No More Talk, Let's Get Started

It was a small valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides and cut off from the outside world.

Countless exotic flowers and rare herbs grew within the valley, each radiating a faint glow—red, purple, gold, silver, emerald green, azure...

The innumerable lights intertwined, illuminating the entire valley in a dreamlike splendor.

At the very center of the valley lay a spring divided in two by an invisible force.

One half was an icy blue cold spring, which gave off a chilling aura as it surged.

The other half was a crimson hot spring, boiling as it released scorching steam.

The two springs met in the middle but never merged, like rivers from two different worlds forcibly joined together.

Poison Douluo Dugu Bo had stumbled upon this place years ago and set up a Poison Array around its perimeter, claiming this treasure trove for himself.

However, Dugu Bo knew nothing about herbs. He only knew they were valuable, not how they were truly meant to be used.

He tended these immortal herbs as though they were ordinary poisonous plants and used them to refine poisons.

Like a brute guarding a mountain of gold yet only knowing how to hurl rocks at people, he was wasting priceless treasures to an outrageous degree.

As Jiang Ming looked over the valley full of immortal herbs, the smile at the corner of his lips could finally no longer be concealed.

His target was clear!

Twice the result with half the effort!

Jiang Ming swept his gaze around and quickly spotted the immortal herbs he needed.

A chrysanthemum entirely golden in color, its petals seemingly forged from gold.

Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.

This flower was among the immortal herbs. Neutral in nature, neither cold nor hot, it could clear the meridians throughout the body after being consumed.

It could strengthen the muscles and bones while fortifying the internal organs.

A snow-white orchid, its petals seemingly carved from jade, each one carrying a warm, lustrous sheen.

Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid.

This herb's medicinal properties were gentle yet enduring, making it the easiest of all immortal herbs to absorb.

After consumption, it would not unleash the fierce medicinal shock of other immortal herbs. Instead, it would slowly seep into the body like a trickling stream, continuously nourishing Soul Power.

An inconspicuous little plant.

Crystal-clear dewdrops had gathered on its leaves, glimmering with rainbow light amid the hazy mist.

Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew.

This immortal herb did not increase Soul Power or strengthen the body. Its effects lay in the eyes.

It could cleanse and temper one's eyes, making one's gaze piercing and capable of discerning the finest details.

More importantly, it could greatly enhance spiritual power.

Jiang Ming needed spiritual power.

The stronger his spiritual power, the greater his control over Spatial Ability—and the greater its precision.

He could even achieve three parts of effect with only one part of effort!

No more talk. Time to get started!

Jiang Ming sat cross-legged atop a bluestone.

The immortal herb melted the moment it entered his mouth, turning into a warm medicinal fluid that slid down his throat and into his stomach.

Then, an immense surge of medicinal power exploded.

A dense, powerful force rose from his dantian and spread through his meridians to every part of his body.

That force was not overbearing, but it was exceptionally tenacious, as though it were clearing his meridians inch by inch.

His meridians had originally been like a small river, its current slow and barely sufficient.

But the medicinal power of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum was like an invisible chisel, widening and deepening that small river until it became a great river.

Jiang Ming gritted his teeth and circulated his Soul Power to guide the flow of the medicinal power.

This process lasted for about half an hour.

When the last wisp of medicinal power was absorbed by his meridians, Jiang Ming felt as though his entire body had become thirty percent lighter.

Next came the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid!

This snow-white immortal herb was far gentler than the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.

Its medicinal power was like a clear spring, silently merging into his body and endlessly nourishing him.

As for his Soul Power...

After consuming two immortal herbs, his Soul Power rose directly from level 22 to level 30!

He had leaped from a Soul Grandmaster to the realm of a Soul Elder.

Although he still had a long road ahead before becoming a Titled Douluo, every improvement meant that he was growing stronger!

Jiang Ming had no time to familiarize himself with his surging Soul Power. He needed to seize every second!

Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew!

Jiang Ming carefully brought the leaves before his eyes and let the dewdrops fall into them.

The instant the icy liquid touched his eyeballs, Jiang Ming felt as though his head had been struck by a massive hammer.

A violent wave of dizziness hit him, and he nearly toppled off the bluestone.

His vision blurred in an instant, then immediately became clear again.

This alternation repeated countless times in an extremely short span, each cycle accompanied by tearing agony.

His spiritual power was growing wildly.

If his previous spiritual power had been an oil lamp, able to illuminate only a few feet around him...

Then that oil lamp was now transforming into a lighthouse, illuminating distant places he had previously been unable to reach.

The refinement of the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew was faster than expected.

In less than the time it took to burn an incense stick, the tearing pain completely vanished, replaced by an unprecedented clarity.

Jiang Ming felt as though his mind had been washed with clear water. Every thought was incomparably lucid.

Three immortal herbs!

His Soul Power had leaped from level 22 to level 30, while his spiritual power had increased enormously.

Only the final step remained before he achieved his goal!

Jiang Ming looked toward the temperate waters at the center of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, where the cold spring and hot spring met.

At the source of the cold spring grew an octagonal herb entirely icy blue in color.

Its leaves looked as though they had been carved from mysterious ice, with a thin layer of frost covering their surface.

At the source of the hot spring grew a scarlet herb blazing like flames.

Flame-like patterns flowed across every leaf, as though they might burst into flames at any moment.

Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot—one cold and one hot—were both top-tier immortal herbs.

However, unlike the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, they were highly poisonous.

Consuming either one alone would mean certain death. Only by taking both simultaneously and using the principle of ice and fire restraining each other to neutralize their toxicity could poison be turned into medicine.

And after consuming them, an even greater trial awaited... the tempering of his body through ice and fire.

But that was his very goal!

Let's get started!

Using an inscrutable technique, he plucked the two immortal herbs and sent them into his mouth at the same time!

Jiang Ming's body immediately began to react violently.

One half of his body became covered in thick frost, while the other turned crimson and scorching hot.

Frost and blazing heat clashed, collided, and battled at the center of his body, neither willing to yield even half a step.

The blood in his veins froze one moment and boiled the next. Every transition subjected his blood vessel walls to unimaginable impacts.

Jiang Ming leaped into the temperate waters at the center of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, where the cold spring and hot spring met.

Meanwhile.

Suotuo City.

A green-clad figure appeared at Shrek Academy.

This person was none other than the enraged Dugu Bo.

As for how Dugu Bo knew that Ma Hongjun was at Shrek Academy...

It was simple.

There were only a hundred thousand soul masters across the entire continent!

One trip to the City Lord's Mansion was enough for Dugu Bo to learn Suotuo City's power structure.

Suotuo City Spirit Hall Branch!

City Lord's Mansion.

Soul Fighting Arena!

Shrek Academy!

The first three could be ruled out immediately!

Spirit Hall would not capture Dugu Yan.

Although the City Lord's Mansion belonged to the Balak Kingdom, its people would not dare offend him.

The Soul Fighting Arena existed to make money. Offending him would not be worth the loss.

That left Shrek Academy...

Three Soul Saints, two Soul Emperors, and several outstanding disciples.

Wasn't that a perfect match?

It fit the profile of the culprit perfectly!

"Ma Hongjun! Get out here and die!"