Little Thief, Give Me Back My Herbs

The pain of Ice and Fire Body Tempering grew stronger and stronger. Ling Yun could only grit his teeth and circulate his cultivation technique with all his might, refining the medicinal power.

After a quarter of an hour, he couldn't take it anymore and cried out.

"Gah—ow..."

Just as he was about to pass out, his Martial Soul, the Yin-Yang Mirror, appeared. It suppressed the pain to a level he could endure.

The Yin-Yang Mirror Martial Soul constantly drew the world's elemental energy from the Scorching Yang Spring and the Extreme Cold Ice Spring, pulling it into his body to temper him from head to toe. It worked its way through him layer by layer, from skin and flesh to blood, from blood to his organs, from his organs to his meridians, and from his meridians to his bones.

"Just as expected of my Martial Soul. Add a chicken leg! I absolutely deserve a chicken leg!"

Extremes of cold and heat constantly transformed within his body, deepening Ling Yun's understanding of his cultivation technique. His Yin-Yang energy gained a touch more roundness and harmony.

The Yin-Yang Mirror constantly drew in the Yin-Yang energy of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, converting it into Ling Yun's Soul Power. The process was painful, but pleasurable.

Three days passed in a flash.

Ling Yun's Soul Power broke through to level sixteen, and Ice and Fire Body Tempering was nearing its end.

Just then, Ling Yun sensed Dugu Bo rapidly approaching.

A Titled Douluo could fly very fast. In less than a quarter of an hour, Dugu Bo would be right in front of him.

Ling Yun summoned his Chaos Bead Martial Soul. It flew toward the shore, and a wave of light swept over it, drawing the Storage Soul Tool into the space within the Martial Soul.

Once he was done, Ling Yun hurried to refine the medicinal power, waiting for Dugu Bo to arrive.

The Scorching Yang Spring and the Extreme Cold Ice Spring were what gave him the confidence to face Dugu Bo. Next, it was time to test his gift of gab!

Dugu Bo flew down from the top of the valley. Once he descended below the thin water mist, he spotted Ling Yun at a glance, and shock filled his heart.

Even he wouldn't dare touch these springs. He'd be injured if he did.

Who was this kid? Why was he unharmed?

For an instant, Ling Yun seemed unfathomable to Dugu Bo.

He was a Titled Douluo, and even he couldn't withstand the spring water. Yet here was a child bathing in it. The sheer impact of the sight was immense.

After a few breaths, Dugu Bo could no longer care about any of that. Rage burned away his reason.

They were gone! All the herbs whose medicinal effects he hadn't figured out were gone! The kid in front of him had picked them!

Dugu Bo had met Chrysanthemum Douluo, and he recognized the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum among the Immortal Herbs. It was a Martial Soul that could allow someone to cultivate all the way to Titled Douluo.

There was no need to say how precious it was.

There had been at least eight herbs of that caliber, including the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. Now they were all gone.

Many other rare herbs were gone too.

Dugu Bo didn't recognize most of the missing herbs, but that didn't mean he didn't know how valuable they were.

Dugu Bo had only one thought now: kill this kid and get his herbs back.

Those herbs were packed with energy. The kid in front of him clearly couldn't have eaten them all.

"Little thief, give me back my herbs!"

"Hand over the herbs, and I'll make your death quick!"

Terrifying killing intent surged out, and the Soul Power Pressure of a Titled Douluo swept toward Ling Yun in an instant.

The Yin-Yang Mirror Martial Soul automatically shielded him. The First Soul Ring revolved steadily within the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, and the Scorching Yang Spring and the Extreme Cold Ice Spring formed a red-and-white shield of water around Ling Yun.

A Titled Douluo's Soul Power Pressure was powerful enough that, without the shield of the Extreme Cold Ice Spring and the Scorching Yang Spring, Ling Yun wouldn't have been able to withstand it. He would have been badly injured in the blink of an eye, his bones shattered.

But thanks to this natural environment, Ling Yun was temporarily in an invincible position.

"Senior, there's no need to get so worked up!"

Dugu Bo didn't listen. He had only one thought: kill, kill, kill!

