Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well

Half an hour later, the two arrived at the entrance to Sunset Forest.

Shen Tianchen feigned confusion. "Senior, your Medicinal Garden is inside the Spirit Beast Forest?"

Dugu Bo smiled faintly and offered only a simple explanation. "There is a treasured place here called the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. That is where the Medicinal Garden lies. Stay close to me, and watch out for the surrounding spirit beasts!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his expression changed drastically. As he unleashed his Jade Scale Serpent Emperor Martial Soul, nine soul rings—two yellow, two purple, and five black—rose from beneath his feet.

Not far away, someone neither Shen Tianchen nor Dugu Bo had expected slowly emerged. It was Ghost Leopard Douluo.

Seeing the two enter Sunset Forest, Ghost Leopard Douluo simply stopped hiding.

"Old Poison Master, release Young Master at once! In your current state, I'm afraid you can't withstand Spirit Hall's pursuit!"

Dugu Bo froze for a moment, then abruptly turned his head toward Shen Tianchen.

Ghost Leopard Douluo had traveled the continent for a time in his younger days. Moreover, when Dugu Bo had gone to Spirit Hall to receive his title after advancing to Titled Douluo, he had met Ghost Leopard Douluo before.

The moment he saw Shen Tianchen's expression, Dugu Bo immediately understood.

But at this moment, he had no intention of pursuing the matter. So long as Shen Tianchen could remove the Martial Soul Poison from him and his granddaughter, he could make an exception and spare those around Shen Tianchen.

"Spirit Hall drove me to this point back then, and now you still dare show yourselves before me? Do you really think I'm made of clay?"

The two sides were on the verge of fighting when Shen Tianchen stepped sideways and positioned himself between them.

"It's all a misunderstanding. Don't fight."

Dugu Bo snorted coldly.

Ghost Leopard Douluo, however, was utterly bewildered. Young Master, blink if they're threatening you. As long as you blink, I'll call for backup right away. (With Shen Tianchen present, it was inconvenient to make a move.)

Shen Tianchen walked up to him and said, "Senior Ghost Leopard, didn't I tell you to go back? Why are you still here?"

Ghost Leopard Douluo explained, "Young Master, that person gave me a strict order to bring you back."

He was clever enough not to mention who had issued the order.

After hearing this, Shen Tianchen guessed who Ghost Leopard Douluo meant. Someone who could learn of his whereabouts so quickly and command Ghost Leopard Douluo needed no further consideration—it had to be Xue Qinghe, Qian Renxue.

He hurriedly said, "I wouldn't do anything without confidence. Go back first. I've reached an agreement with Senior Poison Douluo. If this works out, I'll gain many benefits, and I may even have a chance to win Poison Douluo over."

Winning over a Titled Douluo-level expert for Spirit Hall was an enormous achievement!

After much persuasion, Ghost Leopard Douluo finally changed his mind.

He gave Dugu Bo a meaningful look before turning and vanishing into the forest.

Dugu Bo turned to look at Shen Tianchen, his expression somewhat strange. "You want to earn my favor, yet you still dared deceive me. You've got quite the nerve, kid."

Shen Tianchen spread his hands. "How about we talk as we walk?"

Dugu Bo did not answer. He simply headed deeper into Sunset Forest.

Shen Tianchen followed closely behind and said frankly, "It's true that I'm from Spirit Hall, but I'm not Bibi Dong's subordinate. What Bibi Dong does has nothing to do with us."

"Though I don't want to admit it, Spirit Hall is indeed divided into two factions. You should be able to guess what those two factions are."

Along the way, the two spoke at length.

Back when Dugu Bo had advanced to Titled Douluo, he had gone to Spirit Hall to receive the title-bestowal ceremony.

Afterward, Bibi Dong had tried to recruit him. But because he was plagued by poison and needed the spring water of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to suppress it, he politely declined.

Who would have thought that Bibi Dong would send Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo to hunt him down?

Listening to Dugu Bo's explanation, Shen Tianchen finally could not help asking, "Senior, you seem quite dissatisfied with Prince Xue Xing?"

