Chapter 394: 逆天融合,冰炎(上)

Ice Cloud Divine Art is an ice-attribute profound art, and Phoenix Flame Profound Art is a fire-attribute profound art. Both rely on bloodline support. Among the myriad profound practitioners, there are indeed those who cultivate dual-attribute, or even multi-attribute profound arts. However, the prerequisite is that these attributes must be complementary and mutually reinforcing, such as wind and fire, or water and lightning. While doing so can scatter one's energy and is even considered a taboo on the path of profound cultivation, if one possesses astonishing talent and can cultivate both profound arts to their peak, they will undoubtedly possess an enormous advantage at the same cultivation level.

However, simultaneously cultivating water and fire profound arts—two attributes that are most strongly antithetical—has never happened on the Heavenly Profound Continent, at least!

No one but a fool would be so deranged as to pursue such a path.

One can possess multiple profound arts, but there is only one set of profound veins. When two opposing attributes are simultaneously activated, they will inevitably repel and cancel each other out. Not only does this offer no benefit, but it also drastically weakens the power of both, and in severe cases, can cause profound energy to become chaotic or even damage the profound veins. Previously, when Yun Che acquired the Ice Cloud Secret Art because of Chu Yuechan, he did not yet possess the water-attribute Evil God's Seed. This led to a conflict between the sudden influx of ice-attribute profound energy and his Phoenix profound energy, causing his entire profound energy to become chaotic and rendering him unconscious. Fortunately, the Primordial Azure Dragon used its own power to temporarily seal his ice-attribute profound energy.

After that, Yun Che never used the Ice Cloud Secret Art again until he obtained the water-attribute Evil God's Seed.

For ordinary people, simultaneously cultivating water and fire profound arts is a futile and foolish endeavor that could potentially harm their profound veins. But for Yun Che, who possesses both water and fire Evil God's Seeds, it would only divide his time and energy, without risking damage to his profound veins.

Seven days later, Yun Che's fourth stage of the Ice Cloud Divine Art was finally perfected. If the Ice Cloud Ancestor, Mu Bingyun, were still alive, she would be utterly astonished by this speed. It took her a full two years to perfect the fourth stage of Ice Cloud Divine Art.

Yun Che raised his left hand, and in his palm, a miniature Ice Cloud Tree quickly grew. Though small, the chilling aura it emitted made the entire Ice Cloud Divine Hall intensely cold. His initial Ice Cloud Tree manifested as an icy white, but now, its extending icy crystal branches and leaves were crystal clear and flawless, making the entire Ice Cloud Tree almost completely transparent.

As for the fifth stage, "Ice Cloud Illusion Transformation," it requires at least Heavenly Profound Realm profound energy to cultivate. Although Yun Che couldn't cultivate it yet, the next few months would be sufficient for him to thoroughly comprehend all of the Ice Cloud profound techniques, imprinting them into his mind. This way, when his profound energy became sufficient, he could cultivate and break through at the appropriate time, without needing to remain in the Ice Cloud Divine Hall indefinitely.

Staring at the Ice Cloud Tree in his palm, which reflected a cold, flowing light, Yun Che remained silent for a long time. Then, he slowly extended his right hand. In its palm, crimson Phoenix Flame ignited, releasing a scorching heatwave. Immediately, the chilling sensation in the Ice Cloud Divine Hall quickly faded.

Yun Che multi-tasked, simultaneously controlling both the water and fire Evil God's Seeds. Under the intervention of the two Evil God's Seeds, Yun Che's bloodline gradually divided into two distinct worlds: one surged with fire-attribute profound energy, the other with water-attribute profound energy.

Yun Che's body also became half icy cold and half scorching hot. If not for the presence of the two Evil God's Seeds, maintaining this state of simultaneously operating ice and fire for so long would surely cause his profound energy to become chaotic, and his profound veins and body would very likely be damaged, possibly even leading to qi deviation.

Yun Che maintained this state for a long time, his expression fixed, seemingly lost in thought. When Jasmine, who had been sleeping all day on her princess bed, opened her eyes, she saw Yun Che in this state. Her eyebrow twitched, and she said, "What's the point of this? The strength of profound energy is fixed. When you simultaneously operate two profound energies like this, your power will inevitably be dispersed. The combined strength will at most be equal to that of a single profound energy, and it will also entail mental energy depletion. Furthermore, ice and fire are antagonistic. When facing an enemy, those who fear fire generally don't fear ice, and those who fear ice generally don't fear fire. If you're thinking of being half ice and half fire during a fight... it's just a waste of energy and completely meaningless!"

After Jasmine finished speaking, Yun Che remained silent for a long time. Although his eyes were open, his gaze was unfocused, and his expression remained unchanged throughout... his entire being seemed to have solidified.

"..." Jasmine then realized that Yun Che seemed to have entered a peculiar state of enlightenment. She said nothing more... And just then, she suddenly felt an unusual pulsation from deep within Yun Che's profound veins. She casually swept her spiritual perception and was startled to discover that the two worlds of ice and fire within his profound veins were slowly approaching each other, trembling and twisting, seemingly intending to merge...

The Ice Cloud Tree in Yun Che's hand began to tremble, and the Phoenix Flame also swayed violently.

Jasmine froze, then immediately realized what Yun Che was trying to do. Her brow furrowed, and she sternly shouted, "Yun Che, what are you doing?! Stop immediately!!"

No sooner had Jasmine's voice fallen than Yun Che's body trembled violently. His face instantly turned pale, and the Ice Cloud and Phoenix Flame in both his hands vanished simultaneously. A spurt of blood shot from his mouth, and he instantly knelt on the ground, gasping for breath, his ashen face remaining devoid of color for a long time.

