The power of ice and fire poured ceaselessly into Long Aoyu's body, merging with the medicinal power of the octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot.
It traveled along his meridians into his marrow, washing through every inch of his flesh.
"Boom!"
An incomparable surge of bloodline power erupted from Long Aoyu.
It formed a towering plume of bloodline power!
A subtle change was taking place in Long Aoyu's aura.
Carried by his bloodline power, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's extreme cold and extreme heat were guiding his body origin to converge in every inch of his flesh.
Long Aoyu's soul power also gathered inward of its own accord, entering a special state.
Elder Wei and Elder Zhao both froze, then hurried to the shore, their gazes settling on Long Aoyu, who was enveloped in bloodline power.
"Sect Master, is Xiao Yu... going to skip straight past the accumulation period?"
"That's right! His physical foundation is far stronger than anyone else at his level. Now that he's consumed immortal herbs too, he has no need to grind away at it over time." A trace of unconcealable satisfaction colored Du Busi's voice.
Dugu Bo listened quietly without asking further.
But he could sense Long Aotian's aura growing increasingly condensed.
The second awakening of a body martial soul consisted of three steps-
The first was foundation building and momentum accumulation: tempering the body and bloodline power to stir one's own martial soul origin.
This step did not require grinding away in seclusion, but it did require considerable time and resources to nourish the body and accumulate a foundation over a long period. It generally took three months!
But now,
With the help of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and the immortal herbs, Long Aoyu was about to complete "foundation building and momentum accumulation" outright!
The next two steps were life-and-death body tempering and Origin Unity, respectively.
The former involved sealing one's own soul power and forcing the flesh to transform in desperate circumstances, while the latter involved the return of soul power, the fusion of the newborn martial soul flesh with all the body's meridians, and the appearance of a martial soul light membrane of the corresponding grade.
Only after all three steps were completed could the second awakening of a body martial soul be considered successful.
Two hours later.
Within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the Extreme Cold Yin Spring and Blazing Yang Spring returned to calm.
Long Aoyu remained seated cross-legged at the junction of the two springs. The bloodline power surrounding him had drawn inward and become internalized, no longer radiating outward.
He switched to circulating the "Secret of the Body" cultivation method.
This was the secret body-tempering method passed down through generations of the Body Sect. Now it circulated rapidly within him, refining all the medicinal power remaining after the ice-and-fire tempering.
Long Aoyu could clearly feel his body undergoing a qualitative transformation-
His muscles, bones, and meridians had all reached an entirely new level. His blood flowed steadily and powerfully, and every heartbeat seemed to strike a heavy war drum!
The "Secret of the Body" contained an extremely difficult core method called the "Immaculate Golden Body."
It required tempering the physical body to its utmost limit, with bloodline power abundant enough to circulate on its own in an unceasing internal cycle, allowing none of the body's vital essence to escape-not a single drop.
The Body Sect disciples who could master this method could be counted on one hand!
Moreover,
Even those who succeeded often needed decades of arduous cultivation just to touch its threshold.
Yet through the ice-and-fire tempering of the octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot, Long Aoyu's body had now been forged to unprecedented heights.
His bloodline power was as abundant as the sea!
As the "Secret of the Body" cultivation method circulated, the Immaculate Golden Body formed naturally.
"Golden body... immaculate!"
Long Aoyu's eyes snapped open.
He raised a hand and examined his palm-the skin that had reddened from soaking in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had returned to normal, with an exceedingly faint sheen flowing across its surface.
Long Aoyu rose and walked naked out of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
His clothes had long since been burned to ash by the fiery spring.
"Excellent, excellent!"
A gleam flashed in Du Busi's eyes as he watched Long Aoyu emerge from the pool.
Elder Wei took a clean set of clothes from his Storage Soul Tool and handed it over.
"Thank you, Elder Wei." Long Aoyu accepted the clothes and quickly dressed, then rolled his shoulders, drawing a series of fine, crisp cracks from his bones.
Long Aoyu checked the state of his body. His golden body had formed.
Besides his greatly strengthened physique, he had also gained immunity to the power of ice and fire and protection against all poisons.
"Xiao Yu."
Du Busi urged him, "Keep the momentum going. Consume and refine the last immortal herb too!"
"All right!"
Long Aoyu nodded and immediately took out the last immortal herb-the azure radiance dragon saliva grass.
Its leaves shimmered with a faint gilded glow, giving off a slight heat in his palm.
Long Aoyu placed it in his mouth. Gentle yet substantial medicinal power spread through his meridians, nourishing his flesh and martial soul origin.
The connection between his martial soul and physical body also grew closer.
A short while later.
The medicinal power of the azure radiance dragon saliva grass had fully merged into his body.
"Finally done!"
Long Aoyu opened his eyes and let out a long breath. He had finished refining all four immortal herbs and completed the foundation building and momentum accumulation for his second awakening in one stroke.
"Level fifty-seven. Not bad."
The increase in soul power was only the most basic part of his gains.
Immunity to ice and fire, protection against all poisons, the Immaculate Golden Body, the leaps in physical strength and spiritual power...
These,
In Long Aoyu's view, were more important.
For someone with a body martial soul, the martial soul's second awakening was crucial!
The grade of a martial soul's second awakening-black iron, bronze, silver... largely determined a body martial soul master's upper limit and future.
And a martial soul's second awakening was closely tied to physical strength and spiritual power.
"Very good."
Du Busi looked Long Aoyu over and nodded in satisfaction. "Your accumulation in the first step is very solid. At this rate, you'll soon complete your martial soul's second awakening!"
Elder Wei and Elder Zhao smiled and nodded beside him, equally satisfied.
"A martial soul's second awakening?"
Dugu Bo grew even more curious at this.
"Yes, it's an exclusive secret method of our Body Sect. Only those with body martial souls can cultivate it," Du Busi explained.
"I see. Thank you for clearing that up, Sect Master."
Dugu Bo cupped his hands in a salute.
Not far away, Long Aotian and Vina had also finished refining their immortal herbs.
Long Aotian slowly opened his eyes. The silvery-white sheen of his skin was subdued yet substantial, and his aura was more than a level steadier than before.
The medicinal power of the singular velvet sky chrysanthemum had completely merged into his body.
The twin-stemmed thousand-illusion jialan had also greatly strengthened his spiritual power.
"Indestructible Vajra Body."
Long Aotian rose, sensing the soul power surging within him, and his eyes lit up. "Haha, Master, I've reached level sixty!"
Long Aotian was also Du Busi's disciple, though he rarely addressed him that way within the sect.
Du Busi raised his eyebrows, stepped forward, and pressed a hand to his shoulder, sensing the fluctuations of soul power within him.
"The singular velvet sky chrysanthemum worked even better than I expected. Your physical strength has risen another step. After we return, consolidate your cultivation first, then have an elder take you to hunt for your sixth soul ring."
"Yes!"
Long Aotian grinned, unable to suppress the excitement on his face.
Fifteen years old, a level-sixty Soul Emperor.
Sitting beside him, Vina now slowly opened her eyes as well.
The gentle, lingering medicinal power of the eight-petal immortal orchid and twin-stemmed thousand-illusion jialan had fully merged into her body and martial soul.
Vina stood and checked the state of her soul power:
"I'm stuck at level fifty."
Before you continue