22: Chapter 22 The Seizure of the Ring and the Invasion of Evil: Fortune and Misfortune Intertwined

The excruciating pain from his left index finger and the violent absorption process of the ancient ring nearly overwhelmed Lin Ye's sanity.

Yet, his peripheral vision remained locked onto that bone ring rolling in the center of the stone chamber.

It had been shaken out of the Inner Chamber, passing through the small rune hole eroded by the Evil Qi Sword Qi... This object was definitely not simple! It might even be more important than the Evil Qi Sword Qi itself—the Evil Qi was just energy, while this ring could be the key, a token, or a carrier of recorded information!

The ancient ring absorbing Evil Qi was an Opportunity, but the process was long and dangerous. Meanwhile, this bone ring could be lost forever if the Inner Chamber shifted again or if the small rune hole completely healed!

In a flash, Lin Ye made his decision.

He bit the tip of his tongue hard, the intense pain bringing a moment of clarity. Relying on this surge of ruthlessness, he forcibly suppressed the agony in his left hand and the frantic pulling of the ancient ring. Supporting himself with his right hand, he stumbled but moved with incredible speed, rolling towards where the bone ring had fallen!

The distance of five zhang felt like a chasm.

Every movement caused the tearing sensation in his left hand to intensify. The ancient ring seemed to have turned into a red-hot branding iron, or perhaps a bottomless black hole, frantically extracting his Spiritual Qi and blood essence to suppress and refine the Evil Qi Sword Qi. Dark red patterns had already spread to half the back of his hand, bringing with them cold, tyrannical, and destructive madness.

"Cannot pass out! Cannot stop!" Lin Ye roared in his heart, his eyes bloodshot, sustained only by a stubborn will.

Three zhang, two zhang, one zhang!

He lunged to the edge of the stone platform and reached out with his blood-stained right hand!

Got it!

The bone ring felt cold, rough, and had a heavy texture, as if it weren't bone but some kind of metal. The ring was simple in style, without any patterns. But the moment he touched it, Lin Ye's mind buzzed, and he seemed to hear a distant, desolate, and unwilling sigh.

At the same time, information appeared in his field of vision:

[Unknown Bone Ring (Damaged/Sealed)]: Material unknown, seemingly refined from the finger bone of a powerful expert. Contains intense obsession and faint spatial fluctuations. Status: Severely damaged, core Seal. Information missing.

Damaged? Sealed? Finger bone of a powerful expert? Spatial fluctuations?

There was no time to think. Lin Ye gripped the bone ring tightly in his palm and turned to retreat behind the Pill Furnace.

However—

Just as he grabbed the bone ring, at the moment his mind relaxed slightly due to acquiring a new item.

The Evil Qi Sword Qi that was being forcibly absorbed and refined by the ancient ring on his left hand seemed to find a Breakthrough, suddenly erupting with an even more tyrannical and sinister counter-attack!

"Pfft—!"

Lin Ye threw his head back and spat out a mouthful of blood, which actually contained wisps of dark red Evil Qi! His entire body felt as if it had been hit by a heavy blow; he flew backward, slammed hard against the cold stone wall, and slid to the ground.

The dark red patterns on the back of his left hand seemed to come alive, spreading frantically upward. In an instant, they broke past his wrist and began to erode his forearm! Wherever they passed, the veins under his skin bulged, turning a ghastly dark red, bringing piercing, burning pain and... a violent impulse to destroy everything!

The light of the ancient ring itself flickered; the silver-white and pale gold were being suppressed by the dark red, as if it might be completely corrupted by the Evil Qi at any moment!

Evil Qi backlash! And a severe one at that!

Lin Ye's consciousness began to blur, his vision darkening. He felt as if countless vengeful spirits were roaring and howling in his ears, and a mad desire to destroy and slaughter everything welled up from the bottom of his heart.

His right hand tightly clenched that cold bone ring. Its coolness seemed to slightly alleviate the burning pain in his left arm, but that was all.

Cannot pass out! If he passed out, it would be over! He would be completely consumed by the Evil Qi and turn into a monster that only knew how to slaughter!

He used his last bit of strength to sit cross-legged. He pressed the bone ring against his forehead with his right hand (the coldness gave his spirit a jolt), while keeping his left hand stretched out, fully circulating the Ice Soul Sword Art!

