One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

Crimson, icy blue, and golden—three orbs of divine light, each imbued with world-destroying energy, trembled violently in the air, their light flashing wildly like dying stars. The fragile triangular balance shattered completely; their energies clashed and repelled each other frantically. Each collision sent ripples visible to the naked eye, distorting and deforming the air in their wake, emitting a creaking sound as if unable to bear the strain. At the center of the intertwined tri-colored light, an energy sphere the size of a fist was rapidly expanding, crackling with electricity and rumbling with thunder, poised to unleash a terrifying explosion capable of annihilating the entire stone chamber, and even the heart of this mountain!

Below, the fire demon, its chest blasted open but frantically absorbing the surrounding evil energy to repair itself, stared intently at the three energies about to spiral out of control with its greedy, crazed, eerie green eyes. Its rotting maw gaped open, drool dripping, and a thirsty howl emanated from deep within its throat—if the force of the explosion were to dissipate even slightly, or if the three energies were to leak even a little during the clash, it would pounce without hesitation, opening its jaws large enough to swallow a calf, and forcefully devour and absorb them!

The consequences would be unimaginable!

A hair's breadth, a life-or-death moment!

In that split second, Nie Lingfeng made a move.

No, it wasn't just "movement," but an almost instinctive, deep-seated throbbing and resonance from the very depths of his soul! The Qilin tattoo on his chest, long since fused with him, suddenly erupted with an unprecedented, blinding golden light! The brilliance of that light instantly overwhelmed all the chaotic energy in the stone chamber, illuminating every corner! Within the golden light, a faint phantom of a Qilin roared to the sky. The phantom was lifelike, its scales clearly defined, its four hooves treading on fire, its dragon eyes gleaming brightly—as if a true ancient divine beast had transcended time and space to descend upon this place! An aura, originating from the very source of his bloodline, incomparably pure, incomparably scorching, yet carrying supreme majesty, erupted like a volcano dormant for millennia!

This aura resonated most directly and strongly with the "Qilin Marrow" in the air, which was as red as blood, belonged to the origin of the Qilin, but had fallen into a frenzy due to losing the intelligence of the Fire Qilin!

That is the call of the same blood, the echo from the depths of the bloodline, the urgent desire of a wanderer to return home!

"Buzz—!"

The crimson Qilin marrow light cluster seemed to have found its true master and its final resting place, emitting a joyful buzz—the buzz was clear and resonant, like an ancient bell or the call of a loved one—and it no longer clashed with the Phoenix Blood and Dragon Essence. Instead, its light subsided and transformed into a crimson stream of light as thin as a chopstick, yet extremely refined!

The speed of that streak of light surpassed thought and ignored the barriers of space. In the instant before Nie Lingfeng, Chen Duo, and even the Fire Demon could react, it pierced straight into the most radiant golden Qilin tattoo on Nie Lingfeng's chest, like a burning crimson arrow!

"Ugh—!!"

The moment the Qilin Marrow entered his body, Nie Lingfeng let out a muffled groan, a mixture of pain and pleasure. The sound was deep and suppressed, as if squeezed from the depths of his soul. An indescribable, terrifying heat, as if it would completely melt and reshape his entire being from the inside out, swept over every inch of his meridians, bones, flesh, and even his soul like a burst dam!

This feeling is like being thrown into a furnace, where every inch of skin is burning, every bone is melting, and every meridian is expanding, tearing, and then healing again! But within this pain is an indescribable pleasure—the exhilaration of life's essence being elevated and transformed, the necessary path for the mortal body to evolve to a higher level!

This surge of heat not only contained the purest and most primal power of the Qilin, but also carried with it some of the life imprints, fighting instincts, and ultimate understanding of "fire" and "power" accumulated over countless years by the Fire Qilin! Countless fragmented images flashed through his mind—the Fire Qilin's joyful running and playing in the mountains and forests, its languid slumber bathing in lava, its majestic roar when facing a powerful foe, and its pain and resentment as it was corrupted by external demons in its final moments…

His body surface was instantly covered with crimson, blood-like patterns, resembling flowing magma! These patterns started from his chest and spread rapidly to his limbs and bones like countless fiery serpents. Wherever they passed, his skin cracked inch by inch, with dazzling golden-red light shining through the cracks. Yet, under the powerful life force, they healed rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, only to crack again and heal again... With each cracking and healing, black impurities were expelled from his body, turning into wisps of foul-smelling smoke and dissipating.

His bones made a series of cracking sounds, as dense as popping beans, as if every bone in his body was being broken inch by inch, then reconnected, forged, and reshaped! With each forging, his bones became denser and tougher, faintly revealing a warm, jade-like luster.

His hair stood on end without wind, each strand wreathed in tiny sparks, like burning golden threads. His face shifted between pain and majesty, sometimes contorted, sometimes divine. His eyes instantly turned a pure golden-red, flames burning within their pupils, distorting the air beneath his gaze and leaving two faint scorch marks on the ground.

The true form of the Qilin was passively and uncontrollably activated and revealed completely! Moreover, it was more complete and powerful than ever before!

His figure seemed to have grown three inches taller, his already slender frame now appearing even more imposing. His muscles were more defined and perfectly proportioned, not exaggeratedly bulging, but each muscle perfectly proportioned, exuding an explosive power, like a work of art sculpted by the finest craftsman. The golden-red flames swirling around him were terrifyingly hot, melting two shallow, smoky footprints into the bluestone beneath his feet.

