Immortal Herb!
What was an Immortal Herb?
Yue Guan looked a bit confused, his gaze turning to his eldest brother.
Weeds, Blue Silver Grass, wild grasses—Yue Guan knew about those.
Yet what in the world was an Immortal Herb?
"E... Eldest Brother, what is an Immortal Herb?"
Yue Guan asked out of incomprehension.
Xu Xiao scratched his head. It seemed that Yue Guan at this point in time knew nothing about Immortal Herbs.
This actually piqued Xu Xiao's interest. If that was the case, how did the Yue Guan in the original work ever find out about such things?
After pondering for a long time, Xu Xiao arrived at his own guess: Spirit Hall and Yue Guan himself.
Spirit Hall possessed a profound heritage. Perhaps scattered records existed within those voluminous tomes, which the Chrysanthemum Douluo of the original work slowly managed to track down.
Coupled with the fact that Chrysanthemum Douluo's Martial Soul was naturally the supreme Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, he held a unique obsession with those Immortal Herbs, matching his personal interests.
By gathering information, he eventually found the records concerning Immortal Herbs, ultimately becoming the Chrysanthemum Douluo who knew so much about them in the original text.
After all, Yue Guan was not someone from a prestigious family background, but merely an ordinary person with no special legacy.
Xu Xiao could only come up with this kind of explanation.
As for the Breaking Clan, that lineage certainly existed. It was just a pity that the current Breaking Clan was a vassal to the Clear Sky Sect, and with Xu Xiao's strength, he could neither snatch it nor dared to try.
"An Immortal Herb, you see, is something that will make you love it to pieces."
Xu Xiao chuckled, explaining it to Yue Guan.
When it came to a love of flowers, Yue Guan was undoubtedly number one.
That heartfelt passion was the very reason why, in the original work, he couldn't bring himself to kill Dai Mubai, who possessed the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.
From this, one could tell just how intense Yue Guan's affection for flowers truly was.
Although Gui Mei didn't understand, he still respected this good brother of his.
Yue Guan's eyes lit up. "Eldest Brother, the place you mentioned—it has Immortal Herbs, right?"
Xu Xiao gave a light nod. "That's right. That place will be my stronghold."
"And that place is right in the Sunset Forest."
Xu Xiao offered an explanation.
The two had no objections. Instead, Yue Guan grew excited. Wouldn't this mean he could cultivate and grow flowers at the same time?
The three put their heads together and began their search.
In the vast Sunset Forest, the three of them could only rely on their own strength.
The dangers of the Sunset Forest could not compare to the Star Dou Forest, but that didn't mean there were none.
Gui Mei leaped up into a tree, carefully scouting ahead, while Xu Xiao and Yue Guan searched slowly below.
Xu Xiao also roughly filled them in on the situation regarding that stronghold.
"Eldest Brother, there's a fight ahead!"
Standing in the tree, Gui Mei spotted two figures intertwined in the distance, immediately calling out to alert Xu Xiao and Yue Guan below.
Xu Xiao stopped instantly and beckoned to Gui Mei. "Second Brother, how's that person's strength?"
"There's only a single Soul Ring beneath their feet, and their appearance is too blurry to make out clearly."
The distance was still rather far, and Gui Mei had only noticed the Soul Ring because its yellow color gave the opponent away.
A single Soul Ring?
Xu Xiao shook his head immediately. "Never mind them. Let's make a detour."
Better to avoid trouble than invite it; for now, caution remained Xu Xiao's primary approach.
The other two had no objections. They changed course, heading toward the left to steer clear of the battle as much as possible.
Yet things often went contrary to one's wishes. The very thing you wished to escape was usually the one you encountered.
You run and they chase, nowhere left to fly with wings.
That person seemed unable to beat the opposing Soul Beast, so they turned and bolted, and the direction they fled in happened to be right toward Xu Xiao and his companions.
"Eldest Brother, that person is being chased by a Soul Beast and running right at us." Gui Mei saw that the figure was drawing closer by the minute.
