Within One Meter

Dugu Bo nodded and stepped back a few paces. "Go on, be careful."

Dugu Yan stood beside her grandfather, her hands clasped together, watching Qin Chuan's back with a hint of nervousness.

Qin Chuan stepped forward, feeling two forces begin to press in on him. A wave of heat pushed from the left, while a biting chill bore down from the right, like two invisible hands squeezing his body.

Fifteen meters, ten meters, five meters.

The air began to distort. The two energies formed a small vortex around him, enveloping his entire body.

Qin Chuan lifted his foot and took a few more steps.

One meter.

He could see the surface of the spring. The crimson water was churning, while the deep blue water was freezing. Two types of water, two colors, two temperatures—close enough to touch.

Behind him, Dugu Bo exclaimed in shock, "Impossible! He actually made it there!"

Qin Chuan did not look back.

He could feel the power of the Heavenly Dao within him no longer surging, but settling into a state of marvelous equilibrium.

The heat from the Yang Spring poured in from the left, and the cold from the Yin Spring seeped in from the right. The two forces converged within him, perfectly neutralized and fused by the power of the Heavenly Dao, transforming into pure cultivation energy.

Qin Chuan sat cross-legged in the very center of the spring.

He closed his eyes and began to meditate.

Twenty meters behind him, Dugu Bo's eyes widened, his withered old face etched with disbelief.

"Grandfather, why isn't he afraid of these two powerful energies?" Dugu Yan tugged at her grandfather's sleeve.

Dugu Bo's lips trembled several times before he squeezed out a sentence: "Because... the Taiji gives birth to the two Yinyang, and the Taiji is the Heavenly Dao. The power of the Heavenly Dao is superior to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well."

Dugu Yan didn't seem to understand.

"You don't need to understand." Dugu Bo exhaled a long, heavy breath. "You only need to know that this student... is definitely no ordinary person."

He stood in place and watched Qin Chuan for a long while, confirming that the boy's state was stable and there were no abnormalities, before finally setting his mind at ease.

"Let's go. We'll wait in the small wooden hut nearby."

"Alright, Grandfather."

The sound of their footsteps gradually faded, and the cavern returned to silence.

Only the sound of the two springs—one hot, one cold—flowing remained, along with the steady, rhythmic sound of Qin Chuan's breathing.

After Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan left, Qin Chuan opened his eyes, his gaze quickly locking onto several anomalies.

On the ground surrounding the spring, several types of rare immortal herbs were growing.

To the left of the Yang Spring, a small, fiery-red plant poked its head out from a crack in the rock. It had only three leaves, each resembling a solidified flame, emitting a scorching halo.

It was the Blazing Apricot Delicate Herb.

To the right of the Yin Spring, an octagonal, crystalline plant clung to the ice. A layer of frost that never melted coated its stems and leaves, making it look as beautiful as an ice sculpture under the reflection of the deep blue spring light.

It was the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass.

Further away, on a high rock wall, a golden chrysanthemum bloomed in solitude. Its petals were as thin as silk threads, and a beam of extremely fine golden light shot from its center, pointing straight at the cavern ceiling.

It was the Strange Velvet Sky-Reaching Chrysanthemum.

Looking deeper into the dark corners, there were several other herbs Qin Chuan couldn't name, but their colors and forms radiated an extraordinary aura.

The treasures cultivated by the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well are all here. It seems Dugu Bo doesn't recognize these immortal herbs at all, treating them as mere ornamental plants.

Qin Chuan confirmed that Dugu Bo had truly gone far away before standing up. He plucked the Blazing Apricot Delicate Herb first.

The moment his fingers touched the fiery-red plant, a scorching heat surged up from his fingertips, as if he had been burned by a red-hot iron plate. Qin Chuan gritted his teeth, channeling the power of the Heavenly Dao into his palm to suppress the heat, and pulled it up by the roots.

Next was the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass.

The sensation of this plant was the exact opposite; it was so cold his fingers nearly lost all feeling. Qin Chuan used the power of the Heavenly Dao to neutralize the chill and carefully plucked it as well.

He then harvested the Strange Velvet Sky-Reaching Chrysanthemum, the Fragrant Silk Immortal Herb, the Lovesick Heartbroken Red, and several other unknown herbs, storing them all in his portable spatial soul tool.

The entire process took less than a quarter of an hour.

Qin Chuan returned to the center of the Yin-Yang Well and sat back down cross-legged.

I will consume the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Blazing Apricot Delicate Herb first, then enter the spring to temper my body.

He took the two immortal herbs from his spatial soul tool, holding the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass in his left hand and the Blazing Apricot Delicate Herb in his right.

He took a deep breath.

He placed the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass into his mouth first.

It melted instantly. A force of extreme cold spread from his tongue to his entire body, as if countless ice needles were traveling through his meridians, making his hair stand on end.

Immediately after, before the cold could fully disperse, Qin Chuan shoved the Blazing Apricot Delicate Herb into his mouth.

The scorching energy surged from his stomach like a furious fire dragon, rampaging through his meridians and colliding head-on with the previous chill.

Qin Chuan's body shuddered violently.

The two forces erupted within him, clashing wildly in a cycle of heat and cold, making his meridians feel as if they were about to shatter.

Pain.

Qin Chuan gritted his teeth, circulating the Heavenly Dao System's power within his body.

The power of the Heavenly Dao represented balance and order.

Guided by this force, the two originally violent and clashing ice and fire energies within Qin Chuan seemed to find a backbone, beginning to slowly and arduously merge with one another.

The ice was no longer purely deathly silence, and the fire was no longer purely destruction.

A sliver of vitality was quietly born amidst the mingling of ice and fire.

Qin Chuan knew the time was ripe; he could enter the well.

He wasted no time, stepping forward and sliding slowly into the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well!

His body submerged into the spring water, half in the Yang Spring and half in the Yin Spring.

If the pain from before had been hell, then this was heaven.

The ice and fire energies within his body resonated instantly with those in the spring water outside. Endless, pure energy surged madly through every pore of his body, scouring his limbs and bones.

He felt like a parched sponge thrown into the ocean, greedily absorbing every ounce of energy.

His soul power began to grow at a terrifying, frantic speed!

Level 29... Level 30!

Under the dual impact of the ice and fire energies and the power of the Heavenly Dao, the barrier was like paper, shattered in an instant!

Qin Chuan's body jolted violently as an unprecedented sense of power surged into his heart. His soul power roared through his new meridians like a burst dam.

He had broken through!

And this was merely the beginning.

Every soul master on the Douluo Continent, upon reaching a whole-number level, had to absorb a soul ring to break their shackles before they could continue to improve.

Yet, Qin Chuan had shattered this iron law!

The moment he broke through, the system notification chimed.

[Congratulations to the host for successfully discovering the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well and successfully activating [Heavenly Dao] meditation.]

[Task complete, rewards being calculated...]

[Heavenly Dao power +4, current Heavenly Dao power 10/10.]

[Heavenly Dao power is full; promotion conditions met.]

[Congratulations, you have obtained the god-level ocular technique—Six Paths Reincarnation Eye (First Heaven) (Current experience: 0/10)!]

[Second martial soul unlocked—Zhu Xian Sword!]

[Detected that the host's foundation has been reshaped and potential significantly increased. The Heavenly Dao System will clear all obstacles for you; there will be no more bottlenecks until level 50 soul power!]

The series of notifications exploded in Qin Chuan's mind like rolling thunder, leaving him completely stunned.