The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye

As the morning sun gradually rose, the purple haze dispersed.

Another new day had arrived.

"Whew."

Dugu Chen finished his morning meditation. Feeling his strength grow a little stronger within him, he felt immensely reassured. This was what strength brought him.

Ever since Dugu Bo had heard the information about immortal herbs that Dugu Chen revealed to him that day, he had not been seen for an entire day and night. He was most likely verifying the authenticity of the information now. After all, this might solve the Dugu Clan's martial soul problem. No amount of caution was excessive.

Dugu Chen rose, intending to return to his room for breakfast, when Dugu Bo appeared behind him like a ghost and grabbed him, his tone urgent.

"Chen'er, quickly! Come with your teacher."

Dugu Chen jumped at Dugu Bo's sudden appearance. Seeing that he was about to be carried off again, he hurriedly stopped him.

"Hey, hey!!! Teacher, slow down. What could possibly be so urgent?"

"Your teacher knows where the immortal herbs you mentioned are."

Dugu Bo answered Dugu Chen's question extremely quickly.

"Where?" Dugu Chen appropriately showed great excitement as well.

"Come! Your teacher will take you there."

With that, Dugu Bo once again grabbed Dugu Chen and sped toward Sunset Forest.

Dugu Chen once again wore an expression of utter despair.

Outside Sunset Forest.

Heaven Dou City was very close to Sunset Forest. Due to its unique geographical location, Sunset Forest served as the place where Soul Masters from most of the cities surrounding Heaven Dou City hunted Soul Beasts.

An ordinary person could reach it in one shichen, but with Dugu Bo traveling at full speed, master and disciple arrived in less than a quarter of an hour.

And in that brief time, Dugu Chen saw several groups of students in the uniform attire of advanced Soul Master Academies from high in the sky.

Dugu Bo did not pause along the way, flying swiftly toward the depths of Sunset Forest.

Suppressed by Dugu Bo's aura, the previously quiet Sunset Forest instantly became lively. The ten-year and hundred-year Soul Beasts on its outskirts fled without pause, while the thousand-year and ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts deeper within also sensed Dugu Bo's presence and let out several threatening roars.

Dugu Bo ignored every one of those roars and headed straight for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye.

Within a valley at the heart of Sunset Forest lay an extraordinarily strange hot spring.

This hot spring was utterly unlike any ordinary one. It was not large, yet it was divided into two sections. Within the oval pool, the spring water was colored milky white and crimson red. Even more strangely, though they occupied the same pool, they did not encroach upon each other and always remained on their respective sides.

Steam rose in thick waves from between the springs, only gradually dispersing when it reached the mouth of the valley.

Dugu Bo brought Dugu Chen down onto a five-hundred-meter hill on the outskirts.

Dugu Chen examined the surrounding terrain. Before him was an inverted cone-shaped hollow, and the mountaintop where they stood formed the edge of that hollow. Dense heat billowed up from below, damp and carrying the distinctive scent of sulfur.

"Teacher, is this the place?"

Dugu Bo said nothing. With a flash of his figure, he brought Dugu Chen with him and leaped directly down from the mountaintop.

At the bottom of the valley, even though he had long known about this treasure land, Dugu Chen was still stunned by the sight before him.

"Chen'er, this is the treasure land your teacher discovered by chance. I have also seen the Aromatic Silk Beauty you mentioned last time here. Take another look and see whether there are any other precious herbs you recognize. Remember, do not touch those two springs. Even I cannot endure their blazing heat and extreme cold for long. If you come into contact with them, death will be your only path."

Hearing Dugu Bo's warning, Dugu Chen came back to his senses. He promised Dugu Bo that he would not touch the spring water, then began walking around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye.

The more Dugu Chen looked, the more shocked he became. There were simply too many precious herbs here. Top-grade medicinal plants that would be treasures outside grew here like weeds, scattered freely all around.

Tang San really had no conscience in the original story. There were so many precious herbs, yet he pulled them all up and did not leave a single one for Dugu Bo. This time, Tang San would not get so much as a hair.

Although he did not necessarily recognize all of these herbs, he spotted Snow Silkworms, Cinnabar Lotus, Aromatic Silk Beauty, Nine-Rank Dragon Ganoderma, Primordial Immortal Grass, and more.

"Teacher, come quickly! I found so many immortal-grade herbs. Several of them are especially suitable for you and Senior Sister."

Seeing Dugu Chen so excited, Dugu Bo came over to him. He asked quietly, with a trace of nervousness in his voice.

"There are many? Which ones are there? What are their effects?"

Dugu Chen then told Dugu Bo about the effects of the immortal herbs he recognized.

By the end, Dugu Bo still had not heard the answer he wanted. Anxiously grabbing Dugu Chen by the shoulders, he hurriedly spoke, his voice trembling.

"Are there any that can detoxify poison?"

"Teacher, does one of your friends have poison in their body?"

Dugu Chen had to wait for Dugu Bo to reveal his own problem before he could tell him the solution.

After hesitating for a moment, Dugu Bo explained, "It is I who am poisoned. Or rather, the Dugu Clan is poisoned. Since cultivating the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor, the poison has seeped into my marrow. Whenever the weather turns overcast or rainy, a numb, itching sensation appears along my ribs, and it gradually worsens. It flares up once at noon and once at midnight, each episode lasting more than one shichen. Also, every night at around the third watch, stabbing pain like needle pricks appears at the crown of my head and in the centers of my palms. My entire body spasms for at least half a shichen."

