Mortal: Starting with the Falling Cloud Sect, I proved my Dao through gacha pulls.

Su Mu followed the blue-robed female cultivator all the way to a secluded mountain valley halfway up the mountain, where an ancient and simple hall sat quietly, with the three characters "Chengxin Pavilion" written on the plaque.

This hall was built above the source of the cold pool spring. Inside, there were many independent secret chambers, each separated from the pool water by a restriction, which were used exclusively for cultivators to cultivate in seclusion.

Su Mu entered the main hall and saw that the person on duty was a female cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage. Her aura was calm and steady, and her cultivation had reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

"I am Su Mu from Huoyun Peak. I have come to rent a secret room. I would like to trouble this senior sister." Su Mu cupped his hands to the female cultivator and stated his purpose.

"Huh, Fire Cloud Peak?"

The female cultivator was slightly surprised upon hearing this. Most of the cultivators on Fire Cloud Peak practiced fire-based techniques and were always most wary of cold and gloomy places. Why would this person specifically come to the Cold Pool for seclusion? Although she had doubts in her heart, she did not ask any questions on the surface and simply acted according to the rules.

"Two low-grade spirit stones per day, how long does this junior brother intend to rent it for?"

Upon hearing this, Su Mu didn't offer any further explanation and directly handed over two mid-grade spirit stones. One mid-grade spirit stone could be exchanged for one hundred low-grade spirit stones, but ordinary cultivators rarely used such conversions.

"My cultivation requires special skills, and I fear I will need to stay here for some time. I will use these two mid-grade spirit stones as a deposit. If they are insufficient, I will make up the difference after I emerge from seclusion. In addition, I would like to ask Senior Sister to find me a secluded room with a relatively dense atmosphere of coldness."

The female cultivator accepted the spirit stone, feeling increasingly strange. She secretly wondered what kind of magic this person wanted to cultivate, that he needed to stay here for so long, and that he specifically chose a secluded room with heavy cold air.

She then led Su Mu through the hall to a secret room. The door to this secret room was inscribed with the words "Jia Liu". Before even pushing the door open, a chilling aura rushed out, biting cold.

"The cold air here is extremely rich and should be suitable for you, Junior Brother. If anything goes wrong, you can come to the front hall to find me." The female cultivator gave these words of advice, then cupped her hands in farewell and left on her own.

Su Mu pushed open the door to the secret chamber with the token, and a bone-chilling cold instantly swept over him, causing him to shiver involuntarily.

Such a chilling aura is unbearable for ordinary cultivators, let alone cultivate for long periods; they can hardly withstand even a short while.

The layout of the secret room is very simple. In the center, there is a pool filled with cold spring water. Around the pool are five stone phoenix heads. When the spring water is used up, the phoenix heads can be used to breathe and refresh the water. It is quite ingenious.

Besides that, there was only a lonely futon.

"Good, this place should meet the requirements."

Su Mu nodded in satisfaction, then took out a card that glowed with a faint purple light, which was the Nine Wonders Immortal Elixir Divine Spring Water.

The moment the card materialized, a vast, suspended mass of liquid condensed out of thin air in front of it, crystal clear and translucent, shimmering with starlight-like glimmers of light, resembling a single piece of liquid jade.

The Immortal Elixir Spring exudes a refreshing fragrance, and the boundless vitality contained within it is overwhelming. Su Mu only needs to take a light sniff, and all the pores on his body will open up, making him feel completely comfortable.

He stored the spring water in his storage bracelet, which contained about one cubic meter of water.

He then took out the purple card of the Golden Body Liquid and excitedly materialized it.

【Golden Body Liquid (Purple)】

[Description: Originating from the Perfect World, this is an ancient sacred academy treasure within the Heaven-Mending Pavilion of the lower realm. It can unlock the potential of the physical body, reshape the foundation, and forge the body into a flawless state.]

After the golden liquid materialized, it was placed inside an ancient jade bottle. The whole bottle was a brilliant golden color, with tiny golden runes appearing and disappearing as it flowed.

Su Mu dripped a drop of Golden Body Liquid into the pool, and the cold spring water in the pool immediately surged and churned, the originally clear spring water rapidly turning pale gold, shimmering with spiritual light.

Seeing this, Su Mu took off his clothes and carefully sat cross-legged in the middle of the pool. As soon as he sat down, he grimaced.

The icy pool was originally extremely yin water, but after being mixed with the golden liquid, it transformed into a state of water and fire fusion. One moment it was bone-chillingly cold, the next it was burning hot, the two extreme forces clashing and alternating, extremely bizarre.

Su Mu gritted his teeth and silently circulated his internal energy, guiding the energy from the pool into his body.

