Fairyland, Natural Spirit-Forged Metal

Crack!

As the stone wall trembled slightly, a stone door just large enough for one person to squeeze through silently opened.

Then, a massive surge of freezing air poured out from the doorway, bringing terrifying cold with it.

"Ah, so cold!"

Faced with the raging cold current, Meng Hongchen was instantly knocked back to reality.

The top-tier ice attribute granted by her Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad Martial Soul was simply nowhere near enough against the frigid force of this cold current.

Forget moving through it like a fish in water—even doing her utmost to keep herself from being frostbitten by the current was difficult enough.

"Brother Yu, what do we do? I don't think I can withstand this cold current."

Realizing that she could not endure the cold current's frigid power, Meng Hongchen could not help feeling somewhat dejected.

She had originally planned to be the first one inside searching for treasures after Xia Yu opened the mechanism.

But ideals were full, while reality was cruel.

Forget searching for treasures inside—she could not even get close to the entrance.

It was a tremendous blow to her spirits.

So much so that Meng Hongchen's enthusiasm for treasure hunting died with a snap.

"Don't worry. Since I brought you here, I naturally have a way to deal with it."

Xia Yu naturally would not let Meng Hongchen be stopped outside by mere extreme cold.

Not only had he prepared countermeasures before setting out to handle the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Cavern's freezing temperatures.

Even the Ghostly Frost Flame he had accidentally acquired while fusing his Natal Soul Tool could solve this problem with ease.

Xia Yu reached out and wrapped an arm around Meng Hongchen's slender waist, which was trembling slightly from the cold. The next moment, azure frost flame wove a blue protective barrier around her.

With this blue barrier in place, the surging cold current instantly lost all effect on Meng Hongchen.

"Wow, this is an Ultimate Ice attribute! Brother Yu, when did you get it? How did I not know?"

Feeling the invasion of the freezing power completely disappear, Meng Hongchen cried out in surprise.

She looked at Xia Yu through the blue barrier, her eyes filled with curiosity and scrutiny.

After spending this time together, Meng Hongchen might not have known everything about Xia Yu, but she understood him quite well.

As far as she knew, neither of Xia Yu's Twin Martial Souls—Ghost nor Velvet Sky-Piercing Chrysanthemum—possessed an ice attribute, much less Ultimate Ice.

She was genuinely curious how Xia Yu had done it. It would be wonderful if that method could be used on her as well.

Without question, Meng Hongchen wanted an Ultimate Ice attribute too.

Or rather, there was no soul master who did not want an ultimate attribute.

There was no other reason—it was simply too powerful, powerful to an almost unimaginable degree.

There had even been a case in history where a level-seventy Soul Sage with an ultimate attribute had beaten a level-ninety Titled Douluo.

How could that not drive soul masters madly in pursuit of ultimate attributes?

"This power is not an ultimate attribute."

Xia Yu denied Meng Hongchen's assessment of the Ghostly Frost Flame.

Judging by the power possessed by the Ghostly Frost Flame, it was no worse than Ultimate Ice.

But it was not Ultimate Ice in the end. It merely possessed power comparable to Ultimate Ice.

"Ah, it isn't Ultimate Ice?"

At those words, the anticipation and curiosity on Meng Hongchen's face froze instantly, replaced by deep confusion.

She truly could not understand it. The power Xia Yu had used seemed almost identical to Ultimate Ice in every respect, so why was he denying it?

Could it really not be Ultimate Ice? But that was impossible. She could not have sensed it wrong.

For a moment, Meng Hongchen thought so hard her head felt ready to explode. Even her delicate, pretty face wrinkled tightly with confusion.

"Alright, stop thinking about it. I'll demonstrate it for you, and you'll understand."

Seeing Meng Hongchen deep in thought, looking determined to get to the bottom of it, Xia Yu felt rather helpless.

But to answer her doubts, Xia Yu still personally demonstrated the birth of the Ghostly Frost Flame for her.

Boundless deathly ghostly energy emerged at Xia Yu's command, continuously gathering, compressing, and grinding together.

When it reached its limit, the Ghostly Frost Flame was born, blazing fiercely and releasing endless freezing power.

"That's unbelievable. I never imagined power comparable to Ultimate Ice could be born like this."

After witnessing the Ghostly Frost Flame's birth firsthand, the doubts in Meng Hongchen's heart were finally resolved.

She had not expected the Ghostly Frost Flame to be born from the deathly ghostly energy innate to the Ghost Martial Soul.

It truly broadened her horizons, while also giving rise to some unusual ideas.

Since deathly ghostly energy could produce Ghostly Frost Flame comparable to Ultimate Ice through compression and friction.

Could she also try fusing the ice and fire attributes of the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad to produce another kind of frost flame?

Although Meng Hongchen knew these two methods followed entirely different paths and could not be lumped together.

For some reason, she felt that her idea was right and feasible.

However, she did not voice the idea on the spot. Instead, she planned to discuss it with Xia Yu after they finished searching for treasures.

By then, Xia Yu would also be trying to help her resolve the cold poison backlash of her Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad Martial Soul, so the timing would be perfect.

"Let's go, Brother Yu. Watch me find every last treasure for you."

Once all the obstacles were gone, Meng Hongchen's enthusiasm for treasure hunting flared back to life.

After signaling Xia Yu with her eyes, she took the lead and squeezed into the Icebound Divine Crystal Cavern.

After passing through an invisible membrane, Meng Hongchen entered a dim, dry cavern.

With the light emitted by the Ghostly Frost Flame barrier, she was not left stumbling blindly through the cave.

In fact, beneath the barrier's glow, the Icebound Divine Crystal Cavern presented an almost illusory scene of beauty.

Countless crystalline azure lights radiated from the blue crystals covering the entire cavern, filling it with dreamy haze and ethereal splendor. Standing within it felt as though she had entered a fairyland...

"Wow, are these the treasures you came for, Brother Yu? They're so beautiful. It feels like I'm dreaming."

Meng Hongchen's voice instantly rose in excitement, her tone full of admiration.

"Mm, it really is dreamlike!"

Xia Yu had also entered the Icebound Divine Crystal Cavern by then. Looking over those crystal-clear, breathtaking blue crystals, he nodded in agreement.

The Icebound Divine Crystals filling the entire cavern shimmered with flowing light. They were indeed so beautiful that they refreshed the soul.

But compared to the beauty displayed by the Icebound Divine Crystals, Xia Yu cared more about their value.

The original work had stated that some Icebound Divine Crystals contained Ice Spirits, as though they possessed life.

Metal with life—wasn't that naturally occurring Spirit-Forged Metal?

Spirit-Forged Metal might have become commonplace ten thousand years later, seeming ordinary and nothing remarkable.

But in this era, where soul tools reigned supreme, calling it priceless would not be an exaggeration.

If other soul tool masters learned that Icebound Divine Crystals were living metal, they would surely flock to them and pay any price to obtain even a single piece.

It could be said that, for soul tool masters, Icebound Divine Crystals were the highest-grade metal of all.

Other metals were nothing in comparison. After all, it possessed life.

Only Xia Yu knew that other metals could also undergo Spirit Forging and be granted life.

Otherwise, he would not have been immune to temptation either.