From Hell to Heaven!

Everywhere the eye could see was bathed in an exquisite, translucent radiance. Divided by prism-like crystals, the dusk sunlight shattered into countless dazzling fragments of warm yellow and orange-red. Amidst the shifting play of light, indigo flowed forth, emerald wound silently, azure turned into surging waves, and dark violet rippled like the wind. Even breathing was forgotten. The world had been twisted, reshaped, transformed into this incomparable, magnificent spectacle. Chilly, gorgeous, and cruel. From this unspeakable beauty emerged the most primitive austerity and chilling frost, stripped of all human warmth. This was no longer a realm of mortals! "A Domain?!" Lawrence gasped. The Yacheng Security Bureau actually had a second Celestial Chosen who had reached the Celestial-Human Boundary?! And it was this interim team leader parachuted into the Beishan team position, the one frozen out and ostracized by the bureau? Had he still underestimated her? No, this feeling... In a flash of lightning-fast calculation, Lawrence came to a sudden realization. "Dyeing the world, turning it into ramparts and a desperate realm... A Matrix like this... it's you!" His eyes widened as he stared at that indifferent face. All color had drained from her formerly fair complexion, and her calm eyes showed not the slightest ripple. Only the faint, almost illusory upward curve of her lips—like an exquisite masterpiece carved by divine hands—expressed the shifting currents of joy, sorrow, anger, and delight. It was as if she had become a deity in a sacred temple, gazing down in arrogance. The pain, carnal desire, grief, and joy of the mortal realm could no longer sway her in the slightest! "—Minerva!" "How nostalgic," Wen Wen sighed softly, raising a hand. "It's been a very long time since anyone dared to call me that to my face..." *Boom!* In that single instant of transformation, without the slightest warning, Wen Wen was already right in front of him! The five fingers of her right hand clenched and punched outward. A crystalline phantasmal light enveloped it, making the fist resemble an art piece sculpted from crystal. Yet that single strike made the vast Domain tremble and roar. The sound of shattering echoed incessantly. In the span of a finger-snap, Lawrence's hands, tentacles, and even the skeleton of his upper body shattered completely, flesh and blood blasting apart. Amidst the howling gale, crimson blood and minced meat continuously peeled away from the fissure-covered skeleton, flying out like gaudy, fluttering banners! Yet upon that shattered face, what emerged was a smile. Utterly mocking. "Haha, hahahaha! Even the Celestial-Humans couldn't kill you? The Federation actually let you live? Your bounty is far higher than mine!" Countless writhing worms regenerated rapidly like threads of blood over the bones, weaving together to form a sinister, bizarre face—Lawrence's true visage. Even after suffering devastating wounds in an instant, followers of the Vortex had always been renowned for their boundless vitality and terrifying regenerative powers, possessing countless survival methods. Even if pulverized into powder, for a Celestial Chosen like Lawrence who had reached the rank of Regeneration many years ago, as long as his parasites survived, reassembling his body took merely the snap of a finger! More importantly, even Lawrence found it hard to believe... Wen Wen had grown weaker! If before expanding the Domain this woman had given him a bone-chilling dread, after the Domain unfurled, her threat level had plummeted to merely troublesome. "How ridiculous, Minerva. Has the grand Border Realm executioner, the rabid dog butcher, actually gone soft to such an extent?" He could hardly believe it, suspecting some trick or conspiracy, and demanded, "You expended so much effort just to save the lives of those expendable materials?" At this moment, within the expanse encompassed by Minerva's Domain, all living things—every unconscious ordinary person in Mercy Hospital, all the innocent bystanders swept into the fray—had been frozen solid inside crystal. They were cut off from the erosion and influence of Vortex Planting and the parasites, even if they were unconscious or at death's door... It was as though time itself had ground to a halt. Every state was forcibly fixed at the exact moment the crystal encased them. The stasis realm of the Desolate Ruins Path had actually been extended over every single person in such an exaggerated manner? Even for Minerva, this was excessive! Wen Wen