Inside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
All around the spring, every kind of medicinal herb shimmered with multicolored light, illuminating the entire valley like a fairyland.
Bibi Dong and Yan Lingji stood behind Zhao Linchuan, their gazes sweeping over the exotic flowers and rare herbs. Though they didn't know the names of these Immortal Herbs, their Soul Master instincts told them the plants were extraordinary.
"These..." Bibi Dong drew a deep breath, her eyes full of shock.
"Don't touch anything." Zhao Linchuan reminded them, then walked alone into the herb patch and began carefully picking the plants.
About an hour later.
Zhao Linchuan had finished gathering the main Immortal Herbs. He found a clear patch of ground beside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well and called the two women over to sit.
He took two jade boxes from his robes and handed them to Bibi Dong.
"Dong'er, these two Immortal Herbs are the Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone and the Shadow Dragon Agave."
He explained, "One can strengthen your body, and the other can evolve your Martial Soul."
"I just explained how to take them. Go on and absorb them."
Bibi Dong accepted the jade boxes, her hands trembling slightly.
She looked down at the two boxes containing the Immortal Herbs and fell silent for a moment. Then she slowly raised her head, her eyes reddening. "Thank you..."
"When I become Pope, I'll make you my personal guardian Douluo."
"Just your personal guardian? Nothing else?"
Yan Lingji's soft voice came from beside them. Her tone was light, yet her words struck right at the heart.
"O-of course..."
Bibi Dong's face flushed scarlet. She stammered out a reply, then abruptly stood and hurried off toward another clear patch of ground, clutching both jade boxes.
Once Bibi Dong was gone, Zhao Linchuan took a black stone from the Ruyi Treasure Bag.
The stone was dark all over, with nothing particularly remarkable about it. But at its top grew a flower.
It was an extraordinarily strange flower. Its overlapping petals curled slightly at the edges, and its entire form was bloodred—beautiful in a mournful, tragic way.
It grew from the Wujue Stone, with no roots or leaves, just one solitary blossom. Yet it seemed to hold all the longing in the world.
Zhao Linchuan cradled the black stone in his palm and looked at Yan Lingji. "My dear, this flower has a moving story..."
His voice was low and calm, like a night breeze brushing across a lake.
He told her the story of longing, life, and death, and how the flower had been born of love and bloomed in tears.
He didn't try to make it sentimental or dramatic. He simply told the story, quietly and plainly.
Yan Lingji listened in silence, saying nothing.
A breeze blew in through the mouth of the gorge, stirring the wisps of hair across her forehead.
Her gaze rested on the bloodred flower, deep as a pool.
Only after Zhao Linchuan had spoken the final word did a faint smile slowly curve her lips.
She raised her right hand and, without the slightest hesitation, struck her chest with her palm.
"Pfft—!"
A mouthful of heart's blood sprayed forth. The crimson mist scattered in the sunlight like a blooming red lotus, landing precisely on the Lovesick Heartbreak Red.
In that instant, the mysterious flower, dormant for who knew how many years, burst into bloom.
Its bloodred petals unfurled one after another. Golden light streamed from its heart, making the entire flower shimmer like a dream.
It drifted free of the black stone and floated down into Yan Lingji's palm.
Yan Lingji cupped the flower in both hands, looked up at Zhao Linchuan, and gave a soft hum. "Satisfied?"
"My dear, I..."
Zhao Linchuan's throat tightened, as though something were lodged there, unable to go up or down.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something. A thousand words surged to his lips, yet not one came out.
Yan Lingji reached out and gently pressed her index finger to his lips.
"You don't have to say it. Some things are meant to stay in your heart."
"If you say them out loud, they won't mean as much."
She withdrew her finger and lowered her eyes to the Lovesick Heartbreak Red in her palm. Its petals trembled faintly, and its bloodred glow reflected on her face, veiling her in a hazy blush.
Zhao Linchuan gently took her wrist and moved her hand away from his lips. His voice was hoarse. "My dear, eat it."
Yan Lingji's fingers paused slightly. She looked at the flower in her palm and fell silent for a moment.
"All right."
After a long while, she answered softly and began plucking off the bloodred petals one by one.
"When I become the legendary Limit Douluo, I'll conquer the Douluo Continent for you."
"I'll make you the supreme ruler, above millions—second only to me in bed."
As she finished speaking, the last petal fell into her mouth.
Yan Lingji sat cross-legged on the ground and began absorbing the Immortal Herb's medicinal power.
Her tone had been so matter-of-fact, yet the sorrow of parting nearly engulfed them both.
Zhao Linchuan stood there, watching the silhouette that appeared and disappeared within the glow. He remained silent for a long time.
He stayed by her side for a while. Only after confirming that her breathing was steady did he get to his feet.
After a long while, Zhao Linchuan glanced around. The entrance to the gorge was narrow and concealed, and that Medusa Soul Beast was guarding the outside. No one else could get in.
This was a natural place for cultivation.
He took out the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew and drank it, then turned and walked over to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, where he plucked the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot together.
He placed the overlapping petals in his mouth. Without hesitation, Zhao Linchuan leaped into the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
The milky-white and vermilion spring waters swallowed him. Biting cold and scorching heat struck at once, as though they meant to rip his body in two.
He gritted his teeth, circulated his Soul Power, and began forging his golden body.
The following afternoon.
On the clearing beside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, Yan Lingji and Bibi Dong had already finished refining the power of their Immortal Herbs.
Yan Lingji had not only grown stronger in every way, but her entire bearing had also changed in subtle ways.
Her skin was fairer and more delicate than before. The allure in her brows and eyes had only deepened, yet now it was tinged with an ineffable, otherworldly grace.
The change in Bibi Dong was even more astonishing. Her beauty had already been striking, but now she seemed to have been reborn, her radiance transformed.
What truly delighted her, though, was the change in her Martial Souls.
Her Death Spider Emperor and Soul-Eater Spider Emperor had evolved into the Death Spider God and Soul-Eater Spider God.
The evolution had brought a qualitative leap in her strength. More importantly, it had freed her from the ugly, hideous forms her Martial Souls had once taken.
Their new forms were noble and bewitching, beautiful in an uncanny way. At last, she no longer felt ashamed of her Martial Souls.
"Wonderful..." Bibi Dong murmured, her eyes reddening slightly.
Just then—
"Splash!"
The sound of water broke the valley's silence.
A figure shot out of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, sending a great sheet of water flying. The milky-white and vermilion spring water scattered through the air like a dazzling firework display.
The figure landed on the bank, completely naked. Water droplets rolled down the lines of his muscles, catching the sunlight in tiny flashes.
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