"I became famous throughout the land because of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor, yet I cannot even cure my own poison. My son also died because of the poison in his body. Even Yan Yan was born with poison carried from her mother's womb. I truly fear that she will follow the same path, that this old man will once again have to bury the young. Chen'er, this old sack of bones does not matter, but do you have a way to save Yan Yan?"

As Dugu Bo spoke, his eyes reddened. His body trembling, he pleaded with Dugu Chen.

"Teacher, what are you doing? If your disciple has a way, would I not save both you and Senior Sister?"

Dugu Chen hurriedly replied. Though he had initially taken Dugu Bo as his teacher with certain motives, after these past few months together, Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan had become the most important people in his life.

Dugu Chen gathered his thoughts, then seriously offered Dugu Bo his opinion.

"Teacher, although the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot are both highly poisonous on their own, yin and yang counteract each other. When these two extreme medicinal herbs are combined, they neutralize one another. After consuming them, one will become immune to both water and fire, and invulnerable to all poisons."

Dugu Chen hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"However, according to my guess, your Poison Skill will likely be completely crippled afterward."

Dugu Bo frowned upon hearing this. Having his cultivation crippled was impossible; if his enemies learned of it, all three of them would likely be in danger.

With that thought, Dugu Bo made up his mind and smiled at Dugu Chen.

"Then give them to Yan Yan! As long as Yan Yan is all right, this old man will be satisfied."

Dugu Bo's decision did not surprise Dugu Chen. In his eyes, Dugu Yan was likely even more important than Dugu Bo himself.

"Teacher, I have another idea. I don't know whether it will work, so I'll need you to decide."

Dugu Chen continued speaking to Dugu Bo. He did not want Dugu Bo to suffer like this every day either. Dugu Bo nodded, signaling for him to continue.

"Teacher, you possess a Beast Martial Soul, which is why the toxins have fused with your body. Although your Soul Power can mobilize and suppress them, they have long since become part of your body, and that is why they have caused such severe harm. A Tool Martial Soul would not have this problem, so we need to find a vessel for the poison in your body—a place to store the toxins."

"You mean a Soul Bone?"

Dugu Bo was also an expert in poison. Hearing Dugu Chen's words, he immediately felt enlightened, and a jade gleam flashed in his eyes. "You mean I should force the toxins in my body into a Soul Bone? That way, they won't harm me anymore?"

Yet before long, Dugu Bo furrowed his brow. "This old man has cultivated the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul for more than seventy years. My body has long fused as one with the toxins. They will not be easy to force out. If anything goes wrong, the backlash will only be worse."

Dugu Chen replied, "Once Senior Sister takes those two immortal-grade herbs, before she has fully refined their medicinal effects, her blood will possess the same effect. Using Senior Sister's blood as a catalyst, we should be able to slowly filter the toxins from your meridians and bones bit by bit, concentrating them within the Soul Bone. It's just that..."

Seeing Dugu Chen hesitate, Dugu Bo immediately said, "If you have concerns, just say them. Stop hemming and hawing."

After thinking for a moment, Dugu Chen said, "Teacher, this disciple is worried that this method only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. Moreover, as you continue cultivating, the toxins within the Soul Bone will likely accumulate more and more. Once they reach the Soul Bone's limit, if they erupt all at once, I fear no one will be able to save you."

Hearing Dugu Chen's concern, Dugu Bo merely laughed heartily.

"Hahaha! This old man has already lived for over seventy years. Once Yan Yan's poison is cured, I will have no regrets in this life. I'll be content if I can live a few more years in comfort. We'll do it this way! At worst, when it is close to the limit, I can simply stop cultivating. I'll go bring Yan Yan here now. Stay here and be careful. There is a Poison Array I set up outside, so no Soul Beast can enter this place."

Without waiting for Dugu Chen to react, he turned and hurried home to fetch Dugu Yan.

After Dugu Bo left, Dugu Chen could only return to wandering among the immortal herbs. He had no Soul Tool capable of storing living things, so when the time came, he could only pick them as he needed them.

As he walked, Dugu Chen recalled the effects of these immortal herbs and marked those suitable for himself and Dugu Bo. As for Dugu Yan, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot were enough. Before she had fully absorbed them, consuming too many immortal herbs would do more harm than good.

Dugu Chen stopped before a medicinal herb that looked utterly unremarkable. The entire plant was jade green, but strangely, three snow-white leaves grew at its center. Several droplets of water rested in the middle of those leaves, like dew left behind in the early morning.

This Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew was one of Dugu Chen's targets. His Spiritual Power was already strong, and he wanted to attach a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring at the fourth ring. He had to solve the issue of the soul shock from a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, and after consuming the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, he would have absolute confidence in overcoming it.

Dugu Chen plucked the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew and raised it before him, tilting it slightly. Several drops of transparent liquid immediately fell into his mouth. The instant those drops completely left the leaves, the entire plant withered away, turning to dust in the blink of an eye and scattering from his hand.

Dugu Chen immediately sat cross-legged and assumed the Five Hearts Facing Heaven posture, beginning his cultivation. A faint reddish-golden glow enveloped his head, while threads of Golden Light continuously gathered toward his eyes.