The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

Inside the dark cave, purple and blue lights entwined. The ultimate Flame clashed with the ultimate chill, causing clouds of white steam to rise from Qin Ya’s body and fill the entire cave.

Within his body, an earth-shattering transformation was taking place.

His True Essence Qi Sea boiled as it integrated the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame Seed. The two powers clashed relentlessly. Qin Ya endured pain unimaginable to ordinary people. If not for the Cold Crystal Ice Marrow suppressing the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame, his body would have been torn to pieces long ago.

This was different from using a Secret Technique like the Purple Flame Body. What Qin Ya was doing now was completely merging the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame into his True Essence Qi Sea—the very foundation of a Martial Artist and the source of all True Essence.

True Essence is originally converted from pure Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi and can manifest into all things. Logically, it should also be able to fuse with anything. However, True Essence is too pure—so pure it cannot tolerate the slightest impurity.

This gives it an extreme aversion to foreign substances—the stronger the substance, the greater the aversion. That was why, in his previous life, Qin Ya had never dared to recklessly merge with the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame. He had to settle for the next best thing and create the Secret Skill known as the Purple Flame Body.

But now things were different. The Purple Lotus Celestial Flame was so weakened that only a Fire Seed remained, its power greatly diminished. This gave him a chance—an opportunity to merge with the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame and transform his ordinary True Essence into something unique in all of heaven and earth, a True Essence that would belong to him and him alone.

Inside his Qi Sea, the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame and his True Essence were entangled, each resisting the other. Qin Ya immediately consumed a Fifth-Grade Fusion Pill. The Elixir dissolved in his mouth, transforming into a gentle Medicinal Power that flowed toward his Qi Sea.

The addition of the Medicinal Power acted like a catalyst. The Purple Lotus Celestial Flame and the rampaging True Essence actually showed signs of calming. Without a moment to lose, Qin Ya took another Yuan-Consolidating Pill and began merging his Qi Sea with the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame.

Time slowly passed... 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

In the blink of an eye, half a month went by.

The fusion of his Qi Sea and the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame was proceeding in an orderly fashion.

His True Essence Qi Sea was no longer its previous milky white. It now glowed a faint purple and contained astonishing power. Qin Ya sighed in relief. ’Everything is going according to plan.’

Just then, the Cold Crystal Ice Marrow in his palm suddenly erupted with a burst of blue light and, in the blink of an eye, shot into Qin Ya’s body.

Inside his Qi Sea, just as things were starting to calm down, a blue light rushed in. A sudden mutation occurred, stirring up trouble once more.

"Damn it, what’s going on!"

Qin Ya’s expression changed drastically. Even he, who was always calm, couldn’t help but lose his composure. Merging with the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame was already incredibly dangerous—the slightest misstep would mean a trip to the Netherworld, to say nothing of this sudden mutation.

The cold energy that emerged from the Cold Crystal Ice Marrow was far more powerful than before. When it rushed into his Qi Sea, it actually caused his Qi Sea to momentarily freeze before solidifying at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In an instant, his Qi Sea turned into Ice Crystal!

An intensely biting chill instantly swept through his body; his meridians and even his blood began to freeze. Qin Ya’s mind raced. Clenching his jaw, he swallowed the remaining Yuan-Consolidating Pills.

’I’ll risk it all! If it’s come to this, then I’ll just merge everything into my Qi Sea!’

Merging with the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame was already an incredible feat. Now, with the addition of that terrifying cold energy from the Cold Crystal Ice Marrow, Qin Ya had no idea what fate awaited him.

But he knew one thing: if he couldn’t endure this, he would die!

’I’ve been reborn! I haven’t even reached the pinnacle of Martial Arts, how can I die here? Impossible!’ Qin Ya roared internally. His gradually freezing face twisted into a ferocious mask of defiance.

