A wisp of divine power

Scorching heat and extreme cold-two forces savagely assaulted his body.

Both forces were overwhelmingly domineering, powers of the utmost extremes that could easily destroy everything.

Anything below the divine level was doomed to perish.

With Dai Mubai's current physique and cultivation, contact with either force meant certain death.

But just as those two domineering forces were about to destroy his body and everything else, a power sharing the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's origin erupted from within him, perfectly counteracting their destructive force.

Two completely different forces-or rather, four forces-constantly collided and fought small-scale battles within his body, destroying and repairing it, tempering his flesh and physique.

"Senior, I'm unharmed."

After poking his head out to say this, Dai Mubai plunged straight into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, circulating the Mysterious Heaven Skill furiously and directing his Soul Power to temper his body along his predetermined path toward Indestructible Vajra.

The medicinal power of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum lying dormant within him was rapidly digested.

This was true Ice and Fire Golden Body, an indestructible golden body.

Meanwhile, above the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Dugu Bo was still so utterly shocked that he did not know how to respond.

Was this really something a human Soul Master could accomplish?

He had seen heaven-defying people before, but never anyone this heaven-defying.

He understood the terror of that spring water better than anyone. Never mind plunging into it-he could not even cultivate near it for very long.

Yet this little fellow was swimming in it.

"A monster. A true monster."

Dugu Bo murmured softly, then stopped dwelling on it.

Dealing with a monster like this was far too damaging to one's confidence.

Only by refusing to compare, refusing to think about it, and keeping his composure could he feel a little better.

Steadying his mind, Dugu Bo began studying the book Dai Mubai had left him earlier.

"This..."

The contents of the book shocked him once again.

This was actually a method of resolving his snake venom problem, improved upon the inner core he had condensed. Not only could it constantly condense the snake venom continually arising in his body, it could also restore his Soul Power faster, while multiplying his Soul Power reserves and growth in strength.

This was no longer as simple as resolving the snake venom problem. It gave their Dugu Family a path straight to heaven.

"No wonder that senior made me swear upon my Martial Soul that I would never pass this on."

"Compared with Dai Mubai, that senior is even more of a monster."

Dugu Bo sighed with emotion, a little more resolve entering his eyes.

He secretly swore to himself that as long as he was around, he would spare no effort to protect Dai Mubai.

This was entirely Dugu Bo's own imagining.

He did not know that the inner core he had condensed was an embryonic Soul Core.

Of course, he still had a long road ahead before he could condense a true Soul Core.

What Dai Mubai had given him was the Soul Core Condensation Method.

Condensing a Soul Core was itself a cultivation path that Soul Beasts had naturally developed to better control their enormous bodies.

In a certain sense, the principle behind Dugu Bo's condensation of his inner core was the same as that behind a Soul Beast's condensation of a Soul Core.

The snake venom within him was too vast to control and instead harmed him. Staying in the treasure land that was the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had sustained him until he reached the Titled Douluo realm.

While absorbing his ninth Soul Ring, he had taken the opportunity to condense an embryonic Soul Core-his inner core.

Had he devoted some effort to this aspect and drawn upon the unique properties of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he could have improved his cultivation faster and kept himself in better condition, even if it would not have completely resolved his snake venom problem.

As Dugu Bo studied Soul Core condensation, Dai Mubai's physique was constantly growing stronger beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Not only that, with this Water and Fire Body Refinement and the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum he had consumed earlier, he successfully opened all eight extraordinary meridians in his body, rapidly increasing the cultivation speed of his Mysterious Heaven Skill.

His current cultivation speed had truly reached the level of innate full Soul Power.

Perhaps even higher.

He had used the power of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, the Infernal Delicate Apricot, and the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum alike to strengthen his physique.

He had also truly crossed the threshold of Indestructible Vajra.

"Next, it's time to condense my second Soul Ring."

