221: Chapter 220 Reunion

The entrance to the Ice Fire Two Energies Valley was hidden within a secret canyon at the boundary between Red Fire Peak and Heavenly Sword Peak.

Jiang Hanzhou stood before the canyon entrance, holding the Secret Realm Token gifted to him by Master Xue Mu.

The token was translucent and warm to the touch, with complex Formation patterns engraved on its surface where faint red and blue lights slowly flowed.

He took a deep breath and pressed the token against the stone wall of the canyon entrance.

The stone wall shook violently!

On the rock surfaces that were originally smooth as mirrors, countless fine cracks suddenly emerged.

The cracks were red and blue, winding like snakes and spreading in all directions, eventually forming a whirlpool over a zhang high in the center of the stone wall.

As the whirlpool spun, two diametrically opposed auras—icy cold and blazing hot—surged out, intertwining and wrapping around him.

Jiang Hanzhou's brow twitched slightly.

In that aura, the icy intent was bone-chilling and the blazing intent was skin-scorching; the two forces were like two giant pythons madly biting and colliding around him, with every collision sending countless fine sparks and ice crystals splashing in all directions.

He raised his right hand and gently touched that aura.

The moment he touched it—

On his left side, a thin layer of frost spread up along his fingers; everywhere it passed, his flesh felt a slight stinging pain.

On his right side, a wisp of crimson flame ignited from his palm—this was the automatic protection of the Pure Yang True Intent, isolating the blazing heat.

Ice and fire manifested on his body simultaneously.

He looked down at his hands and fell silent for a moment.

Then, he took a step forward and entered the whirlpool.

The world before his eyes changed instantly.

This was a long, narrow valley.

The length of the valley was unknown, but it was about a hundred zhang wide, with towering cliffs on both sides that were smooth as mirrors, shimmering with faint red and blue light in the darkness.

A thick mist filled the valley.

The mist was extremely eerie—the left side was crimson as fire, emitting blazing heatwaves as it billowed, while the right side was deep blue as ice, emitting bone-chilling cold as it flowed.

The two colors of mist intertwined, collided, and tangled in the valley, forming a clear dividing line that split the entire valley in two.

On the left, fire baleful energy permeated.

On the right, it was bone-chillingly cold.

Jiang Hanzhou stood on the dividing line, feeling the impact of the two diametrically opposed forces surging simultaneously.

The left side of his body was scorched by the fire baleful energy, his skin turning slightly red.

The right side of his body was eroded by the icy cold, with a thin layer of frost condensing on his skin.

Ice and fire were applied to his body at the same time.

It felt as if half of his body was suffering in lava while the other half was freezing in an ice cave. The two extreme sensations flooded into his Sea of Consciousness simultaneously, making his Divine Soul tremble slightly.

But he did not retreat.

He simply took a deep breath and circulated the Li Huo Golden Body Art.

Inside his body, the dark-golden Lihuo True Flame surged from his Blood Core, flowing madly along his Meridians and into the left side of his body. Those fire baleful forces were attracted by the Lihuo True Flame and surged into his body like moths to a flame, undergoing Fusion, assimilation, and growth with his own flames.

At the same time, he also activated his Tidal True Intent.

The long, water-like Tidal True Intent surged from his Dantian and flowed along his Meridians into the right side of his body. That bone-chilling cold was neutralized and channeled layer by layer by the Tidal True Intent, like a stream flowing into a river, merging into his True Intent.

Ice and fire reached a temporary balance within his body.

Although that balance was extremely fragile and unstable, liable to be broken at any moment, it did indeed exist.

Jiang Hanzhou opened his eyes, a sharp light flashing within them.

"It's feasible..."

He murmured in a low voice and set off toward the depths of the valley.

The mist on both sides grew thicker, and the collision between the ice and fire Qi became increasingly violent.

With every collision, countless fine sparks and ice crystals splashed in all directions, hitting him and leaving fine burn marks and frost marks.

As soon as those burn and frost marks appeared, they were smoothed over by the Lihuo True Flame and Tidal True Intent.

He moved forward step by step like that, carefully perceiving the changes in the two forces within the intertwining of ice and fire Qi.

After walking about three hundred zhang, he stopped.

Ahead, a massive ice and fire lake appeared.

The lake's surface was a hundred zhang across and circular. On the left half, the lake water was boiling, with crimson lava churning in the lake and emitting blazing heatwaves. On the right half, the lake water was frozen into ice, with undercurrents faintly visible beneath the deep blue ice layer.

Ice and fire intertwined in the lake, yet they did not erode each other, instead forming an eerie balance.

In the center of the lake stood a giant rock ten zhang tall.

The giant rock was translucent, half crimson as blood and half deep blue as ice, casting an eerie reflection on the lake's surface.

Jiang Hanzhou stared at the giant rock, his pupils shrinking slightly.

He could sense that the giant rock contained extremely dense ice and fire power—it was the core of the Ice Fire Two Energies Valley and a cultivation treasure land that countless Inner Sect Disciples dreamed of.

But at this moment, a figure was already sitting cross-legged in front of the giant rock.

It was a woman.

She wore the mysterious black martial attire unique to Black Tortoise Peak, with a green-edged longsword hanging at her waist. A faint blue light swirled around her, containing both icy intent and the power of the water element; the two forces intertwined to form a thin water-blue halo around her.

Teng Yuzhi.

Sensing someone approaching, she opened her eyes and turned her head.

When those cold eyes fell upon Jiang Hanzhou, she was slightly stunned, and then a flash of complex light passed through them.

"Jiang Hanzhou?"

Jiang Hanzhou nodded and walked to the lakeside, stopping three zhang away from her side.

"Junior Sister Teng."

Teng Yuzhi looked at him, fell silent for a moment, and said slowly:

"How did you end up here?"

"Master sent me here," Jiang Hanzhou answered truthfully. "He said this place could help me reconcile my True Intent conflicts."

Teng Yuzhi nodded, withdrew her gaze, and looked back at the giant rock in the lake.

"Elder Xue was right." Her voice was as calm as water. "The Ice Fire Two Energies Valley is indeed the best place to reconcile water and fire True Intents. I came here to temper my ice-type True Intent as well."

Jiang Hanzhou looked at her and suddenly asked:

"Is Senior Sister Teng's True Intent ice?"

Teng Yuzhi shook her head.

"No," she said indifferently. "I practice the 'Black Tortoise True Scripture,' which is based on the water element and supplemented by the ice element. Ice and water are originally from the same source, just in different forms. I came here to use the pressure of the ice and fire collision to temper my water-element True Intent to be purer."

She paused, then turned to look at Jiang Hanzhou:

"As for you—I heard from my Master that you possess four True Intents: Tide, Pure Yang, Metal Sharpness, and Heavenly Fire. Water and fire in one body, metal and fire fused; this path is much harder to walk than mine."

Jiang Hanzhou remained silent for a moment and then said slowly:

"Even if it's hard, I must walk it."

Teng Yuzhi looked at him, and a strange light flashed in those cold eyes.

Then, she gave a faint smile.

The smile was so faint it was almost invisible, but it indeed existed.