Translator: AnubisTL
Cold! Not the kind of chill one feels on a snow-covered mountain, but a bone-piercing, sinister cold.
This was Li Qing's most vivid sensation as he pressed deeper into the Cold Wind Secret Realm.
The desolate landscape remained unchanged, yet the demonic qi was noticeably thinner here compared to other areas.
"That's right, it should be just ahead," Li Qing murmured to himself, his eyes burning with anticipation.
At this moment, his cultivation of the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art had reached a point of near-instinctive resonance.
He could sense it: a heavenly spirit fire lay in the direction he was heading.
The secret realm's light rapidly dimmed as the terrain steadily descended.
After an arduous journey, Li Qing finally stood before a deep ravine—or perhaps more accurately, an abyss.
The bone-piercing cold intensified to an extreme. The frigid air seemed to materialize, relentlessly assaulting every pore and cell of his body.
Yet this oppressive chill couldn't extinguish the fiery emotions surging within him.
Boom!
At the bottom of the abyssal ravine, a ghastly pale flame burned slowly, like a fire from the netherworld.
That's right, this was the Netherworld Cold Fire!
"As pale as ghostly flames, carrying a chilling aura as if from the depths of the underworld. Exactly as described in the ancient texts!"
Unlike ordinary flames that burn with terrifying heat capable of incinerating all things, this heavenly spirit fire was cold to the extreme. Even approaching it would cause frostbite.
Fortunately, Li Qing's fleshly body was exceptionally robust, allowing him to withstand the cold using the abundant vital energy within his body.
Without hesitation, Li Qing resolved to venture deeper into the abyssal ravine, seizing the opportunity to subdue the spirit fire.
But in the next moment, a heart-wrenching scream echoed from the depths of the ravine.
"Ugh... No! How could this be?!"
Someone was inside!
Li Qing's pupils constricted sharply as he clenched his fists tightly.
Someone had reached this place before him?! How was that possible?!
"Wait... that voice sounds familiar!" Li Qing's mouth widened slightly as he recognized the source of the scream.
He refrained from releasing his divine sense, knowing the Netherworld Cold Fire possessed a potent suppressive effect on divine souls. Actively probing with his divine sense would undoubtedly invite disaster.
"Senior Brother Xu?!"
The source of the miserable scream below was none other than Elder Xu of the Lingyun Sect—the very man who had informed Li Qing about the Netherworld Cold Fire.
A sudden realization dawned on Li Qing.
Of course! How could Elder Xu possibly remain unmoved by the prospect of a heavenly spirit fire?!
Previously, he had generously shared the information about the heavenly spirit fire with Li Qing because he believed he would never have another chance to enter the Cold Wind Secret Realm in his lifetime. Hence, his generosity.
But now, everything had changed. With a breach torn in the Extreme Ice Demon-Sealing Formation, the Cold Wind Secret Realm had reopened.
Given Elder Xu's temperament, he would naturally seize this opportunity.
Li Qing's greeting went unanswered. The scream, once uttered, fell into complete silence.
The area returned to its deathly stillness, yet Li Qing's heart remained restless.
Elder Xu... he's just... dead? So quietly, without a trace of resistance?
No longer in a hurry to descend into the abyssal ravine, Li Qing began to observe his surroundings.
Soon, his attention was drawn to the traces scattered around him.
No wonder the demonic qi here is so thin! It's not just because of the heavenly spirit fire!
No, the root cause was still the heavenly spirit fire, but Li Qing had uncovered a deeper layer of possibility.
Elder Xu used the demonic qi as a catalyst, attempting to suppress the Netherworld Cold Fire and force its flames to retreat to their lowest point. He then planned to seize the fire seed.
This was an ingenious strategy. Though the Netherworld Cold Fire appeared sinister and malevolent, it was a true heavenly spirit fire, brimming with spirituality.
Alas, a heavenly spirit fire remained a heavenly spirit fire—one of the most formidable forces in the world. It could not be suppressed so easily!
Elder Xu's actions backfired spectacularly, completely activating the Netherworld Cold Fire.
Before long, the ghastly white flames that had been burning eerily in the abyssal ravine began to slowly retract.
"Not even a trace of his divine soul escaped. He was completely annihilated," Li Qing murmured, his eyes gleaming with anticipation as his heart raced. "But his sacrifice has paved the way for me! The Netherworld Cold Fire is converging, revealing the location of its source fire seed!"
Li Qing didn't have a moment to mourn Elder Xu's demise. Now it was his turn—Li Qing, fully prepared and having cultivated the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art!
Boom!
Without hesitation, Li Qing plunged into the abyssal ravine, immediately unleashing all his vital energy to resist the increasingly bone-chilling cold permeating the air.
But the Netherworld Cold Fire targeted more than just the fleshly body. In the next instant, Li Qing's divine soul felt a searing pain.
Hiss!
