Chapter Sixteen: Two Worlds of Ice and Fire

  As he stepped over the 20th step of white jade, Fang Tian Nan noticed that the 21st step of white jade seemed to be different in color. Subsequently, the sudden increase in yin cold attribute energy from the soles of his feet made Fang Tian Nan certain that the material used for the next step was clearly different from the previous steps.

  Although this change, in color, is only a subtle difference and does not have the same pure white as before, but rather has a slightly greenish tint, it is undoubtedly a huge change in the eyes of the examiner.

  At this moment, Fang Tian Nan had already arrived at the fortieth step of the stairs.

  The martial artist standing beside Fang Tian Nan's left side took the lead and stepped onto the forty-first step. Suddenly, his entire body seemed to be bearing some kind of unexpected force, causing his hair to stand on end. Moreover, his face which was originally flushed red due to the full-force circulation of fire attribute energy within his body had turned deathly pale.

  Right after that, Fang Tian Nan saw that the warrior's body was emitting a faint mist, as if he had encountered a sudden change in energy, causing his breath to become completely disordered. Gradually, even the opponent's figure gradually disappeared into the mist, until it was completely invisible.

  Fang Tian Nan subconsciously reached out his hand to touch it, but ended up grasping at nothing.

  It's clear that this warrior has already been eliminated in the first round of trials, and his entire being has been transferred to another place by the energy within the transmission space.

  At this moment, Fang Tian Nan's heart also suddenly increased a lot of pressure. Although he had the information left by the predecessor, even if he failed the test, there would be no danger to his life, but he didn't want to be directly eliminated at this time. To know that in front of Fang Tian Nan, there were still many cultivators who continued to take the test. Only by persisting until later would they have greater gains.

  After adjusting the inner energy of his body, Fang Tian Nan made sufficient mental preparation before firmly stepping onto the forty-first step.

  In an instant, a property energy that was completely different from the original cold and gloomy atmosphere, shot up from Fang Tian Nan's feet, and poured into his body. In Fang Tian Nan's meridians, it rampaged about like a dragon crossing a river.

  When Fang Tian Nan became familiar with the properties of this energy, he finally understood why the cultivator in front had given up on the test. It was because the properties of this energy were actually those of fire attributes.

  On the first forty levels of the stairs, all the examinees had gradually become accustomed to resisting the energy with cold attributes. The vital energy circulating throughout their bodies was also preparing for battle against the cold attribute energy. Suddenly, they encountered fire attribute energy and if they didn't immediately suffer from meridian explosion or directly go mad from the fire entering their minds, that would be considered good luck.

  If this examinee cannot skillfully use his own attribute energy or the internal force in his body, and has consumed too much of it in the previous process, then what awaits him is only one result: elimination.

  It's not that practitioners who cultivate fire-attribute energy can take advantage of it when they encounter the same attribute energy. It is in a prepared situation, or intentionally absorbing the same attribute energy, which naturally has its advantages.

  From extreme cold to sudden extreme heat, anyone who encounters it will fall into a flurry of activity, or even be at a loss.

  The yang attribute energy inside Fang Tian Nan, compared to the fire attribute energy, is after all somewhat different. Therefore, from the moment he came into contact with the fire attribute energy, Fang Tian Nan's reaction, although not extremely swift, had a brief moment of astonishment, however, the damage caused by the fire attribute energy to Fang Tian Nan was not extreme.

  In addition, when Fang Tiannan resisted the cold and dark energy before, it was the yang liquid in his dantian that played the final role. The internal circulation of qi is nothing more than neutralizing the yang attribute energy emitted by these yang liquids with the yin and cold energy. Therefore, in terms of energy consumption, Fang Tiannan has a certain advantage compared to other fire-attribute cultivators who are taking the test.

  Just as Fang Tian Nan was about to replicate his previous experience, letting the energy released by Yang Liquid counteract the scorching heat transmitted by the fire attribute energy, he suddenly discovered another strange phenomenon. That is, the yang attribute energy can neutralize the yin cold attribute energy, but when it comes into contact with the fire attribute energy, the two inexplicably merge together.

  Could it be that the fire attribute energy transmitted from this staircase can still be absorbed by the cultivator?

  Fang Tian Nan had some rather fanciful and far-fetched ideas.

  However, Fang Tiannan soon shook his head. If that were the case, why would the fire-attribute energy cultivator from before be eliminated directly? And just as Fang Tiannan was pondering this, another cultivator not far away from him disappeared in an instant on the stairs.

