Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well

Sunset Forest lay not far outside Heaven Dou City and was a Spirit Beast forest second only to the Star Dou Great Forest.

In the stillness of the deep night, Ye Tianxing stood atop the Seven Star Sword. Secretly following the guidance of the Withered Wood Bow, he gradually closed the distance to Dugu Bo. He had caught the scent—the scent emanating from Dugu Bo.

"Sis, why did you come along too?" Ye Tianxing asked Xue Qinghe through Soul Power transmission as he looked at the pair of white wings on her back.

The Heaven Dou Imperial Family's inherited Martial Soul was the swan, a symbol of nobility and purity.

"If I hadn't come, Dugu Bo would've chopped you into eight pieces. Is that any way to speak to your savior?" Xue Qinghe transmitted back.

"Wasn't I just worried about your safety?"

"Keep making excuses!" Xue Qinghe rolled her eyes at Ye Tianxing and teased, "Even Spirit Hall's intelligence network knows nothing of Dugu Bo's secret, yet you understand it perfectly. As for that Old Poison, we only knew that he lived in Sunset Forest. We had no idea where exactly he was, and his movements were unpredictable. So how does a brat like you know everything so clearly? Are you more accurate than Spirit Hall's intelligence network?"

"Correct. I was born with a pair of eyes that can see through people's hearts," Ye Tianxing said proudly.

"Is that so? Then tell me what I'm thinking." Xue Qinghe met Ye Tianxing's gaze and turned to face him directly.

Staring at Xue Qinghe's masculine face, Ye Tianxing saw through her true nature. Recalling the first time he had met Qian Renxue, he smiled. "I see a flawless, perfect face, like an angel descending from the heavens into the mortal world—beauty beyond compare. Whose young lady is this? Might I have the honor of making her acquaintance?"

Xue Qinghe froze slightly, then laughed and scolded, "You little brat! You even dare tease me? Once we're done with Dugu Bo, just see how I deal with you!"

At the heart of Sunset Forest stood a towering mountain with sheer cliffs. A poison formation had been laid around its base; death awaited anyone who touched it, and neither Spirit Beasts nor Spirit Masters could enter.

Yet strangely, the mountain itself was hollow, as though it had been excavated from within. Thick rings of mist rose from below, making it impossible to see what lay inside.

Just then, Dugu Bo's voice came from within the mountain, sounding somewhat surprised. "Brat, I'm here. I'll give you two choices. Either enter through the poison formation in front, or fly in from above."

Dugu Bo had personally set up the poison formation. Without his pills, Ye Tianxing could not enter.

On the other hand, plunging down from the sky was an unknown risk. Yet from the very center of the hollow mountain, Ye Tianxing and Qian Renxue could sense two utterly extreme temperatures below—cold and heat intertwined.

The cold chilled one to the bone, while the heat left one parched and dry.

"Dugu Bo truly deserves his reputation. He occupies such a treasured place yet remains completely unaffected. Other than his poisonous arts, ordinary people probably couldn't even get close," Xue Qinghe remarked. No wonder Spirit Hall had never been able to find him. So this was where he had been hiding.

"Are we ordinary people?" Ye Tianxing and Qian Renxue exchanged a smile.

After benefiting from the Heavenly Thunder Tempering Body, Ye Tianxing had once traveled to the Extreme North in search of pure ice and snow elements. But before the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well that now lay ahead, the ice and snow elements stored within the Withered Wood Bow were utterly insignificant.

Extreme Ice and Extreme Fire!

That was Ye Tianxing's true purpose in coming here.

Ye Tianxing dove straight down. His vision grew increasingly blurred as the temperature in the air warped. Then an icy chill seeped into his body. The alternating cold and heat only made Ye Tianxing more excited.

Ever since the Heavenly Thunder Tempering Body all those years ago, he had not encountered such an excellent place to strengthen himself in a long time.

Inside the valley, fallen leaves danced through the air and flowers and grasses carpeted the ground. Swathes of unknown medicinal herbs had taken root there. At the center lay a hot spring where blue and red reflected one another—half cold, half hot. They existed side by side, yet remained as distinct as the Wei and Jing Rivers.

From a cliffside, Dugu Bo watched Ye Tianxing descend from the sky with his own eyes. The smile on his face could not be concealed. He paced around excitedly several times, repeatedly wanting to approach the pool at the very center, nearly stepping into it for real.

Xue Qinghe slowly descended. After finding a patch of lush grass, she withdrew the white wings behind her back and stood with her hands clasped behind her, surveying the surroundings. She could only marvel at the place's miraculous natural beauty, especially the two springs at its center.

Ever since arriving here, Qian Renxue's Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul had begun operating on its own for some unknown reason. From the side facing the red spring, an indescribably scorching aura kept tugging at her.

Qian Renxue suppressed the doubts in her heart and turned her attention to Dugu Bo.

Dugu Bo rose, leaped down from the cliff, and landed before Ye Tianxing. He warned, "It truly surprises me that you managed to get here. Do you see those two springs ahead? The blue Cold Pool and the red scorching spring—neither you nor His Royal Highness the Crown Prince must approach them. It doesn't matter if you die, but if anything happens to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, this old man won't be able to survive in the Heaven Dou Empire."

Xue Qinghe smiled but said nothing. Though she knew something within the scorching spring was drawing her in, she still suppressed her confusion, intending to consider the matter further after Dugu Bo left.

"Sword, come!"

The Seven Star Sword appeared in his hand. Ye Tianxing raised it and pointed it at Dugu Bo, startling the latter. He thought Ye Tianxing had become bold enough to try to kill him.

Just as he was about to strike, the sword flashed with a verdant, sword-energy-like aura. Yet it carried no lethality at all.

Instead, a cool aura brimming with the essence of life instantly surged into Dugu Bo's decayed and ruined body.

"Haa—"

Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes in comfort. The moment the essence of life entered his body, he felt better than ever before. His entire body warmed, while a scorching, searing current washed through his limbs and bones. Wherever that energy passed, the toxins fled as though avoiding venomous snakes and scorpions, continuously nourishing his decrepit body.

Influenced by the environment of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the Withered Wood Bow in Ye Tianxing's hand was being continuously nourished, like raindrops moistening parched earth. It yearned to enter the two great pools.

Ye Tianxing looked over and saw two herbs of entirely different forms growing between the two pools: the Infernal Delicate Apricot and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. They were the targets of his journey.

"Senior Dugu, how does it feel?" Ye Tianxing put away the Withered Wood Bow. There would be plenty of time to soak in the springs later. Now was not the time.

Dugu Bo slowly opened his eyes. Miraculously, his once-green pupils were now distinctly black and white, while his skin, once dry as tree bark, had regained much of its luster.

Dugu Bo stretched lazily, feeling incomparably refreshed and full of inexhaustible strength, as if he had returned to the age of eighteen.

"I never expected what you said to be true, brat. It's been a long time since this old man felt so comfortable."

Only now did Dugu Bo truly believe that this brat named Ye Fan could cure the affliction that had tormented him his entire life.

In truth, Dugu Bo was rather alone in the world, relying on each other only with his granddaughter. The person he worried about most was Dugu Yan.