C97 Nine Palace Locking Sun Array(2)

Last year, Zhongli Huo returned from a mysterious realm, shocking everyone. It turned out he hadn't actually entered but lingered outside for quite some time. Now, Woo Zhengyang was leaving the stone platform with unwavering determination, making the two from the Profound Heaven Sect wonder if he truly intended to go inside.

"Maybe he has what it takes to become a legendary figure," Lee Yunsheng remarked, though without much confidence. Such individuals are incredibly rare in this country. Those familiar with Woo Zhengyang's wild nature from the Profound Heaven Sect knew him well enough to understand that he wouldn't stop, even without Lyi Huamei's conditions. It wasn't arrogance, but a steadfast belief in reaching the pinnacle of martial arts.

Below the stone platform lay a desolate plain, with a winding stone path leading to an unknown destination. Woo Zhengyang followed it and soon reached a fork in the road. Without hesitation, he chose the path toward the Ice Fire Mystic Realm. As he continued, the landscape began to change. The wind alternated between biting cold and intense heat. This strange fluctuation became more pronounced the deeper he ventured, with the heat making him sweat profusely and the cold quickly freezing the sweat into ice.

"The alternating extremes of heat and cold are tough to endure, but shouldn't a cultivator using their inner energy be able to withstand it?" Woo Zhengyang thought, somewhat surprised.

At this moment, Woo Zhengyang wasn't using his inner energy to resist. What was a grueling journey for others was, for him, an excellent opportunity for tempering his body. Under the alternating conditions, he could distinctly feel his flesh and the Heaven and Earth Vital Energy within him continuously merging.

Woo Zhengyang had always experienced rapid increases in strength, leaving little time for the Vital Energy in his body to integrate. Fortunately, his robust physique allowed him to handle it. For other body refinement practitioners, the Vital Energy in their flesh could be more of a hindrance, potentially tearing their flesh apart. If they couldn't suppress it, it might lead to a regression in their cultivation due to backlash.

The current environment provided Woo Zhengyang the chance to gradually stabilize his body refinement skills.

An hour later, the stone path came to an end. Covered in a layer of frost, Woo Zhengyang gazed into the distance at the true Ice Fire Mystic Realm. It was a world so unique it seemed to exist only in imagination. On one side was a vast sea of flames, the red fire flickering as if it intended to consume everything. On the other side lay endless glaciers, the ice glistening like a multitude of dazzling crystals.

These two elements aren't unusual in this world. What’s remarkable is that they stand side by side without consuming or canceling each other out. A portal of light, half fire and half ice, stands abruptly between them, with the words "Ice Fire Mystic Realm" intertwined above in fiery and icy script.

Stepping through the portal, a peculiar sensation washes over, as if both fire and ice are coursing through the body simultaneously. In the distance, Woo Zhengyang sees towering ice mountains.

Unlike the glaciers outside, these have an icy exterior, but inside, they burn with intense flames. At the peak of each fiery ice mountain grows a unique little plant, its stem like ice and its leaves fiery red—this is the Ice Crystal Fire Grass.

"Found it so quickly?" Woo Zhengyang is skeptical. If it were this simple, Lyi Huamei wouldn’t have needed his help.

With this thought, Woo Zhengyang proceeds cautiously toward one of the fiery ice mountains. As he steps onto it, a wave of heat surges through his left leg, while a chill floods his right.

In an instant, the left side of his clothing ignites, while the right is completely frozen, even his blood and energy unable to circulate. Though startled, Woo Zhengyang remains calm. Perhaps what Lyi Huamei said was false, but he never fully believed it anyway.

Given that this hidden realm exists, it's meant for challengers to pass through. Even if most body refinement practitioners can't make it, Woo Zhengyang is confident that if anyone can, he will be one of them!

As his thoughts raced, Woo Zhengyang's state of mind steadied. Inside his body, his energy and true essence were half boiling, half solidified, creating a unique sensation. The cold froze him, and the flames scorched him, and he could clearly feel his vitality slowly slipping away.

The "Flesh Condensing Technique" was in motion, slowing the loss of vitality on the left side of his body, which was being burned by flames. However, the right side, frozen in ice, remained unchanged.

"It seems Lyi Huamei was wrong. I wonder if she deliberately misled me or if she was simply unaware!" A flicker of doubt crossed his mind as the "Sword-breaking Void Technique" began to operate within him.

With the right side of his meridians frozen, the sword-shaped genuine qi could only move on the left side, which left Woo Zhengyang a bit frustrated. However, upon closer observation, he noticed that under the "Sword-breaking Void Technique," the sword-shaped genuine qi was slowly breaking through the frozen meridians on the right side.

Realizing this, Woo Zhengyang felt a weight lift off his shoulders.