Ice and Fire Tempering

The left side of his body felt as if it had plunged into lava, while the right felt as if it had fallen into an icy cavern.

Yu Tiancheng grunted, a metallic sweetness rising in his throat.

The power of the Infernal Delicate Apricot and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass clashed wildly inside him. It felt as if two invisible hands were repeatedly tearing at his internal organs.

He grunted again, blood welling in his throat and seeping from the corner of his mouth.

But he didn't stop.

Under the astonished gazes of those around him, Yu Tiancheng endured the churning agony within and took one step, then another, toward the edge of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

With every step, his feet left prints of varying depths in the rock—the result of the overflowing ice and fire power of time and space.

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

"Don't worry, Aunt." Yu Tiancheng's voice was hoarse, yet uncommonly firm. "The Myriad Poisons True Scripture says that only those who consume these two herbs can withstand the power of ice and fire. This is a necessary step in tempering the body."

As soon as he finished speaking, he leaped—

Splash!

He plunged straight into the center of the spring where ice and fire converged!

"Ah—!"

Unimaginable agony swept over him in an instant.

The heat of the red spring and the cold of the blue spring were no longer sensations on the outside of his body. They poured in through every pore, working in tandem with the two streams of Immortal Herb medicine inside him and turning his body into a battlefield.

Yu Tiancheng clenched his teeth until blood seeped from his gums.

He sat cross-legged in the spring and circulated the Myriad Poisons True Scripture with all his might.

All poisons return to one; all things can be contained.

This time, he pushed the technique to a level it had never reached before.

He no longer resisted the ice and fire power pouring into him. Instead, he guided, refined, and absorbed it.

Red and icy blue streaks moved across the surface of his body like living things. At last, they met at his chest, forming a slowly spinning taiji symbol.

As if sensing something, the spring's rotation suddenly accelerated!

The scorching red spring and freezing blue spring surged up. They no longer merely enveloped him—they completely swallowed Yu Tiancheng.

Two whirlpools spun furiously around him as ice and fire energy poured into him like a tide.

On the bank, Dugu Bo's expression was grave. "That kid... He really dares!"

Liu Erlong's palms were drenched in sweat, but she didn't dare make a sound. She could tell that her nephew was at the most critical moment. Any disturbance might ruin everything and make him explode.

In the spring, Yu Tiancheng had entered a wondrous state in which he'd forgotten both himself and the world around him.

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

A cycle of destruction and rebirth played out within him—his flesh was torn apart, then renewed by the nourishment of the ice and fire power, growing tougher than before.

The pain was beyond ordinary imagination, yet Yu Tiancheng's mind remained extraordinarily clear. He could even "see" the subtle changes throughout his body.

The Time Dragon Emperor Martial Soul manifested of its own accord.

A silver-white dragon phantom appeared behind him, profound ripples of time and space flowing across its scales.

The dragon raised its head and let out a long cry. Then it opened its jaws and began actively devouring the incoming ice and fire power!

The Infernal Delicate Apricot's blazing essence, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass's icy core, and the accumulated energy of heaven and earth from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—all of it was swallowed by the dragon.

Refined by the Martial Soul, it became the purest energy and flowed back into Yu Tiancheng.

His Soul Power began to surge!

The level-thirty bottleneck shattered like paper. Level thirty-one, level thirty-two, level thirty-three...

Just as his Soul Power broke through level thirty-three, a sudden change occurred!

Inside Yu Tiancheng, the innate Spirit Ring that had come from the Time Dragon Emperor suddenly blazed with dazzling silver light.

The purple markings on the Spirit Ring began to change violently. Its color rapidly deepened, shifting from purple to dark purple, then to purplish black, before finally settling into a deep, pure black!

A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring!

As the host's constitution improved, his innate Spirit Ring evolved alongside him. Under the impact of the ice and fire tempering, it finally broke through the thousand-year limit and advanced to ten thousand years!

[Ding! Host's constitution evolution detected]

[First Soul Ring automatically evolving]

[Current Spirit Ring capacity of host's constitution: 15,000 years]

The system's notification rang clearly in his mind.

Yu Tiancheng was overjoyed, but the tempering wasn't over yet.

His Soul Power continued to climb!

Level thirty-four, level thirty-five, level thirty-six...

The energy of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well seemed endless, and the Time Dragon Emperor Martial Soul refined it faster and faster.

Yu Tiancheng floated up and down in the spring as black impurities were expelled through his pores—the accumulated filth being driven out of his body by the tempering.

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

When his Soul Power reached level forty, its rapid rise finally slowed.

At the same time, the spring water of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well began to change.

The red and blue springs gradually slowed their rotation. Their once-rampant energy grew gentle, then finally became two mild currents that slowly merged into Yu Tiancheng's body.

The body tempering was complete.

Yu Tiancheng opened his eyes.

For an instant, a red flame flickered deep in the pupil of his left eye, while a flash of icy blue swept across his right.

Though the change vanished in a heartbeat, everyone on the bank saw it clearly.

He slowly rose from the spring.

The red and icy blue hues had vanished completely from the surface of his body, replaced by a warm, jade-like sheen.

He lightly clenched his fist, and the air gave a faint crackle—the sound of pure physical strength compressing it.

"Level forty..." Feeling the surging power within him, Yu Tiancheng smiled.

Not only had his Soul Power jumped ten levels; more importantly, his body had undergone a complete transformation.

His physical strength alone was now enough to withstand attacks from an ordinary Soul Ancestor.

And if he also used the Time Dragon Emperor Martial Soul and his evolved Ten Thousand Year First Soul Ring...

"I can start planning for my Third and Fourth Soul Rings," he murmured.

With his body tempering complete, the maximum Spirit Ring age he could currently withstand had reached 23,000 years.

"Tiancheng!"

Liu Erlong was the first to rush over. She threw her arms around her soaked nephew, her voice choking with emotion. "You scared me to death! How could you jump straight in...?"

"Aunt, I'm fine, aren't I?" Yu Tiancheng said with a smile, comforting her as he patted her back.

Dugu Bo came over too and looked Yu Tiancheng up and down, his eyes full of amazement. "Well done, kid! You didn't just break through ten levels—you even evolved your First Soul Ring into a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring! If word of this got out..."

He paused, then shook his head. "No. This must never get out. A Ten Thousand Year First Soul Ring is far too shocking."

Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling gathered around as well.

The two girls looked at Yu Tiancheng with joy, but there was something more complicated in their eyes. This young man kept overturning their understanding of what was possible, time and again.

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

Ye Lingling offered her congratulations in a soft voice. At the same time, she thought to herself, Perhaps, if we follow someone like him, the fate of the Nine Heart Begonia clan really can change...