Bang!
His body, which had been sitting upright, slammed heavily against the wall of the cultivation room like a stiff stone.
Cold, a bone-chilling cold!
The moment the Heavenly Cold Qi drilled into his body, Chen Xiao felt his entire being freeze, as if his blood had stopped flowing in that instant. His body couldn't even manage an instinctive shiver, and even his consciousness and thoughts felt like they had been struck hard from the back of his head, becoming sluggish and hazy, as if they might sink into silence at any moment.
Gathering all his strength, Chen Xiao bit down hard on the tip of his tongue.
Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, but before it could flow down, it was frozen by the coldness.
The pain and metallic taste in his mouth brought Chen Xiao back to clarity. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately mobilized the Dou Qi within his body and circulated it along the cultivation technique's path.
But as soon as he circulated his Dou Qi, Chen Xiao noticed that the meridians within his body had become incredibly blocked. Layers of fine ice crystals, like frost, were wrapped in a layer of icy blue mist, clinging to the inner walls of each meridian like maggots on bone.
Moreover, there was a faint trend of gradual expansion.
Seeing this situation through introspection, Chen Xiao instantly understood what he needed to do.
He had to prevent the Heavenly Cold Qi from continuing to spread through his meridians. Once it completely filled his meridians and replaced the Dou Qi circulating within them, he would truly be in mortal danger.
Only by gradually assimilating this Heavenly Cold Qi, just as he had done when refining the Wind and Thunder Power before, until it was completely integrated with his own Dou Qi, could he be considered successful!
"Without a source, how can you turn the world upside down!"
He let out a low roar in his heart, concentrating all his focus, and desperately pushed the speed of his internal Dou Qi circulation to its limit.
Without a source, its essence was dead matter.
This was the biggest weakness of the Heavenly Cold Qi!
Under Chen Xiao's desperate efforts, he finally noticed that the trend of the Heavenly Cold Qi expanding had been stopped.
However, when Chen Xiao tried to assimilate it, the other party was like a solid rock, allowing the surging Dou Qi to circulate through the meridians again and again without diminishing in the slightest.
At this moment, Chen Xiao's situation was,
Not good, not bad.
It wasn't good because the Heavenly Cold Qi was completely unresponsive, and Chen Xiao felt the difficulty of trying to assimilate it and merge it with his Dou Qi.
It wasn't bad because the situation in his meridians was clearly defined at this moment, and Chen Xiao was certain that he was at least not in danger.
Furthermore, the circulation of Dou Qi along the cultivation technique's path was precisely the state of cultivation.
With the daily increase of Dou Qi within his body, the winner of this tug-of-war would undoubtedly be him in the end!
However, winning in this way would inevitably consume a large amount of time. Chen Xiao couldn't estimate how long he would need to accumulate this small advantage before it could be converted into a decisive winning momentum.
While Chen Xiao was racking his brain over this, suddenly, a cluster of formless and intangible heart fire strangely rose within his meridians.
In just an instant, it was extinguished by the extreme coldness emitted by the Heavenly Cold Qi.
Seeing this scene, a spark of brilliance appeared in Chen Xiao's eyes, and just as a small smile bloomed on his face, his frozen cheeks were pulled painfully.
But Chen Xiao didn't care. At this moment, he suddenly remembered that he had an even greater advantage.
That was the Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower!
In this Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower, the lower the floor, the more scorching and unbearable it was. Moreover, in this cultivation room, the frequency of heart fire appearing was also higher than on the upper floors!
This heart fire usually only had the effect of refining Dou Qi for Chen Xiao, but now, in the tug-of-war with the Heavenly Cold Qi, it had become his greatest aid!
Just now, when a wisp of heart fire was extinguished under the influence of the Heavenly Cold Qi, Chen Xiao keenly noticed that the icy blue mist covering his meridians had loosened a bit, allowing his Dou Qi to occupy a larger space in his meridians!
Although it was a very, very small portion, it was something he could truly feel.
The right time, the right place, and the right people, what do you have to fight me with!
In an instant, Chen Xiao's mood greatly improved. He silently circulated the Dou Qi within his body, waiting for the Fallen Heart Flame to help him deliver a blow.
