However, Ning Beichen discovered that his arm holding the wooden sword was intact and had not been burned by the flames. It seemed the wooden sword had some effect.
Ning Beichen dared not repeat the act of flying into the fire like a moth. Instead, he and the flaming skeleton began to circle each other, holding the wooden sword. You advance, I retreat; you retreat, I advance; you go left, I go right; you go right, I go left. The man and the skeleton moved like they were dancing the tango on the tip of a knife.
At this moment, if there were a little bit of "boom-cha-cha, boom-cha-cha" music, it would have been even more fitting.
But no one knew the bitterness in Ning Beichen's heart. Who would want to dance the tango with this flaming skeleton? He had no choice.
However, Ning Beichen was not without gains. During his repeated probing attacks, he keenly sensed that the eyes of this flaming skeleton seemed to be very afraid of the wooden sword in his hand.
As soon as Ning Beichen's wooden sword approached the two clusters of deeper red flames that served as its eyes, the flaming skeleton would exhibit some fearful behavior.
Although this behavior was not very obvious, it was captured by Ning Beichen.
"So, you're not afraid of this wooden sword; you're afraid of your eyes."
Ning Beichen's expression brightened. He deliberately pretended to attack other parts of the flaming skeleton, avoiding its two eyes.
As expected, when Ning Beichen did not target its eyes, the flaming skeleton became very aggressive, seemingly unafraid of Ning Beichen's attacks.
However, it did not realize that Ning Beichen was merely lulling it into a false sense of security, waiting for an opportunity to attack.
And that opportunity soon arrived. Ning Beichen found an opening, performed a move like "two dragons emerging from the sea," and thrust his sword into the flame of the skeleton's left eye.
The skeletal flame let out a sharp cry and struggled violently, appearing to be in great pain.
"Tch! You're just a ball of flame, what are you crying in pain for? I haven't even cried out yet."
Ning Beichen spat, pulled the wooden sword out of its left eye, and saw that the flame in its left eye had vanished.
But as Ning Beichen prepared to press his advantage and destroy its right eye, the flaming skeleton actually... ran away!
Ning Beichen had never seen a ball of flame run so fast, so fast that he was stunned into immobility, unable to react, and didn't even chase it.
Because, before this, Ning Beichen would never have imagined that a ball of flame would flee.
"What is this all about!"
Ning Beichen wanted to taunt the fleeing flaming skeleton, "Come back, if you dare!"
But the flaming head fled without looking back, and Ning Beichen didn't even know where it had escaped to.
However, the environment was still there, the flames were still there, and Ning Beichen was still there. This meant that Ning Beichen had not yet broken free from this fiery environment.
And Ning Beichen had no intention of chasing the skeleton now. His body was burned and torn, two-thirds of his hair was gone, and his right arm was like a burnt piece of firewood, hurting so much that he was on the verge of tears.
"It's over, I must be disfigured. My beautiful ladies of Yamaloa!"
Ning Beichen wailed.
He could only hope that this situation was caused solely by the environment and would not carry over into reality. Otherwise, he would have wished he were dead.
Ning Beichen waited in place for about an hour or two, but the flaming skeleton did not return, and the surrounding environment remained unchanged.
"Could it be that the flaming skeleton is the key to escaping this environment?"
Ning Beichen began to ponder. Combining his experiences from the previous three locations, he increasingly felt that the flaming skeleton was the key to his escape.
But the flaming skeleton had disappeared somewhere, and hadn't shown up for hours.
"Do I have to go find you?"
Ning Beichen felt a headache coming on, but he had to accept this reality and go search for the flaming skeleton.
But the place was filled with flames everywhere, making it almost impossible to move. No matter which direction, north, south, east, west, or center, each path was a dead end.
Ning Beichen had no choice but to continue waiting in place.
And he waited for an unknown amount of time, but the flaming skeleton never appeared, and the surrounding environment remained unchanged.
However, Ning Beichen was staring blankly at the surrounding flames. In fact, he wasn't staring blankly but had entered a state akin to meditation.
At first.
Ning Beichen had always believed that the flaming skeleton was the key to solving the problem, but now he suddenly felt he had been thinking in the wrong direction.
The flaming skeleton was not the key; the flames themselves were the key.
But Ning Beichen still couldn't figure one thing out, or rather, hadn't fully comprehended it. As soon as he understood it, this environment would collapse on its own.
After some more time passed, Ning Beichen, who had been sitting still, suddenly stood up and walked directly into the flames.
With a "whoosh"!
Ning Beichen's entire body instantly ignited, but strangely, Ning Beichen showed no reaction, not even the slightest change in his expression.
Was he not in pain?
Even the strongest person in the world couldn't endure the pain of being burned by fire, right?
But Ning Beichen truly felt no pain, because he had achieved enlightenment.
To escape this environment, he had to first become fire himself. Only by becoming fire and merging with the flames of this environment could the environment collapse on its own.
At this moment, Ning Beichen, surrounded by flames, suddenly burst into laughter, and he laughed with great joy.
His thoughts were indeed correct, because with his laughter, the fiery environment gradually vanished, and Ning Beichen returned to the cave.
And Li Haitang, whom he had been searching for in vain, was dancing in front of him, completely unclothed.
It was as if all the strange things that had happened before were just figments of his imagination, that there had never been any tree monsters, man-faced flowers, giant crabs, or flaming skeletons, or any of those chaotic things.
At this moment, Li Haitang stopped, smiled at Ning Beichen, and walked towards him step by step.
"Haitang, did you succeed in your inheritance?"
Ning Beichen asked her excitedly.
"Yes, I have obtained the inheritance of the Miao Witches."
Li Haitang said happily as she walked up to Ning Beichen.
"That's truly wonderful."
Ning Beichen was also delighted for her.
"Ning Beichen, thank you for your help."
Li Haitang said, looking into Ning Beichen's eyes.
"That should be worth celebrating. How about a hug?"
Ning Beichen opened his arms and said to her.
Li Haitang obediently fell into his embrace, her face beaming with joy.
However, at that moment, the wooden sword in Ning Beichen's hand passed through her body from the front...