The Water Dragon King and Fire Dragon King had been God Kings in life, beings whose power had surpassed that of First-Level Gods in the Divine Realm.
As two of the eighteen God Kings who had served the supreme Dragon God during the era of the Ancient Dragon Realm, the Water Dragon King and Fire Dragon King had been no weaker in life than the Five Great God Kings of the current Divine Realm.
Though they had fallen in ancient times, countless millennia had passed since then.
As long as even the tiniest remnant of them remained—even a skeleton or a single dragon scale—it would be an enormous windfall for Shen Feng.
At the very least, it would be a treasure no less valuable than an Immortal Grade Herb.
What was more, a Dragon King at the God King level might have left behind treasures like a Dragon Crystal, a reverse scale, divinity, or a Godhood Inheritance.
Compared with those treasures, the rare Immortal Grade Herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well were nothing more than leftover scraps.
Lost in thought but never breaking stride, Shen Feng soon reached the side of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's vermilion Yang Spring.
As soon as he approached the Infernal Delicate Apricot, a wave of heat washed over him. His skin reddened, then fire poison began to eat into it. An instant later, searing pain spread through his entire body and shot straight to his brain.
Shen Feng furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth. His Soul Power began to boil within him, and the External Soul Bone, Black Scale Armor, instantly covered his body. He also discreetly activated his Body Martial Soul, forming an inconspicuous pale golden glow beneath his black scales as a second layer of defense.
Just getting close to the Infernal Delicate Apricot had forced Shen Feng to fully arm himself. He'd nearly had to go all out.
He had no idea what would happen if he swallowed it.
Dugu Bo clearly saw Shen Feng's hesitation and immediately tried to talk him out of it. "Xiao Feng, why not leave it? Safety comes first. We still have so many Immortal Grade Herbs. There's no need to take this risk."
Shen Feng's brow furrowed as he gritted his teeth. "Don't worry, Old Master. I know what I'm doing."
Taking a deep breath, Shen Feng steeled his resolve. He flipped his hand, drew a jade token from his wrist guard, and flicked it toward the roots of the Infernal Delicate Apricot.
The Infernal Delicate Apricot contained Ultimate Fire. No metal could touch it; only jade could be used to pluck it without diminishing its effects.
Shen Feng snatched up the Infernal Delicate Apricot with his left hand. Lightning flashed in his right as he gripped the Leiming Blade. One yellow and two purple Soul Rings appeared and began spinning rapidly around him.
His second purple Soul Ring lit up. Thunder Flash activated.
Turning into a streak of lightning, Shen Feng crossed the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and appeared in a flash on the other side, at the pure white Yin Spring.
He swung his blade and cut down the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. The tip of the blade flicked upward; the Leiming Blade vanished, and his right hand caught the herb steadily.
The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass contained Ultimate Ice, and all its properties were the opposite of the Infernal Delicate Apricot's intense heat.
Conversely, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass had to be cut with metal to avoid damaging even the slightest bit of its medicinal potency.
Consuming the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot was extremely dangerous. Their medicinal properties had to be brought into perfect balance, so Shen Feng didn't dare pluck them carelessly. He could only follow the procedure to the letter.
The two poisonous herbs now rested in either of Shen Feng's hands. At once, his body became their battlefield as they clashed and fought against each other.
Pain began to erode Shen Feng's will, and his body started to undergo stark changes.
One half was scorching hot, the other freezing cold. Along the dividing line down the middle of Shen Feng's body, two wildly unnatural colors appeared: red and white.
There was no time to delay. Shen Feng immediately pressed the two poisonous herbs together.
Strangely, though they had been intensely cold and hot just moments before, both sensations vanished when the herbs touched.
Even the red and white across Shen Feng's body faded a little.
A faint red glow now covered the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, while a pale white mist shrouded the Infernal Delicate Apricot.
Only by entwining and counteracting each other could the two energies achieve this fragile balance.
Shen Feng knew he couldn't hesitate. Once the two Immortal Herbs came together, their properties would be suppressed by each other, but after ten breaths, their effects would vanish completely as they continued to clash.
Ten breaths was the perfect moment to consume them.
Without hesitation, Shen Feng's eyes reddened. Like an ox chewing on a peony, he ruthlessly stuffed both poisonous herbs into his mouth, bite after bite.
Though the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot were called poisonous herbs, they weren't actually poisonous. The problem was that the ice and fire within them were too pure for a human being, a creature in whom yin and yang coexisted, to withstand.
