Subterranean World
A figure was enveloped in yellow light, surrounded by swirling torrents of red and black energy that roared and surged into the glow.
Painful!
Excruciatingly painful!
This was Xiao Bai's current sensation. His face, shimmering with yellow light, alternated between fiery red, like molten ceramic, and deep black, as if peering into the abyssal depths of the ocean.
The energy pouring in through his pores created an intense swelling sensation, straining his body. Even his meridians, tempered anew in Thunderfall Valley, ached faintly under the pressure.
Xiao Bai silently assessed his internal state. From his perspective:
The heart's red currents rose upward, embodying fire's nature—ascending, scorching, radiant!
The kidneys' black currents flowed downward, reflecting water's essence—moistening, cooling, concealing!
As the two clashed, they seemed to repel each other, drifting apart as if mutually disdainful.
To achieve balance, the heart's fire needed to descend to nurture the kidneys' water, while the kidneys' water rose to temper the heart's fire. They would converge in the spleen, harmonized by the earth attribute to achieve the unity of water and fire.
"It's about time. Otherwise, even if I succeed, the cost might outweigh the gain," Xiao Bai thought, sensing his body nearing its limit. He shook his head, a touch of regret in his heart.
Initially, his goal was merely to stabilize the balance of his five organs and restore his body.
But the immense earth pulse energy here, combined with the clashing water and fire energies absorbing vast external forces, sparked a bold ambition: to break through the Dou Wang barrier and reach Dou Huang in one leap.
Yet, things weren't as smooth as he'd hoped. Despite his body's countless refinements, it couldn't withstand the onslaught of energy required to cross multiple minor realms and a major one.
Crack!
A faint tearing sound echoed within his body. Xiao Bai's attention zeroed in, spotting a once-resilient, crystalline meridian now swollen and fragile, stretched by the raging, river-like energy. A narrow tear had formed, emitting a faint, pained groan.
Scanning further, he saw all his meridians in similar distress.
He knew he couldn't delay. Healing these damaged meridians would demand significant time and effort.
Refocusing, Xiao Bai slowly opened his eyes, forcibly halting the thunder seeds' devouring expansion. He looked up at the highest point of the massive stalactite.
The stalactite's base, where it met the cavern ceiling, had been deliberately avoided by the Wu Earth Nether Thunder. Absorbing it would only break it down into pure earth energy, stripping away the unique properties of a millennia-forged spiritual treasure.
Like the Qingming Longevity Pill Xun Er once gave him, which extended life by ten years for others but merely boosted Yi Wood's vitality when Xiao Yi consumed it.
For celestial oddities like the thunder seeds or the little golden dragon, the auxiliary effects of such treasures—longevity, marrow cleansing, bone tempering—were irrelevant. They converted everything into fuel for their origins. Time and physical refinement meant nothing to them; only their origins mattered.
Energy wings sprouted behind Xiao Bai, and he soared toward the stalactite's base, where it fused with the cavern ceiling.
At this junction, faint fluorescence glowed, rendering the stalactite translucent, like radiant crystal—a breathtaking sight.
Ignoring the rare beauty, Xiao Bai flipped his palm, revealing an ancient jade piece etched with mysterious patterns.
"Sorry to put you through this," he muttered, glancing at the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade.
The substance within was delicate, requiring jade to extract. With his storage ring shattered in Thunderfall Valley and only a few items preserved, this jade was his best tool. The ring, a low-grade item from Jia Lie Bi, couldn't withstand such forces—a predictable outcome.
Shlick!
With a crisp sound, the jade sliced into the stalactite's dazzling wall. A twist of his wrist carved a palm-sized circular opening.
It really works!
Xiao Bai had expected to infuse Dou Qi into the jade to cut, but its edge, deceptively unsharp, sliced the stone like tofu.
If the ancient clans who revered the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade saw this, they'd likely rage, cursing Xiao Bai for squandering a relic tied to the Ancient Emperor's legacy.
Crafted by a Dou Di, truly exceptional!
Stowing the jade, Xiao Bai sucked at the cut surface, peeling away the stone.
A blinding light burst from the opening, forcing Xiao Bai to squint.
As his eyes adjusted, he peered inside. A viscous, emerald-like liquid floated within, radiating the intense glow. It moved slowly, as if alive, confined to the small cavity, never crossing its bounds.
The liquid's pure energy was dozens of times denser than the milky liquid in the groove below.
This… is the true Earth Core Tempering Body Milk!
Xiao Bai gazed at the liquid, inhaling deeply. A wave of comfort washed over him, and he marveled at nature's wonders.
Without the original story's knowledge, he might have mistaken the milky liquid below for the stalactite's finest product, unaware it was merely a diluted byproduct of this emerald essence.
Without hesitation, he beckoned, and a stream of emerald light arced into his mouth.
Instantly, a colossal force, cool and weighty, coursed through his limbs and bones.
The Wu Earth Nether Thunder, sensing the energy, flared to devour it, but Xiao Bai restrained it, forbidding any action.
As the wondrous energy completed its circuit through his body:
Crack, crack!
A series of crisp bone sounds rang out. Xiao Bai inspected within, finding his skeleton coated in faint emerald light. Subtle fluctuations emanated, and traces of dark, bloody impurities seeped from his bones, only to be washed away by the surrounding water and fire energies.
