Chapter 392: Heaven-Defying Fusion, Ice and Flame (Part 1)
The Ice God Divine Art is an ice-type profound art, while the Phoenix Flame is a fire-type profound art, both of which are profound arts sustained by bloodlines. Among the countless profound practitioners scattered like stars, there are indeed those who cultivate dual attributes or even more, but the prerequisite is that these two attributes can complement and sustain each other—for instance, wind and fire, or water and lightning. Although this scatters one's focus and is even considered a taboo in the path of the profound, if one possesses truly astonishing talent and can cultivate both attribute profound arts to their peak, then at the same level, they would undoubtedly hold a massive advantage.
However, simultaneously cultivating water and fire—the two most conflicting attributes—has never been done on the Tian Xuan Continent, at least not until now!
Except for fools, absolutely no one would be insane enough to walk down this path.
One can have multiple profound arts, but there is only one profound vein. When two mutually repelling attributes are activated at the same time, they will inevitably repel and cancel each other out. Not only is there no benefit, but the power of both will be greatly reduced. In severe cases, it can cause profound energy to run wild or even damage the profound vein... Back when Yun Che acquired the Ice Cloud Art because of Chu Yuechan, he lacked the water-type Evil God Seed, causing the ice profound force that suddenly surged into his body to clash with his Phoenix profound force. His entire profound energy fell into chaos, and he lost consciousness. Fortunately, the Primordial Azure Dragon temporarily sealed his ice profound force with its own power.
After that, until he obtained the water-type Evil God Seed, Yun Che never used the Ice Cloud Art.
Simultaneously cultivating profound arts of water and fire attributes is a thankless, potentially profound vein-damaging act of idiocy for ordinary people. But for Yun Che, who possessed both the water and fire Evil God Seeds, aside from dividing his time and focus, there would be no risk of damaging his profound vein.
Seven days later, Yun Che's fourth level of the Ice God Divine Art finally reached completion. If Bing Yun Ancestor Mu Bingyun were still alive, she would be absolutely astounded, because back in her day, it took her a full two years to reach the fourth level of the Ice God Divine Art.
Yun Che raised his left hand, and in his palm, a small Ice God Tree rapidly grew. Though small, the chill it released made the entire Ice God Temple bone-piercingly cold. The Ice God Tree he initially condensed was ice-white, but now, the icy crystal branches extending from it were sparkling and flawless, the entire tree nearly completely transparent.
As for the fifth level, "Ice God Illusory Glory," it requires at least Heavenly Xuan Realm profound strength to cultivate. Although Yun Che couldn't cultivate it yet, the next few months were enough for him to fully comprehend all the techniques of the Ice God Divine Art, imprinting them into his heart. When his profound strength was sufficient, he would be able to cultivate and break through at the right time, without needing to remain in the Ice God Temple.
Staring at the Ice God Tree in his palm reflecting cold light, Yun Che remained silent for a long time. Then he slowly extended his right hand, and above his palm, a crimson Phoenix Flame blazed up, releasing waves of scorching heat. Instantly, the coldness of the Ice God Temple rapidly dissipated.
Yun Che split his focus, controlling both the water and fire Evil God Seeds at the same time. Under the intervention of the two Evil God Seeds, Yun Che's bloodline gradually separated into two distinct worlds—one surging with fire profound force, and the other with water profound force.
Yun Che's body became half icy cold and half scorching hot. If it weren't for the existence of the two Evil God Seeds, maintaining the simultaneous operation of ice and fire for such a long time would have caused his profound energy to go into chaos, likely damaging his profound vein and body, and even leading to a Qi deviation.
Yun Che maintained this state for a long time, his expression frozen, as if lost in thought. Mo Li, who had been sleeping on her princess bed all day, opened her eyes and saw Yun Che like this. She raised an eyebrow and said, "What's the point of doing this? The strength of profound force is fixed. By operating two types of profound force simultaneously, you inevitably split your power. At most, the combined force equals the strength of a single profound force, and it also consumes mental energy. Add to that the mutual repulsion of ice and fire—when facing an enemy, those who fear fire usually don't fear ice, and those who fear ice usually don't fear fire. If you're thinking of using half ice and half fire in battle... apart from wasting energy, it's meaningless!"
After Mo Li spoke, Yun Che didn't respond for a long time. Though his eyes were open, his gaze was unfocused, and his expression remained unchanged... as if he had become completely stiff.
"..." Mo Li finally realized that Yun Che seemed to have entered some kind of mysterious enlightenment state. She said nothing more... but just then, she suddenly sensed an unusual tremor deep within Yun Che's profound vein. Her mental energy swept over casually, and she was shocked to discover that the two worlds of ice and fire within his profound vein were trembling and twisting, slowly drawing together, and then attempting to merge...
The Ice God Tree in Yun Che's hand began to tremble, and the Phoenix Flame also swayed violently.
Mo Li was startled, then immediately realized what Yun Che was trying to do. Her brows furrowed, and she shouted, "Yun Che! What are you doing?! Stop this instant!"
As soon as Mo Li's voice fell, Yun Che's body gave a violent shudder, and his face instantly turned pale. The Ice God Tree and Phoenix Flame in his hands vanished in the same moment. A mouthful of blood shot from his mouth, and he fell to his knees, gasping heavily. His ghastly pale face showed no sign of color for a long time.
