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Du Yue sat cross-legged in the centre of the spirit pool.
However, her entire body was encased within a massive block of crystal-clear ice. The silver-white spirit water had already lost its colour, becoming nothing more than ordinary water.
Frozen within the ice alongside Du Yue were two other objects. One was the Nine-Petal Ice Lotus, while the other was a strange blue-black stone resting quietly at the very bottom of the pool.
Gradually, the last traces of Yin Spiritual Qi within the ice were completely absorbed. The thick ice then melted into clear water, leaving only the blue-black stone resting at the bottom of the pool.
Du Yue slowly opened her eyes. Although her cultivation had improved considerably, she was still just a step away from breaking through.
She looked down at the Nine-Petal Ice Lotus in her hand. It contained an astonishing amount of pure Spiritual Qi. Her gaze then shifted to the blue-black stone resting at the bottom of the pool.
"This is..."
With a flick of her finger, the stone flew into her palm.
Just then, footsteps echoed through the chamber as Su Wen returned from the magma cavern.
The moment Du Yue saw him, her gaze lingered for a moment. Something about him had changed. His skin had become noticeably fairer and smoother, while an abundant vitality radiated from his body. Even from a distance, she could clearly sense the rich Yang aura surrounding him.
A puzzled expression appeared on her face. She leaned closer, her delicate nose brushing lightly against his neck as she sniffed him like a curious kitten.
"Husband..." She blinked. "Why do you smell so... delicious?"
Su Wen twitched. "Oh. I found something incredible... A Spirit Flame... and it tempered my body."
Du Yue looked at him for a moment. "Husband... do you know how to control a Spirit Flame? If it's handled carelessly, its flames can burn a cultivator from the inside."
Su Wen rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. '...No wonder. It nearly roasted me from the inside.'
Naturally, he wasn't about to admit that to his wife. Maintaining his composure, he smiled confidently. "Of course. Everything was completely under control. It wasn't that difficult."
Du Yue looked at him quietly for a moment before smiling gently. "As long as you're alright." She chose not to expose his little lie.
"Hmm?" Her gaze soon fell upon the warm yellow-white stone in his hand. She gently took it from him. The moment she examined it, her beautiful eyes widened slightly.
"This is... A Primordial Yang Stone."
She looked at Su Wen in surprise. "Husband, where did you find it?"
Su Wen answered honestly. "Oh? It was just lying on a rocky ridge in the middle of the magma pool, so I picked it up." He tilted his head. "But this name... Isn't it similar to the Primordial Yin Stone we already have?"
Du Yue blinked several times. Her expression became slightly strange. "...You're right."
She gently held the warm stone in her hand. "It contains a trace of extremely pure Primordial Yang Essence."
'No wonder that Spirit Flame was hovering above it... It must have been nourished by the Yang Essence for countless years.' Su Wen silently came to the conclusion.
Then his gaze landed on the blue-black stone in Du Yue's other hand. "Wife. Isn't that the Primordial Yin Stone? It was inside my storage ring. Why do you have it?"
Du Yue lowered her head and looked at the stone before answering softly, "I found another one lying at the bottom of the spirit pool."
Su Wen looked between the two stones before scratching his head. "But didn't you say these stones were extremely rare? Why do we keep finding them lying around?"
Du Yue opened her mouth.
"..."
For a moment, she didn't know how to answer. She wanted to explain just how precious and unbelievably rare the Primordial Stones truly were. Yet somehow, they kept stumbling across them as though these stones were ordinary pebbles.
After a brief silence, she finally smiled helplessly. "...Maybe Husband is simply too lucky."
She handed both stones back to him. "Keep them. They'll serve as the foundation for our Life-Bound Swords in the future."
Su Wen nodded before storing both Primordial Stones inside his storage ring.
His gaze then landed on the Nine-Petal Ice Lotus still in Du Yue's hand. "Looks like you've completely absorbed the Spiritual Qi from the spirit pool. Were you able to break through?"
Du Yue gently shook her head. "Not yet. The spirit pool alone wasn't enough."
She lifted the lotus slightly. "Husband... I'll have to trouble you to refine this for me. It should be enough to help me break through to the Mid Golden Core Realm."
Su Wen smiled confidently. "Leave it to me."
He paused before adding, "Also, give me all the spiritual herbs you found inside the dungeon. They're probably all Yin-attributed. I'll refine those as well."
"Together with the Nine-Petal Ice Lotus, you'll have more than enough medicinal pills to support your breakthroughs not just in Spirit but also in Body and Soul cultivation."
A warm smile appeared on Du Yue's face. Without hesitation, she handed him her storage ring. "Thank you, Husband."
Su Wen smiled back and accepted the storage ring. He then sat down on the ground before taking out his own storage rings containing the herbs.
"We now have six Peak Grade 3 spiritual herbs, including the Nine-Petal Ice Lotus. But the quality of the Ice Lotus is several times higher than the others."
He placed the other five Peak Grade 3 herbs back into the storage ring before examining the Mid Grade 3 herbs.
"Good... twelve Mid Grade 3 herbs in total. Four of them are Yin-attributed and were nourished by the dungeon's icy environment. I'll use those four together with three neutral herbs as supporting ingredients."
After selecting several supporting herbs, Su Wen nodded in satisfaction. With a wave of his hand, the Treasure Cauldron landed before him. Taking a deep breath, he began preparing to refine the spiritual herbs.
Su Wen looked inside his dantian.
The small Spirit Flame happily drifted through his Spirit Sea, swaying gently as though humming a cheerful tune. A smile appeared on his face.
"Little Flame, I need some fire for alchemy. Can I depend on you?"
The little flame bounced so energetically that Su Wen immediately understood. It couldn't wait to help.
The next moment...
