Ice and Fire Duality

After rushing as fast as they could, when Ling Yi, along with Ah Yin and Yang Shelly, caught up with Dugu Bo, they had already reached the mountaintop.

Standing here, looking around, through the mostly dispersed fog, you can see the dense forests all around and the other distant, indistinct mountain peaks.

Ling Yi and the others only glanced at the scenery outside before focusing all their attention on the mountaintop.

At first glance, apart from Ling Yi, the three of them, including Dugu Bo, couldn't help but be stunned by the terrain before them.

What they saw was an inverted cone-shaped valley. The mountaintop where they were located was the edge of this valley. Thick, humid heat rose from the valley, carrying a distinctive sulfurous smell that was much stronger than what they had smelled at the mountainside.

Ling Yi took a few steps forward, stood at the edge of the ravine, and looked down. His view only extended a few dozen meters before being blocked by the humid, hot air. He guessed:

"It seems that the underground volcanic veins here are dormant, but they happen to intersect with underground water veins, forming a hot spring below."

"Hot springs?" Upon hearing this, Yang Shelly raised her eyebrows, a hint of interest appearing in her eyes.

Although Ah Yin next to her didn't say anything, her beautiful face also showed a hint of eagerness, as if she also wanted to try soaking in the hot spring.

Dugu Bo wasn't interested in soaking in the hot springs. He just glanced thoughtfully at the lingering mist in front of everyone, shook his head, and said, "No wonder the mist is so thick here; it's the steam from the hot springs—"

"Let's go down and take a look," Ling Yi said, gesturing to the three people beside him.

After saying that, he jumped straight down.

Of course, this is not suicide. Although the water vapor and fog are thick, the rain has stopped and rays of light are shining through the clouds, so the visibility here is not bad. At least within a range of more than ten meters, you can still see things clearly.

Ling Yi's descent was immediately halted when his toes touched a protruding rock on the steep cliff. The next second, he fell again towards another protruding rock diagonally below.

Seeing that Ling Yi's figure was about to disappear into the mist and clouds, Dugu Bo and the others behind him did not delay any longer and quickly followed in Ling Yi's footsteps, jumping down into the ravine one after another.

After descending for about a hundred meters, Ling Yi broke through a thick layer of clouds and fog, and his view became clear.

Without continuing downwards, Ling Yi glanced down, then looked left and right, spotted a protruding rock about ten meters to his left, and leaped over it to gain his footing.

Then, with his right palm facing upwards, Ling Yi's "Blue Silver Grass" Martial Soul appeared amidst the flashing blue Soul Power.

Driven by his Soul Power, the "Blue Silver Grass" Martial Soul instantly surged, transforming into slender vines that spread across the steep cliff face.

When Dugu Bo, Ah Yin, and Yang Shelly broke through the clouds and landed at a position similar to Ling Yi's, the Blue Silver vines had already intertwined on the cliff face, forming a walkway for the three of them to stand on.

Stepping onto the supple Blue Silver vine walkway, Dugu Bo and his companions had no time to marvel at Ling Yi's wondrous and meticulous manipulation of his Martial Soul before they were stunned into a daze by the magnificent scenery at the bottom of the valley below.

There was indeed a spring in the center of the valley below. However, it was vastly different from the hot spring that Yang Shelly and her companions had imagined.

The hot spring wasn't large, but it was divided into two oval pools, each with water that was a striking contrast: one milky white, the other crimson. Even more remarkably, although they were within the same pool, they were clearly separated, never encroaching on each other and always remaining on their own side.

Visibly, at the junction of the milky white and vermilion hot spring, wisps of ethereal steam appeared and rose continuously. The higher they went, the more noticeable the steam became, rolling up to the height of about a hundred meters where Ling Yi and the others were, and finally merging into the thick clouds above their heads.

"This is..." Dugu Bo looked at the red and white pools below and felt as if he had seen them somewhere before, a strange sense of familiarity welling up in his heart.

"Huh?! Isn't this the ' Yin-Yang Stone Platform Platform' in the Mountain Sea Estate?!" Yang Shelly's slightly surprised voice suddenly rang out.

These words were like a wake-up call. Dugu Bo suddenly remembered that he had entered the large warehouse called the "Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Diagram" at Mountain Sea Estate before. The black and white stone platform surrounded by many shelves in eight directions looked remarkably similar to this place!

