With the Nether Spirit Mouse Demon leading the way, Lu Yu and Yu Xiaoman found the location of the Yinming Cold Pool.
The Yinming Cold Pool was situated in a small valley within Kugu Ridge, where countless remnants of souls from the Ridge's deceased creatures gathered, forming the pool once the Yin energy reached a certain intensity.
As Lu Yu walked into the valley, he felt the temperature drop drastically. The closer he got to the pool, the colder it became.
Activating the Celestial Falling Bright Flame to protect himself, Lu Yu managed to walk to the edge of the pool. Glancing at Yu Xiaoman standing outside the valley, Lu Yu said, "Give me the necklace."
The cold aura in the valley was too strong for Yu Xiaoman to enter; just standing at the valley's entrance made her feel chilled to the bone.
This was the Yin energy generated after a creature's death, similar in nature to the malignant aura on an arrow, both being Yin-type forces. Therefore, the small arrow couldn't block the cold aura of the Yinming Cold Pool, preventing Yu Xiaoman from entering the valley.
While Lu Yu was desperately resisting the cold aura's erosion, the Nether Spirit Mouse Demon seemed to have consumed a nourishing tonic, rejuvenating from near-death.
However, the Nether Spirit Mouse Demon didn't dare to approach the Yinming Cold Pool, only absorbing a bit of the leaking cold aura from the water's edge.
The cold power within the Yinming Cold Pool could easily freeze the Qi Blood of Martial Cultivators at the Qi Cultivation stage. Lu Yu only dared to approach because he had the Celestial Falling Bright Flame protecting him.
Glancing at the clear pool water, Lu Yu tossed the necklace, hosting Fei Feng, into the water, using a thin string to hang it, making it easy to retrieve later.
Although the pool water was clear, the pool's bottom remained obscure, looking as if overlaid with a mosaic.
After absorbing enough cold aura, the Nether Spirit Mouse Demon got healed, and it glared at Lu Yu, who had injured it badly, with obvious hatred. Now, in its domain, the Nether Spirit Mouse Demon no longer feared Lu Yu.
Hiss~ the Nether Spirit Mouse Demon let out a cry, concentrating its demonic Qi to launch an attack at Lu Yu, the blend of demonic Qi with cold aura was its sharp weapon, capable of easily affecting Qi Blood within stronger demons.
Thump~ the demonic Qi hit Lu Yu's face, and he felt as if a basin of icy water had been thrown on him, his body trembled, and he looked at the Nether Spirit Mouse Demon that drenched him.
The Nether Spirit Mouse Demon saw Lu Yu wasn't affected, got panicked, and quickly turned to escape.
Lu Yu predicted the mouse demon's movement path, executed the Ruler Step to appear in front of it, and kicked at the Nether Spirit Mouse Demon, making it seem as if the demon voluntarily crashed into Lu Yu's foot.
Splash~ the Nether Spirit Mouse Demon fell into the Yinming Cold Pool. It struggled desperately to swim ashore, but its movements grew slower until it lost vitality within reach of the pool's edge.
The Nether Spirit Mouse Demon couldn't withstand the massive erosion of cold aura, after all, it was still a living creature.
Its corpse sank into the pool, as Lu Yu saw the bodies at the pool's bottom when the corpse passed the mosaic layer. These remains were well-preserved, captured in the instant of death, trying to escape the cold pool in vain.
Soon, the mosaic layer restored its integrity, and Lu Yu could no longer see the corpses below.
[Absorbed a wisp of Yinming Cold Aura, Ice Spirit Body Second Level cultivation progress +0.1%]
[Killed a Nether Spirit Mouse Demon, gained 2130 experience points]
"Yinming Cold Aura?" Lu Yu looked at the system prompt with some surprise.
Knowing the cold aura in the Yinming Cold Pool could aid his cultivation of the Ice Spirit Body, Lu Yu quickly sat at the pool's edge, tied the thin string onto a bare little tree at the poolside, and started his cultivation.
Tore open the protective layer of Celestial Falling Bright Flame, absorbing just a tiny amount of the Yinming Cold Aura into his body.
