Chapter 1231 Ice and Fire Lotus Seed

Liu Yang sat cross-legged in the corner of the core area. The Ice-Fire Lotus Seed transformed into a pure energy in his palm, rapidly flowing into his dantian along his meridians. This energy was fierce and domineering, yet it carried an extreme contradiction—half of it was the scorching heat that could burn mountains and boil seas, and the other half was the bitter cold that could freeze the sky. The two forces intertwined and collided within his body, as if they were about to tear his meridians apart.

"Such powerful ice and fire energy!" Liu Yang frowned and quickly circulated the "True Scripture of Ice and Fire Dual Elements." As the technique circulated, the spiritual energy in his dantian transformed into a vortex, beginning to draw in this contradictory energy. The intense heat and extreme cold slowly merged in the vortex, gradually forming a two-colored spiritual energy flow that nourished his limbs and bones along his meridians.

Su Qingyao stood to the side, her eyes fixed on Liu Yang, filled with worry. She could clearly see that the air around Liu Yang sometimes distorted and turned red, and sometimes condensed into frost. The two extreme auras alternated constantly, and even the top-grade spirit stones around them were affected by this power, with fine cracks appearing on their surfaces.

Just then, a deep roar suddenly came from the depths of the space, carrying a terrifying pressure that caused the entire core area to tremble violently. Su Qingyao's expression changed drastically, and she turned around abruptly to look in the direction from which the sound came—there was a pitch-black passage, within which two-colored lights flickered faintly, and a suffocating aura was rapidly approaching from the passage.

"What is that?" Su Qingyao gripped the Ice Soul Sword tightly, instantly channeling her spiritual power into the blade, causing it to gleam with a chilling light. She could sense that this aura was far stronger than that of the Ice Armor Bear and the Flame Lion, at least at the late Golden Core stage, and possibly even reaching the threshold of the Nascent Soul stage!

The light within the passage grew brighter, and the roars drew closer. Soon, a colossal creature slowly emerged from the passage—it was over ten zhang long, its body covered in two-colored scales. The left scale was crimson, radiating intense heat, while the right scale was ice-blue, covered in biting frost. Most terrifyingly, it had two heads, one spewing flames, the other radiating icy air—it was the Ice-Fire Two-Headed Python, guarding the Ice-Fire Lotus Seed!

"It's actually an Ice-Fire Two-Headed Python!" Su Qingyao gasped, her voice trembling. She had seen records of this kind of demonic beast in the Su family's ancient books—the Ice-Fire Two-Headed Python was an ancient, rare species, born with control over both ice and fire elements, far surpassing other demonic beasts of the same level in strength, and capable of contending with Nascent Soul stage cultivators upon reaching adulthood. The aura of this two-headed python before her was so terrifying; it was clearly nearing adulthood!

The two heads of the Ice-Fire Twin Python simultaneously turned to look at Liu Yang, their eyes filled with ferocity. It could sense the aura of the Ice-Fire Lotus Seed emanating from Liu Yang's body, a treasure it had guarded for hundreds of years, which was now being refined by a human, enraging it beyond measure.

"Roar!"

The Ice-Fire Twin-Headed Python's left head suddenly spewed out a burst of flames, which swept towards Liu Yang like magma. Its right head, on the other hand, unleashed a torrent of icy air that instantly froze the air, forming countless ice spikes that shot towards Su Qingyao. It actually intended to eliminate both of them simultaneously and reclaim the Ice-Fire Lotus Seed's energy!

"Master, be careful!" Su Qingyao shouted, unleashing a sword curtain with her Ice Soul Sword to block all the ice spikes. However, the power of the Ice-Fire Twin-Headed Python far exceeded her expectations. The ice spikes struck the sword curtain with a dull thud, and Su Qingyao was forced to retreat repeatedly, her arms numb and her tiger's mouth throbbing.

Liu Yang sensed the danger and abruptly stopped the refining process, opening his eyes abruptly. He looked at the approaching flames, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes, and quickly formed hand seals: "Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Shield!"

As he finished speaking, the dual-colored spiritual energy within his dantian surged forth, condensing into a shield that was half red and half blue in front of him. The flames struck the shield, producing a sizzling sound. The red light on the shield surged, firmly blocking the flames, but it was also slightly heated by the heat.

"Qingyao, you're no match for it! Quickly step aside!" Liu Yang shouted, his figure flashing as he stood in front of Su Qingyao. He could sense that this Ice-Fire Two-Headed Python was extremely powerful; if Su Qingyao remained on the battlefield, her life would be in danger.

Su Qingyao gritted her teeth, knowing that she couldn't really help much, so she could only retreat to a corner, keep a close eye on the battlefield, and be ready to support Liu Yang at any time.

Seeing its attack miss, the Ice-Fire Twin-Headed Python roared simultaneously from both heads. Its massive body lashed out, carrying both intense heat and frigid cold as it swept towards Liu Yang. Wherever it passed, the ground melted with magma, then instantly froze, creating a bizarre area where ice and fire intertwined.

