Ice and Fire Body Tempering

Arriving at the second floor of the inn, Wang Chuan pushed open the door and called out brightly, "Old monster, I'm here!"

An elderly man in green robes sat by the window. At the sound, he turned his head, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes. His face was lean, his beard and hair jet-black, and only the edge honed by the years lingered between his brows—it was none other than Poison Douluo Dugu Bo.

"Oh? You came so quickly." Dugu Bo's lips curled into a smile, his tone teasing. "I thought I'd have to wait at least another day."

"Of course, old monster." Wang Chuan sat across from him, smiling. "Since I promised to return as soon as possible, how could I make you wait too long?"

Dugu Bo snorted with a laugh and said no more. With a sweep of his sleeve, he rose to his feet. "Forget the empty pleasantries. Let's go." Before his words had even faded, he had grabbed Wang Chuan by the shoulder. The next instant, their figures flashed out the window like smoke, soaring through the air toward the depths of Sunset Forest.

Wang Chuan heard the wind roaring past his ears as the sea of forest below rushed backward. In only a few moments, the air around them abruptly changed, filled with a strange aura where dampness mingled with scorching heat and biting cold. Dugu Bo slowed down and brought him into a valley enclosed by steep mountain walls.

Mist swirled through the valley, and at its center lay a peculiar spring—one side was crimson, churning like lava and giving off billowing steam; the other was milky white, like frozen ice, releasing strands of bone-chilling cold. It was the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes.

Countless rare flowers and strange herbs grew around the spring. Some exhaled rosy light, while others were wreathed in frost; none were ordinary. The heaven and earth essence was so dense it seemed almost tangible, making Wang Chuan's Soul Power stir faintly with every breath.

"Old monster." Wang Chuan's gaze swept over the immortal herbs before finally settling on Dugu Bo's face. He asked seriously once more, "Are you certain... everything here is mine to use?"

Dugu Bo stood with his hands behind his back and shot him a sideways glance. "I, Dugu Bo, never go back on my word. Would a Titled Douluo really deceive a little brat like you?" Though his tone was arrogant, it soon turned grave. "But remember this well: the medicinal properties of the herbs here are overwhelmingly potent. They are not something ordinary Soul Masters can endure. If anything happens to you, I won't be able to explain it to your master."

It was not advisable to treat the toxins within Dugu Bo's body too frequently, or it would damage his foundation. Thus, they had long agreed to conduct treatment once every two weeks, proceeding gradually for the best results.

Wang Chuan nodded, but his gaze had already been drawn to two unusual plants beside the spring. One was a gleaming blue all over, its leaves like condensed ice crystals as it emitted wisps of chill—it was Mysterious Ice Grass. The other was fiery red, its blossoms delicate and vivid, radiating warm vapor—it was Apricot Flower.

He hesitated no longer. Stepping forward quickly, he carefully plucked both immortal herbs. The moment they entered his hands, one was piercingly cold while the other was scorching hot. The two extreme forces tried to burrow into his body through the meridians in his arms, prompting his Soul Power to circulate instinctively in resistance.

Dugu Bo watched from the side with a slight frown, seemingly about to offer another warning. Yet Wang Chuan's eyes were resolute, and he had already stuffed both immortal herbs into his mouth at the same time!

"Boy, you—" Before Dugu Bo could finish, Wang Chuan leaped into the air and plunged directly into the point where the clearly divided springs of ice and fire met!

"Foolishness!" Dugu Bo's expression changed drastically as he strode forward. He knew full well how terrifying the spring water was. Even he did not dare let his body come into contact with both extreme waters at once. Those two herbs were even more violently potent. Swallowing them whole and then jumping into this tempering spring was practically seeking death!

Without hesitation, he released his Soul Power. Nine brilliant soul rings rose from beneath his feet, and the mighty power of a Titled Douluo condensed into a massive emerald hand that shot toward Wang Chuan in the spring, trying to pull him out.

However, the ice and fire spring seemed to possess laws of life all its own. The energies of extreme cold and extreme heat intertwined into a natural domain, forcibly blocking Dugu Bo's massive Soul Power hand and dissolving it outside, preventing it from penetrating even an inch!

Dugu Bo tried several times, but his Soul Power vanished into the waters like a clay ox entering the sea, dispersed by the terrifying energy of the spring. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his brow as panic and anger churned within him. Why is this kid so reckless? How am I supposed to explain this to that old bastard Chen Xin?! He could practically see the incomparably sharp sword light of the Seven Kill Sword coming down upon his head.

Time passed bit by bit. Aside from a brief burst of bubbles at the start, the spring showed no further movement. Dugu Bo's heart sank lower and lower as he stood guard beside it, his expression frighteningly dark.

Yet he did not know that beneath the spring, Wang Chuan was undergoing a transformation that would remake him from the very foundation.

