After Zhu Xian Sword's energy surged, Lin Chen looked grim.
He suddenly clenched his right hand. A long, jet-black sword appeared in his grasp, its blade radiating a chilling aura. A flash of razor-sharp sword energy burst from his palm!
Slash!
Lin Chen let out a low cry, and the black sword in his hand began to shine with dazzling light.
The Eight-Cornered Black Ice Grass, which had originally been held by Yu Xiaogang, had been drained of its potent energy.
Under the sword's sudden, sweeping strike, it was cut cleanly in two!
Huff—!
Lin Chen didn't hesitate. His left hand caught the ice-cold Eight-Cornered Black Ice Grass, while his right hand held up the blazing Inferno Apricot.
He raised both herbs and, in one smooth motion, swallowed them whole.
To give an ordinary person even a fraction of the herbs' power would be enough to make them explode and die. Lin Chen shoved both straight into his mouth.
Gulp—!
The moment they entered his stomach, the two opposing energies transformed into a savage dragon of ice and fire, smashing into his internal organs.
Lin Chen's face turned deathly pale, and his brows knitted tightly.
His entire body shuddered, and he plunged headfirst into the center of the churning Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Let's see if I can handle the ice-and-fire tempering!
The spring water roiled as he submerged himself in it.
His body was subjected to an extreme trial, the opposing energies fighting within him as they remade his flesh and bones.
"...!"
Yu Xiaogang's pained cries made even Lin Chen's expression twist.
At that moment, a roll of thunder sounded in the sea of his consciousness.
Suddenly, dazzling golden light erupted. Each ancient rune became a streak of solid, brilliant radiance.
The surging, rampaging energy was forcibly crushed and fused together, then poured into Lin Chen's four limbs and bones.
"The first scroll of the Sky Thunder Scripture actually managed to withstand my tempering..."
Lin Chen gasped.
His skin and flesh continued to disintegrate and regenerate amid the clash of scarlet fire and icy frost. Every inch of muscle and bone endured the agony of being torn apart and remade.
A moment later, his pain gradually eased.
His body was healing, and he could feel his soul power rising rapidly. It was even approaching the threshold of a breakthrough!
Huff—!
Suddenly, a terrifying, lonely will emerged.
The vast, boundless Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well seemed to give rise to a spiritual resonance, as if something within it had awakened!
Lin Chen's eyes snapped open. His gaze pierced through the roiling spring water.
"That's..."
Before him was a vivid, glistening plant, its entire body shrouded in a strange, dazzling aura.
"The Starry Sky Blue Silver Grass..."
"Wonderful!"
Lin Chen was overjoyed. He could sense that the Starry Sky Blue Silver Grass would be the plant best suited to tempering his body.
Even so, he suppressed the excitement in his heart.
He didn't rush to pluck it. The flesh on his body was still healing, and if he forcibly absorbed a third plant, he might not be able to withstand the power.
The violent energy could easily tear his foundation apart!
Gulp—!
A strange sensation welled up in his heart.
Lin Chen could clearly sense a huge skeleton, as vast as a mountain range, lying beneath the deepest part of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
"The Ice and Fire Dragon King..."
Lin Chen felt a chill in his heart. Even though they had fallen, their might still radiated from this place.
"One day, I'll come back down here and take you both on."
At that moment, in Suotuo City, above the Spirit Hall branch, the air had already grown cold.
Yue Guan stood poised in the air, while Gui Mei had transformed into a phantom-like shadow. The two of them were jointly holding the enormous Clear Sky Hammer, which Han Chen could barely keep aloft.
"The Clear Sky Hammer truly lives up to its reputation. You and I are two Titled Douluo, yet we can barely hold it..."
Gui Mei's voice was icy, his killing intent surging.
The air cracked beneath the hammer's shadow and the drifting petals. The entire branch office shook under the formidable pressure of the Sealed Douluo.
"Han Chen, you're at the end of your rope. Was all this really worth it for a mere child?"
Yue Guan spoke sharply, his expression unsightly.
Han Chen was clearly gravely injured, but each swing of his hammer carried a trace of overwhelming power.
He simply couldn't be stopped!
The two of them could only fight together, barely holding Han Chen back.
At that moment, a figure clad in a long robe suddenly appeared on the ground.
"Hands off! Let go of my hands!"
Yu Xiaogang stood in the middle of the courtyard, his face twisted with rage. He raised a long, old-fashioned command token engraved with six characters high into the air, glaring at Yue Guan and Gui Mei.
"I am Yu Xiaogang, an elder of the Spirit Hall! This token is as good as the Pope's personal decree! Yue Guan, Gui Mei, you dare attack my disciple in broad daylight? Are you rebelling?"
The two men in the air were taken aback.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a glance, the corners of their mouths curling into mocking smiles.
"Elder?"
"You..."
Yu Xiaogang was stunned. Had they somehow figured out the connection between him and the token on Bibi Dong's back? But he'd hidden the truth so carefully beneath the sunlight's gaze!
"Elder?"
Yue Guan sneered. "Yu Xiaogang, right now, you're less useful than a blade of grass beneath the emperor's feet."
"You're talking nonsense! Bibi Dong is mine, and she would never..."
Bang!
A crisp slap shattered the air.
Yue Guan had casually swept his hand across the space, using no soul power at all, yet the force was tremendous.
Yu Xiaogang was flung ten meters away. He slammed into the broken wall, and in an instant his ribs cracked like firecrackers. Blood poured from his mouth, and he spat out several broken teeth.
Ugh—!
"You... You dare hit me?"
Yu Xiaogang lay on the ground, disbelief and immense humiliation in his eyes.
"I'm going to report you to Bibi Dong! I'm going to tell her to punish you!"
"Then you can die and go complain to her."
Gui Mei gave a cold snort and turned toward the infuriating Lin Chen.
"Han San, is that old man your master? He's truly a shameless, spineless fool."
Han San gritted his teeth, seething with fury.
I'll kill you!
But at that moment—
Xiao Wu had already been swept up by the Sealed Douluo's terrifying power and was thrown beyond the walls of Suotuo City, vanishing into the forest outside.
"Xiao Wu!"
Han San was frantic. He was furious that his master had been beaten, but in front of the Sealed Douluo, he was utterly powerless.
He glared at Yue Guan, then, with his teeth clenched, fled in the direction Xiao Wu had gone.
Han Chen said nothing.
Damn it!
Why did you run off at a time like this? I could've protected you if you'd stayed by my side!
Han Chen stood there, frozen, the Clear Sky Hammer erupting with black light. "The Spirit Hall owes me a debt! One day, I'll make you pay it all back!"
Yue Guan rubbed his hands together, his gaze cold.
"Old ghost, I can't beat him head-on, but he won't survive another hammer blow. Use that thing!"
Gui Mei remained silent. The killing intent around them began to grow denser, and the air itself seemed to twist under the dreadful energy gathering around them.
Martial Soul Fusion Skill—Two-Pole Stillness Domain!
With their simultaneous cries, the space around them seemed to freeze. The air and time itself were locked in place!
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