"..." "He was actually taken as a disciple by the Fifth Elder and Master Tianxin. How come I didn't have such good luck?" "Strange, isn't his cultivation based on Wood Spirit Power? Doesn't refining spirit medicine always require Fire Spirit Power?" "Heh heh, maybe he’s the illegitimate son of the Fifth Elder or Master Tianxin...

Don't dismiss it; I have a basis for this. Look, Nie Kong was brought back to the Nie family by his father after birth, and his mother has never appeared in the Nie family. Perhaps she is..." "Shh, keep your voice down, don't let him hear.

He is now the disciple of two Fifth Grade Spirit Alchemists. If you manage to anger him, you won't even need the Fifth Elder or Master Tianxin to say anything; just a word in the Alchemy Hall, and you might end up only receiving low-quality spirit medicine from now on." "That's true, but I can't keep my mouth shut." "..." When Nie Kong re-entered the Ice-Flame Cave, the murmuring Nie family members resting there looked at him with eyes that had shifted again. Their previous looks of sympathy, pity, schadenfreude, and disdain had transformed into envy, jealousy, astonishment, doubt...

and even a touch of awe. This was only natural. The vast majority of spirit medicine consumed by the Nie family members was refined by the Alchemy Hall.

As the disciple of the Fifth Elder and Lian Tianxin, Nie Kong would undoubtedly possess considerable influence. If one were to offend Nie Kong, they likely wouldn't receive anything good when claiming the spirit medicine needed for their cultivation. Although they would certainly receive the medicine, the integration efficiency of the medicinal power was another matter entirely.

Nie Kong wasn't so concerned. Hearing someone speculate that he might be the illegitimate son of Nie Xingyun or Lian Tianxin only made him inwardly amused. They didn't know about his mutated spirit power, so it was only human nature for them to conceive such an idea upon seeing two Fifth Grade Spirit Alchemists take him as a disciple.

The voices behind him grew weaker, and Nie Kong entered the cultivation area. In the first section of the Ice-Flame Cave, Stone Chamber Number Eighty-Eight was already marked with a red plaque. The first half still had several rooms displaying black plaques.

While the chambers near the exit had ample spirit energy sufficient for ordinary cultivation, they clearly did not meet Nie Kong's standards. Currently, the Fire Spirit Power elements fused within Nie Kong's Wood Spirit Power demanded cultivation in an environment where Fire Spirit Power was significantly more vigorous to achieve the best results. Approaching the prominent red line marking the boundary between the first and second sections of the Ice-Flame Cave, Nie Kong hesitated slightly.

Surely, the heat in this second section couldn't surpass the intensity he endured in the Hall of Life and Death that day? With a decisive thought, Nie Kong made up his mind and stepped across the red line. Upon entering, Nie Kong immediately felt a distinct difference.

In this second section, although cold and heat still intermingled, the trend of the water and fire being mutually exclusive on the left and right sides became much more pronounced. Nie Kong only stood in the exact center of the passage for a moment before feeling his left side growing cold and his right side growing hot. The warmth mixing in from the left and the chill circulating to the right provided almost no moderating effect.

Nie Kong knew this was due to his low cultivation level, which made him perceive the clear separation of cold and heat so acutely. If his cultivation had reached the Spirit Fusion Realm, perhaps he would have felt as if he were basking in a spring breeze, just like in the first section. Therefore, Nie Kong quickly moved to the right side of the Ice-Flame Cave.

The chill instantly vanished, and Nie Kong felt much more comfortable. As he continued to move forward, beads of sweat began to emerge from the pores on his body surface, and his skin started to flush red. The feeling of being scorched grew more intense.

After advancing barely ten meters, Nie Kong felt his entire body burning. Nie Kong swiftly circulated his spirit power, managing to dispel a portion of that violent burning sensation. After moving forward a short distance more, he spotted Stone Chamber Number Twelve bearing a black plaque.

Nie Kong hurriedly pushed the door open and flashed inside. He swiftly replaced the black plaque with a red one and rapidly sat down cross-legged, commencing the circulation of the Wood Sun True Spirit Art. "Boom!" The Fire Spirit Power elements in the second section of the Ice-Flame Cave were extraordinarily fierce.

With just a flicker of Nie Kong's thought, they surged into his body alongside the Wood Spirit Power elements. In that instant, his body shuddered violently, and almost all his internal meridians erupted with an intense, searing heat. Fortunately, Nie Kong had mentally prepared for this sudden situation and was not thrown into a panic by the massive influx of Fire Spirit Power elements.

He let out a breath as hot as fire, enduring the pain within his meridians, and quietly focused his mind, continuing to circulate the Spirit Art. Gradually, the pain subsided, but the activity level of the spirit power did not diminish. Time flowed slowly.

Nie Kong continuously refined the spirit power elements. The Wood Spirit Power within him grew stronger, and the fused Fire Spirit Power elements increased in number. After an unknown period, the Wood Spirit Power seemed to approach saturation, and the speed at which it absorbed and fused with the Fire Spirit Power elements began to slow down.

Before long, Nie Kong's three Spirit God apertures had accumulated a large quantity of Fire Spirit Power elements. A potent searing heat blossomed from within outwards, quickly merging with the external scorching heat. Nie Kong felt as if his body had been placed inside a blazing furnace, and he decisively halted his cultivation.

"The second section of the Ice-Flame Cave is this intense. If I were to enter the fourth section, which is suitable for experts above the Spirit Controlling Realm, I would likely turn to ash the moment I stepped inside." Looking at his clothes soaked through with sweat, Nie Kong sighed internally, then left the chamber. He quickened his pace back to the first section, feeling the gentle, mingled cool and hot breath swirling around him.

Nie Kong's body temperature slowly dropped, and his steps became measured and unhurried... ... "Huh?

Isn't that Nie Kong?" In Stone Chamber Number Eighty-Eight, Nie Qing'an, who had just opened his door, spotted the figure ahead and couldn't help but feel a surge of smugness. "You little brat, you took my room last time; now you have nowhere to cultivate... Wait, no, look at him, drenched in sweat—how does it look like he just finished cultivating?" Nie Qing'an was somewhat stunned.

He glanced at the nearby rooms; without exception, they all bore red plaques. There were no empty chambers here, so where did he cultivate? The second section?

Nie Qing'an's face suddenly froze. After a long pause, he let out a wry laugh. How could that be possible?

How could someone at the first stage of Spirit Manifestation enter the second section? I must be mistaken! I definitely must be mistaken!

Seeing Nie Kong's back disappear past the entrance, a restless urge suddenly stirred in Nie Qing'an's heart. I am already at the ninth stage of Spirit Manifestation; checking out the second section shouldn't be an issue, right? Thinking this, Nie Qing'an inexplicably stepped out of his chamber and crossed the striking red line several meters away.

Immediately following this, a scream like a pig being slaughtered echoed through the passage of the Ice-Flame Cave— "Ouch, why is it so hot? I'm burning to death!" ... Nie Kong felt a moment of confusion; the voice sounded remarkably familiar, like Nie Qing'an?

Nie Kong didn't have the inclination to check what was happening inside. He soon heard the sounds of the clansmen eating in the resting area outside and suddenly realized it must be around noon. Nie Kong hastened his steps.

He had to get to the Alchemy Hall immediately. After being formally accepted as a disciple yesterday, Nie Xingyun and the Fifth Elder had arranged a schedule for him: Nie Kong would cultivate on his own every morning, and in the afternoon, he was required to follow them to learn alchemy knowledge, alternating between the two masters daily. ...