"Are you insane!" Jasmine sharply rebuked, "You're actually trying to combine Ice Cloud and Phoenix Flame using the power of the Evil God's Seeds? These two completely opposing forces will only repel and cancel each other out; they can never combine! Antagonism, mutual enhancement, and mutual creation... these are the most fundamental laws within chaos. What you're doing is equivalent to attempting to defy these laws, to defy the Heavenly Way! How could it possibly succeed?"

Yun Che's meridians spasmed, and his profound energy surged wildly. It took him dozens of breaths to barely suppress the utterly chaotic profound energy. He gasped for air but showed no remorse for Jasmine's scolding. Instead, he raised his head and softly said, "If I had only lived one life, then I would fully believe those words. I wouldn't even consider something as absurd as merging two forces. But now, I'm increasingly starting to believe that there's nothing impossible in this world!"

"Dying but being reborn, time flowing backward, cause and effect being altered, even reincarnation being traversed... What else in this world is impossible? Life and death, time, cause and effect, reincarnation... Aren't these all the most fundamental Heavenly Ways, the most basic laws? Yet, they have all been reversed! And it clearly happened to me. So why can't the laws of ice and fire be reversed?"

"...The Seven Profound Heavenly Treasures inherently possess the power to defy heaven. They are also the only things in this world capable of reversing the Heavenly Way. Some ancient True Gods could also reverse the Heavenly Way's rules to a certain extent. But True Gods no longer exist, and you are merely a mortal from a lower-level world. Although you have always been extraordinarily ambitious, attempting to defy the Heavenly Way with your current abilities is just a pipe dream!" Jasmine said indifferently.

"It's not as serious as you make it sound," Yun Che said, plopping down and wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. "The phrase 'defying the Heavenly Way' is too frightening; I wouldn't even think of doing something to that extent. The idea and impulse to merge Ice Cloud and Phoenix Flame didn't originate from me, but from my profound veins."

"Profound veins?"

"Precisely!" Yun Che nodded, raising both hands. "When I simultaneously manifested Ice Cloud and ignited Phoenix Flame, an impulse to merge their powers suddenly emerged in my mind. However, I'm certain this sudden impulse wasn't from my consciousness, but from a peculiar consciousness within my profound veins... Previously, when I obtained the fire-attribute Evil God's Seed, my profound veins turned red. But when I obtained the water-attribute Evil God's Seed, these two attribute seeds didn't repel each other within my profound veins; instead, they intermingled, turning my profound veins red and blue, rather than remaining distinctly separate. So, I suddenly wondered just now if the Evil God of yesteryear could merge the powers of water and fire, and thus such an imprint remained within his profound veins. Is that why, when I simultaneously manifested Ice Cloud and ignited Phoenix Flame, there was this inexplicable tremor... or perhaps, an implicit suggestion!"

"I believe that's exactly it! The Evil God is named 'Evil,' and evil is contrary to good. So, since he's called the Evil God, his style of action would naturally be unwilling to follow the Heavenly Way but rather act independently! He possessed the most extreme elemental powers, and the Evil God's Seeds are proof of that. So, the merging of water and fire was absolutely not impossible for him. Now, I have inherited the Evil God's profound veins and possess the Evil God's Seeds he left behind... What he could do, perhaps I, too, can achieve!"

"But don't worry, I merely tried it briefly. In truth, I myself felt the chance of success was minuscule. But if I didn't try, I wouldn't be entirely reconciled. After all, this is the Evil God's profound veins, the Evil God's Seeds. If I try and fail, I'll naturally stop."

"...Fine, do as you please! It's not like you haven't done more irrational things before!" Jasmine said peevishly, then ignored him.

Time passed quickly in the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace. In a flash, three months had gone by.

Yun Che spent most of his time in the Ice Cloud Divine Hall but also frequently walked around the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace, quickly becoming familiar with every plant and tree, even remembering the approximate shapes of every large ice jade piece.

As a rare species in Ice Cloud Immortal Palace for a thousand years, wherever Yun Che went, he naturally drew the attention of the Ice Cloud disciples. Their gazes held three parts curiosity, three parts inquiry, and four parts vigilance. He was completely like the sole male in a kingdom of women; the feeling was simply fantastic. At the same time, Gong Yuxian readily granted all of Yun Che's requests, seemingly treating him no less favorably than Xia Qingyue, yet granting him complete freedom and never imposing any restrictions.

And now, less than a month remained until the Heavenly Profound Seven Nations Ranking Tournament.

"There's only one month left until the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament. The journey to the Divine Phoenix Empire is long, and it's indeed time to prepare. Emperor Cang Wanhe transmitted a message from thousands of miles away two hours ago, reminding me to alert Yun Che."

Gong Yuxian turned and looked at Xia Qingyue: "If not for our grievances with the Divine Phoenix Sect, this trip would merely be a ranking tournament. But this time... it's an unpredictable tribulation for Yun Che, making it impossible not to worry. Qingyue, where is Yun Che now? I haven't seen him for quite some days."

"Reporting to Palace Master, he hasn't emerged from the Ice Cloud Divine Hall for a full seven days. This disciple feared he was in a state of enlightenment and didn't dare to disturb him," Xia Qingyue replied.

"Seven days?" Gong Yuxian looked surprised. "Did he often stay in there for so long before?"

"The longest he stayed before was a full two days. This is the first time he's been in there for seven days."

Gong Yuxian lowered her head in thought, then said, "Go check on him. Ideally, have him come see me immediately."

"Yes."