We Can't Leave Empty-Handed

Lin Feng shielded Tang Ya behind him, and the two of them slowly approached the Aromatic Silk Beauty.

The closer they got, the richer its elegant fragrance became. Lin Feng knew that the Aromatic Silk Beauty was the bane of all poisons and was not poisonous itself, so he didn't take precautions.

The flower's fragrance soothed the spirit. Tang Ya felt the tension that had been wound tight in her for days gently ease, and a sense of serene relief spread through her body. Even the Darkness Power stirring faintly within her seemed to be temporarily suppressed by the sweet scent.

"Come on, you two," the Aromatic Silk Beauty urged. "Within the range of my fragrance, the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well's own baleful aura can't hurt you. You don't need to be so cautious."

"Alright, we're coming." Lin Feng quickened his pace a little.

The two soon arrived in front of the strange Immortal Herb.

Up close, its crystal-like petals looked even more translucent, their pale pink radiance flowing softly. It was so beautiful it seemed otherworldly.

"So this is... an Immortal Herb? It's so beautiful..." Tang Ya couldn't help murmuring in amazement, her eyes full of wonder. She knew even less about the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well than Lin Feng did.

When the Iron Blood Sect wiped out the Tang Sect, Tang Ya had still been young. And even before that, the Tang Sect had been in decline for a hundred years, barely able to look after itself. It had long since been unable to guard this treasure deep in the Sunset Forest, much less send experts in to seek medicine.

"You've got a sweet tongue, little girl." The Aromatic Silk Beauty's voice held a smile, but then turned more serious.

"Still, we need to go over the rules first. Under the agreement our kind made with the Tang Sect's ancestor, once every hundred years, you may use the Tang Sect Ice and Fire Token to bring one person here and obtain no more than two kinds of medicinal herbs. In return, the Tang Sect was to help protect this valley from disturbance and destruction by outsiders."

"But your Tang Sect hasn't contacted us in a full thousand years, and we haven't seen any protection from the Sunset Forest's people, either. What's more, two of you came in this time, which already breaks the agreement. Strictly speaking, we can only treat you as outsiders now. By the rules here, we can't give you medicinal herbs for free."

(The Tang Sect Ice and Fire Token is a setting that appeared in Douluo III, but that story never explained when it came into use. This is a fan-created addition, with the assumption that the token was established during Tang San's time.)

Lin Feng was taken aback. As he'd suspected, joining the Tang Sect hadn't been for nothing.

Given the way that old dog Tang San operated, he really would have claimed the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well as the Tang Sect's private property. Unfortunately, the Tang Sect in later generations was so useless it couldn't even protect this ready-made treasure, let alone come here to seek medicine.

"Actually, our main purpose in coming here wasn't to seek medicinal herbs. We're looking for a Soul Beast," Lin Feng explained.

"Not seeking herbs... looking for a Soul Beast?" Youyou's voice abruptly turned wary, and her petals drew in slightly. "Are you planning to hunt the Soul Beasts here? I'm warning you, don't get any ideas. You wouldn't dare covet even the weakest Soul Beast here!"

"Don't joke, Sister Youyou," Lin Feng said quickly, waving his hands. "One of us is a Soul King and the other a Soul Ancestor. How could we entertain such thoughts? It's like this: an elder once told us that the Blue Silver Emperor's last known whereabouts might have been here. Have you heard anything about it, or seen her?"

Lin Feng knew that Tang San's mother, Ah Yin, had once been nurtured here, but he wasn't sure whether she had left behind a legacy.

"So you're here because of the Blue Silver Emperor..." Youyou's voice softened as she seemed to sink into memory. "The Blue Silver Emperor did appear here, but that was ten thousand years ago. That Blue Silver Emperor was your Tang Sect ancestor Tang San's mother, Ah Yin. She was nurtured here for a time, then ascended to the Divine Realm with Tang San. She left no legacy behind. As for whether a new Blue Silver Emperor has appeared in later generations, I don't know. Perhaps one has, but it certainly isn't here."

"There isn't one..." The light in Tang Ya's eyes dimmed, and she murmured, seeming to lose her last hope.

"Xiao Ya, don't lose heart. We'll find one eventually." Lin Feng took her hand and comforted her in a quiet voice.

"I can sense the Darkness Power within this little girl, but I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to help." Youyou's voice sounded again as she looked at Tang Ya. "Let me think. Perhaps I can give you a lead."

"A lead?" Lin Feng's spirits lifted.

"Mm. I've never left this place, but based on my experience, Blue Silver Grass is extremely weak by nature. To reach a hundred thousand years of cultivation, it would need an exceptionally demanding environment. A treasure like the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well would be essential. Since there isn't one here, then..." She paused, then continued slowly, "You'll have to look elsewhere. For example, the Core Circle of the Star Dou Great Forest. As far as I know, Ah Yin came from there."

"That makes sense. It's where the continent's Soul Beasts originated, and its ancient, abundant spiritual energy is unmatched. If a Blue Silver Emperor still exists, that's the most likely place!" Lin Feng's eyes lit up, and he smacked his forehead.

"Thank you for the guidance, senior!" Tang Ya said excitedly.

"We didn't find the Blue Silver Emperor, but we can't have come all this way for nothing. Sister Youyou, what do you suggest?" Lin Feng asked the Aromatic Silk Beauty bluntly.

"Too bad." The Aromatic Silk Beauty replied crisply, with a hint of amusement at their predicament. "You have three choices. Either try the test your Tang Sect ancestor Tang San left behind, offer something of equal value in exchange, or... challenge one of the hundred-thousand-year-old experts here. Win, and you can choose any medicinal herbs you like."

"I choose the third option." Lin Feng barely hesitated. His gaze settled on the red lake, and his tone turned resolute. "I want to challenge the hundred-thousand-year-old Infernal Delicate Apricot."

He had already sensed that the Infernal Delicate Apricot had reached a hundred thousand years of cultivation. It was a pure and powerful fire-type plant Soul Beast. With his Earth-tier Burning Technique, he was confident he could fight her.

"Xiao Feng, isn't that too dangerous?" Tang Ya grabbed him, worry written all over her face.

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." Lin Feng patted the back of her hand, his gaze calm.

"Now that's guts! You picked a tough one right off the bat, kid." Excitement crept into Youyou's voice. Her enormous pale pink petals began beating rapidly, as though sending a signal. "A-Jiao, A-Jiao, wake up. Someone wants to pick a fight with you."

"Which blind fool's making a racket and disturbing my sleep again?! You're asking to die!"

A clear, fiery female voice burst out, unmistakably irritable from having just woken up. Unlike Youyou's gentle voice, it was brash and impatient.

Almost simultaneously, a blazing red light suddenly lit up beside the red lake!

Lin Feng and Tang Ya immediately turned toward the light.

It was a strange plant that looked as though it had been carved from rubies. Nearly a zhang tall, it resembled a giant red cabbage, and its crown of blossoms was only a little smaller than Youyou's. Just the light from her caused the temperature by the lake to suddenly rise, and waves of heat swept toward them.

She was the hundred-thousand-year-old Infernal Delicate Apricot!