Chapter 253: Ice-Attribute Cultivator—Ji Yuan! 【Please Vote with Monthly Tickets】
“You... also wish to become an immortal?!”
The moment that voice echoed within Ji Yuan's mind, he watched helplessly as the Soul-Calming Bell surrounding his Divine Soul crumbled away inch by inch.
As a result, the very first thought that surfaced in his mind was not an answer to the question.
Instead, it was merely four simple words.
“My life ends here!!!”
The instant that thought passed, his entire mind became consumed by that single question.
Become an immortal?
Who wouldn't want to become an immortal?
If one didn't wish to become an immortal, then why cultivate immortality at all?
What cultivators sought was longevity, eternal life, and everlasting existence.
Wasn't it all for that single word—immortal?
“Yes.”
After replying with that single word, Ji Yuan found himself captivated by the purple vertical eye before him.
It was breathtakingly beautiful.
Utterly exquisite.
It seemed to contain the supreme Dao and unfathomable immortal arts.
As long as he stepped into it...
He would attain the Dao and achieve immortality!
He had already retreated to the entrance of the stone chamber.
Yet now, his legs moved on their own toward the Ice-Fire Pool.
With every step he took, the scorching Water Fortune drifting through the air became slightly cooler.
By the time his unfocused eyes carried him to the edge of the Ice-Fire Pool...
Not a trace of heat remained in the surrounding air.
Even the deep pool had returned to its ordinary appearance.
Which meant...
Night had fallen.
Standing at the edge of the Ice-Fire Pool, Ji Yuan uncontrollably raised his right leg.
Then...
He stepped down.
His foot entered the Ice-Fire Pool.
Firmly.
The instant his foot entered the water, the previously calm surface immediately rippled outward.
The ripples resembled wrinkles spreading across a human face.
Wave after wave spread across the surface.
Even the previously distinct purple vertical eye became somewhat blurred.
Whether it was because the icy pool was simply too cold...
Or because the eye itself had become indistinct...
Or because the Soul-Calming Bell surrounding his Divine Soul, which had vanished, was beginning to reform...
In any case...
The moment he stepped into the icy pool, clarity returned to Ji Yuan's scattered eyes.
His muddled consciousness also recovered somewhat.
'How... did I end up inside this icy pool?'
Instinctively, he tried to lift his right leg and pull himself out of the freezing water.
But the instant he looked once more at the purple vertical eye beneath the surface...
His body once again slipped beyond his control.
The ethereal voice sounded again.
“Come... come... come over here... and you shall become an immortal.”
As the voice echoed again...
Ji Yuan's other foot also stepped into the Ice-Fire Pool.
Fortunately, the icy pool sloped gently downward, allowing a person to walk deeper step by step.
Otherwise...
The instant one entered the water...
There would be no return.
Drawn onward by the voice, Ji Yuan took another two steps toward the center of the pool.
Perhaps because night was growing deeper...
The cold within the pool became increasingly intense.
By this point...
Ji Yuan was already trembling violently.
His face had turned pale.
Even his lips had become purple.
Yet at that very moment...
The Soul-Calming Bell that had already dispersed twice finally reformed for the third time around his Divine Soul.
Having experienced the previous two incidents...
The instant his consciousness returned this time, Ji Yuan immediately shut his eyes.
At the same time, he blocked off his hearing.
Everything strange originated from that bizarre purple vertical eye.
As long as he neither looked nor listened...
Nothing should happen, right?
Reality truly proved to be exactly that.
Since he could no longer see the eye, he did not immediately lose consciousness.
Just as he believed he was finally safe and could leave...
That ethereal voice sounded once more.
This time...
It carried an unmistakable trace of grievance.
“You don't wish to become an immortal anymore?”
The voice hadn't entered through his ears.
Instead, it rang directly inside his mind.
Instinctively, he opened his mouth.
“I...”
The first word had already escaped.
But what came out instead was,
“Fuck your mother.”
Ji Yuan desperately tried to make his voice sound fiercer.
But the extreme cold coursing through his body made even speaking difficult.
Fortunately...
This time, he hadn't completely lost consciousness.
He could clearly feel the attraction pulling him toward the depths of the pool.
His body unconsciously wanted to continue walking deeper.
Yet the final trace of consciousness remaining within him kept screaming...
He absolutely could not continue forward.
If he did...
He would truly die.
Thus, under the struggle between those opposing forces...
Ji Yuan's body froze in place.
He wanted to retreat.
But the attraction dragging him forward made it impossible.
Each time the thought of retreat surfaced...
It was instantly crushed.
Yet moving forward was equally impossible.
