Closed-Door Cultivation

Even standing outside the pool, the bone-piercing cold was almost unbearable.

Xiao Shuang was no exception. If he did not circulate the Dou Qi within his body to resist it, he probably would not even be able to approach the Ice Spirit Cold Spring.

He crouched down and gently reached out to touch the Ice Spirit Cold Spring.

Xiao Shuang was shocked to discover that after only a brief contact, a layer of frost had formed over his fingers.

However, this state did not last long. Stimulated by the Ice Spirit Cold Spring, the Dou Qi within Xiao Shuang's body seemed to become even more active.

His body also developed an inexplicable sense of craving, leaving Xiao Shuang somewhat bewildered.

I want to touch more. This is all mine.

Suddenly, Xiao Shuang, who had been crouching beside the pool, slipped in. In only a moment, the Ice Spirit Cold Spring turned him into a block of ice.

This Ice Spirit Cold Spring had all been provided by Gu Yuan. After Xun'er assigned this task to Ling Ying, he had reported it to Gu Yuan.

Upon learning of the Extreme Cold Physique, even Gu Yuan was taken aback. Naturally, he supported Xun'er's intention to win him over.

Thus, the quality of this Ice Spirit Cold Spring was exceptional. With this much of it, even one of the lower-ranked Heavenly Flames could lose its proper temperature.

Wrapped completely in the Ice Spirit Cold Spring, Xiao Shuang's first sensation was cold—so cold. Yet after a while, it became a warm and comfortable feeling.

The two sensations alternated, and the Dou Qi within his body became exceptionally frigid. Even his meridians felt as though they had frozen.

After a long time, so long that he had lost all sense of time, Xiao Shuang finally opened his eyes.

He poked his head out of the Ice Spirit Cold Spring and greedily gulped down fresh air.

It was truly surprising that, despite only being a Dou Zhe, he had not drowned in the Ice Spirit Cold Spring.

The reason was that during that period, Xiao Shuang had seemed to have all signs of life frozen over.

As the Extreme Cold Physique awakened, the Dou Qi within Xiao Shuang's body was continuously tempered. Without realizing it, he had actually broken through to a seven-star Dou Zhe!

The energy he absorbed was merely what remained after his body had taken its fill. Most of the energy contained within the Ice Spirit Cold Spring had been absorbed by his body.

Xiao Shuang looked himself over and realized that his clothes had frozen stiff. With a little force, they shattered into a pile of fragments.

He shook his head with a bitter smile. This bath had been rather expensive.

Sitting cross-legged in the pool, Xiao Shuang formed the seals for cultivation with his fingers. Streams of pure energy from the Ice Spirit Cold Spring poured into his body.

However, Xiao Shuang discovered that his body was like a bottomless pit. By the time that pure energy circulated through his meridians, most of it had already been absorbed. In the end, only a small portion became Ice Attribute Dou Qi and entered the vortex in his lower abdomen.

"It was exactly as recorded in the ancient texts."

Seeing this, Xiao Shuang was not discouraged in the slightest. Instead, he accelerated his cultivation.

When cultivating, one with the Extreme Cold Physique could directly absorb Ice Attribute energy. Most of it would be stored within the body and slowly digested. If danger arose, the energy stored within the body could be unleashed all at once.

If he did so, that energy would become one-use Dou Qi and dissipate after being used. However, it would allow the owner of the Extreme Cold Physique to unleash extremely powerful strength for a short time.

By Xiao Shuang's estimate, after absorbing all the energy within this Ice Spirit Cold Spring, if he unleashed it in a single burst, he could probably rival a Dou Huang powerhouse!

The woman in green still sat where she was, like a statue. Yet endless green Dou Qi swirled around her, radiating intense vitality.

"How long have I been here?"

Xiao Shuang tried asking. He was not sure whether the woman in green could hear him.

"After tomorrow, it will be exactly a year and a half." Unexpectedly, the woman in green truly answered him, though she gave no further response afterward.

"That's good." Xiao Shuang closed his eyes and focused once more, beginning to seize the remaining energy within the Ice Spirit Cold Spring.

Once all its energy had been absorbed, the Ice Spirit Cold Spring lost its purpose and completely turned into an ordinary spring.

The cave fell silent once more.

Meanwhile, during this period, the Xiao Family—

On the day Xiao Yan turned eleven, he successfully condensed a Dou Qi Vortex and became a Dou Zhe.

Just as he wanted to share his joy with Xun'er and Xiao Shuang, he received news that Xiao Shuang had been noticed by an expert and taken away for cultivation. He would likely return in around two years.

Xiao Yan sighed regretfully at this. In the past, he and Xiao Shuang had cultivated by constantly competing with each other, but it seemed that would no longer happen.

Even so, Xiao Yan kept his earlier promise and took Xun'er to the most expensive place in Wutan City for a celebratory feast.

However, terrible news arrived that night.

The moment Xiao Yan returned home, he discovered that the Dou Qi he had painstakingly cultivated was beginning to vanish strangely!

Not only that, after his Dou Qi disappeared completely, his Dou Power also drained away with it, eventually remaining at the level of three stages of Dou Power.

Xiao Yan was utterly at a loss over this situation. After finding Xiao Zhan, the latter personally examined Xiao Yan's body with his Dou Qi again and again, yet could find no problem at all.

This change directly sent the Xiao Family's genius from heaven to hell. Even Xun'er was completely baffled.

After all, how could someone's cultivated Dou Qi simply disappear?

Xun'er was also anxious for a while. After all, three stages of Dou Power would never receive her clan's approval.

Fortunately, Xun'er still had Xiao Shuang as a trump card. Even if Brother Xiao Yan could no longer cultivate, with Xiao Shuang's help, his future achievements would certainly not be low!

The most important thing now was to stabilize Xiao Yan's state of mind and prevent him from becoming despondent because of this.

In truth, Xun'er was not entirely confident either. She was unsure whether Xiao Shuang and Xiao Yan would continue to maintain a good relationship, even if she provided cultivation resources for them.

Moreover, Xun'er and Xiao Shuang were more like partners. Xun'er provided cultivation resources, while Xiao Shuang would obey Xun'er's instructions to a certain extent. This was something the two had tacitly agreed upon.

If she gave orders unilaterally, it would probably hasten the erosion of their bond. Xun'er did not want to see that, nor could she do something so foolish.

When Xiao Shuang opened his eyes again, the energy within the Ice Spirit Cold Spring had nearly been exhausted. His hand seals shifted, and the Dou Qi within his body immediately began to boil. The Dou Qi Vortex in his lower abdomen began spinning at high speed as well!

Under this rotation, the ice-blue Dou Qi within Xiao Shuang's body gradually condensed into fingernail-sized droplets of liquid energy.

This liquid energy still emitted freezing cold, just like the Ice Spirit Cold Spring.

The ice-blue vortex slowly revolved, with many droplets of liquid energy suspended within it.