Chapter 23: Purgatory Refines Blood

  "What is this?"

  Su Hong raised his head to look at the sky, gazing at the massive blood-red vortex slowly rotating in the high altitude, and involuntarily revealed a solemn and cautious expression. Before he could react, he was enveloped by a blood-red light pillar that pierced through the heavens and earth.

  Just as Su Hong was bewildered and couldn't figure out what had happened, the Master's cold voice sounded in his ear: "Bloodthirsty Number 100718, killed five people in a row, went on a rampage, obtained special rewards, and got a free Blood Baptism."

  "Bloodbath countdown begins..."

  3

  2

  1

  ……

  "Hey! What's going on with this Blood Tempering? Although the words 'Special Reward' are exciting, can you at least give a clear explanation?" Su Hong's face showed a helpless expression as he couldn't help but protest.

  His protest was directly ignored by the ruler...

  The master was as overbearing as ever, with no patience whatsoever, and without asking Su Hong's opinion, he directly began the process of tempering his blood.

  The next moment, Su Hong's expression changed greatly, as if he was in a purgatory, and no longer had the mind to pay attention to these trivial matters.

  "Hoo-hoo-hoo!"

  Su Hong's entire body suddenly burst into flames, rapidly spreading to every part of his body. The intense pain caused by the fierce flames made him want to scream loudly, but before he could open his mouth, a terrifying flame drilled into his mouth, suppressing his anguished cry back down.

  If it were only that, Su Hong's strong will could barely tolerate it, but at the same time, a surge of virtual fire rose up in his body, frantically flowing along his eight extraordinary meridians, and even his five organs began to contract violently, as if they couldn't withstand the scorching flames, and underwent some kind of transformation.

  "Bang! Splash!"

  Su Hong heard his heart beating violently and rapidly, while his blood throughout his body suddenly boiled up, almost bursting out of his skin, repeatedly striking at the limits of his endurance.

  "What a crappy special reward! This is a rhythm of death..."

  Never before had Su Hong fallen into such endless despair, with a heart that wanted to resist but couldn't find a way to do so. He knelt down on the ground, his entire body violently trembling and convulsing, while his consciousness began to blur. In his mind, there was always a devil-like voice tempting and guiding him: "Give up! You can't hold on, the sooner you give up, the sooner you can be free from this infinite terror cycle of the Cang Yue space. So let go of everything, body and mind, don't resist anymore, completely give up!"

  Giving up can completely liberate?

  Maybe!

  Su Hong smiled wryly, feeling that he was about to be burned alive, but in front of him appeared a familiar and kind face. He would rather suffer all the hardships and difficulties himself, even if he had already contracted a terminal illness. His old mother didn't care at all, the only person she cared about was her son, and his old father. Even though he was wrongly imprisoned and spent every day drowning his sorrows in alcohol, even though his faith and ideals had completely collapsed, he was disillusioned with the world, but there was still one person who supported him to continue living, that was his proud son.

  So... I want to live on!

  A surge of inexplicable power burst forth within him, supporting him as he stood up. Su Hong suddenly spread his arms wide, puffed out his chest and raised his head, letting out a silent roar towards the massive blood-red vortex in the sky.

  For the sake of my family, I must live on!

  The mysterious power came and went quickly, Su Hong fell to the ground with a loud thud, under the fierce burning of the terrifying flames, he was powerless to struggle again, but his eyes were always wide open, his eyes revealed an unyielding determination, and even more filled with a strong attachment to life.

  ……

  ……

  "Enemy Law, what's wrong with you? Wake up!" Wu Sheng 2009 was full of anxiety, leaning down and shaking Su Hong's body vigorously, while his eyes were filled with puzzlement, unable to understand what had happened.

  He was originally excited, after Su Hong got the pentakill, he was about to rush up and give the enemy mage a warm hug as a celebration. But just as he took his first step, he was shocked to see that the enemy mage who had just achieved the pentakill had fallen to the ground, unconscious.

  "I... didn't die?" Su Hong struggled to open his eyes, finding that the bloody light pillar surrounding him had dissipated, and the massive blood-red vortex in the sky had vanished without a trace. If not for his current exhaustion, with his entire body feeling like it was falling apart, and his chest burning with every breath, he might have thought everything before was just an illusion.

