Chapter 34: Mastering the Molten Frost Spirit Physique! Metamorphosis Alongside the Cocoon! The Second Movement of the Green Lotus Sword Song!

"Finally, it is done..."

Li Zhexian wiped the sweat from his brow and exhaled a long breath. The difficulty of brewing the Ice-Flame Immortal Dew far exceeded his expectations. Even with his past experience in brewing Soul-Rice Snake Saliva, he had endured countless failures.

"But it is worth it. It has finally fulfilled my wish."

His gaze fell upon the immortal dew before him, and the wine-worm in his belly stirred, impatient and restless. The liquid was a translucent, glass-like substance; the left half was icy blue, while the right half was crimson red. When still, it resembled the Taiji fish, slowly swirling in a cycle. Due to its bizarre and unpredictable temperature, Li Zhexian had taken a piece of mysterious stone from beside the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well and carved it into a simple cup to hold it.

"This has made me crave it so much! Let me have the first taste!"

He extended a finger, and as soul power surged from his fingertip, he levitated the red-and-blue interwoven immortal brew and drew it into his mouth.

"Mm?!"

The moment the wine touched the tip of his tongue, Li Zhexian’s eyes widened suddenly. In his throat, it felt as if magma were surging; a strange, sulfurous flame-breath exploded, and a searing sensation spread wildly through his mouth. Having never tasted such a flavor before, he could not help but nod repeatedly.

However, as that "flame" slid into his belly, it instantly transformed into a stream of ice. It was so cold that he shuddered, his lips and teeth filled with the crisp, cold scent of cedar.

Before the words "good wine" could even leave his mouth, a sudden change occurred!

Once the wine entered his stomach, it split into two, turning into crimson flame and chilling frost, clashing violently within his meridians! As the two berserk energies collided and dissipated, a layer of ice crystals and molten lava patterns instantly condensed over his meridians.

"This must be the process of cultivating the Molten Frost Spirit Pulse Body! The Records of Brewing state that the Molten Frost Spirit Pulse Body is extremely formidable, requiring one to drink the Ice-Flame Immortal Dew for three years to successfully cultivate it. But I do not need that long! Using the Ice-Flame Immortal Dew as a catalyst, while consuming the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Fiery Apricot Delicate Flower, and then soaking in the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well to temper the body, I can forge the most perfect Molten Frost Spirit Pulse Body!"

A flash of sword light appeared. Two peerless immortal herbs were severed from their stems. Li Zhexian did not hesitate; he stuffed both herbs into his mouth. Then, clutching his mysterious stone cup, he leaped into the distinct, boundary-marked convergence of the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well.

*Splash—*

The moment he hit the water, Li Zhexian let out a muffled groan. An agonizing pain, like a sudden torrential rain from the heavens, assaulted him. The extreme cold froze his blood, coating his internal organs in white frost, while his meridians felt as if they were being burned by hellfire, his skin beginning to carbonize and peel away in a terrifying fashion.

The medicinal power of the Fiery Apricot Delicate Flower and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, catalyzed by the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well, transformed into two massive torrents of ice and fire energy, crashing wildly within his body.

*Crack—*
*Crack—*

His bones, unable to bear the strain, fractured with hairline cracks. The energy of ice and fire poured into the fissures of his bones, scrubbing them repeatedly.

Pain! It was soul-eroding and heart-piercing! The pain was so intense that his soul felt as if it were about to dissipate!

Li Zhexian pushed his last remaining shred of clarity to the limit, struggling to raise his arm as his carbonized skin fell away in flakes. He drank the rest of the Ice-Flame Immortal Dew in one gulp.

Scorching flames and biting frost fought wantonly within him. More and more ice crystals and lava patterns were branded onto his now semi-transparent meridians. His riddled body, caught between the destruction of the ice and fire and the restoration of the immortal dew, reached a delicate balance.

Time flowed quietly by.

***

Li Zhexian’s body underwent a rebirth, a fundamental transformation amidst this extreme tempering of ice and fire. At the same time, touched by his aura, a cocoon interwoven with icy blue and fiery red, hanging on a branch above the spring, began to tremble gently.

...

The morning light chased away the stars, and the stars ushered away the morning light. Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

In the scorching and freezing Yin-Yang Well, Li Zhexian sat cross-legged, as silent as a withered tree. If one were to look inside at this moment, they would be shocked to see: his left meridians were red, surging like magma, while his right meridians were deep blue, frozen like a glacier. A massive, fused energy of ice and fire formed a red-and-blue light cocoon, wrapping him within it.

*Whoosh—*

A breeze blew by.

*Crack—*
*Crack—*

The sound of shattering echoed almost simultaneously. Cracks like spiderwebs appeared on the surface of both the light cocoon in the spring and the insect cocoon on the tree. The light cocoon peeled away in pieces, revealing a perfect body inside, as white as jade and evenly toned. On the branch, a butterfly struggled out of its cocoon, spreading its bewitching wings—one blue, one red.

