"Sigh... My only regret is that I won’t be able to watch you grow stronger step by step. So, kid, don’t let your Master down. When I awaken, I want to see a Xiao Chenzi who has grown so powerful that a single stomp of his foot can make the entire Extreme Martial Continent tremble, not a pile of dirt. Go and begin the fusion. Open the Scroll only after you’ve succeeded. Master has one last thing to tell you." As his words faded, the Profound Old Ghost’s phantom image vanished instantly. The black Scroll fell from the air and rolled to one side.

Mu Chen suddenly felt a sting in his nose. This was his Master—a man who had entered a deep slumber for his sake, yet was still worried about him even before he slept. Looking at the black Scroll lying haphazardly on the ground, Mu Chen fell heavily to his knees with a THUD. "Master! Chen’Er will succeed! I will become a powerhouse who stands at the very peak!"

His voice echoed from the small, dark room, reverberating throughout the entire Profound Ice Palace...

After picking up the Scroll and placing it in his Storage Ring, Mu Chen wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. With a flip of his hand, he produced a Hexagonal Pyramid Crystal that emitted a faint glow. Tiny white snowflakes drifted gently around it, creating a beautiful scene. Inside, a blue, snowflake-like sigil spun ceaselessly as if it were a tangible object. This crystal was none other than the Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit.

Mu Chen didn’t bother looking for a more secluded spot. He simply sat down cross-legged right where he was, his expression unyieldingly resolute. He took out the Fire Crow Grass stored in a Jade Box from his robes. The moment it appeared, the temperature around him shot up, and a ball of fiery red light materialized before him.

’Will I become a true powerhouse, or be reduced to a mindless machine? It all comes down to this!’

With that, Mu Chen snatched the scorching Fire Crow Grass and shoved it directly into his mouth. The instant it entered, the heat released by the herb felt like it would melt his entire mouth. Excruciating pain shot up from his throat, but Mu Chen didn’t even furrow his brow. As soon as the Fire Crow Grass entered his body, the White Dragon Cauldron flashed, and the herb dissolved into a single drop of red liquid, which then floated inside the cauldron.

After completing this step, Mu Chen took out the Gengmu Jade Box his Master had given him from his Storage Ring. Inside lay the Seventh-Grade Medicinal Herb, the Emperor’s Heart Returning Lotus. In the same manner, ignoring the pang of regret for using such a treasure, Mu Chen swallowed the entire Emperor’s Heart Returning Lotus in just a few bites. The White Dragon Cauldron flashed again, and seven drops of milky-white liquid appeared within it. The Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit continued to float before Mu Chen, seemingly unconcerned that he might do something to it, for in its eyes, Mu Chen was far too weak.

But Mu Chen showed no trace of weakness. Just as he had with the Fire Crow Grass, he snatched the Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit, opened his mouth, and swallowed it. To his surprise, the spirit didn’t seem to resist much at all. It didn’t even release a shred of Ice Elemental Power, simply allowing Mu Chen to gulp it down.

This was unbelievable to Mu Chen. ’Shouldn’t the Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit have violently erupted with an arctic frost capable of freezing everything in a backlash against me?’ But it hadn’t. Even so, Mu Chen didn’t relax in the slightest. He knew that nothing in this world came that easily. To gain something, one must always pay a price!

With a flick of his left hand, starlight flashed at his wrist, and the Shattered Star Lock Chain shot out from his sleeve like a silver serpent. Without any command, the Shattered Star Lock Chain, a Nine-Turn Immortal Soldier, spontaneously wrapped itself around Mu Chen’s body. He now looked like a giant chrysalis, awaiting his evolution and transformation.

The Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique began to circulate slowly. Mu Chen started to channel his Primordial Power to envelop the Fire Crow Grass and the Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit. However, while the two opposing attributes had coexisted peacefully before, the moment he enveloped them, the Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit unleashed its power. A vast swath of blue starlights burst from the crystal, instantly swarming Mu Chen’s stomach with a SIZZLE.

"Ugh..."

The moment the blue starlights invaded his stomach, Mu Chen felt as if countless ice needles were piercing him from the inside. The bone-chilling pain made him shudder violently. He felt his body starting to freeze over, with his stomach as the epicenter. At this rate, he would be completely turned into an ice sculpture in a matter of moments.

’Just as I thought, it’s not going to be easy.’

Mu Chen frowned inwardly. He channeled the Heaven and Earth Primordial Power to activate the White Dragon Cauldron, directly stimulating the medicinal effects of the Fire Crow Grass. In an instant, the herb’s heat dispelled the cold from his stomach. The warmth then spread throughout his body, saving him from being frozen solid. However, this burst of heat consumed a third of the Fire Crow Grass’s Medicinal Power.

Mu Chen knew the Fire Crow Grass’s Medicinal Power could only sustain him through three such attacks at most. After that, he would have to rely on himself to overcome this trial. At this thought, Mu Chen’s will stirred, and Broken Star’s entire body erupted with terrifying fluctuations of Fire Attribute Elemental Power. From the outside, Mu Chen now appeared to be encased in a fiery red sphere, and the surrounding temperature instantly skyrocketed.

The Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit inside Mu Chen, enraged that something had dispelled its attack, unleashed an even more ferocious wave of stellar ice crystals. These ice crystals didn’t produce much cold air, but they transformed within Mu Chen’s body. In the blink of an eye, each crystal sprouted long, thin ice needles. The needles were exceptionally sharp, and in an instant, they pierced Mu Chen through and through, like a thousand arrows.

"ROAR!"

He let out a pained roar, veins bulging on his forehead. He was finally experiencing the power of Ice Prison Cold Mist, the Ice Attribute move from the Nine Waves Technique. Fortunately, Mu Chen quickly mobilized the effects of the Emperor’s Heart Returning Lotus, which instantly repaired all his wounds. Though he wasn’t bleeding, the countless ice needles remained embedded in every corner of his body.

The Medicinal Power of the Fire Crow Grass was activated once more. Mu Chen felt a warmth spread through him, and all the ice needles slowly melted, turning into wisps of white mist that seeped out of his body. He had survived another round. Mu Chen continued to channel his Primordial Power, enveloping the Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit and working to assimilate it.

BUZZ... BUZZ... BUZZ...

A series of buzzing sounds emanated from within the Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit. Mu Chen had a premonition that its next attack would be far more ferocious than any of the previous ones.

BOOM!

SPURT!

Just as he expected, a loud bang erupted from within his body. Mu Chen violently spat out a mouthful of blood, his face instantly turning ashen. Immediately after, an intense cold wave, building upon itself in layers, burst forth from the Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit. A chill washed over Mu Chen’s entire body. Countless ice crystals began to form on his skin, soon covering him in a thick layer of frost.

At this point, Mu Chen couldn’t even frown. He felt as if even his bone marrow had been frozen by the tyrannical Ice Attribute Elemental Power. His blood grew viscous, his heartbeat slowed. ’It seems Master was right. How could the Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit be so easy to absorb? The Fire Crow Grass may be a Fifth-Grade Medicinal Herb, but what Grade is the Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit? How could it be defeated by a mere Fire Crow Grass!’

DING!

Just then, inside Mu Chen’s Dantian, his Fire Attribute Dantian, which had been spinning mysteriously, suddenly flickered. It then erupted with a burst of intense red light. Strands of red Fire Attribute Elemental Power surged madly from within the Dantian, flowing into every meridian in his body.

Warmth gradually returned to Mu Chen’s body, but this time, the Fire Attribute brought not only warmth but also excruciating pain. His meridians and flesh, battered by the searing Primordial Power, developed fine cracks and then shattered with a loud CRACK. It was common knowledge that an object repeatedly frozen and heated would eventually be destroyed, unable to withstand such extreme changes!

However, thanks to the Medicinal Power of the Emperor’s Heart Returning Lotus, Mu Chen’s body was quickly repaired, and the fine cracks healed rapidly. But the attack from the Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit was continuous. Every time the Emperor’s Heart Returning Lotus healed Mu Chen’s wounds, the spirit would unleash an even stronger torrent of cold to create new, larger ones. For a moment, the two forces were locked in a stalemate.

The extreme pain nearly warped Mu Chen’s very soul, but he had no choice but to fight the Extreme Ice Elemental Power of the Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit this way. After his meridians and flesh ruptured, the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique would guide his Primordial Power to self-repair—an effect Mu Chen had never seen in any other Cultivation Technique. Combined with the Medicinal Power of the Emperor’s Heart Returning Lotus, it was the only reason he dared to clash head-on with the Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit!

This confrontation utterly enraged the already furious Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit. It didn’t know what was going on today, why something kept provoking it. ’Fine. In that case, I’ll freeze this irritant completely, down to his very soul!’

Suddenly, waves of blue energy, like shockwaves, pulsed out from the Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit. At first, the waves were slow, but each pulse pushed back the Fire Attribute energy within Mu Chen’s body. The waves grew more and more intense, and then with a deafening ROAR, a cloud of impossibly blue ice mist shot out with the shockwave. The blast was incredibly fierce!

Mu Chen felt a sudden chill, and then nothing at all. Even his soul felt like it had been frozen solid. His entire body turned an extreme shade of blue, along with the Shattered Star Lock Chain. The palace, originally built of Profound Ice, was transformed into a world of blue. The entire space was filled with a massive Ice Mountain, and at its center sat Mu Chen, his expression serene...

’Have I failed?’ In his Sea of Souls, Mu Chen’s consciousness teetered on the verge of collapse. Scene after scene from his past floated within his spiritual sea.

"Chen’Er, so high, so high! When you grow up, Daddy will take you flying into this unreachable sky. I’ll show you all the beautiful sights of the Extreme Martial Continent, okay?" A man who wasn’t particularly tall but had broad, sturdy shoulders held a young boy high in the air. Beside them sat a beautiful woman and a pretty girl slightly older than the boy.

"Okay..." a childish voice replied, full of joy.

The beautiful woman tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and affectionately stroked the hair of the pretty girl in her arms. She smiled at the two figures before her, who looked somewhat alike, then turned to the girl. "Bing’Er, if one day, we’re no longer here, promise Mother you’ll take good care of your little brother, okay?"

A lovely light glinted in the little girl’s eyes. She looked at the boy held high by the man and smiled sweetly. "Mhm..."

The beautiful woman’s smile widened, though it held a hint of sorrow. That child was Mu Chen, and the girl was Mu Bingling...