Lu Yu didn't dare to entirely remove the Celestial Falling Bright Flame, fearing his Qi Blood might freeze and he would lose his mobility.
With the cold aura entering his body, Lu Yu felt like even his soul was freezing. The rapid operation of the Ice Fire Seven Heavenly Art quickly refined the absorbed aura, increasing the cultivation progress by 0.3%.
Without increasing the Qi Blood and Spiritual Power limits, Lu Yu guessed perhaps the amount of Yinming Cold Aura was too small, not achieving the effect of body refinement, thus unable to boost Qi Blood and Spiritual Power.
With this thought, Lu Yu absorbed more Yinming Cold Aura into his body.
Clatter~ Lu Yu's teeth involuntarily chattered noisily. He now felt as if he was sitting in icy winter without clothes and drank a can of ice water, cold both inside and outside.
Lu Yu's body trembled continuously. He didn't use the Celestial Falling Bright Flame to dispel the cold aura inside him; he fully operated the Ice Fire Seven Heavenly Art, feeling the cold sensation easing as his brain seemed about to freeze and time progressed slowly.
[Absorbed a strand of Yinming Cold Aura, Ice Spirit Body Second Level cultivation progress +2%, Qi Blood +9, Ice Spiritual Qi +5]
After completely refining the cold aura in his body, Lu Yu felt his head ache, as the cold had numbed his brain, prompting him to keep warm and maintain body temperature.
Phew~ Lu Yu exhaled a mouthful of white gas, like frost, condensing the air's moisture into droplets that fell to the ground.
"It's deadly!" Lu Yu remarked, watching his body gradually regain warmth. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ ɴovᴇl(F)ɪre.ɴet
The grade of the Yinming Cold Aura was surely higher than Celestial Falling Bright Flame. Otherwise, merely absorbing a tiny amount wouldn't make him feel near freezing to death, similar to when absorbing the Celestial Flame, not this extreme.
His head still ached. Lu Yu felt dizzy, but he noticed the valley's temperature increased significantly, not as cold as before. Now, even without the Celestial Flame protection, his Qi Blood wouldn't be influenced by the cold aura in the valley.
After resting a while, sensing the headache was lessening, Lu Yu continued absorbing the cold aura for body refinement.
[Absorbed a strand of Yinming Cold Aura, Ice Spirit Body Second Level cultivation progress +1.5%, Qi Blood +7, Ice Spiritual Qi +4]
[Absorbed a strand of Yinming Cold Aura, Ice Spirit Body Second Level cultivation progress +2%, Qi Blood +8, Ice Spiritual Qi +4]
When the Ice Spirit Body cultivation progress reached 10%, Lu Yu already had his hands in the cold pool, drawing more cold aura. By the time it reached 30%, Lu Yu was soaking his feet at the edge of the pool, with his shins submerged.
As Lu Yu opened his mouth, he exhaled icy cold air, creating a mist of ice crystals before him. Now, by merely breathing, he could kill Martial Cultivators at the Body Refinement stage's third level.
The cold aura worked wonders against living beings by freezing their Qi Blood; its effect against skeletons, which are already dead, was significantly weaker, only yielding an additional freezing effect.
Glancing at the Yinming Cold Pool beneath him, Lu Yu pushed against the ground with his hands and jumped into the pool, intent on playing risky.
In the instant of full-body immersion into the pool, Lu Yu again felt the initial sensation of his soul nearly freezing. If he allowed the cold aura to erode, despite having refined plenty of it, death was inevitable.
Thump, thump, thump~ The sound of his heartbeat echoed in his mind, and the robust Qi Blood flowed faster, resisting the cold aura's erosion.
[Successfully resisted Yinming Cold Aura erosion, Qi Blood +1]
[Successfully resisted Yinming Cold Aura erosion, Qi Blood +1]
[Successfully resisted Yinming Cold Aura erosion, Qi Blood +1]
Lu Yu's Qi Blood rapidly depleted within, exchanged for an incessant increase in Qi Blood limit. This form of body refinement was madness.
Yet, it wasn't the craziest endeavor.