Path of Infernal Dao

Thunder murmured across the eastern range like a warning drawn out too long.

In the distance, clouds spiraled unnaturally — not water-born, but flame-choked and gold-rimmed. It was not a natural formation. Nor a seasonal shift. It was the earliest whisper of judgment — a tribulation being born, shaped not by the sky, but by karma.

And at its center stood a young man with dark eyes and a deeper soul.

Shen Yao stood atop the crumbling rooftop of an abandoned smithing hall, arms folded behind his back, as the wind danced through his robes like a mourning veil. The old world — the world that burned him — had begun to watch him again. It didn't know how to look away.

[Infernal Immortality System – Tribulation Core Sync: 89%]

Forecast: Crimson-Tier Soulfire Judgment

Penalty if Failed: Core Fragmentation, Death of Flame Root, Total Dao Collapse

Reward if Survived: Soul Refinement + Resonance Surge (x2)

It was the first true tribulation of his new life. Unlike the petty lightning tributes or the ritualized baptism of sect disciples, this was not granted.

This was provoked.

He had murdered Zhou Liang in silence. Burned Elder Mu Shan to karmic dust and not one act had gone unseen by the Heavens.

In his past life, Shen Yao would've prepared months in advance—gathered pills, arranged spirit arrays, begged for ancestral talismans. Even then, he'd only passed with assistance.

But that version of Shen Yao had believed in the system

This version spat on it.

This time, he wouldn't defend.

He would devour.

Beneath the old rooftop, Lian Xue moved carefully through the silent forge ruins, clutching a brass censer of violet fire. Her hands trembled slightly as she placed the censer on a broken anvil and fed it crushed spirit ash and powdered bone flint.

It was a sacred ritual — the kind used to purify one's Dao heart before a storm but she wasn't doing it for herself.

She was doing it for him.

Shen Yao hadn't asked her. He'd barely spoken since returning from the Ash Furnaces. But she'd seen the flicker of pain behind his silence. Not fear — not weakness — but the kind of tension that came before collapse.

He was burning too fast and she didn't know how to save a flame that refused to cool.

"Please," she whispered, "hold on."

Far above, Shen Yao removed his outer robe, revealing a black training tunic scorched at the collar. The wind rose. The world began to narrow.

And then— The clouds cracked.

Heaven blinked.

A lance of flame-laced lightning fell from the sky like a divine whip but Shen Yao didn't flinch.

He stepped forward, lifted his right palm, and welcomed it.

[Tribulation Initiated – Crimson Tier]

Synchronizing Sinflame Ledger…

Detected Karma Residue: Two Executed Targets

Amplification Engaged.

The strike hit his chest. It should've pierced him.

But instead, it vanished inside.

And in its place — heat. Pressure. Fire — not from above, but from within.

[Tribulation Core Absorption – Phase One Complete]

His spine cracked as flames tunneled through his marrow. His blood hissed as it turned semi-molten, his heartbeat pounding like a furnace bell.

Shen Yao gritted his teeth, but didn't scream.

This was not pain.

This was rebirth.

One strike became five. Then twenty.

By the hundredth blow, the rooftop had vanished. Only ash remained beneath his feet. The winds had died. Even the sky itself seemed uncertain.

This flame should have killed him.

This level of tribulation was designed to obliterate a soul, not temper it. Yet Shen Yao stood, shirtless and silent, his arms smoking, flesh torn and reknit in pulses and then, he opened his eyes.

Black flame flickered at their edges — not due to exhaustion, but evolution.

[Tribulation Core – Final Surge Incoming]

Warning: Phase Two Contains Karmic Memory Projections.

He knew what that meant.

The final wave wouldn't be lightning. It would be flame-born illusion — soul-deep memories projected and weaponized by the Heavens themselves. Visions of failure, betrayal, and regret designed to rip open his Dao Heart and force collapse from the inside.

And so— He stepped into it.

The surroundings changed.

He stood once more in the Tribunal Hall. Towering elders in white robes stared down with unreadable expressions. Divine runes hovered above him, ready to descend.

His limbs were bound. His flames were sealed. A hundred sect disciples chanted the words of execution.

And in front of them— Lian Xue knelt. Bloodied, broken. Still crying for him.

"Please," she had said, back then. "He didn't betray us. You all did!"

They struck her down.

Shen Yao's scream echoed through the tribunal and then the memory ended

The second illusion arrived.

His master. The one who praised him for years, the one who planted the Mortal Lock sigil into his core without blinking.

The one who smiled and whispered: "You were never meant to rise above us."

This time, Shen Yao didn't scream.

He smiled and erased the memory in flames.

One by one, the illusions came. Each one a fragment of his former self. Each one trying to lock him to who he used to be.

But Shen Yao had already buried that man in the flames.

[Phase Two Cleared.]

Flame Core Evolution Imminent…

The storm above fractured and then collapsed.

Silence returned.

The sect watched from the distance — dozens of disciples, elders, spies, and servants holding their breath as Shen Yao's outline became visible in the fading clouds.

He was no longer just a disciple.

Not to them.

His aura burned with pressure — not sharp, not wild — but dense. Like a volcano sealed by sheer will.

He had survived his first tribulation not by endurance, nor by defense — but by setting fire to everything he once feared… and walking through the ash without looking back

[BREAKTHROUGH ACHIEVED]

Realm: Peak Kindling Soul → Initial Cinder Vein

Flame Type: Evolved to Sinborn Ember Root

System Synchronization: 24%

And deeper still, within his soul flame—

[First Flame Resonance Node – Full Activation Unlocked]

Passive Effect: Karmic enemies burned by host yield greater evolution.

Active Effect: Burn Imprint – Mark one soul with irreversible karmic flame. Breakthroughs achieved through their destruction.

Marking Limit: One per realm.

Shen Yao raised a single finger.

A strand of invisible fire curled into the air. Somewhere, far away, a cultivator shivered without knowing why.

Their name had just been written on the Sinflame Ledger.

Night fell.

Lian Xue waited at the edge of the ruined courtyard, her hands trembling slightly as Shen Yao approached. His steps were slow. Measured. Not because he was weakened — but because he was still burning inside.

She opened her mouth but couldn't speak.

He walked past her. Said nothing.

But just as he passed, he stopped.

Without turning, he said quietly:

"Thank you… for the censer."

She blinked and then nodded — because that was enough.

The next day, someone said to Shen Yao, "This... this isn't about now, is it? I never did anything to you—"