"...?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...!"
"..."
"...?!"
"?!?!"
"!!!!"
The spectators hovering beneath the looming shadow of immeasurableness remained silent from beginning to end. Initially, the crimson-winged figure was about to speak, seeing Wei Wuyin walk forth, feeling that with a Mortal Soul, this decision was the nail that'd seal this Sinful Pride's fate. And yet, before he could utter a single word, he found the abnormality of Wei Wuyin's slow trek on the long stretch of the Agonized Road.
Despite his stable and sturdy steps, the Agonized Road Dimension had not generated any Soul Absolving Mist! The rules of the Agonized Road Dimension were inviolable, and should any type of agony be felt by those trudging through it, they would have to face the Soul Absolving Mist's cleansing power that Wei Wuyin feared. It would tether to the soul of the inflicted, consuming itself to thoroughly cleanse the soul of any Sin or Karma gained through their lifetime. Then, they would be sent forward anew through Samsara, making their way to the Yellow River.
He wasn't the only one to notice, which sent everyone into a bout of confusion. They watched quietly, refusing to miss even a moment as they attempted to deduce what was happening.
Was he severing his sensation of pain? No! The Agonized Road Dimension ensured that should pain occur, it must be felt. It was a very vague rule, likely with questionable loopholes, but not for a single person. This was a tried and tested method!
Pain must be felt—this rule was inviolable.
So how?
These observers wouldn't be shaken if this was a typical Inheritor of Sin. Some beings could traverse tens of thousands of steps before feeling the slightest wisp of pain, instigating the cleansing powers of Hell to act, but this was a mortal! A mere mortal!
But when Wei Wuyin dodged the Blade of Mountains, a heavy weight that pressed the soul of any Sinner, cutting their defenses should they refuse to courageously rush forward and then slice towards them endlessly! Also, the blade's size would continuously grow with each subsequent strike until it could cover the entire Agonized Road Dimension!
Countless have fought valiant battles with the Blade of Mountains, enduring the endless storms of hellfire while resisting its continuous attempts to pierce them!
However, they were once again stricken with shock! Wei Wuyin was consumed by a storm of hellfire, but not a single ounce of Soul Absolving Mist was released! Not a single WISP!
They stared intently as the atmospheric aura of the vast space outside tensed.
4,000 steps!
Not. A. Single. Wisp.
How? Wei Wuyin's body was literally melting at this point while hellfire scorched his bones!
HUM!
The second strike of the Blade of Mountains was unleashed, a tad bit heavier, a little bit larger, and certainly sharper than the previous attack! When it pierced Wei Wuyin's glabella, they all felt as if the world made sense once again. If this mortal could resist the Blade of Mountains, they would have to question if the Agonized Road Dimension was malfunctioning!
It was finally over…
…or so they thought.
Wei Wuyin, with the Blade of Mountains embedded into his glabella, piercing into his mortal brain, began to run! He ran! And ran! And RAN! They witnessed the unbelievable as a mortal rushed forward across the hellscape of the Agonized Road, continuously burned by storms of increasingly violent hellfire while keeping the Blade of Mountains entrapped by his head.
Impossible!
Insane!
Genius?
They saw as the Blade of Mountains, a progressively insidious part of the Agonized Road, was restrained by this ingenious tactic, leaving their minds throbbing with disbelief and thundering shock. They didn't even know THIS was possible!
The rules of the Agonized Road were inviolable. This included the process of progression, and for the Blade of Mountains to eventually grow into a blade as great as the Agonized Road Dimension itself, it needed a natural progression, an accumulation of power that followed a set pattern. This pattern was disrupted and thus led to the Blade of Mountains' unchanging state despite this mortal traversing hundreds of thousands of steps!
The hellfire followed this logic, but hellfire was more effective towards things related to the soul than towards the physical body. Moreover, they discovered an irregularity as Wei Wuyin kept being melted down into an indistinguishable lump of molten flesh, bone, and organs.
The faintest aura of inexhaustible eternity exuded from his body, ensuring that Wei Wuyin's physical body could survive for the briefest of moments as its utmost limits were reached. This aura would normally be obliterated after the slightest stress placed upon it after its limit was reached, but every time, without fail, in the most timely manner, Wei Wuyin's body would recover and push that line back once again!
It didn't take long for this to continue until 107,999,999 steps had been reached by this mortal, leading to the conclusion of the Agonized Road Dimension's Calamity!
They watched as the Sinful Pride Mortal looked back upon his conquest, silently absorbing his experiences. There was a clear light of pride within his eyes, the pride of accomplishment and satisfaction after completing an arduous task!
Wei Wuyin took that final step.
108,000,000!
"He finished." The looming shadow's soul-piercing voice declared, causing the wings of those observers to all tremble slightly out of disbelief. "Send him back." The titanic shadow commanded, mechanically and automated-like as always.
The silver-winged and crimson-winged figures glanced at each other, awe raging in their hearts. Wei Wuyin had made it through the entire Agonized Road without generating a single strand of cleansing power! They had never witnessed this before—NEVER!
They wanted to speak, but one of the Infinite arms of the shadow moved slightly, and they immediately acted without exchanging a single word. They placed each other's hands together, interlocking fingers, and emanated two lights from their wings, one jet-black, and the other bright-white, which released a harmonized aura that merged profoundly.
Wei Wuyin was sent back.
But they knew that this Sinful Pride Mortal would one day return.
-----
Wei Wuyin's body returned to the cocoon, and his consciousness was once again plunged into a fuzzy state. However, on his right arm, a sinful light flickered as the Bloodline of Sin tattoo began to change!
First Calamity: Survived - 7/7.
Second Calamity: Claimed - 1/1.
Third Calamity: Claimed - 3/3.
Claimed! Wei Wuyin hadn't experienced any agony under the rules of the Agonized Road, essentially conquering pain itself!
In the first Calamity of Hell, Wei Wuyin hadn't overcome loss but had outright ignored it. This was why he was given the rating of 'survived'! But in the Second Calamity, he defeated regret. He sought to overcome it in his own way, and while he had suffered from the cleansing power twice, he had eventually conquered it!
This Third Calamity revolved around withstanding pain, but not entirely; it was about experiencing agony and fear of pain, inducing cleansing power in response. This was far more complex than simply withstanding pain, and Wei Wuyin had conquered experiencing agony in the face of hellish pain or death and showed no hesitation as he rushed forward fearlessly for 108,000,000 steps. In this way, he conquered the Third Calamity of Hell!
While Wei Wuyin had abused several loopholes in the vague rules of the Third Calamity, he had found those loopholes and could abuse them. This was enough for the Agonized Road Dimension to be 'claimed'.
Unfortunately, Wei Wuyin couldn't yet tap into the advantages of claiming a Calamity of Hell. At least not all of the benefits.
Karmic Luck Value: 41,132.3 → 95,372.3!
-----
"In six months, we will strike." Within a Shadow Egg somewhere within the Sealed Regions, Yun Che, the Evil Blessed, stood amongst numerous other uniformed Ascended as they stared at a tall, violet-robed masked figure.
"For Trueborn!" The violet-robed figure shouted.
"FOR TRUEBORN!" Yun Che and the other Ascended beings echoed passionately!