In the end times, many children bring more blessings. I pick up a goddess every day.

Chapter 1219 Another Cultivator

One door was red, its surface shimmering with tiny flame patterns, radiating intense heat as one approached; the other was blue, covered in a thin layer of frost, exuding a chilling aura. The two doors stood symmetrically, their lintels inscribed with the ancient characters "Infernal Prison" and "Ice Prison," respectively, the spiritual energy contained within them far more concentrated than anywhere else in the passageway.

Su Qingyao subconsciously took a half step back, her fingertips gathering ice-type spiritual power to resist the heat wave from the Fiery Hell Gate: "Master, these two doors... seem to lead to different areas. Which one should we choose?"

Liu Yang didn't answer immediately, but instead released his spiritual sense to carefully examine the two doors. When his spiritual sense touched the Fiery Prison Door, it felt as if it were scorched by flames, and he could only barely perceive that behind the door was a space filled with lava; when he touched the Ice Prison Door, it was frozen by the cold air, and he could vaguely see that behind the door was a frozen canyon. Even stranger, there was a faint attraction emanating from both doors, as if enticing him to step into them.

“The ‘two elements’ on the mural should refer to these two hells of ice and fire.” Liu Yang withdrew his spiritual sense and his gaze fell on the white-robed cultivator on the mural. “He is holding a token similar to the Ice and Thunder Token, but he is standing in the middle of the altar, neither near the fire zone nor the ice zone… Perhaps, the real core area can only be found by passing through one of the doors first.”

Su Qingyao frowned: "But we don't know which door is safer. What if we choose the wrong one and get trapped inside?"

“There is no absolutely safe path.” Liu Yang raised his hand and stroked the Ice Lightning Token. Sensing the spiritual energy of the two doors, the token's ice-blue and dark purple patterns lit up simultaneously. “The Ice Lightning Token can break the entrance formation, and perhaps it can also guide the way. Look—”

He suspended the Ice Lightning Token between the two doors, its icy blue half slightly tilted towards the Ice Prison Gate, while its dark purple half twitched towards the Fiery Prison Gate. The two forces pulled at each other, causing the token to tremble slightly in mid-air, unable to stabilize and point to either side.

"What's going on?" Su Qingyao was stunned.

“This means that both doors are related to the core of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Prison. Perhaps… we need to go separately.” Liu Yang’s gaze fell on Su Qingyao. “You cultivate a pure ice-type technique, so the Ice Prison Gate will have less of a suppressive effect on you; I cultivate both ice and fire, so the flames of the Flame Prison Gate might help me increase my spiritual power. Let’s each go through one door and meet up in the core area.”

Su Qingyao's expression changed: "But Master, it's too dangerous to go separately! What if I encounter danger and you're not by my side..."

“You have the strength of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage and the protection of ice-type spiritual power. As long as you don’t recklessly touch dangerous areas, you can protect yourself.” Liu Yang took out a jade pendant from his storage bag and handed it to Su Qingyao. “This is a ‘sound transmission jade.’ If you encounter danger, crush it and I will immediately sense your location. Remember, no matter what you see, do not be deceived by illusions—the restrictions in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Prison may affect your mind.”

Su Qingyao took the communication jade, held it tightly in her hand, and nodded vigorously: "Master, don't worry, I will definitely not cause you any trouble!"

Liu Yang nodded and turned to walk towards the Fiery Prison Gate. He placed his hand on the door, and the fire-elemental spiritual power in his palm resonated with the flame patterns on the door. The red door slowly opened, and an even hotter wave of air surged out, filling the air with the smell of sulfur. At the same time, Su Qingyao also injected ice-elemental spiritual power into the Ice Prison Gate. The blue door opened in response, and the cold air instantly condensed into ice crystals, which fell onto the ground of the passage.

"Be careful." The two spoke at the same time, then turned and stepped into their respective doors. The doors slowly closed behind them, completely separating the passage from the two completely different worlds.

As Liu Yang stepped into the Gate of Infernal Inferno, the scene before him instantly changed—no longer a narrow passage, but a vast plain of lava. Dark red lava flowed across the ground, billowing black smoke. The sky was dark red, the sun was nowhere to be seen, and only the occasional sparks from the distant volcano illuminated the surrounding environment.

"The fire-attribute spiritual energy here is more than twenty times denser than outside." Liu Yang took a deep breath, and the fire-attribute spiritual energy within his body instantly surged, as if it were about to burst through his dantian. He hurriedly circulated his cultivation technique to suppress it, but found that this fire-attribute spiritual energy not only did not harm him, but was also slowly nourishing his meridians—for cultivators who practice fire-attribute techniques, this was simply an excellent cultivation ground.

