Love Burning Amidst the Ashes. - Chapter 15 - Slave of the Thunderous Dungeon

The lead-grey thunderclouds hung like heavy iron anvils, pressing down relentlessly upon the savage gash of Thunderrage Gorge. The wind had long since died. The air itself was thick and viscous, like coagulated blood, saturated with the sharp, acrid smell of scorching and the pungent sting of sulfur. Beneath it all was a deeper, more primal scent—the rusty, metallic tang of iron, as if bleeding from the very bowels of the earth. Each breath seared the lungs, carrying with it an unsettling, prickling numbness of static electricity. The dull rumble of thunder was no longer a distant growl; it was the unending, terrifying grind of a millstone just overhead, crashing and reverberating madly between the jagged, steep cliffs of black basalt, shaking one’s very organs out of place.

Xu Qing Feng stood bare-chested, his body lean and powerful. His bronze skin was a canvas of mud, dried blood, and scratches earned from his desperate flight. Over the wound on his chest, covered in dark purple medicinal paste, dark red bloodstreaks mixed with sweat and dust, tracing a path down his sharply defined abdominal muscles. He was like a cornered wolf, breathing in ragged, violent gasps. Each inhale tugged at his wound, bringing a tearing agony, and further stirred the chaotic, furnace-like power rampaging within him!

Beneath his skin, it was no longer a stray arc of lightning. Countless bolts of blue-violet electricity surged like a frenzied nest of serpents, writhing, twisting, and exploding in a mad dance! His muscles spasmed and bulged uncontrollably, veins standing out like gnarled tree roots crawling and bulging just under the surface. His right arm was the worst; a charred black mark stretching from his shoulder blade to his elbow writhed like a hideous, living thing under the glow of the lightning. Each time a bolt of lightning surged through it, it brought a searing pain that penetrated to the marrow, and a strange, eerie cold as if from the deepest of hells.

“Urgh…!” A low, suppressed growl escaped through Xu Qing Feng’s gritted teeth. He suddenly slammed his fist against the rock wall beside him.

Boom!

Gravel, mixed with a few sparks of blue-violet lightning fire, flew in all directions, casting an eerie glint in the dim light of the sky. The back of his hand was instantly a bloody mess, yet the sharp pain was nothing compared to the backlash of the violent power within him—a mere ten-thousandth of its fury! He gasped for breath, his bloodshot eyes fixed intently on the path ahead—the smooth, black stone road, polished by countless footsteps before him, leading deep into the gorge.

At the end of the stone path, disappearing into the rolling thunderclouds and rising purple miasma, loomed a ferocious gateway, like the fangs of a colossal beast, built entirely from rough black rock. Flanking it were two massive, blurry-faced gargoyles wrapped in thick iron chains, their forms seemingly scorched repeatedly by lightning. Faint blue lightning seemed to flicker in their hollow eye sockets. Above the lintel, two twisted, savage characters, as if carved by lightning strikes themselves, radiated a murderous aura that chilled the very soul—Thunder Prison!

There it was—the entrance to the outer trial grounds of the Thunder Prison Gate! It was also the path to survival his older brother had pointed out to him!

“Brother…” Xu Qing Feng’s throat bobbed as he let out a hoarse, indistinct whisper. His waist was empty, but his palm tightly gripped the cold, small silver knife. The medicinal paste smeared on its blade had long since dried, yet it still carried a faint, bitter scent, like his brother’s final, icy command. “Unless it’s absolutely necessary, at the moment between life and death, you must not use that lightning power again!”

But behind him, less than a hundred zhang away at the narrow gorge entrance, came the sound of chaotic footsteps and beast-like, heavy breathing! Pursuers from the Blood Wolf Gang! The scar-faced bandit leader’s greedy, suspicious roar was faintly discernible between the peals of thunder: “That little brat’s up ahead! Capture him alive! That strange lightning power of his must be some kind of treasure!”

A path to survival? Or to death? The uncontrolled lightning power within him was like a volcano about to erupt. With every heartbeat, the burning pain and backlash intensified; his meridians felt like they were being repeatedly pierced by red-hot iron wires. If he didn’t use it soon, he’d be burned to a crisp by this power before the pursuers even reached him!