As Li Qing drew closer to the source fire seed of the Netherworld Cold Fire, the burning sensation between his eyebrows intensified, as if his entire Sea of Consciousness were about to boil and ignite.
Li Qing gasped, but even as he plunged into the abyssal ravine, he didn't lose his composure to the proximity of the Netherworld Cold Fire. Instead, he stopped in his tracks.
"Just approaching the Netherworld Cold Fire is already this difficult. Is this truly something a foundation establishment cultivator can subdue?!"
Li Qing harbored deep doubts.
But there was no turning back now. He had prepared extensively for this.
With a gentle tap on his storage pouch, Li Qing retrieved a glistening Heavenly Star Grass, its leaves shimmering with dew-like droplets.
Only two Millennial Heavenly Star Grass remained in his pouch. The Heavenly Star Grass he had brought from the Soul Nurturing Secret Realm had been nearly exhausted.
He had initially thought he had brought too many, but now he felt he had brought far too few—woefully inadequate!
At this moment, he wished he could transport every Heavenly Star Grass from the Soul Nurturing Secret Realm to protect his divine soul from harm.
Without hesitation, Li Qing swallowed the entire Millennial Heavenly Star Grass whole. Instead of actively refining its medicinal power, he relied on its soul-nourishing properties to propel himself toward the Netherworld Cold Fire's source fire seed.
Boom!
As if sensing Li Qing's approach, the Netherworld Cold Fire surged and roiled, spewing out a torrent of ghastly pale flames.
Daring not to touch the flames directly, Li Qing activated his gilded battle armor and dodged relentlessly.
Yet the searing pain in his divine soul intensified, the agony turning his eyes bloodshot.
After evading the pale flames, Li Qing pressed onward, soon spotting a patch of ashes nearby.
It was undoubtedly the calamity ash left behind after Elder Xu's death.
Li Qing glanced at it briefly before continuing toward the source fire seed.
At that moment, he unleashed the pure scarlet true essence within his body—a unique characteristic of the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art, a cultivation manual known for aiding cultivators in taming heavenly spirit fires.
Now, the manual's special property finally began to manifest.
The scarlet true essence coalesced into a protective spiritual light enveloping Li Qing, immediately diminishing the Netherworld Cold Fire's hostility.
This allowed him to approach the tiny flame cluster—the source fire seed of the Netherworld Cold Fire—without further obstruction.
"Come on," Li Qing murmured, his voice low and resolute. "There's no turning back now!" With these words, he made the most daring decision of his life.
He reached out directly toward the cluster of source fire seeds, then used his other hand to retrieve Soul-Protecting Pills from his storage pouch, swallowing them all at once.
Boom!
The source fire seed erupted completely!
A terrifying, ghastly white flame instantly coiled around Li Qing's body, piercing through the protective spiritual light of the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art in an instant and completely engulfing him in its eerie glow.
Brahma King True Body!
Li Qing immediately activated this powerful body refinement secret technique, using it to withstand the scorching heat of the Netherworld Cold Fire.
Yet even with his absurdly formidable fleshly body, he couldn't endure this burning for long. The longer he dragged it out, the greater the danger became, and he risked turning into calamity ash like Elder Xu at any moment!
Moreover, the Netherworld Cold Fire was also burning Li Qing's divine soul.
This was almost the only good news: with the dual protection of the Millennial Heavenly Star Grass and the Soul-Protecting Pills, his divine soul wouldn't dissipate in the short term.
However, the pain remained intense. The burning sensation was directly attacking his divine soul, relentlessly tormenting Li Qing's mind.
"Subdue the fire seed!" Li Qing whispered, pressing his hand against the source fire seed. He continuously circulated the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art, using it to refine the source fire seed of the Netherworld Cold Fire.
A searing heat, burning from his divine soul!
A bone-chilling cold, seeping from his fleshly body!
In that moment, Li Qing finally understood the true meaning of being caught between fire and ice.
These diametrically opposed sensations nearly shattered his will, plunging him into utter chaos.
Amidst this conflicting mental maelstrom, he lost all ability to think clearly. Only one sliver of clarity remained: to circulate the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art!
"Not yet at my limit... not yet at my limit... I can't use the fire crow tail feather yet," Li Qing repeated silently, constantly reminding himself that he still had one final trump card.
Once he used the golden fire crow's tail feather, he would truly be at his wit's end.
Because at this point, nothing else mattered. Neither his physical strength, mana cultivation, nor divine soul realm could offer any assistance.
All he could do was endure.
Outside the secret realm, Chu Lingyi unconsciously tightened her cold-resistant treasure robe, muttering to herself in confusion:
"Why is it getting colder? And it's such a bone-chilling cold."
She wasn't the only one feeling it.
"Yeah, could it be something inside the demon's den?"
The man didn't continue speaking, sensing the heavy mood that had settled over the group.
The prolonged absence of those inside the secret realm meant that the rest of them would likely have to enter soon as well.
(End of the Chapter)
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