So refreshing!
Sensing his bones, Xiao Bai felt a transformative ease, as if reborn.
"Begin!"
The swelling pain in his meridians snapped him back. If he didn't act, they'd rupture.
Flashing back to the bluestone, he sat cross-legged, hands forming seals.
The vast earth energy within erupted, suppressing the water and fire attributes and enveloping them.
Caught off guard by the earth's sudden ambush, the water and fire attributes struggled fiercely.
But earth's strengths—sturdiness, weight, all-encompassing—held firm. No matter how violently water and fire raged, earth stood unyielding.
"Now's the moment—contain, absorb, transform, harmonize!"
Xiao Bai shifted his hand seals, guiding the heart's fire downward to nurture the kidneys' water, while the kidneys' water rose to temper the heart's fire.
With earth's aid, this became effortless. As he directed the two, he felt earth actively mediating, soothing the fiercely resistant water and fire.
___
Outside the Valley
"Xun Er, is Xiao Bai alright?"
Xiao Yi Xian's eyes brimmed with worry as she gazed at the cave. The phenomena outside were clearly tied to Xiao Bai, but she didn't know what they signified.
"I don't know, but Brother Xiao Bai's likely at a critical juncture. We must trust him!"
Xun Er shook her head, her gaze fixed on the swirling energy vortex above.
Moments ago, the yellowish-gray thunder arcs spreading endlessly across the ground had abruptly retracted, vanishing.
Then, a thick yellow column of smoke shot skyward from a massive mountain behind the valley.
The heavens erupted with yellow qi, blanketing the sky, swallowing the blue, and engulfing the water-fire vortex.
"Look! The water and fire energies inside are clashing so fiercely, like they're about to explode!" Zi Yan's crisp voice rang out.
"Xiao Bai gege, what are you cultivating? Please be safe!" Xun Er's usual calm faltered, her eyes tinged with worry.
She wanted to rush into the cave to check, but feared she'd be powerless and disrupt him.
Xiao Bai's cultivation baffled her. Even with her vast knowledge, she felt unable to intervene.
Today's events clashed with her understanding of cultivation. On this continent, most focused on a single attribute, but Xiao Bai, though primarily thunder-attributed, wielded energies of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth above—everything but thunder.
"Xiao Bai…"
Xiao Yi Xian's fists clenched, her eyes locked on the yellow light where water and fire clashed relentlessly.
"Is my lord insane? Forcing two utterly opposing energies like water and fire together?" The little golden dragon gaped at the sky.
On the Dou Qi Continent, even merging two similar fire energies risked catastrophic explosions if mishandled, let alone water and fire, inherently incompatible.
Boom!
A loud crash startled the tense group. Realizing it didn't come from above, they traced the sound.
"Oh no! The old man!" Zi Yan gasped, tossing her half-eaten fruit. She flashed toward the inner academy.
"Stop! Explain first!" The dragon blocked the frantic Zi Yan.
"Don't hold me back!" Zi Yan flickered, trying to slip past, but found the dragon still ahead. Urgently, she said, "That's Jia Nan Academy's signal flare! The old man said it's only fired when the inner academy faces a crisis, to summon all the elders!"
"Crisis?!" The dragon's face paled. With those three old men at Jia Nan Academy, who'd dare cause trouble? A Dou Zun?
As the dragon reeled, Zi Yan darted around it, speeding toward the inner academy.
"Young Mistress, Fairy Mistress, what do we do?" If a Dou Zun was attacking, the dragon shivered, itching to flee.
"Don't bother. We wait for Brother Xiao Bai to emerge!" Xun Er's eyes were calm. Glancing at the inner academy, she turned back to the yellow light's changes.
These changes likely reflected Xiao Bai's cultivation. Even if the sky fell, his safety came first.
"Alright!" The dragon eyed the sky's violent fluctuations, praying, Master, finish up and get out here! Or we might not be able to stay at Jia Nan Academy!
___
Heaven-Burning Qi Refining Tower, Bottom Layer
In the lava world, low rumbles echoed as magma erupted and flames surged.
A massive, translucent fire python, its full form unseen, raised its colossal head. Its triangular eyes, burning with invisible flames, locked onto the elderly figure above the energy dome.
With keen intelligence, it recognized its old adversary. A terrifying energy wave surged from its vast body.
The wave, wild and immense, unsettled even Su Qian above.
"Still no one?" Su Qian glanced at the eleven elders, their auras now faint, his brows furrowing.
This Fallen Heart Flame's ferocity was unprecedented, unlike its usual perfunctory outbursts.
In the past, its monthly eruptions seemed like a task—scorching the dome to weaken it.
But this time, it was determined to break free, even at the cost of mutual destruction.
"Great Elder, we're here!"
A shout echoed in the dim tower base.
A group of elders hurried through the iron gate—those Xiao Bai had met in the outer academy's stands, led by Hu Qian.
"How's the situation?"
"You're just in time. Replace them. Hu Qian, take the lead and maintain the dome. This beast's resolute today, set on breaking the tower's confinement!"
Su Qian exhaled in relief at the reinforcements.
"Understood!"
The elders responded in unison.
But Su Qian sensed something off—a familiar, crisp, childish voice mixed in.
Scanning the crowd, he froze, then roared, "Why are you here?!"