Chapter 1228 Entering
Deep beneath Qingyang City, a chilling wind howled, and a thin layer of frost clung to the rock walls, yet in some corners, a dark red, scorching glow emanated. These two extreme auras intertwined, creating a chilling, oppressive atmosphere...
Holding the Ice Thunder Token, Liu Yang stood before a stone wall covered in intricate patterns... The wall was about three zhang high and over two zhang wide, its surface engraved with ancient and complex runes, from which flowed a faint gray light—the very restriction at the entrance to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Prison... He had previously attempted to break the restriction directly with the Ice Thunder Token, only to find it as impenetrable as a fortress, completely undisturbed by the token's power alone—until Su Qingyao recalled the "Ice and Fire from the Same Origin" method recorded in the Su family's ancient texts, finally finding the key to breaking it...
“Master, the ancient texts say that this restriction was set up in ancient times using the power of ice and fire. It requires the Ice and Thunder Token as a catalyst, and then the infusion of ice and fire spiritual power of the same origin, to activate the runes and open the entrance…” Su Qingyao stood to the side, her expression respectful, her tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible anticipation… Having experienced the forbidden area trap and everything that followed, she had already completely submitted. Now, she hoped even more to enter the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Prison with Liu Yang, perhaps gaining an opportunity to improve her strength…
Liu Yang nodded, and two beams of spiritual light, one blue and one red, appeared at his fingertips—the blue being the ultimate ice-type spiritual power, and the red being the scorching fire-type spiritual power. The two spiritual powers swirled and intertwined in his palm, yet they did not conflict with each other. Instead, they presented a strange balance, which was the "ice and fire of the same origin" state that could only be achieved by cultivating the "Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Technique" to a deep level...
He pressed the Ice Lightning Token into the groove in the center of the stone wall. The token fit perfectly into the groove, instantly emitting a burst of blue-green light that spread along the runes, illuminating the entire stone wall... Then, he slowly poured the ice and fire spiritual energy from his palm into the token. The spiritual energy flowed into the stone wall through the token, resonating with the runes. The originally dull runes gradually brightened, their blue and red colors flashing alternately, rising and falling like breathing...
"Rumble--"
As spiritual energy continued to flow in, the stone wall began to tremble violently, the light between the runes grew brighter and brighter, and a crack spread out from the groove, emanating gusts of biting cold wind and scorching heat. The two extreme auras rushed towards them, causing Su Qingyao, who was standing to the side, to shiver involuntarily, and she quickly circulated her spiritual energy to resist...
Liu Yang remained unmoved, steadily channeling his spiritual energy... He could clearly feel the restriction gradually crumbling, the space behind the stone wall slowly opening... About half an incense stick later, when the last wisp of spiritual energy was injected into the token, the stone wall suddenly parted to both sides, revealing a passage about two zhang high and one zhang wide. The passage was pitch black, with only faint blue and red lights visible from its depths...
"It's done!" A hint of excitement flashed in Su Qingyao's eyes, and she couldn't help but take a step forward, but Liu Yang stopped her with a hand...
"Be careful, the situation inside the passage is unknown. Let's investigate first..." Liu Yang frowned slightly, his spiritual sense spreading along the passage... However, after entering less than ten feet, his spiritual sense was blocked by a powerful force, unable to go any further. He could only sense that the passage was filled with a dense dualistic energy of ice and fire, and a faint, almost imperceptible, sense of danger...
“The power within the passage can block spiritual sense, it seems I have no choice but to go in and investigate myself…” Liu Yang withdrew his spiritual sense, took out two “Averting Calamity Pills” from his storage bag, and handed one to Su Qingyao. “This Averting Calamity Pill can resist a certain amount of ice and fire power. Take it first, and follow behind me from now on. Don’t act on your own…”
Su Qingyao took the pill and quickly swallowed it. It melted instantly in her mouth, and a gentle spiritual energy spread throughout her body, greatly reducing the piercing cold and burning sensation she had felt earlier… She nodded and replied, “Yes, Master, I will follow you closely…”
Liu Yang took the Misfortune-Avoiding Pill, wielded the Yin-Yang Sword, and stepped into the passage first... As soon as he entered, a powerful pulling force rushed towards him. Simultaneously, a bone-chilling cold emanated from his left, while a scorching heat surged from his right. These two forces, like two invisible hands, seemed to be trying to tear him apart... Fortunately, the Misfortune-Avoiding Pill took effect, and coupled with his own cultivation of the "Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Technique," which allowed him to absorb and transform ice and fire energy, the pulling force did not have a significant impact on him...
