Gaining the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye, Li Zhexian's Sincere Heart

Seeing how anxious his granddaughter was,

Dugu Bo let out a helpless sigh.

"Ah..."

He finally understood what it meant when a grown daughter's heart no longer stayed at home.

The girl wore her thoughts plainly on her face.

"Zhexian, you have freed the Dugu Family from the torment of snake venom."

"This kindness is as weighty as a mountain. I was just worrying over how to repay you."

Dugu Bo put away the gloom on his aged face and actually revealed a faint, gentle smile.

"If this Medicine Garden suits your fancy, then I shall give it to you."

He spoke with complete sincerity, without the slightest reluctance.

Though he did not fully understand the specific uses of the Strange Flowers and exotic grasses in the garden,

merely seeing them flourish amid such extreme heat and cold told him they were anything but ordinary.

However,

compared to what Li Zhexian had done for the Dugu Family,

no matter how precious this Medicine Garden was, it seemed insignificant.

Perhaps afraid that Li Zhexian 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 looking down on this old man's goodwill."

Dugu Yan, standing to the side, was even more straightforward.

"Little Brother Zhexian, if you don't want them,"

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

Watching the grandfather and granddaughter work together so seamlessly, one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop,

Li Zhexian's lips curved with a helpless smile.

"Miss Dugu, Senior Dugu, there's no need for this."

His gaze was clear and open as he spoke frankly.

"There are indeed Spirit Grasses in this Medicine Garden that I need."

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

Seeing how forthright Li Zhexian 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 loosened, and he nodded to himself.

They had already put things so plainly.

If Li Zhexian had continued to put on a show of refusing, it would have seemed hypocritical instead.

This openness

made Dugu Bo think even more highly of the young man.

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

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

"Senior Dugu, I will begin purging the snake venom from your body."

Even Dugu Bo, who had weathered countless storms,

could not suppress the surge in his heart upon hearing words he had waited who knew how many years to hear.

"Good!"

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

"Zhexian, I'll drink it!"

Dugu Bo downed it in one gulp.

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

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

The poison emanating from the serpent spread across the mountain hollow.

Every plant in its path instantly curled into charred blackness, save for the Spirit Grasses within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye.

Several mountain sparrows touched by a wisp of poisonous vapor turned directly into skeletons and fell to the ground.

Seeing this,

Li Zhexian's pupils contracted sharply, and he quickly took two swigs of Wine.

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

If it erupted in the Imperial City, it would be a catastrophe that slaughtered 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, it tore the poisonous giant serpent apart between searing heat and extreme cold, erasing it inch by inch.

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

Originally,

he had needed to use Soul Power every moment to suppress the snake venom in his body, leaving his cultivation stalled at Rank 91.

Now that Soul Power was freed, an overwhelming aura erupted from his body.

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

"Ha ha ha ha ha—!"

"I cannot remember how long it has been since I felt this comfortable!"

Dugu Bo's aged eyes shone brilliantly as he solemnly said to Li Zhexian,

"Young friend Zhexian, this old man thanks you!"

Li Zhexian returned the courtesy with a smile.

"You are too polite, Senior Dugu."

Watching the harmonious scene before her, Dugu Yan's eyes were like thawing spring waters, their tenderness nearly overflowing.

"Right."

As if recalling something, Li Zhexian spoke.

"Miss Dugu, Senior Dugu, please wait a moment."

With that,

he turned and walked toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye.

After searching for quite some time,

Li Zhexian returned carrying a Spirit Grass shaped like a swan bowing its head, its petals crystalline like blood jade.

"Miss Dugu, Senior Dugu..."

Li Zhexian held out the Spirit Grass.

"This grass is called the Blood Swan Kiss. For Spirit Masters with poison-type Martial Souls, it is an Immortal Flower that can temper their Martial Souls."

"But remember, this grass itself is not poisonous. However, it can trigger any poison it comes into contact with, amplifying it hundreds or thousands of times. You must be extremely careful when using it."

Light flared in Dugu Bo's aged eyes.

"There is actually such a strange Spirit Grass?"

"This grass will indeed benefit Yanyan immensely. This old man will shamelessly accept it. Thank you, young friend Zhexian!"

"Tsk, tsk..."

Dugu Bo shifted his gaze from the Blood Swan Kiss and began looking Li Zhexian up and down.

That burning gaze made Li Zhexian uncomfortable all over.

Then Dugu Bo sighed emotionally.

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

"Even Swordsmanship Chen Xin was far inferior to you in his youth."

"More importantly, you possess the heart of a true innocent."

"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 Medicine Garden to Li Zhexian.

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

Yet Li Zhexian had given it to them anyway.

This broad-mindedness, this frankness that sought no repayment for kindness,

was precisely the rarest kind of sincerity.

Dugu Bo's blunt praise left Li Zhexian rather embarrassed.

"You overpraise me, Senior Dugu."

He was not some greedy, hypocritical man.

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

This Blood Swan Kiss was useless to him, so whether by reason or sentiment, it should be left for the Dugu grandfather and granddaughter. It was not worth mentioning.

"You gave your sister Spirit Grass."

"As your sister, I naturally have to return the favor."

Dugu Yan smilingly took out a palm-sized green brocade pouch from her robes.

"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 Zhexian's eyes lit up slightly. Without any false modesty, he calmly reached out and accepted it.

"Thank you, Miss Dugu."

Seeing Li Zhexian accept it so readily, Dugu Yan's smile became even more brilliant and beautiful.

"We have plenty of time ahead of us. There's no need for us to be so polite."

At that moment, Dugu Bo asked at the right time,

"Zhexian, what are your plans from here on?"

Li Zhexian thought for a moment.

"I plan to cultivate diligently here for a time."

Dugu Bo nodded in agreement.

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

"Besides, with the Blood Swan Kiss's aid, Yanyan's Soul Power will soon break through Rank 40."

"I will take her to hunt for 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 Zhexian time and again these past days, so this sudden separation truly felt hard to get used to.

But Dugu Yan was not someone who failed to distinguish what mattered.

Her slender brows rose as she regained her familiar bewitching air and provocatively said to Li Zhexian,

"Little Brother Zhexian, just wait until your sister finds her fourth Spirit Ring. I'll definitely teach you a good lesson!"

Li Zhexian smiled.

"I'll be waiting."

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

Li Zhexian slowly turned around, his eyes burning as he gazed at this land of treasures.

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

To complete an utterly crucial transformation...