Chapter 29 Spirit
With the sudden addition of Han Shanshan, Feng Xian felt much safer. In all of Pill City, who didn't know Han Shanshan's interest in Yao Chen? Furthermore, the two of them were absolute alchemy fanatics and so there was no opportunity or time for them to go out with large groups to play around. That was why he wasn't worried about Han Shanshan having any thoughts on the Bone Chilling Flame.
In his opinion, Han Shanshan was a strange woman who couldn't be judged by common sense. She was also someone who only someone who was as equally strange like Yao Chen could tame.
Not only did it feel safer, but it actually was much safer with her. She had innumerable medicinal pills. As they approached the death zone, she took out three seventh tier pills that emitted a powerful energy fluctuation. "These are Soul Protection Pills. As soon as you feel like you are unable to continue, don't hesitate to take one. It can save your life."
When they received the pills, just by touching them they felt an energy surge into their body. The outside world's chilling cold became several times weaker and no longer pierced their hearts as before.
When they arrived in front of the death zone, they saw it was a completely black region of ice. The ice itself was pitch-black, and even the wind was completely still. The very air had been frozen so that it didn't even move the slightest. There was merely an endless darkness stretching on forever. This kind of feeling was similar to being in a Spatial Wormhole.
Although there was the fear of the unknown and the stories of people who had been there before, the three of them continued forward, stepping onto the black ice with their Dou Qi protecting their bodies.
When their feet touched the black ice, a sizzling sound came from it. The sound was similar to stepping on icy snow, but when it rang in Yao Chen and Han Shanshan's ears, it sounded just like a blood-curdling shriek, as if they weren't stepping on ice, but the endlessly tormented souls.
"Be careful. It might not be a physical attack, but a spiritual one." Han Shanshan warned them.
Yao Chen nodded. As for Feng Xian, he quickly consumed a couple fifth tier spirit protection pills.
As they entered deeper, even the sky became pitch-black. A despairing feeling stabbed into their hearts and souls.
However, Yao Chen and Han Shanshan had a profound understanding of the spirit and when they discussed alchemy, they also occasionally had a competition of spirits. They had practiced all kinds of spiritual attacking skills. This was also a way to make your spirit stronger.
"It feels a bit like the Hun clan's techniques, yet it also doesn't. It seems even stronger."
Suddenly a piercing cold breeze blew over their skin, and all three of them froze right where they were, their expression extremely unsightly. A ten meter large black-violet ice spider was blocking their path. On its back were nine spider eyes that blazed with an icy-cold pure white ice flame.
Bone Chilling Flame!
But this was just a split body, not the main body.
"Isn't this a living creature?! But it's true than in the historical records there did exist an extinct species of Bloodbath Nine-eyed Devil Spiders."
Han Shanshan quickly analyzed the fierce beast's origin. "This isn't ice. Inside is a real corpse… perhaps the Bone Chilling Flame has been continuously controlling its soul."
"It's already controlled by it."
Yao Chen's gaze roamed over it. The Bone Chilling Flame was a kind of spiritual flame, possessing all kind of unexplained secrets towards the spirit. Considering how those people had offered sacrifices to it, it was obvious that what the Bone Chilling Flame consumed wasn't people's bodies, but their spirits.
The Nine-eyed Devil Spider's attack had come extremely suddenly. One instant it was just standing there, the next it had charged right in front of Yao Chen. When the Bone Chilling Flame within its nine devil eyes got close to Yao Chen, they suddenly blazed up and shot directly into his eyes.
Han Shanshan cried out and pushed Yao Chen aside, also using a strand of her spirit to attack the ice spider.
The Bone Chilling Flame failed to achieve its target, disappearing into nothing, while the ice spirit was struck down under the force of Han Shanshan's spiritual attack. It struggled, the black-violet ice on its body shattering and revealing its true body. That scarlet spider body released a dying devil's shriek….
Without the restriction of the ice layer, the Nine-eyed Devil Spider's speed quickly increased and charged at Han Shanshan.
Han Shanshan actually let out a breath of air. It was actually a dead corpse, and although when it had been alive it was extremely powerful, at this time it was only moving instinctually. It was merely using brute force and speed. Although it was frightening, for someone with a powerful spirit like her, as long as she could grasp its rhythm then it wasn't too difficult to deal with.
With a flick of her hand, she took out her Black Spirit Cauldron from her storage ring. A violet-blue Dou Flame shot up, vigorously spurting out of the cauldron and enveloping the spider. In the next instant it actually reversed back inside, carrying the Devil Spider's corpse back into the cauldron to be refined.
Han Shanshan sighed. Her easy movements looked simple and relaxed, but the danger had been extremely great. If one step had been too late it wouldn't have been her suppressing the Devil Spider, but her being killed by the Devil Spider's poisonous bite.
Yao Chen was covered in cold sweat. If it had been him, who knew just how long it would take for him to defeat the Devil Spider. At this time he quickly went up and grabbed Han Shanshan's arm and closely examined her. "Are you ok?"