stepped forward. What answered him was another iron fist capable of leveling buildings head-on! Pure matter, pure power. Illustrious wind and thunder erupted between her fingers, channeled, and drove forward, crushing everything in its path to punch a massive hole straight through Lawrence's regenerated flesh! "Enough to deal with you!" The Vortex represented life. The Desolate Ruins represented eternal, immutable matter. The power of crystallization paired with Minerva, the pinnacle Matrix of the Desolate Ruins Path, forged an indestructible force in head-on combat and even granted terrifying defense that surpassed those of the same rank! Anyone with a brain would never attempt to clash head-on with a humanoid fortress that could turn fully metallic at any moment to max out its offense and defense! Unfortunately, that was only relative... A precipice that once seemed untouchable and reached to the heavens was now merely a thick, sturdy wall. While still troublesome, it no longer carried the monumental aura of enduring alongside the world or that matchless, terrifying pressure. Weak. Far too weak. Even if her power retained its original height, her mind had grown pathetically soft! "What the Path of the Desolate Ruins needs least of all is a human heart!" *Crack!* In that instant, a crisp fracturing sound rang out. Fissures appeared across the crystalline light. Viscous crimson slowly seeped from the laceration on her abdomen, dripping onto the ground one drop after another with a sizzling hiss, blossoming into sharp, icy crystalline flowers. "I'm very curious—" Lawrence raised his regenerated limbs. Amidst the dancing tentacles, a blade concealed in a blind spot finally extended from his flesh. The eerie blade was pitch-black. Beneath the reflection of the crystalline light, faint patterns surfaced, only to vanish into the gloom a moment later, making its contour difficult to discern. As a long tongue licked along the blade, the mutated blood fell upon its tip. Savoring the burning heat and stinging sensation within, Lawrence grinned. "Between Heavenly Craft · Nightfall, famed for piercing all iron walls and fortifications in the world, and Minerva's defense, which one is stronger?" The shrill screech was abruptly cut short. It was seized between closing fingers. Beneath the shattered crystal light, crimson seeped out, yet the blood swiftly transformed into crystals harder than steel, spreading, interlocking, and binding. "A scrap of broken iron?" Wen Wen asked. "That's what you're relying on?" Her other fist simply raised. And clenched tight. Immediately after, an upheaval capable of shaking the entire hospital surged forth. Crystals proliferating from the earth gushed outward like turbulent waves, spreading in all directions. A single punch whipped up a hurricane. Blood sprayed, minced flesh splattered, and Lawrence, struck head-on by the blow, was reduced to a battered skeleton. Yet within the skeletal eye sockets, savage flames still surged. Full of ecstasy and delight. He had blocked it! "Haha, hahahahaha!" Directly in front of Minerva's fist was his outstretched palm, now reduced to half a skeletal hand. Yet upon those bones, brand-new flesh and tissue were proliferating at terrifying speed. It was entirely different from the fragile mortal vessels of the past. This was a complex structure surpassing any earthly scales, sinew, or membrane. And even more solemn was the wisp of sweet crimson flowing within. Brilliant and dazzling, like scarlet radiance! With just a single drop integrating into his body, a vessel capable of clashing head-on with Minerva was reconstructed in an instant! "I did it! I've succeeded!" Lawrence laughed maniacally, the flesh on his back unfolding like dozens of arms. They reached toward the branches hanging down from the giant tree above, clutching, latching on, and extracting! He greedily sucked this sweet rain of miracles, the glorious harvest squeezed from countless deaths and sufferings! "Above mortal things, that which exhausts the ultimate of all phenomena is the Dragon." Piously reciting the ancient verses passed down within the Dragon Cult, he intoxicated himself in this exquisite metamorphosis. "Destruction and calamity are Its breath; suffering and despair are Its blood!" Now, the dragon blood had arrived from hell, and the transformation had begun. He would evolve; he would ascend. From the dragon blood, he would be reborn! Amidst his wild laughter, Lawrence felt the transformation of the Vortex Planting weirdly stall for a split second, though it