Crimson Extreme Golden Body Second Stage is Born

Luo Yue's "trial" had arrived ahead of schedule.

That day, Yan Kui was in the Spirit Beast Garden clearing out the last batch of out-of-control spirit beasts. Suddenly, the garden's formation trembled—the kind of fluctuation that only appeared when a powerful cultivator showed up.

Luo Yue's voice came from afar: "Yan Kui, stop what you're doing. I've sent two special guests for you. They want to inspect the safety of the Spirit Beast Garden."

Two figures descended from the sky. Both wore the robes of Qingyun Sect Outer Disciples, but their auras were distinctly different—both were Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators.

One was tall and thin, the other a sturdy Square-Faced Man. When they saw the 2.5-meter-tall, dark-red giant before them, a flicker of disdain passed through their eyes.

"You? The Spirit Beast Garden's keeper?" the Tall Thin Man asked in a condescending tone.

Yan Kui's instincts told him this was no mere "inspection." Luo Yue's true intentions were gradually surfacing.

"We need to assess your defensive capabilities," the Square-Faced Man said. "Don't worry, we won't really hurt you. The Elder just wants to see how you perform under pressure."

Before the words faded, both Foundation Establishment cultivators charged at Yan Kui simultaneously.

The Tall Thin Man's body shot into the air, launching the first attack from above—a sharp energy spike condensed from pale blue Mana in his hand, stabbing straight at Yan Kui's chest.

The Square-Faced Man rushed in from the ground, swinging a Flying Sword gleaming with golden light. This was the standard weapon of cultivators—mortal blades were useless in their hands; only Flying Swords infused with Mana could harm a cultivator.

Yan Kui instinctively used Crimson Extreme Golden Body's defense to block these attacks.

The energy spike struck his chest, producing a massive explosion. The shockwave swept across, but Yan Kui's body bore no wounds—Crimson Extreme Golden Body's defense was that terrifying.

The Flying Sword slashed at his shoulder, sparking violently. Golden sword-light clashed with dark-red muscle, and eventually the Flying Sword was deflected.

But problems soon emerged.

The two Foundation Establishment cultivators' attack speed far exceeded Yan Kui's reaction time. His body was too heavy—even with the boost of Spirit Snake Steps, he couldn't keep up with their combat rhythm.

A spell came from the side, hitting Yan Kui directly under the armpit. Though it didn't break his defense, the impact transmitted to his internal organs. Yan Kui felt his lungs and viscera shudder.

The Flying Sword struck from behind, and he twisted its direction with sheer muscle. But this defensive style was too passive—he was taking a beating, not fighting back.

Five minutes in, Yan Kui had been cornered at the edge of the Spirit Beast Garden. His defense was impenetrable, but he couldn't harm either cultivator. The Flying Sword was too fast for his body to track. The spells couldn't break his defense, but the continuous impacts were already damaging his internal organs.

He could feel his lungs and viscera bleeding.

This wasn't a simple "stress test." This was a real life-or-death battle.

Ten minutes in, Yan Kui's body was starting to give out. He had been knocked flying several times, each impact leaving deep craters in the ground. His vision began to blur, and the loss of blood and Qi exceeded his body's self-repair capacity.

This was absolute crisis.

Just then, the light of the Mysterious Bone Fragment bloomed inside Yan Kui's body.

That light was golden, resonating with the blue of the Mysterious Yin Iron Mother in a kind of harmony. In this resonance, all the Cultivation Techniques he had mastered—Crimson Extreme Golden Body, Spirit Snake Steps, Spirit Snake Silk Hand, Earth Fire Body Tempering—began to connect.

The energy of these techniques collided, fused, and sublimated within him.

"Fusion!"

Yan Kui roared the word.

────────────

[Initial Fusion Activated]

[Fusion Targets]: Crimson Extreme Golden Body (Tier 1) + Spirit Snake Steps (Grandmaster) + Spirit Snake Silk Hand (Minor Mastery) + Earth Fire Body Tempering (Grandmaster)

[Origin Power Consumed]: -60.0

[Fusion Progress]: 10%...30%...50%...70%...

────────────

The entire Spirit Beast Garden fell into chaos at that moment.

Yan Kui's body underwent a terrifying transformation. His skin shifted color under the impact of Origin Power—no longer a simple dark red, but beginning to emit an eerie glow.

