"As for the ancient texts... you may read anything in my collection, but only under my supervision. Also..."
He turned his wrist, and a jade token appeared in his palm. Emerald green and shaped like a tiny snake, it gave off a faint, sweet, fishy scent.
"Take this. With this token, you may come and go freely from my estate outside the city, the Jade Phosphorous Pavilion."
"It's secluded, and I keep some of the medicinal herbs and books I've collected there."
"Unless it's important, don't bother me."
With that, he tossed the token to Li Yuan.
Li Yuan caught it. The jade felt cool in his hand and had an unusual texture. He could faintly sense a trace of Soul Power within it.
It was probably a Soul Tool.
What it did, he couldn't yet tell.
"Thank you, senior."
Li Yuan put the token away, neither servile nor arrogant.
"Hmph. Don't thank me. If you can't produce something that satisfies me in a year, that token will become your death warrant."
Dugu Bo spoke coldly. He gave Li Yuan one last, searching look, as though carving his face into memory. "Boy, you'd better watch yourself. Remember what you promised me. Now leave!"
With a sweep of his sleeve, a gentle force lifted Li Yuan and sent him toward Heaven Dou City at the foot of the mountain.
"Senior, there's one more thing I'd like to ask."
Li Yuan steadied himself in midair and spoke up.
"Speak."
Dugu Bo sounded impatient.
"Do you know of any strange place near Heaven Dou City where yin and yang converge, ice and fire share one source, or the vitality is exceptionally rich?"
Li Yuan had asked what mattered most to him: the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!
Dugu Bo stopped short and