The two immortal herbs melted the moment they entered his mouth, transforming into two torrents, one icy and one fiery, that instantly surged through his limbs and bones. Extreme cold poison and fire poison raged wildly, as though they intended to tear him apart from within, burn him to ash, and freeze him into fragments. The agony far exceeded anything he had imagined, nearly swallowing his consciousness in an instant.

Just as his awareness was about to fade, the spring waters of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes into which he had leaped displayed their miraculous effect. The external energies of Extreme Ice and Extreme Fire flowed into his body through his pores. Rather than worsening the destruction, they miraculously neutralized and guided the two rampaging medicinal forces within him.

Ice and fire opposed one another, yet they also gave rise to one another. Within this miraculous spring formed by heaven and earth, the two extreme energies achieved a perfect balance, like a giant furnace forcibly tempering Wang Chuan's body, Soul Power, and even soul.

He guarded the final thread of clarity within his mind and circulated his cultivation technique, guiding the power of ice and fire to wash through his meridians, temper his muscles and bones, and condense his Soul Power. Every moment came with immense agony and a rebirth-like transformation. As his meridians shattered and reformed, they became wider and tougher. His bones and Internal Organs were covered in a faint glow of interwoven gold, red, and blue, becoming more crystalline and resilient.

After an unknown amount of time, the agonizing pain within him gradually faded, transforming into an indescribable sense of ease and power. The extreme energies of ice and fire no longer clashed. Instead, they merged perfectly into his Soul Power and slowly began to fuse with his original Nothingness attribute, undergoing some profound transformation.

Sensing that the spring was exceptionally effective at tempering him, he was in no hurry to emerge. Instead, he focused his mind and continued absorbing the endless source power of ice and fire within the spring, consolidating this hard-won opportunity.

About half an hour later, just as Dugu Bo was nearly falling into complete despair, there was a splash, and a figure burst from the spring, landing lightly on the shore.

It was Wang Chuan.

His clothes had long since dissolved in the spring water, but his body was shrouded in a faint chaotic glow, with streaks of red and blue light flickering indistinctly across it. He looked mysterious beyond measure. His skin had become even more lustrous, his frame seemed a little taller, and his entire body radiated a fresh yet powerful aura from the inside out.

"Little monster, are you all right?" Dugu Bo rushed forward in one step, anxiously grabbing his wrist. Pure Soul Power entered Wang Chuan's body as he tried to examine his condition. "Let me see, quickly!"

However, the moment his Soul Power entered Wang Chuan's meridians, he felt two forces—one extremely cold and one extremely hot—intertwine and surge forth on their own. Gentle yet unyielding, they dissolved and repelled his probing Soul Power. At the same time, an even deeper Power of Void seemed to lurk beneath the power of ice and fire, as though it could annihilate everything, making even Dugu Bo feel a trace of dread.

Wang Chuan smiled faintly, excitement glittering in his eyes. "Old monster, not only am I fine, I've gained an enormous benefit!"

He moved his arms and legs, and red-blue light flashed across his body before vanishing. "Those two immortal herbs and this spring have caused my Soul Power to mutate. From now on, my attacks will likely carry traces of Extreme Ice and Extreme Fire, greatly increasing their power. More importantly, they can combine with my Nothingness attribute, so the Power of Void will no longer merely corrode. Like spreading ice and fire, it can spread more quickly through an opponent's body and become difficult to dispel."

He paused, his tone filled with incredulous delight. "Even... I seem to have developed extremely high resistance to attacks of pure water and fire attributes, to the point of near immunity!"

Dugu Bo was dumbstruck. After a long moment, he sucked in a breath and clicked his tongue in amazement. "Good heavens... you really are a genuine little monster! Such fortune... With your current strength and foundation, crossing ten levels in battle should be no problem at all, right?" He felt that this assessment was already quite bold.

At his words, Wang Chuan's lips curved into a confident smile. He felt Dugu Bo was still being too conservative. With his current immunity to ice and fire, attacks carrying extreme attributes, and enhanced Power of Void, so long as he did not face Soul Ancestors who were equally gifted and possessed top-tier martial souls, he was confident he could fight even opponents in their forties.

"Of course, old monster." Wang Chuan laughed heartily. Without wasting any more time, he immediately sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and focused his mind as he began circulating his cultivation technique. He needed to regulate his breathing as soon as possible, completely convert the vast energy he had just absorbed into his own Soul Power, stabilize the realm that had suddenly risen, and carefully comprehend the many mysterious changes in his body and Soul Power.

For the next several days, Wang Chuan remained near the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes. During the day, he cultivated his Soul Power and familiarized himself with his new abilities. At night, he absorbed the incomparably dense heaven and earth essence of this place, constantly adjusting his condition and thoroughly consolidating the gains from this encounter. Within the valley, chilling cold sometimes filled the air, heat waves sometimes rolled through, and at other times everything returned to a state of chaotic nothingness.