He looked up at the edge of the lava plain, where a black stone platform stood, and something seemed to be placed on it. Just as he was about to step towards the platform, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him.

"Fellow Daoist Liu Yang, how have you been?"

Liu Yang turned around abruptly and saw Zhao Qian standing on the lava shore not far away. His injuries had healed, and his cultivation was even higher than before, reaching the late Foundation Establishment stage. Behind him were more than a dozen Zhao family cultivators, each holding a magic weapon and staring coldly at Liu Yang.

"How did you get here?" Liu Yang frowned—Zhao Qian's dantian had clearly been destroyed by him, so how could he have recovered his cultivation and appeared in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Prison?

Zhao Qian sneered, raising his hand to stroke the sword at his waist: "You think destroying my dantian will make me completely collapse? My Zhao family has guarded the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Prison for thousands of years, and has long since left behind a secret method for restoring cultivation! Today, I will kill you here, reclaim the Ice Thunder Token, and avenge the Zhao family!"

As he spoke, Zhao Qian drew his sword, infused it with spiritual power, and the blade instantly burst into flames as he slashed at Liu Yang. Simultaneously, the Zhao family cultivators behind him also attacked, sending dozens of streams of spiritual power towards Liu Yang, completely sealing off his escape route.

Liu Yang's eyes turned cold, and his ice and fire spiritual energies erupted simultaneously. The ice-elemental spiritual energy condensed into an ice wall in front of him to block the Zhao family cultivators' attacks, while the fire-elemental spiritual energy gathered at his fingertips, forming a flaming spear that thrust towards Zhao Qian's sword.

"Ding!"

The flaming spear clashed with the sword, producing a piercing metallic clang. Zhao Qian felt a tingling numbness in his arm; the flames on his sword were being suppressed by Liu Yang's fire, gradually dimming. He was shocked—his strength had increased considerably since recovering his cultivation, so how could he still be no match for Liu Yang?

"Impossible! You're just an outsider cultivator, how could you possibly understand fire-attribute spiritual power better than me!" Zhao Qian roared, increasing his spiritual power output. The flames on his sword ignited again, even more intensely than before.

Liu Yang's lips curled into a cold smile—he had already sensed something was wrong. Although Zhao Qian's cultivation was at the late Foundation Establishment stage, his spiritual energy fluctuations were very unstable, and the Zhao family cultivators behind him had empty eyes, devoid of any life, more like puppets being manipulated.

“You are not the real Zhao Qian.” Liu Yang suddenly spoke, his flaming spear suddenly exerting force, knocking Zhao Qian’s sword away. He flashed behind Zhao Qian and raised his hand to strike Zhao Qian’s back with a burst of spiritual energy.

"puff!"

The spiritual energy struck Zhao Qian in the back, but his body vanished like bubbles, leaving only a wisp of black smoke. At the same time, the Zhao family cultivators also turned into black smoke and disappeared on the lava plain.

"It really was an illusion." Liu Yang withdrew his spiritual power, secretly relieved—luckily, he hadn't been fooled by the illusion, otherwise, if he had used too much of his spiritual power, it would have been troublesome if he had encountered real danger later.

He looked up at the stone platform in the distance; the illusion he had just experienced had come from the direction of that platform. It seemed that the stone platform was the core area of ​​the Fiery Hell, and also the trigger point for the next restriction.

Meanwhile, behind the Ice Prison Gate, Su Qingyao stood in a frozen canyon. The ground, walls, and even the sky were covered by a thick layer of ice, reflecting a cold light. The ice-attribute spiritual energy in the air was so dense that it was almost tangible, causing her ice-type spiritual energy to circulate involuntarily, and her cultivation even showed signs of a breakthrough.

"It's so beautiful here, but also so cold." Su Qingyao rubbed her hands together and looked up into the depths of the canyon. There was an ice sculpture there, depicting a woman in white holding a black box, exactly like the scene in the mural Liu Yang had seen before.

"That box...could it be the antique the master is looking for?" Su Qingyao's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly walked towards the ice sculpture. She had only taken a few steps when the ice beneath her feet suddenly cracked, and a huge ice claw reached out from the crack, grabbing towards her ankle!

"Not good!" Su Qingyao reacted quickly, leaping away to avoid the icy claw attack. She landed on an ice rock and looked up at the crack—a snow-white demonic beast crawled out of it. It had the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and its claws and teeth were made of ice. Its eyes were pale blue and exuded a chilling killing intent.

“A second-tier demonic beast, the Ice Feather Lion!” Su Qingyao’s expression changed. A second-tier demonic beast is equivalent to the late Foundation Establishment stage of a human cultivator, which is higher than her cultivation level. Moreover, the Ice Feather Lion is skilled in ice-based attacks, which greatly suppresses her.

