Chapter 245: Chapter 244: Twin Celestial Realm
The moment Baki struck, Jiang Qiu’s consciousness was obliterated. The terrifying Nether Dark Spirit Charm instantly corroded his nervous system, and his heart was crushed.
As the Northern Boundary Peak "opened its eye," his body fell into a sea of scorching, crimson magma. In an instant, it turned into white steam and dissipated, leaving not even a speck of ash behind.
The magma of the Northern Boundary Peak was hotter than the sun, seeming to incinerate all things. Even a Horizontal Training Grandmaster would be unable to climb out if they fell in.
And so, Jiang Qiu’s body was melted away. He had lost the Dao Forging Jade Sinew Realm body he had painstakingly forged using the legacies of various ancestors.
With the death of his body, his soul should have returned to his original form. He could already faintly sense his Dharma Realm body manifesting on the other side of the darkness.
When they first entered the Northern Boundary, the original bodies of all the Chosen Ones were hidden in a special space. They were separate from and unaffected by each other, and could only be perceived by their own soul upon its return. If a soul did not return, its body was as good as non-existent.
It was this unique Law that protected the Chosen Ones, preventing any mishaps from befalling their original bodies. After all, the body used in the Northern Boundary was something akin to a "proxy body."
But when the True Dragon opened its eyes, the many Laws that bound the Northern Boundary shattered. The original bodies hidden in the special space flickered in and out of existence, no longer protected, no longer isolated.
Jiang Qiu’s soul was destined to return to his original body and reawaken with his Dharma Realm Cultivation.
But.
’A body built from twenty years of Cultivation... how can I let it just melt away like this?’
’Reforge!’
That single thought was like an iron spike, piercing through Jiang Qiu’s dissipating soul. Like a great ship dropping anchor, it pulled his will back and focused it within the magma!
[Snow Heart]
[Description: Survive in the bitter cold and gradually break through the limits of your will to comprehend the ability to command ice and snow at will. When your willpower surpasses the threat of death, your heart can scatter like snow and reform from snow.]
This was a unique Bloodline Talent he had awakened at the age of one in the North Snow Tribe, after drinking the Water of Origin concocted by the Elder Witch Priest.
It could only be activated once.
But in nineteen years, there had never been an opportunity.
Now that his body was dead, it was time to reforge!
Gripping tightly to this thought, Jiang Qiu’s consciousness solidified. Deep within the magma, undetectable by anyone, the scorched-black silhouette of a figure began to take shape. It was as if snowmelt had seeped into the magma, or perhaps the magma itself was churning. Black smoke rose from that spot as the silhouette flickered between light and shadow.
After twenty years of Body Refining, how could a mortal body from the Northern Boundary withstand the magma from the True Dragon’s "eye"?
Yet, from within the gradually solidifying silhouette, an azure light began to flow. Strand after strand of frigid qi burst forth, clashing with the magma.
The Soul Ice Dao Lotus!
A Spirit Plant so rare it was one-of-a-kind even in ancient times, it now emanated a peculiar Dao charm, battling against the magma from the True Dragon’s eye.
This was nothing like the Outer Realm; inside the magma, the Fiery Flame Spirit Charm was incredibly dense. It was potent enough to scorch even Jiang Qiu’s drifting soul, a vicious heat as if he had descended into the eighteenth level of hell.
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!
A powerful heartbeat, like a hammer striking a great drum, caused the Soul Ice Dao Lotus to tremble. An invisible, cold Dao charm washed outward, stirring up ripple after ripple in the magma.
It seemed that at this moment, the heart formed by [Snow Heart] was none other than the Soul Ice Dao Lotus itself.
But this was not nearly enough. Even though the Soul Ice Dao Lotus was of an exceedingly high grade and could withstand the searing heat of the True Dragon Magma, a physical body could not. He was unable to form his body!
’Is there really no way to take the legacies I’ve gained in the Northern Boundary with me?’
Jiang Qiu was unresigned. The frequency of the Soul Ice Dao Lotus’s tremors increased.
Ever since entering the Great Secret Realm, all the material legacies and fortuitous encounters he had gained in the Northern Boundary were bound to the body of "Hill," a form created by the world itself, and had nothing to do with his original body.
Even a peerless Spirit Plant like the Soul Ice Dao Lotus could not be taken out.
Although the three Cultivation Techniques—the [Cyan Simurgh Technique], the [Array of the Reversed Sky], and the [Ice Prison Fire Tower]—had already been absorbed into his soul and could be practiced even after he left.
But completely different Cultivation Techniques were always in conflict. The Soldier Cultivator path he had followed to the Dharma Realm was fundamentally different from these techniques. Moreover, the Flame Jade Sinews he had already formed were set in place, making it impossible to practice these incredibly demanding Ancient Cultivation Techniques.
’Flame Jade Sinews...’
Suddenly, a thought struck Jiang Qiu’s mind like a clap of thunder on a spring night. ’What if I summon my original body here and use the [Ice Prison Fire Tower] to directly fuse and cast my body!’
Now that the restrictive Laws of the Northern Boundary had shattered, he could naturally summon his original body. Besides, it was a complete body, much more convenient for movement.
Although the [Ice Prison Fire Tower] technique didn’t detail body fusion, its essence was the fusion of extreme cold and searing flame to approach the Third Layer: the [Twin Celestial Realm].
Under normal circumstances, how could two completely contradictory Spirit Charms possibly fuse together? Such a Cultivation Technique was undoubtedly mad, extreme. But having cultivated his body this far, he absolutely could not give up so easily.
What Jiang Qiu wanted was to break through his limits and walk the true Great Dao!
Since coming to the Northern Boundary, he had realized that this world was far more vast than he had imagined. Behind those Secret Realms could be hiding one terrifying existence after another, beings beyond his current comprehension.
Starting with Chen, the revival of one Demon Emperor after another had made him understand that this era was dangerous. It was impossible to predict how many more terrifying Demon Emperors would awaken, or how much of their power they had preserved.
If he couldn’t break through to the Peeping Dao Realm, he wouldn’t even have a chance to leave the Northern Boundary alive!
As "Hill," he had already been stabbed to death. He had a vague guess as to his opponent’s identity. The rare Nether Dark Spirit Charm was something that mostly originated from Sang Island.
The Enlightenment Fruit had likely been devoured by his foe. A true battle was probably waiting for him outside. If his soul left the magma and returned directly to his original body, how could he possibly resist that person’s main body with only his Dharma Realm Cultivation!
’I must fuse the bodies and use my physical form to step into the Grandmaster Realm!’
Jiang Qiu’s soul began to tremble. A strange spatial fluctuation burst from the core of the Soul Ice Dao Lotus, and a body seemed about to appear. A thin layer of frost actually condensed at its edges, holding the magma at bay!
POUND, POUND, POUND!
With a heartbeat like a hammer striking iron, the layer of frost on the surface of Jiang Qiu’s naked body was instantly submerged and extinguished by the magma. The Soul Ice Dao Lotus would then release its Soul Ice Spirit Charm again, condensing a new layer of frost. This repeated over and over, a torment like death by a thousand cuts.
It was in this environment that the long-stagnant progress bar for the [Ice Prison Fire Tower] inched forward a tiny bit.
Jiang Qiu roared silently. Golden light burst from his [Dragon Eye]. His original body’s heart was overlapping with the Soul Ice Dao Lotus, beginning to merge. The blood in his veins surged, alternating between ice-cold and searing hot.
And deep within his mind, the slumbering Dragon Spirit slowly opened its eyes, as that wisp of Ancient Origin stolen from Chen drifted out.
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