Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence!
If Yang Fan had been an ordinary fire-attribute soul master, this Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence would have been completely useless to him.
But he wasn't!
Besides being a soul master, he was also a Dou Master, and more importantly, a successfully promoted Tier-6 Alchemist.
Yao Lao had just said...
Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence could substitute for multiple medicinal ingredients when refining ice-attribute pills.
Facing mountains of Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence, he had no need to hesitate.
"Enough!"
"Silly boy!"
"Are you planning to empty out this entire mountain?"
Yao Lao's reminder didn't cause Yang Fan to stop in the slightest.
Fill the storage soul guide device first and talk later!
If there really was something more important than Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence later, he could just throw it out.
Anyway, it was going into the storage soul guide device...
Easy and convenient!
"Master."
"Do you think Grandpa and the clan members can put this Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence to good use after I bring it back?"
Yao Lao suddenly laughed!
He knew this was the scheme Yang Fan had been plotting, otherwise the boy wouldn't have chosen to stuff the entire storage soul guide device full.
"We'll see!"
"Master will research it properly after we return."
Teaching Yang Wudi alchemy was much more difficult than teaching Yang Fan.
No matter what, his beloved disciple was a genuine Tier-6 Alchemist, while Yang Wudi couldn't even be said to have crossed the threshold.
Though there was much Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence, it wasn't cheap.
If they wanted to truly unleash the value of Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence on Yang Wudi, it really wouldn't be an easy matter.
"Master."
"Since Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence already exists here, could there still be a Heavenly Flame?"
Yang Fan expressed great confusion.
Because from beginning to end, he hadn't sensed anything like a Heavenly Flame.
"Why wouldn't there be?"
"Master obtained the Bone Chilling Flame on the Godfall Ice Plain, where the climate was far more harsh than the current Extreme North."
Yao Lao didn't want to recall too much about the old memories of the Godfall Ice Plain.
Yang Fan understood!
If Yao Lao didn't speak of it, he naturally wouldn't pester him with questions.
"Master can tell you one more thing now."
"The Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence you see before you was very likely transformed from solid ice under the influence of a Heavenly Flame for thousands or even tens of thousands of years."
At these words...
Yang Fan's spirit was shaken, followed by sudden clarity in his mind.
The top-tier beast flames within the Ice-Fire Dragon Kings formed the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well and grew Immortal Herbs; the Hellfire formed the Slaughter City where one could pass through the Hell Road to obtain the Killing God Domain...
Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence was highly possible!
"Master."
"Are you saying this Heavenly Flame is inside the Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence?"
Yao Lao nodded: "You are teachable!"
Target confirmed!
A Heavenly Flame appeared in each of Yang Fan's left and right palms.
The essence of Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence was still solid ice.
And the best method to deal with solid ice was to use the king of fire to treat it.
"Master will help you!"
At this moment...
Yao Lao's Demigod-level strength once again came to Yang Fan.
A palm struck out!
The domineering nature of the Heavenly Flame instantly opened a deep hole about two meters in diameter in the Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence.
In an instant... the earth shook and mountains trembled!
Powerful energy impacts tore open cracks of various sizes on the steep ice walls.
The cracks extended upward...
Continuously spreading toward the direction of the snowy mountain's peak.
"Be careful!"
"If you collapse this snowy mountain, it will be difficult for you to obtain the Heavenly Flame."
These words were no joke!
What made snowy mountains different from ordinary mountain ranges was that even slight movements could cause fissures, collapses, avalanches... and so on.
"Alright, alright, alright."
"I'm still not too familiar with Demigod-level strength, that's all."
Strength that wasn't one's own ultimately couldn't be perfectly controlled.
If it hadn't been his first time logging into the Yao Lao-level account earlier, the Ice Empress wouldn't have been able to escape—he could have beaten that ice scorpion into urinary incontinence in minutes.
At this moment...
Yang Fan began to re-examine the large hole he had blasted out.
His soul power detection made him estimate that this palm strike had gone at least five hundred meters deep.
A flash of light...
Yang Fan directly arrived at the deep hole's end, then followed up with another palm strike.
With Yao Lao's reminder, Yang Fan's force became much more restrained.
Each palm strike tried to control his forward progress within a hundred meters, preventing the occurrence of collapses and avalanches.
...
One palm, one palm, another palm...
After continuously striking dozens of palms, Yang Fan couldn't help but feel shocked.
The area of Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence was too vast!
He suspected that the Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence consumed by Skydream Iceworm was likely just the tip of the iceberg.
The more Ten Thousand Year Ice Essence there was, the more powerful the Heavenly Flame might be.
At this moment...
Yang Fan's heart began to grow excited.
"Stop!"
Yao Lao called out in time before Yang Fan struck out again.
Immediately after...
A soul in a long robe appeared, and the Demigod-level strength within Yang Fan was completely drained.