"Are you crazy?!" Mo Li scolded sharply. "You're actually trying to combine the Ice God Divine Art and Phoenix Flame using the power of the Evil God Seeds? These two completely opposing forces will only repel and cancel each other out—they can never be combined! Mutual repulsion, mutual complementation, mutual generation... these are the most fundamental laws of chaos. What you're doing is essentially trying to defy the laws, defy the Heavenly Dao! How could it possibly succeed?!"
All the meridians in Yun Che's body were spasming, and his profound energy was rampaging wildly. It took him dozens of breaths to barely suppress the violent turmoil. He took a deep breath, but instead of admitting fault due to Mo Li's reprimand, he raised his head and said in a low voice, "If I had only lived one lifetime, I would fully believe those words. I wouldn't even think of doing something as absurd as fusing two kinds of power. But now, I'm increasingly convinced that there are no impossible things in this world!"
"Death followed by rebirth, reversal of time, alteration of cause and effect, even traversing reincarnation... what is impossible in this world? Life and death, time, cause and effect, reincarnation—which of these isn't the most fundamental Heavenly Dao, the most basic laws? Yet they've all been reversed! And they've clearly happened to me. So why can't the laws of ice and fire be reversed as well?"
"...The seven Mystic Heaven Supreme Treasures inherently possess heaven-defying power. They are the only things in this world that can reverse the Heavenly Dao. The ancient true gods could also, to some extent, reverse the rules of the Heavenly Dao. But the true gods no longer exist, and you are merely a mortal of a lower realm. Though you've always had high ambitions, trying to defy the Heavenly Dao with your current ability is nothing but wishful thinking!" Mo Li said coldly.
"It's not as serious as you make it sound." Yun Che sat down heavily and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "The term 'defying the Heavenly Dao' is too terrifying. I never planned to go that far. The urge to fuse the Ice God Divine Art and Phoenix Flame didn't come from me—it came from my profound vein."
"Profound vein?"
"Right!" Yun Che nodded and raised both hands. "When I condensed the Ice God Tree and burned the Phoenix Flame simultaneously, a sudden impulse to fuse their power arose in my mind. But I'm certain this sudden impulse didn't come from my consciousness—it came from some special awareness within my profound vein... Back when I obtained the fire-type Evil God Seed, my profound vein turned red. When I obtained the water-type Evil God Seed, these two attribute seeds didn't repel each other in my profound vein. Instead, they blended together, turning my profound vein into a mix of red and blue, not separate zones. So I suddenly thought: maybe the Evil God of antiquity could fuse the power of water and fire, leaving such an imprint in his profound vein. That's why, when I simultaneously condense ice and burn Phoenix Flame, this strange stirring—or hint—appears."
"I'm sure that's it! The Evil God was named 'Evil,' and evil is the opposite of righteousness. Being called the Evil God, his actions naturally wouldn't follow the Heavenly Dao but would be willful and arbitrary! He possessed the most extreme elemental power, as proven by the Evil God Seeds. So the fusion of water and fire is by no means impossible for him. Now, I inherit the Evil God's profound vein and possess the Evil God Seeds he left behind... What he could do, perhaps I can do too!"
"But don't worry, I only made a small attempt. Even I think the chance of success is minuscule. But if I didn't try, I wouldn't be willing to let it go. After all, this is the Evil God's profound vein, the Evil God's seeds. If I try and fail, I'll naturally stop."
"...Fine, do as you please! It's not like you haven't done even more unreasonable things before!" Mo Li said irritably, then ignored him.
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Time passed quickly at the Bing Yun Fairy Palace. In the blink of an eye, three months had gone by.
Yun Che spent most of his time in the Ice God Temple, but he also frequently walked around the Bing Yun Fairy Palace. He quickly became familiar with every blade of grass and tree here, even remembering the shapes of the larger ice jade pieces.
As the rare male species of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace in a thousand years, wherever Yun Che went, he naturally attracted the attention of Bing Yun disciples. Their gazes were three parts curiosity, three parts investigation, and four parts vigilance. Here, he was essentially the only male in a kingdom of women—the feeling was incredibly satisfying. At the same time, Palace Master Gong Yuxian fulfilled every request Yun Che made, treating him seemingly no less favorably than Xia Qingyue, while granting him complete freedom without any restrictions.
Now, there was less than a month until the Seven Nations Ranking Battle of Tian Xuan.
"Still one month until the Seven Nations Ranking Battle. The journey to the Shenhuang Empire is long, and it's indeed time to prepare. Emperor Cang Wanhe sent a message from ten thousand miles away two hours ago, reminding me to make sure Yun Che remembers."
Gong Yuxian turned around and looked at Xia Qingyue. "If not for the conflict with the Fenghuang God Sect, this trip would be a simple ranking battle. But this time... it's an unpredictable calamity for Yun Che, and it makes one worry. Qingyue, where is Yun Che now? I feel like I haven't seen him for quite a few days."
"Reporting to Palace Master, he has been in the Ice God Temple for seven days and hasn't come out. Disciples fear he might be in a state of enlightenment, so I haven't dared to disturb him," Xia Qingyue replied.
"Seven days?" Palace Master Gong Yuxian's face showed surprise. "Has he ever stayed out this long before?"
"At most, he stayed for two whole days. This is the first time he hasn't come out for seven days."
Gong Yuxian lowered her head in thought, then said, "Go see him. It's best to have him come see me immediately."
"Yes."
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