The moment he decided, Xue Tianxing got to work. He rummaged through his storage ring and pulled out the jade boxes and specially made cloth bags he had prepared long ago—the jade boxes were for storing the Immortal Herbs themselves, which needed to retain their spiritual energy, while the cloth bags were for collecting seeds.
Then, using the Pharmacopoeia as a reference, Xue Tianxing carefully surveyed every inch of land around the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well once more, making sure he had not missed a single Immortal Herb.
"Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, collected!"
He cautiously dug up the golden chrysanthemum, roots and all. He deliberately wrapped the soil still clinging to its roots with Soul Power to avoid damaging them, then gently placed it into a jade box lined with soft velvet.
Next, he plucked the seeds from the center of the chrysanthemum and carefully stored them away—these were treasures that could be cultivated again, so he could not afford to waste them.
"Qi Luo Tulip Immortal Grade, this one is far too important!"
Standing on tiptoe, Xue Tianxing picked the Immortal Herb crowned with crystalline dew and placed it, along with the soil beneath it, into a jade box.
Xue Tianxing remembered that in the original story, Ning Rongrong had relied on this Immortal Herb to break through the limitations of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. Now that treasure belonged to him. In the future, the Support Spirit Masters by his side could use it to grow stronger as well.
Xue Tianxing harvested them one after another, from the fire-attributed Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower to the ice-attributed Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, from the Jiang Zhu Grass that increased Soul Power to the Dragon Blood Vine that tempered the body. So long as he could name an Immortal Herb and it was recorded in the Pharmacopoeia, he did not spare a single one.
The jade boxes soon filled up, so he took out even more containers from his storage ring, busier than ever.
Even more meticulously, after harvesting each Immortal Herb, he would squat down and carefully turn over the soil with a small shovel, gathering every scattered seed without missing one.
Whether they were tiny seeds clinging to the roots or mature seeds that had fallen into the dirt, he carefully wrapped them with Soul Power, sorted them into different cloth bags, and marked each bag with the type and characteristics of the Immortal Herb.
Unlike Tang San in the original story—who would replant the seeds after harvesting the Immortal Herbs, preserving the foundation of the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well's herbs—Xue Tianxing did not do that.
Xue Tianxing had it all clearly planned out in his heart:
Tang San had the protagonist's plot armor. If I leave the seeds behind, he might stumble upon some "accelerated growth" opportunity in the future and cultivate the Immortal Herbs again. Then he'll become a formidable rival once more.
Even if Tang San does not have that kind of luck, if these seeds containing such potent medicinal power fall into his hands, he might use them to improve his strength. That is not something Xue Tianxing wants to see.
"Cannot empower the enemy! Absolutely not!"
As Xue Tianxing collected the seeds, he silently repeated to himself:
I'll keep these seeds for now. Once I become a god and unify the entire Douluo Continent, when the whole continent is under my control, I'll plant these seeds again. That will be truly foolproof! Even if some seeds cannot sprout by then, after becoming a god, I'll plant them back and return them to the Dugu Family.
Before he knew it, the sun was setting. Golden afterglow spilled across the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well, dyeing its red and blue springwater a warm orange.
Xue Tianxing finally stopped what he was doing—by then, the densely packed Immortal Herbs around the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well had vanished, leaving only bare soil and the still-churning springwater.
Meanwhile, Xue Tianxing's storage ring was packed with jade boxes and cloth bags, every container holding priceless Immortal Herbs or seeds.
Xue Tianxing patted his storage ring and smiled in satisfaction—on this trip to the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well, he had not only broken through his Soul Power Level and tempered his body, but also gained so many Immortal Herb resources. He had truly returned loaded with spoils.
Then Xue Tianxing turned to look at Dugu Bo, who was still circulating his power to expel the poison. Seeing that the green poisonous mist around him was growing thinner and thinner, Xue Tianxing knew the detoxification was progressing smoothly. He quietly retreated several steps, found a clean rock to sit on, and began considering how these Immortal Herbs should be allocated and used.
As night deepened, only the sound of flowing springwater and Dugu Bo's steady breathing remained beside the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well.
Leaning against the rock, Xue Tianxing gazed at the stars filling the sky, his heart brimming with ambition—with these Immortal Herbs as his foundation, his path to becoming strong would surely become smoother, and he had taken another great step toward his goal of unifying the Douluo Continent!
With his head full of plans, Xue Tianxing fell into a deep sleep. He did not groggily open his eyes until the next morning, when sunlight filtered through the thin mist and fell upon his face.
But the instant he opened his eyes, the sight before him gave him a fright—Dugu Bo was standing in front of him, his face livid, his eyes wide as bronze bells. The Soul Power around him faintly churned, making it clear that he was burning with rage.
"Brat! Was this your doing?!"
Dugu Bo's voice boomed beside his ears like thunder. He suddenly raised a hand and pointed at the bare ground surrounding the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well.
Following where he pointed, Xue Tianxing immediately scratched his head awkwardly—yesterday, he had been so focused on "raiding" the place that he had picked every last Immortal Herb from the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well and collected every seed as well. At that moment, only mud remained around the basin, utterly different from the previous scene of Immortal Herbs covering the ground.
"I told you to 'use whatever you wanted,' not to raid the whole place clean, did I?!"
Dugu Bo's fury grew even stronger, his tone filled with heartache as he said to Xue Tianxing:
"Fine, raiding it clean is one thing, but what do you mean by not leaving even a single seed behind? Do you want my Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well to become an empty shell for good?"
Xue Tianxing was left speechless. After stammering for a long while, he finally squeezed out a sentence:
"Didn't you say I could use whatever I wanted... As for the seeds, I was not planning to keep them for myself. I'll definitely help you plant them back later, just not right now."
"Why not right now?!"
Dugu Bo pressed, his eyes full of suspicion.
Xue Tianxing took a deep breath, his tone turning solemn:
"Senior, this concerns a very important plan of mine, so I truly cannot plant them now. Rest assured, after fifteen years, I will definitely replant every seed in the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well in front of you. By then, this place will only be more flourishing than it is now."
Of course, Xue Tianxing did not mention Tang San's name. He could only brush it off with a vague excuse—after all, no one would believe something like "preventing the protagonist from stealing resources."
Dugu Bo stared at him for a long while. Seeing that his gaze was open and honest, not like he was lying, and remembering that the poison in his body was indeed gradually softening according to Xue Tianxing's method, with the detoxification proceeding far more smoothly than expected, the anger in his heart gradually subsided.
He let out a heavy snort:
"Fine, I'll trust you this once! If I do not see these Immortal Herbs growing again after fifteen years, this old man will not let you off!"
Seeing that Dugu Bo would not pursue the matter any further, Xue Tianxing quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
But before he could fully relax, Dugu Bo remembered his granddaughter, and his tone instantly became urgent:
"Right, brat, do you have any more of that Meridian Cleansing Poison Guiding Pill you gave me? I want to take some back for Yanyan."
Before you continue