Ice Fire Immunity Body, Part One

The Ice Fire Immunity Body was a legendary record within the Purple Firmament Thunder Art. Once mastered, it would not only make one impervious to blades and spears and allow rapid healing, but also grant immunity to the attribute-based bodily damage of ice and fire. In other words, once the Ice Fire Immunity Body was achieved, Hu Haoran would no longer fear the damage caused by frost or burning, and could even convert such damage into his own energy. From then on, he would become the nemesis of the vast majority of ice- and fire-attribute Soul Masters.

However, the cultivation requirements for the Ice Fire Immunity Body were exceptionally harsh. Hu Haoran had never imagined that he would encounter such an opportunity, and had merely skimmed over this record before. Normally, one only needed to follow the proper steps to cultivate the first three layers of the Purple Firmament Thunder Art. But to cultivate the Ice Fire Immunity Body, one had to find a place overflowing with both ice and fire energy, where the two were balanced yet fused together. Such a place was rarely seen even once in ten thousand years; only the legendary Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye qualified. Even upon finding a suitable cultivation site, success was not guaranteed. Cultivating the Ice Fire Immunity Body required simultaneously operating the Water Strike Body Tempering Method and the Fire Burn Body Tempering Method, placing strict demands on one's control over Soul Power. Mental strength was a key factor. Beyond satisfying those two requirements, there was one final condition: the body had to be strong enough. Although the first three layers of the Purple Firmament Thunder Art strengthened the body, the Ice Fire Immunity Body required one to be naturally robust. Otherwise, one would be unable to withstand the Soul Power impact during cultivation.

Hu Haoran happened to satisfy all these conditions. The fusion of two lifetimes' souls had greatly increased his mental strength, and the reward for the first trial had also been pure mental strength. In other words, Hu Haoran was now a level-twenty Soul Master with the mental strength of a level-sixty Soul Emperor. Moreover, before cultivating the Purple Firmament Thunder Art, Hu Haoran had always cultivated the Blue Lightning Dragon Emperor Art. His physical strength was now no weaker than that of some lower-ranked Soul Kings, allowing his body to bear his terrifying mental strength without collapsing. He also met the most important condition: the Rainbow Light Lake before him, filled with ice and fire energy.

Hu Haoran took a deep breath as he looked at the Rainbow Light Lake before him. He was preparing to challenge the twenty-fifth trial. He had an inexplicable premonition that as long as he mastered the Ice Fire Immunity Body, he would definitely succeed in the challenge. Thus, Hu Haoran did not waste a single moment. He walked step by step toward the light lake, until the water gradually submerged his entire body. The agony of being carved by a thousand blades and alternating ice and fire immediately struck him. Without hesitation, Hu Haoran directly activated the Water Strike Body Tempering Method and Fire Burn Body Tempering Method of the Purple Firmament Thunder Art.

Strands of energy from the Rainbow Light Lake continuously washed over Hu Haoran's body. Using his terrifying mental strength, he controlled his Soul Power with meticulous precision. Following the secret method of the Purple Firmament Thunder Art, he used his own Soul Power to draw in the ice and fire energy of the Rainbow Light Lake. Ice Soul Power slowly fused into his bones, while fire Soul Power gradually merged into his blood. This was the initial stage of the Ice Fire Immunity Body: Ice Bone Fire Blood.

The pain of alternating ice and fire spread from the outside into his body. The ice pierced to the bone, while his blood boiled with heat, yet Hu Haoran gritted his teeth and endured. After each cycle of alternating ice and fire, the ice and fire energy would rapidly repair his body. That was the merit of the Purple Firmament Thunder Art. Destruction before rebirth—this was the secret of the Ice Fire Immunity Body. There were no shortcuts.

Although the agony of alternating ice and fire could ease for a time, the pain of being carved by a thousand blades continued to assail him.

Every one of Hu Haoran's failures had been caused by that sensation of being carved by a thousand blades, and it troubled him greatly. Left with no choice, he could only open the Douluo System and seek help. He asked in his mind, "Is there any way to effectively remove this torturous pain of being carved by a thousand blades?"

"Hello! No!" the Douluo System answered honestly.

"Damn it! Then there should at least be a way to ease it, right?" Hu Haoran asked unwillingly.

"You may operate the Blue Lightning Dragon Emperor Art and attempt to awaken the embryonic form of the Dragon Emperor's Body. Once the embryonic form of the Dragon Emperor's Body takes shape, it can help you resist this pain," the Douluo System answered.

Hu Haoran was suddenly enlightened. Previously, when he operated the Blue Lightning Dragon Emperor Art, the pain of being carved by a thousand blades had indeed eased, but the pain of alternating ice and fire had deepened, causing him to fail time and time again. Now, operating only the Purple Firmament Thunder Art led to the same outcome, except that it allowed him to hold on longer. Half an hour was his limit. Because his method had been improper, he had been unable to break through that time barrier.

Having figured this out, Hu Haoran immediately activated the Blue Lightning Dragon Emperor Art. At that moment, his terrifying mental strength displayed its usefulness once more. His Soul Power split into three streams. The ice Soul Power continued guiding energy into his bones, while the fire Soul Power continued guiding it into his blood. The final stream of Soul Power directed the remaining energy into his body, forming a cycle within him. He used the energy of the Rainbow Light Lake to resist the energy of the Rainbow Light Lake. With both cultivation arts operating at once, the pain immediately diminished by more than half.

On Hu Haoran's side, he had finally found the true trick to dealing with the trial of Rainbow Purgatory.

On the other side, Leng Xuewu was also close to successfully finding the trick.

"This Rainbow Ice Lake gives off such astonishing cold that it rivals the legendary ultimate cold. My Spirit is not an Ultimate Spirit, but if I can absorb this ultimate cold attribute, then even if my Spirit cannot become an Ultimate Spirit, it will gain some resistance to ultimate attributes!" After failing eighteen times, Leng Xuewu gradually came to this conclusion. "My strategy now should not be resistance, but absorption."

Thus, Leng Xuewu also tried operating her own cultivation art, guiding the cold-attribute energy of the Rainbow Ice Lake into her Soul Power. She used this astonishing cold-attribute energy to wash over her body and upgrade her Spirit.

Leng Xuewu's cultivation art was the Cold Moon Luo Tian Sword Art, a Saint-tier cultivation art of the Myriad Sword Sect. Not only was it one of the Myriad Sword Sect's three sect-defending sword arts, it was also considered a top-tier cultivation art throughout the Douluo Continent.

"This Rainbow Ice Lake really can be absorbed. If so, my Spirit may have a chance to become an Ultimate Spirit. An Ultimate Spirit of the tool-type has never appeared on the Douluo Continent before. I truly hope I can become the first Ultimate tool-type Spirit." After trying it, the corners of Leng Xuewu's lips curled slightly as she murmured to herself.

The Cold Moon Luo Tian Sword Art circulated rapidly. Leng Xuewu divided the Ice Attribute energy into multiple streams and guided them into her meridians, bones, blood, and internal organs. Yet even more energy was absorbed by her Spirit, the Ice Wheel Snow Dance Sword. Leng Xuewu's Soul Power was slowly increasing. The rate of growth was slow, but it had already broken the stalemate in which she had made no progress for three years.

"Hahaha... This place is practically a blessed land!" Having tasted the benefits, Leng Xuewu accelerated her pace.

Very quickly, the cold air emitted by the Rainbow Ice Lake froze Leng Xuewu within it, forming a massive block of ice. Yet Leng Xuewu could still sense the outside world and could shatter the ice and break through at any time. For now, she was challenging her own limits.