Absorbing the Immortal Herbs

"The white, octagonal Immortal Herb on the left is the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. It contains the power of extreme cold. The red, cabbage-shaped one on the right is the Infernal Delicate Apricot, which embodies the power of extreme fire. Each is deadly poisonous if taken alone, but if you take them together and temper your body in the spring water of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring, you can develop a constitution immune to all poisons and impervious to both fire and cold."

Su Zhen gazed at the two herbs, his eyes burning with excitement. Trembling with emotion, he introduced them to Qian Daoliu.

"Teacher, please protect me. I'm going to absorb the Immortal Herbs now."

Qian Daoliu said nothing. In an instant, he formed a barrier with his Soul Power, enclosing everything within several miles.

Su Zhen took an iron blade and a jade knife from his ring and hurled them at the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot, which stood on opposite sides. The moment the two Immortal Herbs were cut down, he used his Soul Power to draw them over and quickly stuffed them into his mouth. Then he stripped off his clothes and leaped into the center of the Ice and Fire Spring.

Watching Su Zhen leap into the spring, Qian Daoliu was deeply shaken.

Xiao Zhen was lying to me outside the forest. He didn't know the exact location of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring. He only knew there was a blessed place like this in Sunset Forest. Did he learn about it from a book, or was there another reason? The secrets he carried were no small matter.

Qian Daoliu had noticed that something was different about Su Zhen, but he had no intention of doing anything about it. Su Zhen was his disciple, the life's work of him and his old friends. And six years spent together day in and day out had made him trust Su Zhen unconditionally. He believed Su Zhen would lead Spirit Hall to new heights and become Qian Renxue's greatest support.

Su Zhen was in no small amount of pain in the water. The extreme cold and heat clashed within his body, and even his body, hardened by countless medicinal baths, nearly buckled under the assault. He circulated the Lightning Heart Meditation Method with all his might to absorb the two Immortal Herbs. The extreme cold and heat inside him answered the spring's own extremes, tearing relentlessly at his body and spirit as blue and red light enveloped him.

An hour passed. The blue and red light around Su Zhen gradually dimmed, then finally disappeared.

When Su Zhen leaped out of the water, his skin was as white as jade, his features sharply defined, as if he were a jade sculpture carved with painstaking care. He used his Soul Power to evaporate the water from his body, then got dressed.

Su Zhen clenched his fist. The strength surging through him filled him with delight. At last, he had gained a body impervious to fire and ice, immune to all poisons.

"Grandpa, I did it! My Soul Power has reached level forty-five!"

The successive breakthroughs from absorbing his Soul Ring and the Immortal Herbs filled him with joy. He was one step closer to revenge.

A small ball of golden-yellow flame gathered in Qian Daoliu's hand. He tested it against Su Zhen's arm and found that a flame at the Soul Ancestor level truly couldn't harm him.

"Very good, Xiao Zhen. Your strength has increased again. But don't become intoxicated by the thrill of breaking through. That will make you a slave to strength."

"Teacher, I understand. I'll make sure to temper my mind."

Su Zhen hastily suppressed the rush of pleasure brought on by his successive breakthroughs. Remembering the teachings of his teacher and grandfathers, he calmed his mind.

"Great-grandpa, Brother Zhen, I'm done absorbing it. Whoa, Brother Zhen, why does your aura feel even stronger now?"

Oscar had finished absorbing the Soul Bone and noticed the two of them standing by the pool. He ran over, then looked shocked when he sensed the aura radiating from Su Zhen.

"Little Ao, I just finished absorbing an Immortal Herb. What level are you now? What Soul Skill did the Soul Bone give you?"

"I'm level twenty-six. The Soul Bone raised me by a whole four levels! It gave me two forms of a Soul Bone Skill: the basic form, Medusa's Gaze, and the ultimate form, Medusa's Despair. Both are petrification-type control skills; they just have different ranges."

As Oscar spoke, he released his Soul Bone Skill at a tree some distance away. A purple-black beam shot from his eyes and struck the trunk. In an instant, the whole tree turned into a massive stone statue.

"That was Medusa's Gaze, a single-target attack. Medusa's Despair works about the same way, except it controls a large area."

"That's a very useful Soul Skill. Little Ao can protect himself now, too."