'This won't do either. If this stalemate continues, even if I'm not dragged into the deepest part of the pool, I'll freeze to death right here.'
Ji Yuan's first thought was to call for help.
To summon Ice-Fire Elder.
But the moment he opened his mouth...
He discovered that speaking had become difficult.
The same was true for casting spells.
Moreover, he was now deep underground.
Even if he successfully cast a spell...
Nothing unusual might appear on the surface.
No.
He couldn't delay any longer.
With a thought, Ji Yuan activated the newly condensed Blazing Flame Sword within his Dantian.
He guided it through every meridian in his body.
After completing its first circulation...
Ji Yuan genuinely felt much better.
His body became significantly warmer.
However...
When the Blazing Flame Sword attempted a second circulation...
The icy pool seemed to have been provoked.
A terrifying wave of freezing cold instantly erupted.
It pierced straight through Ji Yuan's entire body.
...Ice and fire cannot coexist.
That thought instinctively surfaced within Ji Yuan's mind.
The freezing cold belonged to the dead of night.
The Blazing Flame Sword belonged to the daytime.
If the icy pool truly possessed consciousness...
Then what he had just done was no different from provoking it!
Damn it!
This doesn't work!
That doesn't work either!
Seeing that even his meridians seemed on the verge of freezing solid...
Ji Yuan could only treat a dead horse as though it were still alive.
He began circulating...
His cultivation technique.
Cold itself had no solution.
If that was the case...
Then he might as well embrace the cold and see whether he could find a path to survival within it!
With that thought...
The Spiritual Energy within Ji Yuan's body slowly began circulating.
Threads of icy aura accompanied the cultivation technique into his body.
At that first instant...
He felt as though even his Dantian were about to freeze solid.
His entire body stiffened.
Even his thoughts ceased.
Yet after several breaths...
He suddenly discovered...
Things had taken a turn.
His Dantian actually seemed capable of adapting to the cold.
Why?
Because over the past several years...
Ji Yuan had persistently absorbed Ice Soul Frost Dew.
The 【Fish Pond】 produced three drops every day.
Two were fed to the Frost Flood Dragon.
One was consumed by himself.
Later, however...
When the Frost Flood Dragon's cultivation progress slowed...
Ji Yuan simply refined all three drops himself.
He had long hoped to see whether he could transform the Water Spiritual Energy within his body into Ice Spiritual Energy.
If he succeeded...
Wouldn't that be equivalent to possessing an Ice Spiritual Root?
His Spiritual Energy would naturally carry the Ice attribute.
Not to mention anything else...
Even a casually cast spell would automatically gain freezing damage.
How wonderful would that be?
The only unfortunate part was that his Spiritual Energy absorption speed still couldn't compare with someone who truly possessed an Ice Spiritual Root.
Thus...
Ji Yuan's Dantian had gradually undergone an "ice transformation" over the years.
Now, under the assault of this overwhelming cold...
The initial experience was extremely painful.
Yet once he endured it...
He discovered that his Spiritual Energy itself had become noticeably colder.
'Has... the transformation succeeded?'
Ji Yuan sensed it.
Yet he still found it difficult to believe.
However...
As more and more Spiritual Energy within his Dantian transformed...
There was no room left for doubt.
The Spiritual Liquid within his Dantian gradually became coated in frost.
Little by little...
It looked as though it had frozen solid.
More accurately...
It had transformed from liquid Spiritual Energy into solid Spiritual Energy.
'But I haven't even formed my Golden Core.'
'How can I accomplish something like this?'
'If that's the case... then this must simply be a characteristic unique to Ice Spiritual Energy.'
Ever since the Water Spiritual Energy within his Dantian began transforming into Ice Spiritual Energy...
Ji Yuan gradually regained control over his body.
The terrifying cold of the icy pool was no longer quite so unbearable.
His frozen body slowly recovered.
The water merely felt abnormally cold.
But not so cold that he couldn't endure it.
As his cultivation technique continued circulating...
A constant stream of icy energy flowed into his body.
It continuously enriched and transformed the Spiritual Liquid within his Dantian.
Some time later...
Only after every trace of Water Spiritual Energy inside his Dantian had completely transformed into Ice Spiritual Energy did Ji Yuan suddenly awaken.
Forming a hand seal with one hand...
His body transformed into Black Mist Dispersing Body and vanished from within the icy pool.
When he reappeared...
He was already standing safely on the shore.
The entire stone chamber had fallen into eerie silence.
Everything had returned to normal.
The purple vertical eye within the icy pool had disappeared.
The ethereal voice no longer sounded.
Had his lower body not still been soaked...
Had the Spiritual Energy within his Dantian not already transformed into Ice Spiritual Energy...
