After tearing up the book Tang San had left behind, Xiao Jinchen turned his gaze to the many Immortal Herbs around him and murmured, "I remember these Immortal Herbs can produce some good things, right?"
"Don't see me, don't see me... I'm a weed, I'm a weed... I'm Blue Silver Grass, I'm Blue Silver Grass..."
At his words, the Immortal Herbs buried their heads even deeper in the soil, afraid they would meet the same fate as Aromatic Silk Beauty.
Xiao Jinchen's gaze suddenly sharpened. He led Ice Empress toward the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass.
"This is mine. Take it!" Seeing the two approach, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass sighed helplessly. To save his own skin, he promptly produced a palm-sized substance, soft and seeming to be made of both water and ice.
The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass even helpfully explained, "I spent ten thousand years absorbing the extreme cold from the Extreme Cold Ice Spring day and night. This is the Ice Dew I condensed from it. A Soul Master with an ice attribute can consume it—or even absorb it directly—and reach the level of Ultimate Ice."
"Mm." Xiao Jinchen nodded in satisfaction and put it straight into his Storage Ring.
Xiao Jinchen slowly made his way to the edge of the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well. I hope the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings really left behind Spirit Bones, he murmured to himself.
"Ice Empress, wait here. I'm going down for a bit." Xiao Jinchen told Ice Empress, then prepared to jump into the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well.
"Jinchen!" Ice Empress hurried forward and grabbed his hand. Her lovely face was full of worry as she asked softly, "Jinchen, even I feel uneasy from the energy coming off this pool. Are you sure you'll be all right down there?"
"I'll be fine." Xiao Jinchen gently patted Ice Empress's hand. "I have a way to get down. Just wait for me here."
After reassuring Ice Empress, Emperor Flame surged from Xiao Jinchen's palm and wrapped tightly around him. He also left a mental imprint where he stood, in case he couldn't find his way back.
"Splash!"
Once everything was ready, Xiao Jinchen didn't hesitate. He leaped forward and plunged into the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well.
The instant he entered the water, everything around him turned pitch-black. But with Emperor Flame shielding him, he could make out some of his surroundings.
The deeper he went, the gloomier the light became. Only Emperor Flame, clinging to his body, gave off light, illuminating the empty path ahead.
The farther he descended, the more a wave of searing heat and bone-chilling cold rushed toward him.
"Thud!"
As Xiao Jinchen continued exploring the bottom of the lake, he suddenly struck a barrier. The dull impact rang out, startlingly loud in the stillness below.
"Ow." Xiao Jinchen rubbed his head, then touched the barrier in surprise.
"Could there be a separate space inside?" Xiao Jinchen wondered, rolling his eyes.
He pulled the Heavy Profound Ruler from his back and swung it hard at the barrier before him.
The Heavy Profound Ruler, surging with Soul Power, slammed into the transparent barrier. But the sharp crack of shattering glass he'd expected never came.
"Buzz!"
Instead, a deep, muffled hum sounded from the barrier. The recoil traveled down the ruler and into Xiao Jinchen's arms, numbing his palms. Even the fingers gripping the handle trembled slightly.
At the same time, visible ripples spread violently through the water from the point of impact, as if the space itself had warped for an instant.
Xiao Jinchen steadied himself and frowned at the barrier, still intact and without so much as a crack. His surprise deepened.
"Can't break it...?" he muttered, shaking his numb wrist.
Xiao Jinchen slowly ran his palm along the Heavy Profound Ruler. In an instant, its surface blazed red, and a wave of scorching heat swept out from it, making the water around him seem on the verge of boiling.
"Flame Splitter—Devouring Wave Ruler!"
Xiao Jinchen gave a low shout. The red light on the Heavy Profound Ruler surged, seeping from its grooves like molten lava and turning the dark water crimson. Its black blade swept out, wreathed in a surging inferno that seemed to burn the heavens, and slammed into the barrier with terrifying force.
"Boom!"
The instant the crimson light hit the barrier, a thunderous crash rang out from it. Dazzling light illuminated the lake bottom as bright as day.
"Crack!"
But at the moment of impact, the seemingly indestructible barrier split like a fragile eggshell, webbed with cracks radiating from the point of impact. A sharp snap rang out, and then it shattered completely.
But the instant it broke, a terrifying recoil exploded like a tsunami.
"Pfft!"
Xiao Jinchen felt the tremendous force crash through the Heavy Profound Ruler and into his body. He was flung away like a kite with its string cut.
He tumbled through the water for dozens of yards, his robe snapping wildly in the current.
"Damn it..." Xiao Jinchen cursed under his breath, his gaze fixed on what lay ahead.
Once the barrier shattered, a vortex appeared. Two enormous forms emerged from the lake bottom within it. When Xiao Jinchen saw what lay below, his pupils suddenly contracted, and joy surged through his heart.
Below him, two figures, so enormous they defied description, lay quietly in wait.
One was a giant beast covered in azure ice-crystal scales. Its aura frosted the surrounding air. It was the Ice Dragon King, embodiment of Ultimate Ice.
The other was covered in flowing patterns of molten crimson-gold. Even with its wings folded, wisps of flame still escaped. It was the Fire Dragon King, symbol of Ultimate Fire.
"The Ice and Fire Dragon Kings! I found you!" Xiao Jinchen's lips curled into a slight smile. He slung the Heavy Profound Ruler over his back and dived toward the giant dragons below.
After passing through the vortex, the current that had been holding him up vanished. Xiao Jinchen felt his body grow heavy, and he plummeted uncontrollably.
"Thump!"
His feet slammed into the ground with a dull impact.
The ground beneath his feet was cold and hard, numbing his soles with the impact. There was no water here, and the air was unusually dry. The silence was eerie, but the space was vast—some twenty or thirty miles across.
The two giant dragons lay quietly ahead, like a pair of slumbering mountains.
"Huh? What's this...?" As Xiao Jinchen drew closer, a faint glow shone from the chest of the Ice Dragon King's remains.
"Roar! Roar!"
Just as Xiao Jinchen reached the remains of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings, two stirring dragon roars rang out.
Before Xiao Jinchen's stunned eyes, two enormous, illusory dragon souls slowly peeled away from the giant skeletons.
"Roar!"
The Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' souls fixed Xiao Jinchen with a fierce glare, then roared and lunged at him.
"Damn it! What the hell?" Xiao Jinchen cursed. Three Thousand Lightning Movement activated on instinct, and he barely dodged the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' attack.