Ice and Fire Golden Body

The infernal delicate apricot had fared no better; a layer of white frost coated her fiery red leaves.

Her scorching aura had been suppressed until it was barely perceptible, and the entire plant had shrunk back, drooping dejectedly.

"Stop hitting us! Stop!"

The aromatic silk beauty sounded close to tears, her petals trembling nonstop.

"We're all soul beasts. Can't we talk this through?"

The infernal delicate apricot opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but the white frost on her leaves seeped into their veins.

She was so frozen that she could barely speak, only squeezing a fragment of a word through her leaves:

"...Cold."

Snow Empress put away her ice sword, which dissolved into a cloud of white mist in her palm.

She swept her gaze over the two plants and snorted coldly.

"As far as this empress is concerned, you were just begging for a beating."

The aromatic silk beauty dared not respond. Her flower head hung low, her petals curled into a ball, as though she wished she could shrink right into the soil.

The infernal delicate apricot still wanted to talk tough, but her leaves shuddered twice, and in the end, she failed to squeeze out another word.

Zhang Lan took two steps forward and stood before the two plants.

He put on no airs and kept his tone level.

"We're not here to cause trouble."

"You can't protect a place like the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well."

"Today, it's us. Tomorrow, it could be the Holy Spirit Cult. The day after, it could be some Titled Douluo bringing people from their sect."

"That lord of yours left you here to guard the place, but who could a handful of hundred-thousand-year-old plant-type soul beasts like you stop?"

The aromatic silk beauty's petals stirred, as though she wanted to argue but had no idea how.

"If you're willing to cooperate, we can leave your roots intact when we go."

"If you're not..."

He glanced back at Snow Empress.

Snow Empress stood behind him, expressionless, a wisp of cold air silently circling between her fingers.

The aromatic silk beauty fell silent for several breaths. Her petals slowly unfurled, and she asked quietly:

"You... really just want to use this place?"

"Really."

Her flower head turned, as though she were looking at the infernal delicate apricot.

The infernal delicate apricot's leaves shuddered, and she barely managed to force a reply through clenched teeth:

"...Do what you want."

The aromatic silk beauty sighed and turned her flower head back toward Zhang Lan. Her pink glow brightened a little, and her voice grew steadier.

"Then... come in."

"But let me make this clear first: if that lord comes back, don't expect me to get involved in your business."

Zhang Lan did not linger at the canyon entrance.

He strode inward along the stone path, passed the two plants that were still drooping, and headed straight for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

The white mist rising from the lake brushed his face. The cold stung one side until it felt tight, while waves of heat baked the other.

Zhang Lan stopped at the lakeshore and looked down at the sharply divided waters.

The icy white half reflected his image, while crimson light churned within the fiery red half.

Two extreme powers entwined along the boundary at the lake's center. Steam rose, only to be forced back down by the poisonous mist above the canyon, forming a thin canopy of cloud overhead.

He lifted his head and swept his gaze over the vegetation along the shore.

On the icy white side grew a clump of snow-white grass. Its jade-like leaves bore a thin layer of frost that never melted, and a speck of silvery blue light slowly pulsed at its heart.

On the fiery red side grew a plant as crimson as glowing charcoal. Its leaf edges were tinged with scorched yellow, and the entire plant radiated searing heat. Golden sparks danced deep within its stamens.

Octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot.

Zhang Lan crouched between the two plants and looked to either side.

These two immortal herbs were extreme wonders nurtured by the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. The octagonal mysterious ice grass was intensely cold, while the infernal delicate apricot was intensely hot.

A soul master's body could not withstand either one alone. At best, their meridians would be completely destroyed; at worst, they would die on the spot.

But if both were used at once, ice would restrain fire, and fire would melt ice. As the two extremes repeatedly tempered the body through their collisions within it, they could forge a constitution impervious to ice and fire.

Ice and Fire Golden Body.

"Octagonal mysterious ice grass, infernal delicate apricot."

He spoke, his voice quiet but steady.

"Give me some of your essence. I want to forge the Ice and Fire Golden Body."

A faint rustle came from behind him.

The aromatic silk beauty leaned her flower head over from the side, hesitating before she spoke.

"You want to use both of them?"

"That could... that could kill you."

"Even that lord from before wouldn't have dared do this at your age."

"He's him. I'm me."

Zhang Lan did not even turn around.

The infernal delicate apricot squeezed over from the other side. The white frost on her leaves had not completely thawed, and although her voice was listless, her tone remained sharp.

"How much do you want?"

"Three drops each will be enough."

"Three drops?"

The infernal delicate apricot shook her leaves.

"Condensing three drops of essence will damage our root vitality. Do you think you're squeezing fruit juice?"

"It's not like I'm uprooting you."

"It's only three drops of energy. It won't do much damage."

Zhang Lan stood and dusted off his hands.

Zhang Lan removed his outer clothing, leaving only a close-fitting short tunic, then sat down between the two immortal herbs.

He rested his left hand on the octagonal mysterious ice grass's leaves and his right on the infernal delicate apricot's. Both plants shuddered at once, as though they had sensed something.

The silvery blue light at the heart of the octagonal mysterious ice grass flashed. A crystal-clear drop of white liquid seeped from a leaf tip and fell into Zhang Lan's palm.

The instant the liquid touched his skin, a thin layer of ice formed all the way from his left palm to his shoulder. His fingers stiffened until he could no longer bend them.

At the same time, the golden sparks within the infernal delicate apricot's stamens suddenly leaped. A gleaming crimson drop fell from a petal into Zhang Lan's right palm.

The right half of his body instantly became scorching hot. His skin turned crimson from palm to shoulder, as though it had been roasted over a fire.

Ice and fire entered his body together, and within a single breath, Zhang Lan's face went from white to red, then from red to white.

He gritted his teeth and guided the two forces from his arms into his chest, then down into his dantian.

The instant the two extreme forces met in his dantian, his soul power vortex trembled violently. The clash of ice and fire stirred his liquefied soul power into a raging churn, and his entire dantian felt as though someone had kicked it from the inside.

Zhang Lan grunted, and a thread of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

The two diametrically opposed forces rampaged through his meridians. The icy force poured in through his left hand, freezing its way along his arm until even his blood nearly congealed.

The fiery force poured in through his right hand, burning its way along his arm and scorching the walls of his blood vessels.

The instant the two forces met in his chest, Zhang Lan felt as though his chest cavity had been torn in two.

One half was deathly cold, the other unbearably hot.

He gritted his teeth and tried to guide the two forces with his will, hoping to separate them-or at least stop them from fighting inside his meridians.

But the forces of ice and fire paid him no heed, each spreading wildly along its own path.

The icy force darted toward the meridians around his heart, while the fiery force charged toward his dantian. Within his body, the two powers launched a battle unrivaled through the ages.