"Whoosh—swish—"
Through the mountains, one person and one dog raced like the wind toward the forest ahead!
"Xiao Ruan, faster!"
Bai Mu lay prone on Zygarde's back, feeling the rushing air by his ears.
Fortunately, he was still young enough to use Zygarde as a mount.
"Woof!"
Zygarde charged ahead at high speed. Every time its limbs struck the ground, they unleashed powerful thrust, leaving afterimages throughout the forest.
An hour later, they had already penetrated deep into Sunset Forest.
The trees here were taller and denser, the air thick with an intense aura. The presence of Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts gradually grew stronger.
Bai Mu did not dare let down his guard. He and Zygarde fully entered an invisible state, following the breath traces Dugu Bo had left behind as they rushed deeper into the forest.
A Title Douluo was immensely powerful, so even if he kept a low profile, he would not deliberately conceal his own aura.
Moreover, Dugu Bo's aura was especially distinctive, giving Bai Mu the chance to track him.
"Grrr."
No one knew how much more time passed before Zygarde gradually slowed its pace.
"Has the aura dispersed?"
Although he had lost the trail, Bai Mu was not flustered.
The original novel's description of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's location had been quite clear, and he happened to remember it!
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was located near a hill around five hundred meters tall, within an inverted cone-shaped ravine—or rather, a basin. The surrounding humidity was high, and the air was filled with a sulfur scent.
Besides that, Dugu Bo had set up a Poison Array around the area as a defense.
Any single condition might have been difficult to use for locating it, but with so many characteristics combined, it was not hard to find within Sunset Forest.
"Look! What did I find?"
"It's a wild Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!"
Before long, Bai Mu looked delightedly at the poisonous mist before him.
He was certain that the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well lay within that poison mist!
Yet he did not rashly approach it, nor did he dismiss Zygarde's invisibility.
"Dugu Bo went to Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Going by reason, once he finishes his business, he'll definitely visit his granddaughter, Dugu Yan. He won't return until tomorrow at the earliest."
"A snake's sense of smell is incredibly powerful. To be safe, we should avoid leaving behind any traces of our aura."
He lowered his head and glanced at the Silver-White Bracelet on his wrist.
It was the Storage Soul Tool Shui Bing'er had secretly slipped to him when he parted ways with the Shui Family Mother and Daughter. Its internal space was roughly five cubic meters, enough for daily use.
"What a pity... this Soul Tool can't store Living Creatures. Otherwise, I could just empty out the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well."
Bai Mu sighed softly and fell into thought as he looked at the poison mist ahead.
The harvesting and storage requirements for Immortal Herbs were extremely strict. More importantly, they could not be consumed in excess.
In the original novel, even Tang San had only consumed the Infernal Delicate Apricot and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass for Ice and Fire Body Tempering, along with Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew to strengthen his Purple Demon Eye and Spiritual Power.
He could not eat them all!
And he did not have a suitable Soul Tool if he wanted to pack them up and make a huge haul.
"So, I only have two choices."
Bai Mu calculated inwardly.
"Either I take the risk and harvest everything. I'll eat as much as I can, and toss whatever I can't eat into the Soul Tool. I'd rather destroy them than leave them for anyone else.
"Or I conceal my traces, don't take too much, and only take what I need. I can come back for the rest once I'm strong enough."
Bai Mu leaned more toward the latter.
After all, Dugu Bo did not recognize their value, and Tang San had not arrived yet.
Leaving those Immortal Herbs where they were was actually the safest option. He could return to collect them when he had the chance in the future.
Having made up his mind, Bai Mu gave his orders.
"Xiao Ruan, stay invisible the entire time. Activate Safeguard and go into the valley. I'll direct you from outside."
He did not intend to enter the Poison Array himself.
If Dugu Bo went insane and returned early, Bai Mu would be completely finished if he got trapped inside.
At that point, even if he claimed he could cure Dugu Bo's poison, given Poison Douluo's suspicious and eccentric personality, he would most likely kill him to silence him.
Even if Dugu Bo spared his life, Bai Mu might still be killed to silence him after curing the poison.
"Leave it to me!"
Zygarde answered confidently. Once Safeguard activated, it formed a strange barrier around itself, and Zygarde swaggered invisibly into the poison mist.
Safeguard protected its user from entering abnormal states. The moment Zygarde stepped into the Poison Array, the surrounding poisonous mist was immediately blocked outside the barrier.
After passing through the Poison Array, the scene before them made both Zygarde and Bai Mu, who shared its vision through Telepathy, pause slightly.
Mist swirled through the mountain hollow. At its center was a strange Spring Eye: one half was crimson like lava, with steam billowing upward; the other was Deep Blue like ice, with cold air condensing around it.
And around the Spring Eye grew all kinds of exotic flowers and herbs.
Some burned like flames, some seemed carved from Ice Crystal, some bloomed with a faint glow, and some released a strange fragrance...
Though he had never seen Immortal Herbs before, he could still identify seven or eight out of ten.
"The two closest to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well are the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot. That yellow chrysanthemum is the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, and the one shaped like a cockscomb with a fire attribute is the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower..."
There were also the Eight-Petaled Immortal Orchid, Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, Aromatic Silk Beauty, Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower...
"So many Immortal Herbs... which one should I choose?"
For the first time since transmigrating, Bai Mu saw so many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures growing right before him, waiting for him to pick them. His hands trembled with excitement.
"Whew..."
He immediately took a deep breath to calm himself and carefully analyzed the pros and cons of the Immortal Herbs as well as his own circumstances.
He directly ruled out the Infernal Delicate Apricot and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, which contained intense poison and required Ice and Fire Body Tempering. He had neither the time nor the courage to undergo such a high-risk tempering for no reason.
Aromatic Silk Beauty could counter all poisons, but consuming it would be of little use to him. The Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower had a fire attribute, which was an attribute mismatch for him...
"At present, two are most suitable for me: the Eight-Petaled Immortal Orchid, which strengthens the foundation, replenishes vitality, has mild medicinal properties, and can remove impurities; and the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, which can energize limbs, unblock eight meridians, and help its consumer cultivate an Indestructible Vajra Body!"
"Remove impurities... Indestructible Vajra Body..."
For a moment, Bai Mu found it difficult to choose.
There was no need to say much about the former. Eating it certainly could not go wrong.
The latter sounded somewhat exaggerated, but it could indeed greatly improve physical quality, making him stronger and more powerful!
Although the benefits for Bai Mu would certainly be nowhere near as obvious as they had been for Dai Mubai in the original novel, once his physical quality improved, he might be able to try absorbing a Thousand-Year Spirit Ring as his Second Spirit Ring if he could get some Whale Rubber.
Even if Spirit Ring Age was not that important to him, higher was always better.
Besides...
"A purple Spirit Ring has far more charm than a hundred-year yellow one."
The corners of Bai Mu's lips curled upward slightly.
As for whether possessing a Thousand-Year Second Spirit Ring would make others covet him?
He was not too worried about that.
After all, many lice do not fear itching.
Besides, both he and Zygarde could become invisible, so they could naturally make the Spirit Ring invisible on its own as well!
"I'll choose the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum!"
Bai Mu made up his mind, then sent a message through Telepathy—
"Xiao Ruan, Xiao Ruan, you're already a mature martial soul. You should learn to choose an Immortal Herb suitable for yourself."
"I've already chosen one!"
Zygarde: (｀_´)ゞ
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