Obtaining the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Li Zhixian's Sincere Heart

Seeing how anxious his granddaughter was.

Dugu Bo sighed helplessly.

"Ah..."

He finally understood what it meant when people said a grown daughter could not be kept at home.

The girl wore her thoughts all over her face.

"Zhixian, you have freed the Dugu Family from the scourge of snake venom."

"This favor is as weighty as a mountain. I have been wondering how I could repay you."

Dugu Bo cast off the gloom on his aged face and actually revealed a gentle smile.

"If this herb garden suits your fancy, then I shall give it to you."

He spoke with complete sincerity, without the slightest reluctance.

Although he did not fully understand the specific uses of the exotic flowers and rare herbs within the garden.

Just seeing them thrive amid such extreme heat and cold was enough to tell him they were no ordinary plants.

However.

Compared to what Li Zhixian had done for the Dugu Family.

No matter how precious this herb garden was, it seemed insignificant.

Perhaps afraid that Li Zhixian would refuse, Dugu Bo added:

"These Spirit Grasses are not worth the lives of my granddaughter and me."

"If you refuse them, then you are rejecting this old man's goodwill."

Dugu Yan beside him was even more straightforward.

"Little Brother Banished Immortal, if you don't want them."

"I'll pull up every last one of these flowers and weeds."

Watching the grandfather and granddaughter coordinate so seamlessly, one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop.

A helpless smile touched Li Zhixian's lips.

"Sister Dugu, Elder Dugu, there's no need for this."

His gaze was clear and open as he spoke frankly:

"There truly are Spirit Grasses in this garden that I need."

"Even if you did not offer them to me, I might have had to shamelessly ask for them."

Seeing how candid and generous Li Zhixian was.

The anxiety in Dugu Yan's eyes turned to delight. Her beautiful eyes curved into crescents as she smiled radiantly.

The taut string in Dugu Bo's heart quietly relaxed, and he nodded to himself.

They had already put things so plainly.

If Li Zhixian had continued putting on an act and refusing, it would have seemed hypocritical instead.

This forthrightness.

Made him think even more highly of the young man.

Li Zhixian withdrew his gaze from the Spirit Grasses, his expression turning solemn as he looked at Dugu Bo.

"Let us set the Spirit Grasses aside for now."

"Elder Dugu, I will begin removing the snake venom from your body."

Even Dugu Bo, who had weathered countless storms.

Could not suppress the turmoil in his heart upon hearing words he had awaited for who knew how many years.

"Good!"

The Snake Saliva Rice Soul brewed from Dugu Bo's snake venom gave off a strong medicinal wine scent.

"Zhixian, bottoms up!"

Dugu Bo drained it in one gulp.

As though scorching magma had poured down his throat, his expression changed drastically.

Strands of ink-green poisonous vapor coiled up from Dugu Bo's body, gathering in the air into a grim giant serpent.

The venom spilling from the serpent swept over the valley.

Every plant it passed, aside from the Spirit Grasses within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye, instantly shriveled into blackened ash.

Several mountain sparrows brushed against a trace of the venom and turned directly into white bones as they fell to the ground.

Seeing this scene.

Li Zhixian's pupils contracted sharply, and he hurriedly took two gulps of wine.

As expected of the snake venom accumulated over decades by a Titled Douluo.

If this erupted within the imperial city, it would be a calamity that devastated all living things.

Fortunately, at that moment, hazy mist rose from the Two Forms Eye. Like two sharp blades twisting around the serpent's body, the venomous giant serpent was gradually erased amid the tearing forces of blazing heat and bitter cold.

Dugu Bo threw back his head and let out a long cry.

Originally.

He had needed to use Soul Power at every moment to suppress the snake venom in his body, causing his cultivation to stagnate at rank ninety-one.

Now that Soul Power was freed, a vast aura erupted from his body.

His broad gray robes snapped in the wind, while his wildly dancing hair and beard faded from ink-green to grizzled white.

"Ha ha ha ha ha—!"

"I cannot remember how long it has been since this old man felt so good!"

Dugu Bo's aged eyes gleamed as he solemnly addressed Li Zhixian:

"Little friend Zhixian, this old man thanks you!"

Li Zhixian returned the gesture with a smile.