The Nine Heavens Shocking God Record began operating at full capacity. A thin fissure cracked open in his frozen True Essence Qi Sea, and wisps of purple True Essence seeped out. Perhaps sensing its master’s defiance, or perhaps influenced by the cold energy, the power of the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame suddenly surged, resisting the chill.

Amidst the clash of heat and cold, Qin Ya’s True Essence strengthened at an unprecedented rate, but the situation remained dire.

.........

Outside...

Qin Yuxiang and Leng Ningshuang had been waiting for over half a month. They went to check on the cave where Qin Ya was in seclusion every day. Perhaps because of the cold energy, all the flowers and plants around the cave had withered.

"Sigh, Brother Qin has been in seclusion for over half a month. I wonder when he’ll come out," Leng Ningshuang said, gazing at the cave.

"Don’t worry, Xiaoya knows what he’s doing," Qin Yuxiang said.

Just then, a gray-robed figure slowly approached. The newcomer had the white hair of an old man but the face of a youth; it was none other than the Mansion Master of Mingxin Academy, Huaa Que. Upon seeing Huaa Que, the two women walked over to greet him. Huaa Que stared at the cave and said, "Why isn’t that kid out yet? What in the world is he doing? Don’t tell me he’s breaking through to the Earth Element Realm..."

A strange light flashed in Huaa Que’s eyes. He was astonished, muttering to himself, ’Cold energy... Fire energy... Just what kind of mischief is this kid getting into...’

With Huaa Que’s Cultivation, a single glance was enough to perceive the changes inside the cave, yet he remained puzzled. The energy emanating from within was something that not even someone at the Earth Element Realm could withstand. He simply couldn’t fathom what Qin Ya, who was only at the Spiritual Element Realm, could possibly be doing in there.

BOOM...

Following a loud explosion, a blast of True Essence—a mixture of hot and cold—erupted from the cave, sweeping across an area dozens of yards wide. Seeing this, Huaa Que’s expression changed slightly. With a wave of his sleeve, he instantly teleported the two women hundreds of yards away.

Wherever the True Essence passed, the ground was first scorched to ash by scorching Flame, then instantly covered by a sudden layer of Frost. Heat and cold, coexisting within a single stream of True Essence.

Huaa Que’s face was a mask of astonishment. He wondered aloud, "This True Essence actually possesses both hot and cold properties. Could it be some kind of bloodline?"

As far as Huaa Que knew, the only people whose True Essence could carry its own properties were certain Bloodline Awakeners, such as Leng Ningshuang with her Profound Yin Bloodline.

"Look, Brother Qin is out."

Qin Yuxiang looked, a strange expression on her face. "Is that Xiaoya?! How did he get into such a state? How bizarre."

The three of them looked up and saw a figure slowly walking out. One half of his body was scorched black, the other half covered in Frost. He looked utterly wretched, yet his face was filled with delight as he muttered, "What an unexpected harvest. I never thought something like this could happen."

The two energies, the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame and the Cold Crystal Ice Marrow, had counteracted each other, causing his True Essence to strengthen rapidly and elevate his cultivation to the Realm of Ninth-Grade Spiritual Element Perfection at an almost inconceivable speed.

The Purple Lotus Celestial Flame and the Cold Crystal Ice Marrow had consumed each other, ultimately both merging into his True Essence and imbuing it with both hot and cold properties. Qin Ya smiled faintly. "This True Essence was forged by both the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame and the Cold Crystal Ice Marrow. There is nothing else like it in the world; it is a True Essence that belongs exclusively to me, Qin Ya. I will call it... Cold Flame True Essence."

He extended his right hand, and a purple lotus made of Flame bloomed upon it.

He extended his left hand, and a terrifyingly frigid energy swirled in his palm.

Qin Ya’s True Essence could now switch between the energy forms of the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame and the icy cold of the marrow. Moreover, Qin Ya felt this was only one of its functions. He had just obtained this True Essence and would need some time to adapt to his new power.