"It takes a lot out of me, though. Medusa's Gaze drained all the Soul Power in my body."

"Can't you use your first Soul Skill to recover your Soul Power?"

"Oh, right! Brother Zhen, how did I not think of that?"

Oscar scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish.

Su Zhen smiled, took a jade box from the Ruyi Hundred Treasure Pouch, and handed it to Oscar.

"This is the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, the mildest and most nourishing of all the Immortal Herbs. It's easy to absorb, strengthens your foundation, and purges impurities. It's the best remedy for the slow cultivation of food-type Soul Masters, and its effects will last until you become a Soul Saint."

"Th-this, Brother Zhen, this is far too precious. I can't accept it. You should take it yourself."

Oscar hurriedly waved his hands and refused. A divine treasure like this should be kept for Su Zhen.

"Just take it. Have you forgotten how many Immortal Herbs I picked just now? I kept the ones suited to me. Hurry and eat it, then circulate your Soul Power to help absorb it."

The Immortal Herb forced into Oscar's hands brought tears to his eyes. He said nothing more, sat cross-legged, and began absorbing it using the method Su Zhen had taught him.

Seeing Oscar begin to absorb the Immortal Herb, Su Zhen breathed a sigh of relief. Then he took out another jade box and handed it to Qian Daoliu.

"Teacher, this is Light Dragon Ganoderma. It can improve your constitution, expand your meridians, purify your Soul Power, and increase your affinity for light. It also contains a trace of the Radiant Sacred Dragon's aura. It's the Immortal Herb best suited to the Six-Winged Angel."

Qian Daoliu didn't take the jade box, but his eyes were filled with delight.

"Xiao Zhen, I'm old, and my strength has reached a point where it can advance no further. I'd only waste the Immortal Herb. Give it to Xiao Xue to absorb instead."

"All right, teacher."

Su Zhen put the jade box away. His teacher had told him three years ago about Qian Renxue's undercover mission in Heaven Dou City. Qian Renxue had also returned to the Worship Hall twice, and both times he'd stopped cultivating and taken a proper rest so he could keep her company.

Now it's my turn.

Su Zhen took out two jade boxes from the Ruyi Hundred Treasure Pouch and opened them. A chrysanthemum and a blade of grass appeared before him.

The chrysanthemum was golden all over, its petals soft as velvet and its golden-glowing stamen thrusting high. The grass was purple-gold, its nine sword-shaped leaves etched with lightning patterns, while lightning crackled between its stems.

The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum is unyielding and yang in nature. Its power flows through the limbs and channels the blood through the eight meridians. The Nine-Leaf Lightning Tribulation Grass purifies a Martial Soul, removes impurities, helps one comprehend the Dao of Lightning, refines the quality of one's lightning attribute, and speeds up cultivation.

Absorbing these two Immortal Herbs can forge an indestructible body and strengthen my lightning attribute. They'll also work wonders for my body and Martial Soul.

"Sorry for the trouble, teacher. Please protect Little Ao and me."

Su Zhen sat cross-legged, swallowed both Immortal Herbs, and began absorbing them as he circulated the Lightning Heart Meditation Method.

Time passed slowly, and Oscar's absorption of the Immortal Herb neared its end.

Oscar opened his eyes and felt the changes in his body and the breakthrough in his Soul Power. Delighted, he sprang to his feet. His body felt incredibly light, as if something inside him had been removed. He tried circulating his meditation method and found that his Soul Power now flowed more than twice as fast as before he absorbed the Immortal Herb. Noticing Su Zhen absorbing his own Immortal Herbs, he carefully made his way over to Qian Daoliu.

"Great-grandpa, I broke through to level thirty!"

Oscar spoke quietly to Qian Daoliu, but he couldn't hide his excitement.

"Very good, Little Ao. You've broken Brother Zhen's record of becoming a Soul Elder at ten, and become the youngest Soul Elder on the entire continent. When you get back, tell your teacher. He'll be so happy."

"Hehe, it's all thanks to Brother Zhen's Soul Bone and the Immortal Herb. By the way, when will Brother Zhen be done?"

Oscar rubbed the back of his head with a smile and asked about Su Zhen.

A sudden change struck. The sky darkened in an instant, and countless bolts of lightning exploded overhead.