"You are too polite, Elder Dugu."

Watching the harmonious scene before her, Dugu Yan's gaze was like thawing spring water, her tenderness nearly overflowing.

"Oh, right."

Li Zhixian seemed to recall something and spoke:

"Sister Dugu, Elder Dugu, please wait a moment."

With that.

He turned and headed toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye.

After searching for quite some time.

Li Zhixian returned holding a Spirit Grass that resembled a swan lowering its head, its petals crystal-clear like blood jade.

"Sister Dugu, Elder Dugu..."

Li Zhixian held out the Spirit Grass.

"This herb is called the Blood Swan Kiss. For Soul Masters who possess poison-type Martial Souls, it is an immortal blossom capable of tempering their Martial Souls."

"But remember, this herb itself is not poisonous. Yet it can amplify any poison it touches by hundreds or thousands of times, so you must be extremely careful when using it."

Light blazed in Dugu Bo's aged eyes.

"There is such a wondrous Spirit Grass?"

"This herb will indeed benefit Yanyan beyond measure. This old man shall shamelessly accept it. Thank you, little friend Zhixian!"

"Tsk, tsk..."

Dugu Bo's gaze shifted away from the Blood Swan Kiss and began sizing Li Zhixian up from head to toe.

That burning stare made Li Zhixian uncomfortable all over.

Then Dugu Bo sighed emotionally.

"This old man has roamed the continent for decades, yet I have never seen a swordsmanship prodigy as monstrous as you."

"Even Chen Xin, that master of the sword, was far inferior to you in his youth."

"More rare still, you possess the heart of a child."

"Your sword will only become purer in the future."

The more Dugu Bo looked at the youth, the more he admired him.

He had already given this herb garden to Li Zhixian.

Even if Li Zhixian had not taken out this Blood Swan Kiss, he would have held no resentment.

Yet Li Zhixian had given it to him anyway.

This broad-mindedness, this openness without seeking repayment for his favor.

Was precisely the rarest kind of sincerity.

Li Zhixian felt rather embarrassed by Dugu Bo's blunt praise.

"You overpraise me, Elder Dugu."

He was not some greedy and hypocritical person.

They had given him the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye.

This Blood Swan Kiss was useless to him, so by both sentiment and reason, it should be left to Grandfather and Grandson Dugu. It was not worth mentioning.

"Little brother gave me a Spirit Grass."

"As your elder sister, I naturally must give you something in return."

Smiling sweetly, Dugu Yan took out a palm-sized green brocade pouch from her bosom.

"This is called the Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch."

"It is a rare spatial Soul Tool. Its unique feature is that it can store living creatures."

Li Zhixian's eyes brightened slightly. Without any affectation, he calmly reached out and accepted it.

"Thank you, Sister Dugu."

Seeing Li Zhixian accept it so readily, Dugu Yan's smile grew even more brilliant and radiant.

"There is plenty of time ahead. We do not need to be so polite with each other."

At this moment, Dugu Bo asked at the right time:

"Zhixian, what are your plans next?"

Li Zhixian thought for a moment.

"I plan to cultivate here in seclusion for some time."

Dugu Bo nodded in agreement.

"With no outsiders here to disturb you, this truly is the ideal place for secluded cultivation."

"Besides, with the Blood Swan Kiss aiding her, Yanyan's Soul Power will soon break through rank forty."

"This old man will take her to obtain her fourth Soul Ring. We shall meet again in a few days."

Hearing that they would be parting for a while.

A trace of reluctance welled up in Dugu Yan's heart.

She had pestered Li Zhixian again and again these past days, so this sudden separation truly felt unfamiliar.

But Dugu Yan was not someone who failed to distinguish priorities.

Her slender brows lifted, and she regained her familiar bewitching demeanor as she provocatively said to Li Zhixian:

"Little Brother Banished Immortal, just wait until your sister obtains her fourth Soul Ring. I will definitely teach you a proper lesson!"

Li Zhixian smiled faintly.

"I'll be waiting."

Watching Dugu Yan and Dugu Bo disappear beyond the hazy mist.

Li Zhixian slowly turned around, his gaze blazing as he looked over this treasure-filled land.

He decided to build a hut here and stay for a while.

To complete a crucial transformation...