73: Chapter 73 The Shadow Demon Reappears, Unlike Before

After exchanging a few polite words, Ye Chen took his leave and descended the mountain.

Leaving Danding Peak, a new goal formed in Ye Chen's heart.

The Hundred Herbs Secret Realm in half a year, and the crimson sun vermilion fruit!

In these six months, he had to break through to the Wheel Sea Realm as soon as possible and improve his strength as much as he could.

He needed to accumulate contribution points and resources to prepare for the trip to the Secret Realm.

However, just as he was walking toward Flowing Cloud Peak while lost in thought,

a sudden change occurred as he passed through a secluded bamboo grove between the two Peaks!

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Three sharp, piercing sounds suddenly rang out!

Three pitch-black, glistening, and highly poisonous iron caltrops flew in a triangular Formation, silent yet fast as lightning.

They aimed separately for Ye Chen's back of the head, heart, and lower back!

The angles were tricky, the timing vicious; it was a sneak attack launched precisely when his mind was slightly distracted while passing through a secluded place!

Another sneak attack!

Warning bells rang wildly in Ye Chen's heart, and he instantly activated the Mist Transformation Steps.

His body twisted eerily as if he had no bones, lunging toward the front side!

"Puff! Puff!"

Two of the iron caltrops grazed past his clothes.

They nailed into the bamboo stalks ahead, which instantly turned pitch-black and hissed, clearly indicating the poison's potency.

However, the third iron caltrop aimed at his lower back could not be completely avoided due to his sudden change in direction.

It struck his lower left back heavily!

"Clang!"

A crisp sound like metal clashing rang out!

The iron caltrop failed to pierce his body, instead being blocked by the black tortoise armor he wore close to his skin!

But the immense impact and the vicious force contained within the caltrop

still caused Ye Chen to grunt, feeling sharp pain in his waist, his blood roiling, and his body staggered.

Although the black tortoise armor had powerful defense, the force of the sneak attack and the penetrating power of the poisonous caltrop were also extremely strong.

If not for his Physical Body having been tempered by ice and fire, he would likely have suffered internal injuries from this blow.

"Oh? You actually have protective treasure armor? I underestimated you!"

A cold, hoarse voice, like the cry of a night owl, came from the depths of the bamboo grove.

Immediately after, four black shadows, like ghosts,

slowly emerged from the bamboo shadows in four directions, surrounding Ye Chen in the center.

All four of them wore black tight-fitting clothes.

They wore ferocious ghost masks on their faces, revealing only pairs of cold and ruthless eyes.

Their auras were restrained but exuded a bloody, murderous intent, and their cultivation levels were surprisingly all between the Wheel Sea Realm Third Level and Lun Hai Jing Fourth Level!

The leader's aura even reached the Peak of the Lun Hai Jing Fourth Level!

What made Ye Chen's heart sink even further was that

the attire, aura, and the method of using poisonous hidden weapons of these four people

were exactly the same as the Shadow Fiend assassins he had encountered in the Molten Fire Abyss and outside Qingyun City!

Only their strength was greater, and their coordination was more tacit!

"Shadow Fiend!"

Ye Chen's eyes were cold; he slowly straightened his body, the ice scar sword already in his hand.

He did not expect that they would dare to make a move within the Inner Sect of the Tianyun Sword Sect!

Moreover, they seized the timing so accurately, clearly having been tracking him for a long time.

"Kid, your reaction is not slow."

The leading Shadow Fiend assassin spoke hoarsely, toying with a pitch-black dagger in his hand.

"Someone paid a high price for your life. Die obediently, and you can suffer less."

"Who sent you? Chen Ao? Or the remnants of the Wang family and Ye family?"

Ye Chen asked coldly while secretly circulating his True Essence to neutralize the lingering hidden force in his waist.

At the same time, he pushed his Divine Sense to the limit, staying alert to every move of the four men.

These four assassins were much harder to deal with than Liu Feng and his group; they were true professionals.

"Why ask so much when you are about to die?"

Another assassin said sinisterly, his body flickering.

