Chapter 607
Fu Shaoping held his breath, but the flame in the cold jade box suddenly jumped violently. The old man in black robe raised his head suddenly, and his turbid eyes stared straight at the direction of the reef: "So he is hiding here." With a wave of his palm, three black ropes broke through the air, and even the sea water was corroded by the seawater.
At the critical moment, thirty-six ice spirit needles flew out from Fu Shaoping's sleeves. The needle tips as thin as cow hair collided with the black rope and made a sound of metal clashing. He took the opportunity to summon his own flying sword. The sword was wrapped with light blue ice flames and drew a mysterious trajectory in the air. "Nine Heavens Mysterious Spirit·Frost Sky Snow Dance!"
The sword lights in the sky poured down like a blizzard, and the three black-robed men hastily formed a formation to resist. Taking advantage of this gap, Fu Shaoping turned into a stream of light and fled to the north. The old man behind him roared hysterically: "Chase! He has the fire of the guardian!" Dozens of water columns suddenly exploded on the sea surface, and a black-robed monk holding a soul-calling banner stood on each wave.
Fu Shaoping suppressed his injuries and activated his secret method, and felt a tearing pain in his meridians. The cold jade box was pressed against his chest, and he could feel Nangong Wan's fire slowly absorbing his spiritual power to nourish him. "Hold on," he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and the outline of the continent was faintly visible on the horizon in front of him. There was the "Heavenly Fire Pool" that Xuanji had mentioned, which might be the only hope to rebuild Nangong Wan's body.
Dark clouds gathered behind him, and the pursuers of the Soul Devouring Sect were getting closer and closer. Fu Shaoping suddenly turned around and formed an ancient seal with his hands. This was a forbidden technique that he had never used in actual combat. The jade slip had a warning that "hurt the enemy a thousand times and hurt yourself eight hundred times." "Since you are pursuing me relentlessly." His eyes flashed with a resolute blue light, "Then I will stay in this sea forever!"
Between the sea and the sky, a brilliant ice-blue beam of light shot up into the sky.
Fu Shaoping formed seals with his hands, and the spiritual energy in his body surged wildly, and he felt a tearing pain in his meridians. He clenched his teeth and whispered: "Nine Heavens Mysterious Spiritual Extreme Cold and Eternal Freeze!"
In an instant, the sky and the earth changed color!
The sea surface quickly condensed into a thick layer of ice with him as the center. The ice layer continued to spread, covering the sea area of dozens of miles in the blink of an eye. Under the ice surface, countless sharp ice spikes grew upward like swords, piercing the Soul Devouring Sect monks who came over the waves.
"Not good! Retreat quickly!" The black-robed old man in the lead changed his expression drastically, and hurriedly urged his spiritual power to escape, but it was too late.
"Click - click -"
The ice quickly climbed up their legs, the cold invaded their meridians and froze their spiritual energy. The black-robed monks were horrified to find that their movements were becoming slower and slower, and even their thinking was becoming slow.
“This… this is…” The voice of the old man in black robe suddenly stopped. His body was completely frozen, turning into an ice sculpture, with an expression of fear frozen on his face.
Fu Shaoping's face was as pale as paper, with a trickle of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. This move almost exhausted all of his spiritual power and even damaged his origin. But he had no time to rest. The flame in the cold jade box was flickering weakly, as if reminding him that time was running out.
"Wan'er, hold on a little longer..." He murmured in a low voice, trying hard to mobilize the last bit of spiritual power, turning into a stream of light, and continued to fly north.
-
Three days later, Fu Shaoping finally arrived at the legendary "Sky Fire Pool".
This is a volcanic lake surrounded by mountains. A never-extinguished flame burns on the lake. The flame is colorful and emits pure and powerful fire spiritual power.
Fu Shaoping staggered to the lakeside, unable to hold on any longer, and knelt on one knee. He took out the cold jade box with trembling hands, and the flame in the box seemed to sense the breath of the Sky Fire Pond and beat more violently.
"We're here... We're here..." Fu Shaoping smiled with relief, but then frowned again.
Although the Sky Fire Pool is right in front of us, how can we use it to rebuild Nangong Wan's body? Xuan Ji once mentioned that the Sky Fire Pool is the place where the most yang power between heaven and earth converges, and it can reshape the body of a cultivator with fire spirit roots, but the specific method has never been detailed.
Just as Fu Shaoping was thinking, the flames in the center of the lake suddenly surged violently, and an old voice came from the flames:
"Who trespassed into the Skyfire Pond?"
Fu Shaoping looked up and saw an illusory figure slowly emerging from the flames. It was an old man with white hair and beard, wearing a red Taoist robe, with eyes like torches, and a majestic aura without anger.
"Junior Fu Shaoping, hello to the senior!" Fu Shaoping forced himself to salute and said respectfully, "My junior Taoist partner Nangong Wan was possessed by evil thoughts. In order to protect his soul, he burned his body and only a wisp of his life fire remained. I heard that the Heavenly Fire Pool can help cultivators with fire spirit roots rebuild their bodies, so I came here to ask for your help!"
