Chapter 1222 has begun.
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“Alright…” Liu Yang nodded, picked up the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Tokens, and walked to the north stone wall… The stone wall had no patterns, only a groove that matched the shape of the tokens… He inserted the two tokens into the groove, and simultaneously circulated the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Technique, slowly injecting the power of the Ice and Fire Spirit Cores from the Tai Chi pattern in his dantian into the stone wall…
As spiritual energy continued to flow in, the grooves on the stone wall suddenly lit up, and red and white light spread along the wall, gradually forming a two-meter-high circular gate of light. Within the gate, clouds and mist swirled, and one could vaguely sense the dense fluctuations of spiritual energy, several times purer than the energy emanating from the Ice and Fire Spirit Core. This was the entrance to the Yin-Yang Secret Realm...
"The gate has indeed opened!" Liu Yang was overjoyed and was about to step inside when he suddenly remembered something—if he entered the secret realm to cultivate, Su Qingyao would be left alone in the secret chamber. Although she would be safe, would the flow of time in the outside world be the same as in the secret realm? If the flow of time in the secret realm was faster, half a year of cultivation inside might have passed in the outside world by several years, and Su Qingyao's safety could not be guaranteed...
He turned to look at Su Qingyao, and hesitated before speaking, "Qingyao, if I enter the secret realm, I don't know how time flows inside. What if too much time has passed outside..."
Su Qingyao immediately understood his concerns and shook her head with a smile: "Master, don't worry. The 'Secret Realm Records' states that the time flow in the Yin-Yang Secret Realm is one-to-one with the outside world. The time you cultivate inside is the same time that passes outside... Moreover, there are restrictions left by the guardians in the secret chamber. No one can enter except for those who possess the Yin-Yang Token. I am very safe here. You can just focus on your cultivation..."
Hearing this, Liu Yang finally felt relieved... He took out a Heart-Protecting Pill from his storage bag and handed it to Su Qingyao: "Take this Heart-Protecting Pill. If you encounter spiritual energy disturbances during cultivation, you can take it to alleviate them... After I enter the secret realm, I will temporarily close the boundary gate and reopen it after my breakthrough. During this period, you must not leave the secret chamber without permission to avoid encountering danger..."
"Don't worry, Master, I'll remember!" Su Qingyao took the Heart-Protecting Pill and carefully put it into her storage bag. Then, she took out a jade pendant from her own storage bag and handed it to Liu Yang. "This is the 'Ice Spirit Pendant' that my mother left me. It can release an ice shield in times of crisis. Although it's not very effective against Golden Core cultivators, it might provide you with some protection..."
Liu Yang took the Ice Spirit Pendant. The jade pendant was icy to the touch, yet he could feel the pure ice-type spiritual energy contained within it... He tied the jade pendant to his waist and said with a smile, "Alright, I'll take it with me... Once I break through to the Golden Core stage, I'll take you to see places outside Qingyang City, to find a place with abundant spiritual energy to help you break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage..."
"Yes!" Su Qingyao nodded vigorously, her eyes full of anticipation...
Liu Yang said no more and turned to walk towards the gate... The moment he stepped into the gate of light, a pure ice and fire spiritual energy enveloped his body. It was gentler than the fire-attribute spiritual energy of the Fiery Hell and more mellow than the ice-attribute spiritual energy of the Ice Hell. With a breath, the Tai Chi pattern in his dantian began to rotate automatically, absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy...
He turned to look at Su Qingyao outside the portal, waved his hand, and then activated his spiritual power to temporarily close the portal—the portal gradually disappeared, and the stone wall returned to its original state, as if the portal had never existed...
Within the Yin-Yang Secret Realm lay an endless plain, upon which grew many pure white "Ice and Fire Grasses"—their leaves half crimson and half snow-white, emanating faint fluctuations of spiritual energy, making them excellent materials for refining ice and fire elemental pills... In the distant sky, countless luminous clouds of spiritual energy floated, from which strands of pure spiritual energy occasionally fell, nourishing this land like sweet rain...
"What a sacred place for cultivation!" Liu Yang took a deep breath, found a spot beneath the cloud of spiritual energy with the densest concentration, and sat down cross-legged... He took out the inheritance jade slip and poured his spiritual sense into it again. The contents of the "Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Unity Technique" instantly appeared clearly in his sea of consciousness—
This cultivation technique is divided into three levels. The first level is "Ice and Fire of the Same Origin," which requires the complete fusion of ice and fire spiritual energy within the dantian to form an inseparable "Yin-Yang Spiritual Energy." The second level is "Yin-Yang Transformation," which allows the Yin-Yang Spiritual Energy to be condensed into various forms, capable of both attack and defense, with power far exceeding ordinary ice and fire spiritual energy. The third level is "Realm of Unity," where those who reach this level can utilize the ice and fire energies of heaven and earth, drawing upon the power of heaven and earth with every gesture. This is the ultimate realm for cultivators of both ice and fire elements...