He attacked from the side, his dagger like a viper, stabbing straight at Ye Chen's ribs!

At the same time, the other two assassins launched attacks from the rear and the other side, blade light flashing, sealing off Ye Chen's retreat.

The leading assassin stood where he was, his aura firmly locking onto Ye Chen.

Like a viper ready to strike, he was looking for an opportunity for a kill in one blow.

Facing the well-coordinated siege of the four, Ye Chen knew he could no longer hold anything back.

Cold light erupted in his eyes, his Ice Fire True Essence circulated frantically at an unprecedented speed, and the Ice Lotus Imprint suddenly lit up!

An aura of killing intent, far more terrifying and colder than before,

mixed with a contradictory Concept of annihilation and rebirth, erupted explosively!

"Since you want to die, I will grant your wish!"

He shouted sharply, no longer holding back, unleashing his full power for the first time within the Inner Sect!

He pushed the Mist Transformation Steps to the limit.

His figure instantly turned into four blurred afterimages, each heading towards one of the four assassins!

They were not Clones, but visual residuals left behind by excessive speed!

"Ice Fire Thousand Illusions!"

Four afterimages, four sword lights!

Each sword light contained condensed Ice Fire True Essence.

Sometimes bone-chillingly cold, sometimes scorching and explosive, or intertwined with ice and fire, ever-changing and unpredictable, making it hard to distinguish true from false!

This was exactly what he had gained after contemplating the Incomplete Manual of the Two Extremes Separating Light Sword and the ice fire same origin speculation record over the past few days.

A new move initially integrated into his own sword technique — using Ice Fire True Essence to divide Sword Qi.

Creating illusions to confuse opponents!

The four Shadow Fiend assassins clearly did not expect Ye Chen to have such eerie group combat movement techniques and sword skills.

Nor did they expect his sword light attributes to be so strange and difficult to defend against.

In their haste, the two attacks aimed at Ye Chen's real body missed.

While the other two attacks struck the "afterimages," it felt like stabbing into a viscous ice-fire quagmire.

Their force was rapidly worn away, and even more eerie chill and heat backlashed along their arms!

"Not good! Watch out for his True Essence!"

One assassin exclaimed.

However, it was already too late.

Ye Chen's real body, the moment he cast "Ice Fire Thousand Illusions" to confuse his opponents,

had already appeared like a ghost behind the assassin who had attacked from the side and possessed a Wheel Sea Realm Third Level cultivation!

On the ice scar sword, ice-blue and golden-red lights intertwined into a tiny, rapidly rotating ice-fire vortex.

This was precisely a simplified application of the "Ice Fire Seal"!

"Die!"

He thrust his sword out, silent yet fast as lightning, aiming straight for the assassin's heart from behind!

The assassin was scared out of his wits, wanting to dodge.

But his movements were slowed by the aftermath of the surrounding ice-fire Sword Qi and that eerie Concept!

"Pfft!"

The ice scar sword pierced his heart without any obstruction, and the Ice Fire True Essence exploded instantly!

The assassin's body stiffened, the vitality in his eyes rapidly fading, and he collapsed to the ground.

One strike, instantly killing a Wheel Sea Realm Third Level assassin!

"Fourth Brother!"

The other three assassins were furious, their eyes splitting, shocked and angry.

They did not expect that, with four of them joining forces, one would be killed by the opponent in a single exchange!

This kid's strength far exceeded the intelligence!

"Form up! Kill him!"

The leading assassin roared, and the three instantly changed Formation into a triangular stance, rushing up again!

This time, they no longer underestimated him in the slightest, their attacks becoming even more vicious and tricky.

Coordinating with each other, with offense and defense integrated, it was clearly a combined attack Formation.

Ye Chen's pressure increased sharply.

His figure weaved through the siege of the three.

Sword Qi constantly collided with dagger shadows and blade gleams, the sounds of metal clashing echoing in the bamboo grove.

The three opponents coordinated tacitly, and their cultivation was high.

For a moment, they actually suppressed him, and he soon sustained several wounds on his body.

