A Temporary Departure

Time slips away unnoticed.

Ling Yi and his companions explored the valley floor, discovering all sorts of exotic flowers and plants, making new discoveries every moment.

Or herbs like "Snow Silkworm" and "Cinnabar Lotus," which are more than twice the size of the top-grade herbs on the market; or extraordinary and wondrous flowers that are clearly exceptional, such as enormous flowers that emit a pink light shield ten meters in diameter; or purple Ganoderma lucidum that is entirely purple with an emerald-like stem and nine leaves...

To Ah Yin's relief, even after standing close to the plants that had given her such a strong feeling for so long, they did not react at all.

It seems they are all simple plants, rather than plant-based Soul Beast?

Unlike the distinction between ordinary animals and beast-type Soul Beast, the main difference lies in whether or not they possess Soul Power, just as the presence or absence of Soul Power in humans creates a chasm between ordinary people and Soul Master.

The difference between ordinary plants and plant-type Soul Beast, besides possessing Soul Power, or energy, also lies in the presence of a certain degree of mental power and thought.

No matter how weak this thought or intention may be, it at least allows one to have a basic understanding of the concept of "I".

Only with "I" can a world exist for a Life being.

Otherwise, everything is in a state of chaos, without life, without death, without any concept.

Just as Ah Yin was still pondering why, according to the aura sensing, whether it was the golden tulip, or the purple chrysanthemum, the red cabbage, the white star anise, and so on, they all possessed an origin comparable to Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, yet showed no signs of sentience.

Ling Yi suddenly stretched out his two hands and pulled Ah Yin and Yang Shelly into his arms, one on each side.

Ah Yin: "?!"

Yang Shelly: "?!"

Nestled against Ling Yi's chest, the two women were initially surprised, then their cheeks flushed. But when they saw another beautiful face so close to their own, sparks immediately flew between their starry eyes.

Standing to the side, Dugu Bo was also taken aback by Ling Yi's move. Just as he was about to give him a thumbs up, Ling Yi turned to him and quickly said, "Senior, something's wrong here. Let's leave quickly!"

Without waiting for Dugu Bo's reply, he immediately grabbed the two women's slender waists and ran quickly toward the nearest cliff.

Upon seeing this, Dugu Bo's expression immediately turned serious. He didn't ask any further questions, but instead chose to believe Ling Yi immediately and quickly chased after him.

At the same time, his eyes shone with divine light as he scanned his surroundings, alert to any potential dangers, while secretly mobilizing his Soul Power, ready to protect Ling Yi and the other two at any moment.

With Dugu Bo's every move reflected in his mind, Ling Yi unconsciously revealed a genuine smile on his lips.

At this moment, Dugu Bo did indeed have the air of a protector of the Dao.

From the bottom of the valley to the top of the mountain, there is a height of about two hundred meters. Under Dugu Bo's protection, Ling Yi, along with Ah Yin and Yang Shelly, returned to the place where they had jumped down in less than a minute.

Looking back down, although the clouds and mist obscured their view, Ling Yi and his companions, who had just explored the bottom, knew that this valley, which nurtured the twin springs of ice and fire and the many exotic flowers and herbs beside them, was located inside the belly of "Fog Mountain".

The "Fog Mountain" is about 500 meters high. The location where Dugu Bo killed the "Demon Dragon Zixi" was about 100 meters up the mountainside. Based on the height, it seems to be on the same level as the valley floor.

"Call--"

Ling Yi released Ah Yin and Yang Shelly, who were still somewhat dazed, from his arms, breathed a sigh of relief, and a relaxed expression appeared on his face.

Seeing this, Dugu Bo frowned, looked at the misty valley floor, and asked Ling Yi, "Ah Yi, what just happened? How did it suddenly...?"

Upon hearing Dugu Bo's question, Ah Yin and Yang Shelly also snapped out of their daze and turned their gazes toward Ling Yi, awaiting his reply.

Ling Yi raised his hand and pressed it to his left chest, frowning as he sensed something. At the same time, he replied, "Senior, just now down there, at first it was fine, but as time went by, I felt something was wrong with my body..."

"Something's not right?" *3

Seeing Ling Yi speak so solemnly, Dugu Bo and the other two immediately changed their expressions slightly, and began to calm their minds and sense their current state.

