That evening, the two Titled Douluo each took one of the two and headed for the Sunset Forest near Heaven Dou City.
A journey that would normally have taken nearly half a month on foot took only a day by flight. According to Tang Hao, they could have gone even faster if the two had not been so weak.
The four stood atop a mountain. Looking down at the spring below, where ice and fire were divided as clearly as two rivers that refused to mingle, Tang San exclaimed, "It really is the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!"
Since he had already reached an agreement with Dugu Bo, he naturally had no need for reservations and had asked about the situation beforehand.
Dugu Bo stood nearby with mixed feelings. After all, he had been the only one here before, but from now on, that would no longer be the case...
Tang Hao had also heard about it from Tang San and knew that this treasure land could accelerate the growth of plants. Unable to contain himself, he said, "Come on, let's go down."
A moment later
"That's Aromatic Silk Beauty! And that's a Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum! There's octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot too! And that one..." As soon as Tang San came down, he saw these immortal-grade medicinal herbs recorded in the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record. There were so many that his eyes could hardly take them all in.
Xiang Yang was also looking here and there, trying to find an Immortal Herb that suited him. "Sweet potato? No, that won't do. Phoenix sunflower might..."
After Tang San's excitement subsided, he saw Xiang Yang peering around and could not help laughing in surprise. Then he went over to help him find the [Nine Yang Ginseng] that had caught Xiang Yang's eye when the two had previously looked through the descriptions of Immortal Herbs.
The Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record also called it [Blood of the Golden Crow]. It was golden-red all over, with nine ginseng roots connected underground, their tendrils coiled like falling Golden Crows.
Legend had it that in ancient times, the Heavenly Emperor had ten sons, all of them the legendary divine beasts known as Three-Legged Golden Crows. They were supposed to take turns crossing the heavens, shining upon all creation.
But because of their mischief, they all appeared at once one day. With ten suns blazing overhead, the earth was reduced to charcoal, and living beings suffered terribly.
Fortunately, Da Yi took up his divine bow and shot down nine of the suns. The nine Golden Crows fell one after another, and their blood spilled onto the earth. Drawn together by their brotherly bond, it gathered into one, becoming this very ginseng!
"Found it!" Tang San called from the other side of the Yang Spring.
"Great!"
Xiang Yang could hardly contain himself. His heart raced, his hands trembled, and he could not stop, could not stop at all.
Neither the infernal delicate apricot nor the cockscomb phoenix sunflower from the original story was compatible with him. The former was actually a poisonous herb, while the latter's greatest effect was purification, making it of little use to him. Although there were other Yang-attribute Immortal Herbs, none could match those two in quality.
"What a pity. It still needs a few more years," Tang San said regretfully. Xiang Yang looked at the golden Immortal Herb with only seven leaves. "It's fine. In an environment like this, reaching two thousand years should be possible with a little effort."
Xiang Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief. An unripe herb was nothing to fear; it was not having one that would have really screwed him over. The moment he had read the description of this Immortal Herb, he had taken a liking to it.
Suddenly, Xiang Yang thought of something. "What about you? Which one are you planning to absorb?"
Unlike him, Tang San did not know the plot and could not be absolutely certain that the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well existed, so naturally he had not been in as much of a hurry to make up his mind.
"Hmm, I'll go with the ink jade divine bamboo. Its medicinal properties are fairly well suited to Blue Silver Grass, and once I absorb it, my bloodline might awaken directly."
Tang San spoke after thinking for a moment.
None of the Immortal Herbs here was especially compatible with a Martial Soul like Blue Silver Grass. After all, Blue Silver Grass itself was far too common, and this treasure land had two extreme attributes. Expecting to find an Immortal Herb perfectly compatible with it was simply a flight of fancy.
"Yeah, bamboo is an herbaceous plant, and it doesn't have any particular attribute, so it shouldn't interfere with your awakening."
As for the Blue Silver Emperor, Xiang Yang had naturally asked Tang Hao about it. Thanks to the Soul Ring combination Xiang Yang had suggested, the once-ordinary Blue Silver Grass had gained the traits of the Soul Beasts its Soul Rings came from, but the most obvious change was the stripe down its center, which was gradually turning from silver to gold.
Tang Hao figured that Xiang Yang had already met Ah Yin and been given the Soul Bone, so a little more information hardly mattered. Naturally, he told him everything in full. Only then did Tang San learn that his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul was anything but ordinary, and that once he reached level fifty, he could go to the Blue Silver Forest and awaken it as the Blue Silver Emperor.
