Chapter 62: Your Destiny is to Die!

Minutes earlier...

Outside, Lin Xu was locked in an agonizing battle.

The heat he had been suppressing finally erupted in full force. His body burned with pain, and every cell seemed to contribute to the source of his torment—the golden fire. His only remaining hope was the Twilight Mist Clover, but he knew time was running out.

— "Terrible timing... Terrible moment!" — Lin Xu grunted, clenching his teeth to endure the consuming pain. He raised his sword, now engulfed in intense golden flames. The fire wasn't just a weapon; it was an extension of his own agony, a manifestation of the power devouring him.

— "If you think this will kill me... you're wrong!" — he roared toward the sky, his eyes filled with determination as he attacked the beast.

With a swift and precise motion, he struck the beast, his sword colliding with the creature in an impact that made the ground tremble. The golden fire spread as if the bear's bloody aura were oil, enveloping the creature in flames that seemed alive.

The bear roared in pain: — "Rooooar!" — The flames covered its entire aura in seconds.

The creature, driven mad by the pain, tried to extinguish the flames by rolling on the ground and crashing into debris, but the fire was relentless. Within moments, it began consuming its body.

As for Lin Xu, after the strike, the pain in his body increased exponentially. His veins bulged under his skin, marked by the intense heat consuming him, forcing him to kneel, leaning on his sword as he fought to stay conscious.

'I need to hold on! I won't succumb now, I still have a chance!' — His fists clenched around the sword. His mind seemed to waver amidst the pain but quickly steadied as he thought of Tang Chun Xi. She was his only hope now, the only person who could bring the clover and save him.

But now he needed to survive, so he turned his mind back to the bear. Unsurprisingly, in the seconds he was distracted, the golden fire consumed parts of the creature's body: its claw was in the worst condition, reduced to charred bones that shattered under the bear's fury.

The bear's situation almost struck him as ironic: 'The bear is like this! And soon, so will I!' — Within seconds, the fire consumed a significant portion of the creature. Strangely, it didn't spread to the surroundings, though its effects were still visible—the dry ground, the withered and scorched vegetation...

The bear, now insane, thrashed wildly, making the ground shake and the cave's ceiling crack. Lin Xu, sensing the danger, dove closer to the cave entrance to evade. The bear collided with the cave's rock, causing an avalanche of stones and dust.

— "Roaaaa…" — The bear's roar, now weak and filled with pain, gradually faded until its body collapsed into burning bones. What remained of the creature crumbled to the ground, fragmenting into charred pieces. But the fire persisted, consuming the last remnants of the bear.

'Ah…' — His mind was overwhelmed by the scream, the impact against the rough ground. The pain he felt upon impact seemed to multiply endlessly, intensified by the heat burning his dantian, his flesh, his organs, and his bones.

Lin Xu had never felt such pain. But something snapped him out of it—a vibration and a sound coming from the depths of the nest: 'Something happened! The shadow, could it be…?' — Struggling to contain his pain, he grabbed his sword and, with great effort, managed to stand.

He made his way into the dark depths of the cave, where the only source of light was the golden flame now covering his body. With each step, his clothes burned, leaving trails of fire behind. Crimson footprints marked the ground, and the smell of burning mingled with the cave's dampness. The air seemed to ignite around him, and his dantian was nearing collapse.

His thoughts were scattered, guided only by a thread of hope. Voices and images flashed through his mind, memories of a painful past he had tried to bury:

'That's the boy who killed his family!'

'Did you hear what happened to that disciple… The boy's fire consumed him.'

'What's the point of being so talented if you're a star of disaster…'

Voices and images passed through his dizzy, throbbing mind—memories of hostile, fearful faces, filled with malice, as if trying to destroy his will.

But amidst the chaos of his mind, his consciousness was awakened by a cold energy. He finally reached the end of the tunnel, only to find no sign of Tang Chun Xi. What he saw were the remnants of a battle: corpses, blood, and fallen rocks.

His vision distorted by the heat, he stopped at something he struggled to believe—the clover, or what should have been the clover.

Staggering, he approached what remained of it—a stem without petals. It was then that a single memory overpowered all the pain: — "Your destiny is to die, whether by your Physique or by 'Celestial Jealousy'. There's nothing I can do…" — His mind fixated on this memory, repeating it over and over.

His body collapsed to the ground, and his vision blurred. But his clarity was restored by a cold energy—the remnants of the destroyed clover, now useless.

He didn't know what to think or what to do. There was no miraculous solution. He only felt trapped in a web where, no matter his will, his choices, or his struggles, everything was futile and meaningless…

So he laughed at the realization. It was a laugh of despair, tinged with relief but also guilt. He seemed to give up; there was nothing more he could do.

Amidst this, distant sounds could be heard, and he seemed to lose the sensation of weight in his body. It was as if he were falling into an endless dark abyss, his body emitting light and heat growing stronger, closer to the final collapse.