Chapter 516: This Move is Called "Ice Age"

"If you can, then come in!"

Xu Xiaoshou silently called out, immediately halting the expansion of the "Original Seed of Incineration's" aura above his Qihai. He moved it from the center to the side, clearing away the scorching aura. Then, he directed a large amount of Frost Calamity energy to the other side.

"Flutter, flutter!"The "Incineration Flame Seed" grew angry. Most of the Frost Calamity energy was immediately incinerated. Clearly, with its extremely domineering temperament, it absolutely would not tolerate the presence of another extreme cold energy beside it.

"Brat, quiet down!"Xu Xiaoshou also grew angry. Connecting with his spiritual sense, he sternly reprimanded the flame seed: "We are of the same lineage. I brought you into my body, gave you a great opportunity, and you're still so arrogant? Do you have to burn down my entire spiritual court? Now, 'Three-Day Frost Calamity' is willing to fully accept me. If I truly integrate its main body into my Qihai, it will be at full power. You, on the other hand, are sealed. What will you use to resist? If you resist again, believe it or not, I'll directly use 'Three-Day Frost Calamity' to seal you completely!"

Xu Xiaoshou threatened it. He fully understood that when dealing with such domineering treasures, gentle persuasion simply wouldn't work. If his aura weakened even slightly, the flame seed would likely take advantage, completely overwhelming him.

"Flutter, flutter!"To his surprise, even with such threats, the "Incineration Flame Seed" was not easily intimidated. It even more defiantly incinerated all the remaining "Frost Calamity energy."

"You don't believe me, do you?"Xu Xiaoshou scoffed. Previously, he feared simultaneously introducing both into his Qihai would cause it to collapse, but that was when he couldn't control them. But now... the "Three-Day Frost Calamity" fully accepted him, and with one power curbing another, Qihai collapse? Impossible!

"In that case..."Completely disregarding the "Original Seed of Incineration's" feelings, Xu Xiaoshou turned his attention to the "Three-Day Frost Calamity." "Are you ready? Then come!" After a deep exhale, Xu Xiaoshou channeled his "Breathing Technique" and fiercely inhaled the icy flame before him.

"Hiss—"Vast Frost Calamity energy was instantly swallowed through his throat, then guided by the "Breathing Technique" to his Qihai.

"Crack, crack."The "Original Seed of Incineration" panicked. The massive influx of "Frost Calamity energy" at that moment completely suppressed it. Even the flame seed itself was covered with a layer of frost.

Xu Xiaoshou paused the flow of energy. "I'm giving you one last chance: will you continue to resist, or will you choose to accept your ice-flame companion? Think carefully." He spoke sternly, but his voice softened slightly. "You possess sentience, and you fully understand that this wave of 'Frost Calamity energy' is merely a residual glimmer of its power. Now, I'm going to bring in the main body of 'Three-Day Frost Calamity.' Take your time to consider. Do you want to repent in frozen solitude until you realize your mistake, or do you want to accept the 'Three-Day Frost Calamity'—with its power now suppressed by me—and become good friends, hand-in-hand? I won't force you," Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts were filled with gentleness, "because no matter which path you choose, I can still use your power."

"Flutter, flutter—"The "Incineration Flame Seed" began to tremble wildly. An endless incinerating aura was released, instantly burning away the ice crystals on Xu Xiaoshou's body, and steam began to billow again.

"I understand what you mean."Xu Xiaoshou was not surprised in the least. The "Original Seed of Incineration" was inherently the most domineering entity in the world; such a reaction was perfectly normal. If it had withered at this point, Xu Xiaoshou would have actually looked down on the flame seed. But no matter the reaction, there was always a way to deal with it.

"Keep going! I have high hopes for you. Keep resisting!"After encouraging the flame seed, Xu Xiaoshou no longer paid attention to its agitated state. He directly opened his mouth and inhaled the "Three-Day Frost Calamity."

"Into the body!"With a whoosh, the "Three-Day Frost Calamity" transformed into a streak of light and shot directly into Xu Xiaoshou's mouth. The "Breathing Technique" activated again, guiding the supreme ice-flame along his meridians to a position above his Qihai.

"Boom!"The moment it entered the Qihai, the "Incineration Power" and "Frost Calamity energy" immediately clashed, instantly stirring up myriad waves of spiritual essence and creating an overwhelming uproar.

A puzzled thought emanated from the "Three-Day Frost Calamity." It seemed to be wondering why Xu Xiaoshou had said the other party accepted it, but now, the situation felt somewhat wrong.