Su Qingyao followed closely behind. After stepping into the passage, she clearly felt the pressure... Although she was protected by the Misfortune-Avoiding Pill, the ice and fire energy inside the passage was far more concentrated than outside. Frost on the left even began to condense on her robes, while the high temperature on the right made her skin feel a stinging sensation. She could only barely maintain her balance by circulating her spiritual energy at full power...
The passage was pitch black, with only occasional flashes of blue and red light from the rock walls illuminating the path ahead... The two slowly made their way forward, the ground beneath their feet uneven, the sound of water droplets falling on the rocks ringing out clearly in the silence...
After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the passage ahead suddenly widened, and the blue and red lights grew brighter and brighter... The two quickened their pace, and after turning a corner, the scene before them stunned them instantly—
Before them lay a colossal cavern, hundreds of feet high and over a thousand feet wide, divided in two. To the left was a frozen world, the ground and walls covered in thick layers of ice, beneath which frozen rocks were faintly visible. A bone-chilling cold permeated the air, even breathing produced a white mist. To the right, however, was a sea of fire. Scorching lava flowed across the ground, flames roared against the walls, and the air was thick with heat, even the surrounding rocks glowing red-hot…
In the very center of the cave, there is a huge fissure, from which flows a strange energy, a mixture of blue and red, the very source of the power of ice and fire. Above the fissure floats a massive stone platform, upon which ancient runes can be faintly seen, and a rich aura of treasure emanates from it...
"This is the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Prison..." Su Qingyao murmured to herself, her eyes filled with shock... She had grown up hearing the legends of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Prison, but she had never imagined that such a legendary place actually existed, and was so magnificent...
A flicker of amazement crossed Liu Yang's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure... He could sense that the yin-yang energy within the cavern was far more concentrated than in the passageway, and both the icy area on the left and the fiery area on the right concealed powerful auras, clearly indicating the presence of demonic beasts guarding this place...
"It seems that to reach the central stone platform, we must first cross the icy area on the left and the sea of fire on the right..." Liu Yang's gaze turned serious as he pointed to the icy area on the left, "Look there..."
Following Liu Yang's pointing finger, Su Qingyao saw a white figure moving vaguely deep within the frozen area. The figure was enormous, covered in thick layers of ice, and radiating a rich ice-elemental spiritual energy—clearly a powerful ice-elemental demonic beast...
Immediately afterwards, a low roar came from the sea of fire on the right. A red figure leaped out of the flames, its body engulfed in raging fire. Its size was as large as a small mountain, radiating terrifying fire-elemental spiritual power—it was a powerful fire-elemental demon beast...
"Those are... an Ice Armor Bear and a Flame Lion!" Su Qingyao's expression changed, her voice trembling slightly. "Both of these demonic beasts are at the Golden Core stage, and their strength will be amplified in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Prison environment. We..."
Liu Yang raised his hand to interrupt Su Qingyao, a glint of fighting spirit flashing in his eyes: "So what if they're at the Golden Core stage? Now that we're here, there's no reason to back down... However, we don't need to face two demonic beasts at the same time. Let's take care of one first, then deal with the other..."
He pondered for a moment, then pointed to the Ice Armor Bear on his left: "Let's start with the Ice Armor Bear... My fire-type spiritual power is effective against ice-type monsters, so dealing with it will be easier... You'll assist me, using ice-type spells to restrain its movements and prevent it from escaping or launching a sneak attack..."
Su Qingyao nodded quickly, "Yes, Master, I understand!" Although she was somewhat afraid of the Golden Core stage Ice Armor Bear, seeing Liu Yang's confident eyes lessened her unease considerably...
