Legend Management Bureau Chapter 438

[ … words ]

“How is this happening?” Du Yu looked up and asked You Si. “Did you really cut it?”

You Si nodded. “I did indeed sever the connection between your arms and the stone stool, but your regeneration speed is incredibly fast. You simply cannot pull away instantly.”

“Then… then cut my back,” Du Yu said. “Use your wind blades to continuously slice me. I will keep trying, and eventually, I will get off this damn stool!”

You Si stopped trying to persuade him and instead summoned a fierce gale within the stone chamber.

The fierce gale underwent an Illusion Transformation, turning into countless sharp blades that continuously sliced at Du Yu’s back.

Unable to endure the agonizing pain tearing through his entire body any longer, Du Yu finally cried out.

He gritted his teeth fiercely while forcing his body to lunge forward.

But he only managed three centimeters at most.

He could move a maximum of three centimeters before a tremendous attractive force yanked him right back onto the stone stool.

After several grueling tens of minutes, You Si finally stopped.

Her face was splattered with blood, and the floor was slick with flowing crimson streams.

Slaughtering an entire village would not have spilled this much blood.

Now she knew that even if these wind blades slit the neck of Time, Time would not die.

As for Du Yu, his eyes were unfocused; the excruciating agony had seemingly driven him into a daze.

“Why did you… stop?” Du Yu muttered to himself. “Keep going… I will break free eventually…”

“You cannot leave,” You Si said, furrowing her brows. “My wind blades cannot outpace your regeneration. If I am to take you away, we must completely suppress your ability to heal.”

Hearing this, a chill ran through Du Yu’s heart.

It seemed that Time truly was immortal, and no method could possibly change that fact.

“Use fire.”

“Fire?” A trace of worry flickered across You Si’s face. “Are… are you sure about this?”

Du Yu hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at his left hand. “Same as before. Try it on my left arm. The intense flames will definitely suppress my regeneration…”

“Won’t you burn to death?” You Si asked. “I have no desire to spend the rest of my days with a lump of charcoal.”

“I won’t… I will regenerate. I cannot die,” Du Yu replied with a bitter smile. “Just burn it.”

You Si pondered for a brief moment before nodding. With a sharp cry of “Reversing Flowing Fire,” Du Yu’s arm burst into flames with a sudden whoosh.

He had never imagined the sensation of burning would be so agonizingly intense. It was far sharper and more distinct than the pain of tens of thousands of wind blades slicing through his flesh.

“Ahhhh!!!” Du Yu shrieked in agony, slowly raising his left arm.

The flames successfully suppressed the regeneration of his flesh and blood, but his mind went completely blank, overwhelmed by nothing but pure torment.

A moment later, the flames died out. Du Yu’s arm was violently yanked back onto the stone stool, and newborn flesh rapidly enveloped it once again.

He gasped for air, his chest heaving as he recalled the heart-rending agony from moments before, a lingering sense of terror creeping into his mind.

“That was merely your left arm,” You Si noted, her eyes narrowing. “If you truly wish to break free from that seat, you will have to ignite your entire body. Are you absolutely certain about this?”

Du Yu took a few deep breaths, gritting his teeth as he declared, “I am. Do it.”

You Si shook her head. With a wave of her hand, she unleashed the terrifying power of the “Reversing Flowing Fire” once more.

“Ahhhhh!!!!” A blood-curdling scream tore through the air as Du Yu’s entire body was engulfed in a raging inferno.

This agonizing pain was entirely beyond what any mortal could endure.

His mind could no longer form a single coherent thought, and his vision faded into complete darkness. All that remained was his own endless screaming.

To stand up in this state and turn his head to look at the words on the back of the chair was truly mere Fantasy Talk.

Just then, the flames went out.

Du Yu’s forehead was covered in beads of sweat as he was ruthlessly slammed back into the chair. His severe burns were already rapidly regenerating.

Although his body had the ability to heal, the traumatic cycle only pushed him further to the brink of total exhaustion.