When he saw that ordinary moves had no effect, in the next instant, nine Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—rose from beneath his feet.

And that wasn't all. Dugu Bo immediately activated his Martial Soul Avatar. The Seventh Soul Ring flickered, and in the blink of an eye, Dugu Bo transformed into a thirty-meter-long Jade Phosphorous Serpent as thick as a water vat.

Its vertical pupils fixed on Ling Yun, exuding a chilling aura.

The giant serpent opened its jaws, and a cloud of emerald poison mist rolled toward the water shield. But before it could reach the shield, it collided with the water mist formed where the Scorching Yang Spring and the Extreme Cold Ice Spring met, and vanished without a trace.

The poison Dugu Bo prided himself on looked utterly ridiculous before the springs' extremes of cold and heat.

"Hmph! Don't think your Martial Soul is special and that you can control the springs, so this old man can't do anything to you!"

"You stole so many of my herbs while I was away. I'll make you wish you were dead!"

Dugu Bo had noticed a few things. Ling Yun's Yin-Yang Mirror Martial Soul was connected to the aura of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. Even the mirror's surface looked like the well, with its red-and-white Yin-Yang fish.

Dugu Bo felt he'd figured out the secret behind Ling Yun's ability to withstand the Scorching Yang Spring and the Extreme Cold Ice Spring.

His guess wasn't entirely wrong. Even without the Ice-Fire Body Refining Pill made from the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot, the Yin-Yang Mirror Martial Soul could still protect Ling Yun from the Scorching Yang Spring and the Extreme Cold Ice Spring.

But it required a constant expenditure of Soul Power. With his level-sixteen Soul Power, he could only stay in the springs for a quarter of an hour.

Now that he'd taken the Ice-Fire Body Refining Pill, the Yin-Yang Mirror Martial Soul no longer needed to expend large amounts of Soul Power to protect him from the springs. It could even absorb their world energy and convert it into Soul Power for Ling Yun.

Dugu Bo's serpent pupils locked onto Ling Yun. He withdrew the poison mist, and in the next instant, the Soul Ring in eighth position erupted with black light.

"Eighth Soul Skill, Time Solidification!"

An emerald-green orb emerged from the Jade Phosphorous Serpent's mouth. The valley fell still. The water shield stopped flowing, the mist stopped rising, and the currents of hot and cold air froze in place.

Immediately afterward, the serpent's body, over thirty meters long, turned transparent, revealing Dugu Bo's figure suspended in midair.

He held the emerald-green orb in his palm and slowly approached the spring's source.

"Let's see how you break this water shield. I'll make you pay for my herbs with your life!"

Dugu Bo's plan was simple: with the water shield no longer flowing, he could blast an opening in it and kill Ling Yun with a single burst of Soul Power.

At the critical moment, the Chaos Bead Martial Soul appeared on its own. The water of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well began flowing again. Within a ten-meter radius centered on Ling Yun, space and time were completely unaffected by Dugu Bo's eighth Soul Skill.

"Twin Martial Souls!"

"No, Twin Martial Souls can't be used at the same time. But that was definitely the fluctuation of a Martial Soul! Could this kid have overcome the problem of being unable to use two Martial Souls at once?"

If Ling Yun had known what he was thinking, he would only have scoffed.

Two thousand years from now, there'll even be self-fusion skills between Martial Souls.

Dugu Bo was astonished by Ling Yun's talent. Now, he was beginning to feel reluctant to kill him.

"Good lad, you actually have Twin Martial Souls. I'm starting to regret killing you! If you take me as your master and return my herbs, I'll let bygones be bygones and give you my full support!"

Dugu Bo said that, but in truth, he couldn't deal with Ling Yun for the moment. On top of that, Ling Yun's talent really was astonishing, so he was willing to spend a few more words on him.

"Senior, I'm afraid you're not quite qualified to take me as your disciple!"

"Boy, don't be ungrateful! Even if I can't do anything to you for now, don't think I haven't figured it out! Releasing your Martial Souls has to consume Soul Power. Once yours runs out, I'll have you right where I want you!"

"Then don't come begging to be my disciple!"