When the two herbs were combined, their yin and yang energies rapidly balanced out. Their former fierceness vanished, giving humans an opportunity to consume them.
The Immortal Herbs melted in his mouth and trickled down his throat. Shen Feng felt his mouth fill with saliva and a fragrant sweetness.
Unexpectedly, they taste pretty good. I just hope they don't get too wild once they take effect.
As he thought this, Shen Feng quickly removed his belongings and tossed his Storage Soul Tool to Dugu Bo, who stood nearby.
"Man entering the water! Ladies, look away!"
His words had barely left his mouth when, three breaths later, Shen Feng's body began to tremble violently.
A layer of icy blue rose from his feet. In the blink of an eye, his entire body had turned blue.
Then another layer of red rose up, and Shen Feng quickly turned red again, looking like a freshly boiled shrimp.
Blue and red alternated, creating a bizarre sight.
And through that simple change alone, Shen Feng's mind nearly collapsed.
If his body hadn't been strong enough, and if he hadn't tempered his mind and will while absorbing the Ox Dragon Soul Ring, he would likely have passed out from the pain.
There was no time to dwell on it. While he could still control his body, Shen Feng forcibly channeled his Soul Power and activated his Second Soul Skill.
A flash of lightning passed by. Shen Feng appeared at the very center of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, where the Yang Spring met the Yin Spring.
"Splash—"
A tiny spray of water rose as Shen Feng sank beneath the surface, vanishing into the spring in an instant.
Dugu Yan furrowed her brows and clenched her jade hands, anxiously turning to Dugu Bo.
"Grandpa, will Xiao Feng be all right?"
Dugu Bo looked worried. He glanced at the wrist guard in his hand and sighed. "Let's wait. Good people are blessed. He'll be fine."
Time flowed like water. From night to dawn, the moon merely set and the sun rose.
The water in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had only churned once, when Shen Feng jumped in. After that, it had settled back into its usual stillness.
Even now, several hours later, the surface remained perfectly calm.
The milky-white and crimson springs were still as distinct from each other as ever. Mist continued to drift through the air, and everything had returned to silence.
"Ah..."
Dugu Bo looked up at the brightening sky, then lowered his gaze to the wrist guard in his hand and let out a long sigh.
Dugu Yan's brows were knit together, her beautiful eyes full of sorrow as she looked at the still waters of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
"Grandpa, he really can't come back up?"
Dugu Bo sighed again. "Heaven is jealous of the talented."
Dugu Yan's pupils suddenly contracted. "Is he really dead?"
Dugu Bo shook his head. "I don't know. I haven't been able to sense his presence for an hour now."
Dugu Yan was speechless. Her vermilion lips parted and closed several times, but no words came out. Her face was heavy with grief, as though she mourned someone of her own kind.
Dugu Bo glanced at Dugu Yan and sighed again. He channeled a strand of Soul Power into Shen Feng's Storage Soul Tool and took out a rather old book.
"The dead are gone, and the living must go on. Yanyan, don't dwell on it. And don't let Xiao Feng's kindness go to waste."
Dugu Bo had clearly misunderstood Shen Feng. Shen Feng had only asked him to look after his belongings for a while, not to inherit his estate.
But Shen Feng couldn't be bothered with such trivial matters now, because he had already reached the bottom of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—and discovered treasures more precious than all his worldly possessions combined.
One milky white, one vermilion: two dragon skeletons, each over a hundred meters long, radiating brilliant light from every inch of their bodies.
An hour earlier, Shen Feng had slowly awakened in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, surprised to find himself completely submerged in its waters.
The milky-white and crimson waters surrounded him, yet he felt no discomfort at all—not even the suffocating sensation of drowning.
After briefly checking his condition, Shen Feng understood exactly what had happened.
After spending several hours in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he had unknowingly absorbed all the effects contained in the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot. They had settled into his meridians and every part of his body.
The problem was that the medicinal power in the two herbs was so vast that Shen Feng couldn't possibly absorb all of it in a short time.
So consuming the two extremely potent Immortal Herbs hadn't raised his Soul Power by much. His Soul Power had just advanced by one level, from level 35 to level 36. It was better than nothing.
It seemed that the immense medicinal power had also unexpectedly put Shen Feng into a state of embryonic breathing.
That was how he had remained alive in oxygenless water.
