Inside the Heavenly Cauldron Suite on the eighty-eighth floor of the Grand Cauldron Tower, the temperature had plummeted to a level where even an ordinary Stage-3 cultivator's blood would freeze solid in seconds.
The white marble walls were covered in a thick, crystalline layer of frosted frost-patterns. Tiny, needle-like ice crystals suspended themselves in mid-air, shimmering like a drifting field of diamonds under the pale ambient light.
At the center of the vast chamber, Li-Wen sat completely motionless before the colossal Sun-Gold Cauldron.
His dark hair was dusted with white frost, and his broad shoulders remained as motionless as a mountain peak. Both of his palms were extended forward, hovering three inches away from the bronze surface of the cauldron.
HUMMM—!
From his hands flowed a continuous, quiet stream of Northern Frost-Flame—an absolute zero spiritual fire that manifested not as scorching orange heat, but as a deep, abyssal-blue luminescence. The bronze cauldron was entirely encased in an icy cocoon three inches thick, vibrating in a soft, resonant frequency that echoed through the heavy stone floor.
Inside the sealed cauldron, a delicate, miraculous alchemy was taking place.
The Grade-5 Snow-Lotus Soul Core, the Three-Hundred-Year Cold-Marrow Jade, and the Spiritual Dew of the High Peaks had completely dissolved. They were not burned into ash, as traditional alchemical methods dictated, but purified through sub-zero compression.
The extreme cold shattered the harsh impurities of the herbs, distilling their essence into a pure, viscous liquid that resembled liquid moonlight mixed with crushed sapphire.
Li-Wen's divine perception was immersed entirely inside the cauldron's core. Every single atom of the medicinal liquid was under his absolute, razor-sharp control.
Now, Li-Wen thought, his eyes snapping open with a sudden, sharp glint of blue starlight. The final fusion.
He flipped his left hand upward, forming an ancient, intricate hand-seal learned from the Ancestral Northern Legacy.
SWISH—!
The Ancestral Northern Rune on his chest flared through his dark coat, casting a magnificent, glowing constellation pattern onto the ceiling of the suite. A surge of spatial-ice energy rushed into the cauldron, forcing the floating liquid essence to collapse inward toward a single, central point.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Inside the icy cocoon, three distinct, thunderous pops rang out in rapid succession—the sound of medicinal condensation!
A blinding, sapphire-blue column of light shot straight out from the top vents of the Sun-Gold Cauldron, slamming into the suite's high-tier isolation array! The air instantly filled with an intoxicating, crystalline aroma—a scent so pure, cool, and invigorating that the slight tiredness in Xiao-Yue's small body dissolved instantly.
Sitting on the distant velvet couch, wrapped comfortably in a thick fur blanket Li-Wen had prepared for her, Xiao-Yue widened her big eyes, staring at the glowing blue pillar of light in absolute awe.
"It smells like sweet snow..." she whispered, holding her lotus lantern close to her chest.
Li-Wen slowly lowered his palms, drawing a deep, long breath. The abyssal-blue frost-fire around his hands extinguished smoothly, vanishing back into his meridians.
CLINK...
The thick ice layer covering the Sun-Gold Cauldron cracked and dissolved into a fine, sparkling mist. The bronze lid lifted on its own, and a single, perfectly spherical pill floated upward, hovering steadily three feet above the cauldron's mouth.
It was the size of a longan fruit, glowing with a deep, inner sapphire radiance. Surrounding its smooth surface were nine distinct, translucent ice-leaf patterns that seemed to flow and move like living water.
The Nine-Leaf Frost-Lotus Stabilizing Pill—a high-grade, flawless Grade-5 pill that had not been successfully refined in the Central Imperial Capital for over two centuries!
Li-Wen reached out his hand, and the glowing pill drifted smoothly into his palm. He stored it inside an ancient, carved cold-jade vial, sealing the top with a small frost-talisman to prevent any medicinal spirit-leakage.
Li-Wen stood up slowly, adjusting his dark coat as he walked across the frozen floor toward the couch.
Xiao-Yue immediately sat up straight, looking up at him with expectant, bright eyes. "Brother Li-Wen! Did you cook the icy flower successfully?"