The Ice Feather Lion roared, flapped its wings, and countless ice blades flew towards Su Qingyao. Su Qingyao quickly conjured an ice shield to defend herself, but with a "crack," the ice shield shattered, and shards cut her arm. The blood that flowed out fell onto the ice and instantly froze into ice crystals.

"I can't fight them head-on!" Su Qingyao gritted her teeth, turned around, and ran towards the depths of the canyon. She knew that the Ice Feather Lion was faster than her, and there was no way to escape. She could only use the terrain of the canyon to avoid attacks and look for an opportunity to counterattack.

The Ice Feather Lion pursued relentlessly, its icy wings striking Su Qingyao repeatedly, carving deep marks into the ice. As Su Qingyao ran, she observed her surroundings and suddenly noticed a crack in the ice ahead, from which wisps of heat emanated—a rare "geothermal vent" in the Ice Prison. Though not extremely hot, it was hot enough to melt the ice.

"I've got it!" Su Qingyao's eyes lit up, and she ran towards the geothermal vent. She deliberately slowed down, and when the Ice Feather Lion caught up, she suddenly turned around and poured all the ice-type spiritual power in her body into the ground. The ice instantly froze into an ice slope, and the Ice Feather Lion couldn't stop, sliding down the ice slope towards the geothermal vent.

"Roar!"

The Ice Feather Lion sensed danger and tried to spread its wings to fly, only to find that the heat from the geothermal vent had melted the ice on its wings, making them incredibly heavy. It crashed heavily into the vent, its body hissing as it came into contact with the heat, the ice melting to reveal the flesh beneath.

Taking advantage of the moment, Su Qingyao conjured an ice blade and flew it toward the head of the Ice Feather Lion. With a "poof," the ice blade struck the Ice Feather Lion's eye, and the Ice Feather Lion let out a shrill scream. Its body struggled in the geothermal mouth until it gradually went still.

Su Qingyao slumped to the ground, panting heavily, the wound on her arm still throbbing. She looked down at the communication jade in her hand, thankfully she hadn't used it—she hadn't caused her master any trouble.

After resting for a while, Su Qingyao stood up and continued walking towards the ice sculpture deep in the canyon. She walked up to the ice sculpture and carefully observed the black box—the surface of the box was engraved with lightning patterns similar to those on the Ice Lightning Token, but the color was pure black, without any spiritual energy fluctuations, as if it were just an ordinary box.

"Is this the antique that Master was looking for?" Su Qingyao reached out to pick up the box, but suddenly stopped—she remembered Liu Yang's words, "Don't be fooled by illusions."

She closed her eyes and used her spiritual sense to probe the box. The moment her spiritual sense touched the box, she felt a powerful spiritual force attacking her, and the scene before her instantly changed—she was no longer in the frozen canyon, but back on the streets of Qingyang City, where her parents were standing not far away, waving to her.

"Qingyao, come here quickly! We'll take you home!"

Su Qingyao's eyes instantly reddened—her parents had been murdered by enemies when she was very young, which was her greatest regret. She instinctively ran towards her parents, but suddenly remembered Liu Yang's warning and abruptly stopped.

"No...this is an illusion!" Su Qingyao pinched herself hard, the pain instantly bringing her back to reality. Her parents gradually disappeared from her sight, and she was still standing in front of the ice sculpture, the communication jade in her hand still there, the wound on her arm still throbbing faintly.

She took a deep breath, reached out again, and channeled her spiritual energy into the black box. This time, no illusion appeared. The box slowly opened, revealing a black token inside. The token was engraved with the ancient characters "Liangyi" and emitted spiritual energy fluctuations similar to those of the Ice and Thunder Token.

"This is... the 'Two Elements Token'?" Su Qingyao's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly put the token into her storage bag. She looked up at the ice sculpture and saw that its eyes suddenly lit up, and a blue light gate slowly opened behind the ice sculpture—that should be the entrance to the core area.

Meanwhile, on the lava plains of the Fiery Hell, Liu Yang finally arrived before the black stone platform. On the platform lay a red box, inside which was also a token, engraved with the words "Two Elements," only this time in red.

"I see. Each of the Ice and Fire Prisons contains a Yin-Yang Token. Only by collecting both can the gate to the core area be opened." Liu Yang picked up the red token, a smile playing on his lips. Just then, the communication jade in his hand suddenly heated up slightly—it was Su Qingyao's spiritual energy fluctuation; she had found the other Yin-Yang Token.

Liu Yang looked up at the end of the lava plain, where a red portal had appeared. He put away the red token and strode towards the portal—the secret of the core area was finally about to be revealed.