Four Years of Body Tempering

One cycle of wither and flourish passed. The melons and fruits ripened, the Yellow Spring Burial was unleashed dozens of times, and Lu Yuan had offered his blood over a hundred times. Xiaoxiao remained in the cauldron, and the formation had yet to disperse.

Two years of spring and autumn passed. The construction of the sword city was completed. Ye Xianyu returned to the mountains, but the bloodletting continued and the sword remained unsheathed. The so-called immortal body had yet to be formed.

Three years of winter and summer passed. The medicinal effects of the immortal plants were exhausted. Cracks appeared in the cauldron as energy grew turbulent. Xu Xian took hundreds of cold chains from the Divine Sword Pool to bind the cauldron's body...

By the spring of the fourth year, Yao Xiaoxiao had undergone a thousand days of tempering. Though she had shed her mortal coil and achieved a minor completion of the physical body, her soul was teetering on the brink, incredibly frail...

Witnessing this scene, Lu Yuan’s expression turned grim. "The physical body is complete, but her soul is too weak. That yin qi wants to usurp the host and take her place."

Xu Xian also knitted his dark brows, the lines on his forehead sharp and distinct.

Lu Yuan urged, "Think of something, quickly!"

Xu Xian remained silent.

Lu Yuan’s voice grew hurried, tinged with panic. "She can't hold on. If we don't interfere, she will lose control. Not only will she suffer a backlash, but if that yin qi awakens its own spirit, the entire Wendao Sect might suffer for it."

Xu Xian barked coldly, "Be quiet!"

Lu Yuan was startled. His eyes flickered, but he finally shut his mouth, though his divine sense remained fixed inside the cauldron.

Four years of bloodletting and a thousand days of vigil—just as success was within reach, an unexpected change occurred.

Even he was unwilling to accept this.

If that yin qi truly succeeded in devouring Yao Xiaoxiao's soul and seizing her body, she would inevitably lose control. Rather than letting all their efforts go to waste, it would be better to destroy it directly.

Xu Xian was reluctant, so Lu Yuan would have to be the one to do it.

Little did he know that Xu Xian’s silence was not indifference; he was seeking a solution from the Little Book Spirit.

The current situation, while outside the original plan, was within expectations.

As early as the repeated simulations four years ago, Xu Xian and the Little Book Spirit had already anticipated such a possibility.

That innate yin qi was not a dead object; naturally, it would not allow itself to be manipulated.

At first, the yin qi would choose to resist, trying every possible way to escape this world and return to the River of Reincarnation. It would use every means to kill Yao Xiaoxiao, competing for dominance over her body against the killing intent of the Yellow Spring Burial and the baleful qi in Lu Yuan’s bloodline.

Afterward... it would be suppressed and return to its slumber.

During this time, the baleful qi and deathly breath would constantly assimilate Yao Xiaoxiao's body, causing her Body of Extreme Cold to continuously evolve.

In the end, after a long period of tempering and nourishment through cycles of repeated pain, Yao Xiaoxiao's body would infinitely approach the Taiyin Immortal Body until it finally became one.

It was also at this moment that Yao Xiaoxiao's body would completely adapt to the deathly breath of the Yellow Spring Burial and the nirvana aura within Lu Yuan's blood. Furthermore, Taiyin immortal qi, which surpassed both, would be born.

At this point, the yin qi would awaken for a second time.

Because it and Yao Xiaoxiao were originally symbiotic, once she adapted, it naturally adapted as well.

However, upon awakening this time, the yin qi would discover that the once frail body had now transformed into an existence fully capable of carrying it. In some respects, the body was even stronger than the qi itself.

At that point, it could no longer kill this body through its coldness that transcended all shackles. Instead, it would harbor other intentions.

Just as the Little Book Spirit had said, it would choose to stay. It would choose to remain in this world where it did not belong, to rule as a king and forge its own Dao.

The yin qi came from the River of Reincarnation, where the power of laws was naturally higher than in Fanzhou. It possessed a natural sense of superiority; having chosen to stay, it was unwilling to be subordinate. It would choose to erase the original host's consciousness and soul to take its place.