Although not deep, the burning pain and the invading cold, poisonous force forced him to divert his attention to resist them.

"Cannot drag this out!"

Ye Chen's eyes were cold.

While resisting, he searched for flaws.

The opponent's Formation was tight, but not without flaws.

Especially the other two, who seemed to have a slight lag in response to the leading assassin's commands.

Now is the time!

Ye Chen spotted a subtle gap as the three changed Formations.

The Ice Lotus Imprint inside his body shone brightly, and the fragment of the Profound Ice Palace deep in his Soul also trembled slightly!

"Profound Ice Domain!"

He shouted in a low voice, and with himself as the center,

a pure and vast, embryonic form of an Ice Domain carrying the chill of annihilation suddenly expanded!

Although the range was no more than three zhang, within these three zhang, the temperature plummeted to below absolute zero.

The air froze, frost covered the bamboo leaves, and even the light seemed to be frozen!

The movements of the three assassins instantly slowed down several times, as if they had fallen into a quagmire!

"What?! A Domain?!"

The three assassins were horrified. How could a Meridian Opening Realm Cultivator possibly display a Domain?!

Even if it was just an embryonic form, it was enough to overturn their understanding!

Just at the moment their minds were shaken and their movements slowed, Ye Chen moved.

He concentrated all his power onto the ice scar sword; on the sword body, the phantom of the Ice Fire Taiji Diagram appeared again, but this time,

it was more solid, and the rotation was even faster!

"Ice Fire Taiji Seal!"

He no longer attacked the three men, but thrust his sword into the ground at the center of their Formation!

The Ice Fire Taiji Diagram at the tip of the sword plunged into the ground with a boom!

"Hum—!"

The earth trembled!

With the sword tip as the center, a Taiji pattern with a diameter of a zhang, completely intertwined with ice-blue and golden-red light,

suddenly lit up on the ground, rotating rapidly!

The terrifying power of ice-fire annihilation and Yin and Yang strangulation erupted explosively.

Enveloping the three men who were at the center of the Formation and most deeply affected by the Profound Ice Domain!

"No—!"

The shrill screams came to an abrupt end.

The Ice Fire Taiji Diagram rotated and strangled; wherever it passed, everything turned into dust!

The three Shadow Fiend assassins of the Wheel Sea Realm Third to Fourth Level.

Before they could even resist, they were annihilated in the extreme collision of ice and fire.

Their bodies shattered and turned to ashes, leaving only a few broken weapons and Storage Pouches scattered on the ground.

As the light faded, the bamboo forest returned to silence.

Only the Taiji pattern, woven with scorch marks and frost, remained on the ground.

The lingering, pungent scent of blood and burnt flesh bore witness to the terrifying battle that had just occurred.

Ye Chen leaned on his sword, gasping heavily; his face was pale as paper, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Having unleashed his full power repeatedly—especially by simultaneously utilizing the embryonic form of the "Profound Ice Domain" and the "Ice Fire Taiji Seal"—he had nearly drained all his True Essence and mental energy, while his Meridians throbbed with tearing pain.

Yet, he forced himself to stand, refusing to collapse.

Ye Chen swiftly gathered the Storage Pouches and remnants of weapons left by the four assassins.

Summoning his remaining strength, he used his True Essence fire to clear away the traces and bloodstains on the ground as best he could.

Daring not to linger, he employed his movement technique and fled the bamboo forest at top speed, racing toward Flowing Cloud Peak.

He knew the commotion here was significant and would soon be discovered.

He had to leave the scene immediately and return to the relative safety of his Immortal Cave.

Less than half an incense stick of time after Ye Chen departed, several powerful auras swept into the bamboo forest from different directions.

Upon seeing the terrifying remnants of the Taiji pattern and the signs of battle on the ground, the expressions of those who arrived shifted slightly.

"Such powerful Ice Fire power... and there's even a trace of a Domain aura?"

"Who fought here? Judging by the traces, this was a life-or-death struggle between Cultivators at least at the Wheel Sea Realm Middle Stage."

