Chapter 58: Resisting the Cold
"What should we do?" Long Xuan was in a panic, pacing back and forth in the cave, becoming increasingly flustered.
"You all go! Share the flame's pressure with him!"
Finally, Long Xuan came up with an idea: let all his clones share the power of the Divine ice Flame.
Refining the flame is something outsiders cannot help with, but Long Xuan is special. Without wood's clone, there appeared to be five people in the cave, but they were all the same in essence, essentially one person.
Identical bodies would likely be judged as the same person by the Divine ice Flame. Thus, the power of the Divine ice Flame would be divided among the five, significantly weakening the cold.
Of course, at this moment, Long Xuan only sent his clones. He was too afraid to risk himself.
His guess was correct. When the four clones sat in a circle holding hands, the Divine ice Flame indeed recognized them as one person. Its power was divided among the four, greatly reducing the pressure on the Flame clone.
However, the power of the Divine ice Flame was too terrifying. Even divided by four, it was unbearable for the clones.
Soon, the other three clones began to freeze rapidly, almost turning into ice lumps, with their vitality fading fast.
The worst part was that Long Xuan still hadn't seen any progress in refining the flame. This meant that although his method was correct, the power of the Divine ice Flame was too terrifying. The strength of the four clones wasn't enough, leading inevitably to failure.Long Xuan grew anxious again, feeling desperate.
Although the death of a clone wouldn't affect him, and he could always regenerate them, this process required starting cultivation from scratch, taking a long time. Moreover, it was likely to fail again, and he didn't have that much time to waste.
If he failed to refine the flame this time, the millennium iceberg snow lotus would die, and he wouldn't be able to evolve the spiritual bees in the short term, disrupting his plans.
Gritting his teeth and hardening his resolve, Long Xuan finally decided to join his clones, sharing the pressure of the Divine ice Flame with them.
Previously, he always left everything to his clones, and it was rare for him to take action personally.
As expected, his body was also counted as the same person as the Fire clone, and the cold was further distributed to him.
Immediately, Long Xuan felt an extreme cold enter his body, drilling into his bones, almost making him pass out on the spot.
The pain was unbearable, a torture worse than death.
Even with the Divine ice Flame's power divided among five, it was still so painful. He couldn't imagine the agony the Fire clone endured when it faced the full power of the Ice Flame alone.
Fortunately, his mouth was frozen shut, or the cave would have echoed with his screams.
Long Xuan truly felt the terror of the Divine ice Flame. It appeared cold and felt cold, but once it burned on you, you would felt extreme heat. However, the heat didn't spread out; instead, it emitted extreme cold, which was why his body was freezing while feeling burning hot inside.
Such a bizarre flame was beyond belief. Did he really create this terrifying thing? He couldn't believe it.
The alternating cold and heat were driving him to madness, a torment that almost broke him.
Long Xuan, accustomed to comfort, had never endured such pain. At this moment, he finally understood the hardship of his clones.
Looking at the center where the five were, Long Xuan was stunned to see there was still no progress. Even with five people sharing the pressure, it still wasn't enough. The terror of the Divine ice Flame was beyond his imagination.
He began to doubt himself, realizing he might have gotten the sequence wrong. He should have refined the immortal water bear Gu first, then attempted to refine the Divine ice Flame. With the power of immortality, his clones might succeed, sparing him this pain.
But it was too late to turn back, so he had to keep going.
His clever mind quickly came up with another plan: he ordered all his clones to activate their respective cultivation method simultaneously.
Each clone cultivated a different attribute. Although wood clone wasn't here, Long Xuan could fill the gap himself. By activating their techniques, they allowed the spiritual energy to circulate among the five, forming a Five Elements cycle to counter the Ice God Flame's power.
He didn't know if this would work but had no choice but to try.
If it failed, he would have to let go and hope for the best, unwilling to risk his own life.
Following his instructions, all clones activated their techniques, and the effect was immediate.
Wood generates Fire, creating a strong fire. If strong Wood is generated from Water, then Fire generated from strong Wood would be even stronger.
Starting with Earth and ending with Fire, this cycle would amplify Fire four times.
While energy conservation seemed to keep the total energy the same, the power had dramatically changed.
This level of strong Fire could barely match the divided power of the Divine ice Flame.
Under the power of the Five Elements cycle, the ice on their bodies began to melt, and the center showed a [1%] progress, tilting the scale in their favor. Long Xuan saw the light of victory.
Overjoyed, he increased the speed of his spiritual energy circulation.
He closed his eyes and patiently waited. As the ice on his body gradually melted, his pain subsided, and he could endure the remaining discomfort.
Time passed, and when Long Xuan opened his eyes again, a blue light flashed, and an ice-blue flame briefly appeared in his pupils.
He let out a long breath, showing undisguised excitement.
Opening his right hand, an ice-blue flame rose, emitting a dazzling blue light and a bone-chilling cold.
But he no longer felt any cold.
This meant he had fully subdued the Divine ice Flame, which now recognized him as its master and wouldn't harm him.
"Such a beautiful flame. I wonder how it compares to the legendary Heavenly Skyfire."
Long Xuan, ecstatic, admired the flame for a while before reluctantly putting it away.
With the blue light gone, the cave returned to darkness.
"Let's go! I'm taking you all home!" Long Xuan excitedly told his four clones.
Having completed all three tasks, he was determined to leave this dreadful place and head home immediately, eager to return.