The old man in the flames looked at the cold jade box, pondered for a moment, and said: "The Sky Fire Pool does have this effect, but it will cost a lot to reshape the body. Are you willing?"
Fu Shaoping nodded without hesitation: "No matter what the cost, I am willing to bear it!"
The old man nodded slightly: "Okay. To reshape the body, you need to use your blood essence as a guide and your spiritual power as a bridge to lead his fire into the Heavenly Fire Pool to nurture it for 9981 days. During this period, you need to watch day and night without interruption. And..."
The old man paused, and said in a serious tone: "Once you start, your cultivation will drop significantly, and you may never be able to recover. Even so, are you willing?"
Fu Shaoping took a deep breath and said firmly, "Yes."
The old man said no more, and waved his hand. The flames in the cold jade box floated out and fell into the sky fire pool. The flames instantly enveloped the flames, and the colorful light was bright.
"let's start."
Fu Shaoping sat cross-legged, pinching his hands together, and the spiritual power in his body continued to flow into the Sky Fire Pool. As the spiritual power was lost, his face became paler and his breath became weaker.
But he didn't stop.
One day, two days, three days...
As time went by, Fu Shaoping's cultivation level dropped from the Fusion Stage to the Nascent Soul Stage, and then to the Golden Core Stage... His hair gradually turned gray, and his face became much older.
On the 80th day, Fu Shaoping was so weak that he could hardly sit still, but he still gritted his teeth and persevered.
The flames in the Sky Fire Pool grew more and more intense, and the flames had grown into a blazing ball of flame. A vague human figure could be vaguely seen within it.
The 81st day, early morning.
The Sky Fire Pool suddenly burst into a dazzling light, and the flames shot up into the sky, condensing into a huge phantom of a Vermilion Bird in the air. The Vermilion Bird let out a long cry, and the flames gradually converged, turning into a slender figure.
The flames dissipated, and Nangong Wan slowly opened his eyes. He stepped barefoot on the lake, with pure red-gold flames flowing around him, his hair like flames, and his eyebrows like paintings. He looked down at his hands, then looked up at the haggard figure on the shore, and tears instantly welled up in his eyes.
"Shao Ping!"
Nangong Wan flew over and supported the shaky Fu Shaoping. Fu Shaoping smiled weakly and raised his hand to touch his cheek: "Welcome back..."
Before he could finish his words, he fainted in Nangong Wan's arms.
-
A month later.
Fu Shaoping slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying in a simple bamboo house. The sunlight shone through the window lattice onto the bed, warm and peaceful.
"Are you awake?" Nangong Wan's voice came from the side.
Fu Shaoping turned around and saw Nangong Wan approaching with a bowl of medicinal soup. His aura was more restrained than before, but the concern in his eyes did not diminish at all.
"How long have I slept?" Fu Shaoping asked softly.
"One month." Nangong Wan helped him sit up and passed the medicine to his lips. "The old senior from Tianhuochi said that you have been exhausted and need to rest."
Fu Shaoping drank the medicine soup, felt the weak spiritual power in his body, and said with a wry smile: "My cultivation has fallen to the foundation-building stage. Now I really have to start all over again."
Nangong Wan held his hand and said seriously: "It's okay, I will accompany you."
Fu Shaoping felt warm in his heart and was about to say something when the door of the bamboo house was suddenly pushed open.
The old man in the flames stepped in and said calmly, "It's good that you woke up. The relationship between you two is stronger than gold, which comforts me. The spiritual energy beside the Skyfire Pool is abundant, which is suitable for recuperation. When you recover a little, I can teach you a set of dual cultivation techniques to help you two return to the peak as soon as possible."
Fu Shaoping and Nangong Wan looked at each other and saluted at the same time: "Thank you, senior!"
The old man waved his hand and turned away.
The two heard that there was Xuanyin grass in Jiuyou Valley.
We set off early in the morning.
Ten days later.
Fu Shaoping and Nangong Wan stood side by side at the entrance of Jiuyou Valley. The gray fog in front of them was slowly moving like a living thing. This bone-eroding fog not only blocked the view, but also brought a biting cold. Even the white air exhaled instantly condensed into tiny ice crystals and fell. A faint whimpering sound of the wind could be heard in the fog, as if countless wronged souls were sobbing softly.
A cluster of red-gold flames leaped up from Nangong Wan's fingertips, and the flames struggled to open up a small space in the thick fog. He frowned slightly and found that the edge of the flame was slowly being eroded by the gray fog. "This dark fog can actually suppress the true flame." Nangong Wan said in a deep voice, and his voice sounded particularly dull in the fog.
Fu Shaoping took out an ice soul bead from his bosom, and a layer of fine frost immediately condensed on the surface of the crystal bead. He injected spiritual power into it, and the bead suddenly burst into a faint blue light, forming a thin barrier around the two of them. When the mist came into contact with the barrier, a slight "sizzling" sound was emitted, like ice and snow encountering a soldering iron.
