Upon hearing Gu Yifeng's question, Chi Liancheng chuckled, his expression softening.
"Yan Chaofeng is an upright person. He was misled by treacherous officials when he plotted the rebellion. Otherwise, does the young master think he would have been kept in the Heavenly Prison indefinitely, allowing him to break free of some of his chains and move around on the Stone Island?"
"I made my move just now for two reasons. First, to test the young master's strength and see if I am qualified to receive his guidance. Second, it was because of the methods of Wanyan Valley. Just by exchanging blows, we can sense the quality of spiritual energy and judge whether a person is good or bad."
Chi Liancheng immediately spoke up to explain for Gu Yifeng.
"I see. So, what's next?"
Gu Yifeng asked.
“Naturally, we’ll go to the next level of the Heavenly Prison. Yan Chaofeng is right. In the fourth level of the Heavenly Prison, the old minister and he are the strongest. The other person is insignificant. The old minister has already gathered information about this Heavenly Prison. The next level is a bitterly cold place.”
"This layer is fire, and the next layer is ice."
As Chi Liancheng spoke, the two of them flew to the end of the fourth floor. A spatial vortex slowly came to rest above them. The two of them rushed in and were instantly teleported away from their original location.
When they opened their eyes again, they found themselves on a snowy field, surrounded by a vast expanse of snow, with not a single person in sight.
"General Chi, where are these people being held?"
Gu Yifeng asked.
“Each level of the Heavenly Prison has a different sealing mechanism. In this fifth level of the Heavenly Prison, prisoners must be subjected to ice and snow torture at all times in order to torment them or suppress their cultivation level.”
"According to the list sent by Chief Steward Changfu, the strongest person in this layer is in the north. You will see him when you get there."
After a moment's thought, Chi Liancheng spoke, and the two immediately determined their direction and headed north.
As they went deeper, a light snow began to fall slowly in the already gloomy sky of the fifth level. Gu Yifeng looked up slightly and felt a chill run down his spine after a moment.
In such a small space, snowfall could not be a natural phenomenon; only a sufficiently powerful force of ice could cause such an unusual occurrence.
However, this anomaly did not stop the two from continuing their journey until a blizzard developed around them, at which point they stopped.
Even without Chi Liancheng and his companion actively searching, an iceberg slowly rose from the ground. The mountain was hollowed out, revealing a huge space where a figure sat cross-legged, with only a chain of ice binding his feet.
"Who's disturbing my afternoon nap?"
An old man's low shout rang out, and the figure slowly rose and came to the cave entrance, but due to the chains on his feet, he was unable to leave the cave.
Upon closer inspection, it was an old man dressed in animal skins, with a head of white hair that was disheveled and looked quite messy.
However, before Chi Liancheng and Gu Yifeng could speak, the old man struck out with a palm, his palms unleashing a violent attraction that swept away the blizzard.
As expected, the two were drawn by the attraction and soon arrived at the entrance of the cave, where the old man threw them into the mountain.
"It's the Concentration Realm!"
Chi Liancheng instantly judged the old man's realm. Just from the way he had casually attracted people, it was a unique skill of the Condensation Realm, the use of spatial power.
If it were a common method of attracting with spiritual power, it would at most sweep in the wind and snow, and it would be impossible to easily capture a cultivator. Only spatial magic could have such a method.
However, what put Chi Liancheng at ease was the aura the old man was displaying at this moment. At most, he was at the mid-stage of the Opening Mansion Realm, and with the spatial abilities of the Condensation Realm, he was not entirely invincible.
"Senior Murong! My young master is about to take the imperial examination, and I have come today to seek your guidance. When my young master ascends the throne, he will surely be rewarded with your assistance."
Seeing the old man's unfriendly gaze, Chi Liancheng immediately realized what was going on and quickly spoke up.
"Please forgive me for disturbing you, senior. I am now the Crown Prince of the Great Khan. My father has already set a grand competition for the princes in a month, and the winner will inherit the throne. Therefore, I have come to the Heavenly Prison to learn from the strengths of various schools and to hone my skills."
Gu Yifeng then added that although he was not afraid of the old man and could use the key in his hand to subdue the prisoners in the prison at any time, it was still best to report it first out of courtesy.
The old man, addressed as Murong, simply nodded slightly upon hearing this.
"Very well, I am Murong Hu. The title of Duke Protector of the Nation was bestowed upon me back then. I requested to enter the Heavenly Prison in order to break through my cultivation realm and extend my lifespan. Firstly, it was for cultivation, and secondly, it was to suppress the villains in the Heavenly Prison."
Murong Hu spoke slowly, then looked at Gu Yifeng and scrutinized him. In just a few glances, he gave Gu Yifeng the feeling that he had been seen through.
"Fight it."
Murong Hu pondered for a long time, then pointed a finger, and a huge snowman materialized on the spot. After doing this, he lay down on the snow and closed his eyes to pretend to sleep.
Before Chi Liancheng could say anything more, the snowman nimbly charged out, throwing a punch that sent Gu Yifeng flying ten meters away. Streams of icy spiritual energy condensed, and a beam of light continued to blast towards him.
...
It took Gu Yifeng a whole day to defeat the snowman. Afterwards, he spent his time in the snow cave checking in, cultivating, recovering his spiritual power, and continuing to fight the snowman.
Each time Murong Hu defeats a snowman, he gains one more snowman, while Gu Yifeng becomes increasingly composed when facing snowmen.
"Ding! Congratulations, host, for successfully checking in. It has been detected that the host has checked in for a full thirty days in the Extreme Cold Prison, and has obtained the full check-in reward, the talent of Ice and Fire Fusion."
The system voice came out. This was two days before the old emperor announced the start of the princes' competition. Gu Yifeng slowly opened his eyes, then spread his hands. Snowflakes danced around him and gathered together. His left hand then transformed into a blue ball of light.
On his right hand, a crimson phoenix slowly danced, and a scorching heat spread out from all around.
After pondering for a moment, he suddenly combined the power in his left and right hands. To the astonishment of Chi Liancheng and Murong Hu, the two powers did not clash at all, but slowly merged and then transformed into a purple phoenix, which looked extremely eerie.
Under Gu Yifeng's control, the purple phoenix drifted out of the cave and landed on the snowfield, where it exploded instantly. A pillar of purple fire shot straight into the sky, but there was no heat emanating from it.
Despite the frigid storm, the surrounding snowfields where the pillar of fire stood slowly melted, turning into flowing meltwater.
This is the talent of ice and fire fusion. By fusing two opposing forces together, it not only unleashes more than twice the power, but also perfectly integrates the characteristics of both.
However, for now, the application of this characteristic still needs to be explored and studied, since Gu Yifeng currently only possesses the power of fire, and lacks the power of ice.
Overall, it's a strong trump card.
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