Lord Cold Li, who was seated amid the ice flame, suddenly slapped the crown of his own head with one hand.
A muffled groan escaped his lips as a Nascent Soul several inches tall, enveloped in a sphere of blue light, slowly drifted out from his physical body.
The Nascent Soul sat cross-legged with its hands forming a seal, but a thumb-sized jade token hung from its neck, emitting a faint silver glow—no one knew what kind of extraordinary treasure it was.
The moment the Nascent Soul had risen about ten feet above the body, it took a deep breath, then exhaled, actually spitting out a ball of blue flame.
This flame was the true essence of the Qianlan Ice Flame that Lord Cold Li had painstakingly refined over hundreds of years of cultivation.
Now the flame spun around and transformed into a brilliant blue disc of light, mysteriously appearing beneath the Nascent Soul. It then carried the soul upward, flying directly out of the milky-white cold sphere.
The instant Lord Cold Li's Nascent Soul left his body,
A bizarre sight appeared!
Before any of the cold flames could reach the Nascent Soul, the light disc beneath it suddenly began spinning at tremendous speed. A massive suction force materialized out of nowhere, and all the cold flames shuddered before being diverted and drawn inward—every last wisp absorbed onto the light disc.
The originally brilliant blue disc instantly became a kaleidoscope of colors, strikingly vivid. A single glance was enough to induce a sense of dizziness and vertigo—one simply could not stare at it for long.
The Nascent Soul let out a low shout, and wave after wave of magic seals struck the light disc beneath it.
A thunderous rumble immediately emanated from below, and after a bout of trembling, the multicolored flames burst apart one after another.
At this point, the seals emanating from the Nascent Soul's hands grew even more frantic—one after another without pause, as though it intended to expend all of its Magical Power in a single breath.
Under the urging of the seals, the various cold flames intertwined and fused after their explosion, coalescing in the blink of an eye into a lotus of light.
The light lotus contained six colors—black, white, red, yellow, green, and blue—each seemingly distinct yet merged into one, a truly profound and wondrous sight.
However, the lotus was a full ten yards across, and the Nascent Soul appeared truly minuscule within it. But as a string of mystical incantations issued from its mouth, the light lotus flickered and began to shrink. With each inch it contracted, its radiance grew ever more dazzling.
In just a moment, when the light lotus had shrunk to about a foot in diameter, each petal had become as solid and substantial as a tangible object. The six-colored flames flickered upon its surface, resembling the sacred fires of immortals.
Seeing this, though a hint of surprise flickered across Han Li's face, like the others, the cold flames he shot forth actually grew even more voluminous.
The moment these cold flames plunged into the light lotus, they vanished without a trace, like oxen sinking into the sea.
At this moment, the Nascent Soul suddenly opened its eyes, which had remained tightly shut until now. Within them blazed an eerie golden radiance.
It raised one hand, forming its five fingers into the shape of a lotus.
A series of soft popping sounds rang out as countless thin blue threads shot from its fingertips, striking the nearby petals and merging with them as one.
The Nascent Soul's chanting continued without cease, its small face becoming extraordinarily solemn, while its raised fingers slowly began closing inward toward the center.
Each of the light threads connected to its fingers flashed with blue light and began to tremble violently.
A buzzing hum emanated from within the light lotus. Then, guided by the blue threads, the petals slowly began to close. In but a moment—as though time itself were flowing backward—the lotus transformed into a bud on the verge of blooming, completely enveloping the Nascent Soul within.
The six-colored flames upon its surface continued to swirl and flow, resplendent and dazzling.
Upon seeing this, Han Li and the others simultaneously activated their seals and temporarily severed their control over the extreme cold flames.
The six-colored bud shifted slightly, then plummeted downward.
After a flash of light, the bud slipped into the milky-white cold sphere as though it were intangible. Then, in another flicker, it vanished into the skull of Lord Cold Li's physical body, disappearing without a trace.
Only then did the other five once again spew forth their cold flames, striking the sphere of light.
Frosty glimmers immediately surfaced within the milky-white sphere, piercing toward Lord Cold Li's physical body, continuously stimulating it with the extreme cold power of the ice flame to aid Lord Cold Li in breaking through his bottleneck.
Instantly, within the formation, nothing could be heard but the hissing of the flames cutting through the air.
Outside the Mystic Jade Cave, on a remote street in the ice city, two male disciples of the Minor Extreme Palace, clad in white robes, walked side by side.
Their faces were expressionless, yet their gazes swept ceaselessly from side to side, as though scanning for something—they were behaving with palpable caution, all within their own sect's territory.