"You can let go; I'm fine. You're one of my people so of course I have to protect you. Let's go."
"Who's one of your people…" Yao Chen reddened. Feng Xian turned his head, acting as if he had heard nothing.
After the wind blew over they continued forward. But now the three of them were even more careful, especially Yao Chen. Just before a nightmare devil had plagued him during meditation, and then the Bone Chilling Flame's split body had attempted to invade his body. Perhaps it wasn't just him who wanted to subdue the Bone Chilling Flame, but the Bone Chilling Flame was also interested in Yao Chen's soul. Once a Heavenly Flame gained a spirit and a consciousness, they each had their own technique to cultivate. This Bone Chilling Flame was at the extremes of Yin and chilliness and used souls as its energy. The stronger the soul, the stronger it would benefit it.
Continuing forward, they encountered more of those ice corpses' attacks several more times. They were all from ancient times, powerful devil beasts that were already extinct now. Just a single one would shake all of the mainland if it were alive, throwing the human world into purgatory. But these dead ice corpses didn't have their innate skills, and could only use their physical body in the simplest physical attacks. Although they posed a great deal of trouble for the three of them, in the end they were all refined by Han Shanshan's Black Spirit Cauldron. By doing so she also gained quite a few precious bones for her use.
The three of them continuously consumed Soldier Grain Pills. On one hand they had to replenish their energy to fight against the cold, while on the other they had to quickly recover their Dou Qi when they fought. The Bone Chilling Flame had already been intelligent for so long that it might be fighting them in a battle of attrition.
Feng Xian was very nervous. He was only in charge of looking at the map and deciding which way to go, as both Han Shanshan and Yao Chen were both weak on that point. Before this Han Shanshan had never left Holy Pill City, and Yao Chen was intoxicated with alchemy. In these three years he had rarely ever gone out. Only Feng Xian would go out for some training experience every now and then. When it came to knowledge of the landscape, Han Shanshan was someone who only knew the theory without being able to put it into practice, while Yao Chen was a complete amateur. That was why only Feng Xian was in charge of choosing which direction to go. This kind of pressure he was under was obvious. And whenever they ran into those ice corpses he would always feel guilty.
"Those bandits' sacrificial altar for the Heavenly Flame is just in front. According to what they said, it's like spring all year round and living there provides some kind of addictive feeling. I wasn't able to get to the bottom of this from just questioning them. One minute he was talking, the next it was like he had swallowed poison, immediately dying."
An odd expression appeared on Feng Xian's face when he said this. He remembered just how strange the situation had been back then.
"The Bone Chilling Flame has its own original spiritual methods. Controlling the people offering it sacrifices isn't that strange." Han Shanshan nodded, but she frowned even more. Perhaps the Bone Chilling Flame this time had already surpassed her expectations for it. To be able to control people's minds, it's intelligence must already be extremely great, probably to the point that its thinking was not inferior to a human's.
"Let's go."
What Han Shanshan could think of, Yao Chen naturally could as well. But even if what was in front of them was certain death, he would still walk in with his head held high to get that slight chance of success. He could get stronger, or he could die. There was no third option.
Han Shanshan looked at Yao Chen's face and her mouth opened slightly, but she didn't try to persuade him. But her gaze became even more resolute. A couple tender feelings quietly arose. Over the past three years she had never showed Yao Chen a gentle and soft side. Normally she was tough and a bit violent, as well as extremely stubborn.
Did there need to be a reason for liking a person?
Did you need an opportunity when you notice you like someone?
Han Shanshan didn't know. Everything was hazy to her, but right now she only wanted to help this man do what he wanted to do without hesitation or holding back.
In front of them was another ice corpse blocking their path. But right behind this ice corpse was a plain of green, and it was even possible to hear the gurgling of running water and the chirping of birds.
Yao Chen drew the ice corpse's attention while Han Shanshan attacked. She suppressed that ancient beast by drawing it into her cauldron and using her Dou Flame to refine it.
The refined bones that remained were left in a corner of the cauldron, releasing a faint divine might. These bones had all been extremely powerful demonic entities while alive. In terms of strength they had probably all reached the level of a Dou Zun, just one level away from Dou Sheng.
Just these bones of the ancient creatures were already a huge gain. Just a random one of them could excite all of the Central Plains, and if more were brought out then perhaps even the Demon Saint and other Dou Shengs would personally come for them.
Stepping over the last piece of the black ice, they entered that green plain within the death zone. A warmth filled their hearts, expelling the cold ice that had been accumulating within their body.
However, the three of their hearts also became completely empty, unable to move at all.
"Crap! Take the Soul Protection Pills!" Yao Chen's expression abruptly changed, sensing an extremely powerful oppression on his spirit. He swallowed the seventh tier Soul Protection Pill without any hesitation!
He felt his soul violently shake. It was as if an enormous mountain was crushing his body, and for the moment he was unable to move in the slightest.
