Chapter 54: Ice and FireThe ice fire twin lotus's rhizome subtly twisted, and its two massive lotus flowers, like fierce Spirit Beasts awakening from slumber, suddenly unfurled!A crimson flame energy, far more violent than before, erupted from the fire lotus like an explosion, transforming into towering waves of fire that surged towards Dai Youheng and Xiao Bai.The flames were a near-transparent white, with a terrifyingly high temperature—it was the Ultimate Fire!"Hmph!" Xiao Bai snorted coldly, pushing her chubby palm forward. A crystal-clear ice wall, several meters thick, instantly condensed, blocking the path of the fiery waves.While Xiao Bai's ice wasn't quite at the level of Ultimate Ice, it was very close, and she had nearly two hundred thousand more years of cultivation than the ice fire twin lotus.Xiao Bai was named a two-hundred-thousand-year-level Spirit Beast, but in reality, she was approaching three hundred thousand years; however, since she hadn't passed the three-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation, she was still only considered to be at the two-hundred-thousand-year level.Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!Fire and ice collided violently, releasing a large amount of white steam. The ice wall rapidly melted, but Xiao Bai's spirit power was endless, and she barely managed to withstand the first wave of impact.However, just as Xiao Bai prepared to counterattack, a sudden change occurred!The ice-blue lotus flower now also lit up abruptly! A deep, almost cerulean, freezing beam of light, emanating absolute zero coldness, shot out from the center of the ice lotus without warning. The beam's speed was astonishing, instantly bypassing Xiao Bai's ice wall and striking her directly!"What?!" Xiao Bai and Snow Empress exclaimed simultaneously!Xiao Bai could only hastily condense a layer of ice armor to protect herself.Bang!The Ultimate Ice beam violently crashed into Xiao Bai's ice armor, producing a clang like metal striking metal! The ice armor instantly became covered in cracks, and Xiao Bai was knocked staggering backward by the immense impact, her chubby face filled with shock and disbelief!And that wasn't all!The fire lotus spewed again, no longer as scattered fire waves, but condensed into incandescent, scorching fireballs that rained down like a meteor shower! Simultaneously, the ice lotus shot out incredibly swift ice cones and freezing beams of light!Ice and fire, two extreme energies, at this moment, not only did not conflict or cancel each other out, but instead perfectly intertwined and cooperated. The fireballs were responsible for bombardment and suppression, while the ice cones and beams cunningly sought out weaknesses, interfering and delivering fatal blows. Their attack rhythm was seamless, as if controlled by a single, perfect consciousness!For a time, the secret chamber became an inferno of ice and fire! Red and blue lights flashed wildly, and the sounds of explosions and freezing were incessant.Xiao Bai was embroiled in an unprecedented bitter struggle! He roared repeatedly, ice walls, ice shields, and blizzards appearing one after another. He exerted his ice-attribute power to its utmost, but he was in human form, limiting his strength. More terrifyingly, he faced not only the Ultimate Fire, which countered him, but also the equally powerful, and even more violent, Ultimate Ice, which originated from the same source as him!He was completely suppressed, able only to defend passively, and his occasional counterattacks were easily dissolved by the perfect coordination of ice and fire."This... how is this possible?" Snow Empress's thoughts were filled with incredulous shock. "For ten thousand years, I've tried to influence it with Ultimate Ice, but not only did I fail to suppress its fire attribute, instead... instead, it caused its ice attribute to also evolve to the Ultimate realm! It actually achieved the coexistence of dual Ultimate Ice and Fire attributes!"In her understanding, this was an almost impossible feat! Two absolutely opposing forces had achieved perfect balance and fusion within a single plant Spirit Beast!At this moment, the two lotus flowers of the ice fire twin lotus were in full bloom, their petals spread to their limit, like a pair of ice and fire wings—one blazing crimson like the scorching sun, the other deep ice-blue like the polar star in a cold night.They trembled slightly, and immense energy gathered between them. The massive rhizome even lifted slightly off the ground, the two lotus flowers resembling two giant wings of diametrically opposed attributes!The fire wing flapped, scattering blazing flames.The ice wing gently trembled, spewing out destructive cold ice.The pressure and energy intensity it exuded, while perhaps not exceeding the total power of Xiao Bai, a Spirit Beast of high cultivation, nevertheless, the terrifying combat power brought by the perfect coordination of its ultimate ice and fire attributes, for a time, completely suppressed Xiao Bai in his human form.The temperature inside the secret chamber wildly fluctuated between extreme heat and absolute cold. The ice walls were scorched red, then instantly covered in thick frost, repeating in a cycle, emitting groans of unbearable strain.Seeing Xiao Bai struggling under the ice fire twin lotus's unexpected and perfectly coordinated dual Ultimate Ice and Fire attacks, completely suppressed, Dai Youheng's pupils constricted, and he instantly made a decision!He absolutely couldn't delay any longer. Xiao Bai's human form limited his power, and prolonged defense would inevitably lead to defeat! He had to break this unfavorable situation immediately!Without hesitation, he once again raised his right hand. The spirit power within his body surged frantically into his palm at an unprecedented speed. Extreme cold instantly condensed, and the water molecules in the air seemed to be instantly drained. An ice-blue pill suddenly formed, it was the snow soul condensing ice pill!However, continuously condensing two snow soul condensing ice pills was an immense burden for him, a Spirit Ancestor. He had already consumed one to break the seal, and now, condensing another, his spirit power instantly plummeted like a floodgate opening, leaving him with less than a third.His face visibly paled, but his gaze was as sharp as an eagle's."Xiao Bai, catch this, and take this pill!" Dai Youheng shouted, flicking his finger. The condensing ice pill, containing Snow Empress's seven-hundred-thousand-year Ultimate Ice Marrow origin, transformed into an ice-blue stream of light, accurately shooting towards Xiao Bai."Youheng!" Snow Empress's thought praised, "Well done! This pill contains my original ice power. If Xiao Bai takes it, she will temporarily possess Ultimate Ice control at the same level as me, and will also be greatly immune to ice-type damage from the same source!"Xiao Bai, who was being utterly frustrated by the interwoven attacks of ice and fire, heard this and, without hesitation, opened her large mouth and swallowed the flying condensing ice pill in one gulp!The pill melted instantly upon entering her stomach!Boom—!A surge of ultimate cold power suddenly erupted from Xiao Bai's round body.The ice-blue halo around her instantly became incredibly deep and solid, as if transforming into flowing ten-thousand-year profound ice!The cold air it emitted even instantly suppressed the attack from the ice lotus of the ice fire twin lotus, causing the temperature of the entire secret chamber to plummet. Even the scorching fire waves seemed to freeze for a moment!"Roar!!!"Xiao Bai let out a joyous and furious roar. Feeling the unprecedented, almost instinctive, powerful ice-type control within her, as well as a natural affinity and immunity to the incoming ice energy, she no longer hesitated. Her plump body erupted with astonishing speed, disproportionate to her size, and she charged fiercely towards the rampant ice fire twin lotus!This time, she no longer dodged!The Ultimate Ice cones and freezing beams shot from the ice lotus drastically reduced in power by more than half as they approached her body. Some of the ice-attribute energy was even easily assimilated and absorbed by the Ultimate Ice on her body's surface! She only needed to divert a small amount of energy to condense an ice shield to block the weakened ice-type attacks.Her main target was locked onto the fire lotus, which continuously spewed deadly flames!