It didn't disappoint him. In just about fifteen minutes, another cluster of heart fire appeared in his meridians.
The result was no different from the first cluster of heart fire. It was extinguished before it could even last for a single breath.
But even so, it still added another point to Chen Xiao's advantage.
One cluster, one cluster, and another cluster...
In as short as fifteen minutes, or as long as half an hour, heart fire would appear, constantly helping Chen Xiao accumulate advantages, making him sigh with emotion.
This Red Fire Crystal Card was well worth the exchange!
With the help of the Fallen Heart Flame, which was like an AI, finally, half a day passed.
It was at this time that the established advantage began to show.
Chen Xiao noticed that a wisp of the icy blue mist clinging to the inner walls of his meridians was finally carried away by the circulating Dou Qi, like duckweed in the sea, drifting with the current. Then, through repeated circulation, it completely integrated with the Dou Qi within his body, becoming indistinguishable.
This was a good start!
Where there was one, there would be two. Under this ebb and flow, Chen Xiao's advantage gradually became apparent.
Gradually, from assimilating a wisp of Heavenly Cold Qi in half a day, it became assimilating a wisp in five hours.
Then four hours, three hours...
The speed of assimilation became faster and faster.
The Heavenly Cold Qi entrenched in his meridians was like a routed army, being gradually eroded and swallowed, its territory shrinking...
...
Outside.
On the third day after Chen Xiao entered the Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower, Zi Yan couldn't wait to go to his pavilion.
Unfortunately, she didn't find Chen Xiao.
After learning from Fu Tong and others that Chen Xiao had gone to the Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower, Zi Yan could only reluctantly suppress the urgency in her heart.
"He said he'd leave in three to five days, so I'll wait two more days."
Fifth day.
Zi Yan came to the pavilion again, but still couldn't see Chen Xiao.
In an instant, the expression on Zi Yan's face changed. A hint of annoyance surfaced, her appearance fierce yet adorable, causing Fu Tong and the other two to silently sweat for Chen Xiao.
They were all aware of the rumors about Zi Yan.
Watching Zi Yan stomp towards the Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower with a furious aura, the three could only silently pray for Chen Xiao.
Hopefully, he wouldn't be beaten too badly.
Zi Yan entered the Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower alone. After just a brief inquiry, she learned that Chen Xiao had gone to the eighth floor.
Soon, she arrived at the entrance of Chen Xiao's cultivation room.
Looking at the tightly shut door, Zi Yan pouted slightly, but didn't dare to do anything out of line. She immediately stood at the entrance with her hands on her hips, ready to give Chen Xiao a big 'surprise'.
Occasionally, some experienced students with decent strength came out of their cultivation rooms. Seeing Zi Yan standing there huffing and puffing, they all instinctively shrank back. They weren't in a hurry to leave, instead standing far away to watch the show.
Troublemakers are everywhere.
However, from noon until the tower was about to close in the evening, the highly anticipated cultivation room still didn't open.
Seeing this, the group of experienced students could only sigh and leave.
Apart from some cultivation fanatics, most Inner Academy students were not used to staying overnight in the Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower.
Entering when the tower opened and leaving when it closed could also greatly reduce the amount of fire poison entering the body.
Zi Yan didn't leave. The annoyance on her face had vanished without a trace, leaving only palpable boredom.
Seeing that it was time for the watching Elder to come and check, she could only take out her Fire Crystal Card and slip into the empty cultivation room next to Chen Xiao's.
She spent the Fire Energy without any reduction, but Zi Yan had no intention of cultivating. She propped her chin on her hands and stared blankly.
After an unknown amount of time, Zi Yan came back to her senses. Estimating that the watching Elder had finished checking, she decisively pulled out her Fire Crystal Card and ran back to squat by the entrance of Chen Xiao's cultivation room.
Her impatient nature was fully displayed at this moment.
Day after day, and then another day.
Three days later, as Zi Yan ignored the experienced students watching from a distance and was dozing off at the entrance of Chen Xiao's cultivation room, that tightly shut door finally slowly opened.
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