Douluo Continent: Long Live the Spirit Hall

Chapter 348 The Mysterious Ice Cave

"Ice Extreme Divine Crystal, this material is quite interesting." Inside the underground secret cave of Dragon City, Yan looked at the beautiful scene around him, which resembled a crystal world, and couldn't help but reach out his hand towards the blue crystal next to him.

These blue crystalline substances are a precious ice-attribute material called Ice Extreme Divine Crystal. Ice Extreme Divine Crystal is both the hardest and the most flexible ice-attribute metal.

It looks like a crystal, but it already has the ductility of metal. Moreover, it is the best conductor and amplifier of ice-attribute soul power, making it very suitable for making soul guide armor.

Yan placed his right hand on the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal beside him. Despite the extremely low temperature inside the cave, the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal's tentacles were not cold to the touch, as if all the chill was contained within them.

He slightly altered the nature of his soul power, slowly injecting it with a slightly icy quality. He clearly felt that an affinity was generated within the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal.

It was clearly metal, but it seemed to have emotions, showing a very intimate emotional fluctuation towards his soul power. Then Yan felt that the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal in his hand had softened slightly.

He clenched his fingers, pulled hard backward, and a large piece of Ice Extreme Divine Crystal was pulled down.

When the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal left the cave and fell into his hand, it immediately released a faint deep blue halo, the light appearing and disappearing as if it were alive.

"It's truly a magical material. It has already evolved to a spiritual realm with a certain degree of vitality. However, it's a pity that the God Realm specifically suppresses such existences, and it's even more difficult for such existences to take form in the Douluo Plane." Yan looked at the small piece of Ice Extreme God Crystal in his palm. After carefully studying its properties, he became more and more fond of it. However, this thing was no longer of much significance to him. At most, he could add a little more to the mecha to enhance its combat capabilities in icy environments.

"Ice Spirit? Interesting." Yan could feel that the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal in his palm was different from the others, with a particularly rich spiritual energy. After thinking for a moment, he handed it to Bai Xiuxiu.

Such spiritual items should be given to people whose attributes are compatible. Although Yan can use other elemental powers, his own attributes are mainly earth and fire, and he has a certain restraining relationship with ice.

"Yan, Yan, look how interesting this is! These little guys seem to be telling me to take them with me." On Yan's shoulder, after Bai Xiuxiu caught the highly spiritual Ice Extreme Crystal, its halo flickered, making it appear incredibly spiritual. After playing with it for a while, Bai Xiuxiu told Yan that these spiritual Ice Extreme Crystals were very willing to leave with them.

It turns out that the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Mysterious Ice Cave located in the Northeast Dragon City has gradually entered a period of decline due to insufficient external temperature. The energy inside will continue to dissipate, and if it continues to stay here, the spirituality of these Ice Extreme Divine Crystals will slowly dissipate, which they are unwilling to accept.

"Oh, I see. Then Xiuxiu, you..." Yan's eyes lit up after hearing Bai Xiuxiu's words. These obviously spiritual Ice Extreme Divine Crystals were actually willing to cooperate. This was a great thing. He could mine all these materials himself. Although he couldn't use them all, they would still look nice when piled up.

After making his decision, Yan acted immediately; he was the type to do things on a whim. A glint flashed in his eyes, and his soul power spread to Bai Xiuxiu's body. Then, a soft, icy blue light emanated from Bai Xiuxiu's body—her original soul power.

Bai Xiuxiu's original soul power possesses powerful ice and water attributes. With 70,000 years of cultivation, she easily enveloped the entire cave with her soul power with Yan's help. Instantly, the ice crystals inside the cave began to light up.

For an ordinary person to mine even a small piece of the Ice Extreme God Crystal would have to pay a huge price, since the temperature here is too low; even a Limit Douluo cannot operate for a long time in such ultra-low temperatures.

However, Yan and Bai Xiuxiu had communicated with the ice spirits here, which made their work quite easy. Pieces of Ice Extreme Divine Crystals were continuously pulled off the cave walls, preserved intact, and harvested effortlessly.

While harvesting, Yan would also distinguish whether any ice spirits had been nurtured within them. He would separate the ice crystals with ice spirits from those without, and store them separately in his Ruyi Treasure Pouch and another soul tool.

This Ice Extreme Crystal is quite peculiar. It contains an immense amount of ice-attribute energy within, yet its surface is not cold; it feels only slightly cooler than ordinary metal.