  "Dead? Enemy Law, are you kidding me?! Just now you were so powerful, with your sword flashing and those guys didn't even get a chance to touch your hair. How could you possibly be dead?! But then again, Enemy Law, how did you suddenly faint just now? You scared the hell out of me!" Wu Sheng 2009 pushed his black-framed glasses up the bridge of his nose, asking in surprise.

  "Brother is almost burned to a crisp, and you're still asking me how I fainted?" Su Hong couldn't help but roll his eyes, but facing Wu Sheng 2009's clear and puzzled gaze, he suddenly came to his senses. Maybe because of the master's reason, except for his own personal experience, no one else had noticed the process of bloodshed just now.

  Su Hong's speculation is not impossible, in the space of Shang Yue, the master can do anything, similar to a god-like existence, as long as he slightly manipulates, shielding Wu Sheng 2009 and others' perception, no one will notice that he was just forced to shed blood.

  "09, hurry up and carry me to the Life Spring water at the base." With a hint of guesswork in her mind, Su Hong's eyes flashed with a touch of joy, and she no longer got entangled in these trivial matters. Being alive was the most important thing after all.

  "Carrying you?" Wu Sheng 2009 was slightly stunned, somewhat puzzled and unsure, but thinking of Su Hong's reminder and help, he didn't ask anything else, directly went forward to carry the enemy mage, spread his hooves, and rushed towards their base.

  In the base of Tianhui Fang, three newbies, Xian Nv Long and others, were curled up on one side, their faces showing fear and unease. They found that even hiding in the base was not as safe as they had imagined under the global flow array opposite them. Whether it was Zeus' Thunder God's Fury or Yougui's Ghost Shadow, both brought them great damage, making them feel unbearable pain.

  Just when they were in despair, the thunderous roar of the sky was completely stunned, and one by one, they looked at each other in dismay, with an unbelievable expression. In the situation where all three of them had given up, Tianhui actually annihilated Yebo! How is this possible?!

  But after seeing Wu Sheng's 2009 incarnation of the half-human mammoth shadow, they suddenly became excited and rushed forward one after another, enthusiastically opening their mouths to ask: "What happened to the enemy Fa Shi? Is he injured? Is there anything we can help with? If so, just say it!"

  "Hey, you guys are suddenly so enthusiastic. Who was it that made sarcastic remarks when I asked for help earlier? And who was it that insulted me, calling me an idiot?" Wu Sheng said coldly and resentfully in 2009.

  "Ah...” The other three suddenly turned red in the face, and then thickened their skin to change the subject: "No one is perfect, let's not talk about this. We should focus on the future. After all, DOTA is a five-man game, with our help, you two will have an easier time, right?"

  Wu Sheng heard this and hesitated for a moment, turning his head to look at Su Hong who was lying softly on his back, wanting to ask for Su Hong's opinion, asking: "Enemy Law Brother, what do you think?"

  "First put me in the Fountain of Life." Su Hong didn't even look at those three good-for-nothings, completely too lazy to make any response.

  If it weren't for these three guys, the battle wouldn't have been so unfavorable from the start. After they had sent out the first and second bloods, they were too frightened to hide at home and not come out, but they still fanned the flames on the side, wanting to persuade Wu Sheng 2009 to give up resistance as well, so that he could fight alone. So, Su Hong naturally wouldn't have a good face for such guys.

  "Bang!"

  Upon arriving at the Life Spring, Su Hong couldn't wait any longer and mustered up his remaining strength to leap from the half-human mammoth's back into the pool of Life Spring water. The surging waves of life energy constantly washed away the scorching flames that still lingered on his body, while also rapidly replenishing the physical strength he had lost due to the hellish blood refinement.

  As a true projection of the DOTA game, on the ancient relic battlefield, the healing ability of the Fountain of Life remains unparalleled in its effectiveness. Even if it suffers from the most severe damage, as long as there is still a breath left, it can be completely healed under the cover of infinite life energy.

  "Finally, I can catch my breath...” Su Hong lay comfortably in the Life Spring pool, and the losses he had suffered from the previous hell-like blood refinement had all been recovered. However, thinking back to that painful and desperate scene, he still had lingering fears. If given another choice, he definitely wouldn't want this special reward again. What kind of reward was this? It was completely a death sentence! If not for his strong willpower, perhaps he would have already been burned to ashes.

  However, after glancing down at the tattoo on his left chest, Su Hong swallowed back the grievances that had already risen to his lips and rubbed his eyes in surprise.

  ……