"It seems the Inner Sect has not been peaceful lately..."

Yet, Ye Chen remained unaware that as he returned to his Immortal Cave, activated the Restriction, and finally succumbed to his injuries—spitting out a mouthful of stagnant blood before sitting cross-legged to heal—news of the "Bamboo Forest Ice Fire Battle" and the "Mysterious Taiji Diagram," along with reports that "Shadow Fiend" assassins had appeared in the Inner Sect and were suspected to have been wiped out, had already begun to quietly circulate among certain high-ranking members and interested parties within the Inner Sect.

The wings of this "butterfly" had already stirred up increasingly noticeable ripples in the deep waters of the Tianyun Sword Sect.

... Ye Chen remained in seclusion at his Immortal Cave on Flowing Cloud Peak, not stepping out once.

Although he had emerged victorious from the life-or-death struggle against the four "Shadow Fiend" assassins, the exhaustion was immense; his Meridians were damaged, and his internal organs had suffered concussive shock.

In particular, the forced activation of the embryonic "Profound Ice Domain" and the "Ice Fire Taiji Seal" at the end had placed a heavy burden on his Foundation.

However, a crisis can also be an opportunity.

Life-or-death battles are the best way to stimulate potential, especially when fighting professional assassins whose strength far exceeded that of Liu Feng and the others.

This gave Ye Chen a deeper understanding of how to utilize his own power and grasp the timing of combat.

Under extreme exertion, the Ice Fire True Essence within his body had also become more refined and docile.

He consumed high-quality Medicinal Pills for healing that he had looted from the Storage Pouches of Liu Feng and the others.

He then took out the remaining fire spirit marrow, absorbing its gentle and pure fire spirit power to nourish his Meridians and harmonize the ice and fire.

After being drained, the Ice Lotus Imprint seemed to have undergone a tempering process, its radiance becoming more restrained, while its connection to the Ice Fire vortex within his Dantian grew tighter.

Seven days later, Ye Chen's injuries were fully healed, and not only had he returned to his Peak state, but he also felt that his cultivation Bottleneck had loosened slightly; the True Essence within his body was surging and full, faintly showing signs of boiling.

He knew the time for a Breakthrough had arrived.

He did not rush for success but spent another day adjusting his state to its best, his mind settling like still water.

Breaking through to the Wheel Sea Realm was not just a qualitative change in True Essence; it was a leap in the level of his life, requiring a single, continuous effort that allowed for no mistakes.

On the morning of the eighth day, inside the Immortal Cave, Ye Chen sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion in the quiet room, with several items placed before him: the jade box containing the fire spirit marrow, with only a sliver of essence remaining; a few "sea condensing pills" to assist in the Breakthrough; and that unidentified crimson crystal fragment he had obtained from Black Wind Fiend, which he had not yet used and which contained violent fire spirit power.

Ye Chen took a deep breath, his eyes firm.

First, he picked up the jade box and took the last wisp of pure, gentle fire spirit marrow essence into his mouth.

A warm current dispersed, rapidly merging into his limbs and bones, transforming into pure Spiritual Qi that nourished his Physical Body and stirred the Ice Fire True Essence within.

Next, he swallowed a "sea condensing pill."

As the Medicinal Pill entered his stomach, it transformed into a strange, guiding force, beginning to lead the surging, gaseous Profound Ice True Essence—intermingled with golden-red fire streams—within his Dantian to compress and gather toward the center.

For ordinary Cultivators, breaking through to the Wheel Sea Realm requires compressing and condensing gaseous True Essence into liquid True Essence, and carving out a storage space in the Dantian akin to a "Qi Sea," which is known as the "Wheel Sea."

In terms of quality, quantity, and recovery speed, liquid True Essence is far superior to the gaseous form.

Ye Chen's situation was even more special.

What was inside his Dantian was not a single type of True Essence, but a preliminarily fused Ice Fire True Essence that had already formed a rotating vortex.

The difficulty of the Breakthrough was greater, but once successful, the quality of his Wheel Sea would surely far surpass that of his peers.