Dugu Bo said, "I've never liked owing others favors."

"It's true that Prince Xue Xing saved me and gave me a second chance at life. But that fellow uses this favor to order me around. If not for Yan Yan needing a stable environment to study in, why would I put up with this?"

Shen Tianchen smiled calmly. "What if I had a way to let you repay this favor?"

Dugu Bo gave a dry laugh. "Leaving aside whether a child your age can truly do it, this favor arose because of Spirit Hall in the first place. If what you say is true, I promise not to oppose Spirit Hall again."

Changing the subject, he looked at Shen Tianchen. "With your talent, you might reach Soul Douluo or even Titled Douluo before twenty. You have a powerful force backing you as well. You are destined to become a peak expert in the future."

"If you stay in Spirit Hall, at best you'll only become an offering. You'll remain in one place for decades. Are you willing to accept that?"

Shen Tianchen did not offer much explanation. "I know what I'm doing. There's no need for Senior to worry."

With Shen Tianchen's personality, how could he fail to understand Dugu Bo's hidden meaning?

Wasn't he simply urging him to establish his own faction?

At first, Shen Tianchen had considered it too, but he quickly dismissed the idea.

Establishing a sect of his own would indeed grant him great status and much more freedom.

But he had not yet grown strong enough. If he rashly established another sect, it would certainly cause conflict with the Papal Palace.

Besides, he was currently using Spirit Hall's Cultivation Resources, only to turn around and establish his own sect. Wouldn't that make him no different from Gangzi and his disciple?

He knew how to weigh the pros and cons. He would never do something so unjust.

In the original timeline, Spirit Hall's authority would eventually fall into Bibi Dong's hands. But the variable was his appearance.

He believed that with his abilities, he would surely find another solution. As long as he became strong enough—strong enough that none of them dared defy his will—that would be enough.

Before they knew it, the two arrived at the foot of a mountain surrounded by a poisonous formation.

Familiar with the novel's plot, Shen Tianchen knew that this was where the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was located.

Dugu Bo handed him an antidote pill, and Shen Tianchen swallowed it without the slightest hesitation.

That action instead aroused Dugu Bo's curiosity. "Aren't you afraid that I gave you poison?"

Shen Tianchen remained composed as he replied calmly, "With Senior's strength, there is no need to go through such trouble. Killing me would be as easy as crushing an ant. If you truly wanted to act, why beat around the bush?"

Dugu Bo immediately found himself at a loss for words.

Strength, talent, and temperament—all exceptional. Is this fellow really only around seven years old? What a pity I didn't meet him earlier. If I had taken him as my disciple, it would have made for a fine tale.

After climbing the mountain, the two flew to the summit under Dugu Bo's lead, then leaped down through a cave at the top.

Their bodies continued falling. From time to time, the scent of spring water drifted up, sometimes cold and sometimes hot.

Before long, they had reached the bottom, and the interior environment lay fully before their eyes.

For plant-type beings, this place would not be an exaggeration to call a paradise beyond the world. Flowers and grasses vied to display their beauty.

At the center was a spring where blue and red intertwined. An aura of extreme cold and extreme heat surged from it, its terrifying presence making others keep their distance in awe.

Led by Dugu Bo, the two came upon a wooden house.

Dugu Bo explained, "This is where I live in seclusion. There are countless medicinal herbs here, and most of them are unknown even to me. I don't know which ones are poisonous either, so you'd best be careful, kid."

"As for that spring in the middle, even I can only stay there briefly to suppress the poison in my body. Remember not to approach it lightly."

Shen Tianchen agreed to each warning.

When he had glanced around at the cave entrance earlier, he had already recognized most of the immortal herbs.

Now, all he needed to do was wait for Dugu Bo to give the word before picking them.

In the original timeline, most people did not recognize immortal herbs, allowing Tang San to benefit from them.

Laying a solid foundation at the start of a soul master's path was extremely important. Consuming immortal herbs could greatly improve a soul master's physique, and some could even defy fate and change one's destiny. Still, such things were nothing unusual in a fantasy world.