Liu Yang dared not be careless. The Yin-Yang Sword in his hand glowed with two colors, and he activated the "Ice and Fire Yin-Yang True Scripture" at full power. He took a deep breath, poured all the two-colored spiritual power in his body into the sword, and then fiercely slashed at the two-headed python's body: "Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Slash!"

A sword aura, half red and half blue, erupted from the blade, tearing through the air as it slashed towards the two-headed python's body. This strike concentrated all of his current strength, even surpassing the attack he had used to slay the Flame Lion by thirty percent.

"clang!"

The sword energy struck the two-headed python's scales, producing a deafening roar. A shallow mark was cut into the python's left crimson scale, while a layer of frost appeared on its right ice-blue scale, largely neutralizing the power of the sword energy.

"It can't even break through its scales?" Liu Yang was shocked. He hadn't expected the Ice-Fire Two-Headed Python's defense to be so terrifying; his full-force attack had only caused such a small amount of damage.

Enraged, the Ice-Fire Twin-Headed Python unleashed an even more powerful burst of flame from its left head, the fire streaked with countless sparks, hurtling towards Liu Yang like a meteor shower. Its right head spewed forth an even stronger blast of icy air, instantly freezing the surrounding air and forming an ice wall that blocked Liu Yang's retreat.

Liu Yang was caught in a dilemma—ahead lay blazing flames, behind him an icy wall; whichever side he chose, he would suffer a severe blow.

At this critical moment, Liu Yang suddenly remembered a passage from the "True Scripture of Ice and Fire": "Ice and fire share the same origin, use softness to overcome hardness, use force to break skill." A glint flashed in his eyes, and he gave up resisting, instead releasing the dual spiritual power within his body.

Fiery and frigid spiritual energy intertwined around him, forming a two-tone protective shield. When flames and cold air attacked, the red and blue light on the shield surged simultaneously, slowly absorbing the flames and cold air and transforming them into his own spiritual energy.

"This actually works?" Su Qingyao watched in astonishment. She had never seen anyone absorb the extreme powers of ice and fire at the same time and convert them into their own spiritual power; this was simply beyond her comprehension.

The Ice-Fire Two-Headed Python was also stunned, both heads showing expressions of confusion. This was the first time it had encountered such a situation—its attack not only failed to harm its opponent but was instead absorbed by it, which it found utterly unbelievable.

Liu Yang seized the opportunity, his spiritual energy becoming even purer after absorbing the flames and cold. He took a sudden step forward, unleashing his Yin-Yang Sword once more: "Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Slash - Double Level!"

This time, the sword energy was more condensed and its color was deeper than before. Carrying terrifying power, the sword energy slashed towards the left head of the Ice-Fire Twin-Headed Python. The left head was the python's core of fire, and its defense was relatively weak. Liu Yang planned to destroy one of its heads first to weaken its strength.

The Ice-Fire Two-Headed Python reacted quickly, its left head jerking back as it spewed out a burst of flame in an attempt to block the sword energy. However, this time the sword energy was far more powerful than before, and the flames were no match for it. The sword energy instantly pierced through the flames and slashed towards its left head.

"Pfft!"

The sword energy struck the scales on the left side of the python's head. Although it didn't break the scales, the impact sent a sharp pain through the python's left head. It let out a shrill roar, its massive body jerking backward, its eyes filled with fear.

Liu Yang gave it no chance to catch its breath. His figure flashed, appearing like a ghost on the right side of the two-headed python. The Yin-Yang Sword in his hand glowed with an icy blue light as he thrust it towards the python's right head: "Frozen Ten Thousand Miles!"

As he finished speaking, the icy blue light on the sword blade surged, and a bone-chilling cold instantly enveloped the right side of the two-headed python's head. The cold froze the python's scales, slowing its movements.

"Now!" A fierce glint flashed in Liu Yang's eyes as he poured all his blazing spiritual power into the sword. The icy blue light on the blade instantly transformed into crimson, and he thrust it towards the eye of the two-headed python's right head. The eyes are the most vulnerable part of a demonic beast; even with the two-headed python's strong defenses, its eyes could not withstand his full-force attack.

The Ice-Fire Two-Headed Python sensed danger and jerked its right head to avoid the attack. But Liu Yang was too fast; it was a step too slow, and the blade grazed its eye, leaving a deep wound.

"Roar!"

The two-headed python let out a painful roar, and two-colored blood flowed from the wound on its right head—half hot, half cold. It was utterly enraged, its massive body writhing wildly, spewing flames and icy breath as it launched a frenzied attack on Liu Yang.

Liu Yang dodged continuously, searching for an opportunity to counterattack. He knew that although he had the upper hand, the two-headed python was still powerful, and if he were hit by it, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Su Qingyao watched anxiously from the sidelines. She wanted to help, but knew she wasn't strong enough and would only hinder Liu Yang. She could only grip the Ice Soul Sword tightly, her eyes fixed on the battlefield, ready to intervene at any moment if Liu Yang was in danger.