“Ah—!” Xu Qing Feng suddenly let out a bestial roar, pouring all his confusion, unwillingness, anger, and worry for his brother into the thunderclouds pressing down from above! The shrill cry was so piercing it seemed to split metal and stone, causing the rolling thunderheads overhead to momentarily pause before erupting into an even more violent barrage of sound! A thick bolt of lightning, so massive it inspired despair, tore through the dense clouds like a spear of judgment hurled by the gods, slamming into a distant solitary peak, shearing its top clean off! The blinding flash of light illuminated the entire Thunderrage Gorge in a stark, pale white.

In that world-shaking, divine wrath-like brilliance, the madness of a last-ditch gamble, a fierce, reckless defiance, replaced the despair in Xu Qing Feng’s bloodshot eyes. He no longer looked back at the pursuing bandits, no longer suppressed the violent power within. Instead, he kicked off violently from the rock wall behind him. His body shot forward like an arrow loosed from a crossbow, dragging his battered frame with a tragic, unstoppable momentum, charging desperately toward the black stone path beneath the massive Thunder Prison gate!

With every step he took, the smooth, black rock beneath his feet groaned under the strain, as if unable to bear the weight. The wild lightning under his skin, no longer suppressed, erupted violently. Blue-violet electrical arcs, like an out-of-control flood, instantly engulfed his entire body! His hair stood on end, every strand like a burning blue flame in the static electricity. The charred black line on his right arm writhed violently in the lightning’s glow; beneath the scorched skin, ominous, web-like dark patterns faintly appeared.

“Stop him!” The shouts of the pursuers behind him were swallowed by the violent thunder.

Xu Qing Feng ignored the cries. His world had narrowed to the stone path ahead leading to what seemed like hell, and the lightning fire within, about to consume everything. The instant both his feet touched the beginning of the stone path—

Boom! Crackle—!

As if triggering an invisible switch! The thick, leaden thunderclouds above suddenly seethed! It was no longer a single lightning strike, but dozens, hundreds of furious electric serpents, thick and thin, like enraged thunder dragons breaking free from the clouds’ restraint! They no longer struck randomly. Driven by a will to destroy all, they tore through the thick, viscous air, emitting an ear-splitting, terrifying shriek, converging from all directions in an dense formation that was impossible to evade, madly shooting towards the figure enveloped in blue-violet light on the stone path!

The Thunder Prison Trial Path! Activated!

The first lightning cascade descended!

The light of destruction instantly consumed Xu Qing Feng’s figure! Vision was completely occupied by blinding white and blue! Nothing remained in his ears but the shattering, terrifying explosions! The violent electric current, like billions of red-hot steel needles, instantly pierced through every inch of his skin, every nerve, every cell! Indescribable agony, like a tsunami, overwhelmed all consciousness! It was not an external burning, but a destruction that detonated from the deepest part of his body, from the very origin of his soul!

“Pfft—!” A large mouthful of hot, bloody froth, mixed with fine particles of blue-violet lightning fire, erupted from Xu Qing Feng’s lips! Before the bloody mist could even land, it was instantly vaporized by the surrounding violent current into a pungent, red haze! His entire body’s muscles twisted and convulsed under the cruel ravaging of the electricity; his bones groaned in a teeth-grinding protest! His skin instantly charred and blackened, countless fine cracks spreading like a drought-stricken earth, blinding lightning flickering within the fissures! Especially on his right arm, where the dark pattern was, under the frenzied infusion of the external heavenly thunder, the web-like black marks writhed and expanded greedily like living things, voraciously devouring the violent lightning power, bringing a strange pain that tore at his flesh and penetrated deep into his marrow!

Consciousness, like a candle flame in a hurricane, flickered violently amidst the tidal wave of agony, on the verge of being snuffed out! Vision was alternately consumed by blinding white and bloody red; his ears were filled with the endless, destructive thunder of doom! His body instinctively wanted to curl up and fall, to become yet another insignificant piece of charcoal on this lightning path.