The infusion of Qilin marrow was like throwing a spark into a pot of boiling oil. No, it was like throwing in a sun!

Nie Lingfeng already possessed most of the power of the Qilin Marrow and the Qilin bloodline, which shared the same origin as the Qilin Marrow. Now, like a riverbed that had been dry for a thousand years welcoming a raging flood, he frantically absorbed and fused with this most fundamental tonic. His power, his physique, his control over fire, and the Qilin power that already existed within him were all surging, transforming, and sublimating at an alarming, geometrical rate!

One time, two times, five times, ten times... and it keeps climbing!

However, this is just the beginning!

The active integration of the Qilin Marrow shattered the last vestige of balance in the air. The crystal-clear, icy-blue "Phoenix Blood" and the golden, flowing "Dragon Essence," after losing the restraint of the Qilin Marrow, paused slightly at first, then seemed to be attracted by some more powerful and perfect "carrier," or perhaps unwilling to be monopolized by the Qilin Marrow, they also shone brightly at the same time!

From within the icy blue phoenix blood light, a clear phoenix cry rang out, its high-pitched and resonant sound piercing through metal and splitting stone, as if an ice phoenix were spreading its wings, ready to take flight. From within the golden dragon essence light, a deep dragon roar echoed, its majestic and profound sound as deep and unfathomable as the ocean, as if a golden dragon were winding and coiling within it.

The next moment, they also transformed into two streams of light, one blue and one gold, like two comets streaking across the night sky. Following closely behind the Qilin Marrow, they shot towards Nie Lingfeng, whose body was burning with golden-red flames and whose aura was surging wildly!

"No!" Chen Duo screamed in terror, her voice trembling. She instinctively sensed that although the two energies appeared sacred and noble, their attributes were completely different from Nie Lingfeng's Qilin power, even subtly antagonistic! The cold, deathly stillness of the phoenix blood and the domineering, violent power of the dragon essence were fundamentally different from the fiery, upright Qilin power! If they surged in simultaneously, Nie Lingfeng's already fragile body and soul, being transformed by the Qilin marrow, would absolutely not be able to withstand it! He would instantly explode and die, leaving not even a trace behind!

She wanted to rush over and use her body to block the two streaks of light, but she was too slow, as slow as if she were struggling in a swamp.

Nie Lingfeng himself realized this deadly crisis! He wanted to dodge, to use his internal energy to resist, but his body was being frantically transformed by the power of the Qilin Marrow. Every muscle and every meridian was trembling and being reshaped in excruciating pain, making it almost impossible for him to move an inch! Moreover, the two streaks of light were too fast, faster than the limits of thought!

"Pfft! Pfft!"

Two soft sounds, almost simultaneously, like two raindrops falling into a calm lake.

The icy blue phoenix blood light entered his brow—that was where his sea of ​​consciousness was, the abode of his soul!

The golden dragon essence flowed into his dantian—the source of power and the foundation of his cultivation technique!

"boom--!!!"

Nie Lingfeng felt as if his head and dantian had been hit by two meteorites at the same time, and he had been thrown into an extremely cold ice cave and a scorching lava inferno at the same time!

At the center of his brow, a vast, cold, and seemingly timeless energy, containing endless mysteries of life, exploded forth! It was the immortal power of the phoenix, reborn from the ashes, the ultimate secret of Xu Fu—the Emperor Shitian who had lived for nearly two thousand years—who stole the creation of heaven and earth in pursuit of immortality—the phoenix blood!

This power was cold and domineering, its chill penetrating to the bone yet not freezing; instead, it carried a strange, immortal vitality. It attempted to freeze his thoughts, erode his soul, and transform his life form, turning him into another existence, somewhere between life and death, a near-eternal being! At his brow, icy blue light flickered wildly, and countless tiny ice crystals could be faintly seen spreading and growing beneath his skin, as if trying to freeze his entire head into an ice sculpture!

At his dantian, a majestic, fiery, and domineering aura of imperial supremacy, capable of greatly amplifying both internal and spiritual power, erupted simultaneously! That was the Dragon Essence, a condensation of the essence of the divine dragon and containing supreme creative power!

This power was intense and violent, unlike the heat of the Qilin Marrow. The flames of the Qilin Marrow were balanced and peaceful, like the sun shining brightly; while the flames of the Dragon Essence were domineering and fierce, like the blazing sun in the sky, utterly supreme! It attempted to burst his dantian, burn his meridians, and brand his body and soul with the unique mark of "dragon"! In his dantian, golden light shone brightly, his dantian churned like boiling water, and a tearing pain came from his meridians, as if countless golden dragons were rampaging through them!

One ice, one fire; one life, one hegemon; one yin, one yang.

Two completely opposite yet incredibly powerful energies collided, clashed, and fought fiercely within his body after losing the natural "buffer" and "harmonizer" of the Qilin marrow!

Like two armies locked in a life-or-death struggle, they used his body as their battlefield and engaged in the most brutal battle! Both tried to take the lead and transform him into the "perfect vessel" of their respective attributes.

On this battlefield, there is also the Qilin Marrow Power, which is frantically fusing with his bloodline, already blazing and violent, and equally unwilling to be outdone!

Three terrifying energies, enough to drive any peerless master mad, but also enough to instantly annihilate any being, unleashed a fierce and life-or-death "war" within Nie Lingfeng's body!

"ah--!!!"