Inside the boudoir of the Skywater Academy, a bone-chilling cold, fueled by the medicinal power of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, raged wildly. The sisters, Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er, sat cross-legged on the large bed, their bodies enveloped in a thick layer of blue ice cocoon, their long hair trembling slightly within the ice crystals.
Gu Tian, Xiao Wu, Gu Yue, and the others stood around, their gazes stern. Bi Ji stood at the head of the bed, her hands hanging naturally at her sides. Emerald-colored life light transformed into countless tiny threads, Bind the ice cocoon, precisely monitoring the movement of every meridian in the two sisters' bodies.
"Sister Tide, is my current upgrade sequence really foolproof?" Gu Tian was a little bored, so he entered his Sea of Consciousness to chat with Tide.
Leaning lazily against the villa railing, Tide stroked her chin and replied confidently, "Don't worry, Xiao Tian Tian'er. According to my plan, after Shui Bing'er absorbs this ten-thousand-year-old Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, her Soul Power will be purified to the extreme, and breaking through the level 30 bottleneck is a sure thing. At that time, you should first take her to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, and then let her take the Dragon God Pill. In that way, she can use the power of Martial Soul quality evolution to achieve a rapid breakthrough in her Soul Power Level."
Gu Tian nodded, then, as if remembering something, frowned and asked, "By the way, when can we produce the next Dragon God Pill? Can't we mass-produce this kind of treasure that can transform Martial Soul?"
Gu Tian's idea was that once mass production was completed, he could give one to each of the girls in the Skywater Team, allowing their Martial Soul quality to evolve to the Ultimate Ice, especially Shui Yue'er and Xue Wu, who were known as the three most beautiful goddesses of the Skywater Academy, along with Shui Bing'er.
Tide rolled her eyes, then tapped Gu Tian's forehead, somewhat speechless. "Do you think this is some kind of mud ball? The most crucial element in refining the Dragon God Pill isn't my essence blood, but the catalyst—it must be a fully mature, extremely old, top-grade immortal Immortal Herb. Although the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well in your Sea of Consciousness have increased the plant's growth rate thousands of times, to meet the standards for refining medicine, the immortal Immortal Herb must be at least ten thousand years old. That means it needs to grow for a full year to mature. So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we can only produce one immortal pill of this level each year."
"Only one a year?" Gu Tian was somewhat surprised, stroking his chin and sighing, "This pace... is indeed a bit slow."
" Xiao Tian Tian'er, this is a magic pill that can defy fate and change one's destiny. This progress is astonishing even in the Divine Realm," Tide complained irritably.
Just then, the Light Dragon King Aria, who had been listening quietly all along, spoke. She fluttered the holy golden feathers on her back, and her pale golden eyes gleamed with wisdom:
"Actually, I do know a way to make plants grow faster. As far as I know, the Blue Silver Grass lineage on this continent is extremely special. Although they are the most numerous Plant-type Soul Beast here, only one Blue Silver Emperor can exist in each generation. The Blue Silver Emperor is not only the king of all grasses, but also the guardian of the forest. Wherever the Blue Silver Emperor is, the growth rate of all surrounding plants can double. This vitality boost that cannot be extinguished by wildfire is almost equivalent to the boost effect brought by Auspicious Beast."
" Blue Silver Emperor?" Gu Tian's heart skipped a beat, and that gentle, graceful face instantly flashed into his mind. "You mean... Ah Yin?"
Gu Tian fell silent. He knew that the Blue Silver Emperor's vitality was indeed terrifying, but now Tang Hao had already fled with the severely injured Ah Yin and disappeared into the vast sea of people. To find the Blue Silver Emperor, he could only wait for Tang Hao to show himself and then use Tang San, that good son, as bait to lure out Ah Yin's whereabouts.
Meanwhile, in the north of Heaven Dou City.
Ma Hongjun scurried into a secluded underground hideout. The air was foul, and the walls were covered with various bottles of medicine that emitted a strange odor.
Tang San sat at a wooden table piled with herbal residue, his forehead covered in sweat. He was using the poison-making secrets from the < Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record > to try and deduce the composition of the Death Warrior Pill by analyzing the residual Soul Power in Bu Le's body.
Although Xue Xing gave him only Death Warrior Pill with minimal side effects, he still wanted to thoroughly research the drug. For example, he wanted to add some bewitching poisons to it, so that he could perhaps form a suicide squad that would obey his orders.
"Third Brother! Something terrible has happened!" Ma Hongjun, without even wiping his sweat, hurriedly recounted the whole story of how he met Gu Tian in the slums and how Catwoman was rescued.
Tang San suddenly stopped using the tweezers. He had thought of something in an instant, and it coincided with Ma Hongjun's idea.
"Catwoman was taken away?" Tang San slowly stood up, pacing back and forth in the dimly lit secret room, and began to analyze other guesses in a logical manner. " Gu Tian is meticulous and extremely protective of his own. The fact that he took Catwoman away means that he has already become suspicious of this slum. If Xue Qinghe mobilizes the royal family's power to intervene in the investigation, this stronghold will soon be exposed."
"Then what do we do? The experiment with the Death Warrior Pill has only just begun to show promise," Ma Hongjun asked, somewhat unwillingly.
"Stop." Tang San decisively waved his hand, collecting all the reagent bottles on the table into the Twenty-Four Bridge Moonlit Night. "The best course of action now is to cut our losses decisively, suspend all experiments, and eliminate any clues. Since Gu Tian wants to investigate, let him investigate until he finds nothing."
Tang San turned his head, looking at the faint morning light outside the window, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his lips:
"We've just left Heaven Dou City. Fatty, Oscar, Tai Long, and Huang Yuan —the five of us have all broken through the level 20 bottleneck. I'll go ask Dean Flender and Teacher Zhao Wuji for permission to hunt for our Second Soul Ring. I've already decided—we'll go to the edge of the Extreme North. The quality of Soul Beast there is second only to the Star Dou Great Forest. Only by increasing our strength will we have a real say in Heaven Dou City."
Tang San's side acted swiftly. By the time dawn broke the next day, the last trace of blood in the secret hideout in the slum had been completely masked by strong liquor and lime powder. All the evil seemed to have vanished with the morning breeze. By then, no matter how hard Xue Qinghe's spies searched, they would only return empty-handed amidst ruins and garbage.
Meanwhile, at the other end of Heaven Dou City, in the boudoir of Shui Bing'er at the Skywater Academy, a completely different, sacred scene unfolded.
"Click..."
A soft, crisp sound startled Gu Tian, who was resting with his eyes closed by the bedside.
A golden crack appeared on the huge ice cocoon enveloping Shui Bing'er. Then, the thick ice layer peeled off like broken porcelain, turning into specks of blue light and disappearing into the air.
Shui Bing'er slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was the bright morning light streaming through the window. She looked around somewhat blankly, and her gaze finally settled on the boy sitting beside her bed.