Liu Yang said no more, holding the Yin-Yang Sword, and walked towards the frozen area on the left... As soon as he stepped into the frozen area, an even stronger chill rushed towards him, and the ice on the ground began to crack, as if it would break at any moment... He activated the "Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Technique," and a wisp of flame appeared in his palm. Although the flame was small, it emitted a powerful heat, dispelling the surrounding chill, and the ice beneath his feet stopped shaking...
The Ice Armor Bear, not far away, sensed the intruder and let out a low roar. Its massive body emerged from behind the ice... It was about three zhang tall, its entire body covered in thick ice armor that gleamed with a cold light. Its scarlet eyes were fixed on Liu Yang, and it exhaled a chilling breath, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet once again...
"Roar!" The Ice Armor Bear roared and pounced on Liu Yang. Its massive paws, carrying an icy chill, slammed down like two small mountains, intending to smash Liu Yang into a pulp...
Liu Yang's eyes narrowed. Instead of retreating, he advanced, his Yin-Yang Sword blazing with intense heat as he slashed at the Ice Armor Bear's paw...
"clang!"
Sword and palm clashed with a crisp, loud sound. Flame and ice collided, producing a large amount of white mist... The Ice Armor Bear felt a sharp pain in its paw; a corner of its thick ice armor had melted in the flames. Startled, it quickly retreated, a hint of fear flashing in its eyes...
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Su Qingyao launched an attack. She formed hand seals and silently chanted an incantation, conjuring ice arrows that shot towards the Ice Armor Bear... The ice arrows carried abundant ice-elemental spiritual energy. Although they couldn't inflict any real damage on the Ice Armor Bear, they successfully restrained its movements, preventing it from launching another attack...
Liu Yang seized the opportunity, his figure flashing like a ghost as he appeared behind the Ice Armor Bear. The flames on his Yin-Yang Sword surged, slashing towards the back of the Ice Armor Bear's neck... The Ice Armor Bear sensed the danger and tried to turn around to defend, but it was too late...
"Pfft!"
The sharp blade, wreathed in scorching flames, easily sliced through the Ice Armor Bear's icy armor and pierced its body... The Ice Armor Bear let out a shrill roar, its massive body crashing to the ground. After convulsing a few times, it lay still, its ice-elemental spiritual energy gradually dissipating, turning into wisps of white mist that merged into the surrounding environment...
After defeating the Ice Armor Bear, Liu Yang breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his brow... Although the Ice Armor Bear was only at the early stage of the Golden Core realm, with the enhancement of the frozen area, its strength was comparable to that of a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, making it no easy task to defeat...
Su Qingyao rushed over, her eyes filled with admiration: "Master, you're amazing! You took care of the Ice Armor Bear so quickly!"
Liu Yang smiled slightly, without arrogance, and pointed to the sea of fire on the right: "Don't be too happy yet, there's still a Flame Lion waiting for us... The Flame Lion is stronger than the Ice Armor Bear, and its strength will be greatly amplified in the sea of fire, so we must be even more careful..."
Su Qingyao nodded, her smile fading, her expression turning serious... She knew that the battle to come would be even more difficult...
After resting briefly and recovering some of their depleted spiritual energy, the two headed towards the sea of fire on their right... As soon as they stepped into the fiery area, a wave of scorching heat hit them. Lava flowed on the ground, making gurgling sounds, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of sulfur, causing Su Qingyao to frown involuntarily...
In the nearby sea of fire, the Flame Lion sensed the intruders and let out a deafening roar. Its massive body rose from the flames... It stood about four zhang tall, its entire body engulfed in raging flames, like a moving volcano. Its golden eyes were fixed intently on Liu Yang and Su Qingyao, and it spewed a scorching stream of fire towards them...
"Watch out!" Liu Yang's expression changed, and he quickly pulled Su Qingyao back, while his Yin-Yang Sword emitted a wisp of cold air as it shot towards the flames...
The collision of the cold air and the flames instantly generated a large amount of steam. The flames were neutralized by the cold air, turning into wisps of white smoke and dissipating into the air...
"This fire lion is indeed powerful; it can actually spew such potent flames..." Liu Yang frowned slightly, becoming increasingly wary... He knew that dealing with this fire lion would likely require some effort...