  This made Fang Tian Nan even more determined to veto his own idea.

  Is it because the energy attribute of itself is not fire attribute? Compared with these fire-attribute cultivators, Fang Tian Nan's special place has only one energy attribute, which is Yang attribute. If the cultivator who originally had fire-attribute energy encountered an energy invasion on the platform, he would probably need to constantly refine his own energy to resist or even expel it.

  And if the yang attribute energy in Fang Tian Nan's body were to completely merge with this fire attribute energy emerging from the stairs, and be dominated by it, then what awaits him would likely still be the outcome of being eliminated.

  Thinking of this, Fang Tiannan couldn't help but pay more attention to the fusion of energy within his body, and also tried his best to give birth to more yang-attributed energy. As if sensing Fang Tiannan's call, one of the four drops of yang liquid that had been rotating around the metal plate in his dantian suddenly shattered and merged with a tiny, shapeless yang-attributed energy light point into Fang Tiannan's qi.

  With the arrival of this vigorous energy containing yang liquid, in Fang Tian's meridians, those energies that had originally begun to tend towards fire attributes gradually stabilized and were no longer as restless as they initially were. It was as if the yang attribute energy that came with it had a soothing effect on the fire attribute energy.

  Fang Tian Nan stood on the stairs and no longer felt as exhausted and uncomfortable as before.

  What made Fang Tiannan somewhat annoyed was that there were only four drops of Yang liquid in his body. If he had to shatter one drop of Yang liquid every time he went up a step, then wouldn't it mean that he could only go up three more steps?

  。。。。。。

  Standing on the forty-first step, Fang Tian Nan hesitated for a long time and didn't muster up the courage to move forward again.

  At this time, the cultivators walking in front of him, some disappeared on the stairs, and others surpassed others. These phenomena had nothing to do with Fang Tian Nan. Fang Tian Nan's entire mind was completely immersed in his own body. If he couldn't solve the problem of resisting fire attribute energy invasion, then Fang Tian Nan's trial journey would end here.

  Fortunately, as time passed, Fang Tiannan felt that the energy he had absorbed from the Light Source Stone, along with the expansion of his meridians and the refinement of his blood and bones, was still having a very good effect. If it weren't for these experiences, just the process of the two energies merging within his body would have been enough to make Fang Tiannan feel like he was going to die from the pain.

  When the two energies that had merged together finally stabilized and formed a mysterious energy fluctuation, Fang Tian Nan sensed that this energy was much weaker than before. A lot of energy had dissipated during the merging process into the meridians, blood, and bones, and the final energy attribute presented was very close to the yang attribute energy.

  At the same time, the nature of this energy seems to be constantly evolving.

  It's just that such a development seems to be proceeding extremely slowly, making it very hard for Fang Tian Nan to calm down and wait for the final result.

  It's easy to say that Fang Tian Nan is calm, but after experiencing the trials and watching the silhouettes of those cultivators gradually walking away in front of him, saying he wasn't anxious would definitely be a lie.

  Then, Fang Tian Nan gritted his teeth and finally took a step forward, arriving at the next level of the stairs. Suddenly, everything seemed to start all over again, as the invasion of fire attribute energy began once more, another drop of Yang liquid shattered, and the two began to merge with each other...

  When Fang Tiannan took three consecutive steps, the yang liquid in his dantian disappeared and merged with the fire attribute energy to transform into a mysterious energy mass that floated in his meridians. At this time, Fang Tiannan finally came back to his senses. His habitual footsteps also abruptly stopped.

  Fang Tian Nan carefully examined the energy aura within his meridians, sensing the size and strength of these four clusters of energy. They were basically consistent in terms of their properties, with only slight differences in the length of time they had been derived. If that was the case, then could he merge these four clusters of energy together?

  Fang Tian Nan had some fanciful ideas, pondering that if these energies really merged together, although they would no longer be yang or fire attribute energies, they would still be a new type of energy, right? In that case, the outcome wouldn't be too bad after all.

  As long as it can be used for himself, Fang Tiannan doesn't have much of a fuss about what kind of attribute the energy belongs to.

  However, completely beyond Fang Tian Nan's expectations, after these four energies gathered together, they actually accelerated the process of evolution. Very quickly, the original four drops of Yang liquid that had split apart, actually separated out again, and even a light point of Yang attribute energy appeared.

  As for the remaining, it should have been the fire attribute energy that surged into the body on the stairs, but at this time, it also evolved into a new drop of yang liquid, quietly suspended next to the original four drops of yang liquid.