A Treasure Land Gone to Waste

"It can't be put that way."

After lowering his hand,

Liu Yuan pointed at Dugu Yan's body. "This may be a little presumptuous, but hear me out first..."

Based on his own judgment, Liu Yuan described Dugu Yan's physical condition with rough accuracy.

The more she listened, the greater the surprise in her eyes became.

"You know quite a lot, don't you?"

She looked him up and down before adding,

"You actually remind me of someone."

Liu Yuan raised a brow. "Who?"

"Tang San."

At the mention of that name, Dugu Yan's peripheral gaze swept across the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, revealing an unprecedented gloom. It vanished in an instant; if Liu Yuan had not been sharp-eyed, he might not even have noticed it.

"What?"

Dugu Yan resumed her seductive demeanor. "Haven't you heard of the famous Sea God?"

"Of course I have."

As he said this, Liu Yuan had already formed a guess. He pointed at the ruined Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. "Don't tell me the Sea God did this?"

"Heh... he did." A cold laugh came from Dugu Yan's mouth. Her expression had turned savage and vicious. Only now did she seem like a female Soul Master with a Jade Phosphor Snake Martial Soul.

Liu Yuan: "..."

If Tang San had done this,

then it was no surprise. No surprise at all.

Wasn't this just like locusts stripping a field bare? Counting all the rotten things Lord Tang had done, one more hardly mattered.

Afterward, Liu Yuan learned the full story of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well from Dugu Yan, as well as the exact differences between the two universes.

Generally speaking, before Tang San became a god, the development of this universe had been more or less the same. But the turning point came after Tang San's ascension.

When Tang San became a god, the Three Gods War erupted.

Although Tang San ultimately relied on the Asura God position to defeat Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong, afterward he not only killed Qian Renxue, but also had Dugu Bo exterminate all the Soul Masters of Spirit Hall.

After doing all that, he came to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. For no other reason than to strengthen the Tang Sect.

Thus, Tang San first swept through every herb in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well once more. It could be said that aside from the immature ones, everything had been stripped clean.

If that had been all,

it would have been manageable.

But for some reason, Tang San had become interested in the essence of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. So he entered its spring source. When he emerged, outsiders had no idea what had happened, but the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had completely declined.

Even the fact that it had declined

was only discovered by Dugu Bo.

Although Tang San had treated Dugu Bo's poison, the method carried an extremely severe hidden danger.

That was, ordinary Soul Bones all had a limit. Once the poison was fully stored, it would cause a backlash.

When Dugu Bo realized this, the Shrek Seven Devils had already become gods and ascended. Left with no choice, he could only return to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to suppress the poison.

Yet when he tried to suppress it there, he discovered that the well's ice and fire energies had drastically weakened, and even the abundance of heaven and earth energy was far inferior to before.

If this continued,

the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well might even disappear entirely.

And that was why the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well could still belong to the Dugu Family.

Of course, the greater reason was that the Dugu Family could no longer carry on its lineage and had no successors.

"So that means..." Liu Yuan looked at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. "This Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is already ruined!"

As he spoke, realization appeared in his eyes.

No wonder

Dugu Yan had used it as payment.

She was selling it off cheaply because it was worthless.

"Yes. Its ruin is inevitable."

A trace of grief flashed through Dugu Yan's eyes.

"My grandfather was ultimately killed by a poison backlash because of this. And I only have one Soul Bone, which is already filled with poison. Now, I only have six years left."

"Still, although this Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is ruined, Grandfather estimated that it would take ten thousand years before it truly became ordinary. During that time, its effects can still remain at around one-tenth of what they once were. It can still nurture those immortal herbs, though at one-tenth of the original speed. A few of them will finish growing in another few years. Aside from that, this place can still serve as a rather good cultivation ground."

"Indeed."

Liu Yuan withdrew his gaze and nodded in agreement, abandoning the thought of getting an enormous bargain.

But beneath his seemingly calm expression,

stormy waves had already risen in his heart.

That damned Tang San!

What a waste! He had fished the pond dry!

Liu Yuan knew full well that the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had been formed from the Water and Fire Dragon Kings. Now that it was ruined, there were only two possibilities: first, Tang San had hollowed out the corpses of the Water and Fire Dragon Kings; second, Tang San had Absorbed all the essence within their corpses.

The only reason the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well could still nurture immortal herbs was because of the remnants of divine substance!

Not knowing what Liu Yuan was thinking, Dugu Yan could only lightly run a finger across her cheek. Yet a thoughtful glimmer shone in her eyes.

"If you're truly confident..." Her words paused slightly. "You can change it if you're not satisfied."

"Change it?"

Having come back to his senses, Liu Yuan was somewhat confused.

"You mean the payment?"

"Of course."

The moment Liu Yuan heard that,

Oh? So you still have something good.

In that case, I should compare them first.

After all, this was the Multiverse. There might be something that had never existed in the original timeline but could still be considered valuable.

So he raised a brow and did not stand on ceremony.

"Let's hear it."

"All right."

Her seductive eyes blinked, displaying endless charm.

"Me!"

Pfft—

Liu Yuan nearly choked on his breath!

No, absolutely not!

If that was the deal, he would be taking a loss on this mission!

Trying to pay with her beauty?

No way!

How could mere beauty possibly shake his heart!

"Hoo..."

He hurriedly took a deep breath to steady himself.

Then he stiffly changed the subject. "Let's get back to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. So according to your plan, you intend to take revenge on Tang San, right?"

"Revenge on who!?"

"Tang San?!"

Hearing Liu Yuan's words, Dugu Yan's eyes widened at once. Her gaze conveyed only one meaning: How dare you even think that? How could I dare?

Liu Yuan frowned. "Isn't that it?"

If not...

what was with the nickname "Vengeance Serpent"?

"Of course not."

Dugu Yan waved her hand, a bitter smile appearing at the corner of her mouth. "He's a god. What could I possibly do against him?"

"Then who do you want revenge on?"

"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!"

A flash of hatred crossed Dugu Yan's eyes, even stronger than when Tang San had been mentioned.

Tsk, tsk, tsk...

Seeing this, Liu Yuan could not help clicking his tongue inwardly.

It was probably some love-turned-to-hatred affair. But it had nothing to do with the mission, so he did not ask further.

Naturally, Dugu Yan would not say more either.

She withdrew the hatred from her gaze and once again used a smile to conceal her emotions and true nature. "All right, little brother. You've asked so much and understand my condition so well. So, are you confident?"