"Cold—"
Yang Fan, without Yao Lao's strength protecting him, instantly felt his nose sting, as a wave of icy cold air directly struck the back of his head.
The gap in strength was displayed to the fullest through the senses!
No wonder Yao Lao had called him to stop!
The temperature here was now several times lower than outside the cave entrance, completely incomparable to the outside of the Extreme North.
At this moment...
The effects of the Fire Heart Pill were already minimal.
He had reached the point where he needed to use Heavenly Flames to resist the extreme cold around him.
"Master."
"Have we arrived?"
Yao Lao's soul suddenly shook.
In an instant...
The broken ice on the cave walls was completely cleared, and the entire ice cave instantly became as clear as glass.
At this moment...
Ice flowers appeared one after another on the ice surface before them.
Pure white, gorgeous!
This was a spectacular sight Yang Fan had never seen outside, and behind the ice flowers, he saw something flame-like.
The atmosphere in the ice cave also suddenly rose at this moment!
"Heavenly Flame!"
"This is a Heavenly Flame!"
As he spoke...
Yang Fan summoned his Soul Breaking Spear, about to pierce through the Heavenly Flame behind the ice flowers.
"Wait!"
Yao Lao used his soul power to block Yang Fan's fierce spear strike.
"Master?"
Yang Fan looked over in confusion, finding that Yao Lao's expression had completely changed.
Grave, tense!
Even with some relief of having survived a disaster.
"Wh... what's wrong?"
Yao Lao's suddenly changed emotions made Yang Fan afraid to speak loudly.
Could it be that this Heavenly Flame was no ordinary item, and his current Quasi-Titled Douluo strength was insufficient to absorb it?
"This is not a Heavenly Flame!"
Yao Lao's words undoubtedly plunged Yang Fan into an abyss of ten thousand feet.
Great ups and downs!
Yang Fan, who had just been fantasizing about possessing his third Heavenly Flame, instantly felt as if a bucket of cold urine had been poured over him, chilling him to the heart.
This was the first time Yang Fan had seen Yao Lao make an error in judgment, and this single mistake dealt a considerable psychological blow to him.
"Discouraged already?"
"Though this is not a Heavenly Flame, I never said there was no Heavenly Flame in this world."
Yang Fan was stunned!
He looked at Yao Lao, while Yao Lao's gaze was entirely fixed on the ice fire behind the ice wall.
His expression grave...
"Master said before that Heavenly Flames have ranks, and when they reach a certain rank, they will develop spiritual intelligence."
"You should still remember that, right?"
Yang Fan suddenly understood: "Master, are you saying the Heavenly Flame here has already developed spiritual intelligence?"
Yao Lao was silent for a moment... then shook his head.
Heavenly Flames capable of possessing spiritual intelligence were at least at the level of the Bone Chilling Flame, and the Heavenly Flames in this Douluo Continent world clearly couldn't reach that.
"The Heavenly Flame here, though it hasn't developed spiritual intelligence, has set a trap for us."
"If my guess is correct..."
"The white flame we see behind the ice wall should be formed from fire poison accumulated over tens of thousands of years by the Heavenly Flame."
"If you had rashly pierced through the ice wall just now, the consequences would have been unthinkable..."
Yao Lao still felt some lingering fear when recalling it now.
Fire poison accumulated over tens of thousands of years...
Even with him present, he couldn't guarantee Yang Fan would emerge unscathed.
"Master."
"Then where is the Heavenly Flame?"
Yao Lao smiled slightly...
"Right behind it."
He had encountered this situation on the Dou Qi Continent before.
Fire poison was the Heavenly Flame's disguise, and also a means of 'self-preservation.'
It guarded against rash soul masters like Yang Fan just now!
If Yang Fan had truly pierced through the ice wall with his spear just now, the first thing he would have faced was the fire-cold poison accumulated over tens of thousands of years.
"..."
Yang Fan's thinking briefly stagnated.
Indeed!
The acquisition of every beast flame or Heavenly Flame was never as simple as imagined.
"Master."
"Can this thing counteract fire poison?"
Yang Fan took out a pale pink, leafless large flower from his storage soul guide device.
It was precisely the Aromatic Silk Beauty!
Once upon a time...
Yang Fan had believed the most useful herbs were the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot. However, later the Beautiful Silk Tulip, Snow Swan Kiss, and Aromatic Silk Beauty all refreshed this perception of his.
Take the Aromatic Silk Beauty in his hand right now...
It had rendered great service in hunting his soul rings!
"You are teachable."
The first thing Yao Lao thought of was the Aromatic Silk Beauty.
A single Immortal Herb might not be able to resist fire-cold poison accumulated for tens of thousands of years, but with the addition of the Snow Swan Kiss, the situation would be completely different.
At this moment...