He truly might have believed everything had merely been a dream.
That he had imagined it all.
Only now did Ji Yuan come to his senses.
Cold sweat instantly drenched his back.
Though the experience had been brief...
It had truly been like taking a stroll before the Gates of Hell.
'Fortunately, my Divine Soul has always been stronger than ordinary people's. Coupled with the protection of the 《Nine Palaces Soul-Calming Scripture》, I managed to survive.'
'Otherwise, even if I hadn't died today, I'd probably have become another split-personality case like Ice-Fire Elder.'
'Still... now all the Spiritual Energy within my body has finally transformed into Ice Spiritual Energy.'
'I suppose that counts as turning disaster into fortune.'
With that thought...
Ji Yuan poured Spiritual Energy into his Spiritual Robe.
A cloud of steam immediately rose from his body.
His soaked robe instantly dried.
Looking at the icy pool before him...
A thought surfaced.
'This icy pool transformed my Water Spiritual Energy into Ice Spiritual Energy.'
'Of course, the greatest reason is that I'd already consumed a tremendous amount of Ice Soul Frost Dew beforehand.'
'If I could obtain such a fortuitous encounter...'
'Then what about the Frost Flood Dragon, whose attribute is already ice?'
'It has also consumed plenty of my Ice Soul Frost Dew.'
'Yet its strength hasn't increased dramatically.'
'Perhaps... it's worth letting it try.'
'At worst, it'll just die.'
'As they say, when the master is humiliated, the servant should die.'
'I, the master, nearly died here.'
'Shouldn't you, the servant, at least give it a try?'
With that thought...
Ji Yuan released the Frost Flood Dragon from his Storage Pouch.
However...
He didn't simply throw "Monday" into the icy pool.
Instead...
He gave it the choice.
Looking at the enormous Flood Dragon coiled beside him, Ji Yuan pointed toward the icy pool.
“If you dare to enter, your opportunity awaits inside.”
“If you don't, then forget it.”
Although the Frost Flood Dragon, now at the Mid Second-Tier Stage, couldn't fully understand Ji Yuan's words...
It instinctively grasped its master's intentions.
It looked toward the icy pool.
Then back at Ji Yuan.
Without the slightest hesitation...
It pushed off powerfully with its four limbs.
Its enormous body shot directly into the icy pool.
Then...
It disappeared.
No, damn it!
You stupid Flood Dragon!
If Ji Yuan, as its master, couldn't still sense its aura...
He truly would have believed it had died.
After all...
He had personally experienced just how terrifying that icy pool was.
After entering the pool...
The Frost Flood Dragon immediately dived straight toward the depths.
As for how deep...
Ji Yuan had no idea.
He only knew...
It had continued descending.
'I wonder whether it can reach the very bottom of the icy pool?'
'What's at the deepest point?'
'Is it where that purple vertical eye originated?'
Such thoughts inevitably arose.
About ten breaths later...
Ji Yuan suddenly noticed that the descending Frost Flood Dragon had stopped moving.
It seemed to have halted somewhere.
What's happening?
Could it have encountered danger?
Just as that thought arose...
Ji Yuan sensed the Frost Flood Dragon's aura rapidly strengthening.
Before entering the water, it had only been at the Mid Second-Tier Stage.
Yet in merely a short while...
It already showed signs of breaking through to the Late Second-Tier Stage.
It's finally advancing!
The worry in Ji Yuan's heart finally eased.
As long as nothing had gone wrong...
Everything was fine.
As for the time...
Ji Yuan had entered the water shortly after the Fire Pool transformed into the icy pool.
He had delayed for roughly half an hour.
So it was still fairly early.
There was more than enough time for the Frost Flood Dragon to complete its breakthrough.
All that remained...
Was to wait.
Even while waiting...
Ji Yuan retreated some distance toward the exit.
Only after the icy pool disappeared entirely from view did he finally sit down.
He was worried that the purple vertical eye might suddenly appear again...
And drag him back into the pool.
Afterward...
He began carefully experiencing the Ice Spiritual Energy within his Dantian.
Although it had transformed from water into ice...
To Ji Yuan, the body's owner...
The difference wasn't especially great.
After all...
Regardless of how it changed...
He remained the master of this body.
Just like now.
With a thought...
A strand of Spiritual Energy emerged from his Dantian.
Before him...
It formed into a sharp ice blade.
Had it still been Water Spiritual Energy...
It would have become a water blade.
Now...
It was an ice blade.
Ordinarily...
An ice blade was naturally much harder than a water blade.
If it struck an enemy...
Even if they attempted to defend themselves...
They would have to expend slightly more magical power.
