A mortal cultivating immortality can nurture spirit beasts.

Chapter 177 The Path of Ice and Fire

"A 'Crispy Beast'?"

Nangong Wan looked bewildered, Lin He seemed thoughtful upon hearing this, and Qing Yi explained, "I happened to see it in an ancient book. Legend has it that this ferocious beast is a mortal enemy of the true dragon. It is said to have three heads and five tails, with only one eye on the middle head, called the Eye of Annihilation. This eye can see through most illusions and escape techniques, and can even lock onto the teleportation techniques of Nascent Soul cultivators. It is a rare treasure. My disciple, your opportunity has arrived!"

Upon hearing this, Lin He quickly asked, "Master Qing, does that ancient book contain a method for refining this substance?"

Qing Yi smiled upon hearing this, and after a while, he took out a jade slip and handed it to Lin He, saying, "Cultivators have photographic memories, and even today I still remember it. The method of refining it is all on this!"

Lin He took a look and was immediately very satisfied. He quickly said, "In that case, let's get started quickly, lest something goes wrong."

As soon as he finished speaking, a golden hand flew out at great speed. This monster was only at level seven and had no chance to dodge. It was quickly grabbed by the golden hand. With a forceful pull, the monster immediately let out a strange cry, looking like it was in great pain. However, its body was indeed very tough and it was able to hold on for a short while.

"Huh!" Lin He exclaimed softly, somewhat surprised. Although he could only use no more than 70% of his magic power now, it was still not something an ordinary level 7 demon beast could withstand. It seemed that this demon beast did indeed have a trace of the bloodline of the Cili Beast.

Thinking of this, Lin He let out a cold snort, and the immense power contained in the golden hand instantly increased. The demonic beast roared and howled repeatedly, but it was ultimately unable to resist and was quickly crushed to death by the immense force.

Lin He took out its third vertical eye, extracted the demon soul, and collected it along with the corpse.

Nangong Wan had already picked six Longevity Fruits. Lin He took two and handed them to Qing Yi, saying, "Master Qing, if you hadn't taught me everything you know, I wouldn't have been able to reach the Nascent Soul stage so quickly. Please accept these two Longevity Fruits."

Qingyi felt a little embarrassed, but given his limited lifespan, he shamelessly accepted the gift. "Disciple, I haven't even done any work, yet I've already accepted this benefit. I truly feel unworthy. But don't worry, I will do my best to help you retrieve the cauldron from the inner palace!"

Lin He wanted to hear this sentence. Judging from the original work, Qing Yi's strength should be stronger than Ji Yin's. After all, he had been tracking Ji Yin for a long time before he was discovered. At least in terms of divine sense, he must be much stronger.

Over the next period of time, the three of them used the earth-armored dragon to search for rare and precious materials. They reaped a great harvest, obtaining more than twenty longevity fruits, discovering seven or eight extremely rare ten-thousand-year-old ironwood trees, and even unexpectedly encountering a level seven demon beast, the Ice Snow Toad.

The demon core of this Ice Snow Toad, combined with several other rare spiritual herbs, can be used to concoct a body-strengthening elixir that cleanses the marrow and enhances physical cultivation. It is of considerable value to body cultivators.

Lin He naturally killed it without hesitation and obtained a level seven demon core.

In addition, they also obtained dozens of rare spiritual herbs that were hard to find elsewhere. The three of them divided these herbs among themselves, each getting something, and everyone was happy.

To avoid attracting attention, Nangong Wan and Qing Yi left first, while Lin He quietly deactivated his Transformation Technique and reverted to his original appearance.

Half a day later, Lin He found Zi Ling and Xin Ruyin by following the spiritual energy markers.

At this moment, Zi Ling looked at him and said with some reluctance, "Brother Lin, Zi Ling knows her own abilities. She definitely can't get through the Ice and Fire Path. Let's return here and leave the Void Heaven Palace a month later."

Xin Ruyin nodded and said, "Young Master, you also said that we can only walk this Ice and Fire Path on our own. It is very difficult to pass. Ruyin still wants to return with Ziling."

Lin He naturally had no objection, as that was his original plan. He then said, "Well, it's good that you return here. After all, the Ice and Fire Path is indeed difficult to traverse. However, just to be on the safe side, some key memories about me and Wan'er should be sealed away to prevent others from finding out through soul searching."

Xin Ruyin and Zi Ling breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that it was only a seal, not an alteration, and nodded in agreement.

Xin Ruyin knew a lot about the ancient teleportation array and Biling Island, so of course she had to seal her memories. Ziling also knew a lot, and if she were to leak them out, it would cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.

It took Lin He quite a while to seal these memories before the two women headed back the way they came. Lin He wasn't worried about them getting into trouble; this was the outer hall, and with Jin Kui there, no one would be foolish enough to cause trouble here.

Seeing the two women leave, Lin He flew towards the Grand Canyon, making all sorts of deductions and calculations in his mind.

Soon he arrived at a towering mountain, thousands of feet high, which split in two into red and blue, forming a natural canyon.

At the entrance to the Grand Canyon, only thirty-odd cultivators remained, half the number from before. It seemed that many had chosen to return after gathering the necessary spiritual herbs, just like Zi Ling and Xin Ruyin.

When Lin He arrived, Ji Yin and the others were already there. Upon seeing Lin He, Ji Yin stared at him menacingly for a while. Lin He met his gaze calmly without the slightest fear, which made Ji Yin grit his teeth in hatred. However, he could not make a move here and could only silently keep it in mind.

On the other side, Wan Tianming and the others were even happier to see Lin He come out alone, no longer distracted by the affairs of the younger generation.

Wan Tianming remained enthusiastic, showing no airs of a sect leader and appearing approachable. Ji Yin and the others all looked at him with mockery for his hypocritical behavior.

Wan Tianming, however, seemed indifferent and chatted happily with Lin He, completely unaffected, which surprised Lin He.

At this moment, the Demonic Path's Barbarian Beard had not appeared, causing Ji Yin and the others to frown. Wan Tianming, on the other hand, revealed an undisguised joy. If something had really happened to the Barbarian Beard, then the biggest obstacle to his taking the cauldron would have disappeared.

However, not long after, a barbarian with golden scales flew over, much to Wan Tianming's disappointment, while Ji Yin and the others were naturally delighted.

Jin Kui and Jia Chen reappeared, and everyone immediately quieted down. At this moment, red and blue light appeared inside the giant mountain, and the mountain wall at the entrance of the canyon cracked open, forming two passages. There were two stone tablets on each passage, which were inscribed with "Lava Path" and "Mystic Crystal Path".

"This is the second level—the Ice and Fire Path. You can choose any path to enter."

After saying this, the two fell silent. At this moment, some cultivators had already rushed over impatiently. With one person taking the lead, more cultivators followed.

Lin He wasn't in a hurry to enter. He waited until most of the cultivators had entered before slowly walking into the lava passage.