Shu Han had never imagined that those enchantresses would still be renting out the heavenly onsen.
He initially believed that the sect's higher-ups reserved the heavenly springs for these enchantresses as a mere form of leisurely indulgence. However, now it seemed far from the truth.
The heavenly springs possess a wondrous function; not only can they reduce breakthrough bottlenecks, but practicing within them can also enhance cultivation efficacy.
To maintain such an extraordinary efficacy of the heavenly springs, the sect has to invest vast amounts of precious spiritual herbs and the earth dragon fire origin daily, incurring a hefty cost.
Reserving the heavenly spring pool for half a year isn't something the upper echelons of the sect can do privately.
This implies that the Fiery Cloud Instant Sect intends to boost the cultivation levels of these enchantresses in an extremely short time.
Could they be planning to dual cultivate with these enchantresses to elevate the sect's elites' cultivation?
Shu Han immediately dismissed the idea. Surely not. What kind of benefit would a cultivator at the Core Formation stage gain from dual cultivating with a female cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage? Was such an elaborate arrangement necessary?
Unable to reach a conclusion, Shu Han stopped pondering the matter.
Why should he care about the Fiery Cloud Instant Sect cultivating enchantresses? It's not as if they were allocated for his pleasure. Overthinking this seemed like needless worry.
Hence, Shu Han bid farewell to Wei Haolong and used the secret token to open the passage leading to the Pure Ice Formation.
When the clock struck midnight, Shu Han leaped into the suppressed earth dragon fire and warmly greeted the original fire dragon.
The fire dragon, with limited intelligence, was dozing off. Suddenly seeing Shu Han entering its domain again made it turn its head away in gloom. It seemed to wonder, after disappearing for four to five months, why this pesky guy had returned!
Thud!
Suddenly, the fire dragon felt something strike the back of its head. It angrily turned towards Shu Han and roared, seemingly cursing.
However, the next moment, it was lured by a rich woody spiritual power. Looking at the object that had struck its head, it was a translucent piece of wood.
This wood held a fatal attraction for the fire dragon. It pounced over, swallowed the piece, and instantly digested its tremendous woody spiritual power, causing its fire origin to swell.
The sensation made the fire dragon roar uncontrollably. Then, it spotted another piece of wood in Shu Han's hand. Its temptation was like a starving dog smelling a juicy bone. Without hesitation, it lunged at Shu Han, fangs and claws ready.
Shu Han hastily activated the Heavenly Fire Conversion Array for protection.
As usual, the fire dragon, suppressed by the Pure Ice Formation at midnight, was no match for Shu Han. It circled around him restlessly, greedily eyeing the piece of wood in Shu Han's hand and relentlessly attacking him.
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Shu Han sighed and with his other hand summoned a gold brick. With a swift move, he smacked the fire dragon's head, making it see stars.
Of course, with his current level of cultivation, using Elder Lu's personal magic treasure wouldn't harm the fire dragon. However, causing it some pain was within his means.
After being smacked on the head with the gold brick, the fire dragon grew even more enraged, launching itself desperately at Shu Han.
"Stay still!"
Shu Han roared, "If you want this piece of wood, stay calm!"
But the fiery-tempered fire dragon was not about to heed Shu Han's orders, continuing its onslaught.
Clang!
It was hit hard again by the gold brick. This time Shu Han exerted more force, causing the dragon to twitch uncontrollably.
Seeing Shu Han swinging the gold brick threateningly, the fire dragon dared not rashly assault him again, instead circling him cautiously.
Seeing that the fire dragon had ceased its attack, Shu Han threw another piece of wood as a reward for its good behavior.
The dragon remained wary of Shu Han but couldn't resist the temptation and cautiously consumed the wood.
Shu Han chuckled, "That's more like it. As long as you behave, there's a heart of the ancestral tree for you to eat. Come closer."
The dragon hesitated but approached. Seeing this, Shu Han prepared to pat it. The dragon, in turn, snapped at him.
Clang!
Once again, the dragon was left dazed by a hard smack from Shu Han.
Shu Han shouted in fury, "Stay still! Mind your manners or face a beating! Come again, behave, and I'll give you another piece of wood."
The dragon whimpered. Despite its volatile temper, it couldn't resist the allure of the wood and approached again.
Shu Han reached out once more. This time, the dragon suppressed its urge to bite and allowed Shu Han to pat its head smoothly.
Patting its scorching hot head, Shu Han threw another piece of wood for the fire dragon to consume.
Seeing the originally wild and uncontrollable earth dragon fire origin calmly allowing itself to be petted, Shu Han couldn't help but swell with pride.
Shu Han remembered when he was young, the dog from neighbor's house would snarl at him every time they met. So, one day, armed with a bowl of bones and a stick, Shu Han spent half the afternoon completely taming the dog. From then on, every time the dog saw Shu Han, it would wag its tail pitifully.
Patting the fire dragon's head, Shu Han mused to himself, "Ah, training a dragon is similar to training a dog. If they resist, beat them hard; if they obey, feed them a bone. Slowly discipline them. Damn, I'm really a dragon taming expert!"
Before long, midnight passed, and the power of the Pure Ice Formation diminished.
Suddenly, the fire dragon became fierce, opening its massive jaws and lunging at Shu Han. Taken aback, Shu Han quickly summoned the Heavenly Feather White Phoenix Armor to defend himself but was ultimately flung out of the Pure Ice Formation by the dragon's tail.
Humph!
The fire dragon glanced disdainfully at Shu Han through the Pure Ice Formation before swimming away on its own.
Brushing the dirt off, Shu Han pointed at the departing dragon and shouted, "You wait! This isn't over!"
So, for the following month, Shu Han embarked on an extremely challenging dragon taming mission.
Every day, Shu Han would enter the Pure Ice Formation unharmed but come out an hour later, bruised and battered.
The fire dragon wasn't very intelligent, but its wild nature was hard to tame. Still, Shu Han refused to give up, especially with the temptation of absorbing the earth dragon fire origin.
Another month flashed by. Shu Han couldn't recall how many ancestral tree hearts he had given or how many injuries he had sustained.
One day at noon, when the earth dragon fire origin was at its peak, Wei Hao Long, not having seen Shu Han emerge from the Pure Ice Formation for two months, grew suspicious and decided to check on him. Arriving at the formation, he was shocked to see Shu Han lying stiffly inside, roasted by the heavenly fire.
Wei Hao Long exclaimed, "Are you out of your mind? Did you die in the formation? Oh my god, Old Yu, what a tragic death! Such a promising youth..."
Suddenly, Shu Han inside the formation turned over, yawning laziously.
Wei Hao Long was stunned, "Are you seriously napping in there?!"
At that moment, the fire dragon in the Pure Ice Formation stealthily swam over, slowly opening its huge jaws toward the drowsy Shu Han.
Wei Hao Long, terrified, began pounding on the Pure Ice Jade Pillar, shouting, "Old Yu! Wake up! The earth dragon fire origin is sneak attacking!"
But the next moment, his eyes nearly popped out. The fire dragon gently closed its mouth and slowly exhaled the rich earth dragon fire origin towards the dozing Shu Han, seemingly afraid to wake him.
Hearing Wei Hao Long's shouts, a groggy Shu Han lazily sat up and stretched. The fire dragon whimpered and gently nuzzled against Shu Han, acting just like a big dog.
Smack!
Shu Han slapped it away, "Stop that!"