Liu Yang has already refined the Ice and Fire Spirit Core, and a Tai Chi pattern has formed in his dantian, perfectly meeting the conditions for cultivating the first level, "Ice and Fire of the Same Origin"... Following the instructions in the cultivation method, he circulated his spiritual power, guiding the Tai Chi pattern in his dantian to rotate faster, while simultaneously absorbing the surrounding pure spiritual power into his body and integrating it into the Tai Chi pattern...
As spiritual energy continued to flow in, the light of the Tai Chi pattern grew brighter and brighter. The two colors, originally distinct red and white, gradually merged into a pale golden spiritual energy—this was the "Yin-Yang Spiritual Energy"... As soon as the Yin-Yang Spiritual Energy was formed, it flowed through the meridians throughout the body. Wherever it passed, the meridians damaged during the refining of the spiritual core were instantly repaired, even becoming more resilient than before. Even the sea of consciousness became clearer...
"This 'Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Unity Technique' is truly profound!" Liu Yang was overjoyed and immediately increased his cultivation speed... The spiritual energy in the Yin-Yang Secret Realm continuously flowed into his body, and the Yin-Yang spiritual energy in his dantian became increasingly dense. His cultivation level was also steadily improving, moving towards the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage...
Meanwhile, inside the secret chamber, Su Qingyao wasn't idle either... Following the "Way of Spiritual Power Balance" mentioned in the inherited jade slip, she tried to adjust her ice-type spiritual power—in the past, although her spiritual power was condensed, it was somewhat rigid, easily causing breaks in combat. Now, she deliberately slowed down the speed of her spiritual power circulation, allowing it to flow gently through her meridians, and surprisingly found that her control over her spiritual power had improved significantly, and the speed at which she could condense an ice shield was almost twice as fast as before...
"I never expected this inheritance to help me so much!" Su Qingyao was overjoyed. She quickly took out a spirit stone and began absorbing its spiritual energy to consolidate her cultivation... She knew that only by breaking through to the late Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible could she better assist Liu Yang in the future and not hold him back...
Time passed day by day. Within the Yin-Yang Secret Realm, Liu Yang's cultivation had reached the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage. The Yin-Yang spiritual energy within his dantian was so dense it was almost condensed into liquid... He knew the time had come to break through to the Golden Core stage, so he took out a Heart-Protecting Pill and swallowed it. Then, following the Golden Core method recorded in the "Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Unity Technique," he began his attempt to break through to the Golden Core stage—
He gathered all his Yin-Yang spiritual energy in the center of his dantian, compressing and condensing it, attempting to form a golden core... This process was extremely dangerous; the slightest mistake could cause the spiritual energy to go berserk and the dantian to shatter... However, with the aid of the Ice-Fire Spiritual Core and the Yin-Yang spiritual energy, Liu Yang's spiritual energy was not only pure but also extremely stable, making the compression process exceptionally smooth...
Seven days later, a soft "crack" sound came from within the dantian, and a pale golden core slowly took shape. The surface of the core was engraved with tiny Tai Chi patterns. As the core rotated, the surrounding Yin-Yang spiritual energy was continuously absorbed into it, and the cultivation level officially broke through to the early stage of the Golden Core stage!
"I've finally broken through to the Golden Core stage!" Liu Yang opened his eyes, a sharp light flashing within them... He raised his hand and waved, the Yin-Yang spiritual energy flowing from his fingertips, condensing in the air into a pale golden longsword. The sword contained both the power of fire and ice, making it far more powerful than the previous Yin-Yang Sword...
He stood up, feeling the surging spiritual energy within him, his heart filled with excitement... He knew that breaking through to the Golden Core stage was just the beginning. There were still two more levels of the "Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Unity Technique" waiting for him to cultivate, and the resources in the Yin-Yang Secret Realm were enough for him to cultivate to the mid-Golden Core stage... But he didn't forget that Su Qingyao was still waiting for him in the secret chamber, so he didn't linger and turned to walk towards the boundary gate...
