23: Chapter 23 Clash of the Two Rings, Fusion of Ice and Fiery Power

The Evil Qi in his left arm was like maggots on a bone, while the chill from the Ice Eye pierced his marrow and bones.

The bone ring was deep blue, while the ancient ring was dark red.

Two rings: one came from the Inner Chamber of an ancient Cultivator and drew upon the cold power of the Ice Eye; the other was obtained from the legacy of a Senior and was currently devouring and refining terrifying Evil Qi.

Both were unfathomably mysterious, and both were crucial to Lin Ye's life and death at this moment.

Communicate with the bone ring alone? The risks were unknown, and there might not be enough time.

Refine the Evil Qi with all his might? His left arm was on the verge of collapse, and although the cold power of the Ice Eye helped, it was like trying to put out a burning cart of firewood with a single cup of water.

Perhaps by letting them make contact, by letting these two forces—which were of the same origin (both related to the Xuanyuan Cave Abode) yet contradictory (Ice and Evil)—collide and fuse on their own, he could blast out a glimmer of survival amidst the extreme conflict!

This was a gamble: a gamble that there was some deep connection between them, a gamble on his own intuition, and even more so, a gamble on a shred of Luck in this desperate situation!

A flash of determination crossed Lin Ye's eyes.

He no longer hesitated, and with his right hand, which was frozen to the point of near-insensibility, he slowly fished the bone ring out from the deep blue vortex of the Ice Eye.

Then, he slowly moved it toward the ancient ring on his left hand, where dark red patterns were spreading, intertwining heat and cold.

Before the two rings even touched, strange phenomena had already begun!

The deep blue light emitted by the bone ring suddenly became bright and sharp, as if it had been provoked.

And the flickering silver-white and dark red on the ancient ring also instantly became restless, especially those dark red Evil Qi patterns, which, like enraged vipers, suddenly expanded and twisted, emitting an even more violent aura.

The temperature of the Ice Eye pool water dropped sharply, centered on the two rings, and the surface of the water even began to form fine ice crystals.

On the shore, the three Ice Crystal Snakes hissed uneasily and shrank back, seemingly sensing that some higher-level power, which they instinctively feared, was awakening.

Lin Ye held his breath, enduring the completely opposite yet equally agonizing sensations from his arms (his left arm interwoven with burning pain and cold, his right arm frozen stiff), and gently touched the two rings together.

Ding—

An extremely faint, yet crisp sound that seemed to strike directly at his Soul!

Centered on the point of contact between the two rings, a visible shockwave exploded outward!

It was not a physical impact, but a collision of "Concept" and "energy attributes"!

The deep blue icy radiance and the dark red, ferocious Evil Qi, like two evil Dragons, instantly intertwined!

Ice and Evil, extreme cold and violence, eroded and annihilated each other, yet weirdly attempted to fuse!

Lin Ye bore the brunt of it!

He felt as if his Soul had been torn in two; one half was frozen in an eternal ice cavern, his thoughts solidified, while the other half was thrown into a purgatorial sea of fire, burning crazily.

His left arm had become a gruesome battlefield, where ice-blue and dark red lights flickered alternately, and the veins under his skin twisted and bulged like earthworms, at times covered in frost, at times burning black.

"Ah—!" He could not help but let out a painfully suppressed roar, sinking to the bottom of the Ice Eye pool, only to be tossed up by the turbulence created by the collision of the two forces.

However, amidst this extreme pain and chaos, some fragmented images and thoughts were forcibly poured into his mind through the gap created by the collision of the two rings!

Image one: A Cultivator in green robes with a blurred face (Master Xuanyuan?), holding that pitch-black evil sword, fought a heaven-covering demonic shadow above the Nine Heavens. The sword light slashed down stars, ultimately sealing the demonic shadow within the evil sword, though the Cultivator himself was heavily injured, and the sword body was covered in dark red cracks.

Image two: The green-robed Cultivator returned heavily injured, opened up this Immortal Cave, channeled the "mystic yin true water" vein, and set up the "Eight Extremes Spirit-Locking Array," using the extreme yin and cold power of the true water, combined with his remaining cultivation, to suppress and wear down the demonic shadow's remnant Soul within the evil sword.

He also refined two rings: one called "bone ring" (bone ring?), which served as the deputy key to the Immortal Cave's hub and could mobilize part of the array's power; the other called "ancient ring yuan sha" (Ancient Ring?), used to absorb and convert the Evil Qi leaking from the sword to avoid contaminating the Immortal Cave.

Image three: Several years later, the green-robed Cultivator passed away on a high platform in the Inner Chamber, embracing the evil sword, using his own body as the final Seal.

Of the two rings, one (bone ring) was left by his side, while the other (Ancient Ring) was bestowed upon his most trusted Disciple (Outer Sect Deacon Zhou Yuan?), instructing him to guard the Immortal Cave and search for a method to completely Purify the evil sword.