The two of them stepped into the valley cautiously, and the sound of bones breaking could be heard from time to time in the soft soil under their feet. Fu Shaoping looked down and found several white bones half-buried in the soil, with fine holes all over the bones, as if they had been hollowed out by something.
After going a hundred feet deep, there was a sudden rustling sound all around. Nangong Wan raised his hand suddenly, and a wall of fire stood up in front of him. Almost at the same time, dozens of black shadows shot out from the fog, hitting the wall of fire and making a teeth-grinding "squeaking" sound.
When the shadows fell to the ground, the two could see their true appearance. These bone-eating maggots were as black as ink, about the size of a fist, and their carapaces were covered with fine spikes. They had six pairs of wings as thin as cicada wings, which made a piercing buzzing sound when vibrated. The most terrifying thing was the pair of sharp mouthparts, which glowed coldly in the darkness.
Fu Shaoping waved his sword, and thirty-six ice needles flew out, drawing a blue trajectory in the air. The needles pierced the insect swarm accurately, but sparks flew at the moment of contact with the carapace. The shells of these monster insects were as hard as iron!
Nangong Wan saw this and quickly formed seals with his hands. The red-gold flames condensed in his palms into a winged firebird, which pounced on the insect swarm with a scorching air wave. However, the bone-eating mantis not only did not retreat, but instead frantically flapped its wings in anger, tearing a hole in the flames.
"Back off!" Fu Shaoping shouted, and a bright sword light flew out from his sleeve. His natal flying sword "Hanxiao" drew a mysterious trajectory in the air, and the ice flames wrapped around the sword collided with the insect swarm, and a ball of ice mist suddenly exploded. Several bone-eating mantises were frozen into ice and fell, but more demon insects emerged from the mist, and in the blink of an eye, a cloud of insects that covered the sky and the sun was formed.
Nangong Wan suddenly noticed that the attacks of these demon insects were not without reason. They always maintained a specific formation, as if they were guarding something. Looking in the direction where the insect swarm was densest, the outline of a twisted dead tree could be vaguely seen in the depths of the fog.
“It’s the Soul Trees!” she cried. “They are protecting the Hive!”
Fu Shaoping understood and bit his tongue, spraying blood on the sword. The blood light of the Hanxiao Sword suddenly increased, and the ice flame on the sword turned into a strange purple-blue. He held the sword with both hands and slashed towards the soul tree. A half-moon-shaped sword energy broke through the air, and mist rolled up wherever it passed, and a thick layer of ice formed on the ground.
The swarm of insects screamed shrilly and rushed towards the sword energy frantically. Nangong Wan seized the opportunity, clasped his hands together, and a blazing flame ignited all over his body. He turned into a meteor and rushed towards the soul tree following the sword energy.
When the sword energy struck the trunk, the entire Soul Tree shook violently. Viscous black juice gushed out from the cracks in the bark, and dozens of insect cocoons hanging on the branches burst at the same time. The larvae that had not yet completed their metamorphosis let out a shrill hiss and turned into ashes in the interweaving energy of ice and fire.
The remaining bone-eating gnats were thrown into chaos, and their attacks became chaotic. Fu Shaoping took the opportunity to activate the Ice Soul Needles, and the needle array intertwined in the air into a large net, covering all the scattered insects. Nangong Wan controlled the true flame to spread along the needle array, and under the collision of ice and fire, the monster insects exploded and died one after another.
When the last bone-eating dragonfly fell, the surroundings suddenly fell into an eerie silence. The mist gradually dissipated, revealing a dark blue spiritual grass at the root of the soul tree. The leaves of the black Yin grass were as sharp as a knife, and the veins were flowing with cold spiritual power, emitting a faint fluorescence in the dim environment.
Just as Nangong Wan leaned over to pick the fruits, the ground suddenly shook violently. A pale hand bone broke out of the ground and grabbed his ankle at lightning speed. Fu Shaoping reacted very quickly, and the Cold Sky Sword flashed a cold light, cutting off the hand bone at the wrist. However, the vibrations underground became more and more violent, accompanied by the creepy sound of bones rubbing against each other.
"Not good!" Fu Shaoping's face suddenly changed, and he quickly retreated with Nangong Wan. The place where they were standing suddenly collapsed, and a complete skeleton slowly crawled out. The skeleton was as white as jade, and green ghost fire was jumping in the empty eye sockets. What's more terrifying is that there are still broken Taoist robes on it, which shows that it was a monk with good cultivation in life.
The skeleton slowly raised its head, and the jaws opened and closed with a "clicking" sound. It stretched out its hand and the scattered bone-eating maggot corpses on the ground suddenly flew up, as if being pulled by invisible silk threads, and attached to its skeleton one after another. In the blink of an eye, a terrifying corpse demon covered with insect armor appeared in front of the two. (End of this chapter)