Ch.5 The Spirit Phase Complete (1)

After commanding the orb to continue the trial, Feng Jiang found himself back in the domain. The orb flew from behind him, levitated in the middle of the domain, and started releasing its power.

Feng Jiang's surroundings changed to the 5th hell, the Hell of Steamers, where hypocrites and troublemakers will repeatedly be steamed "alive.".

Feng Jiang saw that his *Teen (1) body was slowly morphing back to his kid self. Feng Jiang immersed himself in the feeling of this familiar body. He knew that the orb was not yet under his control; the orb was ordered by that person to test him; if Feng Jiang passed, he would gain the same power as the dominator of the world above.

Feng Jiang saw two hell guards beside a furnace the size of a mountain. Feng Jiang had a basic grasp of the 18 levels of hell and knew that this was the room of torture. He took a deep breath and steadied his mind. He slowly started to walk towards the furnace. Feng Jiang came face-to-face with the two Hell guards and spread his hands as if to say, 'I am ready; do what you want'.

The two hell guards showed a surprised expression, as they had never met a human who willingly accepted torture, especially a young one such as Feng Jiang. But they were hell guards for a reason; they quickly went back to their stoic selves and gestured for Feng Jiang to follow them. Feng Jiang saw the guards open an opening in the furnace and looked towards him.

There was no exchange of words, but Feng Jiang knew that this was his cue to enter the gate. Feng Jiang entered the furnace and instantly felt a puff of steam hit his face. His body started to squirm in pain; the tolerance of an adolescent boy was far lower than that of a teen or an adult. Feng Jiang went through his chaotic mind, trying to understand when this would all end. After going through his memories, he realized that this hell would last for a total of 28 days. Feng Jiang looked around, trying to find a place where the concentration of steam was the lowest.

Feng Jiang sat in the corner of the furnace; this was the only place where the steam was the least dense, but the heat was still capable of killing any normal person. Feng Jiang saw his body getting red hot; his skin was starting to melt off of his muscles. Feng Jiang held on, knowing that the longer he thought of the pain, the longer it would last.

Slowly but surely, Feng Jiang started to get used to the pain. His pain receptors were all burned off due to the overstimulation. Feng Jiang's skin had been melted off multiple times just to regrow and continue the cycle.

Feng Jiang lost all perception of time. He felt the river of time was moving slowly to ensure maximum pain was inflicted on him.

After calming down and slowly adapting to the pain, Feng Jiang finally had the time to review what had happened in the past few months. Feng Jiang had gone through four types of hell and met two ethereal beings who surpassed this universe.

Due to the pain and torture of his chaotic mind, he had not been able to think clearly for the past few months. Due to the cleansing of his sins, Feng Jiang was slowly regaining his sanity and rationality. He noticed a purple dot floating in the corner of his peripheral vision. Feng Jiang tried to touch it, but he felt like he had touched nothing.

Feng Jiang tried other methods of touching it, but at last he realized the only way to touch something that was intangible was with his soul. Feng Jiang was unaware of the consequences of using his soul power in the middle of the trial; his soul was already suffering the burn of the soul dissolution steam. Feng Jiang had seen his parents read many ancient tomes since his birth. With his abnormally sharp mind, Feng Jiang had learned how to read just by hearing his parents speak and read.

Feng Jiang had heard about an ancient liquid used by soul-transforming cultivators to increase their chances of breaking through to the next realm. Only the nouveau riche would use such a rare heavenly treasure to help them break through the mortal realm.

Feng Jiang spent 28 days in the furnace. Feng Jiang had lost count of his deaths after hitting 100. He looked up and shouted "Start the next trial".

Feng Jiang saw his surroundings change and was disoriented for a second before regaining stability. Feng Jiang had entered the 6th Hell, the Hell of Copper Pillars, where arsonists will be repeatedly chained to red-hot pillars of copper. Feng Jiang suffered in this hell for 32 straight days. His skin was turned into a gooey pool of skin; his bones turned to ashes; his blood boiled; and his organs were destroyed thousands of times.

Feng Jiang still held on to his sanity. After exiting this hell, he finally released his soul to see any changes. Feng Jiang saw that his soul no longer had black spots. The crimson-red color was slowly being washed away. Feng Jiang was happy for a second to see this, but this emotional fluctuation let loose the river of corrupted emotions in his mind again. Feng Jiang suppressed the raging river and once again built dams and barriers to block it.

Feng Jiang was slowly regaining his emotions, but this also meant that his mental state was deteriorating faster and faster. Feng Jiang knew that the only way to suppress these emotions was to go through the 18 levels of hell and repent for the sins of his past lives. Feng Jiang waved his hand, and the orb brought him into the next hell. There was no need to exchange words or for Feng Jiang to command it to continue the trial anymore.

Feng Jiang went into the 7th hell, the Hell of the Mountain of Knives, where those who have killed for pleasure or without good reason will repeatedly be made to climb a mountain made of sharp blades sticking out of it. Feng Jiang instantly estimated how long he would be spending here: 420 days. This was the reason why Feng Jiang wasn't scared of death; he had lived many lives filled with bloodshed. Feng Jiang started to climb the mountain without the intervention of the hell guards. Days went by, and Feng Jiang suffered many deep cuts on his body and soul. He kept on climbing with his tiny body.

He knew that the mountain was insurmountable and was just meant to make those who didn't know any better lose hope. He kept on climbing, ignoring his fatigue, for 50 days, before his surroundings started to change.

Feng Jiang was puzzled; he knew that only 50 days had passed; he was no way near 420 days. He looked up at the orb, which was floating in the middle of the infinite domain, and loudly said, "What happened to the trial? Why did you suddenly stop it? You're not supposed to interfere with the trial anymore; otherwise, you will have to serve me for eternity. Do not think that you can escape the power of the heaven-sealing scroll".