Yang Fan had already taken out the Snow Swan Kiss, and a drop of colorless transparent liquid dripped onto the pink flower stamens.
The faint floral fragrance was instantly magnified hundreds or thousands of times.
The fragrance drifted!
Yet it didn't give a pungent smell; instead, Yang Fan felt an unprecedented clarity and refreshment.
When the fragrance of the Aromatic Silk Beauty completely permeated the ice cave, Yang Fan knew it was time.
A spear thrust out!
Though he no longer possessed the Demigod strength Yao Lao had granted, he still pierced through the hard ice surface with one spear.
In an instant...
The white flame behind the ice surface instantly surged forth.
Though it was fire, it carried a terrifying coldness.
The frigid cold air rushed into Yang Fan's brain through his nasal cavity, violently and continuously striking his spirit.
A strong sense of dizziness instantly came over him...
This was still the fire-cold poison purified by the Aromatic Silk Beauty. Without the help of Immortal Herbs, Yang Fan couldn't imagine what kind of impact the fire poison accumulated over ten thousand years would have.
Along with the release of the fire-cold poison, the white flame that had appeared behind the ice surface disappeared...
Before Yang Fan's eyes appeared a different spectacle!
Behind the disappeared white flame appeared a hexagonal ice flower.
The ice flower was dynamic!
As if like a flower swaying in fierce wind.
Appearing white!
But not the kind of white one could normally see.
The temperature cold to the extreme made this ice flower tragically white. Even standing ten meters away, it gave Yang Fan a feeling of keeping strangers at bay.
"This is the Heavenly Flame?"
Yao Lao had said...
Heavenly Flames existed in countless forms.
But one like this flower was truly eye opening for Yang Fan.
"Correct!"
"This is a Heavenly Flame!"
Yao Lao's tone was firm and certain.
Though its aura wasn't as domineering as the Bone Chilling Flame, it had already met the standards of a Heavenly Flame.
"Silly boy!"
"How many Fire Heart Pills do you still have on you?"
Yang Fan carefully counted...
"Five left!"
Before entering the Extreme North, he had already prepared for a prolonged battle.
Ten Fire Heart Pills in total!
Originally planned for half a year of wandering in the Extreme North, but unexpectedly, less than two months in, he had already used half.
"Eat them all!"
Facing the critical moment of devouring the Heavenly Flame, they could no longer hold back.
Five Fire Heart Pills...
Enough to temporarily protect Yang Fan's heart meridian for a short time before the Heavenly Flame.
Yang Fan didn't hesitate...
He had always unconditionally trusted Yao Lao's commands.
Fire Heart Pill entering his throat—
Warm energy instantly merged into every meridian of his body.
"Remember!"
"This Heavenly Flame is a very pure Ultime Ice flame. Though it can't compare to the Bone Chilling Flame in dominance, its quality is above the Hellfire you devoured."
"Therefore..."
"After devouring it, you must use the other two Heavenly Flames in your body to restrain it. As for the rest, I think you should already have experience."
Yang Fan nodded...
He understood!
Devouring the Heavenly Flame was only the first step.
But this first step was similarly the most dangerous step, because with one careless move, he could be devoured by the Heavenly Flame instead and turn to ashes.
And what he needed to do after devouring was use the Flame Mantra to refine the Heavenly Flame...
"Whew—"
Yang Fan took a deep breath, quickly adjusting his body to its optimal state.
Dou Qi erupted!
He slowly walked before the Heavenly Flame...
Up close!
He discovered that the hexagonal ice flower actually had many tiny white flamelets on it.
"Do it!"
Yang Fan roared...
Then, with lightning speed, he grabbed the Heavenly Flame and stuffed it directly into his mouth.
Since it was domineering, then let the Heavenly Flame be domineering to its heart's content inside his body.
Heavenly Flame swallowed...
Cold thousands or tens of thousands of times more frigid than the Extreme North pressed directly into his internal organs.
The defenses formed by the Ice-Fire Dragon Flame and Hellfire in his body instantly collapsed before this even more powerful Heavenly Flame.
Damn, this was bad!
His blood was frozen.
If this continued, his heart would stop beating, and the result naturally need not be said.
At this moment...
A powerful force flooded into his body, and everywhere it passed was like melting glaciers.
It was Yao Lao!
Yao Lao had once again saved him at the most critical moment.
"Don't lose focus!"
"Use the medicinal power of the Fire Heart Pills to protect your heart meridian. The Ice-Fire Dragon Flame and Hellfire are responsible for restraining and guiding. The fire-attribute Dou Qi in your body must remain unimpeded..."
Yao Lao was a qualified commander!
Under his guidance, Yang Fan quickly found his own rhythm in the tug-of-war with the Heavenly Flame.
As time slowly passed...
He could use the Flame Mantra to launch slow offensives against the Heavenly Flame.
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