This alone was already the most basic advantage of Ice Spiritual Energy.
As for its other benefits...
Ji Yuan would have to discover them gradually through future experimentation.
No matter what...
As a Variant Spiritual Energy...
Ice Spiritual Energy was unquestionably stronger than ordinary Water Spiritual Energy.
'The only thing is... my Spiritual Root is still a Water Spiritual Root.'
'It didn't transform into an Ice Spiritual Root.'
'I wonder whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.'
Unable to figure it out...
Ji Yuan simply stopped thinking about it.
After waiting roughly another three hours...
He suddenly sensed the Frost Flood Dragon rapidly ascending.
Its cultivation had already advanced from the Mid Second-Tier Stage to the Late Second-Tier Stage!
Splash—
The sound of a Flood Dragon emerging from the water echoed through the stone chamber.
Although Ji Yuan had already stood up...
After hesitating for a moment, he still chose not to return to the chamber.
Instead...
He waited where he was for the Frost Flood Dragon to come to him.
Fortunately...
In less than a single breath...
An enormous dragon head entered the passageway.
Looking at those pair of bronze bell-sized orange-yellow dragon eyes...
Ji Yuan couldn't help feeling delighted.
This fellow had grown even larger.
It seemed the day he could ride a dragon through the skies had drawn even closer!
Sweeping over it with his Divine Sense...
Ji Yuan found nothing unusual.
Aside from the icy pool water still dripping from its body...
Its scales had become extraordinarily cold.
Ji Yuan reached out and patted the dragon's head.
He quickly sensed its thoughts.
...Now I should be able to beat up that big toad, right?
Ji Yuan: "..."
'I raised you all this time just so you could fight a giant toad?'
The thought almost made Ji Yuan want to throw it straight into the Storm Zone and have it challenge that Thunderstorm Flood Dragon.
Then again...
That Thunderstorm Flood Dragon was female.
She had only recently laid eggs.
Which meant...
There was most likely another male Flood Dragon somewhere within the Storm Zone.
Perhaps...
There was even an entire Flood Dragon clan.
With that thought...
Ji Yuan patted the Frost Flood Dragon once more before returning it to the Spirit Beast Pouch.
No matter what...
This wasn't the right place to leave it outside.
If Ice-Fire Elder happened to arrive...
It would be difficult to explain.
Afterward...
Ji Yuan returned to the stone chamber.
Seeing the water stains left along the shore...
He cast several spells, leaving the ground spotless.
After confirming that nothing had been overlooked...
He cast one final glance toward the icy pool.
Only then did he turn and leave.
The journey inward had been slow.
But leaving was much quicker.
Even without using any spells...
It took him only the time it took to burn a stick of incense to return to the surface.
When he emerged from the cave halfway up the mountain...
The eastern horizon had already begun glowing with the first light of dawn.
Yet countless stars still filled the heavens.
Looking up at the river of stars stretched across the sky...
Then toward the brightening horizon...
Ji Yuan suddenly felt as though a lifetime had passed.
After all...
He had truly come within a hair's breadth of losing his life inside that icy pool.
Yet upon careful reflection...
No amount of caution would have prevented what happened.
No member of the Li Family had ever encountered problems in that icy pool.
So why had he alone experienced such danger?
One could only say...
Such was fate.
Ji Yuan stood there for a while.
Only after calming himself did he lower his gaze toward the Imperial Palace below, preparing to descend the mountain.
Yet...
The Imperial Palace was completely dark.
Not even a single lantern remained lit.
'I remember when I stayed here two days ago, the palace was dazzlingly bright.'
'Even at night it was as bright as daylight.'
'Now... there's probably only one explanation.'
The Fire-Attribute Ice-Fire Elder...
The one who played the role of emperor...
Had gone offline.
The one now online...
Was the Ice-Attribute Ice-Fire Elder.
...This was going to be troublesome.
Just as Ji Yuan wondered whether he should simply wait until sunrise before descending...
The corner of his eye suddenly caught movement.
Beside the mountain wall...
A figure slowly stood up.
“Hah—”
Ji Yuan was genuinely startled.
He had been outside for so long...
Yet he hadn't noticed that someone had been sitting there all this time!
The only person capable of remaining hidden from his perception at such close range...
Could only be the Late Golden Core Ice-Fire Elder.
However...
He had now returned to his previous appearance.
Clothed in coarse gray robes.
Slightly hunched.
Even so...
He raised his head and quietly stared at Ji Yuan.
“You fell into the icy pool?”
“...No.”
Ji Yuan shook his head.
Then blinked.
And the purple vertical eye upon his forehead...
Blinked as well.
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(End of Chapter)