"It's nothing, it's just throwing a little tantrum," Xu Xiaoshou said with a carefree smile. "After all, your powers are completely opposite. When you truly face each other, even if you mutually accept each other, a symbolic resistance is still necessary. Everyone needs to save face, you know. It's just a matter of when one decides to let go."

The lotus petals of the "Three-Day Frost Calamity" contracted, fully retracting its power. In an instant, the entire Qihai, except for its immediate vicinity, was enveloped by the incinerating aura.

"Don't be polite!" Xu Xiaoshou, seeing the ice-flame's introverted nature, immediately ordered, "This guy is too rampant. You can't keep being so soft, or you'll get bullied. First, show it what you're capable of. Freeze it, then we'll talk."

The pulsating petals of the "Three-Day Frost Calamity" paused. It seemed utterly unable to follow its new master's line of thought. But the command had been given. Even if it didn't understand, it didn't prevent it from executing the order. The lotus petals bloomed. The "Frost Calamity energy" erupted completely. The incinerating aura, which seemed capable of devouring everything, finally met its match and retreated steadily under the invasion of the frost.

Ultimately, the "Frost Calamity energy" directly occupied everything, cornering the "Original Seed of Incineration."

The "Three-Day Frost Calamity" couldn't bear it anymore. This wasn't its nature. In the past, it would never have actively attacked and forced any similar spiritual treasure to such an extent.

"Don't be afraid, seal it!"Xu Xiaoshou's emotionless command fell once more. This time, the "Original Seed of Incineration" finally panicked. It disliked this icy aura. Therefore, it could not bear the thought of being confined by this ice power in Xu Xiaoshou's Qihai for eternity. Accustomed to its domineering ways, after feeling the inescapable confinement on its body, it finally chose to yield for the first time.

"Flutter, flutter..."A faint whimper sounded; the "Original Seed of Incineration" seemed to be begging for mercy. Xu Xiaoshou chuckled.

"Too late. I already gave you a chance just now. Showing weakness now is useless!" His voice turned cold as Xu Xiaoshou gave another order. "Seal it!" Since the power of the "Original Seed of Incineration" was no longer needed to rupture the external space, then, to prevent this entity from causing trouble at a crucial moment, the most appropriate method was to make the flame seed calm down and reflect on where it went wrong.

"Crack, crack!"Without the slightest hesitation, having grown accustomed to Xu Xiaoshou's rhythm, the "Three-Day Frost Calamity's" power completely enveloped the "Original Seed of Incineration" at a single command, freezing it entirely.

"Whoosh."Xu Xiaoshou exhaled. This time, what he breathed out was finally no longer scorching heat but a chilling frost. And after fully accepting him, the "Three-Day Frost Calamity" would no longer harm his physical body. All its power, after being transformed by the "Breathing Technique," was then directed outward. It was as easy as moving a finger!

"Excellent."With a thought, the layer of ice encasing Xu Xiaoshou's body crackled and transformed into pure spiritual energy, which flowed into his Qihai through his mouth and nose. His limbs returned to their normal, movable state. Xu Xiaoshou was overjoyed.

Suddenly, his Qihai shook. After completely gaining the dominant position, the "Three-Day Frost Calamity" began to gradually take root, truly accepting him as its master.

"Buzz—"A subtle hum emanated from the ice-flame's core, then spread throughout his Qihai, before extending beyond his body. Xu Xiaoshou felt a chill throughout his body. The next second, he could sense a profoundly intimate connection forming between himself and the "Three-Day Frost Calamity."

"Master acknowledged?"It was his first time being actively recognized as a master by a spiritual entity, and Xu Xiaoshou gained a new experience. When the bond was fully established, he could feel that everything had changed. Among the elemental energies of heaven and earth, which his spiritual sense could perceive, there suddenly appeared dense, myriad blue light points.

"Ice elements?"Not only that, besides the ice elements densely spread throughout heaven and earth, the "Three-Day Frost Calamity" itself, as a flame, also bestowed upon him fire-attribute abilities. Fire elements were also visible, but their quantity was too sparse. Xu Xiaoshou knew this didn't mean the "Three-Day Frost Calamity's" fire-attribute power was inferior to its ice-attribute power. It was simply because, after the recent rampage of vast "Frost Calamity energy," the elements in this area had almost all been assimilated by ice-attribute rules.

"Fantastic!"When he had previously entered the Yuan Ting realm, he originally had the chance to awaken innate fire-attribute power. But because of that broken system's devouring, he had completely lost that opportunity. Now, with the "Three-Day Frost Calamity's" acceptance, it not only compensated for his innate fire-attribute power but also brought along an ice-attribute ability?