Li Zhexian’s skin, flesh, bones, organs, and meridians all shimmered with magnificent, interwoven red and blue spirit patterns. His face was peaceful and serene; the boiling hot spring and the bone-chilling cold spring now felt like lukewarm water to him. With every breath, he alternated between exhaling frost mist and sparks of fire.

His eyes snapped open! His left pupil was crimson like a furnace, his right pupil icy blue like an abyss! The strange phenomenon flashed once and then vanished, returning to normal instantly.

*Splash—*

Li Zhexian slowly stood up from the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well. The butterfly on the tree elegantly spread its wings and flew down lightly, dancing around him. Li Zhexian’s lips curved upward; he extended a finger naturally, and the butterfly landed gently on his fingertip.

"You and I have both undergone transformation; we share a destiny. Partings and meetings are like floating clouds, and coming or going is a matter of the heart. May you be without burdens, and may the world be yours to roam."

"Go."

The butterfly flapped its wings and rose, circling him twice before turning into a streak of light and flying toward the vast horizon.

Li Zhexian walked out of the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well.

One step. As his left foot touched the ground, the footprint turned to scorched earth.
Another step. As his right foot landed, the footprint froze into frost.

It wasn't until he reached the wooden house and donned the simple white robes he had prepared beforehand that the various manifestations gradually faded. He looked at his fair palms. With a slight movement of his mind, the red and blue spirit patterns flickered beneath his skin.

"The Molten Frost Spirit Pulse Body... is complete."

Without any external ice or fire attacks, Li Zhexian could not yet truly experience the profound nature of a constitution that could "immunize and absorb the power of ice and fire." But the fact that he could soak in the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well as if it were a hot spring was proof enough.

Not only that... a powerful wave of soul power rippled from his body. Li Zhexian’s soul power had reached the twenty-ninth level.

Li Zhexian gestured casually, drawing in a piece of mysterious stone that had been scoured by the ice and fire. He slowly closed his five fingers, and the stone, harder than refined iron, shattered into fine powder in his palm and drifted away with the wind.

"In terms of pure physical strength alone, even ordinary Soul Ancestors are no match for me."

Li Zhexian was very satisfied with this Molten Frost Spirit Pulse Body. When the heart is content, it needs fine wine to celebrate.

"Heh, my Wine Martial Soul should be upgraded as well!"

Li Zhexian poured the remaining half cup of Ice-Flame Immortal Dew into his clear spring wine gourd.

*Whoosh—*
*Whoosh—*

At the mouth of the gourd, the ice-and-fire-colored glow flickered. A rich, mellow aroma, dense as substance and containing both extreme cold and warmth, instantly filled the mountain valley. On the jade-like celadon gourd, a Taiji pattern—half icy blue and half crimson red—slowly emerged.

Li Zhexian pulled up the hem of his white robe and sat on the bank of the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well. He dipped one foot into the hot spring and the other into the cold spring. He couldn't wait to drink deeply from the gourd.

In an instant, a hundred flavors, accompanied by that indescribable mellow fragrance, rushed straight to his spirit.

"Good wine! Good wine!"

He dangled his feet in the ice and fire, gulping down drink after drink, completely lost in the moment. The Wine Martial Soul was now a rare, potent spirit, and even a wine-obsessed enthusiast like Li Zhexian soon found his vision blurring. A hundred emotions welled up in his heart, finally settling on the heart-wrenching, bone-deep sensation he had felt while cultivating the Molten Frost Spirit Pulse Body.

At the center of his forehead, a tiny Green Lotus Sword mark quietly emerged, the edges of the blade flickering with icy blue and fiery red light.

*Zheng—!*

A clear, resonant sword chime rang out. The Green Lotus Sword appeared of its own accord. Then, the blade turned and plunged straight into the depths of the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Watching the Green Lotus Sword vanish beneath the well and savoring the tempering he had just endured, a spark of inspiration flashed through Li Zhexian's mind. His motion to drink from the gourd froze, letting the red-and-blue liquid flow down the corner of his mouth. He sat there, dazed, on the edge of the converging springs. In his eyes, the eternal, clashing, yet coexisting wonder of the ice and fire was reflected.

Sun rose and moon set; two more days passed. Li Zhexian’s spirit was weary, his eyes bloodshot. As the saying goes, if one does not become a demon, one does not live. He had yet to grasp a certain truth, caught in a state of bewilderment.

That day, a great wind blew through the mountain valley, creating a vortex in the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well. Where the scorching spring and the cold spring met, the red flames and the white frost did not annihilate each other; instead, they formed a spiraling, chaotic pillar of energy rising into the air.

The wild wind ruffled his hair. Watching this, the light in Li Zhexian’s dim eyes began to kindle. He suddenly laughed toward the sky.

"Hahahaha!"

"I understand! I understand!"

"Water and fire clashing? What a fallacy!"

"The world only sees the clash of water and fire, but they do not see..."

"Frost burning into mist, flames condensing into crystals—the mutual root of Yin and Yang is the ultimate law of heaven and earth!"

"The second style of the Green Lotus Sword Song is right before my eyes!"