The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

"Alright, give us the mission."

The middle-aged man at the counter glanced indifferently at Brother Fei, handed him the blood-red card, and said apathetically, "This is a mission that even Thousand Faces failed. Good luck."

"Hmph, just some bitch who relies on a Disguise Skill. How can they compare to me?" the large man snorted, his eyes flashing with a savage light as he stared at the blood-red card in Brother Fei’s hand.

"Heh, how about I hold onto this mission card for now?"

The large man sneered, "Fine! But if you dare try any tricks, I’ll rip your head off and kick it around like a ball."

After discussing for a while, the three of them left the Crimson Wine Tavern.

The middle-aged man murmured, ’Poison Young Master, Brother Fei, and Bao Xiong... all three are high-level assassins from the Black Market. The three of them together would be a headache even for Thousand Faces. Qin Ya, how will you handle this?’

Meanwhile, Qin Ya, inside Ningxiang Pavilion, was completely unaware of what had just happened at the Crimson Wine Tavern. He was in a quiet chamber, gazing at the Exquisite Jade in his hand, which was emitting faint wisps of coolness.

A speck of purple fire leaped from his fingertip and enveloped the entire Exquisite Jade. The extreme heat instantly caused the supposedly indestructible Exquisite Jade to show signs of melting. One hour later...

The fist-sized Exquisite Jade had shrunk by half, and Qin Ya was now drenched in sweat. He discovered that the more it melted, the more a powerful, cold qi emerged, penetrating the barrier of the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame and spreading throughout the quiet chamber. Layers of frost had already formed on the ceiling. Qin Ya murmured, ’It seems to be a Cold Attribute wonder.’

Strangely enough, instead of weakening the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame, this cold qi was actually strengthening it. Qin Ya’s mind raced, and in an instant, he understood the profound principle behind it. He whispered, ’Ice and Fire are fundamentally opposed, but Yin and Yang resist yet depend on each other. As the saying goes, a lone yang cannot produce, and a lone yin cannot grow. Although only the Fire Seed of the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame remains, it is an incredibly powerful Exotic Fire. Now, under the pressure of this cold qi, its growth has actually been stimulated. How fascinating.’

A flicker of joy passed through Qin Ya’s eyes. ’Pressure creates motivation, as they say. That’s the relationship between the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame and this cold qi. This has undoubtedly shown me a way to rapidly strengthen the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame.’

Suddenly, Qin Ya’s eyes lit up. "If the cold qi is stronger than the current Purple Lotus Celestial Flame, it can suppress it. Then, by using that power, I can merge with the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame!"

At this thought, Qin Ya gazed at the continuously melting Exquisite Jade in his hand, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. He couldn’t help but accelerate the melting process. Soon, another hour and a half had passed...

By now, the Exquisite Jade was only the size of a pinky finger, and Qin Ya’s eyebrows and hair were covered in a layer of white frost. Outside the quiet chamber, Leng Ningshuang and Qin Yuxiang paced back and forth, their faces etched with worry.

"This cold qi is so powerful. Even with my current cultivation and the Frost Great Trend I recently comprehended, I couldn’t achieve something like this." Leng Ningshuang was not only worried but also a little surprised. She possessed the Profound Yin Bloodline and cultivated the Cold Ice Hell Secret Scripture; her own cold qi was strong enough to harm someone at the Earth Element Realm, yet the cold qi from within the chamber was even stronger.

"I don’t know what Xiaoya is doing in there. He told us not to go in no matter what happens. He really knows how to make people worry."

Just as the two women were worrying, with a CREAK, a layer of frost fell from the door as it suddenly opened. They saw Qin Ya, his face pale, but with an unconcealable joy in his eyes.

"Brother Qin, are you okay?"

"Xiaoya..."

Looking at the two women, Qin Ya gave a faint smile. "I’m fine. Sorry to make you worry." After explaining things to them, Qin Ya hurried out, found Huaa Que, and requested a large quantity of medicinal ingredients.

One day later, Qin Ya held twenty-four Fifth-Grade Elixirs in his hand.

"Aunt, Ningshuang, I need to go into seclusion for about a month. You two need to take good care of yourselves during this time."

Qin Yuxiang said with a smile, "Xiaoya, go into seclusion with peace of mind. We’ll take good care of ourselves, you don’t need to worry."

This was Mingxin Academy, with Huaa Que watching over it, so Qin Ya was relieved. He then found a cave near Ningxiang Pavilion.

Inside the dark cave, a speck of fire suddenly appeared. Qin Ya smiled faintly as he looked at the slightly enhanced Purple Lotus Celestial Flame. He then took out an irregularly shaped, light-blue stone the size of his pinky finger. In an instant, a burst of cold qi erupted, and a layer of ice crystals formed throughout the entire cave.

"Cold Crystal Ice Marrow. Good stuff."

A smile flashed in Qin Ya’s eyes. This Cold Crystal Ice Marrow was the wonder from within the Exquisite Jade. Born in a place of extreme cold, it takes over a thousand years to form. The cold qi it contains is so powerful that it can be considered one of the world’s most formidable Cold Attribute wonders.

Its cold qi is extremely potent. Even a Martial Artist couldn’t withstand being near it for long periods. ’That must be why it was sealed inside the Exquisite Jade—to use the jade to insulate its cold qi.’

He placed the Cold Crystal Ice Marrow on the ground and took out a bottle of Fifth-Grade Elixirs: Yuan-Consolidating Pills. This was an elixir that Qin Ya had specially developed to promote the fusion of the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame with his own True Essence.

Taking a deep breath, Qin Ya sat cross-legged in the cave. As his True Essence circulated, a bewitching purple Fire Lotus bloomed in his palm.

’Whether I can merge with the Fire Seed or not... it all comes down to this!’

He closed his eyes slightly and took another deep breath. The Purple Lotus Celestial Flame then transformed into streams of purple energy that drilled into Qin Ya’s body through his acupoints.

The instant the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame entered his body, a pain that felt as if it would burn him to ashes consumed Qin Ya. He was very familiar with this sensation; it appeared every time he used his Purple Flame Body. Immediately, his hair, eyebrows, and pupils were all shrouded in a layer of purple halo, making him look like a purple man.

Qin Ya gritted his teeth and placed the Cold Crystal Ice Marrow in his palm. With a single thought, a terrifying cold qi instantly surged into his body. As if threatened, the power of the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame flared up dramatically.

An even more intense pain swept over him, as if his entire body had been thrown into a furnace. Every part, every cell, felt like it was being torn apart. This agony was ten, even a hundred times worse than death by a thousand cuts. At that moment, the Cold Crystal Ice Marrow in his palm erupted with a brilliant blue light.

Inside the crimson world of his body, meridians crisscrossed in a complex network, and blood flowed like great rivers. A mass of purple mist and a mass of blue mist were entangled, clashing like two peerless Extraordinary Martial Artists. Wherever they passed, the sea of blood churned violently.

Soon, the light-blue mist enveloped the purple mist. With a thought from Qin Ya, his milky-white True Essence surged, slowly moving the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame toward his dantian’s Qi Sea...

Above the Qi Sea, mists churned.

Suddenly, the mass of light-blue mist, enveloping the Purple Flame, arrived. Like a rainbow streak of light, it instantly plunged into the Qi Sea. In that moment, it was as if a Fire Dragon had surged into the Qi Sea, causing the entire True Essence Qi Sea to boil.