The malicious "stress test" conducted by the Dark Gold Consciousness was like a poisonous stone thrown into a calm lake; the ripples may have subsided, but the toxins have quietly settled. Immortal Lord Qingxu clearly realized that their fragile symbiotic system had evolved from an "observation sample" to an "experimental subject." Every future interaction, every cultivation session, could be accompanied by unpredictable interference and trials from higher dimensions.
A sense of crisis, like a persistent boil, dispelled the slight complacency he had felt due to Su Nian's improved condition. He had to grow stronger faster; he had to find a power on this thorny throne strong enough to contend with, or even surpass, the control of the laws.
However, the cultivation of the "Ice Mark Dao Seal" has entered a deep and complex phase. Every increase in power is accompanied by exponentially increasing risks and pain. The faint "activity" and "resilience" originating from Su Nian's soul are like dewdrops falling into an ink-filled sea; they can slightly mitigate its rage, but cannot fundamentally change its cold and lifeless nature. He feels as if he is climbing an endless iceberg, which could avalanche at any moment, and every step is like walking on thin ice.
Just as he was feeling a bit lost and stagnant during the painful process of self-refinement, a chance, deeper resonance with his soul revealed an unexpected path for him.
That was after a routine energy feedback.
As usual, Immortal Lord Qingxu transmitted a refined stream of ice-attribute energy to the ice crystal through the soul bridge. Perhaps due to the previous resistance, the ice crystal's absorption of energy this time appeared exceptionally "focused" and "deep." It was no longer passively accepting the energy, but rather seemed to actively guide it, flowing through its own cracked and complex internal structure.
Driven by an instinctive concern and a desire to explore, Immortal Lord Qingxu also immersed more of his mind in the link, following the flow of that energy, and "looked" deeper into the ice crystal.
What he "saw" was no longer the vague fluctuations of life and fragments of emotions he had seen before.
Instead, it is... a vast and intricate three-dimensional network woven from countless icy blue rays of light!
These rays of light spread and intertwined along the cracks inside the ice crystals, forming countless intricate and profound patterns and runes! They were not static, but slowly flowing, arising and ceasing, as if following some profound cosmic principle! The entire network exuded an essence that was of the same origin as the "Ice Soul Condensation Technique," yet even more profound, more complete, and more... closer to the fundamental laws!
What... what is this?!
Immortal Lord Qingxu was terribly shaken!
He instantly realized—the cracked ice crystals contained not only Su Nian's soul essence, but more importantly, the complete inheritance imprint of the ancient jade slip, "Ice Soul Condensation Technique"! It was the lifelong understanding and ultimate interpretation of that senior expert from the Qingyun Sect regarding the Ice Soul Law and the Way of Condensing the Mind and Stabilizing the Soul!
The reason why Su Nian was able to touch the jade slip, use its power in a preliminary way, and even extract healing energy in her slumber was that her soul, in the process of deep symbiosis and fusion with the ice crystal (the sub-body of the Ice Sealing Law), unknowingly began to "decipher" this complete inheritance imprint!
Now, perhaps because of the deepening symbiotic connection, or perhaps because of the shared origin between his own "Ice Mark Dao Seal" and this inheritance, this mark is slowly opening up to him through this bridge of souls!
This is no longer a simple energy exchange, but... the transmission of knowledge! It is the enlightenment of laws! It is the direct pointing to the Great Dao... an initiation!
Ecstasy erupted from the depths of his frozen heart like magma!
He immediately cleared his mind of all distractions and immersed himself entirely in "reading" and "comprehending" the inheritance network inside the ice crystal.
This process is far more mentally taxing than simple energy cultivation, but it is also more...mysterious.
He "saw" that the Ice Soul Condensing Heart Technique was far more than he had previously understood it to be—a mere auxiliary method for tempering the mind and resisting external demons. It was a grand Daoist scripture that directly pointed to the origin of "stillness" and "stillness"! Its core was not resistance and expulsion, but "assimilation" and "control"! It was about using one's own mind to assimilate the extreme cold of the outside world, and using ultimate "stillness" to control the "movement" of all things!
The countless runes flowing inside the ice crystal are the "Dao patterns" that naturally manifest in the depths of one's soul after cultivating this codex to a high level!
Comparing his own rough, violent, and backlash-filled "Ice Mark Dao Seal," he immediately discovered countless details that could be optimized and improved! Many of the obstacles, incomprehensible power conflicts, and even the root causes of Dao Seal backlash that he had encountered in his previous cultivation became clear and understandable in the face of this complete inheritance imprint, as if peeling away layers of an onion!
He even "saw" some... Su Nian's "interpretation notes"?
These were extremely subtle energy flow paths that deviated slightly from the mainstream inherited imprints, or unique perspectives on certain obscure runes. These "notes" carried her distinct soul imprint—emphasizing "resilience" and "symbiosis," and leaning more towards using the power of ice souls for "protection" and "maintenance," rather than pure "stillness" and "control."
It was these seemingly unorthodox interpretations that enabled her to extract healing energy and allowed her to demonstrate unexpected resilience when resisting interference from the dark gold consciousness!
