Chapter 656
"Samadhi True Fire!" she exclaimed, the purple flames spontaneously protecting her body, but it was clearly no match for them. The most terrifying thing was the blue flames, which were actually devouring the purple flames to grow stronger.
Fu Shaoping did not rush forward. He noticed that the star map of the cauldron was changing, and some stars were particularly bright. Thinking of what Nangong Wan said about the old man Xuandan being proficient in astrology, he immediately understood the key.
"It's now the twilight hour, look at the seven stars of the White Tiger in the west!" he shouted, "Find the location of Betelgeuse!"
Nangong Wan endured the burning pain and raised her head in the fire net. There were indeed seven particularly bright stars somewhere on the body of the tripod, arranged like a tiger. She locked her eyes on the reddish one and used the last of her strength to condense the purple flame into a fine needle and shoot it out.
The moment the purple flame pierced the star point, the three-color fire net suddenly dissipated. The Panlong turned back into a decoration, the jade tripod opened, and three pills rolled out - one blue, one red, and one white, corresponding to the previous flames.
"Smart." Nangong Wan smiled weakly, "The Samadhi True Fire needs to be resolved by the power of the stars." Before she finished speaking, she fell forward. Fu Shaoping rushed forward to catch her and found that her back had been burned.
The white pill exuded a refreshing scent, and Fu Shaoping pressed it on Nangong Wan's wound without hesitation. The pill melted as soon as it touched the skin, and the wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. Even more miraculous was that part of the drug power seeped into Fu Shaoping's fingertips, and the remaining toxins in his right shoulder were completely eliminated.
"This is just the leftovers." Nangong Wan stood up, her eyes full of shock. She carefully took down the crystal box and put the two halves of the jade slip together. The moment the complete recipe appeared, they both gasped.
"Nine-turn Nirvana Pill can reshape the spiritual roots," Fu Shaoping's voice trembled. It is well known in the world of cultivation that the spiritual roots are determined by nature, but this pill can break the iron rule. No wonder the Xuanyin Sect is determined to get the bronze fragment at any cost - it is the key to open the alchemy room!
Nangong Wan stared at a certain herb in the recipe, his expression becoming increasingly ugly: "The main ingredient requires the lifeblood essence of a cultivator with purple flame spiritual roots and a cultivator with black ice spiritual roots."
Fu Shaoping slammed the jade slip shut. Now he understood why the test was so targeted at the two people's characteristics - Elder Xuandan had already expected that a cultivator with both ice and fire spiritual roots would come. What's more terrifying is that this recipe itself is a screening mechanism. After seeing the recipe, the cultivators who meet the conditions are likely to
"It's time for us to go." He pulled Nangong Wan up, but found that she was staring at Yu Ding motionlessly.
"Wait." She said in an unusually calm voice, "Look at the inside of the tripod."
Fu Shaoping leaned closer and saw tiny words engraved on the inside of the jade tripod. Unlike the neatness of the elixir recipe, these words were sloppily written, as if they were hastily carved: "The path of elixir is boundless, but human hearts are finite. The Nine-Turn Nirvana is actually a scam, and those who take it will be punished by heaven. I cast this tripod to suppress the true recipe, and those who are destined to do so in the future must remember it——"
The text ended here. The two looked at each other, and a chill ran down their spines. Elder Xuandan had apparently discovered the fatal flaw in the elixir, and he might even suffer because of it.
Nangong Wan suddenly threw the jade slip into the cauldron: "Destroy it."
Fu Shaoping stopped her: "Wait!" He pointed to the barely perceptible incision below the warning text, "There are more words here, which need to be activated with spiritual power."
When the two injected ice and fire spiritual power at the same time, hidden words appeared: "But the world has left a ray of hope. If you use your true heart as a guide, the waste pill can be transformed into a precious pill."
The words in the jade tripod gradually faded, and only the sound of heavy breathing remained in the stone chamber. Nangong Wan's fingers tightly grasped the jade slip, and his knuckles turned white.
"So this recipe is both an opportunity and a trap." Fu Shaoping's voice echoed in the stone chamber, "Old Man Xuandan uses this method to select suitable cultivators."