The battle lasted for half an hour. Liu Yang's spiritual energy was being depleted more and more, and his forehead was covered in sweat. The Ice-Fire Two-Headed Python was also in bad shape. Both of its heads had been injured to varying degrees, its movements were becoming increasingly sluggish, and the power of its attacks had also decreased significantly.

"This can't go on any longer, we must end this battle as soon as possible!" Liu Yang thought to himself. He took a deep breath, gathered all the remaining spiritual power in his body into the Yin-Yang Sword, and at the same time mobilized the energy of the Ice-Fire Lotus Seed in his dantian that was not yet fully refined.

"The True Scripture of Ice and Fire - Ultimate Secret: The Unity of Ice and Fire!"

As his words fell, the two-colored light on the Yin-Yang Sword instantly merged, forming a pure white sword aura. This sword aura appeared ordinary, yet it contained terrifying power. The surrounding space was distorted by this sword aura, and even the Ice-Fire Twin-Headed Python sensed a deadly danger.

"Roar!"

The Ice-Fire Two-Headed Python let out a desperate roar, gathering all its ice and fire power into its two heads and spewing out a huge beam of ice and fire in an attempt to block Liu Yang's attack.

"boom!"

The pure white sword energy collided with the pillar of ice and fire, creating a massive explosion. A powerful shockwave spread outwards, sending Su Qingyao flying backwards and crashing heavily into the rock wall, spitting out a mouthful of blood. The top-grade spirit stones and rare treasures within the core area were swept away by the shockwave and instantly turned to dust.

As the light from the explosion faded, the battlefield was a scene of utter devastation. Liu Yang stood there, pale-faced, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, his Yin-Yang Sword trembling slightly. The Ice-Fire Twin-Headed Python lay on the ground, both its heads severed by pure white sword energy, its massive body motionless, clearly dead.

"Finally... I won." Liu Yang breathed a sigh of relief, but could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground. The ultimate technique he had just used had almost exhausted all his spiritual power and had also caused him considerable internal injuries.

Su Qingyao struggled to get up from the ground, ignoring her injuries, and rushed to Liu Yang's side: "Master, are you alright?"

Liu Yang shook his head and said weakly, "I'm fine, but my spiritual energy was too depleted, so I need to rest." He looked at the corpse of the Ice-Fire Two-Headed Python, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes, "The inner core and scales of this two-headed python are rare treasures. I will collect them after I recover."

Su Qingyao nodded, helped Liu Yang sit down beside her, and then took out a healing pill and handed it to him: "Master, please take this pill first to recover from your injuries. It's not safe here, we must recover our strength as soon as possible, just in case."

Liu Yang took the pill and swallowed it. The pill melted instantly in his mouth, and a gentle spiritual energy spread throughout his body, relieving his injuries and fatigue. He closed his eyes and began to circulate the "Ice and Fire Yin-Yang True Scripture" to recover his depleted spiritual energy, while continuing to refine the ice and fire lotus seed energy that he had not yet fully absorbed.

Su Qingyao stood guard vigilantly beside Liu Yang, her eyes fixed on the direction of the passage. She knew that the battle had been too loud and might attract other powerful demonic beasts, so she had to remain alert at all times to ensure Liu Yang's safety.

As time passed, Liu Yang's spiritual energy gradually recovered, and the energy of the Ice-Fire Lotus Seed was completely refined. Within his dantian, a pure white spiritual energy slowly rotated. This was the form after the complete fusion of the ice and fire spiritual energies, purer and more powerful than the previous dual-colored spiritual energy. He could clearly feel that his cultivation had broken through to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, and there was still a trend of continued improvement.

"Mid-stage Golden Core!" Liu Yang opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing within them. He stood up, stretched his limbs, and felt a surge of power coursing through his body. Although this battle had been difficult, it had greatly enhanced his strength, allowing him not only to break through his cultivation realm but also to master the ultimate secrets of the "Ice and Fire Yin-Yang True Scripture."

He walked to the corpse of the Ice-Fire Two-Headed Python, took out the Yin-Yang Sword, and collected the python's inner core and scales one by one. The python's inner core was two-colored and contained rich ice and fire power, making it an important material for refining top-grade pills and magical artifacts. Its scales were incredibly hard and could amplify ice and fire power, making them excellent materials for crafting armor.

"These treasures are enough for me to forge several powerful magic weapons," Liu Yang said with satisfaction. He put the treasures into his storage bag, then looked at Su Qingyao: "Qingyao, how are your injuries?"

Su Qingyao said, "Master, I'm fine. It's just a minor injury, and I've almost recovered."

Liu Yang nodded and said, "In that case, let's continue exploring the core area and see if there are any other treasures or inheritances. Although the battle just now destroyed some parts, there are definitely still things here that we haven't discovered yet."

Su Qingyao nodded and followed Liu Yang deeper into the core area. Both knew that the upcoming exploration might bring more dangers, but also more opportunities. Their eyes were filled with anticipation, hoping to gain even greater rewards in this Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Prison.