However, as long as you infuse your soul power into it, you can immediately activate the ultimate ice-based elemental power within. However, this elemental power is extremely violent, so it's best not to try to activate it without the necessary skills.

The reason why the cave in front of Yan is so cold is because the internal instability of the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal occasionally causes the ultimate ice elemental power to leak out.

This place has been nurtured by these icy divine crystals for countless years, and the accumulated chill has turned the cave into a deadly place.

After those pieces of Ice Extreme God Crystal disappeared into Yan's storage soul tool, the temperature inside the cave began to rise noticeably. The surrounding stone walls were also layered with crystals, looking like large ice shards. They were very hard, but far inferior to the Ice Extreme God Crystal.

"Yan, the well water outside is flowing in." At this moment, the sound of rushing water was loud and clear. Xiao Qiu, the three-eyed golden lion who had been in a weak state since entering this secret place, hurriedly reminded Yan to be careful behind him.

Yan looked back and saw a large torrent of water rushing towards him from behind. Without the magical power contained in the Ice Extreme Crystal forming a barrier, and with the cave entrance not closed, the icy spring water outside would naturally rush in.

Yan quickly found a rock wall inside the cave and used it to avoid the oncoming giant wave. Once the water level around him had risen enough, he plunged in and swam out.

As a large amount of ice spring water flowed into the cave, the water level and quality of the spring changed significantly. The ice spring became slightly turbid. Yan led Bai Xiuxiu down to the source of the ice spring.

He and the two soul beasts had just entered a small area within the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave that happened to produce Ice Extreme Divine Crystals. The real treasures in this secret place that could directly enhance one's strength had not yet been retrieved by him.

He and Bai Xiuxiu swam very fast, one on each of their sharks. Bai Xiuxiu, that little chubby shark, was usually very lazy and troublesome to command, but when she encountered something she was interested in, she would be particularly motivated and quick to act.

Because many springs flowed into the cave, the water level of the cold spring had noticeably dropped. After Yan led Bai Xiuxiu out of the cave entrance, they continued swimming downstream along the ripples of the water, heading towards the spring's source.

He continued to dive deeper, the surrounding water pressure began to increase, and the temperature dropped rapidly. The Ice Crystal was gone.

The temperature of the cold spring above has risen slightly, but there's been no change at all below. It's obvious there's something else down there.

"The low temperature here is really troublesome. Fortunately, I have more than one kind of ultimate fire, which is far stronger than that of ordinary people. Although it is said that water overcomes fire, the relationship of restraint is not always interchangeable." Yan continued to descend to a certain level. He clearly felt that his movements began to slow down, and even the flow of soul power in his body slowed down due to the low temperature.

He quickly summoned his Martial Soul, and surging flames rolled across his body, making him seem like a sun. This warmed the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, who had followed him and was shivering from the cold but remained silent. The lion couldn't help but stick its little bottom out and snuggle closer to him.

As Yan approached the source of the icy spring, he felt the temperature drop even more, as if he had entered a cold and desolate world, where everything around him seemed to be frozen.

After taking a short breath, he chose to enter the source of the icy spring. The moment he entered, he felt a strong cold current, like thousands of steel needles, piercing into his body.

The temperature of this cold wave was unlike anything he had ever seen before. In his view, this extreme cold had surpassed all ice-related energies he had ever encountered, as if it were about to plunge him into eternal icy slumber in an instant.

"Master, be careful." A voice suddenly rang in Yan's mind, and then a little girl in a fiery red dress appeared and hugged him, helping him resist the even colder chill.

"Jiaojiao, are you alright here?" Yan glanced at the girl hugging him from behind, a hint of tenderness flashing in his eyes. This girl was one with him, and could be said to be the person he trusted the most.

This beautiful girl in the fiery red dress is the soul spirit created by Liehuo Xingjiaoshu after she took human form and formed a contract with Yan. She belongs exclusively to Yan and is bound to his soul, so naturally he can trust her.

"Don't worry, Master. As long as you're alright, Jiaojiao will be fine too." The girl in the red dress didn't have the typical irritability of fire-attribute beings; instead, she was somewhat similar to Lieyan, with a very easygoing and gentle personality—at least towards Yan. She spoke kindly too.

"Jiaojiao is helping her master resist these icy springs. You can enter the spring as soon as possible."

"Hmm." Yan knew this was the best solution at the moment. After entrusting the responsibility of resisting the severe cold to his soul, he continued to dive into the spring.

With a soft "plop," Yan suddenly felt his body lighten as he fell into a dark cave.