Nangong Wan raised his head suddenly, a trace of determination flashed in his purple eyes: "But the hidden information mentioned that sincerity can reverse the effect of the elixir. Let's act separately and collect materials."
She unfolded the jade slip and used her fingertips to sketch the images of the three main herbs in the air: "The Mysterious Ice Jade Marrow is in the Ice Abyss of the Far North, the Fire Refined Gold is in the Fire Region of the Southern Wasteland, and the Millennium Spiritual Clam Pearl is under the whirlpool of the East China Sea. The deadline is thirty days, and we will meet at Qingxia Peak."
Fu Shaoping frowned: "It's too dangerous, we..."
"No time to argue!" Nangong Wan interrupted him, "The Xuanyin Sect has already set its sights on us, so it's safer to act separately." She split the jade slip in two, "I'll take the black ice jade and the spiritual clam pearl, and you go to the southern wilderness."
Fu Shaoping wanted to say something, but Nangong Wan had already turned and walked towards the stone gate. At the door, she paused and said, "Be careful of the Xuanyin Sect's bone-eroding incense. Your ice spirit root has no resistance to that poison."
There were footsteps fading away outside the stone gate. Fu Shaoping looked in the direction where she disappeared and silently put the half of the jade slip into his arms. He stroked the healed wound on his right shoulder, where there was still a trace of the warmth of the purple flame.
In the Arctic icy abyss, the wind howled across the vast snowfield. Nangong Wan wrapped herself tightly in fox fur, leaving burning marks in the deep snow with every step she took - her purple flame spiritual root made it impossible for her to adapt to this extreme cold.
"The Ice Marrow Vein is ten miles away." The guide Lao Zhao's teeth chattered, "Girl, I can't hold on any further."
Nangong Wan took out a fire spirit stone from her bosom and handed it to him: "Wait for me here." She looked at the knife-like ice cliff in the distance, where a faint blue light was flickering.
Arriving alone at the foot of the ice cliff, Nangong Wan's palms rose with purple flames, melting a channel in the ice wall. The deeper she went, the colder it became, and her eyelashes were covered with frost. Suddenly, the purple flame shook violently - the black ice jade embedded in the ice wall was absorbing her spiritual power!
"It's not that simple." Nangong Wan bit her fingertips and used blood as a medium to draw a spell. The purple flames surged, and finally peeled off the basketball-sized black ice jade from the ice wall. Just as she reached out to take it, three black shadows rushed out from the ice cracks!
"Miss Nangong, sorry for the long wait." The leading Xuanyin cultist waved the bone banner with a sinister smile, "Thank you for helping us extract the chalcedony."
Nangong Wan dodged the incoming black fog and found that her retreat was blocked. She sneered, "The Xuanyin Sect only knows how to attack by surprise?" Purple flames formed a ring of fire around her body, but it was obviously dimmer than usual - the black ice jade was suppressing her spiritual roots.
"Stop struggling." The cultist threw out the soul-locking chain, "The leader only wants the living Purple Flame Spiritual Root!"
The moment the chain wrapped around Nangong Wan's wrist, she suddenly smiled. She suddenly smashed the black ice jade to the ground. The moment the jade cracked, the cold air that had accumulated for thousands of years burst out! The three believers were instantly frozen into ice sculptures, and Nangong Wan had already shrunk the purple flame into a thin film to protect his heart.
"Do you really think I'm unprepared?" She coughed up blood and walked out of the ice mist, picking up the largest piece of chalcedony. More footsteps were heard in the distance, and she crushed the teleportation talisman and disappeared in the blizzard.
In the Southern Wilderness Fire Region, Fu Shaoping walked cautiously along the magma river. Lihuo Jingjin was usually born deep in the lava, but the temperature here was uncomfortable even for his ice spirit roots.
"It should be around here." He checked the jade map and stopped in front of a boiling magma pool. In the middle of the pool, there was a protruding black rock with faint golden lines on it. Fu Shaoping formed seals with his hands, and the icy spiritual power paved a narrow path on the surface of the magma. As soon as he walked to the black rock, the magma suddenly surged violently! A red-scaled fire python broke out of the magma, and its vertical pupils stared at the ice blade in his hand.