Li-Wen crouched down before her, his cold face softening slightly. "Yes. The medicine is complete."
He brought out the cold-jade vial, uncorking it gently. A soft, soothing wave of cool air drifted out, settling over Xiao-Yue's warm forehead like a refreshing autumn breeze.
"This medicine will be cold when you swallow it," Li-Wen explained softly, his voice low and steady. "It will feel like eating a piece of winter ice. But it will open and reinforce the locked doors inside your chest, so your Fire-Lotus energy will no longer hurt you."
Xiao-Yue took a deep breath, nodding her head with firm determination. "I am not afraid of the cold! As long as Brother Li-Wen is here, I can eat anything!"
Li-Wen tipped the vial gently, letting the translucent sapphire pill rest in Xiao-Yue's small palm.
Without a moment of hesitation, Xiao-Yue popped the Grade-5 pill into her mouth, swallowing it down with a small gulp.
The moment the Nine-Leaf Frost-Lotus Stabilizing Pill entered her throat, Xiao-Yue's small body shivered.
HUMMM—!
A soft, brilliant sapphire aura erupted from her skin, enveloping her entire frame in a cocoon of translucent ice-light!
Inside her dantian, the volatile, blazing crimson flame of her maturing Fire-Lotus Bloodline immediately surged upward to defend itself against the incoming wave of extreme cold. The chaotic heat attempted to flare outward through her shoulders and chest.
However, before the heat could cause her any pain, the soothing, spatial-ice essence of the Grade-5 pill expanded smoothly throughout her secondary meridians.
Instead of violently suppressing or extinguishing her internal fire, the pill acted as a divine, protective armor lining the inner walls of her veins and blood passages. It broadened her narrow meridians three times over, turning them from fragile clay pipes into wide, unyielding paths of reinforced jade!
The raging river of Fire-Lotus energy flowed through these newly expanded, reinforced pathways with unprecedented smoothness. The locked "doors" inside her upper chest were instantly swept open by the gentle, icy tide, allowing her bloodline energy to complete its first full, harmonious circular cycle through her entire body!
SWISH...
Xiao-Yue's skin gradually returned to its soft, natural tone. The intense heat radiating from her body settled down completely, transforming into a quiet, rich, and perfectly controlled warmth deep within her core.
Xiao-Yue exhaled a small, visible puff of warm mist, her long silver hair ribbons fluttering gently in the breeze.
She opened her eyes, blinking several times. She looked down at her hands, then pressed her small palm against her chest.
"Brother Li-Wen!" she gasped, her face lighting up with pure, unbridled excitement. "The hot, itchy feeling is completely gone! My tummy feels like it's holding a tiny, cozy campfire, but it doesn't burn me at all!"
Li-Wen pressed his thumb lightly against her wrist, checking her internal meridians once more.
Her foundation was completely stabilized. Not only had the danger of a violent backfire been permanently eliminated, but her refined meridians were now wide enough to support her future cultivation without any structural bottlenecks until she reached the high stages of the Martial Sovereign realm.
"You have done very well," Li-Wen said, his hand resting gently on her head. "Your body is now fully prepared."
While peace reigned inside the Heavenly Cauldron Suite, three floors below—in the Grand Cauldron Tower's high-tier private reception hall—a tense, deadly atmosphere was brewing.
Elder Gu stood near the head of a grand mahogany table, his face dark and stern. Sitting across from him were three individuals wearing opulent, blood-red silk robes embroidered with golden dragon-serpent emblems.
These were high-ranking elders from the Crimson-Sun Clan—one of the four supreme aristocratic martial clans that controlled the military forces of the Central Imperial Capital!
The man leading the Crimson-Sun delegation was a middle-aged, sharp-faced elder with crimson hair and eyes like glowing embers—Elder Yan Fire-Demon, a Stage-5 Peak Martial Sovereign whose mere presence caused the air in the room to warp with oppressive heat.
"Elder Gu," Yan Fire-Demon spoke in a harsh, rasping voice that sounded like grinding stones. "Do not play word games with our Crimson-Sun Clan. Our divine grandmaster sensed a sudden, intense fluctuation of ancient Fire-Lotus resonance originating from your tower two hours ago!"
