At sunset, the Taiji diagram above the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well turned slowly, its red and blue light reflecting across the valley. Luo An'an crouched by the spring, using a twig to draw circles on the water. Luo Chen leaned against an old tree, took out his Pocket Watch, and glanced at it. The second segment was full, and the third glowed faintly. He put the Pocket Watch away and closed his eyes.
After Luo An'an got tired of playing, she ran back and tugged at Luo Chen's clothes. "Brother, when are we going home?"
"In two more days. I need to study a few things."
"Is Grandpa going back with us?" Luo An'an pointed at Dugu Bo.
Dugu Bo's mouth twitched. "This old man isn't going."
"Why not? Grandpa lives here all by himself. Doesn't he get lonely?"
Dugu Bo opened his mouth, but no words came out. Luo An'an ran over, took a piece of candy from her pocket, and placed it in Dugu Bo's hand.
"Grandpa, here's some candy. An'an is leaving tomorrow, so don't miss her."
Dugu Bo stared at the candy in his hand for a long while before putting it in his robe. Then he said with a stern face, "This old man doesn't like candy."
Luo An'an giggled, ran back to Luo Chen, and took his hand as she led him toward the cave.
"Brother, I'm hungry."
"What do you want to eat?"
"Sandwiches!"
Over the days he'd spent with Luo An'an, Luo Chen had made her all kinds of sandwiches many times. She loved them because they were easy to make and came in so many varieties!
"There's no bread here. I'll make you some when we get back."
"Then An'an will wait."
The siblings disappeared through the doorway. Dugu Bo leaned against the old tree, holding the candy in his hand as he looked at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well before him. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"This little girl is more likable than her brother."
The next morning.
Luo Chen stood by the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for a long time.
He studied the two Immortal Herbs at the center of the spring: the scarlet Infernal Delicate Apricot and the icy-blue Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. According to his memories of the original story, Tang San had taken both Immortal Herbs at once, then jumped into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, forging a body impervious to water and fire. The process was perilous, but the rewards were immense.
He needed that constitution. For one thing, the power of time placed too great a burden on his body. Every time he used time acceleration, his meridians endured immense strain. For another, his spiritual power was now very strong, but his body was weak. Unless he tempered his body to its limits first, its strength wouldn't keep up with his growing spiritual power, and it was very likely to collapse.
"Senior." Luo Chen turned to Dugu Bo. "This junior would like to borrow those two Immortal Herbs."
Dugu Bo's hand paused as he held his teacup. He raised his eyes and shifted his gaze from Luo Chen's face to the Infernal Delicate Apricot and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass in the spring, then back again.
"Are you insane? Those two things are both poisonous. Even I wouldn't dare eat them. You're a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"Not separately. Together," Luo Chen said. "The medicinal properties of the two Immortal Herbs counteract each other. Taking them at the same time can neutralize their toxins. Then, tempering my body in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well will make me impervious to water and fire."
Dugu Bo stared at him for a few seconds, set down his teacup, and stood up. He walked to the spring and looked down at the two Immortal Herbs, then fell silent for a moment.
"Are you sure?"
"I am."
"Are you confident?"
"Seventy percent."
Dugu Bo snorted. "You'd gamble with seventy percent odds? What would happen to your sister if you died?"
Luo Chen glanced toward the cave. Luo An'an was still asleep.
"That's why I need you to protect me, Senior. If I can't hold on, please pull me out of the spring."
Dugu Bo clasped his hands behind his back and paced twice before stopping with a sigh.
"Fine, but I can only do my best. If there's truly nothing I can do, don't blame me."
Luo Chen didn't hesitate any longer. He went to the spring and first focused on the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew on the eastern side. Since he was tempering his body, he might as well improve his eyesight too. After all, his Second Martial Soul was the Evil Eye. He reached out with his right hand and carefully caught the dewdrop on the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew in a jade bottle. The drop rolled inside, shimmering with a seven-colored glow. He stored the bottle in his Nightmare Ring, then turned to the two Immortal Herbs of ice and fire.
The Infernal Delicate Apricot grew at the center of the scarlet spring, where scorching bubbles roiled across the surrounding water. The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass grew at the center of the icy-blue spring, with tiny ice crystals floating on its surface. The two Immortal Herbs stood barely three meters apart, with the red-and-blue dividing line of yin and yang between them.
Luo Chen took off his shirt, bared his chest, and drew a deep breath. First, he cut off the Infernal Delicate Apricot with a small jade knife, then cut the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass with a small gold knife. He balanced the two leaves on the blades, one red and one blue, one hot and one cold. Even his hands showed signs of burns and frostbite.
Without hesitation, he shoved both Immortal Herbs into his mouth, chewed them, and swallowed.
Ice and fire exploded inside him at once. Luo Chen didn't have an inner cultivation method like Tang San's, but he could use his spiritual power to guide the forces of ice and fire through his meridians.
The Infernal Delicate Apricot's fire poison surged from his stomach to every part of his body like a fire dragon. His meridians seared as if touched by a branding iron wherever it passed. The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass's cold poison followed close behind like an ice dragon, freezing his meridians in its wake. The two dragons rampaged through him, and every collision felt like a bomb detonating inside his body.
Luo Chen clenched his teeth and leaped into the center of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
The red and blue waters swallowed him. Ice and fire surged in from outside, attacking the dragons of ice and fire poisoning him from within.
Red and blue patterns instantly spread across his skin, and his veins bulged as if they were about to burst. Luo Chen felt his body being torn apart, like a piece of iron thrown into a furnace: impurities burned away, its structure shattered, then forged anew.
Dugu Bo stood by the spring with his arms crossed, dark green Soul Power swirling in his palms as he stood ready to intervene.
The noise woke Luo An'an, and she ran out of the cave. When she saw her brother submerged in the spring, his face contorted with pain, she was so frightened that she tried to rush over.
Dugu Bo caught her by the arm. "Don't go over there. Your brother is all right. He's doing something very important."
"But Brother looks like he's in so much pain!"
Luo An'an clutched Dugu Bo's clothes, her eyes red, but she didn't try to rush forward again.
Beneath the spring, Luo Chen kept his eyes closed, his spiritual power fiercely guarding a spark of clarity in his mind. The power of ice and fire circulated through his body countless times. With each revolution, his body grew more resilient. The fire dragon and ice dragon no longer rampaged. They began flowing steadily through his meridians, section by section. The chaotic red-and-blue patterns on his skin fell into order, like a Taiji diagram slowly taking shape.
At the same time, the power of time was at work. Whenever Luo Chen's meridians were about to split, he restored them, repeating the process again and again.
After who knew how long, Luo Chen opened his eyes and stood up in the spring.
Steam still rose from his body, and the red-and-blue patterns on his skin were slowly fading. His muscles were more defined than before. He raised his right hand and clenched his fist, feeling his body brimming with strength. It wasn't Soul Power. It was the strength of his physical body.
"Did it work?" Dugu Bo called from the shore, his voice carrying a trace of tension he could barely conceal.
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