As the energy flowed into his body, a tingling sensation instantly spread throughout Su Mu's entire body. His meridians were constantly breaking and rapidly healing, each reconstruction more resilient and powerful than the last.

This force is also quietly reshaping his dantian, making it more vast and profound, and the amount of true essence it can hold has increased dramatically.

Gradually, Su Mu adapted to this process. His congenital physical deficiencies were compensated for, his physical potential was stimulated, and his entire body underwent a mysterious transformation.

As the energy of the pool water is continuously absorbed into the body, the pale gold color gradually fades, returning to its clear state. Water vapor slowly rises, and the water level on the pool surface gradually drops by a line.

Three days later, Su Mu completely absorbed the energy of the drop of golden liquid. His body became crystalline, his physique became more balanced, and his physical strength greatly increased.

Seeing that the cold spring had dried up, Su Mu immediately stood up and made a hand seal with his fingertips. The five stone phoenix heads by the pool opened their mouths at the same time, and the cold spring gushed out, instantly filling the pool platform again.

Su Mu dripped another drop of Golden Body Liquid, closed his eyes, and focused his mind on refining it.

For the next few days, he continued this cycle. In the secret room, apart from the sound of the flowing spring, there was only the sound of his increasingly powerful heartbeat.

Six months later...

Su Mu slowly stood up from the pool, his eyes flashing like lightning as he opened and closed them. As he stretched his body, a series of crackling sounds emanated from his entire body.

At this moment, his physique possessed a perfect fluidity, and with every move he made, a deep and fierce aura emanated from him, as if a ferocious beast was lurking within his body.

"Ah, it's truly captivating." Su Mu clenched his fist, feeling the power contained within his body.

At this moment, he could clearly feel that his body had become very tough and powerful, his vitality was surging like a tide, and his essence and spirit were contained and locked inward, without leaking out.

More importantly, his physical potential has been greatly developed, and he will truly embark on the path of physical cultivation from now on.

He was initially very worried that he would develop into a muscular brute, but now his body lines are very smooth and there is no sense of bulkiness, which makes him unable to suppress the corners of his mouth to turn up.

"Alas, I wonder which demon will benefit from my excellent body in the future."

After admiring his physique for a while, he sighed rather narcissistically.

He wanted to test the strength of his current physical body, but this place was not suitable, and there was something else important to do next.

A thought struck him, and he took out a blue card.

【Fallen Heartflame (Blue)】

[Note: From the world of Battle Through the Heavens, ranked fourteenth on the Strange Flame Ranking, this is a transparent and colorless flame that can automatically temper battle qi and accelerate cultivation. In combat, it can ignite the opponent's inner flame to suppress their mind.]

After refining the Golden Body Liquid, Su Mu's physique has been completely transformed, and he can finally refine this strange fire with peace of mind.

He returned to the pool and sat down cross-legged again. With a flick of his wrist, a Senzu Bean appeared in his palm.

Then he picked up the jade bottle that originally contained the Golden Body Elixir and filled it with the Elixir of Immortality from the Divine Spring.

"Now everything is foolproof, let's begin!"

Su Mu materialized the Fallen Heart Flame card, and a strange, transparent flame suddenly appeared in the secret chamber. As soon as the flame was released, it swelled in size and transformed into a fiery python.

The fire python had a dull look in its eyes and no intelligence; it simply instinctively coiled itself around Su Mu.

Su Mu was instantly engulfed in flames, his hair burning to ashes in an instant. At the same time, a fire of passion ignited within him, as if his inner essence was about to burst into flames.

Before he could grieve for his lost hair, he took a deep breath and fully activated the fire control technique from the True Flame Nirvana Manual. At the same time, he dispersed his protective aura, guided the flames into his body, and let the violent energy flow through his body.

"Um!"

Su Mu grunted, quickly clenching his teeth and forcibly enduring it.

At this moment, his body surface radiated an astonishingly high temperature, and the pool water quickly turned into water vapor. Amidst the rising steam, he resembled a cooked shrimp, his body turning completely red.

Su Mu was extremely fortunate at this moment. If he hadn't refined the Golden Body Liquid first, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand this fire at all!

As Su Mu refined a trace of the strange fire, it seemed as if the fire's instinctive ferocity was aroused, and the flames became even more turbulent, with enormous energy impacting his body.

His skin developed numerous cracks at a visible speed, resembling porcelain.

Su Mu quickly tilted his head back and drank a mouthful of divine spring water. The boundless vitality instantly exploded in his limbs and bones, and the burns and cracks in his body healed rapidly. Even the raging Fallen Heart Flame was nourished by this vitality and calmed down a bit.

"Very well, let's see how long you can hold out!"

Su Mu gradually calmed his mind and steadied his Dao heart, engaging in a long and perilous tug-of-war with the Fallen Heart Flame...