"Powerful!"Xu Xiaoshou was ecstatic. However, the surprise brought by such a supreme treasure acknowledging him as master clearly didn't stop there. Almost at the same instant he perceived the elemental energies, Xu Xiaoshou felt the "Three-Day Frost Calamity" completely establish itself in his Qihai.

The next second, upon sensing that its master could now fully absorb ice-attribute energy to supplement himself, the ice-flame erupted passionately, and endless pure ice-attribute spiritual energy gushed forth from it.

"This is..."At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou felt every cell in his body being filled with this ice energy. He began to swell. He was actually swelling!

"Holy crap, I'm not going to explode, am I? Careful, careful, don't mess around!" Xu Xiaoshou issued commands in a panic. However, the power feedback from a spiritual entity after taking root was clearly not something the "Three-Day Frost Calamity" could easily control. Even though it knew its current host's body was too weak to withstand its power feedback, despite its utmost efforts to control it, the immense energy continued to surge upwards, step by step.

The "Three-Day Frost Calamity" was too powerful! Such a supreme treasure almost always appeared when cultivators at or above the Sovereign stage contended for it. How could an innate 'ant' at the Dwelling Realm ever obtain it? As a result, for a moment, even Xu Xiaoshou's Grandmaster-level body began to crack under the infusion of power.

The "Breathing Technique" sensed that something was amiss. Every time such power appeared, it was a prime opportunity for it to prove its worth. The passive ability automatically activated, instantly converting most of the energy into spiritual essence and injecting it into the Qihai.

"Buzz!"His Qihai surged. With just the first wave of spiritual essence accumulation, Xu Xiaoshou felt his early Dwelling Realm cultivation about to be completely filled.

"Buzz!"Another wave of spiritual essence transformation, and his cultivation directly broke through, reaching the mid-stage. With simultaneous improvements in both quality and quantity, and the reduction of ice-attribute energy, the bloating sensation in his body significantly diminished. Though it was clearly cold, Xu Xiaoshou's face was flushed, and he gritted his teeth, enduring, as if suppressing something.

"Buzz!"The "Breathing Technique" circulated once more. Under this wave, most of the ice-attribute energy was assimilated. "Ugh-ah!" Xu Xiaoshou finally couldn't hold it in, and his body trembled violently. This was even more potent than consuming a large handful of Yuan Ting pills. Such immense power was being infused. And the method of infusion was a Grandmaster-level "Breathing Technique"—who could possibly withstand this?

"Mmm...""Ugh-ah...""So good, so good, keep going..."With "Concealment," Xu Xiaoshou no longer cared about rapid cultivation breakthroughs. This passive skill was currently only at the innate level, yet it could make even Sovereigns and Dao-Slayers see him ambiguously. He believed that once it reached the Grandmaster level, it would surely leave everyone utterly confused. Given this premise, why would Xu Xiaoshou suppress his cultivation any further?

"Go, go, go!"His Qihai surged repeatedly. Inside the snowy mountain, a series of moans, escalating from suppressed to high-pitched, echoed. After a long time, accompanied by a clear, sky-shattering cry, everything finally returned to tranquility.

"Phew..."Xu Xiaoshou let out a heavy sigh of relief. His entire body went limp, sinking into the icy mountain layers. After countless surges of spiritual essence, he felt that at this moment, even moving a single finger was an effort. Weak... Incredibly weak...

Fortunately, the moment everything concluded and the "Breathing Technique" paused, the ceaseless "Life-Perpetuating" skill, which had been working continuously, was immediately sensed. In mere moments, the life-force energy cleared away all negative states. Xu Xiaoshou felt reborn.

"Dwelling Realm, peak!"He inspected his Qihai, his face filled with disbelief. Due to his Grandmaster physique, his Qihai had always been unusually large. Both in quality and quantity, it was several times stronger than that of other young cultivators at the same level. He still remembered that the incinerating energy liquid obtained from ordinary white skeleton skulls at that time wasn't even enough to help him break through from the early Dwelling Realm to the mid-stage. But now, this single wave of spiritual entity feedback had helped Xu Xiaoshou break through the mid and late stages, reaching the peak of the Dwelling Realm, all in one go.

"So powerful!"Considering this breakthrough, Xu Xiaoshou could now fully grasp how terrifying the "Three-Day Frost Calamity" truly was. Even during the final climactic moment, he briefly felt as if he could almost break through to the Spirit Ascension Realm. But it stopped abruptly. It seemed that it wasn't just the Dwelling Realm; his Spirit Ascension Realm, too, due to various anomalies within his body, would be considerably stronger than that of an ordinary spiritual cultivator. The ice-cold energy was indeed potent, but after an initial burst of strength, followed by decline and eventual exhaustion, it was clearly not enough to directly shatter the gates of the Spirit Ascension Realm for him.