Upon sensing this, Dugu Bo and Yang Shelly's expressions instantly turned serious.

Ah Yin, however, had a strange look in her eyes, a mixture of shock, suspicion, and excitement.

Taking in the changes in the expressions of the three people, Ling Yi was somewhat surprised by Ah Yin's reaction.

"Does this mean that any Plant-type Soul Beast, after transforming into human form, can still receive the amplification from the ' Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well,' or is it because it hasn't reached Maturity Stage and hasn't fully become human, and is still considered a half- Soul Beast?"

Ling Yi's mind raced with various possible guesses. Seeing that Dugu Bo and Yang Shelly had noticed the changes in him, he immediately spoke up:

"I discovered that, seemingly influenced by the opposing auras of cold and heat emanating from the twin springs of ice and fire, my blood was experiencing a kind of chaotic boiling."

"If we stay down there, I estimate that in half an hour at most, those with the strength of a Soul Saint might be fine, but Ah Yin, Shelly, and I will probably have our Qi and Blood reversed due to the impact of that hot and cold aura. In severe cases, our blood vessels might burst, and even our hearts might explode... Hmm?!"

Ling Yi stopped speaking abruptly, looked at Ah Yin breathing was steady, and asked under her puzzled gaze, "Ah Yin, you seem... unaffected?"

Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo and Yang Shelly also stopped sensing the abnormality in their bloodlines and turned their attention to Ah Yin.

Feeling the gazes of Ling Yi and the other two, Ah Yin was momentarily at a loss, stammering and unsure how to respond.

Ling Yi stroked his chin, looking Ah Yin up and down at her slender figure, and murmured, "In terms of strength, the three of us are all Soul Ancestor; in terms of physical fitness, you and Shelly are about the same; even Soul Saint like Senior Dugu would be affected to some extent..."

"Could it be... because of my Martial Soul?"

Ah Yin's voice was barely audible, but Ling Yi's eyes lit up and he said, "That's right! Your ' Blue Silver Emperor ' Martial Soul has its own Innate Domain, so its quality must be extremely high!"

The area surrounding the twin springs of ice and fire below is teeming with exotic flowers and herbs; there are no animals, not even insects. It is clearly a magnificent botanical paradise, capable of nurturing so many rare and precious medicinal herbs and poisonous plants and flowers, and possessing the ability to repel other creatures—which makes sense.

"That's right. The ' Demon Dragon Zixi ' was entrenched here before, but it didn't go down to the valley floor. It seems it learned its lesson, or instinctively felt it was dangerous there, which is why it stayed outside the mountain."

As Ling Yi reasoned, Dugu Bo and the other two gradually showed expressions of realization.

Finally, Dugu Bo turned his head and looked once more at the valley floor, shrouded in mist and seemingly unfathomable, and asked Ling Yi:

"So, Ah Yi, what should we do now? Should we go down?"

"No, thank you," Ling Yi shook his head and said, "Let's go back to ' Heaven Dou City ' and let me first investigate the symptoms of boiling blood in my body to see if there's any solution..."

"Then..." Yang Shelly looked reluctantly towards the valley floor and asked, "Are we just going to leave this place like this?"

There are rare treasures like the "Gold-Rimmed Scarlet Dragon Ganoderma" down here, as well as many other precious medicines that I've only ever heard of in legends. If we leave this place unattended and it gets discovered by others or ruined by other Soul Beast, we'll suffer a huge loss!

Do not view this chapter from an omniscient perspective. Although the protagonist knows about the Yin-Yang Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and some information about immortal items, Ling Yi, who comes from the Water Wood Duchy, should not know so much to Dugu Bo, Ah Yin, and Yang Shelly, who are with him day and night.

Some might argue that Tang San Dugu Bo reading about something in an ancient book in the original novel, and Ling Yi could say the same thing. However, the problem is that Ling Yi had never actually seen such an ancient book. For Ling Yi, his memories of novels from his previous life were merely for reference, not for showing off.

Therefore, from the perspective of a native, Ling Yi's actions seem relatively reasonable.

I wonder how many readers here will have different opinions~

Also, let's try reverting to the 2K chapters; the 4K chapters from the previous few days didn't seem to be very well received (oω`o).

Finally, see you tomorrow. Goodnight everyone!