Fire Lotus Bath

After meditating for an hour, Murong Ci slowly opened his eyes and secretly sized up Huo Wu before him.

Still peeking? Pull yourself together, there's a powerful enemy nearby, the system spoke, sounding as if it were exasperated by his lack of discipline.

Murong Ci shook his head, composed himself, and waited quietly for Huo Wu to wake up.

When Huo Wu opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Murong Ci staring at her with wide eyes.

"What... what are you looking at!" Huo Wu turned her head away in shame and anger.

"You look beautiful." Murong Ci tilted his head, his eyes filled with infatuation.

"Shut up! Let's go."

Huo Wu ignored him and headed toward the Fire Lotus Secret Cave.

Murong Ci followed behind the big sister like a little child, skipping along happily.

The end of the magma path was a narrow passage; passing through it, the view suddenly opened up.

The magma there was not just magma; it carried liquid soul power essence that had condensed into form.

In the five-meter radius at the center of the lotus, there was only the spiritual liquid and no magma, yet the temperature was extremely high, containing the Ultimate Fire.

"No way, where did you find such a great place? The soul power here has actually condensed into liquid."

Murong Ci wiped his sweat; his face was flushed red from the high temperature.

In contrast, Huo Wu was already sweating profusely.

Murong Ci had already released Yongzhen, surrounding himself with ice-attribute soul power to form an ice domain.

Seeing this, Huo Wu chirped and squeezed inside.

"Um... well, I'm hot, let me huddle in."

It left Murong Ci unable to laugh or cry.

Just as the two of them were about to pluck the Geocentric Fire Lotus...

"BOOM--"

With a loud crash, a five-meter-long, crimson giant python burst out from the magma.

"This is a Geocentric Fire Python, the most common snake-type soul beast in the fire caves, but why is this one so big? Ordinary fire pythons are only one or two meters long; this one is nearly twice that size."

[Warning! Geocentric Fire Python, 3,200 years of cultivation, already poses a threat to the current host. However, this is also a good opportunity to build rapport with Huo Wu.]

"This is a three-thousand-year soul beast, be careful, Sister Wu."

Murong Ci gave a soft shout to Huo Wu beside him and immediately struck.

He condensed Yongzhen in his hand and secreted an ice ball, hurling it at the fire python.

Attribute restraint! And it was Ultimate Ice against fire, doubling the effect!

The fire python let out a cry of pain and spat a crimson pillar of fire from its mouth, the quality of which far surpassed Huo Wu's Flame Fireball.

Huo Wu was not to be outdone; the moment Murong Ci attacked, her Fire Shadow had already teleported behind the fire python.

Her second soul skill, Flame Fireball, was activated, and countless high-temperature fireballs smashed into the giant python's back.

The fire python was enraged; it swung its tail with force, sending Huo Wu flying.

Murong Ci was quick-witted; with a flick of his wrist, he caught Huo Wu in his arms, preventing her from hitting the wall.

"You beast, you're courting death!"

Murong Ci shouted, his purple soul ring flashing brilliantly. The phantom of an Ice Jade Scorpion appeared behind him, looking at the fire python with disdain.

Then, Murong Ci thrust out his Ice Scorpion Pincer, aiming straight for the python's vital spot.

"BOOM--"

An explosion rang out, and he cleanly severed the python's vital spot, slicing it into two pieces.

"Domain, Ice-Fire Polar Domain!"

In an instant, with Murong Ci as the center, the ten-meter radius became a fusion of ice and fire, with the two poles alternating in a terrifying display.

The fire python shrieked, wounded and furious; it let out a roar and shot a fire pillar from its mouth with a temperature even higher than before.

Murong Ci blocked with his pincer; the high heat and freezing ice collided, creating a sky full of water vapor.

"Game over! Fusion! Ice-Fire Tornado!"

As he spoke, red and blue lights flashed brilliantly within Yongzhen.

The red and blue lights birthed two massive tornadoes; one was wreathed in a sky full of flying fire meteors, while the other was surrounded by ice crystals. Both the fire meteors and ice crystals were undoubtedly razor-sharp, lunging toward the fire python.

"Merge! Shred!"

The two tornadoes fused, and with the boost from the Ice-Fire Polar Domain's ice and snow power, the fire python's body was torn apart inch by inch.

"It's not over yet, Lotus! Explode!"

Suddenly, two lotuses grew in the center of the tornado, corresponding to the two attributes. The lotuses bloomed layer by layer, and then the petals detonated.

With the double explosion superimposed, the fire python was left with no corpse to bury.

A crystalline purple thousand-year spirit ring rose slowly into the air.

It was only then that Murong Ci noticed Huo Wu, huddled in his arms, clutching him tightly.

Noticing Murong Ci's gaze, Huo Wu pouted, "You were too brutal in that fight! And why are you still holding me!"

"Wasn't it you who refused to let go of me?"

"I don't care, put me down."

Helpless, Murong Ci set her down and walked toward the spirit ring.

"Aren't you only level thirty? This ring is useless to both of us."

Huo Wu asked, sounding somewhat reluctant; after all, this was a three-thousand-year spirit beast!