returned to normal immediately, as if it had been an illusion. Only amidst the countless entangled roots of the giant tree did the sleeping Ji Jue's little finger twitch, almost imperceptibly. Like a spasm in a nightmare. A futile struggle. *** It felt like falling into the deep sea all at once, unable to breathe. Amidst an unprecedented cold and suffocation, Ji Jue plunged into a bottomless nightmare, drifting with the currents, sinking deeper and deeper. As far as the eye could see, there was only crimson. Listening closely, wails reverberated through his mind. It was as if tens of thousands of people were weeping simultaneously—mournful cries, futile roars, desperate struggles. In the end, they wearily let go, plunging into the abyss, never to return. All that remained were bones and tears. Those tears converged into an ocean, tides surging high, swallowing everything beneath the swell of weeping. "Why kill me? Why?!" In his daze, someone seemed to seize his collar, demanding with a strained, hoarse voice, "I was just a wage worker! I'd only been here for a few months! I'm innocent!" Before Ji Jue could answer, the phantom dissolved. In its place stood an exhausted, disheveled man covered in coal dust, pounding repeatedly on the door before him. "Where's the money? Where's my money? Boss, didn't you say you'd pay my wages today?!" The iron door remained shut, offering no answer. "Liars, all of you are lying to me!" Driven into a corner, the man wept bitterly, raising a hammer. "I'll take you down with me!" He smashed open the door, and gunshots rang out. Everything ended abruptly, and the vision scattered. Yet Ji Jue heard familiar beeping sounds, the scent of disinfectant drifting to his nose. Bewildered, he turned his head and saw a filthy hospital room, along with an emaciated woman lying on the bed, her hair entirely gone, exposing wrinkled scalp. "Eat a little, just a bit more." The man keeping vigil beside the bed held up a bowl of food, his stubbled face wearing a fawning smile. "There's chemotherapy this afternoon. Eating will give you strength." Yet she did not eat. She could barely lift her hand. "Listen to me. Let's stop the treatment and go home, okay?" she said softly during the long silence. "This illness... costs too much." The man froze in place, the hand holding the bowl suspended in midair, yet his back gradually stooped, as if crushed by an invisible weight. He lowered his head. "Okay." That was the last sound before tears fell. Then came torrential rain. In the blurred world, only mournful cries remained. A woman rolled on the ground, clinging to her child's leg, pleading through tears: "Stop using! Don't take it anymore! Treat it as your mother begging you. If you touch this stuff, your whole life is ruined!" *Thud!* A club slammed down, drowning out the roar of the downpour. The world spun. In another closed room, wails and groans came from the bed. A naked woman covered in blood was dragged by her hair and slammed against the wall, silently enduring slap after slap, punch after punch. She let the heavily tattooed man brutalize her until he had had his fill, unbuckling his belt and hauling her face up from the floor: "Bitch, does that feel good?" Cowering in terror, that vaguely familiar face twitched, struggling to squeeze out a smile. "Brother Yang, you're so fierce. I love it." Even as blood slowly ran from the corner of her eye, her smile was so sweet. As if filled with joy. *Please, please, stop hitting me.* Until the very end, she never found the courage to speak those words. Ji Jue closed his eyes, not wanting to watch anymore. Yet those clamoring voices poured incessantly into his ears until finally they blended into a hoarse, muddy murmur, like a prayer. "Great Merciful, Great Compassionate Bodhisattva, please protect and save this child, save her... Your disciple's karmic obstacles are profound; I deserve to sink into the Eight Sufferings and endure the Avici Hell. But she's still so young; she hasn't even gone to school yet..." Before the Buddha statue, an elderly man wept bitter tears, kowtowing heavily and praying hoarsely. He repeated it again and again, never daring to stop. Apart from praying, he had no other recourse. Yet the gods and Buddhas gave no reply. Only the choked, raspy prayer gradually faded into silence. *Enough!* *Stop, please, I beg you.* *Let me go!* Ji Jue covered his ears, but it was useless. More voices, more images—those memories, scenes, and nightmares poured continuously into his consciousness and mind. He wanted to scream and weep, yet he could produce no sound amidst the countless wails. He was still falling, deeper into the depths of despair. Until at last, complete silence fell. *It's finally over.