Rebirth Through Fire!

Seeing that Ji Bai had truly absorbed the Immortal Bird's Soul Ring, Dugu Bo was filled with emotion. "If my granddaughter hadn't chosen that brat from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan as her boyfriend, I'd really want to match the two of you together."

Ji Bai chuckled. "You two are well-matched in status. That's good enough."

"Good my ass!" Dugu Bo rolled his eyes. "I don't need to curry favor with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. If it weren't for my granddaughter liking him... compared to you, that Yu Tianheng brat is far inferior!"

"You can't compare him to me."

Ji Bai studied the Immortal Bird's corpse, quietly pondering.

He had learned about this type of Soul Beast while studying at Blazing Academy. It possessed a nirvana ability similar to that of a Phoenix. Simply put, it could be reborn through fire.

Immortal Birds were also exceedingly rare Soul Beasts. There was probably only this one at the ten-thousand-year level in all of Sunset Forest.

Ji Bai immediately got to work, removing the Immortal Bird's wings before tossing out a ball of golden flame.

Boom!

The instant the golden flames touched the Immortal Bird's corpse, they engulfed it completely. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a stream of fire and vanished without a trace.

Ji Bai narrowed his eyes at the sight.

Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow. He did not see the deeper meaning behind it and merely assumed Ji Bai had burned the Immortal Bird's corpse. But what happened next stunned him.

After the Immortal Bird's corpse dissolved into a stream of fire, a golden-red egg appeared in its place.

Crack!

The eggshell suddenly split open. A miniature Immortal Bird pecked through the shell and leaped out.

"Just as I thought."

"Immortal Birds can be reborn through fire, but all their cultivation is lost. They need to start over from scratch."

Ji Bai examined the newly reborn Immortal Bird and murmured to himself.

Dugu Bo's eyes lit up. "Interesting. Are you going to raise it?"

Ji Bai replied calmly, "I barely have enough resources for myself. Where would I get the resources to raise it? It's a Soul Beast!"

"If you won't raise it, I will!" Dugu Bo's playful nature was stirred, and he reached out to grab the Immortal Bird.

The little Immortal Bird instinctively flapped its wings, trying to escape, but how could it possibly outrun Dugu Bo?

"Chirp chirp!"

"I love raising rare and exotic creatures. I even have the finest of all Bamboo Leaf Greens—a Nine-Section Jade. Come, admire its magnificent bearing!"

As Dugu Bo held the little Immortal Bird in one hand, a small jade-like snake suddenly poked its head out from the back of his hand.

Ji Bai chuckled at the sight. "Did you forget something? Immortal Birds eat snakes too!"

Dugu Bo froze and looked down, only to see the Immortal Bird staring fixedly at the Nine-Section Jade.

Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Dugu Bo discovered that the Immortal Bird particularly liked staying near the Fire Spring, so he let it roam freely there.

"Kid, didn't you want to leave before? Now that you've obtained your fourth Soul Ring and helped me with a major problem, you can go back now!" Dugu Bo stood with his hands behind his back and spoke indifferently.

"Do you want to come with me?" Ji Bai smiled teasingly. "Your granddaughter won't be coming back anytime soon, and an old man like you has no friends and nothing to do all day. How boring must it be here alone!"

Dugu Bo rolled his eyes speechlessly. "I have nothing to do all day? I'm very busy!"

Ji Bai nodded slightly, then said, "Before I leave, why don't you give me a few more gifts?"

Dugu Bo opened his mouth, staring at him in disbelief. "Who asks for gifts so directly?"

Ji Bai smiled nonchalantly. "I want to take a few medicinal herbs with me, but I don't have a suitable Storage Soul Tool to hold them. When you took out the Nine-Section Jade just now, I saw you pull it from a green treasure pouch. Why not give that to me as well?"

Dugu Bo was instantly dumbfounded. "You want my Ruyi Hundred Treasure Pouch? You really dare to ask!"

Ji Bai spread his hands with a grin. "As the old saying goes, the brave enjoy the world first!"

Dugu Bo was utterly speechless. "Does that old saying also say that the brave die first?"

Ji Bai shrugged. "There's no such saying."

Shameless... Dugu Bo thought.

He then sighed softly, slowly removed the Ruyi Hundred Treasure Pouch, and tossed it to Ji Bai with obvious reluctance.

Turning his back, he said, "I'm not some stingy man. It's only a Storage Soul Tool. Take it!"

"Oh my! Oh, my!" Ji Bai caught the Ruyi Hundred Treasure Pouch and clicked his tongue lightly, unable to stop the corners of his lips from rising. "Since you're being so generous, I won't stand on ceremony!"

"Wait!"

Dugu Bo abruptly turned around and found Ji Bai already holding a shovel, preparing to dig. He asked, "Are these herbs very helpful for cultivation?"

Ji Bai thought that Dugu Bo would soon learn the value of these herbs through the Breaking Clan anyway, so he answered frankly, "That's right. Some of the herbs here are immortal-grade. Some can even give Soul Power to people who have none, allowing them to embark on the path of cultivation."

Hiss!

Dugu Bo sucked in a sharp breath, then asked, "How many do you actually recognize?"

Ji Bai sighed. "I truly only recognize a few. I don't even know the names of the others."

Dugu Bo frowned. Ji Bai did not look like he was lying, so he said, "You're planning to give those herbs to your friends, aren't you? Pick a few for me too! I've guarded this place for more than ten years and haven't even tasted a single blade of grass!"

By the end, he sounded somewhat depressed.

Ji Bai could not help laughing.

"Why should I choose them for you?"

"I don't know which ones suit you either. Once you learn more about them, decide for yourself."

"I'm not an apothecary. If I choose wrong and it backfires, turning you into a cripple, that would be bad."

"But before you understand them, don't touch anything here carelessly. Half the plants here are poisonous herbs."

As soon as Ji Bai finished speaking, he began gathering herbs.

Since storing them was inconvenient, he dug up nearly the entire plants, roots and all. Once he had used them, he would transplant the roots and stems back.

He took every immortal herb and spiritual medicine from the original story that he recognized.

Dugu Bo looked at the holes scattered all over the ground and was left speechless. "Can't you be a little more careful? At the very least... fill the holes back in?"

Ji Bai waved his hand. "I still need to put the roots back later. We'll talk about it then."

Dugu Bo had nothing to say.

Standing before the Aromatic Silk Beauty, Ji Bai pondered. "This thing... I'll leave it to you. I don't make medicine, so taking it would be useless."

Dugu Bo frowned. "What is this? What does it do?"

Ji Bai explained, "It's called the Aromatic Silk Beauty. It currently has no detoxifying ability itself, but the fragrant pollen mist it releases can neutralize toxins and render them ineffective. It's practically a divine anti-poison medicine."

"Oh?"

Dugu Bo was deeply shocked. He pushed Ji Bai aside and released a cloud of poison toward the Aromatic Silk Beauty.

Yet in an instant, the poison lost its toxicity.

"So it really works!" Dugu Bo exclaimed.

"This is a good place. I'll be visiting often in the future." Ji Bai looked around and smiled.

"Kid, don't be too greedy..." Dugu Bo said through gritted teeth. So far, he had not enjoyed a single herb, while Ji Bai had taken one after another.

"Don't rush. Let me finish. What kind of person do you take me for?" Ji Bai shook his head helplessly and sighed. "I merely want to borrow this place for cultivation. The Fire Spring and Ice Spring here are extremely suitable for Soul Masters with ice and fire attributes. For me, this place is better than any Mimic Cultivation Environment."

Dugu Bo muttered, "That's more like it..."