"A fourth-level monster!" Fu Shaoping retreated hastily. The flames from the fire python brushed past his left arm, instantly burning his sleeve. He threw out thirty-six ice needles, but they all vaporized when they approached the fire python.
The fire python was coiled on the black rock, obviously guarding the fire gold. Fu Shaoping wiped the sweat from his forehead and suddenly remembered what Nangong Wan said: "Fire monsters are most afraid of cold poison."
His eyes were stern, and he bit his tongue to spray his blood on the sword. The ice blade suddenly glowed blue, a killing move at the cost of his original spiritual power. When the fire python pounced again, Fu Shaoping did not dodge or evade, and stabbed it with his long sword!
"Hiss!" The fire python rolled over in pain, and magma splashed everywhere. Fu Shaoping took the opportunity to jump onto the black rock and pointed the tip of his sword at the golden ores. Just when he was about to succeed, the seriously injured fire python suddenly exploded its inner elixir!
With a loud bang, Fu Shaoping was blown away by the shock wave. At the critical moment, a purple fire net fell from the sky, blocking most of the damage for him.
"I knew you couldn't handle it." Nangong Wan's voice came from the air. She stepped on the fire cloud, and the purple flame in her hand turned into a long whip to entangle the remaining python body. Fu Shaoping didn't have time to be surprised, and hurriedly collected the scattered Lihuo Jingjin.
When the last piece of refined gold was obtained, Nangong Wan suddenly fell from the fire cloud. Fu Shaoping flew over to catch her and found that her face was pale - the injuries from the trip to the Far North had not healed at all!
"Don't you want to die?" Fu Shaoping's voice trembled, and the icy spiritual power continued to flow into her body. Nangong Wan smiled weakly: "I have paid off what I owe you."
On the coast of the East China Sea, heavy rain poured down. Nangong Wan stood on the reef, looking at the huge whirlpool spinning in the distance. According to intelligence, the thousand-year-old clam was in the coral maze a hundred feet below the whirlpool.
"There are only three days left before the flood." She took a deep breath, swallowed the water-repellent pill and jumped into the sea. During the dive, the purple flame formed a protective shield on her body surface, dispelling the attacking water beasts.
The light in the coral maze was dim, and Nangong Wan followed the jade slip to a cave. A huge clam shell was half buried in the sand, and the gaps shone with pearlescent light. She approached carefully, and suddenly her whole body froze - there was a silver chain wrapped around the clam shell, which clearly belonged to someone!
"Those who trespass will be killed!" Four mermaids came with spears. Nangong Wan thought to herself that this was the territory of the East China Sea mermaids. She hurriedly showed the exchange item she had prepared - the ten thousand year old ice crystals she brought from the extreme north.
"How about exchanging this for a spiritual clam pearl?"
The mermaid guards looked at each other in bewilderment. The leader sneered, "Lu Xiu, do you know that this clam is our princess's dowry?" He pointed with his halberd, "Unless you leave behind the Purple Flame Spiritual Root!"
Nangong Wan's pupils suddenly shrank, and purple flames burst out! Taking advantage of the temporary blindness of the mermaid, she rushed towards the giant clam like lightning. The moment her fingertips touched the clam shell, the entire coral maze suddenly lit up with array patterns - this is a trap!
"Catch her!" The mermaid princess screamed from all directions. Nangong Wan gritted her teeth and crushed a talisman, which was a life-saving item given to her by Fu Shaoping. The extremely cold air instantly froze the sea water within a radius of ten feet, and she took the opportunity to pry open the clam shell to take the pearl.
When Nangong Wan rushed out of the water, the pursuers were already behind her. She was about to use the teleportation talisman when an ice wall suddenly rose from the sea! The familiar icy spiritual power made her heart tremble.
"Let's go!" Fu Shaoping came over on the waves, and with a wave of his hand, thousands of ice cones shot at the pursuers. Nangong Wan didn't have time to think about it, and pulled him to start the teleportation. In the changing light and shadow, she found a jade bottle hanging on Fu Shaoping's waist, and there was a faint blood flowing in it.
