Chapter 76: Coffin of Netherbloom Virgin
The torment was unbearable—an excruciating blend of pain and itch, a near-supreme torture that stretched endlessly. Lordi Payne could only muster screams in his mind. His voice splintered, cracking like dried bone. Each desperate wail scraped his vocal cords thinner, until the sound was no longer human—just a jagged rasp, the death rattle of a broken instrument.
Oxygen-starved, Lordi Payne's vision pulsed with encroaching darkness. His throat and gut burned with agony, yet itched maddeningly—worse than pure pain. The relentless tickle deep in his trachea was like countless spider legs tap-dancing on raw nerves.
Then, suddenly—silence.
The numbness, the itching, the pain—all vanished.
In its place, an unprecedented ease washed over him. It was as if he had plunged into a cool spring, every inch of his body bathed in the soothing relief of a long journey's end.
"Junior Brother Payne has reached the sixth layer of the Qi Refinement Stage!" Nearby, Fang Jit observed with surprise. "The Ice Pith Fire truly lives up to its name as an eighth-tier Dao Flame! Its boosting effect is remarkable."
Oen Shinae allowed herself a faint smile.
But then—
A sudden blue flash erupted from Lordi Payne's body. The azure glow, which had just faded, reappeared—this time thinner than before. Yet in an instant, it surged, engulfing him in merciless flames.
Oen Shinae's breath caught.
This was the final stage of Pyro Fusion Art—the expulsion of excess Dao Flame that the body couldn't contain.