But now, it looked as though that might not be necessary. No... that Soul Ring would still be useful.
The two continued looking around for a while. Tang Hao, however, grew somewhat bored. He asked Dugu Bo for directions, then left the poison formation, saying he was going to catch a Soul Beast for dinner.
Dugu Bo had no choice but to remain alone in the wooden cabin.
"Senior." ×2
Hmm? Hearing their voices, Dugu Bo put down the medical book in his hands. Tang San had offered it to him on the way here, saying that medicine and poison were branches of the same family and that knowledge of one could illuminate the other.
Dugu Bo had become engrossed as soon as he opened it. It had indeed cleared up many of his old questions, and he was quietly beginning to look forward to seeing what sort of solution the two could offer him. As for forcing the poison into a Soul Bone?
He had only one Head Soul Bone, and its location was simply too dangerous. One small mistake, and the several decades he could otherwise have lived would be reduced to zero on the spot. It was better to first see the solution Xiang Yang had said had an eighty percent chance of success.
"A Soul Core?" Dugu Bo asked in confusion. Here was yet another thing he had never heard of. Was this what a genius was like? He could not help but marvel.
"Yes. Based on our estimates, with your strength as a Titled Douluo, you should have no trouble condensing one." Xiang Yang sounded so certain that Dugu Bo could not help believing him a little more.
He asked, "How exactly do I do it?"
"First, you need to gather your Soul Power in your dantian... right here." Seeing Dugu Bo's puzzled look, Xiang Yang suddenly remembered that the Douluo Continent had no concept of the dantian or meridians. He had no choice but to point to a spot on his lower abdomen to give him an idea for now. When it came time to actually do it, he would have Tang San step in and teach him. Having taught Xiang Yang before, Tang San should have plenty of experience.
"That part should be easy with your cultivation." Dugu Bo grunted in agreement. "Then you make it spin... and compress it..."
"Hmm, that is quite good, but what does it have to do with curing my poisoning?" In Dugu Bo's view, successfully condensing this Soul Core would surely give a Soul Master a considerable boost in strength. Moreover, because it was an improvement to Soul Power itself, its effect on Soul Skills should be amplified even further.
Hearing his question, Xiang Yang laughed. "Senior, do you know why you were poisoned?"
Dugu Bo answered without thinking, "Of course it's because my poison is too strong!"
"Yes, and no."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"Senior, your Martial Soul is the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor, a Beast Martial Soul. You must have been through a great deal to evolve your Martial Soul after birth, and your poison is indeed formidable. But that isn't why you've been poisoned by it. Have you ever seen a venomous snake die young because of its own venom?"
"Well..." He really had never thought about it. After all, he was a Soul Master; why would he observe Soul Beasts? He had always intended to solve the problem with suitable herbs or poisons.
It came down to the times they lived in and the force of personal habit. Xiang Yang shook his head and continued, "Then do you know why some Weapon Martial Souls also have the poison attribute, yet no one with one has a condition like yours?"
"Uh..." Dugu Bo was a little embarrassed. Why did he keep failing to answer?
The scene struck Tang San as somewhat familiar, and he could not help saying, "It's because of the difference between Weapon Martial Souls and Beast Martial Souls. One is a tool held in the hand, while the other has to possess the body."
Dugu Bo felt as though sweet dew had been poured over his head, and understanding dawned. "So that's it!" Although Beast Martial Soul possession was powerful, it also caused the Martial Soul to temporarily merge with the body, so its effects were naturally far greater than those of a Weapon Martial Soul.
Xiang Yang glanced at them and continued, "Soul Beasts either have organs like venom glands in their bodies that are specifically used to store toxins, or they have the corresponding resistance or an ability to digest toxins."
"But humans have none of those things. Combined with frequent Martial Soul possession, that's why Jade Phosphorous Serpent Soul Masters are harmed by their own poison." In fact, Xiang Yang thought they could take a cue from Porcupinefish Douluo's ability to absorb toxins and specifically hunt Soul Beasts with corresponding abilities. Presumably, either a Soul Ring or a Soul Bone from one would work well.
But that depended on planning the path from the very beginning. Dugu Bo clearly no longer had that opportunity, and Dugu Yan already had three rings. Although she had probably been influenced somewhat by Xiang Yang and her Soul Skills were not quite the same as in the original story, her path had remained focused on strengthening her poison.
Changing course now would be a poor choice. At the very least, their strength would be greatly affected, and the outcome would be hard to predict.