Icy Spiritual Qi surged toward his left arm, attempting to freeze and dispel the spreading Evil Qi.

But the icy Spiritual Qi of the Second Level of Qi Refining was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot in the face of this Evil Qi Sword Qi left behind by a Cultivator of at least the Foundation Establishment (or even higher) level; it was instantly eroded and assimilated!

"Suppress... need colder... purer... ice..." A thought flashed through his sinking Sea of Consciousness.

Ice?

mystic yin true water?! That ultimate yin coldness!

But where would he find true water here?!

Wait... Ice Eye! Mysterious Yin Ice Eye! There was pure icy Spiritual Qi there, and cold energy with properties close to true water!

Must... go there!

This thought was like the last straw. Lin Ye erupted with astonishing survival instinct. He thrust his left hand into his robes, grabbed the last few remaining ice soul orchids (including the fruits), stuffed them into his mouth, and chewed them into pieces before swallowing!

The icy medicinal power of the ice soul orchid exploded within his body, slightly slowing the erosion of the Evil Qi.

He struggled to stand up. His left arm was already more than half dark red, hideous and terrifying, trembling uncontrollably. Stumbling, relying on memory and instinct, he rushed toward the stone door on the north side that led to the passage of the Ice Eye!

Pushing open the stone door, he rushed into the passage!

The cold air hit him, jolting his spirit.

He crawled and scrambled, practically throwing himself down the slope at the end of the passage, and plunged headfirst into the freezing cold Mysterious Yin Ice Eye!

Splash!

The dark blue pool water enveloped his entire body.

The ultimate cold instantly permeated every pore, invading his Meridians, bone marrow, and even his Soul!

The Evil Qi rampaging in his left arm, under the impact of this extreme chill from the Mysterious Yin Ice Eye, was like a flame doused with a bucket of ice water; its arrogant momentum was halted!

"It's working!" Lin Ye roared in his heart. He immediately composed his mind, fully circulating the Ice Soul Sword Art, frantically absorbing the incredibly pure icy Spiritual Qi from the Ice Eye, and guiding them like countless ice needles to strike at the Evil Qi in his left arm!

At the same time, he submerged his left hand into the deepest part of the Ice Eye, letting the coldness, which approached that of mystic yin true water, act directly on the ancient ring and his arm.

Ice and Evil Qi engaged in a brutal tug-of-war within his left arm.

Time passed slowly amidst extreme cold and excruciating pain.

On the bank of the Ice Eye, three Ice Crystal Snakes were startled by this "uninvited guest" who had suddenly broken in. They poked their heads out from under the ice layer. Their cold vertical pupils looked suspiciously at the "freak" in the pool—half of whose body was dark red, emitting Evil Qi that they loathed, while the other half was covered in frost, emitting cold energy of the same origin. For a moment, they did not attack immediately, seemingly hesitating.

Lin Ye was completely unaware of this.

All his focus was on resisting the Evil Qi. The medicinal power of the ice soul orchid, the cold energy of the Ice Eye, and the Spiritual Qi of the Ice Soul Sword Art, working in concert, barely managed to curb the spread of the Evil Qi, even forcing the dark red patterns that had reached his elbow back to the vicinity of his wrist.

But the Evil Qi was extremely stubborn and of very high quality; it could only be temporarily suppressed, not eradicated. And his body, under the torture of this ice-and-fire ordeal, was on the verge of collapse.

He had to find a more effective method, or... stronger ice cold energy!

Subconsciously, he submerged the cold bone ring, which he had been holding tightly in his right hand and pressing against his forehead, into the water of the Ice Eye.

The moment the bone ring entered the water—

A strange change occurred!

The previously calm water of the Ice Eye suddenly began to rotate slowly around the bone ring, forming a small vortex!

Deep within the vortex, that pure ice cold energy seemed to be attracted by something, gathering toward the bone ring in wisps!

And the bone ring itself began to emit a faint, deep blue light that was of the same origin as the Ice Eye but even more profound!

The ancient ring on his left hand also seemed to sense something, and the speed at which it absorbed and refined the Evil Qi actually increased slightly!

Lin Ye suddenly opened his bloodshot eyes and looked at the bone ring in his hand, which was floating in the vortex of the Ice Eye, its deep blue light growing increasingly intense.

This thing... could actually trigger the cold energy of the Ice Eye?!

What exactly was it?