Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well

—Sunset Forest.

Murong Huai and Qian Jun and Jiang Mo immediately followed him into the valley, while Dugu Bo, bruised and swollen, trailed behind the three of them.

After entering the valley and standing at the edge of the cliff, they were met with a scene awash in icy blue and fiery red. Strange crystal formations covered the surrounding slopes, reflecting the valley's breathtaking wonder.

At the center of the valley lay two extraordinary springs. The Cold Extreme Yin Spring welled with ghostly blue ice marrow, its surface coated in frost crystals that would never melt, its cold biting to the bone. The Blazing Yang Spring, meanwhile, belched crimson lava, its billowing heat distorting the air as though it would devour everything. The red and blue waters collided and mingled in the middle, forming a sharply divided Yin-Yang Diagram.

"So this is the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well... Let's go down and take a look."

At his words, Qian Jun carried Murong Huai down into the valley. Jiang Mo turned to glance at Dugu Bo, who shuddered and hurriedly waved his hands.

"No need to trouble Your Excellency. I can get down myself..."

With that, Dugu Bo summoned his Martial Soul and descended. Seeing this, Jiang Mo leaped after him, flying toward the valley floor.

The four landed at the bottom of the valley. After walking forward for a while, they surveyed their surroundings and saw countless strange medicinal herbs growing all around them.

They stopped in their tracks. Up ahead, Gui Mei stood alone. When he saw them, he hurried over.

"Holy Son, Elders."

"Hey, Old Ghost, what are you doing here too?" Dugu Bo cursed under his breath when he saw Gui Mei.

Hearing Dugu Bo, Gui Mei looked at him, then at Murong Huai, and pretended to be puzzled.

"Your Highness the Holy Son, who's this? Why's he got a pig's head?"

"Old Ghost, what the hell are you saying...? I'm Dugu Bo!!!" At Gui Mei's words, Dugu Bo immediately burst into a furious tirade.

"Oh, so it's Old Poison Master. I thought His Highness the Holy Son had caught a hundred-thousand-year-old Jade Phosphorus Pig that hadn't fully transformed." Gui Mei put on a look of sudden realization.

"You..." Dugu Bo gritted his teeth in fury.

"All right, you'll have plenty of time to catch up later. Gui Mei, where's Yue Guan?" Murong Huai cut them off, then turned to ask Gui Mei.

At Murong Huai's words, Gui Mei stopped teasing Dugu Bo and pointed toward a patch of medicinal herbs.

"Holy Son, Chrysanthemum Guan's over there."

The three turned to look. Amid the herbs, a golden figure was "dancing gracefully," "flirting" with one herb after another. First, he held a purple-petaled herb in one hand.

"Oh, Aromatic Silk Beauty, my darling..."

Then he lay beside an Immortal Herb with golden stamens, closing his eyes.

"Oh, my Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum..."

Then he knelt before a red Immortal Herb, gently cupped its petals in both hands, and said with unbridled fervor:

"Oh, the king of Immortal Herbs—Lovesick Heartbreak Red, please accept my humble knees..."

Next, he plunged headfirst into a patch of green vines. His chrysanthemum-shaped hair ornament got caught among them, leaving him struggling.

"Immortal Herbs! They're all Immortal Herbs!" He lunged at one Immortal Herb after another, only to trip over a stalk and tumble beside the ice spring. As soon as he got back up, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass froze him into an "ice-sculpted chrysanthemum."

"Oh, that's refreshing—"

Watching the crazed Yue Guan, Murong Huai and the others were struck dumb. Murong Huai's mouth twitched. He'd expected Yue Guan to get excited at the sight of so many herbs, but not to become so "besotted"—he was almost as bad as Yang Wudi in the original story when he got the Aromatic Silk Beauty.

"Yue Guan!" Seeing Yue Guan lost in a sea of Immortal Herbs, Murong Huai signaled to Qian Jun. The latter called out, sending a wave of Soul Power-enhanced sound into Yue Guan's ears. His mind jolted, and he came to his senses.

When he saw Murong Huai and the others had arrived, he hurried over.

"Holy Son, Elders, forgive me. It's my first time seeing so many Immortal Herbs, so it's only natural I got a little excited..."

"Heh, 'a little'? You were practically acting like a pervert..." Dugu Bo couldn't help but mutter.

When Yue Guan saw Dugu Bo, his expression turned animated. He struck an exaggerated pose.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Wrath of the Spirit Douluo—Dugu Bo..."

"Chrysanthemum Guan, you freak..." Dugu Bo gritted his teeth again.

"Ahem, stop chatting, you two. Chrysanthemum Guan, hurry and show the Holy Son the herbs." Seeing Murong Huai frown, Gui Mei hurriedly spoke to Yue Guan.

Yue Guan came to his senses and quickly introduced them.

"Right, right. Your Highness the Holy Son, I've finished inspecting the area and found herbs suited to the Third Offering and the Second Elder. Please, follow me."

Murong Huai nodded. He and the others followed Yue Guan to a stone that shimmered with black ripples.

They looked over and saw a herb growing in a crack in the stone. It was pitch-black from top to bottom and emanated a dark aura.

"Your Highness the Holy Son, this herb is called the Soul-Extinguishing Dragon Prophecy Herb. They say it was formed from the essence blood of a Magic Dragon, a member of the True Dragon clan that wielded soul-extinguishing flames. It ranks among the finest of the Immortal Herbs.

"It's an excellent match for the Third Offering's Demonic Flame Heavenly Dragon. If the Third Offering consumes it, the damage to his Martial Soul and meridians should heal, and it may even deepen the dragon bloodline in his Martial Soul."

After hearing Yue Guan's explanation, Murong Huai nodded. "The Soul-Extinguishing Dragon Prophecy Herb. Good. Pick it."

At that, Chrysanthemum Guan took out a jade knife and made a light cut about a centimeter above its roots. The Soul-Extinguishing Dragon Prophecy Herb came free, and Yue Guan placed it in a jade box he'd prepared beforehand.

"Your Highness the Holy Son, please come this way."

Yue Guan led them to an area shrouded in white flowers and herbs. At its center grew an orchid that looked as though it were made of ice crystals.

"Holy Son, this Immortal Herb is called the Pure Flame Crystal Orchid. Its flames can purify and heal. It's one of the superior Immortal Herbs, and it's an excellent match for the Second Elder's Immortal Wing Flying Dragon. Of all the Immortal Herbs here, this one suits him best."

"Good. Pick it."

At that, Yue Guan took out a small jade spade and dug up some of the soil around the Pure Flame Crystal Orchid's roots. Then, while it was still in the soil, he cut through its roots and took two crystal seeds from the orchid. He scattered them into the earth, covered them with loose soil, and finally placed the herb in a jade box.

Seeing this, Murong Huai said to Qian Jun and Jiang Mo:

"All right, that's enough for now. Let's return to Spirit City. Elders, please guard this place. Don't let anyone come near."

"Yes, Holy Son." Qian Jun and Jiang Mo nodded.

After that, Murong Huai left Sunset Forest with Gui Mei and Yue Guan. It wasn't that they didn't need the other Immortal Herbs. The urgent matter now was to treat Murong Chayue and Xiao Qingmei. Until the two of them woke up, Murong Huai had no mind to pick Immortal Herbs.

They could return to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well to gather more after the two woke up. It wasn't going anywhere.