As Ma Xiaotao continued absorbing the medicinal power, a faint golden-red glow began to shimmer across her skin, as though lava were slowly coursing through her veins.
A scorching heat filled the air. The temperature in the entire room rose sharply, and even the window lattice grew slightly hot, letting out faint crackling sounds.
Even her close-fitting clothes, made from specially treated fire-resistant material, could not last long before the increasingly fierce Phoenix Flame. The edges of the fabric first turned yellow and charred, then crumbled into ash that drifted silently through the secret chamber.
The flames receded like fireflies, revealing Ma Xiaotao's flawless body. A faint rosy sheen still lingered on her skin, like fine mutton-fat jade warmed by the sun.
Ye Guchen leaned against the stone table nearby. With the entire scene laid bare before him, he folded his arms, his gaze drawn to her despite himself.
Even though he had seen this body many times before, each time he looked at it, he still found it perfect.
Her delicate collarbones and graceful waistline—every curve seemed to have been carefully sculpted by the Creator. Now, illuminated by the lingering firelight, she looked even more dreamlike.
As the Phoenix Flame continued to refine itself, the air around Ma Xiaotao began to warp and distort,
The Evil Fire was gradually burned away. Wisps of gray-black impurities seeped from her pores like thin smoke, then vanished beneath the searing heat of her skin.
Her aura continued to climb, like a mountain flood that had been building for ages at last finding an outlet.
Level sixty-two, sixty-three, sixty-four, sixty-five!
With every level she broke through, the air in the room shuddered violently, and droplets of water on the walls instantly evaporated into white mist.
After rising three levels, her surging aura finally began to settle.
The sheer pressure she gave off, carrying the unique scorching sanctity of the Phoenix bloodline, could not be achieved through an increase in Soul Power alone. It was as though even the dust in the air had been cowed by her power and dared not stir.
At that moment, even Ye Guchen had to circulate the Ice Jade Scorpion's Ultimate Ice. Only after a layer of pale-blue ice crystals covered his skin could he counter the pure heat wave.
Where ice and fire met, they hissed and crackled, and white steam billowed up before him.
"Ultimate Fire!"
Ye Guchen blurted out, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
In the original story, although Ma Hongjun's fire attribute had been refined after he took the Immortal Herb, judging by what he could do, he had not reached the level of Ultimate Fire.
His flames had been fierce, but they still lacked a measure of purity.
Unless Ma Xiaotao's Martial Soul had been stronger than Ma Hongjun's from the beginning.
Perhaps that was because Ma Hongjun had overindulged himself in the early days.
Or perhaps the Immortal Herb had worked far better on her than Ye Guchen had expected.
Next, the remaining medicinal power turned into a gentle yet tremendous warm current that began to wash through Ma Xiaotao's body, clearing its impurities.
As soon as the filth was expelled from her pores, the flames that still had not fully withdrawn from her skin burned it to ash. Not a trace remained; it vanished into the air with the heat.
"This is pretty useful. Maybe she won't even need to bathe from now on!"
Ye Guchen rubbed his chin, the corners of his mouth lifting in a thoughtful smile. He genuinely thought the ability was quite good.
He lightly tapped his arm with a fingertip, his eyes full of teasing.
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, about three hours had passed.
The heat left in the room finally began to subside, leaving behind only the faintest scent of something scorched in the air.
Ma Xiaotao had finally finished absorbing the Immortal Herb.
She slowly opened her eyes, and a golden-red glimmer flashed through them before vanishing.
She was just about to tell Ye Guchen about the changes she had undergone when she opened her eyes and met his gaze.
Ye Guchen was propping his chin on one hand, staring at her intently. His gaze was focused and deep, as though he were admiring a peerless work of art.
"W-what's wrong?"
Ma Xiaotao asked in confusion, then followed Ye Guchen's gaze and looked down.
She saw her own bare body, not a stitch of clothing on her skin. Only a few strands of sweat-dampened hair clung to her collarbones and chest.
Ma Xiaotao had always been bold in front of Ye Guchen, but even she couldn't help blushing now. A flush spread from her cheeks to her ears, and a faint pink hue crept down her neck.
"Had enough?" Her voice carried a hint of coy reproach.
Ye Guchen smiled, his amusement deepening.
"Not enough. I could never get enough!" He leaned closer, his voice brimming with undisguised longing and love.
Ma Xiaotao said nothing. Instead, she threw herself into his arms, wrapped her soft arms around his neck, and buried her face in the hollow of his shoulder.
She answered Ye Guchen with actions, and once again, their figures entwined in the secret chamber.
After their passionate lovemaking, the room finally fell completely silent.