His muscles underwent the deepest reorganization. The thick Muscle Fibers once built for raw power now gained both strength and flexibility. Bone density increased—not just in hardness, but in a qualitative change.

His spine underwent the most radical change. Already flexible from Spirit Snake Steps, it now gained even more horrifying mobility. Each vertebra could twist ninety degrees, as if the concept of a "spine" had vanished, replaced by pure flexibility.

His height began to grow. The 2.5-meter giant rose further under the infusion of Origin Power—not a crude expansion, but a more perfectly proportioned increase.

But just then, the fusion process suddenly stalled.

[Fusion Progress Stalled]: 85%

[Warning]: Origin Power nearly depleted, unable to complete final fusion stage

[Current Origin Power]: 0 (Fusion in progress, consumed Origin Power already deducted)

Yan Kui could feel the fusion interrupted. He was now in a state between fused and unfused—his body had partially transformed, but the fusion wasn't complete. His power had increased, but far below expectations. Worse, the incomplete fusion was tearing his body apart with excruciating pain.

When the two Foundation Establishment cultivators saw this, they realized what was happening. A fanatical gleam flashed in the Tall Thin Man's eyes—he understood that the monster before him was now at its weakest.

"Kill him! Now!" the Tall Thin Man roared.

Both cultivators charged at Yan Kui simultaneously.

In that moment, Yan Kui made a life-or-death choice. The incomplete fusion was destroying his body—he had only two options: complete the fusion, or die. And the only way to complete it was to obtain more Origin Power.

Yan Kui's gaze fell on the Tall Thin Man. A Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator—his blood and Qi contained enough Origin Power.

Yan Kui made his decision.

His body erupted with a terrifying power amidst the agony of fusion. The partial fusion granted him a speed that should have been impossible—an incomplete amalgamation of Spirit Snake Steps and Crimson Extreme Golden Body, yet potent enough.

In the extreme fusion state, Yan Kui's body altered direction in a way that defied physics. From being trapped between two cultivators, he charged straight at the Tall Thin Man.

The Tall Thin Man tried to defend with spells, but before Yan Kui in his fused state, his magic was as fragile as paper. Yan Kui's hand pierced through his defenses and pressed directly against his chest.

At that moment, though the fusion was not yet complete, the partially condensed Earth Fire energy was enough to destroy the body of a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator. The Tall Thin Man's screams echoed through the Spirit Beast Garden as his body twisted, melted, and shattered in the flames.

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The origin of life was collapsing. The Origin Power of his cultivation was draining away.

[Killed Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator]

[Origin Power: +15.0]

The Tall Thin Man was dead. Completely dead. His corpse didn't even retain a complete shape—only charred, blackened remains.

Most crucially, the Origin Power released upon his death flowed directly into Yan Kui's body. But more importantly, the most powerful Ice Mana of this Foundation Establishment cultivator—at the moment of death—was also unleashed.

That Ice Mana surged like a cold current into Yan Kui, who was still in the midst of fusion.

At this critical moment of life and death, in the perilous state of incomplete fusion, Yan Kui's body instinctively absorbed this Ice Mana. He had no choice but to let this frigid energy integrate into his fusion system.

────────────

[Acquired]: Essence of Ice Cultivation Technique (Extracted from Foundation Establishment Cultivator's Death)

[Fusion Continuing]

[Current Origin Power]: 3.7 (15.0 - 11.3)

[Fusion Target Updated]: Crimson Extreme Golden Body (First Stage) + Spirit Snake Steps (Grandmaster) + Spirit Snake Silk Hand (Minor Mastery) + Earth Fire Body Tempering (Grandmaster) + Essence of Ice Cultivation Technique

[Fusion Progress]: 85%... 92%... 98%... 100%

[Fusion Complete]

[Obtained Realm]: Crimson Extreme Golden Body · Second Stage (Ice Fire Extreme Path)

[Obtained Effects]:

- Ice Fire Yin Yang (Defense +50%, Spell Damage -70%)

- Extreme Path Domain (All enemies within three meters suffer Ice Fire Scorch)

- Spirit Snake Absolute Shadow (Movement Speed +50%, Fivefold Afterimage)

[Attribute Surge]:

- Strength: 10.5 → 12.0 (+1.5)

- Agility: 5.0 → 7.0 (+2.0)

- Constitution: 13.3 → 15.0 (+1.7)

────────────

The moment fusion completed, Yan Kui opened his eyes.