Even so, Xu Xiaoshou was filled with emotion. "So fulfilling..." He knew his deduction must be correct. Spirit Ascension Realm... If he truly broke through to the Spirit Ascension Realm, apart from his understanding of the Heavenly Dao not matching a Grandmaster's, his spiritual essence, both in quality and quantity, could absolutely be compared. After all, consider this: a supreme spiritual entity as powerful as the "Three-Day Frost Calamity," with its power feedback after recognizing a master, could only help an innate Dwelling Realm weakling break through from the early stage of cultivation to the peak. If this were to get out, he estimated no one would actually believe it!

"Breakthrough complete. Now, it's time to make my exit!"Xu Xiaoshou snapped back to reality. His gaze seemed to penetrate the snowy mountain, seeing the outside world. "Red-robed man, you dared to trap me, Xu Xiaoshou? Just you wait! I... I'll escape right before your eyes!"

Even at the peak of the Dwelling Realm, and even having mastered the "Three-Day Frost Calamity," Xu Xiaoshou wasn't so arrogant as to believe he could deal with the red-robed man. After all, that individual was capable of chasing even the Gray Fog Man at his full power!

Feeling the dense, myriad ice-attribute elemental light points around him, Xu Xiaoshou turned his head to look at the icy mountain that confined him. This colossal, towering structure, formed from the residual power of the "Three-Day Frost Calamity," had previously felt unshakeable. Even using the "Original Seed of Incineration," it probably couldn't be melted quickly. But now...

"Open!"With a single thought, as if guided by a deity, he issued a one-word command to the surrounding icy mountain, and the colossal structure instantly shattered. Xu Xiaoshou's eyebrows lifted in wild delight.

The ability to command elements was indeed something every spiritual cultivator could possess. Previously, Xu Xiaoshou did not have it. Now, he could proudly declare that he was not only an ice-attribute cultivator but also a dual ice and fire-attribute spiritual cultivator!

He clasped his palms together, then separated them. Void energy converged, the three flowers gathered at his crown, and spiritual essence flowed back, forming a gracefully pulsating ice lotus before his chest. Three-Day Frost Calamity! Xu Xiaoshou held the ice-flame in one hand, his fingers encircling it.

"Gather!"With that command, the colossal icy mountain crumbled, turning into endless elemental light points that were absorbed into the ice lotus. Then, the "Breathing Technique" activated, swallowing them all into his Qihai.

"Boom, boom, boom—"The sounds of space collapsing outside finally reached his ears clearly. Xu Xiaoshou looked up and saw a scene of apocalyptic void collapse before him. He paid it no mind. Such sights, when first encountered, would cause panic. But once accustomed to them, there was truly nothing to fear.

"Mama..."He turned his head. Ah-Jie came flying towards him. Holding the ice lotus, Xu Xiaoshou opened his arms with a smiling expression, wanting a warm reunion hug.

"Bang!"An explosive sound. The next second, his body was directly sent flying dozens of feet away by Ah-Jie's collision. And even with the "Rebound" ability, Ah-Jie merely trembled slightly, planting its small feet back a little, and thus dissolved the attack.

"Mama?"Xu Xiaoshou: "..."Damn it! Your mama just obtained the "Three-Day Frost Calamity" and barely managed to comprehend dual ice and fire abilities. Can you please not hit so hard right from the start?!

"Alright, alright, no need for hugs. Don't come over." Seeing Ah-Jie about to rush towards him again, Xu Xiaoshou quickly spoke to dissuade it. Who could withstand Ah-Jie's hug? He probably needed to refine half of the "Original Seed of Incineration" and elevate his physical body to that of a Sovereign before he could even qualify for intimacy with this fellow.

"Xu Xiaoshou..."The Gray Fog Man muttered. It looked at the ice lotus in Xu Xiaoshou's hand, its eyes filled with complexity. "You... you really completely refined the 'Three-Day Frost Calamity'?" It couldn't help but ask in astonishment.

"Isn't that obvious?" Xu Xiaoshou rolled his eyes, gesturing forward with the ice lotus in his hand. "If I hadn't completely refined it, could I summon this thing?" He glanced at the sky. "Could I cause such a commotion?"

