselessly, like a flea on a hot griddle.

Soon after, Zhou Leng fainted.

Waking up, leaving the Gate of Purgatory, his whole body felt scorchingly painful.

Zhou Leng once again sensed through martial arts.

The Demon nature in the heart was completely undetectable.

Zhou Leng took a pill, meditated briefly, ate and drank to his fill, and looked toward the Gate of Purgatory.

"Gate of Purgatory, Fourth Layer, Red Lotus Fire Purgatory..."

At the moment of uttering these words, Zhou Leng felt as though someone deep within was cursing loudly.

Entering the Red Lotus Fire Purgatory for the third time, Zhou Leng's expression was calm.

As the heart fell, the Red Lotus Fire split into two again.

The method to test the Demon nature was found.

Although it stung a bit.

This time, the remaining Demon nature no longer struggled.

Like a salted fish lying still on the ground.

Zhou Leng was unmoved.

Leaving again, waking again.

After recovery, Zhou Leng entered the Red Lotus Fire Purgatory for the fourth time.

Soon the Red Lotus Fire split into two parts.

Zhou Leng let out a faint, cold laugh, continuing to accept the fierce roasting of the flames.

Then the fifth, the sixth time...

Zhou Leng entered for the seventh time.

As the heart hit the ground, the Red Lotus Fire split into two.

A piercing curse echoed on a spiritual level, incomprehensible to Zhou Leng, but it was the ugliest, angriest profanity he had ever heard in his life.

Then, a clear, shattering sound, like glass hitting the ground, rang out.

It seemed like something had broken.

Following this, a white and a black point of light floated in mid-air.

The black point gradually melted, the smaller yet more resilient white point entered Zhou Leng's body.

The Red Lotus Fire reunited, encompassing Zhou Leng again.

Zhou Leng's body turned to flying ash.

The contour of the ash dispersed into a smile.