Han Shanshan and Feng Xian both swallowed the pill down immediately like Yao Chen. Then they were also oppressed by some energy, unable to move.
The Bone Chilling Flame suddenly appeared within the sky, and in an instant all the green retreated. The bird chirps, the rushing of water, they all disappeared. All of it had merely been a mirage within their heads, a hallucination. In reality, the three of them were now in an absolutely freezing ice hole.
The rumored blessed land oasis had never existed. What those bandits had seen were due to their spirits being eroded and being forced into a land of fantasy.
Yao Chen's eyes were like torches as he looked up at the Bone Chilling Flame in the sky. It was a pretty pure white, and even his soul was being attracted to it. It was both beautiful and dangerous.
"If you want my spirit, then just come try."
Taking a breath, Yao Chen's body suddenly began to move. It wasn't his body that was moving in actuality, but instead by using his spirit's energy to wrap around his body he was able to control his body into moving.
All kinds of ingredients were taken out by him and placed over the ground. Strange bones with formations carved into them automatically linked up, forming a killing Dou Formation, facing off against the Bone Chilling Flame's spiritual pressure from the sky.
Han Shanshan saw what Yao Chen was doing and also tried using her spiritual energy to make her body move, but just as her spiritual energy started to move it was suppressed and crushed by the Bone Chilling Flame's spirit.
Was Yao Chen's spirit actually so powerful?
The last of the Dou Formation formed, and the Bone Chilling Flame emitted an icy cold calmness, completely confident in being able to swallow Yao Chen's soul. It didn't believe that these decorations of his would be able to have any effect on it.
Yao Chen had a stiff smile. He glanced to the side at Feng Xian and Han Shanshan. Suddenly he used his spiritual energy to raise his two fists and then smash one fist down viciously upon his own head.
After an intense burst of pain, everything turned dark. By using this fist,Yao Chen's spirit suddenly left the confines of his body. He entered the Dou Formation, making it rise to another level and allowing him to completely escape the Bone Chilling Flame's pressure.
This wasn't a true soul, but something that was similar to it. It was a state that was extremely difficult to form. It was a technique that allowed one's spiritual energy to be wielded to its peak.
He was no longer using his eyes to look up at the world, but instead was using spiritual eyes. He could now see that there were countless strange threads tightly wrapped around his body. That was the Bone Chilling Flame's spiritual oppression that was now visible to his spirit eyes. Before he was merely unable to see them.
Yao Chen gently plucked at them, and his spiritual energy easily pulled off those threads. His spiritual body then charged towards the Bone Chilling Flame in the sky.
A large sword appeared in his spirit hand which faintly glimmered. This was the Soul Protection Pill's medicinal energy that had transformed under Yao Chen's urging. Its powerful energy had gathered into the sword and it now possessed an extremely terrifying destructive power. Wherever it passed, the Bone Chilling Flame's binding soul strands were all cut apart.
This was a confrontation of soul power. The Bone Chilling Flame instantly metamorphosed into a huge ancient beast, blocking Yao Chen's attack.
Yao Chen felt a huge force swell up. This huge ancient beast had a dragon's form, but was not a true dragon. It had three pairs of wings and emitted an endless pressure. This was perhaps the strongest lifeform the Bone Chilling Flame had ever met, so it naturally took its form.
Yao Chen ground his teeth and charged forward. At this time there was no longer any room for hesitation or any chance of retreat. If it wasn't victory, then it was death.
A huge boom rang through the sky. White light shot everywhere as shapeless Spiritual Strength collided, actually forming an extremely magnificent aurora. However when it lit up the black ice region, it seemed more like a rebellion of the underworld.
Feng Xian was shaken strongly by this and directly fainted. If he exploded with his full power, his strength would be worthy of being a Dou Wang, but in terms of spirit, he was just like a child who was learning to walk - completely powerless.
Han Shanshan could still be of some use at this time. After Yao Chen had cut apart the Bone Chilling Flame's soul strands with his spirit blade, the Bone Chilling Flame's restrictive power on her had lessened greatly. But even so she could only watch as she didn't have any means to become involved with their battle.
Unwilling. No matter what, she felt unwilling. Yao Chen… when had he become so powerful? His spiritual energy was powerful, so extremely powerful…
Yao Chen was the person with the greatest understanding of himself. That day when his father had died, his potential had exploded out. His body had received an extremely great injury. Although he had the medicinal bath to recover his potential and latent talent, but compared to those powerful geniuses who had been gifted from the start, the difference was still very great. His only strong point was his Spiritual Strength. When his potential had exploded and harmed his body, it wasn't without benefits. His spirit had gained endless potential while he had been wounded.
Moreover this potential had also changed when his innate talent had been recovered, becoming even stronger. This was a miraculous process that couldn't be described with just words. Even Yao Chen himself would never be able to replicate these results a second time.
It could only be said that all things were related through karma. A single turning point, a single coincidence, could result in endless changes.