Ice-Fire Body Tempering

The left side of his body felt like it had been plunged into molten magma, while the right side was trapped in an icy abyss.

Yu Tiancheng let out a muffled grunt, a cloying sweetness rising in his throat.

The power of the Infernal Delicate Apricot and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass clashed violently within him, his internal organs feeling as though they were being repeatedly torn apart by two invisible giant hands.

He grunted again, the sweetness surging to his throat, and a thread of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

But he did not stop.

Under the stunned gazes of the crowd, Yu Tiancheng forced himself to endure the churning agony inside him, step by step, walking toward the edge of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

With each step, the rock beneath his feet left behind a footprint of varying depth—the overflow of the spatial ice and fire power.

"Tiancheng! What are you doing?" Liu Erlong cried out, moving to stop him.

"Aunt, rest assured." Yu Tiancheng's voice was hoarse but exceptionally firm. "The Myriad Poisons True Solution records that only by taking these two herbs can one withstand the power of ice and fire. This is a necessary step for tempering the body."

As his words fell, he leaped—

Plop!

His entire body plunged into the very center of the intersecting ice and fire spring!

"Ah—!"

Unimaginable pain instantly engulfed him.

The scorching heat of the red spring and the biting cold of the blue spring were no longer just external sensations; they surged madly through every pore, joining forces with the two immortal herbs' power already inside him, turning his body into a battlefield.

Yu Tiancheng clenched his jaw, blood seeping from his gums.

He sat cross-legged in the spring water, fully activating the Myriad Poisons True Solution.

Myriad poisons return to the origin, embracing all things.

This time, the technique operated at an unprecedented extreme.

The ice and fire power flooding into him was no longer resisted but actively guided, refined, and absorbed.

On the surface of his body, two colors—crimson red and icy blue—wandered like living things, finally converging at his chest to form a slowly rotating Tai Chi pattern.

The spring sensed something, and its rotation abruptly accelerated!

The scorching red spring and the freezing blue spring surged upward, no longer merely enveloping him but completely swallowing Yu Tiancheng.

Two water tornadoes spun wildly around him, ice and fire energy pouring in like a tidal wave.

On the shore, Dugu Bo's face was grave. "This kid... he actually dares!"

Liu Erlong's palms were slick with sweat, but she dared not make a sound to disturb him. She could see that her nephew was at the most critical moment; any interruption could lead to failure and his body exploding.

In the spring, Yu Tiancheng had entered a profound state of self-oblivion.

Guided by the Myriad Poisons True Solution, the ice and fire power began systematically tempering every inch of flesh, every bone, and every meridian.

A cycle of destruction and rebirth played out within him—flesh was torn apart, then reborn under the nourishment of the ice and fire power, becoming tougher.

This pain far exceeded ordinary imagination, but Yu Tiancheng's consciousness remained exceptionally clear, even able to "see" the minute changes in every part of his body.

The Time Dragon Emperor Martial Soul manifested on its own.

A phantom of a silver-white dragon appeared behind him, its scales flowing with profound spatial ripples.

The dragon raised its head and let out a long cry, opening its massive maw to actively devour the incoming ice and fire power!

The scorching essence of the Infernal Delicate Apricot, the icy quintessence of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, and the accumulated eons of heaven and earth energy from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—all were swallowed into the dragon's belly.

Refined by the martial soul, they transformed into the purest energy, feeding back into Yu Tiancheng's body.

Soul power began to skyrocket!

The bottleneck of Level 30 shattered like paper: Level 31, Level 32, Level 33...

Just as his soul power broke through the Level 33 barrier, a sudden change occurred!

Within Yu Tiancheng, the innate soul ring from the Time Dragon Emperor blazed with dazzling silver light.

The purple patterns on the soul ring began to shift violently, their color deepening rapidly—from purple to deep purple, then to purple-black, finally settling into a profound, pure black!

A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring!

The innate soul ring evolved as the host's physique improved, and now, under the impact of the ice and fire tempering, it finally broke through the thousand-year limit, leaping to ten thousand years!

[Ding! Detected host physique evolution]

[First Soul Ring automatically evolving]

[Current physique soul ring bearing limit: 15,000 years]

The system's prompt sounded clearly in his mind.

Yu Tiancheng's heart surged with joy, but the tempering was not yet over.

Soul power continued to climb!

Level 34, Level 35, Level 36...

The energy of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well seemed inexhaustible, and the Time Dragon Emperor Martial Soul's refining speed grew faster and faster.

Yu Tiancheng's body rose and fell in the spring water, black impurities—the accumulated waste flushed from within—constantly seeping out of his pores.

Thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine...

When his soul power surged to the fortieth rank, the breakneck pace finally slowed.

At that moment, the waters of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well began to change as well.

The rotation of the crimson and azure springs gradually slowed; their once-violent energy turned docile, finally transforming into two gentle streams that slowly merged into Yu Tiancheng's body.

The body refinement was complete.

Yu Tiancheng opened his eyes.

In that instant, a flicker of crimson flame flashed deep within his left pupil, while a trace of icy blue frost swept through his right.

Though it vanished in a breath, everyone on the shore saw it clearly.

He slowly rose from the spring water.

On the surface of his body, the mottled red and blue hues had completely disappeared, replaced by a warm, jade-like luster.

He lightly clenched his fist, and a faint crackling pop sounded in the air—the noise of pure physical strength compressing the atmosphere.

"Fortieth rank..." Yu Tiancheng felt the surging power within him and a smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

Not only had his soul power jumped ten consecutive ranks, but more importantly, his physical body had undergone a complete rebirth.

Now, relying solely on his bodily strength, he could directly withstand the attacks of an ordinary Soul Ancestor.

If he combined that with the Time Dragon Emperor Martial Soul and his evolved ten-thousand-year First Soul Ring...

"The third and fourth soul rings—I can start planning for them now," he murmured to himself.

With the completion of his body refinement, the maximum soul ring age he could currently bear had reached twenty-three thousand years.

"Tiancheng!"

Liu Erlong was the first to rush over, throwing her arms around her soaking-wet nephew, her voice choked with emotion: "You scared your aunt to death! How could you just jump straight in..."

"Aunt, aren't I perfectly fine?" Yu Tiancheng smiled reassuringly, patting her on the back.

Dugu Bo also walked over, sizing up Yu Tiancheng from head to toe, his eyes full of amazement: "Good lad! Not only did you break through ten ranks in one go, but even your First Soul Ring evolved to ten thousand years! If this gets out..."

He paused, then shook his head: "No, this absolutely cannot be leaked. A ten-thousand-year first ring—it's far too shocking."

Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling also gathered around.

The two girls looked at Yu Tiancheng, their eyes holding not only joy but also a deeper complexity—this youth had shattered their understanding time and again.

"Yu Tiancheng, congratulations," Dugu Yan said sincerely.

Ye Lingling offered her quiet congratulations as well, while inwardly thinking: Perhaps, by following someone like him, the fate of the Nine Heart Begonia clan really can change...