According to the records in the inherited jade slip, the boundary gate can be reopened simply by injecting Yin-Yang spiritual power... Liu Yang arrived at the stone wall that had previously closed the boundary gate, injected Yin-Yang spiritual power into it, and the groove on the stone wall lit up again, with red and white light converging to form a gate of light, exactly the same as before...
He stepped out of the boundary gate and immediately saw Su Qingyao sitting at a stone table cultivating. A faint ice-type spiritual energy surrounded her, and her cultivation level had actually risen to the peak of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, just one step away from the late stage...
Hearing footsteps, Su Qingyao opened her eyes and, upon seeing Liu Yang, her eyes instantly filled with surprise and delight: "Master, you've broken through?!"
"Yes, you've broken through to the early stage of the Golden Core realm..." Liu Yang nodded with a smile, walked to Su Qingyao's side, and could clearly feel the changes in the spiritual energy within her body. "You're also about to break through to the late stage of the Foundation Establishment realm?"
"Yes!" Su Qingyao stood up, her voice full of excitement. "The spiritual energy in the secret realm dissipated into the secret chamber. Although it wasn't as concentrated as inside, it was still purer than outside. Combined with the insights from the inheritance jade slip, my cultivation improved very quickly!"
"Great!" Liu Yang was overjoyed. He had been worried that Su Qingyao would be bored waiting alone, but unexpectedly, she was able to use this opportunity to improve her cultivation... He looked at the "Secret Realm Records" on the stone table and suddenly remembered something—Mo Chen had mentioned in the inheritance that there was a teleportation array in the secret realm leading to the outside world, located behind the stone wall on the east side of the secret chamber. It could be opened with the Yin-Yang Token as a key, and the teleportation array could take them directly to the vicinity of Qingyang City, saving them the trouble of finding a way out...
"Qingyao, we should leave here..." Liu Yang picked up the Yin-Yang Token from the stone table. "Senior Mo Chen left behind a teleportation array leading to the outside world. Let's pack up and set off..."
Su Qingyao nodded, carefully putting away the "Secret Realm Records" and the inheritance jade slip. Then she put the remaining two Heart-Protecting Pills from the jade shelf into her storage bag—these two pills would help Liu Yang consolidate his Golden Core cultivation, and shouldn't be wasted...
The two arrived at the stone wall on the east side. Liu Yang embedded the Yin-Yang Token into the groove on the stone wall and infused it with Yin-Yang spiritual power... The stone wall instantly lit up, and a teleportation array slowly formed on the ground. The words "Qingyang" were engraved in the center of the teleportation array, clearly indicating that it led to Qingyang City...
"The teleportation array is activated..." Liu Yang grasped Su Qingyao's hand. "Once inside, don't resist the pull of spiritual energy; you'll soon reach the outside world..."
"Mmm!" Su Qingyao nodded, gripping Liu Yang's hand tightly...
The two stepped into the teleportation array simultaneously, which instantly erupted with a dazzling light, enveloping their figures... As the light gradually faded, their figures disappeared into the array, and the secret chamber returned to tranquility. Only the white jade statue remained standing in the center, guarding this legacy and awaiting the next destined one...
Meanwhile, Qingyang City was experiencing considerable turmoil. After losing Zhao Qian, the Zhao family's power had greatly diminished, and they were being suppressed by other families, teetering on the brink of annihilation. The names of Liu Yang and Su Qingyao, due to their previous battle with the Zhao family, were firmly etched in the minds of Qingyang City's cultivators. Many were searching for them, some wanting to befriend them, others wanting to seize the Ice Thunder Token they possessed...
But Liu Yang and Su Qingyao were unaware of these upheavals... When they opened their eyes again, they were standing in a forest on the outskirts of Qingyang City. The air was filled with the familiar scent of grass and trees, and the outline of Qingyang City's walls could be vaguely seen in the distance...
"We're finally back!" Su Qingyao looked at the familiar scene, her eyes filled with emotion... She hadn't expected that in just a few months since leaving Qingyang City, so much had happened, including an improvement in her cultivation and the acquisition of a precious inheritance...
Liu Yang looked around and, after confirming there was no danger, breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that you're back... Next, let's find a secluded place first. You break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage, and I'll consolidate my Golden Core stage cultivation. After that, we'll go back to Qingyang City to check on the situation..."
"Okay!" Su Qingyao nodded, her eyes filled with anticipation—she knew that after breaking through to the late Foundation Establishment stage, her and Liu Yang's strength would reach a new level, and their path in the cultivation world would be much broader...
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, bathing the two in warmth and brightness... Liu Yang held Su Qingyao's hand as they walked deeper into the mountains. Their path of cultivation had only just begun a new chapter...