[You can absorb it. Each attribute can only occupy one spirit ring slot, but that doesn't mean you cannot absorb repeatedly. In other words, you can attach this ring to your first spirit ring. Originally four hundred years of cultivation, it will now become three thousand six hundred years.]

"Damn, that's insane."

Murong Ci couldn't help but curse, though this was a good thing. He sat cross-legged immediately, summoned Yongzhen, and the thousand-year spirit ring flew toward the position of his first spirit ring. As the first ring pulsed slowly, they began to merge...

"No way? You? What exactly are you? Spirit ring fusion?!"

Huo Wu was dumbfounded, her pupils shrinking sharply. What was happening before her eyes was absolutely beyond the imagination of the spirit master world. Two spirit rings could fuse? If someone hunted spirit beasts crazily, could their first spirit ring even reach one hundred thousand years? This was unthinkable!

Huo Wu realized she couldn't possibly understand this on her own and decided to ask Murong Ci once he woke up.

After about an hour of absorption, Murong Ci stood up, two purple spirit rings pulsing slowly around him.

His sea of consciousness now contained not only the Ice Jade Scorpion but also the Fire Python.

However, the Fire Python seemed terrified of the Ice Jade Scorpion and had submitted to it...

More importantly, Murong Ci's fire had evolved into the Ultimate Fire, granting him a constitution with dual ice and fire attributes.

"Murong Ci, what was that spirit ring fusion? Explain yourself!"

Huo Wu demanded, though her tone lacked any real intimidation.

"It's a special ability of my martial soul. My martial soul is called Yongzhen; it can fuse all things, so naturally, I can absorb spirit rings to increase my level. That's why my first spirit ring is now three thousand six hundred years old."

"Then if you kill more spirit beasts, can you reach one hundred thousand years directly?"

"Theoretically yes, but I won't do that."

"Why? Don't you want to become stronger?"

"Because spirit beasts are also living beings. While we hunt them, we should also reflect on the symbiotic relationship between humans and spirit beasts."

Murong Ci's words were not wrong; the root cause of the regrets in the third installment of the series was the conflict between humans and spirit beasts.

Huo Wu was stunned by his words. Humans hunting spirit beasts had always been considered natural law; where did this talk of symbiosis come from?

Huo Wu couldn't wrap her head around it, so she stopped thinking about it. She plucked the Geocentric Fire Lotus.

"Sister Wu, this is for you. I don't need it."

Huo Wu's gratitude was written all over her face, and her pretty face flushed red, though it was unclear what she was thinking of.

"What's wrong?"

Huo Wu hesitated for a long time.

"The absorption method for this lotus is very special. The absorber must hold it against their chest, and another person must channel high-quality flames into them to properly unleash the lotus's effects."

"No wonder it required two people. So, what's the problem?"

"It requires two people to undress and bathe together, channeling energy through a resonance method."

"??? Undress?!"

"Remove your outer garments to ensure the spirit power can be channeled into the body. You keep your undergarments on, obviously... what are you thinking about!"

"Oh, oh, it's nothing."

[System has started a live broadcast of the drama.]

"Get lost!" Murong Ci cursed the system in his mind.

"Murong Ci... close your eyes!"

Before Murong Ci could react, he heard the rustling sound of clothes falling to the ground.

He turned his head abruptly, his heart pounding wildly.

[Host's heart rate is 180.]

"Get lost!"

With a splash, Murong Ci heard Huo Wu entering the bath.

"Come down... close your eyes..."

Murong Ci steeled himself and jumped into the spirit liquid, undressing within the water and tossing his clothes onto the bank, where they piled up with Huo Wu's.

The two sat with only their heads above the spirit liquid, palms pressed together to channel their spirit power.

Resonance! This was a necessary condition for absorption; they would need to undergo three cycles of resonance to fully absorb the medicinal properties.

The first two resonances posed little danger, but this third time, the required soul power and mental energy were significantly greater.

"Relax, I understand. As long as our hands remain clasped, the resonance will not be interrupted," Murong Ci said, soothing Huo Wu's agitated mind.

However, things went against their wishes; Huo Wu's mental energy and flame quality ultimately could not withstand the third transmission of the Ultimate Fire resonance.

It became unstable. Huo Wu's flame quality could no longer hold, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Her arms started to flail as well. "Don't move," Murong Ci warned.

"I can't, it's too hot! The resonance frequency is too high!"

Huo Wu's body had already begun to contort.

The resonance was on the verge of breaking.

[Embracing can also facilitate resonance, don't hesitate. Let me help you.]

In an instant, Murong Ci's body matured and grew tall.

[I have tapped into a sliver of your potential. This is what you look like at eighteen. This doesn't count as playing for you; this is a system-level permission. Now, the rest is up to you.]

Damn it.

Murong Ci steeled his heart, pulled Huo Wu over, and held her tightly in his arms.

Murong Ci's broad chest pressed firmly against Huo Wu, stopping her tremors, and the two continued their resonance.

Huo Wu had no time to overthink things; she knew the most important thing now was to maintain the resonance and absorb the medicinal effects of the Fire Lotus.

Thus, she also held him tightly in return.

The two remained locked in an embrace, their breaths intertwined, neither parting from the other, their soul power remaining fused as one.

"Thump-thump, thump-thump..."

The sound of their heartbeats echoed incessantly...