There was no spring water around, yet Yan dared not even breathe heavily, for he could feel an extremely dangerous and chilling aura all around him.

He can hold his breath now with Jiaojiao's help. If he opens his mouth and lets the cold air in, he might be infected by the cold air. Even if he manages to escape, there might be hidden dangers.

Flames flickered around Yan, and a girl in a red dress danced around him, using waves of scorching power to help him dispel the cold. His limbs were no longer stiff, and it was time to continue exploring.

Chapter 349 Bai Xiuxiu's Fortuitous Encounter

Inside the dark cave, as the girl in the red dress continuously channeled her power to release light and heat, this desolate place was finally brought into the light.

Yan regained his mobility and, illuminated by the firelight, was finally able to see his surroundings. It was a very small cave, only about ten square meters in size and about one and a half meters high. Yan was currently crookedly leaning over with his head down, in a very unsightly posture.

However, there was no one else around, and Yan wasn't afraid of dying or anything. He simply continued to look deeper into the cave, where he saw strange ice pillars intertwined.

There were probably only about ten icicles, crisscrossing each other, some large and some small. Each icicle was pure white. Even under the fiery red light emitted by Jiao Jiao, they remained as white as jade.

Yan narrowed his left eye, and his right eye, recently enhanced by a soul bone, instantly turned crimson, his vision increasing exponentially. He could observe that liquid was faintly flowing inside these pure white ice pillars, and the terrifying chill was emanating from them.

If the extreme cold of the Ice Crystal is contained, then the chill here is impossible to contain. The air itself seems viscous. The concentration of ice elements has reached a level that ordinary beings simply cannot absorb.

Bai Xiuxiu, who had always been by Yan's side, was also a top-tier ice and water attribute soul beast, but at this moment she was also in a very difficult situation. She wanted to absorb a little bit of energy, but she was afraid of being frozen directly.

She was able to get here thanks to Yan; if she had relied on herself, she wouldn't have been able to even get to the depths of the spring.

"Environments that are infinitely close to absolute zero are of great research value."

Yan cautiously extended one hand to probe the surroundings, and then used the AI ​​Dawn to collect and save relevant experimental data.

Because of its extremely small size, the cold air released by the ten or so ice pillars in this ancient ice cave has accumulated here, causing the temperature in this small space to reach almost absolute zero.

Although the temperature here is still a few degrees below absolute zero, it can already be considered the coldest place on earth. It is truly a marvel of nature. Yan will naturally explore this strange and precious place carefully.

"Bai Xiuxiu, your opportunity has arrived. Cultivate here!"

Yan helped Bai Xiuxiu resist the chill, and then led her to the dozen or so ice pillars. Upon hearing this, Bai Xiuxiu did not hesitate and immediately circulated her soul power to absorb the surrounding energy. As the energy surged in, a layer of icy blue appeared on her body.

"This is the Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow. It is rich in energy and unlike the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal, it is not difficult to absorb. It is truly an ice-type treasure, but unfortunately it is useless to me."

Yan arrived in front of the Ten Thousand Years of Profound Ice Marrow, gently squeezed it with his hand and pulled it out. The white ice-colored pillar was crystal clear, and holding it in his hand did not feel very cold. However, Yan knew that if it were not for the layer of fire membrane in his palm protecting him, his hand would probably have frozen into an ice block in an instant.

"Bai Xiuxiu, open your mouth."

After playing with it for a while and collecting enough data, Yan carried the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow to Bai Xiuxiu and called out to her. The latter immediately opened her shark mouth obediently.

Yan wrapped the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow in flames and then threw it into Bai Xiuxiu's mouth. Upon being fed, Bai Xiuxiu's body trembled, and a strong icy blue light suddenly burst forth, illuminating the small Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave in every detail. Every strand of Profound Ice Marrow seemed to come alive under the emerald light.

A stronger cold current instantly spread, and the energy fluctuations within it also suddenly intensified. However, this change was only momentary; streams of dark blue liquid were absorbed by Bai Xiuxiu and integrated into her body, while her aura rapidly shifted.

"What kind of treasure is this? How can it improve a soul beast's cultivation so quickly without affecting its foundation?"

Qiu'er, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, had been watching Yan's movements. When she noticed Bai Xiuxiu's aura rapidly rising, she felt a pang of envy.