“Brother…” A broken syllable echoed in the depths of his soul. It wasn’t a sound, but a tenacious thought, like his brother’s clear, cold eyes, piercing through the destructive thunderstorm to stab sharply into his collapsing sea of consciousness. Can’t fall! Falling means giving up!

“ROAR—!” At the brink of death, the desperate situation instead ignited the most primal, savage ferocity deep within Xu Qing Feng’s bones! A force far more violent and savage than the pain itself erupted from the depths of his failing organs, from the marrow of his seemingly burnt-out bones! It wasn’t spiritual power, but a life roar of pure, extreme vitality! It was the maddening will bought by burning his very soul!

He didn’t fall. Instead, amidst the lightning cascade capable of melting fine steel, he suddenly straightened his nearly carbonized spine! His bloodshot eyes were wide open, the depths of his pupils also completely dyed by the violent lightning, transforming into two clusters of madly burning silver-white thunder flames! The runaway blue-violet lightning under his skin and the destructive heavenly thunder from outside, at this moment, within his limit-pushed shell, underwent an indescribable, violent, and chaotic resonance!

RUMBLE—!

The second and third waves of lightning arrived, one after another! Even more powerful! Like the entire Milky Way pouring down from the Ninth Heaven, intent on utterly crushing this ant daring to defy the heavens!

Xu Qing Feng’s body became the most brutal battlefield for these two destructive energies! The external heavenly thunder madly destroyed and carbonized his flesh, blood, and bones, while therunaway lightning within, spurred by the life-or-death stimulus and his unyielding will, fought back fiercely like a wounded dragon, devouring and assimilating the invading power of the heavenly thunder! Every clash brought more violent disintegration to his body and unimaginable agony! Charred black skin fell away in sheets, revealing the bright red, writhing muscle fibers beneath, which were instantly electrocuted to a crisp! His bones groaned under the strain within the lightning, seemingly on the verge of shattering into pieces at any moment…

He was like a shattered clay figurine, crudely held together by molten lava and thunderous lightning, moving through the destructive lightning cascade one step! One step! And then another step! Dragging himself forward! With every step he took, he left behind on the smooth, hard black rock a charred, viscous footprint—a gruesome mixture of flesh, blood, and the embers of lightning fire! From his seven orifices, it was no longer blood that flowed, but viscous blood-flames burning with blue-violet electrical sparks! Consciousness repeatedly sank and surfaced between agony and madness, sustained only by a branding deep within his marrow—a savage courage that advanced toward death itself!

At the gorge’s entrance, the pursuers from the Blood Wolf Gang had long since been scared out of their wits, collapsing limply to the ground. The scar-faced bandit leader’s complexion was as pale as paper. Staring at the inhuman figure struggling forward through the thunderstorm on the stone path, his eyes were filled with boundless terror and a sense of utter absurdity. How could this be a man? This was clearly a demon crawling out from the depths of the Thunder Prison!

Beneath the ferocious, massive gates of the Thunder Prison, several figures had silently appeared, no one knew when. The one at the forefront wore a wide, dark purple robe embroidered with twisted silver lightning patterns. He was tall and large-framed, his face hidden within the shadows of his hood, revealing only a jawline as cold and sharp as if carved by a knife. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, unmoving as a boulder, seemingly oblivious to the destructive thunderstorm raging around him. Behind him, several disciples dressed in similarly dark purple form-fitting outfits, their auras fierce and aggressive, showed expressions of undisguised shock and horror on their faces.

“M-master… this… this madman…” one disciple stammered, his voice trembling as he stared at the mass of writhing, struggling flesh and charcoal on the stone path, barely able to form a complete sentence. No one had ever been able to endure the Trial Lightning Cascade like this! Never!

The purple-robed figure did not respond. From beneath the shadow of his hood, his gaze—like the most precise lightning-detection formation—locked firmly onto Xu Qing Feng. His sight pierced through the violent lightning and flying blood and flesh, accurately capturing the chaotic yet impossibly tenacious energy reaction within Xu Qing Feng’s body. It was not an orderly circulation of spiritual power, but the most primitive, most violent power of thunder, being madly absorbed and devoured by that dying shell in an almost instinctual manner, and even… fused!

