"This... this..." Du Busi had already dispelled his Martial Soul Avatar and returned to human form.
He stood at the valley entrance, staring blankly at the sight before him. His rugged face was filled with utter shock and wild delight, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a fist inside. He had even forgotten he was holding Zichuan.
"Ice... Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well! It really is the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!"
His voice trembled as he muttered to himself. Then he abruptly turned to Zichuan, seized his shoulders with both hands, and shook him excitedly. "Good disciple! What a good disciple! You really are... you really are an enormous lucky star for our Body Sect! A lucky star!!!"
He released Zichuan, rushed like a child to a Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, crouched down, and carefully touched its fiery-red petals with his fingers.
Feeling the vigorous Blazing Heat Power within it, power that would greatly benefit even someone as strong as himself, he then ran to the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and took a deep breath of its icy, pure aura.
"We're rich! We're rich! We're really rich this time!" Du Busi was so excited that he could barely speak coherently. He paced in circles through the valley, his eyes shining as he looked at the Immortal Herbs he had only heard of in legends.
"Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew! Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid! Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone! Aromatic Silk Beauty! My heavens... any one of these Immortal Herbs would cause a bloody storm in the Soul Master world if it got out! Yet there are so many here! And, and I can feel that a few of them could even help my cultivation! They could help me charge toward that final step!"
He suddenly stopped and turned to look at Zichuan, who remained where he was, equally stunned by the sight before him. The excitement on Du Busi's face gradually faded, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.
He strode back to Zichuan, crouched before him until they were eye to eye, and spoke each word with resolute certainty:
"Zichuan, my good disciple. Listen carefully."
"You discovered this place. Your parents paid for this ancient map with their lives. Therefore, from today onward, this Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well belongs to you! It is your private cultivation sanctuary, Zichuan, and your private herb garden!"
"Without your permission, no one from the sect, including me, Du Busi, may enter this place without authorization or pick even a blade of grass from it!"
"If anyone in the sect needs the Immortal Herbs here for cultivation assistance or healing in the future, they must obtain your consent. And they must exchange something of equal value! Even if I want something, the same rule applies!"
His words struck the ground with force, leaving no room for doubt. Not once did he show any intention of claiming this immense opportunity for himself because he was the sect master and Zichuan's teacher, nor did he intend to use the sect's greater good to pressure Zichuan into sharing it.
Zichuan was stunned. He had expected Du Busi to be ecstatic upon seeing the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, to be excited, perhaps even to designate this place as a sect forbidden ground.
But he had never expected Du Busi to be so decisive, so explicit, in granting all ownership to him personally.
"Teacher, this..." Zichuan instinctively wanted to say something.
"No more of that!" Du Busi waved a large hand and cut him off, his gaze incomparably serious.
"I've lived for over a hundred years. What haven't I seen? Fortune is a mysterious thing. You possess the Dual Heart Martial Soul, a thousand-year first Soul Ring, an External Soul Bone, and that miraculous domain... and now you've discovered the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. All of it points to one thing—you, Zichuan, may very well be the chosen child of fortune for this generation!"
He patted Zichuan's shoulder, his tone softening with a touch of emotion and expectation.
"The opportunities of a child of fortune cannot be forcibly sought by others, nor can they be greedily seized. Otherwise, there will surely be backlash. This Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is fated to be yours, so it should belong to you. All the sect can do is protect you and help you grow properly. When you truly stand at the peak someday, don't forget to lend the sect a hand. That will be enough."
Seeing that Zichuan still looked somewhat dazed, he chuckled and returned to his rough, boisterous self.
"Of course, if you care about your teacher, then after your cultivation succeeds, just casually reward your teacher with one or two Immortal Herbs you don't need. Your teacher will shamelessly accept them!"
Zichuan looked at the green-haired man before him, who could be domineering and overbearing at times, rough yet perceptive at others, and now so clear-minded and open-hearted.
The trace of guilt he felt over deceiving him, as well as the alienation he had long carried as a "transmigrator" and a "cheat user," were scattered to pieces by a scorching current of warmth.
He opened his mouth, only to find his throat somewhat tight. In the end, he merely nodded heavily, his voice a little hoarse. "Teacher, I... I understand. Thank you."
Du Busi burst into hearty laughter and vigorously rubbed Zichuan's hair.
"Foolish boy, why are you being polite with your teacher? Come on. Since we're here, let's take a proper look at your 'assets' first! Tsk, tsk, this is truly incredible..."
He pulled Zichuan along and began eagerly wandering through the valley. As they walked, he identified the Immortal Herbs one by one as if listing treasures from his own home, exclaiming in amazement from time to time.
Within Zichuan's Sea of Consciousness, the God of Destruction witnessed everything and merely offered a bland assessment:
"That green-haired turtle has some discernment and self-awareness after all. He saved me the trouble of lecturing him. Kid, your teacher may be a little reckless, but he's not bad."
Zichuan did not respond. He simply watched Du Busi's back as the man excitedly ran about like a child who had found treasure, then looked at the dreamlike Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well before him. His heart was tranquil, yet filled with strength.
This place was his now.
So then, what exactly was Old Zi's so-called "satisfaction guaranteed"?
Zichuan stood at the edge of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, feeling the bone-piercing chill of the Ice Spring and the scorching waves of heat from the Yang Spring alternately wash over his body. The two hearts within him seemed to become more active as a result.
Looking at the rare treasures filling the valley, he was certainly excited, but even more than that, he felt as if it were unreal—had such immense fortune really just fallen onto his head?
"Teacher, what should we do next..." Zichuan turned to Du Busi, who was still drooling at a Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, and asked tentatively.
"Should we find an Immortal Herb suitable for me first, break through the level-twenty bottleneck, and then obtain my second Soul Ring?"
Subconsciously, he felt that should be the proper process. There were many Immortal Herbs here, but he still needed to proceed step by step and choose one with mild medicinal properties, something that could strengthen his foundation and help him break through—such as the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew Huo Yuhao had consumed in the original work?
Yet the moment he finished speaking, the God of Destruction sneered in his mind, his tone filled with disdain as though saying, How could you be this hopeless?
"There is no need!"
"Ah?" Zichuan froze.
"Consume them? Refine them? That is for those unlucky fools with no background and no one to rely on, who can only risk their lives to pick up scraps!"
The God of Destruction's voice carried a lofty arrogance that seemed only natural. "My child, the God of Destruction's child, has come to claim what is his. Why should you need to go through so much trouble?"
Before Zichuan could figure out what "what is his" meant, an indescribable, obscure ripple spread quietly from the depths of his Sea of Consciousness.
It seemed to transcend all things, carrying ancient majesty and an intent of destruction and rebirth.
Like a stone cast into a still lake, it instantly rippled outward, enveloping the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well valley!
This ripple was exceedingly faint, nowhere near as earth-shaking as when Du Busi unleashed his Martial Soul Avatar. Zichuan himself barely felt it.
Yet the "essence" contained within it was unimaginably lofty. It was the authority of a god, touching upon the laws of the world!
"Buzz—!"
In an instant, the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well seemed to come alive!
Throughout the valley, the countless Immortal Herbs and spiritual medicines that had quietly breathed in spiritual energy and swayed in the wind all trembled at once!
Immediately afterward, streams of aura, some strong and some weak but all incomparably pure and ancient, rose from the individual Immortal Herbs!
Those auras were no longer calm. They were filled with bewilderment, horror, and an irrepressible trace of... excitement and reverence?
Before you continue