Su Wen suddenly felt his stomach swell. An intense heat rapidly gathered inside him, as though something was about to burst out.
He unconsciously let out a burp.
His lips parted involuntarily.
Whoooosh!!
A massive torrent of blazing fire erupted from his mouth, shooting forward like a gigantic flamethrower. The flames showed no sign of stopping.
Su Wen's eyes widened. "W-Wait..."
He instinctively tried to close his mouth. "Ouch!"
A burning sensation instantly spread across his lips. Afraid of burning himself, he could only leave his mouth open as the flames continued blasting forward.
"STOP!!" He hurriedly sent his thoughts towards the Spirit Flame.
"Hmm...?" The little flame seemed completely oblivious to his discomfort. Only then did it obediently stop.
The flames finally disappeared.
Su Wen immediately shut his mouth before taking several deep, hot breaths through his nose. He then sent a mental message to the flame.
"I think I'll be fine for now. You can rest."
The little flame quietly floated inside his dantian. A faint sense of confusion reached Su Wen, as though the little flame couldn't understand what it had done wrong when it had only wanted to help.
'I'd better not disturb this little fellow again until I learn how to properly control it.' Su Wen thought to himself.
Du Yue quietly watched everything from the side. Her expression remained calm, though the corners of her lips twitched slightly.
Su Wen coughed awkwardly before pretending nothing had happened. Instead, he took out several blocks of Spirit Wood and stacked them beneath the Treasure Cauldron.
With a flick of his finger, he ignited the wood.
Seeing this, the little Spirit Flame immediately became unhappy, as though its pride had been hurt. It shot out of Su Wen's mouth with an indignant puff before diving straight into the burning Spirit Wood.
Whooom!!
The ordinary fire instantly transformed into a roaring inferno, and the surrounding temperature rose dramatically.
Su Wen frowned. "Wait... Come back."
The little flame floated above the firewood as though it hadn't heard him at all. It swayed proudly from side to side, as if declaring, 'See? I'm much stronger than ordinary fire.'
Just then, the scorching temperature suddenly plummeted. Both Su Wen and the little Spirit Flame felt an icy chill run down their spines.
They slowly turned around.
Du Yue was quietly staring at the Spirit Flame.
Her beautiful blue eyes were as cold as ice.
Without saying a word, the Spirit Flame instantly shrank. The roaring inferno became a tiny little flame no bigger than a candle.
Su Wen also unconsciously lowered his head like a child who had been caught doing something wrong, but still wasn't sure what he had done.
"Husband..." Du Yue's voice remained as gentle as ever.
Yet for some reason, it sounded unusually cold "...Is this the Spirit Flame you found earlier?"
She looked directly at the tiny flame. "If it's this disobedient... Would you like me to freeze it for you?"
The entire chamber fell silent.
One man and one flame stared blankly at the beautiful woman before them.
The little Spirit Flame shivered.
Su Wen immediately coughed. "Cough... Wife. It's just like a child. Don't be angry."
Du Yue remained silent for a moment before finally looking away. "If it causes you trouble again... Tell me."
Only after she turned away did the pressure filling the chamber finally disappear. 'Why... Why does this little flame get to live inside Husband? I want to stay there too...'
Meanwhile, the Spirit Flame remained tiny, quietly burning beneath the cauldron. It still hadn't recovered from the fright.
Su Wen glanced at Du Yue, slightly puzzled. He couldn't understand why she had suddenly become upset.
Still, seeing the little Spirit Flame shrink into itself, he couldn't help but laugh before sending a strand of Spiritual Qi towards it. "Can you try increasing the temperature a little?"
The little flame felt wronged, but after remembering Du Yue's cold gaze, it obediently increased the heat.
The fire beneath the cauldron immediately intensified.
"Good. Now lower it."
The flames immediately weakened.
Su Wen's eyes lit up.
"Excellent. Now slowly increase it until I tell you to stop."
The little flame carefully increased the heat little by little. Only after the fire reached the perfect temperature did Su Wen nod.
"Stop."
The flame obediently remained at that level.
Seeing this, Su Wen smiled happily.
"Good... very good. The control still isn't perfect. The flames are somewhat difficult to direct, and there's a slight delay between my thoughts and your response. But that's more than enough for now."
Satisfied, Su Wen began refining the spiritual herbs.
Half an hour later, Su Wen remained seated before the Treasure Cauldron. Despite the freezing temperature of the chamber, beads of sweat covered his forehead as he focused every ounce of his concentration on the medicinal herbs inside.
'These herbs are all Yin-attributed... They still need to be balanced.' A smile appeared on his face. 'Luckily, those High Grade Fire Crystals I found in the hidden magma cavern are perfect for this.'
He took out several High Grade Fire Crystals and gently placed them into the cauldron. The rich Yang energy contained within the crystals immediately merged with the medicinal ingredients, gradually stabilizing the previously unbalanced Yin Spiritual Qi and bringing the medicinal properties into harmony.
Su Wen nodded in satisfaction. "This Spirit Flame really is incredible. My refining speed has increased dramatically. More importantly, it's removing far more impurities than ordinary flames."
He continued, "Once I completely master it... Not only will the purification become even greater... I might even be able to become a Grade 4 Alchemist and refine Grade 4 pills."
Another half an hour quietly passed before Su Wen finally let out a long breath. The slightly exhausted Spirit Flame slowly drifted back into his dantian.
He cleaned the Treasure Cauldron before storing it inside his storage ring.
Finally, six Grade 3 medicinal pills lay in his palm. Each pill radiated rich medicinal vitality and astonishingly pure Spiritual Qi.
Looking at the high-quality pills, a satisfied smile appeared on Su Wen's face. He stood up and walked over to Du Yue. She was already seated quietly, preparing to begin her breakthrough. Without another word, Su Wen placed the six pills in her hand.