The difference is that the "Yin-Yang Stone Platform" in Mountain Sea Estate is a perfect circle, and the eyes of the two yin-yang fish have two small circles of opposite colors. The red and white pools below are oval, and there is no other color of spring water in the two colors to serve as the eyes of the fish.

Ah Yin... Ah Yin didn't speak, but stared intently at the land surrounding the red and white pool below.

The land is not the key; the key is the plants that grow on the land.

As the transformed form of the 100,000-year-old Plant-type Soul Beast "Blue Silver Emperor," Ah Yin can confidently say that there are no fewer than ten plants beneath her, and her aura is in no way inferior to her pre-transformation self!

Are there double-digit numbers of hundred-thousand-year-old Plant-type Soul Beast below?!

Thinking about this, Ah Yin's legs, which were standing on the Blue Silver vine boardwalk, suddenly felt a little weak.

Don't assume that just because everyone is Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, we will love each other. And don't assume that just because we are all Plant-type Soul Beast, we are all vegetarians.

As someone who's been there, Ah Yin can confidently tell anyone who thinks this way that during her ten-thousand-year-long life as a Soul Beast, she absorbed a lot of high-quality "fertilizer".

These "fertilizers" include human Soul Master, various Soul Beast, and some Plant-type Soul Beast that happen to be within the radiation range of her roots and vines!

Plants instinctively take root to absorb nutrients and stretch their branches and leaves to welcome sunlight. Their instinct is to reach upwards, seizing every ray of sunlight from the sky; and to grow root systems downwards and into the surrounding soil, plundering every nutrient they can find!

Compared to the biological emotions that beast-type Soul Beast may have, most plant-type Soul Beast are much colder and more domineering before their intelligence is developed to a certain level!

Even if they possess intelligence, as long as they don't transform into humans like Ah Yin, indifference remains their nature.

It is said that snakes are cold-blooded animals, and over 99% of plants don't even have blood!

Just as Ah Yin was about to speak to Ling Yi about the danger down below, but hesitated to say what to say, Ling Yi's voice rang out:

"Senior, Ah Yin, Shelly, be careful, my gut tells me it's dangerous down there..."

Upon hearing this, Ah Yin immediately nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, yes! I also feel it's dangerous down there. Why don't we go back?"

"Danger?" Dugu Bo's gaze sharpened as he looked down into the valley below and scanned his surroundings.

Yang Shelly frowned, surveying the valley floor just like Dugu Bo, and asked at the same time, "Brother Yi, are there any Soul Beast down there?"

"No," Ling Yi said, shaking his head.

"No?!" *3

Faced with Ling Yi's reply, Dugu Bo, Yang Shelly, and even Ah Yin all turned to look at him with surprise.

Without Soul Beast, where does the danger come from?

This was the first question that arose in Yang Shelly's and Dugu Bo's minds.

How could there be no Soul Beast? Judging from the aura, there should be at least ten 100,000-year-old Plant-type Soul Beast!

This is Ah Yin's inner cry.

"Ah Yi,"

Dugu Bo squinted, feeling the humid heat in the air. He glanced again at the red and white pool below and the various colorful plants scattered around it, and asked, "Are those plants highly poisonous?"

As a veteran who frequently deals with various poisons, Dugu Bo has a good understanding of the growth environment of various poisons.

As far as Dugu Bo knew, hot springs themselves were not suitable for nourishing plants because they contained too many minerals. However, some special plants were different. Many highly poisonous plants actually needed the minerals and heat from hot springs.

Upon hearing the word "poison," Yang Shelly's expression turned serious. Although she wasn't particularly knowledgeable about herbs, coming from the [Breaking Clan], she had still acquired some understanding through exposure. She also understood that some seemingly beautiful things often harbor deadly dangers. Certain vibrant Huahua could be more terrifying than those fearsome Soul Beast!

Ling Yi first nodded at Dugu Bo's guess, then shook his head after a moment's thought.

This scene once again left Dugu Bo and his two companions completely bewildered.

Just as Ah Yin's heart was racing, and she felt a fire burning within her, about to lose control and reveal her true feelings, Ling Yi stopped beating around the bush and spoke directly:

"There are likely to be highly poisonous plants, since the environment down here is very suitable for the growth of some highly poisonous plants."

"But what makes me feel dangerous is not those potentially poisonous plants."

