Noticing Lin Chuan's gaze fixed on the distant herb garden and the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Dugu Bo advised him:
"You'd best not go over there."
Until he reached a certain level of strength, venturing toward that terrifying pool was no different from courting death.
With enough strength, he could naturally go there, but the danger remained considerable. Even he, a Titled Douluo, could stay at the pool's central boundary for only half an hour.
But Dugu Bo offered only a simple warning and said nothing more.
The three of them arrived at a bamboo hut not far from the entrance.
Once they went inside, the hut's cramped space was mostly taken up, leaving little room to move.
Lin Chuan kept his gaze fixed on the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, ignoring the looks the other two gave him as he explained:
"The poison in your bodies has already seeped into your bones and tainted your internal organs. Ordinary methods can't drive it out."
"However, you'll need to force most of the toxins into the corresponding Spirit Bones. After that, you'll take medicinal pills to gradually dispel the poison that has penetrated your bones and internal organs."
"You'll have to find the Spirit Bones yourselves. Fortunately, the herbs needed to treat your poison are right here."
Following Lin Chuan's gaze, Dugu Yan looked toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Dugu Bo remained silent and aloof, pouring himself tea as he considered this method of detoxification.
The poison in his body had spread through his entire skeleton over the past few decades. Each time he circulated his Soul Power, it accelerated the poison's erosion.
Dugu Yan's poisoning was no less severe than his. She had grown up in amniotic fluid steeped in toxins; poison had been with her since the day she was born.
And these detoxifying herbs were here, at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Dugu Bo's emerald eyes swept over the vast array of herbs around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and he sighed inwardly.
It was a pity he knew nothing about herbs. He had once tried to pick some, but the moment he touched them, a searing heat burned through his meridians and surged into his dantian.
If he hadn't suppressed it in time, he would have suffered serious internal injuries.
"I'll find a way to get the Spirit Bones. But how can I trust you?"
Now that they had gone this far, Dugu Bo bluntly voiced his distrust.
Lin Chuan chuckled.
"Surely the famous Poison Douluo isn't afraid I'll poison you while treating you?"
Dugu Bo was famed throughout the world for his mastery of poison. He had spent his life working with it and had never met a match in that field.
That was what he was proudest of, and he couldn't stand anyone questioning his poison.
But working with poison was one thing; curing it was another.
He who walked by the river would get his shoes wet.
Dugu Bo had no peerless medical skills and couldn't cure his own poison, much less the deadly toxins that had accumulated for years and penetrated his lungs.
Still, when an enemy tried to poison him, he could detect it instantly.
Dugu Bo knew all this, but that wasn't what he had in mind. He had intended to make Lin Chuan agree to a few unreasonable terms, but it seemed that wasn't going to happen.
The atmosphere turned chilly. At a glance from Dugu Bo, he and Dugu Yan left together.
After the grandfather and granddaughter had left completely, Lin Chuan stood up and walked out of the bamboo hut.
He'd never expected to form much of a relationship with Dugu Bo. Three years of making use of each other would be enough for him to grow stronger.
Dugu Bo had already agreed, and later Lin Chuan could also use his reputation to add to Spirit Hall's prestige.
Wandering over to the herb garden, he could clearly feel the abundant energy spilling out of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. It made the place difficult for anyone with a physique below Soul King level to approach.
With Lin Chuan's current physique, he would be fine as long as he didn't enter the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
He hadn't forgotten that he had come for the greatest opportunity here, so he asked inwardly:
"Giratina, can you sense the Ice and Fire Dragon Souls?"
Before long, Giratina replied in its usual voice:
"I can sense them faintly, but some energy is completely isolating them. We can't break through it yet."
If they were only dragon souls, even with their many soul origins, they would have dissipated long ago over tens of thousands of years.
The fact that they remained meant they were enveloped in an energy barrier that shut everything out.
When it came to souls, no matter how fierce or powerful one was, it would be devoured by Giratina.
It was only a matter of time.
If he could find a way to break through that protection and absorb the Ice and Fire Dragon Souls' origins, his strength would soar.
"Then what level of strength would it take to break through?"
Perhaps it was a protective barrier cast by the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings before they died. After tens of thousands of years, its energy had gradually faded and weakened.
"Demigod level."
At this news, Lin Chuan fell silent for a long while.
How long would it take him to break through to demigod level on his own...
Still, it wasn't impossible. Just like Huo Gua, he could use Tian Meng's sacrifice to provide the framework for a Second Soul Ring.
Then the Soul Power brought by the nine additional Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Rings might help him break through to demigod level.
Although Tian Meng suited Psychic-type Soul Masters better, Lin Chuan's Martial Soul was Giratina, which gave him an absolute advantage in the area of mental power.
Devouring souls, absorbing pure energy, strengthening mental power—and Giratina itself could learn Psychic-type skills.
He had asked Giratina about mental power early on. It had an affinity for that attribute, and its origins made it a natural counter to it.
That counter came from its own abilities, while its origins came from its Ghost-type attribute, which didn't reject this kind of Spirit Ring.
So he had long since set his sights on Tian Meng.
After all, a single Spirit Ring slot could provide four skills, an immense source of mental power, a million-year Head Soul Bone, and, as a bonus, the framework for a Second Martial Soul.
Any one of those would make a Titled Douluo—or even a Limit Douluo—covet it.
After sensing that there was no one around, and that he seemed to be alone at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Lin Chuan grew bolder.
He had said the herbs here were for treating the two of them, knowing they wouldn't recognize them. Now he could simply claim them all for himself.
With a flick of his left hand, he took out the Herb Encyclopedia. In his right, he held a jade tool he had retrieved as well.
Following the descriptions in the book, Lin Chuan carefully and diligently began to harvest the herbs.
This trip had turned out to be easier than expected. One opportunity after another lay before him.
Even a single Immortal Herb could make up for an ordinary Soul Master's lack of innate talent and give them the potential to become a Titled Douluo.
As he harvested one Immortal Herb after another and put them into his Storage Ring, Lin Chuan asked curiously:
"Giratina, if you devour these Immortal Herbs, will their medicinal effects make us stronger?"
"Or are we limited in how many we can take?"
In the original story, Tang San had said that a person could apparently only consume three Immortal Herbs. Eating more would backfire, and one could only continue after fully refining them.
That refining process could take up to fifteen years.
In those fifteen years, he might already reach god level and devour the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' souls. Who'd want to eat weeds off their graves then?
Giratina's voice remained as nonchalant and dismissive as ever.
"The Immortal Herbs here all grew from the corpse-water in this pool. Some share the same origin, while others are incompatible."
"An ordinary person can only consume about two flowers. Otherwise, the energy will be so overwhelming that they could explode and die. Even the strongest couldn't consume more than three."
"But that restriction doesn't apply to me. Once I devour them, I'll refine them all into energy."