Meanwhile, his aura surged, quickly breaking through to the second level of Foundation Establishment.
"Roar!"
As his realm reached the second level, Zhou Yan's imposing aura intensified once more, prominently advancing to the peak of the second level.
"So refreshing!"
Sensing the continuous surge of true qi within his body, Zhou Yan's face lit up with joy.
In just the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Zhou Yan had actually raised his realm to the peak of the second level.
"Huh?"
At this very moment, Zhou Yan's mind stirred, and a hint of confusion flickered in his eyes.
This was because he realized that within his body, two forces were faintly intertwining and clashing.
One of them contained a chilling coldness.
The other, however, contained a scorching heat.
The two forces were incompatible, vying against each other.
"Could this be the ice-flame power that Jiu Ying spoke of?"
Zhou Yan murmured to himself.
According to Jiu Ying's own words, its bloodline possessed both ice and flame attributes.
Once activated, its power was immense.
"Buzz..."
While he was pondering, the ice-flame power within his body suddenly boiled, flowing along his meridians and converging on Zhou Yan's left arm, forming a fiery pattern.
As the ice-flame power poured in, Zhou Yan's left arm was covered in a layer of pale blue scales.
Traces of burning pain transmitted from his left arm.
"Roar."
But in the next moment, Zhou Yan's pores exploded, his skin cracked inch by inch, and crimson blood splattered out.
"Pfft."
Zhou Yan let out a muffled groan and spat out a large mouthful of blood, his face turning pale.
"Hiss..."
Zhou Yan gasped for air, a bitter expression on his face, "The ice-flame power is indeed formidable, it can't even withstand the physical body and almost crippled my arm."
However, Zhou Yan quickly gritted his teeth and endured, continuing to channel the ice-flame power into his left arm.
Gradually, the wounds on his left arm began to heal.
"Roar, roar, roar..."
At this moment, Jiu Ying lay prostrate on the ground, its body trembling.
Clearly, it had also noticed this change.
It knew perfectly well that if this ice-flame power dispersed, it would inevitably injure itself and lead to the failure of its cultivation.
"What is your name?" Zhou Yan asked.
"I..."
Jiu Ying hesitated for a moment, then let out a low growl, "My name is Jiu Ying."
"Jiu Ying..."
Zhou Yan nodded slightly, musing, "Jiu Ying is an ancient fierce beast, possessing immense power. If I could master its bloodline, wouldn't I be able to roam freely in the mountains and forests?"
With this thought, a burning greed flickered in Zhou Yan's eyes.
This greed, when seen by Jiu Ying, immediately startled it, and it quickly retreated to the side.
"Heh heh..."
Seeing this, Zhou Yan sneered, too lazy to pay it any mind.
"Buzz..."
In the next moment, Zhou Yan's mind stirred, and the true essence in his dantian surged and rolled, converging into his left arm.
Instantly, Zhou Yan's entire left arm turned crimson gold, emitting a brilliant, resplendent glow.
"Hoo..."
Zhou Yan took a deep breath, brought his fingers together, and drew in the air, completing a hand seal.
With a "swish."
A golden rune appeared in the void, shining with a dazzling light, carrying an inexplicable sense of pressure.
"Roar..."
Sensing danger, Jiu Ying let out an angry roar, opened its monstrous maw, and lunged towards the golden rune.
"Bang!"
In the next moment, the rune bloomed with golden radiance and instantly exploded.
"Pfft!"
Jiu Ying was caught off guard and spat out a mouthful of dark blood on the spot.
"Damn human!"
Jiu Ying roared deeply, glaring at Zhou Yan with utter venom.
It never expected that Zhou Yan would know how to control spells.
"Roar, roar, roar..."
Following this, Jiu Ying let out a sky-shaking roar, and the deafening dragon's cry echoed in all directions.
"Rumble..."
Under its control, the surrounding heaven and earth primal energy suddenly went wild, kicking up gusts of wind and pouring madly into Jiu Ying's body.
In an instant, its injuries healed, and its body rapidly expanded, reaching over ten feet long.
Its appearance was strikingly similar to the legendary flood dragon, ferocious and terrifying, bloodthirsty and cruel.
"Roar, roar..."
Then, it roared at the sky and pounced towards Zhou Yan.
"Swish!"
Seeing this, Zhou Yan's pupils contracted. With a thought, a torrent of powerful yin and yang true qi swept out from the depths of his dantian, coiling around his right arm.
"Suppress it for me."
With a low shout, Zhou Yan swung forcefully.
Instantly, the power of yin and yang surged, condensing into a colossal yin and yang millstone.
The millstone ground through the void, emitting a piercing friction sound, and violently collided with Jiu Ying.
"Bang!"
Under the immense impact force, Jiu Ying's massive body was immediately sent flying backward.
"Roar..."
Jiu Ying looked at Zhou Yan with fear and retreated again.
However, after only a few steps, a sword light flashed, piercing its neck.
"Crack."
Jiu Ying let out a piteous scream, its head detached from its neck and fell to the ground.
Before its consciousness could fully recover, its spiritual consciousness was extinguished.
In an instant, Zhou Yan obtained a demon core.
As for Jiu Ying, it turned into a pile of withered bones lying on the ground, devoid of life.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the mission [Jiu Ying]."
"System Reward: Ten thousand experience points."
"Please continue to work hard, host."
Hearing the system's prompt, Zhou Yan's lips curved into a smile, and he reached out to pick up the demon core.
"Rumble..."
As soon as the demon core was in his hand, a peculiar energy fluctuation instantly entered his body.
This energy was filled with a dense bloody smell and malevolent energy, like a small bomb, causing Zhou Yan's heart to tighten.
"Such potent malevolent energy."
Zhou Yan's eyes widened in horror, and he couldn't help but gasp.
Although this malevolent energy was the best tonic for martial artists, it had significant side effects. If one was not careful, they could be corrupted by the malevolent energy and become a demonic cultivator.
"It seems I can't continue absorbing this malevolent energy anymore."
Zhou Yan pondered for a moment, then took out several jade stones, placed them on his forehead, circulated his cultivation technique, and refined the pure spiritual energy from the jade stones.
Not long after, the true qi within Zhou Yan was completely depleted.
At the same time, the jade stones on his forehead also shattered.
However, after being tempered by the jade stones, the quality of Zhou Yan's true qi had significantly improved.
There was even a small amount of true qi accumulated in his dantian.
As long as he found sufficient materials, he could attempt to break through to the eighth level of Innate cultivation.
"Hm?"
At this moment, Zhou Yan seemed to sense someone approaching.
"Who?"
Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow and looked up.
In the distance, a graceful figure slowly appeared.
Her figure was elegant, her skin like condensed fat, and her pretty face charming, utterly beautiful. It was Yun Xi.
"Zhou Yan, are you alright?"
Yun Xi walked over and asked with concern.
Hearing this, Zhou Yan shook his head slightly and remained silent.
"Since you're fine, let's leave this place quickly."
Seeing this, Yun Xi breathed a sigh of relief, then suggested, "I heard that the area around Blackwater Lake is constantly filled with miasma, and poisonous insects and plants are numerous."
"Moreover, there are foreign races residing at the bottom of the lake. If we stay too long, I fear we might encounter trouble."
"Foreign races, huh..."