Ye Guchen rested his head on Ma Xiaotao's thighs, savoring their warm, soft touch.
Her fingers gently combed through his hair, their movements lazily tender.
As if by silent agreement, Ma Xiaotao did not ask where the Immortal Herb had come from. She only massaged Ye Guchen's head, her fingertips moving with gentle, soothing strokes, while she briefly described the changes she had undergone after absorbing the herb. Her voice still held a touch of post-coital languor.
Back on the Dou I timeline, mist swirled around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, its spring bubbling and gurgling. The air was saturated with the power of heaven and earth, so dense it seemed almost tangible.
After taking all the Immortal Herbs, Ye Guchen couldn't help feeling a little guilty. He had taken such a precious medicinal garden from Dugu Bo; he ought to give him something in return.
He stood beside the spring, his sleeves snapping in the alternating winds of heat and cold.
Just as Ye Guchen was pondering what to do, an Immortal Herb he had overlooked suddenly surfaced in his mind, like a flash of inspiration cleaving through the fog of his thoughts.
"Earth Dragon Golden Melon! How could I have forgotten it?"
The Earth Dragon Golden Melon grew beneath the soil, buried rather deep. One had to probe tens of meters underground with Soul Power to sense it.
"Tian Meng! It's time for you to show what you can do!"
Finally hearing his boss call for him again, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was so excited that his translucent body twisted into waves in midair.
"Boss! You finally remembered me again! Boohoo..."
Ye Guchen flicked the chubby, sniveling worm on the head. His fingertip snapped against its round spiritual body with a crisp sound.
"Cut the nonsense. You're a Soul Beast. It's only been a few days, and you're already saying it's been ages!"
His tone was stern, but a helpless smile lingered in his eyes.
Tian Meng obediently covered its head with its tail and put on a pitiful expression. Its round eyes seemed to brim with tears.
"Enough. I called you over this time to help me find an Immortal Herb."
Ye Guchen straightened his expression.
"Anything for you, boss!" Tian Meng immediately dropped its wounded act, its spiritual body glowing faintly with excitement.
Looking at the plump worm's eager expression, Ye Guchen found it ridiculous and couldn't help the corners of his mouth from lifting.
"Probe underground with your spiritual power and search with all your strength for an herb shaped like a sweet potato. Understand?"
At that, Tian Meng nodded firmly, the glow around its body growing brighter.
"Got it!" Its voice rang with enthusiasm.
Then it released a vast surge of spiritual power. Invisible waves rolled like a tide beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, probing the ground.
Its spiritual power pierced layer upon layer of frozen earth and scorching rock, spreading in every direction like countless transparent tendrils.
It took only a moment for Tian Meng to find two herbs shaped like sweet potatoes, their rich Soul Power radiating outward. They were hidden several meters underground, their surfaces glimmering with golden patterns.
"Found them!" Tian Meng looked immensely proud as it floated up to Ye Guchen. Its translucent body trembled with excitement, clearly hoping for praise.
"Good work!" Ye Guchen praised it without hesitation and gave its head a light, airy pat.
Tian Meng's antics added a little fun to Ye Guchen's life, bringing a touch of warmth to his lonely path of cultivation.
Ye Guchen went to the spot above where Tian Meng had sensed the Earth Dragon Golden Melons, crouched down, rolled up his sleeves, and began digging with Soul Power. The soil peeled away layer by layer, filling the air with the fresh, earthy scent of freshly turned ground.
After receiving Ye Guchen's praise, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm worked even harder. Light rippled across its spiritual body as it began searching deeper beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Its invisible web of spiritual power extended downward, piercing through layers of rock and frozen soil.
It hoped to find more Immortal Herbs for its boss. With every inch it searched, hope shone brighter in its eyes.
Ye Guchen paid no attention to what Tian Meng was doing and focused on digging up the Immortal Herb.
His palm had already touched the hard, warm skin at the top of the Earth Dragon Golden Melon. With great care, he used Soul Power to loosen the earth around it.
Suddenly, Tian Meng let out a cry of surprise. Its spiritual waves surged violently, like a still lake struck by a boulder.
"We're rich, boss!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm hurried to Ye Guchen's side. Its body nearly solidified with excitement, light flashing rapidly across it.
It was so thrilled that even its spiritual message trembled.
"Boss, guess what I found!" Its voice rose in pitch.
But before Ye Guchen could answer, it eagerly continued, its words pouring out like a string of firecrackers.
"Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Marrow! A whole lot of Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Marrow!"
It spoke in such a rush that it was almost incoherent, its spiritual body spinning in midair.
Ye Guchen was puzzled. His hands paused for a moment.
"Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Marrow?"
Before transmigrating, he had only read the novels and watched the anime for Dou I and Peerless. He had no idea there was a Dragon King remnant soul beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Ye Guchen furrowed his brow slightly, searching his memories for any trace of those four words connected with the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
"That's right, boss! Remember what I told you? I only broke through to the million-year level by eating this stuff!"
Tian Meng's voice was full of pride, its tail drawing an excited arc through the air.
Just as Ye Guchen and Tian Meng were discussing how to extract it, far beneath the earth,
In a space beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the dim underground cavern was as silent as the grave. Only now and then did the lava and the frigid spring hiss where they met.
On two enormous dragon skeletons, the phantom souls of two dragons with deep, powerful auras suddenly opened their eyes. A cold light flared in their sockets, like four icy stars awakening in the dark.
Just a moment ago, they had sensed the spiritual power of a million-year Soul Beast. Though faint, it had undeniably been the aura of a million-year Soul Beast. There was no mistaking it.
"Ice Dragon, did you sense it too?"
The dragon soul wreathed in scarlet flames looked toward its counterpart, shrouded in deep-blue chill, and asked. Its voice was low and hoarse, like lava churning deep underground.
"It was the aura of a million-year Soul Beast." The Ice Dragon's voice was as cold as ten thousand years of ice, every word striking the frozen air.
Then the two dragon souls sent their divine senses out through the spring, through layers of rock and frozen soil, and swept across the ground above. Their senses intertwined as they traveled, and the air gave a faint crackle wherever they passed.
They saw an elderly human sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed and his face flushed, recovering his Soul Power. Beside him, a human child crouched, carefully wiping away his sweat.
The divine senses did not linger. They swept toward a corner of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, where they saw a human child crouching in the soil and digging for something,
His hands were caked in dirt, his expression focused. Beside him floated a translucent ice silkworm, round and plump, radiating a trace of million-year Soul Beast aura.
"What is this?" The two dragon souls asked in unison, their divine senses quivering faintly in the air.
"Is this the million-year Soul Beast?"
Only after examining it closely did they realize the million-year Soul Beast was already dead, now nothing more than a soul.
Yet an even deeper question arose in the minds of both dragon souls, spreading like ripples.
"What did that human child do? How could he make a noble million-year Soul Beast follow him, even as a spirit? And what is with that strange form? How can it seem both dead and alive?"
The Fire Dragon's Soul Power pulsed with undisguised astonishment.
When they were alive, such trivial matters would not even have been worth a glance.
A mere human child with a lifespan of less than a century—one snap of the fingers, and he would be bones buried in the earth.
But after death, their remnant souls had endured tens of thousands of years of loneliness in this lightless underground cavern, with nothing but each other's awareness to keep them company now and then.
Now, their interest in a human child was like a desert-dweller spotting an oasis. They wanted to investigate.
But the moment their divine senses passed through Ye Guchen's body, the two dragon souls were so stunned they could not speak. Their senses froze in midair.
It wasn't his talent that shocked them, even though he was only fourteen and already possessed level fifty-four Soul Power.
As peak First-Level Gods, the two dragons had seen far too many geniuses. Those dazzling figures had been as numerous as fish crossing a river.
The human before them could only be called fairly talented, nowhere near without precedent.
What shocked the two dragon souls was the two domineering, crisscrossing streams of sword energy within Ye Guchen.
One was as sharp as heavenly punishment; the other, as weighty as the earth. The two streams coiled around each other, flowing quietly through his meridians, yet their hidden force seemed capable of severing the boundless sky of ages.
They seemed to merge with heaven and earth, as though the world itself were explaining its laws through those two sword energies. Wherever their edges reached, even the divine senses felt the sting of being sliced apart.
They were still faint, no more than tender shoots, yet they were overwhelmingly domineering!
So domineering that even the two dragon souls felt a trace of apprehension.
"This... This is a height we never understood, even when we were alive! Even the Asura God King's sword energy falls short of his in sheer sharpness!"
The Fire Dragon's voice was low with shock.
The two dragon souls exchanged a look. Light flickered in their deep-set sockets, and they understood each other without speaking.
After tens of thousands of years together, they no longer needed words.
"If he is allowed to grow, he will be a grave threat to my Soul Beast Clan in the future!"
The Ice Dragon's voice was cold and certain.
"If this child is not eliminated, he will become a great calamity for our Soul Beast Clan!"
The red light in the Fire Dragon's eyes suddenly surged, and its killing intent gathered in the air like something solid.
Even with nothing but their remnant souls left, they would still eliminate the danger before them once and for all.
Before you continue