There are very few shortcuts for soul beasts to cultivate. They either diligently absorb the essence of heaven and earth, sun and moon, or devour other soul beasts, but this easily invites hatred from other soul beasts and leads to being surrounded and killed. Besides these two, there is another extremely rare method: obtaining rare and precious materials to refine and improve one's cultivation.

This situation is both common and rare. In some gathering places of soul beasts, the various medicinal herbs guarded by those powerful soul beasts are examples of this. However, most of those medicinal herbs are just ordinary treasures, and their effect on the growth of soul beasts' cultivation is limited.

The only treasure that can truly increase a soul beast's cultivation level so far is the vast amount of immortal herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. If she could eat and refine all those herbs, this auspicious beast could probably advance 100,000 years instantly.

Unfortunately, this is just wishful thinking. Putting aside whether Yan would agree, each of these immortal herbs is priceless and has its own unique characteristics. If they were all forcibly absorbed into the body, and their medicinal properties clashed, even the gods would be unable to save them.

She originally thought that the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eye was a unique and extremely precious treasure, but she never expected that in just a few days, Yan would find another Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave and give Bai Xiuxiu a treasure like the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow. This is so enviable for beasts!

"Qiu'er, do you want one too? But let me tell you something first."

Yan noticed a hint of envy in the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's eyes. After thinking for a moment, he went over and broke off a smaller piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow. "It's best if this Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow is absorbed by ice-attribute cultivators, so that the energy utilization rate will be the highest."

"However, if you'd like to try one, you can. I'll help you refine it. The ice marrow I have should be enough for you to advance to a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast."

"Uh-huh."

Upon hearing Yan's words, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's large eyes immediately narrowed into crescents, thoroughly enjoying Yan's head pat, and it opened its mouth wide, waiting to be fed.

After Yan fed the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, the latter immediately felt an extreme cold current erupt, almost freezing her to death.

Fortunately, the Emperor Beast possesses the ultimate light and fire attributes, and its ultimate power far surpasses that of ordinary ultimate ice, allowing it to barely withstand and refine the energy of this ten-thousand-year-old Xuanbing Marrow.

Of course, because the attributes don't match, a lot of energy will be wasted during the refining process, and you can't refine too much, as it can easily affect your own attributes.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was almost frozen by the icy power, and Yan certainly wouldn't stand idly by. A golden flame was injected into the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's body, strengthening her fire essence and helping her refine it faster.

The dark blue liquid flowed and was refined within the three-eyed golden lion's body, and the golden-haired cat's aura was also rapidly changing.

Inside the Myriad Years of Profound Ice Cave, Yan looked at the two soul beasts who had entered a meditative state, patted their heads one by one, and then sat down.

Surrounding him was the Mysterious Ice Marrow of Ten Thousand Years, which contained energy that could be refined to rapidly advance one's cultivation level; however, Yan showed no interest in looking at it.

On one hand, the Myriad-Year Profound Ice Marrow was incompatible with his attributes; absorbing it would easily waste energy and negatively impact his own attributes. On the other hand, his recent cultivation level had increased too rapidly.

After refining the Fiery Apricot to obtain his seventh soul ring, he condensed a soul core and refined a 100,000-year-old soul bone. The energy nurtured in his body exploded rapidly after his breakthrough, allowing him to reach level 75 in a short period of time. If he didn't suppress it a little, his control over his power would decrease.

So even though he had come to a treasure land, he had no intention of refining the ten-thousand-year-old Xuanbing marrow; he only planned to train his pet.

Inside the Ten Thousand Year Ice Cave, Bai Xiuxiu quickly absorbed the energy of a Ten Thousand Year Ice Marrow and integrated it into her body. As the energy was continuously refined, her cultivation level slowly surpassed seventy thousand years and rapidly increased towards the level of an eighty thousand year soul beast.

"Yan, it seems like I can break through to become a 100,000-year-old soul beast very soon."

After Bai Xiuxiu successfully refined and absorbed a ten-thousand-year-old Xuanbing marrow, she underwent a great change. Her originally snow-white body was now covered in crystalline luster, and the icy power in her own attributes was raised to the level of ultimate ice, greatly enhancing her resistance to this place.

Now, even without Yan's help, she can move freely and refine the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Profound Ice Marrow within this Profound Ice Cave.

"Do you want to continue, Xiuxiu?"

Yan pointed to the remaining pile of Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Profound Ice Marrow and didn't mind Bai Xiuxiu refining a few more. If this little shark could really evolve rapidly after refining the ice marrow and absorbing energy, then he would have another beautiful pet.