Image four: Betrayal! A Disciple in black (with a blurred face and cold aura) took advantage of Outer Sect Deacon Zhou Yuan being away to sneak into the Inner Chamber, steal the "bone ring" master ring (or perhaps causing it to be damaged?), and attempt to destroy the array, release the evil sword, and seize the power of the demonic shadow within (or perhaps trade with the demonic shadow?).

Outer Sect Deacon Zhou Yuan rushed back, engaged in a fierce battle with him, was heavily injured, and escaped into an underground river, leaving behind a Jade Slip as a warning.

The Inner Chamber array was damaged as a result, and the Seal on the evil sword loosened...

The amount of information was too vast and too fragmented!

But Lin Ye instantly understood a great deal!

The ancient ring yuan sha was originally refined by Master Xuanyuan to absorb and convert the Evil Qi leaking from the evil sword!

No wonder it was so thirsty for Evil Qi!

And the bone ring "bone ring" (suspected) was the deputy key for controlling parts of the Immortal Cave's Restrictions, connected to the mystic yin true water vein!

The two rings were originally two sides of the same whole, complementing each other!

And now, the ancient ring (ancient ring) had absorbed terrifying Evil Qi far exceeding its current state (from the Sword Qi that erupted after the Seal loosened), and it was on the verge of losing control.

Although the bone ring (bone ring) was damaged, as a deputy key, it instinctively drew upon the cold power of the Ice Eye (a branch of the true water), not only to counter the rampage of the Ancient Ring but also attempting to... repair? Or re-establish a connection?

"Use bone ring... draw true water... aid ancient ring... suppress..." A fragmented thought flashed by.

Lin Ye had a sudden flash of insight!

He no longer resisted the collision of the two forces; instead, using his last shred of clarity, he forcibly circulated the Ice Soul Sword Art, guiding the cold power of the Ice Eye and the deep blue light of the bone ring to one place—not to attack the ancient ring, but to wrap around and permeate the ancient ring, especially those rampant dark red Evil Qi patterns!

At the same time, he actively relaxed some of his suppression on the ancient ring, guiding the Evil Qi that had been partially devoured and refined (the relatively milder part) to flow back toward the bone ring, as if building a cycle!

Ice-blue and dark red were no longer just simply opposing each other; under the guidance of Lin Ye as the "intermediary" and the shared origin attributes of the two rings themselves, they began to slowly and arduously... fuse and cycle!

The ancient ring (ancient ring) absorbed Evil Qi and converted a portion, while the overflow of violent Evil Qi was neutralized and Purified by the true water's cold power drawn by the bone ring (bone ring). The Purified, mild energy then fed back into the ancient ring, helping it better refine the core Evil Qi...

A rudimentary, fragile, yet real balance was slowly being established within the Ice Eye, between the two rings, and within Lin Ye's body, which was on the verge of collapse.

The hideous, spreading dark red patterns on his left arm stopped expanding and, under the permeation of the ice-blue radiance, began to shrink and fade little by little.

The light of the ancient ring (ancient ring) gradually stabilized; the dark red faded for the most part, and silver-white regained dominance, becoming more restrained and profound. The cloud patterns on the ring's surface seemed more complex and mysterious, and the edges now had a faint hint of ice-blue trim.

The deep blue light of the bone ring (bone ring) was no longer sharp and overbearing, but became warm, profound, and more closely connected to the cold power of the Ice Eye, as if it had become a node for the circulation of cold power in this small world.

And Lin Ye, as the core and bridge of this balance, bore the greatest pressure and also gained unexpected benefits.

Under the repeated washing of Ice and Evil, his Mystic Jade Body was passively driven to its limit, and his Physique became stronger through destruction and repair; his Meridians were widened, and his spiritual power became more condensed and pure; more importantly, his control over ice-attribute spiritual power and his understanding of the special energy of "Evil" reached a whole new level.

On the shore of the Ice Eye, the three Ice Crystal Snakes had long since retreated into the ice layer, shivering and not daring to show their heads.

In the pool water, Lin Ye slowly surfaced and sat cross-legged in the freezing water.

The Evil Qi patterns on his left arm had retreated to his wrist, their color as faint as a red mark.

The ancient ring (ancient ring) on his left index finger and the bone ring (bone ring) held in his right hand responded to each other from a distance of a foot, their ice-blue and silver-white radiance intertwining to form a tiny energy vortex, rotating slowly.

He opened his eyes, and deep within his pupils, a glint of silver light and ice-blue color flashed alternately.

Second Level of Qi Refining Peak!

Only one step away from the third level!

Both the Ice Soul Sword Art and the Mystic Jade Body had advanced!

He had also gained two rings with infinite potential that were connected to each other, as well as a large amount of key information about this place, about the evil sword, and about the conspiracy of Chen Mo (or the Yinkui Sect)!

However, the crisis had not been completely resolved.

The Evil Qi remaining in his left arm had not been eradicated; it was only temporarily balanced and suppressed.

The cycle of the two rings was also extremely fragile and required him to maintain it continuously.

And in the Inner Chamber, that disturbed evil sword, and the collapse of the Seal which might accelerate because of this...

The Xuanyuan Cave Abode had become the eye of the storm.