* For a brief moment, that was what he thought, until flames ignited amidst ruins and wreckage, spreading to illuminate the contours of hell. Upon the scorched earth, flames danced. A wind carrying sulfur and ash swept up, blowing aside the smoke that blotted out the sky to reveal a scorching-red night sky. The stars twisted and bent like melted glass, dripping a faint, dim light. Thus it illuminated this dilapidated world. The aftermath of a calamity's passage. The nightmare recurred. Shattered sounds, collapsing echoes, the piercing friction of twisting steel, and a distant, ethereal song rising from the flames. The voice was raspy and broken, yet so gentle. Ten years ago, the Flame Tide Calamity. Ji Jue finally understood: he had arrived at the deepest part of hell. The place that belonged to him. Upon the cracked, shattered ground, the rails were red-hot and melted. Train carriages that had jumped the tracks rolled across the scorched earth, scattering bones before finally settling into the ash. Flames spread among fractured seats beneath billowing smoke. Amidst the debris and scorched earth, people were still wailing and struggling, trying to crawl out from the fire, only to be obliterated among the ruins in the end. "...The sun goes down, the night draws near." Inside a shattered carriage, someone softly sang a lullaby, the gentle voice echoing amidst the fire and smoke: "Close your eyes now, sweet dreams embrace you here." Ji Jue froze in place, staring blankly at the shattered door before him, not daring to push it open. He wanted to turn and flee, yet had nowhere to go. "Stars shine bright, the clear moon takes flight." The song softly continued: "Watch the twilight glow, I shall stay by your side, waiting for you to wake, never leaving your sight... Waiting for you to wake, good dreams by your side..." *Crash!* The shattered door fell from the blazing flames, and the harrowing scene inside the carriage met Ji Jue's eyes. It was like hell. Yet in this hell, someone was singing, bathed in flames. She knelt on the floor, cradling the unconscious child, placing the only gas mask over his face. Wrapping him in the fire blanket, she used her own embrace to seal off every gap. And so, she smiled. Filled with such happiness. Just like that, amidst the scorching flames, she sang as her breath gradually faded. Only the hoarse song echoed through the child's dream, over and over, accompanying him, as if it would endure into eternity. As if she had never departed. Ji Jue staggered forward, letting the flames burn him. He walked toward the end of the dream. This was the final ending left by that immense calamity. What Cursed Ones, what Celestial Chosen, what miracle of life... Ji Jue had never understood what those people were blabbering about. He didn't get it, and they were all mistaken anyway. "The person who should have survived back then wasn't me, right, Mom?" Ji Jue gazed at her face and asked softly, "I'm the lucky one who was never supposed to be on the survivors' list." Ten years ago, on this train that would never reach its destination, a child named Ji Jue was supposed to have died in the disaster, turning to dust. Yet someone had traded him out of hell. Using herself. Ji Jue slowly reached out, wanting to touch her cheek, but his fingers halted in midair, not daring to go further. He was afraid she would turn into a fragile bubble, vanishing without a trace. Only tears could no longer be held back, streaming down. "I miss you so much, Mom," he murmured softly. "I really do." In the silence, no one answered, yet the sound of burning flames suddenly vanished. There was only the song. The singing echoed in hell, over and over, growing clearer, like a tide slowly rising, resolute and unwavering. At the end of the song, the shrill blast of a train whistle suddenly blew once more! The darkness was pierced through, the scorched earth vanished, and the roaring flames disappeared amidst howling winds. The nightmare was torn apart, crushed effortlessly to pieces. Answering his call, that dream that had accompanied him for ten years rose from the deepest depths of despair. Swallowing everything! As if time had reversed. Gentle twilight spilled through the window. Amidst the rhythmic clatter of wheels against the rails, Ji Jue jolted awake from the nightmare, gazing blankly at everything familiar around him. It was as