"Senior, as you know, I always carry the ' Rhinoceros Earth Dragon Pill ' with me. As long as I'm careful not to directly touch certain poisonous creatures, even those that are thousands or even tens of thousands of years old, I have nothing to fear until the concentration of their poisonous gas reaches a certain level..."

Dugu Bo nodded and said, "Indeed, with the poison-repelling ability of the ' Rhinoceros Earth Dragon Pill,' even trace amounts of toxins cannot get close to you."

"So, what exactly makes you feel threatened?"

Ling Yi stood on the Blue Silver vine boardwalk, leaned down, and looked down at the valley floor about a hundred meters below. At this height, where ordinary people would see a car as an ant, Ling Yi, as a Soul Master Soul Master, and one with exceptional five senses, could even see the dewdrops and veins on the leaves of the plants by the pool.

"Down here, there seems to be a strange, indescribable aura that makes one uneasy, and there's a faint feeling of boiling within one's blood..."

As Ling Yi spoke, he pointed to the red and white pools in the center of the valley, and continued, "Especially there, that's where I felt the strongest sensation!"

Dugu Bo and the other two followed Ling Yi's finger and looked at the pool of water, which was only the size of a teacup. They channeled their Soul Power to their eyes to enhance their vision and looked again. They saw that the surface of the pool was calm. The air above the vermilion side was slightly distorted, as if the temperature was very high. The white side was unremarkable, but the leaves of a few plants on the ground beside the pool were covered with frost.

Aside from the peculiar temperature difference between the cold and hot sides, Dugu Bo and the other two watched for a while but still couldn't see any danger, so they turned their attention back to Ling Yi.

Ling Yi, having used his mental powers to sense the situation at the bottom of the valley in the short time he had just gone down, made a plan in mind and whispered, "Let's go down slowly, stepping along the edge, and be careful not to get too close to the red and white pools in the middle..."

"Brother Yi!"

Ah Yin couldn't help but call out.

"What?" Ling Yi turned to look at Ah Yin.

Ah Yin pursed her lips, looked once more at the silent, colorful plants at the bottom of the valley, and whispered, "There might be Soul Beast down there..."

Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo and Yang Shelly subconsciously looked at Ling Yi.

Ling Yi didn't directly refute Ah Yin's words, but nodded and said, "Although I just sensed it with my mental power and didn't feel any emotional or mental fluctuations down there, just in case, there really is some powerful Soul Beast in a dormant or sleeping state... Hmm, I see..."

As he spoke, Ling Yi reached down and rummaged around at his lower back, finally pulling out several metal blocks inlaid with blue gemstones. He handed them to the three of them, saying, "Take these ' Starry Sky Fireworks.' If any powerful Soul Beast come along, activate them and throw them at them to blow them up!"

"Gulp!" *3

Upon receiving the "Starry Sky Fireworks," feeling the heavy, Bingbing touch in their palms, Dugu Bo, Ah Yin, and Yang Shelly subconsciously swallowed.

Ah Yin and Yang Shelly had witnessed the power of "Starry Sky Fireworks," and two months ago, Ling Yi had also demonstrated it to Dugu Bo.

Originally, the plan was to use "Starry Sky Fireworks" as a decisive trump card if the timing and location were not right when hunting "Demon Dragon Zixi", or if the plan of "two tigers fighting" failed and a direct confrontation was required.

Who knew things would go so smoothly, and these "Starry Sky Fireworks" would continue to be focused on Ling Yi.

Because the "Starry Sky Fireworks" are inlaid with "Starry Sky Stone" containing spatial power, they cannot be stored in Storage Soul Tool. Otherwise, due to the conflict of spatial power, they would either erupt or annihilate each other. Therefore, they can only be carried with one's person.

However, apart from Ling Yi, who was confident that he would not accidentally activate the spatial power on the "Starry Sky Fireworks", no one else dared to carry such a dangerous item on their person. If they accidentally activated it, it would be too unjust to die.

Don't ask why it's been so long. Even Ling, the Divine Craftsman, can replicate Storage Soul Tool, so why is this "Starry Sky Fireworks" still so unstable? The answer is that I haven't had time to research it!

Given that Ling's strength is too weak and his defensive capabilities are insufficient, it is perfectly reasonable and justifiable for him to temporarily shelve the research on such a deadly weapon, right?

I'm compiling a list of all the readers who voted for me over the past two weeks, from October 15th to today, the 29th. I'll probably post a thank-you note around midnight.

Finally, I'll continue updating tomorrow. Goodnight everyone!