In addition, having initially completed Ice and Fire Body Tempering had naturally granted Shen Feng resistance to water and fire, as well as to all poisons.
Of course, being impervious to water and fire didn't mean he was completely immune to them, and repelling all poisons didn't mean he was truly immune to deadly toxins. It only meant that Shen Feng's resistance to these elements had greatly increased.
The clearest proof was that the springs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—which even Titled Douluo dared not touch lightly—were no longer a threat to Shen Feng.
The milky-white Extreme Cold Yin Spring felt like nothing more than cold water to him, barely enough to raise goosebumps on his skin.
The vermilion Scorching Yang Spring felt like a hot spring with a slightly higher temperature. It was a little scalding, but entirely bearable; if he soaked in it a while longer, it even felt somewhat pleasant.
After discovering that he feared neither the ice-and-fire springs nor the lack of air, Shen Feng had a sudden inspiration. Better to seize the moment than wait for another day, so he took advantage of not needing to breathe underwater and dived to the bottom of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
That was why Dugu Bo had lost track of Shen Feng. The excessive concentration of ice-and-fire spring water had directly blocked the spiritual power of a Titled Douluo.
As he descended, Shen Feng felt increasingly fortunate—and increasingly certain that his sudden idea had been a wise one.
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was like a deep, cone-shaped shaft. The farther down one went, the wider it became, and the greater the water pressure.
Shen Feng descended slowly, adjusting to the pressure as he went. After a full hour, he had no idea how many meters he'd sunk, but he finally reached the bottom of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
The waters here were no longer clearly divided. Instead, they mingled, each flowing into the other. The milky white and vermilion blended together into a molten orange-yellow.
If not for the lack of magma's viscous texture, Shen Feng would have seriously wondered whether he had passed through the Earth's crust.
Even Shen Feng, who had undergone Ice and Fire Body Tempering, began to feel profoundly uncomfortable in these waters.
First, the immense water pressure was constantly testing the limits of his physical strength.
Even with his Body Martial Soul and External Soul Bone activated, the tremendous pressure made his bones creak, and even his body began to warp slightly.
Second, the overwhelming power of the ice and fire elements was constantly testing the limits of his will.
Though Shen Feng had already gained a body impervious to ice and fire, being in this area, where the elements were extremely concentrated, still left his skin freezing cold, as if he were trapped in an ice cellar, while his insides burned as though consumed by flames.
Pain, cold, and heat—three entirely different kinds of torment constantly pushed Shen Feng to his limits.
If he still needed to breathe, he would have drowned here long ago.
If he had surfaced after completing Ice and Fire Body Tempering and disrupted that state of internal circulation and embryonic breathing, he might never have been able to reach this place again.
Even without anything else, the hour-long descent alone would have stopped ninety-nine percent of the oxygen-breathing creatures in the world.
Add the resistance of the ice-and-fire spring water, and Shen Feng might have been the only person in the world capable of reaching this place.
If he lost this opportunity, he might have to wait until he reached the Titled Douluo realm before he could explore this place again.
By then, the moment would have passed. Missing out on the early stages of development couldn't be made up for later, even with ten or a hundred times the effort.
After all, some things, once missed, were gone for good. There was no way to make them right again.
Fortunately, Shen Feng hadn't missed this heaven-sent opportunity.
With gentle strokes of his hands and feet, Shen Feng slowly approached the enormous head of the Fire Dragon King.
At the center of the Fire Dragon King's crimson skull, between its brows, a brilliant red glow stood out.
Shen Feng knew that this was the Fire Dragon King's Dragon Crystal, the source of all his power.
With his heart pounding, Shen Feng reached out with his right hand. A flash of lightning passed, and the Leiming Blade appeared.
"Blub blub blub." (Senior, I'm a descendant of the dragon,)
"Blub blub blub blub." (Thank you for leaving your legacy to future generations. I need to take your Dragon Crystal to save the world.)
"Blub, blub." (Since you aren't saying anything, I'll take that as your consent. Thank you again for your sacrifice for future generations.)
Crack—the tip of the Leiming Blade wedged into the gap between the Dragon Crystal and the Fire Dragon King's skull.
Pry!!!
"Blub." (One, two, three—heave!)
Faced with a god-level creature like the Fire Dragon King, Shen Feng had no better way to handle things. Even though only the skeleton remained, he could only use this clumsy method and hope that sheer force would work miracles.
Beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the water was bone-chilling, the flames scorched the heart, and the pressure was immense.
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