Unable to bear trying to talk him out of it again, You Si could only stand to the side, quietly watching the man before her.

After a long time, he finally spoke.

“You… You Si…” The moment Du Yu opened his mouth, thick black smoke billowed out, as though his internal organs had also been completely scorched.

“I am here.”

“Help me find some oil to pour over my body… If there is no oil, find some strong liquor.” Du Yu coughed weakly. “Anything that can act as an accelerant… Bring as much as you can.”

You Si truly wanted to help Time escape from this wretched cave, so she had no choice but to agree to his request.

The days that followed marked the most agonizing period of Du Yu’s life.

Even the cruelest tortures in the world could not subject a person to such horrifying extremes of pain.

To burn yet be denied the release of death—what unimaginable torment was that?

However, whether it was oil or liquor, neither could sustain the flames on Du Yu’s body for very long.

Every time, before Du Yu could even snap back to his senses from the sheer agony, the flames would die out.

Flesh and blood were not highly flammable, after all, and the flames simply could not persist.

For several consecutive years, Du Yu lived through this endless cycle of severe agony, pushing him to the absolute brink of a complete mental collapse.

Finally, he made up his mind.

“You Si, stop trying,” Du Yu whispered.

“Oh? Are you giving up?” You Si asked. She had been just about to ignite the flames again, but Du Yu stopped her.

“I will not give up,” Du Yu replied with a bitter smile. “If I give up now, then I will have endured all this Suffering for nothing.”

“Then what do you plan to do?”

Du Yu gave You Si a profound look and said, “I want you to search the world for a fire that will never extinguish. I am going to leave this seat once and for all.”

“A fire that will never extinguish?” You Si looked at him in bewilderment. “Does such a thing even exist?”

“Items of that nature generally belong to an Immortal Being. It would be best if you could acquire one… but you must be incredibly careful not to let this flame touch you. Otherwise, you will burn to ashes without a grave.”

You Si nodded, mused over his words for a brief moment, then turned and walked away.

The wait this time was exceptionally long—a full ten years passed.

When You Si finally returned, she looked incredibly exhausted.

Hovering right beside her was a crimson bead.

“Time… I found it,” You Si said weakly. She appeared feeble, as if she had just fought a bitter battle against someone. “The entity within this bead is the unextinguishable flame.”

“Oh?” Du Yu raised his head to look at the bead, and then back to You Si. A sudden wave of guilt washed over him.

“You Si, are you alright?”

“I am fine,” You Si replied, shaking her head. “It is just that the owner of this bead was rather formidable. It took a great deal of effort to snatch this one away.”

“Thank you…” Du Yu murmured. “If I can successfully leave this chair, you will be my greatest benefactor.”

“What kind of fire is this?” Du Yu asked.

“I do not know,” You Si shook her head. “But I heard its master declare that these flames can never be extinguished.”

Du Yu nodded. “Then release the fire from the bead. I am ready.”

You Si paused, her expression turning dead serious.

“Once these flames fall upon your body, they will use your very flesh and blood as fuel, burning away everything you have. But because your flesh regenerates so rapidly, you will be constantly incinerated by this fire for all eternity. Even if you manage to leave that seat, you will never be able to put the fire out. So… are you truly ready for this?”

Du Yu froze for a moment upon hearing her words.

She was right. If this fire were to burn upon his body for all eternity… could he even be considered “human” anymore?

But a moment later, a bitter smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

“You Si, there is something in my left pocket. Please take it out for me.”

You Si slowly walked over to Du Yu and pulled a small, folded yellow triangle from his pocket.

“What is this?” You Si asked.

“This is the key to escaping this place,” Du Yu said with a heavy sigh. “Place this Talisman in my mouth.”

You Si slipped the Talisman between his lips, watching as Du Yu slowly swallowed it down.

“With this… it will be Absolutely Safe. Let’s begin,” Du Yu said, raising his head to give her a meaningful look. “Do you know, You Si? After hearing the recording from that stone, I knew that even the heavens were on my side. So now… let us wager everything on this one final gamble.”