Soul Emperor Awakening

Just because Ice and Snow City was safe didn’t mean it was *absolutely* safe; nothing is ever truly absolute. This was particularly true for its Cultivation Sites, which were also divided into safe and dangerous areas. The one before him was a dangerous zone—this was no illusion, but real volcanic lava!

Furthermore, this lava was exceptionally violent. Normal volcanic lava would simply flow down slowly, but this surged like a tidal wave, rushing toward Lin Xuan as if it had eyes of its own. The moment he entered, it was as if he had flipped a switch, activating the volcano and triggering a frantic eruption.

The extreme heat was suffocating, and the surrounding Fire Elemental Power continuously bored into his body. It was truly an excellent Cultivation Site for someone with a Fire Elemental Power physique. But for anyone unfamiliar with the place, or whose body was too weak, entering would be a death sentence.

"Summon!"

Lin Xuan immediately took out the Phoenix statue and tossed it into the air. But before it could even take flight, the terrifying gravity slammed it back down, pinning it to the ground. There was no way it could fly.

A statue was a statue, after all. A true Phoenix at the Peak of the Essence Pill Stage could fly here without any trouble; a gravity of over a million pounds would be nothing to it. But this was just a statue. Its power couldn’t compare to a real Phoenix, to say nothing of its durability.

He had seen this in his previous battles. The statue took significant damage whenever it was hit and simply couldn’t endure much of an attack. It was decent in a fight, but against an opponent with a similar Cultivation Level, the statue would surely be the first to be destroyed. Unless he carved it from a different material, it all came down to a problem with its composition.

The Five-Colored Spirit Wood was inherently soft; it was impossible to expect it to be durable. That was why it couldn’t fly.

’It can’t fly. It looks like I’ll have to endure this head-on...’ He recalled the Phoenix statue. The lava was already surging toward him. If he didn’t come up with a plan soon, he would be completely engulfed.

After recalling the Phoenix, he immediately allowed the Phoenix Soul to completely possess him. He squatted down and began to meditate, pushing his Cloud Return Technique to its absolute limit. This caused the Bloodline Power within him to churn, but more importantly, he guided the Phoenix Essence Blood to spread and cover his entire body.

Instantly, a layer of red Phoenix Feathers materialized around his body, though they were merely an illusion condensed from his Elemental Power. The moment they formed, the terrifying lava swept over and engulfed him. Yet, he remained in meditation amidst the molten rock, completely motionless.

He didn’t move an inch, no matter how terrifying the lava was. The moment the molten tide submerged him, he felt an appalling heat scorching his skin. If anyone else had been there, they would have seen the surface of Lin Xuan’s skin beginning to char.

Even with the power of the Phoenix Soul and Phoenix Essence Blood, he still struggled to resist the terrifying temperature of the lava. This Cultivation Chamber was truly beyond what someone at his Level could endure. Worse, he had to stay for five full days before he could leave. The odds were tantamount to certain death.

’If a Cultivation Chamber like this exists on this First Layer, then someone must have survived it. I refuse to believe that I can’t!’ Lin Xuan clenched his teeth and frantically circulated his power. The intense pain plunged him into agony once more, far surpassing what he had experienced in the Bone Forging Pool.

If he had passed out in the Bone Forging Pool, the worst that would have happened was that he’d stop absorbing its energy. But if he passed out here, he would truly die.

’I absolutely will not die here! I won’t!’

Lin Xuan let out a mental roar as the Bloodline Power inside him circulated with abandon. He drew upon his Phoenix Essence Blood with all his might, but still couldn’t stop the Flame from penetrating his defenses. His skin was gradually being scorched away, and the intense pain felt like a thousand knives carving into his flesh. It was excruciating.

Still, he grit his teeth, forcing himself to hold on.

An unknown amount of time passed. He felt his consciousness about to fade away, yet he clung to that last sliver of awareness. Anyone else would have fainted long ago, or would have already died. If he didn’t have the Phoenix Essence Blood to support him and resist the terrifying Flame, he would have perished long ago.

He really had Bingxin’s parting gift of Phoenix Essence Blood to thank; otherwise, he would have truly died here. Not that his current situation was much better.

No matter how resolute his will, willpower alone couldn’t mend his physical injuries. And with the addition of the crushing gravity, it was truly a double dose of "pleasure"!

As he desperately held on, the Phoenix Essence Blood inside him began to repair his body. In truth, it had been repairing him from the very beginning; it was just that the rate of regeneration couldn’t keep up with the rate of destruction. But at least this constant state of recovery was what kept him from being utterly consumed.

Simultaneously, the Yulan Pearl within him emitted the Yulan Sacred Fire, desperately protecting his vital organs from being consumed by the Flame. From the very beginning, he had wanted to use the Yulan Pearl to resist the terrifying lava, but the amount of Yulan Sacred Fire the pearl could release was limited—or rather, his own Elemental Power was limited.

At most, he could only freeze a small patch of lava; he didn’t have the power for anything more. Since he couldn’t freeze all the lava, he decided to let it engulf him, planning to rely on his internal Phoenix Essence Blood and the Phoenix Soul to resist. A Phoenix is immune to Flame, and he had wanted to use that principle to survive.

Who would have known the lava’s temperature would still exceed his imagination? Even with the Phoenix Power, he could hardly resist it; after all, he wasn’t a true Phoenix. Fortunately, he had the protection of the Yulan Pearl, which guarded his insides. The surface of his body, however, was burned horribly, charring him to a crisp once again.

At least he was still alive, continuously drawing upon the Phoenix Essence Blood within him, pushing it to its absolute limit!

His current state was a repeating cycle: being incinerated, then healed, then incinerated, then healed again... It was a constant, unending cycle of agony.

As Lin Xuan endured this horrific pain and immense gravity, both his Cultivation and his physical body began to improve at a frantic pace. The breakthroughs in his physique were especially astonishing, advancing by leaps and bounds. He was constantly adapting to the terrifying temperature, which in turn was tempering not only his body, but also his Willpower.

The rate of his improvement was astonishing, but the price he was paying was even more so; this trial truly flirted with death. The situation was similar to when he absorbed the Yulan Pearl—both required an enormous sacrifice. This time, however, it hadn’t been his choice.

If he had known what this place was like, he would have never chosen to enter. He would have picked a different Cultivation Room, just to be safe.

Such was the situation inside the Cultivation Chamber. Outside, however, things were entirely different.