Process (2).....

My red, pulsating veins started throbbing violently, radiating an unbearable heat that seemed to boil me from within. I could feel every inch of my body being pushed to its limit. Soon, cracks began to form across my skin, like fragile porcelain breaking under immense pressure.

From the surrounding petals of the lotus, flames erupted—deep crimson-red, burning with a ferocity that defied nature. These flames clung to my body, engulfing me entirely. My veins burned me from the inside, and the flames from the petals scorched me from the outside. I was trapped in a living inferno, with no escape. The fire consumed me wholly, leaving no part of my being untouched.

At first, the intensity of the flames activated my nociceptors, the pain receptors in my skin, to their absolute limits. The signals of pain surged toward my brain, creating an overwhelming cascade of sensations. The pain was sharp, searing, and agonizing—unlike anything I had ever imagined. I wanted to scream, to cry out, but my body was frozen, locked in place by an invisible force. I felt every single moment of my torment, yet I couldn't move a muscle or utter a sound.

My scientific background made the situation even worse. I understood exactly what was happening to me. I knew that the moment my body registered the flames, my fight-or-flight response would kick in. My brain flooded my system with adrenaline, amplifying my heart rate and spiking my blood pressure. My body instinctively wanted to escape or extinguish the flames. But I couldn't move. My immobility turned my panic into despair, the realization that I was completely at the mercy of the flames sinking in.

The surge of adrenaline only made my suffering worse. With no outlet for the excess energy, my heart pounded relentlessly, and my spiritual energy flared in a desperate attempt to shield me. At my cultivation level—early Qi Condensation—I didn't have much spiritual energy to begin with, but even that was quickly burned away by the origin flames. I tried again and again to form a protective spiritual layer over my body, but every time, it was consumed instantly.

As the flames continued to ravage me, the hot gases released by the burning began to affect my respiratory system. My throat and lungs felt like they were on fire, the thermal injury causing my airway to constrict. Every breath became a struggle, and I felt as if I were suffocating. The panic from my inability to breathe only added to my torment.

Oddly enough, my [Aspect of Breathing] seemed to activate at this point, as I received a notification from the system about its improvement. It was a small comfort in an otherwise unbearable ordeal, but it reminded me that I couldn't let myself succumb to the pain.

Time lost all meaning as the flames continued their relentless assault. At some point, a thick, black liquid began oozing from the cracks in my skin. It smelled foul, a putrid stench that made me want to retch, but my body didn't even have the energy for that. I recognized this liquid immediately—impurities being purged from my body. I have read about this from countless cultivation novels .These flames seemed to reach places in my body that no cultivation technique or pill had ever been able to touch.

The black liquid vaporized almost instantly upon contact with the flames. For a moment, I felt disgusted with myself, wondering how someone like Jiang Chen, who had cultivated so diligently, could still harbor so many impurities. But then I realized the flames weren't ordinary—they were burning away even the tiniest, most deeply hidden imperfections. In some twisted way, I felt grateful for this agony.

The process continued, and the cracks on my body deepened. White, z-shaped patterns spread across my skin, their intricate design both beautiful and terrifying. As these cracks expanded, golden-red veins in my body started pulsating with radiant golden energy. They released a golden-red glow that coated my body in a protective layer. For a moment, I thought the worst was over.

But I was wrong.

The golden letters revolving around the lotus began invading my body through the cracks, one after another. Each time a letter was absorbed, my body would heal, only to crack again moments later. This cycle of cracking, absorbing, and healing repeated endlessly. The pain was unbearable, far worse than the flames themselves. By the 200th cycle, I was desperate for it to stop.

By the 300th cycle, I noticed something unusual—my spiritual energy reserves had recovered, and they were far greater than before. Despite the excruciating pain, I tried to end my suffering. I concentrated all my spiritual energy on my neck, attempting to break it and end this nightmare. But the golden layer protecting my body wouldn't let me. I tried suffocating myself by blocking my nose, reasoning that no breathing meant no life. But once again, my efforts were futile.

Each failed attempt to end my life drove me further into despair. My mind was filled with thoughts of escape, yet I couldn't find a single way out.

By the 759th cycle, I had reached my breaking point. Desperation drove me to try something drastic—I began revolving my spiritual energy in my abdomen, increasing its speed with each passing second. My goal was to self-detonate, to explode and end this torment once and for all. But instead of exploding, my spiritual energy acted like a black hole, drawing in more energy from the surroundings.

The sphere of spiritual energy in my abdomen grew larger and larger, its size and density defying logic. The sheer amount of energy gathering within me terrified me, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. It felt as though the heavens themselves were mocking my suffering, piling on more and more as I struggled to survive.

Finally, at the 1000th cycle, the accumulated spiritual energy erupted in a massive explosion. The entire realm trembled from the force of it. Shockwaves and airwaves radiated outward, carving deep craters into the earth and fueling chaotic typhoons. The scene was apocalyptic—a world torn asunder by the sheer power unleashed.

When the chaos finally subsided, my body stopped cracking. The golden-red veins and pulsating red veins disappeared, along with the golden letters. All of it was absorbed into my body. And then, a towering phantom figure appeared before me.

It was massive—10,800 feet tall, with two powerful arms, two legs, and a single head adorned with two menacing horns. Its crimson-red eyes burned with an unyielding flame, and its muscular body was clad in golden armor that radiated an aura of invincibility.

This was the embodiment of an Asura—a being of destruction and power.

The Asura phantom slowly merged with my body, its immense strength becoming one with me. I could feel its power coursing through my veins, a force that transcended anything I had ever known. And with its final absorption, I knew that I had survived the reforging.