This was the nature of living beings. The strong devouring the weak was a law that had existed since the birth of the universe. It was beyond reproach.

The situation they faced now had only two possible outcomes.

The first was that the yin qi would successfully devour Xiaoxiao’s soul, and a brand new Yao Xiaoxiao, dominated by the consciousness of the yin qi, would be born.

The second was that Xiaoxiao would turn the defense into an offense and devour the yin qi. She would still be the same Xiaoxiao, but from then on, she would not only possess the Taiyin Immortal Body but also be able to control that yin qi for her own use.

Ultimately, having reached this stage, success or failure led to the same result: a peerless monster would inevitably be born at Xu Xian's hands. The only difference was whether that person was Xiaoxiao or not.

Since they had known this long ago, Xu Xian and the Little Book Spirit naturally had a countermeasure, but...

With Lu Yuan's involvement, the originally planned Extremely Yin Saint Body had been upgraded to the Taiyin Immortal Body. This process had taken a heavy toll on Yao Xiaoxiao's original divine sense. Therefore, the situation was far worse than anticipated, to the point where even the Little Book Spirit was unsure if the original method could still suppress this yin qi.

But Xu Xian had no other choice now.

After a brief communication, the Little Book Spirit said, 'Master, let's just go for broke and try it. We've come this far; we can't give up now.'

Xu Xian compromised, "Fine!"

He then looked at the restless Lu Yuan and instructed, "You stabilize the cauldron."

Without asking why, Lu Yuan immediately agreed. "Understood!"

"Don't do anything until I come out."

"Alright!"

After speaking, Xu Xian took the initiative to jump into the cauldron, which was swirling with blood-colored mist and filled with a freezing breath.

By now, the inside of the cauldron was already empty. The spiritual water had dried up, and the medicinal herbs were gone. Frost coated the walls, which were riddled with cracks. The Taiyin coldness filling the cauldron surged and collided within, as if it might burst through the vessel at any moment.

Yao Xiaoxiao was suspended in the center of the cauldron, completely naked. Her eyes were tightly shut, frost hung from her eyelashes, and her white hair was frozen together. Her thin lips were devoid of color, and her face was contorted in pain.

Peering inside with his Pupil of Insight, Xu Xian could see the yin qi occupying her body and devouring her soul at an extremely rapid pace.

As Xu Xian entered the cauldron, the cold swept over him. Even with his acquired sword body, it was difficult to withstand. In an instant, his entire body was covered in a thin layer of ice, and even his breath turned into a frozen mist.

He circulated his true essence, burning his essence blood to continue approaching Yao Xiaoxiao. Standing before her, he pointed his fingers like a sword, condensed a rune, and recited an incantation before pressing it against her forehead.

A brilliant golden light erupted from his body, spreading a faint ring of golden flames. A breath of ultimate yang and intensity continuously flowed into Yao Xiaoxiao's dantian.

This was a forbidden technique: Soul Resonance.

Xu Xian was attempting to use his own divine sense to help Yao Xiaoxiao suppress and even devour the consciousness of that yin qi.

...

Deep within Yao Xiaoxiao's sea of consciousness was a plain of pure white ice, a world of frost and dancing snow. A howling northern wind whipped up mounds of snow. Her divine sense was as tiny as a speck of dust, lost in the vast icy wilderness, like a stray child huddled in a corner of the world.

Around her was a boundless black mist, surrounding her on all sides. Her ears were filled with whispers and shouts that were sometimes sharp, sometimes dense, sometimes illusory, sometimes tempting, sometimes violent, and sometimes maddened...

Her world grew darker and darker. Her body felt colder and colder. She didn't know where she was; she felt as if she were about to die...

Just as she was in despair, a piercing white light broke through the layers of black mist and fell upon her, illuminating her. She felt a long-lost warmth again, even if it was just a tiny, negligible amount. She struggled to open her eyes and used the last of her strength to lift her head.

She saw a ray of celestial light falling from the snowy sky, lighting her up. Her eyes wandered as she murmured, "This is..."