There was no trace of human warmth in his gaze—only cold, lethal, sinister killing intent. His entire demeanor had shifted—from a powerful physical cultivator into some kind of walking death.

His skin began to change—dual textures of ice and fire spread across his body. No longer a simple dark red, but a complex pattern of deep blue and dark red intertwined, as if ice and fire waged an eternal war on his surface.

He slowly raised his head, looking at the Square-Faced Man, who was still frozen in shock.

Under the gaze of those dual-colored ice-fire eyes, the Square-Faced Man felt despair. His body began to tremble involuntarily—not from fear, but from a terror that came from the depths of his soul. This monster before him was no longer something he could contend with.

Yan Kui's body vanished within the Extreme Path Domain. The Extreme Path Domain was a three-meter radius of ice-fire scorching—within this range, any matter was simultaneously destroyed by ice and fire.

When Yan Kui reappeared, he was already standing behind the Square-Faced Man. He made no complex movements—he simply extended a finger and lightly touched the man's nape.

In that instant, the power of ice and fire surged into the man's spinal cord. Under the impact of this force, from his neck downward, his entire upper body began to turn into ash interwoven with ice and fire. His scream didn't even last a second, because his throat had already been frozen and scorched.

In the last moment before losing consciousness, the Square-Faced Man saw his own charred body—a horror that transcended death itself.

[Killed Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator]

[Origin Power: +15.0]

The Square-Faced Man's corpse fell limply to the ground, his face frozen in final despair.

━━━━━━━━━

Two Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators had died within a total of less than three minutes.

Yan Kui slowly turned, looking toward a hidden spot in the distance—where Luo Yue was. With his newly awakened perception, Yan Kui could clearly sense the Elder's aura.

A cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

That smile was filled with sinister intent and killing desire—a smile born from the Extreme Path system itself, not belonging to a human. In that smile, any living being would feel despair.

"Another Trial, Elder Luo?" Yan Kui's voice was no longer the hoarse rasp from before, but had become a low, echoing murmur from the abyss. "Next time, you can come yourself. I'm very curious to see how long a Foundation Establishment cultivator can last in my Extreme Path Domain."

Luo Yue didn't respond. Instead, he rose directly into the air and fled. Golden Mana coalesced beneath him, carrying his body swiftly away from the Spirit Beast Garden. But even in his escape, a certain gleam of excitement flickered in his eyes—a mad, twisted excitement.

"Perfect... absolutely perfect... an unexpected transformation..." Luo Yue's low laughter was still clearly audible even from afar. "Breaking through mid-battle, physical mutation... such a test subject... must strengthen control strategies..."

Luo Yue's figure vanished completely into the sky.

When Luo Yue left, Yan Kui used the mobility of Spirit Snake Steps to quickly drag the two corpses to the edge of the magma in the Earth Fire Region. There, he threw all the bodies into the rolling lava. Under the continuous burning, the corpses were completely reduced to ash, and all traces were erased.

By the time he finished this and returned to the cave, the sky was already dawn.

Yan Kui sat inside the cave, feeling his brand-new body. This physique now possessed the dual characteristics of ice and fire, achieving a perfect balance of speed, strength, and defense. His skin shimmered with the light of the Ice-Fire Texture, and his two eyes respectively showed ice-blue and flame-red colors. His body proportions had completely changed—2.8 meters in height, perfect muscle lines, and that set of eerie ice-fire interwoven textures made him look not like a human, but like some kind of monster from hell.

[Crimson Extreme Golden Body Stage Born]

This was not an advancement, but a qualitative leap. From the first stage to the second stage, his combat power had increased by at least one level. Now, he had the confidence to contend with any Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator—not just defense, but true crushing and slaughter.

Luo Yue's true intention had been thoroughly exposed—this Elder didn't just want to "study" him, he wanted to "control" him. At the critical moment of the fusion, Yan Kui had temporarily chosen to kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator to obtain Origin Power to complete the fusion. This choice revealed the essence of the Extreme Path system: using any means, regardless of cost, to pursue power.

And at the moment that stream of ice-cold Mana invaded his body, he didn't even resist, but instinctively absorbed it. This embodied another core of the Extreme Path—any enemy's power could become one's own nourishment.

But Luo Yue had yet to realize one problem: on the path of the Extreme Path, no power could control Yan Kui. There was only death, or submission.

And Yan Kui would not give anyone the chance to submit.

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