Immortal Lord Qingxu absorbed and understood all of this with great eagerness.
He no longer blindly and painfully forced the "Ice Mark Dao Seal." Instead, he began to try, based on this complete inheritance imprint and Su Nian's unique "notes," to make extremely subtle, yet crucial, adjustments and reshaping to the structure of his own Dao Seal.
He guided his power, no longer violently colliding with those blocked meridians and soul cracks, but like the most exquisite craftsman, using the runes in the inherited imprint as a blueprint and his own Dao imprint as material, to meticulously carve and refine it.
The process was still accompanied by pain, but within that pain came a new kind of clarity and ease, like "seeing the sun after the clouds have parted." He felt that his Dao Seal, like a throne of thorns, was undergoing a fundamental transformation—becoming more precise, more stable, and more perfectly integrated with his own soul. The cold essence remained unchanged, but within it, a more restrained, more profound…sense of power began to emerge.
He even began to try to integrate some of Su Nian's understanding of "resilience" and "symbiosis" from her "notes" into his own Dao seal. This was no easy task; the two different concepts collided and clashed within his Dao seal, sometimes causing new chaos and pain.
But with each successful fusion, he felt the connection between himself and that soul ice crystal becoming closer, more...integrated. It was as if their paths were gradually moving towards...synchronization and mutual support through this silent inheritance and exchange.
Just as Immortal Lord Qingxu was immersed in this unprecedented and exhilarating enlightenment and cultivation, and his adjustments to the "Ice Mark Dao Seal" were reaching their peak—
Another unexpected change has occurred!
But this time, it wasn't malicious interference from the Dark Gold consciousness.
Rather... it originated from the soul ice crystal itself!
Inside the ice crystal, the vast network of inherited imprints suddenly lit up the instant that Immortal Lord Qingxu successfully integrated a trace of the concept of "resilience" into his own Dao imprint based on Su Nian's "notes"!
All the flowing runes seemed to be infused with new vitality, operating and shining at an unprecedented speed and brightness! A vast, pure, and seemingly ancient icy essence, mixed with Su Nian's unique soul aura, surged like a bursting dam, actively and violently... flowing back into Qingxu Immortal Lord's sea of consciousness through the soul bridge, directly merging into his "Ice Mark Dao Seal" which was undergoing transformation!
This was no longer a gentle energy feedback, but... an affirmation of inheritance! A resonance of imprint! It was the ice crystal (or rather, Su Nian's dormant subconscious) giving him a joyful, unreserved... gift of understanding and acceptance of her "Tao" philosophy!
"boom--!"
Immortal Lord Qingxu felt as if his soul was instantly filled, cleansed, and reshaped by this torrent! The originally slow process of Dao Seal transformation was completed at an astonishing speed under the impetus of this same and pure primordial power!
When he looked inward again, he was shocked to find that his "Ice Mark Dao Seal" had changed drastically!
It was no longer merely the Throne of Thorns; at its core, a crystal-clear, three-dimensional imprint composed of countless fine, icy-blue runes had appeared! The shape of this imprint was identical to the core area of the inheritance network within the ice crystal! It radiated the complete, harmonious, and profound ultimate meaning of the "Ice Soul Condensation Technique"!
The Dao Seal itself remained cold, but it had lost some of its deathly stillness and violence, gaining instead a restrained majesty and... an indomitable resilience! Like a frozen galaxy, it contained the potential to nurture all things within its absolute stillness!
At this moment, his power underwent a qualitative leap!
However, just as he was overwhelmed by this sudden and enormous improvement, and subconsciously wanted to convey his gratitude and questions to the ice crystal through the soul link—
He was horrified to discover that the cracks on the surface of the soul ice crystal that had just completed its "gift" seemed to have become even deeper! The light flowing inside had also dimmed considerably, and the life fluctuations had once again fallen into an extremely weak slumber, as if... it had exhausted all the power it had just accumulated for this gift.
At the same time, the cold monitoring fluctuations of the Dark Gold Consciousness reappeared like a ghost, firmly locking onto the ice crystal that seemed to have become more fragile due to "overexpenditure," as well as the Dao Seal within Qingxu Immortal Lord's body that had already transformed and was radiating the aura of complete inheritance.
A new, enigmatic thought of assessment quietly crossed my mind:
[Detection indicates that the 'container' has achieved a phased increase in its compatibility with the laws...]
[Energy level decay detected at the 'anchor point'...]
The balance of the symbiotic system has been disrupted...
[Initiating a new round of...adaptive observation...]
As Qingxu Immortal Lord looked at the ice crystal that seemed to have paid a considerable price to fulfill his wish, and felt the surging yet heavy new life force within his body, his heart slowly sank.
The increase in power seems to come with... deeper bonds and... a crueler price.
The suspense in the story becomes even more profound at this moment—the male protagonist gains a complete inheritance and experiences a leap in strength, but at the cost of the female protagonist, Bingjing, weakening once again. What does the so-called "adaptive observation" of the Dark Gold Consciousness mean? How will this unbalanced symbiotic system find a new way out? All awaits to be revealed in the next chapter.
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