Frostflame Jade Toad, Fulfilling the Bet

"Phew..."

Beside the spring, Xia Yu withdrew his spiritual power and let out a slow breath.

To let Meng Hongchen manipulate the fire attribute without restraint and explore the conditions required to fuse ice and fire, he had truly gone to great lengths.

Fortunately, hard work paid off, and they had found those special conditions.

Now that they had found the conditions, there was no longer any suspense about what came next.

With the essence of the Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow supporting them, along with Xia Yu's full assistance at her side, if they still failed to fuse the Frostflame step by step, it would be an absolute joke.

"Brother Yu, I'm starting!"

After making all the necessary preparations, Meng Hongchen officially began fusing the powers of ice and fire.

At once, red and blue light rose from her body, enveloping her entirely.

As time passed, the distinctly separate and even mutually repellent red and blue lights slowly began to converge and fuse.

Five hours later, the red and blue radiance had completely vanished, replaced by a crystalline icy white glow.

"I succeeded, Brother Yu! I really fused the ice and fire attributes of the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad into one! Hehe, I have Frostflame now too."

Having succeeded in the fusion, Meng Hongchen impatiently released her Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad Martial Soul.

Her Martial Soul had undergone earth-shaking changes.

Although it was still a toad-type Martial Soul, the moment that aura unique to Ultimate Ice emerged, the difference was obvious at a glance.

And that was not all. Apart from evolving into an Ultimate Ice attribute, her Martial Soul had also given birth to a domain, a Frostflame Domain capable of freezing and dissolving soul power.

Yes, after fusing the ice and fire attributes of her Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad Martial Soul, Meng Hongchen had not only obtained a Frostflame comparable to Ultimate Ice, but had also awakened its corresponding domain.

"Not bad. Among ice-attribute Martial Souls, yours is truly one of a kind. You've reached the pinnacle. From now on, you won't need to fear any other ice-attribute Martial Soul."

Xia Yu examined Meng Hongchen's transformed Martial Soul and gave it high praise.

Not only did it possess Ultimate Ice, it also had the equally formidable Frostflame. Added to that special Frostflame Domain, if properly developed, it should be no problem for it to stand shoulder to shoulder with Snow Empress.

As for the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, it was not that Xia Yu looked down on it. Rather, Meng Hongchen's fully transformed Martial Soul had already vaguely surpassed the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion in status.

There was no need for any further deep development. At the same cultivation level, it would already be enough to suppress the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion.

"Brother Yu, my Martial Soul has finished evolving. Calling it the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad doesn't seem appropriate anymore. What do you think of the name Frostflame Jade Toad? Isn't it very..."

At this point, Meng Hongchen had finished examining her evolved Martial Soul and happily turned to discuss its new name with Xia Yu.

Even the Frostflame she controlled became part of their conversation. She had given that Frostflame a name as well: Ice-Soul Frostflame.

She said it corresponded perfectly with Xia Yu's Ghostly Frost Flame, making them a pair.

What could Xia Yu say to that? He could hardly ruin her mood.

Naturally, he gave it glowing approval and lavishly praised Meng Hongchen's talent for naming things.

"Brother Yu, how can you be like this? You're not sincere at all. I genuinely wanted to hear your opinion. If you keep this up, I'll... I'll ignore you."

Meng Hongchen rolled her eyes at Xia Yu's mindless praise, then clung to his arm and began acting coquettishly without letting up.

Perhaps because of her transformation, Xia Yu, who had long grown accustomed to Meng Hongchen acting spoiled, found himself a little dazzled as he watched her now.

This little girl had clearly only changed her hair to a crystalline snowy white. Nothing else had changed much, so why did it feel as though she had become a completely different person?

That cool yet alluring charm and temperament were simply lethal!

Without hesitation, Xia Yu stretched out his arm, wrapped it around Meng Hongchen's waist, and pulled her into his embrace.

"Brother Yu, you..."

Meng Hongchen was also made a little uneasy by this sudden intimate gesture and could not help raising her eyes to look at Xia Yu.

"Meng, your Martial Soul has evolved into the Frostflame Jade Toad, and the backlash from your cold poison has been resolved as well. When do you plan to fulfill that bet?"

Xia Yu's voice had unknowingly lowered, becoming somewhat hoarse.

That did not stop him from making his meaning clear.

"The bet? I... I..."

The moment Xia Yu mentioned that bet, Meng Hongchen's entire body stiffened. Her cheeks instantly flushed crimson, red enough to seem as though blood might seep through.

Of course she remembered the bet. Although Xia Yu had shamelessly forced her to acknowledge it, acknowledgment was acknowledgment. There was no escaping it.

But the moment she thought of the price she had to pay, Meng Hongchen felt terrible all over, and her breathing inevitably grew hurried.

At that moment, she truly wanted to flee, but Xia Yu's arm was like an iron hoop, locking her tightly in his embrace and completely cutting off any room for escape.

"Judging by your reaction, Meng, you still remember. That's good. It saves me the trouble of explaining. I'm taking the stake now, so you'd better prepare yourself mentally."

Xia Yu lowered his head and whispered into Meng Hongchen's ear.

The moment those words left his mouth, Meng Hongchen's whole body tensed. Then she trembled all over, completely losing her strength as she went limp in Xia Yu's arms.

"Brother Yu, could you..."

Even at this point, Meng Hongchen still wanted to struggle a little.

But Xia Yu stopped all her words, using his actions to convey his meaning.

Left with no other choice, Meng Hongchen could only let him have his way.

Seeing this, Xia Yu said nothing more. With a casual wave, he put away all the arrangements. Then he bent down, scooped Meng Hongchen up in his arms, and shot toward the mouth of the well.

"Ah..."

The instantaneous shift from utter stillness to extreme motion made Meng Hongchen cry out involuntarily.

This showed just how fast Xia Yu's leap had been.

Before long, the two appeared inside an inn, then vanished into one of its rooms.

The golden crow sank in the west, and the moon rose above the willow branches.

At last, the commotion in the inn room subsided.

Meng Hongchen lay limply on the bed, her entire body as though she had just been pulled from water. At that moment, she did not even have the strength to move a finger.

Xia Yu leaned against the headboard, lifted a lock of Meng Hongchen's snowy-white hair, and gently stroked it as though playing with a precious treasure.

"Will you be able to get up tomorrow? If not, we can move the hunt for your soul ring to the day after tomorrow. There's still time anyway..."

After undergoing this transformation, Meng Hongchen's soul power had also broken through to rank 70, allowing her to hunt for her seventh soul ring.

But given her current state, whether she would even be able to get up tomorrow remained unknown.

After all, Xia Yu's physical condition was no joke.

Especially since this time, they had not taken the usual path.

This was entirely different from before and could not be compared on the same terms.