In the cave of Qingxia Peak, the two sat opposite each other. Nangong Wan placed the Mysterious Ice Jade Marrow and the Spiritual Clam Pearl on the stone table, while Fu Shaoping took out the Fire Essence Gold and the jade bottle.
"You speak first." Nangong Wan stared at the jade bottle, "What is this?"
Fu Shaoping smiled bitterly: "I went to Beiming Sect to get the essence of the Xuanbing spiritual root." He unbuttoned his clothes, and there was an unhealed sword wound on his chest. "Use a secret method to separate half of the spiritual root, so that the pill formula will not be needed."
"You're crazy!" Nangong Wan slammed the table and stood up, her purple eyes filled with tears, "Me too." She trembled as she took out a porcelain bottle, "I'll ask the elders of Medicine King Valley for the essence of the purple flame spirit root."
The two were stunned at the same time, and then smiled at each other. It turned out that they both wanted to sacrifice themselves to save each other. Fu Shaoping gently held her hand: "Now we have double the materials."
In front of the alchemy furnace, Nangong Wan adjusted the temperature according to the hidden prompts. When all the materials were put into the furnace, the two cut their palms and let the blood drip into the furnace.
"Lead with sincerity," Fu Shaoping chanted in a low voice, and the icy spiritual power formed a furnace frame.
“Turning waste into treasure.” Nangong Wan continued the spell, and purple flames burned fiercely at the bottom of the furnace.
The furnace body vibrated violently, and colorful rays of light shone through the top. When the pills were completed, two elixirs with patterns of ice and fire were suspended in the air, which were more brilliant than the original pill recipe described.
"This is..." Nangong Wan felt the changes in his body. Not only did his old injuries heal, but the quality of his spiritual roots was also improved to an unprecedented level. A purple-gold halo also appeared around Fu Shaoping, and the fire attribute was actually integrated into his ice spiritual roots!
The morning light was just breaking outside the window, and Fu Shaoping looked into the distance: "The mystery left by Elder Xuan Dan may just be the beginning."
Nangong Wan put the remaining materials into the storage bag: "Where is the next stop?"
"Together?"
"certainly."
In the glow of the sunset, two figures walked side by side towards a new journey. At the bottom of the alchemy furnace, in a corner that no one noticed, a new line of words appeared: "With true heart, you can achieve enlightenment and a great path can be expected."
-
Inside the cave on Qingxia Peak, the residual heat from the alchemy furnace had not yet dissipated. Two elixirs were suspended in midair, with ice and fire patterns on their surfaces flowing like living things. Nangong Wan reached out to touch one of them, and immediately felt a strange mixture of tingling and coolness at his fingertips.
"This has exceeded the effect recorded in the original recipe." Fu Shaoping stared at the faint Tai Chi pattern inside the elixir, "With sincerity as the guide, the quality of the elixir has been improved by at least three levels."
Suddenly, there was a muffled thunder outside the cave. Nangong Wan walked to the window and saw that the originally clear night sky was now covered with dark clouds, and there were faint purple and blue lightning interweaving in the clouds. Her purple eyes narrowed slightly: "The calamity is coming."
Fu Shaoping quickly carved a double protective formation on the ground of the cave: "The Nine-Turn Nirvana Pill defies fate and will surely be envied by heaven. We must prepare before taking the pill." He took out seventy-two formation flags and inserted them in specific positions. "This is the Yin-Yang formation, which should be able to withstand the first wave of thunder tribulation."
Nangong Wan poured out all the defensive magic weapons from the storage bag and suddenly frowned: "No, the ancient books record that the Nine-turn Nirvana Pill will only trigger the thirty-nine thunder tribulation, but this celestial phenomenon..." She pointed out the window, the dark clouds had rotated to form a huge Tai Chi pattern, "It's like a double heavenly tribulation."
The two looked at each other and thought of the possibility at the same time - the combined effects of the improved elixir will trigger the heavenly tribulation corresponding to the attributes of their respective spiritual roots. Fu Shaoping's Adam's apple rolled: "The double tribulation of ice and fire, the cultivation world has not seen it for thousands of years." (End of this chapter)