though he had returned once more to the moments before the catastrophe arrived, still inside that train thundering forward, embraced by those warm memories. "You look so sad, Ji Jue." Someone gently stroked his cheek, her eyes tender. Ji Jue looked at her, parting his lips several times to speak, but in the end, he could only lower his head, evading her gaze. "I'm just... a little tired." "Then rest well. It's okay to sleep a little longer." She ruffled his hair. "If something is too hard, you need to learn when to let go." "Mom, can you hold me?" Ji Jue requested softly. "Of course." Without hesitation, she opened her arms, pulling the child she had been separated from for ten years into her embrace. She was so slender and frail, yet being held by her felt so safe, as if there was nothing left to fear. The entire world could not harm him. Ji Jue closed his eyes, his tense body relaxing. Just like that, he listened to her humming, feeling her warmth and breath. The sweet dream was so long, as if without end. Until he opened his eyes again and gripped the ticking watch on his wrist. "Are you leaving?" she asked. "Yeah." Ji Jue looked at her. "There are some things I have to do. Though it's hard... don't worry, I'll handle it. Just like in the past, nothing can stump me." "Goodbye, Mom." He took a deep breath, offering a final farewell: "I might... never be able to come back." A light laugh sounded, like watching a child fretting over trivial matters when everything was so simple. "Then keep moving forward, and don't look back." She smiled, cupping the youth's cheeks in her hands. "I'll be watching you, wherever you go, whichever path you take. I'll miss you, just as you miss me." And so, she embraced him one last time. Upon his forehead, she left a gentle kiss. Then, she watched as Ji Jue turned to leave. Ji Jue took a few steps forward, almost wanting to look back again, but he didn't dare, until he heard the voice behind him. "Ji Jue!" Beneath the glow of the sunset, she called his name and waved. "Do your best!" "Yeah." Ji Jue nodded firmly, wiped away his tears, turned around, and pushed open the door at the end of the carriage. Bidding farewell to everything from the past. The train seemed to recede into the distance, vanishing just like that departed dream. Ji Jue fell once more into the crimson deep sea—cold, suffocating, painful, yet so familiar. This time, he felt neither fear nor dread. He raised his head, gazing at the echoes of countless humble agonies and despairs. "Hey! Can you hear me?!" Ji Jue took a deep breath and shouted with all his might, "I'm right here!" In that instant, the crimson ocean surged with wild waves, churning as if boiling. Countless streams of bloody fury converged toward him, seeking to tear apart this foreign entity that did not belong here. "Come out with me." Ji Jue extended his hand, issuing an invitation to those departed obsessions: "I'll help you take your revenge." Instantly, the crimson sank into dead silence, as if frozen. The wails and weeping stopped abruptly. It was as if countless pairs of eyes were looking over from the world of the dead, fixing their gaze upon the youth before them, perturbing and clashing with one another, stirring an unprecedented turbulent current. In the end, it formed a blood-drenched palm. Which clasped his hand! The covenant was forged here. In that instant, the ocean gathered from boundless agony and despair cleaved open right down the middle! A torrent surged, swallowing Ji Jue. Boundless pain rose like mountain ranges, lifting him up, bearing him toward the mortal realm, toward that world that did not belong to them. At that moment, Ji Jue opened his eyes. Through the bizarre giant tree, he gazed at the sky covered in crimson, the collapsed and shattered hospital, the countless giant crystal pillars erupting from the earth, and the countless pieces of writhing flesh scattered everywhere. The figure transformed into a monster whipped its tentacles about, laughing hysterically as it continuously swelled. As far as the eye could see, the world looked as if it had become hell. Yet he did not fear hell. He had crawled out of hell long ago, gifted with the most precious treasure in this world. He was going to live well, and he was going to make a difference. From that day on, every single day of Ji Jue's life had been like heaven! And now... The time for retribution had come! He extended his hand... In the midst of fierce battle, Lawrence's expression suddenly froze as he felt the supply of dragon blood cut off once again!