Especially when his gaze swept over Xu Qing Feng’s right arm—charred black, wrapped in lightning, and carbonized—a flicker of an extremely subtle fluctuation seemed to pass beneath the shadow of his hood.

“Lightning Spirit Root…” A deep voice, utterly devoid of emotional fluctuation, rumbled like muffled thunder in the ears of the several disciples, carrying a verdict that brooked no doubt. “And moreover… an extremely compatible,mutated Lightning Spirit Root on the verge of losing control.” He slowly raised one hand, wrapped in a dark purple glove, palm facing upward. Above his palm, the air silently warped. A dark purple lightning ball, the size of a grain of rice yet emitting a heart-stopping aura of destruction, silently materialized, trembling slightly, as if resonating with the violent energy source on the stone path.

BOOM!

The final bolt—the thickest one yet, a dark purple Tribulation Lightning—descended like a giant pillar overturned by the Thunder God himself, carrying the will to end all things. It slammed viciously onto the crown of Xu Qing Feng’s head!

The entire Thunderrage Gorge seemed to tremble under this final blow! Blinding purple light devoured everything!

The light faded.

Upon the stone path, there was utter dead silence.

A pitch-black, human-shaped object, like charcoal completely burnt to ashes, lay prostrate in silence at the end of the stone path, a mere three steps away from the colossal Thunder Prison gate. Curling wisps of green smoke rose, mixed with the stench of burnt flesh and skin. Not a single shred of vitality remained; it was like a corpse flayed and whipped by heavenly thunder millions of times.

Was it over?

The faces of the Blood Wolf Gang pursuers showed a relief at their own near escape, mixed with a hint of greed.

The Thunder Prison disciples beneath the gate also revealed a flicker of pity in their eyes, followed by the indifference of one who had expected as much. In the end… it was overreaching.

Only the purple-robed figure, standing with his hands behind his back, kept his gaze, cold as ice beneath his hood, locked firmly onto that “corpse.” The dark purple lightning ball in his palm had not only failed to dissipate, but was trembling even more violently!

Crack… craaack…

An extremely faint, yet unmistakably clear sound of something shattering emerged from within the dead, silent charcoal!

Immediately after, the charred, carbonized surface violently burst open,countless fine cracks spreading across it! Blindingly bright blue-violet lightning—far more condensed and violent than before—violently erupted from the fissures!

“Hah… hahah…” A hoarse, inhuman gasp, like air being forced through a broken bellows, rang out!

That “corpse” actually moved! Its arms, charred black, bones visible in places, and wrapped in blinding lightning, propped up its broken, battered body. Inch by inch, with immense difficulty, it pushed itself up from the ground! It swayed unsteadily, but ultimately, stubbornly, straightened itself!

Its charred head slowly lifted. Layers of carbonized crust flaked off its face, revealing the blurry, bloody flesh beneath—and those eyes… like two miniature thunderstorm vortexes!

He stood before the Thunder Prison gate, lightning coiling around his scorched body, like a ghost of thunder returned from hell. His gaze swept past the stunned Thunder Prison disciples, past the Blood Wolf Gang bandits frozen like stone statues at the gorge entrance, seeming to pierce through endless space towards the west—the direction of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.

Then, dragging his body—held together and supported only by the violent lightning—he took one step and crossed the threshold into the gloomy Thunder Prison gate!

Inside the gate was not the hall one might imagine, but a massive passageway sloping downwards, its end lost in unfathomable depths. The rock walls on either side of the passage were smooth as mirrors, displaying an eerie dark purple hue, covered with countless winding,twisted grooves—marks left after being repeatedly scorched and melted by powerful electric currents, like frozen brands of lightning. The air was thick with an intense, inescapable stench of burning, of blood, and another scent… the lingering despair of countless suffering souls, having wailed their last, now etched deep into the bone.

From the end of the passage came the faint, clashing sounds of metal against metal, beast-like roars and howls, and the terrifying crack of whips tearing through the air!

A voice, as grating and harsh as two pieces of raw iron scraping together, drilled into Xu Qing Feng’s eardrums the moment he stepped into the passage,

“Designation, Ding-Wei Seven-Six. Welcome… to the Thunder Prison.”