Feng Jiang stopped and spoke: "You may be a peak artifact in the heavens above, but this." Feng Jiang stopped speaking for a second and pulled out the scroll from his soul (2) and said, "This is the artifact of the Heavenly Manor. It can seal the heavens, let alone an artifact such as you. You're a power that was birthed by the heavens above; you cannot disobey this contract". The orb had no facial expression, but if it did, it would have revealed a sinister gaze. The orb had never been talked to in this way.

The orb shook for a second and released its power. Feng Jiang thought that the orb was ready to take him down with itself. Suddenly, a familiar, translucent screen appeared in front of him.

[You're not my master, At least not yet, not until you pass all nine trials. As to why you were removed from the 7th hell, that is because your sins do not end there; the other trials will torture you for the lives you have taken. Repenting in just one hell wouldn't satisfy the consciousness of the 18 levels of hell; you will repent for the sin of murder in other hells. Thus, the trial continues.]

Feng Jiang realized that it was not the orb that was messing with him but instead the consciousness of the mighty figure who created the 18 levels of hell. Now that he thinks about it, there was no mention of the being who created hell or what realm he reached to be capable of pulling the immortal souls of gods into hell.

Feng Jiang couldn't possibly argue with that mighty figure and decided to face what was thrown at him one step at a time.

Feng Jiang saw his surroundings change and found himself in the 8th hell, Hell of the Mountain of Ice, where adulterers, deceivers of elders, and schemers will be repeatedly left out on a barren mountain of ice to freeze. Feng Jiang stopped trying to guess when the torture would end and just went along with it. Feng Jiang suffered in hell for a total of 20 days. Feng Jiang's clothes had been long destroyed, Feng Jiang's blood was frozen multiple times, Feng Jiang was frostbitten thousands of times, and this was the hell where Feng Jiang died the most times, a total of 9918 times.

The same thing happened once again: Feng Jiang brought forth the 9th hell, the Hell of the Cauldrons of Oil, where rapists, thieves, abusers, and false accusers will be repeatedly fried in vats of boiling oil. Feng Jiang was fried in the wok of oil thousands of times in a day. Feng Jiang's soul was being doused with boiling oil; the oil was like a deep cleanser, burning and washing off the crimson-red power of sins from his soul. Feng Jiang saw that the crimson red color had changed to neon red.

The surroundings changed, bringing Feng Jiang into the 10th hell, the Hell of the Cattle Pit, where those who have abused animals will be repeatedly hurt by animals in turn. Feng Jiang heaved a sigh of relief. 'Half way done, thought Feng Jiang. He looked forward to finishing this trial as soon as possible and starting his path of cultivation. Feng Jiang jumped into the pit of demon cattle. Feng Jiang suffered in that hell for 15 days. Feng Jiang's soul was trampled on by the hooves of the cattle; it felt like a mountain was smashing into him every second.

The 11th hell began, the Hell of the Crushing Boulder, where those who have abandoned or killed children will repeatedly be made to hold up heavy boulders, eventually being crushed by their weight. Feng Jiang suffered in this hell for 55 days. Feng Jiang knew that he had not killed children in 55 lives. His thoughts instantly thought of the only person who could do this. The mighty figure that controlled hell, Feng Jiang, was repenting of his murders in the most brutal hells that were created to punish those who committed the sin of killing.

The 12th hell, Hell of Mortars and Pestles, where those who voluntarily waste food will repeatedly be force-fed hell fire by demons, opened its gate for Feng Jiang. Feng Jiang was in this hell for 10 days. His inner organs were burned by the hellfire flames that could switch between cold and hot. Sometimes his organs were burned, and the next second they were frozen. This instantly multiplied Feng Jiang's pain.

The 13th hell was the Hell of the Blood Pool, where those who disrespected others would be thrown in and submerged into a pool of blood. Feng Jiang was in this hall for 25 days. This was the hell where Feng Jiang felt the least pain, but it was also the hell where his soul was refined the most. His soul was now cleansed of the red color and was starting to turn orange.

The 14th hell, the Hell of the Wrongful Dead, where those who have committed suicide—considered deliberately going against the karmic course of the universe—will be forced to repeatedly wander the realm without a way out while being pelted constantly by the Winds of Sorrow and the Rains of Pain, was the hell where Feng Jiang suffered the most. The Winds of Sorrow targeted Feng Jiang's soul. Feng Jiang had lived many lives, and because of that, the sorrow emotion was one of the strongest emotions present, as he had seen many people die in his 888 lives. The rain of pain targeted Feng Jiang's body. It didn't hurt as much as the sorrow of his life, which was being intensified by the winds of sorrow. Feng Jiang cried for 20 days straight. All the mental barriers placed by Feng Jiang were destroyed; Feng Jiang had now permanently lost his emotions.

If Feng Jiang not treated by heavenly treasures that could cure and stabilize emotional damage, he would never be able to feel emotions except for anger and sorrow. Feng Jiang slowly started to rebuild his mental barriers and tried his best to control his raging emotions. Feng Jiang shouted, looking up, "Stop the trial for a minute", Feng Jiang was not sent to the next hell; instead, he found himself back in the domain.

Feng Jiang finally stopped crying. The 14th hell had done a lot of damage to Feng Jiang's mental state. Feng Jiang summoned his soul and entered it. He searched for the soul origin (3), and Feng Jiang sat down next to the Tai-Chi symbol. Feng Jiang was sure that if he couldn't heal his mental state, his mental barriers would collapse and the river of emotions would overwhelm him. He could and would die if what he was about to do didn't go as planned.