After some thought, Dai Mubai quietly surfaced for air without attracting Dugu Bo's attention and restored his body to peak condition. Only then did he descend farther into the depths of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

As he felt the surrounding Soul Power grow ever denser and sensed an additional, more profound power between heaven and earth, he continued until his body reached the limit of what it could bear. Only then did he stop and begin condensing his Soul Ring.

He consumed Xiong Jun's essence to condense his second Soul Ring.

The Mysterious Heaven Skill circulated rapidly. He would not merely use Xiong Jun's reserves to condense it; he would also draw the power he needed from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had formed from the remains of the two great Dragon Kings, creating a small world of its own. It was not merely rich in Soul Power; it also contained dragon aura and the divine power that only deities should possess.

Although most of the divine power had been absorbed by heaven and earth and transformed into other things, remnants of it still existed in the depths of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

The first time he condensed a Soul Ring, it had been to better experience and test the process. Now, condensing a Soul Ring here, he wanted to capture dragon aura and divine power.

If he could successfully capture a strand of the divine power left behind by the two great Dragon Kings, perhaps the second Soul Ring he condensed would be even stronger.

But that depended on luck, and only while condensing a Soul Ring would he have that possibility and opportunity.

As Dai Mubai began circulating his cultivation method, a second Soul Ring began forming around him.

This time, he kept the condensation slow throughout, doing his best to draw out the process.

Just as he had anticipated, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well contained pure dragon aura. As he condensed his Soul Ring, this dragon aura was continually drawn over, improving the ring's quality.

Time trickled past, and the age of Dai Mubai's Soul Ring continued to rise.

Ten thousand years, ten thousand and one years, ten thousand and two years...

The Soul Ring's color kept deepening, and Dai Mubai's aura kept strengthening. A small vortex vaguely formed around him, constantly gathering the powerful forces nearby.

Forty-five thousand years, forty-six thousand years, fifty thousand years, fifty-one thousand years...

When the Soul Ring's age stopped at fifty-three thousand years, he clearly felt that he had reached his own limit.

In the end, he had still failed to reach the sixty-thousand-year level he wanted.

"This is..."

Just then, Dai Mubai felt an immensely powerful force pour into his body and merge with his Soul Ring.

Immediately afterward, his Soul Ring's age soared.

It rose straight to sixty thousand years.

Its age had increased by a full seven thousand years.

"This power is a wisp of the Fire Dragon King's divine power..."

Wild joy filled Dai Mubai's heart.

He had actually stumbled into success.

He did not know whether it was a gift from the Dragon King or whether it had been drawn over by the shared origin of ice and fire.

Either way, it was a good thing.

Dai Mubai wanted to explore farther down, but with his current strength, it was simply impossible.

"Time to head up."

Dai Mubai did not linger. As for exploring the deeper reaches of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, that would have to wait until he was stronger.

Then Dai Mubai swam upward.

"Mubai, you're out..."

Hearing movement from the spring and seeing Dai Mubai climb out, Dugu Bo looked somewhat taken aback.

All this time, he had been pondering and studying the construction and condensation of a Soul Core, unwittingly losing track of time.

He had even forgotten about Dai Mubai.

"Senior, thank you for standing guard."

"I need to get a sense of my improvements first before I can give you what you need."

Seeing Dugu Bo, Dai Mubai thought he was impatient to obtain the detoxification method.

"There's no hurry, no hurry."

Hearing Dai Mubai's words, Dugu Bo smiled calmly.

This little fellow was rather interesting, always keeping his affairs in mind.

Dai Mubai then began meditating, sensing the changes within himself.

Crossing the threshold of Ice and Fire Golden Body had further strengthened his physique. Combined with the enhancement of a full set of Soul Bones, he was now confident that he could fight a Soul Saint using only his physical strength, without even drawing upon his Martial Soul.

Of course, he could only put up a fight. After all, Soul Saints possessed Martial Soul Avatar, a power on an entirely different level.

There was also the improvement to his Head Soul Bone. Whether because of the environment here, the dragon aura within it, or that wisp of divine power, his Soul Bone's essence had recovered to roughly the fifty-thousand-year level.

But none of this was the most important thing.