Under the guidance of the sea condensing pill and his own Cultivation Technique, the Ice Fire vortex within his Dantian began to spin faster, generating a powerful centripetal force at its center.

It crazily devoured and compressed the surrounding True Essence.

The gaseous True Essence gradually grew viscous, its density increasing steadily.

This process was extremely painful, like being repeatedly hammered inside his Dantian, or as if his body were being torn apart and put back together.

His Meridians throbbed with swelling pain, and his Dantian felt as though it were about to burst.

Veins bulged on Ye Chen's forehead, and sweat poured down like rain, yet he kept his mind guarded and gritted his teeth to endure.

The compression continued for about an hour.

Finally, at the center of his Dantian, a tiny yet incredibly condensed droplet appeared.

It was a strange, chaotic-colored droplet within which ice crystals and flames seemed to coexist.

The first drop of liquid Ice Fire True Essence!

"It's done!" Ye Chen's spirits lifted.

Everything is difficult at the start; the appearance of the first drop of liquid True Essence meant the Breakthrough had officially entered the right track.

He dared not relax and continued to crazily circulate his Cultivation Technique, absorbing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi within the Immortal Cave.

At the same time, he guided the residual medicinal power and fire spirit marrow essence within his body, converting them into new gaseous True Essence to replenish the rotating vortex, continuing to compress and condense.

One drop, two drops, three drops... The liquid True Essence grew more numerous, gradually gathering at the center of his Dantian into a small, slowly rotating pool of chaotic color.

Under the impact and expansion of this liquid True Essence, the space of his Dantian slowly expanded, becoming tougher and more vast.

However, just as the liquid True Essence gathered to a certain degree and was about to fully stabilize and carve out a complete Wheel Sea space, an unexpected change occurred!

The Ice Fire droplets, which had been rotating slowly and were relatively stable, suddenly began to vibrate violently!

The ice-blue cold current and the golden-red fire current seemed to have lost their previous delicate balance and began to clash and repel each other violently!

The chaotic-colored droplets became unstable, their colors flickering, as if they were about to explode at any moment!

Ye Chen let out a muffled groan, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Ice and fire opposing each other is a fundamental truth of Heaven and Earth.

Previously, when it was in a gaseous state, he could forcibly meld them by relying on his Concept and the Ice Lotus Imprint.

But once it turned into a liquid, the energy became more condensed and violent, and the requirement for balance reached an extreme!

A moment of carelessness would result in his Wheel Sea collapsing and his cultivation being completely destroyed!

"Steady!" Ye Chen roared inwardly, sinking all his mental focus into the Ice Lotus Imprint.

The imprint shone brilliantly, and a stream of pure, ancient chaotic cold qi permeated outward, attempting to soothe and harmonize the clashing Ice Fire droplets.

At the same time, he endured the intense pain and, following a crude model from the "ice fire same origin speculation record," attempted to guide the Ice Fire droplets.

Instead of chaotic mixing, he tried to form a dynamic balance like a Yin and Yang fish, where they chased and transformed into each other, head to tail.

But this balance was extremely fragile and could be broken by a more intense conflict at any moment.

Inside his Dantian, it felt as though two Vicious Beasts were tearing at each other madly, bringing waves of tearing pain.

"Is the fire spirit power insufficient? Or is the balance of ice and fire off?" Ye Chen's thoughts raced.

His cultivation was based on the "Profound Ice Art."

Having also obtained the Ice Lotus Imprint and the Profound Ice Origin, the ice attribute held an absolute advantage.

Although he had later absorbed the earth core fire crystal and fire spirit marrow, the fire spirit power was still slightly inferior in both quality and quantity.

Normally, he could suppress it, but at this critical juncture of breaking through to the Wheel Sea Realm and the liquefaction of True Essence, this imbalance was drastically magnified!

"I need purer, more immense fire spirit power to forcibly level it out, or even surpass it, to form a new dynamic balance dominated by fire, which can then be harmonized by the ice attribute in return..."