Elder Gu folded his sleeves, his tone indifferent and cold. "Elder Yan, the Grand Cauldron Tower is a neutral zone governed by the Sovereign Merchant Council. Thousands of alchemists refine high-tier fire-attribute medicines here daily. Fluctuations are entirely normal. What right does your Crimson-Sun Clan have to demand a room-by-room search?"
Yan Fire-Demon slammed his palm onto the mahogany table, shattering the thick wood into flying splinters!
BOOM!
"Normal?!" Yan Fire-Demon sneered, his crimson eyes flashing with cold, ruthless malice. "That fluctuation was no ordinary medicinal fire! It was the precise, unique frequency of the Primordial Fire-Lotus Bloodline—a lost ancient bloodline that belongs by rights to our clan's ancestral lineage!"
Yan Fire-Demon stood up, his terrifying Stage-5 aura flaring outward, causing the spiritual lamps in the hall to flicker violently.
"We tracked the signal to your upper floors," Yan Fire-Demon declared coldly. "Our scouts reported that a nameless wanderer carrying a wrapped heavy blade and accompanied by a silver-ribboned young girl entered your tower earlier today. Hand them over immediately, or our Patriarch will personally bring the Imperial Guard to audit the Guild's private vaults!"
Elder Gu's expression darkened instantly. He knew exactly who Yan Fire-Demon was referring to—the mysterious Grandmaster currently resting in the Heavenly Cauldron Suite on the eighty-eighth floor!
"How dare you!" Elder Gu shouted, his five-star alchemist authority flaring up. "Senior Li is an esteemed supreme guest of our Guild! If you dare step foot onto the VIP floors, you are declaring war on the entire Central Pill Guild!"
"Senior Li?" Yan Fire-Demon laughed mockingly, stepping forward aggressively. "A nameless backwoods trash who got lucky on your ancient wall? In the Central Capital, the Pill Guild's alchemy means nothing without our clan's iron blades to back it up! Out of the way, Gu Chang-Sheng!"
Just as Yan Fire-Demon raised his hand, intending to force his way toward the VIP spirit-elevator with his guards—
CREAK...
The silver doors of the VIP elevator opened smoothly on the far side of the reception hall.
The heavy, suffocating aura in the room froze instantly. The blazing heat radiated by Yan Fire-Demon's Stage-5 aura was forcefully crushed back into his body by an invisible, colossal weight that descended from the ceiling!
Two figures walked out of the elevator.
Li-Wen stepped into the hall with calm, unhurried steps, his right hand lightly holding Xiao-Yue's small hand. The wrapped heavy blade on his back rested silently across his spine, radiating an abyssal, silent pressure that made the surrounding stone floor hairline-crack underfoot.
Xiao-Yue walked beside him, her small lotus lantern swinging gently in her left hand. Her big, clear eyes looked curiously at the red-robed elders standing across the room, completely unaffected by the oppressive atmosphere.
The room fell into an immediate, breathless silence.
Yan Fire-Demon turned his head abruptly, his sharp crimson eyes locking onto Xiao-Yue. The moment his gaze touched her body, an ancient bloodline tracking compass inside his sleeve spun violently, pointing directly at her chest!
A look of ravenous, greedy delight erupted across Yan Fire-Demon's face.
"It really is the Fire-Lotus Bloodline!" Yan Fire-Demon cackled, stepping forward with his hand outstretched like a claw, aiming straight for Xiao-Yue! "Little girl, your destiny belongs to the Crimson-Sun Clan! Come here!"
Xiao-Yue didn't flinch. She simply stepped slightly closer behind Li-Wen's leg, hiding her small face against his dark coat.
Li-Wen didn't raise his blade. He didn't even shift his stance.
He merely raised his dark, abyssal eyes, looking at the approaching Stage-5 peak elder with a gaze so terrifyingly cold, so devoid of human emotion, that it felt like looking into the endless, frozen void of the northern sky.
"Touch her," Li-Wen spoke in a low, quiet voice that echoed like thunder inside the soul of every person present. "And I erase your clan from the face of this continent.
See you in next chapter....