The Gray Fog Man: "...""But you're not ice-attributed...""I am fire-attributed!" Xu Xiaoshou said with a grin, "No matter how low the temperature of 'Three-Day Frost Calamity,' fundamentally, it's still fire. And as a fire-attributed spiritual cultivator, plus an alchemist, how could I not control it? Do you think I'm you?!"

The mist around the Gray Fog Man convulsed in anger."Underwent Curse, Passive Points +1."

"Fine! I won't waste any more words with you." The Gray Fog Man suppressed its impulse, looked up at the sky, and said calmly, "Since you managed to obtain the 'Three-Day Frost Calamity,' consider it your good fortune. Now, it's time to get down to business."

"Business needs to be done, but..." Xu Xiaoshou chuckled, "What I do is none of your business, is it?" He hadn't forgotten the tricks this guy played when he was absorbing the "Original Seed of Incineration." Cooperation, cooperation... If it weren't for this fellow's insistence on forcibly taking his "Original Seed of Incineration" and then attracting Ah-Jie's pursuit, he might never have even thought about the "Three-Day Frost Calamity"! And now, the greedy Gray Fog Man, who was so insatiable back then, was telling him that "obtaining the ice-flame is your good fortune"... Who would believe that? If this guy didn't try to trip him up and snatch the treasure while he was breaking open space, Xu Xiaoshou would actually think the Gray Fog Man had changed his ways!

"None of my business?" The Gray Fog Man was amused by the anger. "I was perfectly well collecting the 'Three-Day Frost Calamity.' Sending your pet to disturb me was one thing. Now, both treasures belong to you. And you ask what it has to do with me breaking open space?"

"Heh heh." Xu Xiaoshou replied with a dismissive chuckle. He had never been truly impressed by anyone before. But the Gray Fog Man's ability to blatantly lie while making it sound logical truly opened his eyes.

"Then let me ask you," He retracted the ice lotus with a backhand motion and said, "The cooperation we discussed earlier was for us to break open space together, with both of us contributing, and finally escaping together. What about now? I can contribute now, but what about you? What can you do to break open space?"

"I..." The Gray Fog Man was momentarily dumbfounded by the question. Right! What *could* I do? What Xu Xiaoshou said didn't seem entirely unreasonable, did it? He now had neither the "Three-Day Frost Calamity" nor the "Original Seed of Incineration"... The only thing he seemed capable of doing was watching Xu Xiaoshou break through the barrier and then begging him to take him out?

"Pah!" The Gray Fog Man slapped its head, finally realizing it had been sidetracked. "You're spouting nonsense!" It angrily retorted, "I'll just ask you, when we discussed cooperation, how did we talk about distributing the treasures? One for each of us, right? And now? Where have the treasures gone now? Whose fault is this, don't you have a clue? Do you dare say that you, Xu Xiaoshou, had not a shred of selfishness in this cooperation, and were doing everything for me?"

"Mmm-hmm." Xu Xiaoshou waited for it to calm down, then nodded gently. "Space is about to explode, and outside interference has begun. You couldn't collect the ice-flame, so I helped you collect it and then will take you out. If this wasn't for you, who was it for? For myself? Pah!" Xu Xiaoshou spat. "Am I, Xu Xiaoshou, that kind of person? I'm completely selfless!"

The air suddenly fell silent."Received Suspicion, Passive Points +1.""Received Gaze, Passive Points +1."

The Gray Fog Man was utterly stunned. It felt an unnamed fire of rage burning fiercely within its heart, ceaselessly inciting it to commit a crime. Even if it had to pay a price, it absolutely needed to fully unseal itself and crush this brat underfoot to slightly alleviate its rapidly escalating fury. The Gray Fog Man admitted that this time, it simply had to act impulsively. Xu Xiaoshou was too detestable! He went too far!

"Bang!"With an explosive sound in the void, and amidst surging sealing energy, the Gray Fog Man shot out.

"Mama..."Ah-Jie had barely moved when Xu Xiaoshou already stepped past it, gesturing for himself to handle it. He extended a palm. Without using even a trace of spiritual essence, he simply pressed it against the Gray Fog Man's fist and pushed straight out.

"Boom!!!"The next second, with the point of fist-to-palm contact as the boundary, the Gray Fog Man and all the space behind it instantly transformed into a world of ice crystals amidst a thunderous explosion. Hail falling from the sky... Continuously cracking void fissures... Including the Gray Fog Man, who was charging forward with an unstoppable momentum... All frozen!

The scene seemed to layer. Xu Xiaoshou slowly retracted his hand, then flicked his sleeve, lifted his chin, and looked at Ah-Jie, whose eyes were full of "adoration." He said casually, "This move... Shall we call it 'Ice Age'?"