Xu Xiao was speechless. Had he known, he wouldn't have changed direction. How could they run into this even now?
"Change direction, run!"
This time, Xu Xiao fled back toward their original location.
However, by the time they moved away, it was already too late. That person's Soul Power seemed to surpass even the three of them combined.
The two forces collided head-on.
Try as he might to dodge, Xu Xiao still failed to avoid it.
Cursing inwardly, Xu Xiao shouted to his two brothers, "Run!"
The formidable-looking Soul Beast behind them was hot on the heels of all four.
As he ran, Xu Xiao yelled at the person, "What the hell, buddy, are you sick in the head? You had to run in our direction."
Xu Xiao had been walking on eggshells lately, avoiding trouble whenever he could and hiding whenever possible. He never expected his luck to be this terrible today!
The person snorted. "Hmph, isn't it your fault for being too weak?"
"If you had any real strength, wouldn't it have been solved if you helped me out?"
So arrogant. This guy was utterly arrogant, and rather haughty to boot.
Xu Xiao had a fiery temper. Laozi got dragged down because of you, and you didn't even offer a single apology—where was your basic decency? Where was your morality?
If Xu Xiao didn't beat this fellow to a pulp in a moment, he wouldn't feel right.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei were equally provoked by this guy's remarks.
Glancing back, they saw that the Soul Beast seemed to have stopped pursuing. Gui Mei immediately picked up speed and delivered a direct kick straight at the fellow.
The man stumbled, rolling across the ground a few times before coming to a halt.
Xu Xiao was also taken aback. Just as he wanted to issue a warning, he noticed the chasing Soul Beast had vanished, so he promptly caught up.
"Brothers, beat him!"
Damn it, acting so cocky. Even though they didn't know his name, for a mere one-ringed Soul Master to be this arrogant meant he was bound to come to a bad end.
If he actually possessed great strength, they would swallow it. If he had just apologized, they wouldn't have pressed the matter—after all, having more friends when traveling outside was always good, right?
Yet now, since he was acting so full of himself and the Soul Beast had stopped chasing them, if they didn't beat him, who else were they going to beat?
"You're courting death!"
The man let out a furious roar. He couldn't beat the Soul Beast, but he couldn't beat them either? Ha, did they really take him for a pushover made of clay?
The single yellow Soul Ring appeared beneath his feet, and a snake-type Martial Soul manifested behind him, its tongue flickering gently.
"Heh."
Xu Xiao sneered. "Third Brother."
(Xu Xiao's internal OS: Close the door and unleash Third Brother!)
A purple Soul Ring slowly emerged beneath Yue Guan's feet.
The man was instantly startled.
Yue Guan spoke slowly, "I don't know why, but from the very first moment I laid eyes on you, I've found you extremely irritating!"
Hearing this, Xu Xiao was taken aback. Someone who could make Yue Guan irritated? Could this person be an enemy of his?
Yet, why did the opponent's Martial Soul look somewhat familiar?
"Third Brother, since you find him irritating, then kill him."
"Looking at that arrogant expression of his, death is the greatest respect we can show him."
Gui Mei spoke indifferently. Judging by the way the fellow had treated their eldest brother earlier, Gui Mei didn't like him either. Might as well just kill him.
The man was instantly alarmed. He was going to fall here today. Having exhausted most of his Soul Power from the fierce battle with that Soul Beast earlier, facing such powerhouses now meant certain death.
"Wait! If you kill me, you'll die too!"
"Let me go, and I can pretend today's events never happened."
The man gritted his teeth. In the face of death, he chose to swallow his pride.
The three brothers couldn't help smiling. Xu Xiao remarked, "Actually, I kind of preferred how unyielding and arrogant you were just a moment ago."
(PS: In a couple of days, I'll post the setting of this book and the age gaps of some related characters in the comment section—characters like Sword Douluo and Qian Xunji.)
(This is just part of the book's setting and might be subject to minor changes, but it's all for the advancement of the plot and will remain logical.)