As soon as he passed through the poisonous miasma, Yu Hengqing immediately felt the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around him rise exponentially.
With spiritual energy this dense, you could grow Immortal Herbs here—or even raise pigs—and end up with a hundred-thousand-year-old pig!
"This is my Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. The red and blue pools in the middle are the heart of this place, and all around them grow Immortal Herbs that cannot be found anywhere else."
Dugu Bo had come up with the name Immortal Herbs himself. He figured that any medicinal plants capable of growing near those pools had to be extraordinary!
"Of course, I've planted some medicinal herbs here too, but they can't withstand the dense spiritual energy near the core. I can only grow them at the very edge."
Following the direction Dugu Bo pointed, Yu Hengqing spotted a small plot of land that had clearly been cultivated.
It was planted with precious medicinal herbs that would fetch a fortune on the market. Any one of them could spark a fierce scramble if put up for sale.
"The Century-Old Purple Vein Ginseng Yan Yan gave you earlier came from here."
At Dugu Bo's reminder, Yu Hengqing spotted several Purple Vein Ginsengs among the herbs.
However, these were nothing like the "cheap one" Yu Hengqing had received earlier.
These Purple Vein Ginsengs had already grown eight leaves, and their medicinal power had reached the thousand-year level—dozens, even a hundred times stronger than that of a century-old one!
"Xiao Qing, I've sensed where the two Dragon Kings are. Their Dragon Pearls are sleeping at the bottom of those pools."
"Just walk over to the pools, and I can use my Soul Power to awaken their Dragon Pearls."
Listening to Yu Zhantian, who kept urging him from inside the pearl, Yu Hengqing could only sigh helplessly. As expected, there was no escaping this.
For now, Yu Hengqing could only hope that the two Dragon Kings had perished long ago, leaving behind nothing but two Dragon Pearls for him to inherit.
"Senior, could you take me over to the pools? I'd like to see their miraculous water, and take a look at the Immortal Herbs around them while I'm at it."
Dugu Bo rarely saw Yu Hengqing looking curious, so he immediately agreed.
"Fine. Just like before, keep up with me and don't step outside the range of my Soul Power barrier."
After warning him, Dugu Bo once again raised a Soul Power barrier around Yu Hengqing and led him step by step toward the core of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Perhaps because Dugu Bo's Martial Soul was the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor, which naturally favored the cold, he led Yu Hengqing toward the Cold Spring.
Under Dugu Bo's protection, Yu Hengqing didn't feel particularly cold at first.
But the closer they got, the stronger the surrounding chill became. By the time they neared the Cold Spring, Yu Hengqing had to summon his Martial Soul to strengthen his body just to keep his Soul Power functioning normally.
As they approached the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the scarlet pool sent out waves of scorching heat, like molten lava erupting from the heart of the earth; the deep-blue pool gave off a bone-piercing chill, like ten-thousand-year-old ice.
Two violently opposed energies formed a strange yet harmonious scene.
With the pools so close, Yu Hengqing could feel that his body was nearing its limit. He hurriedly urged Yu Zhantian to use his Soul Power.
"Old Ancestor, sorry for the trouble, but hurry! I can't stay here much longer at my current strength!"
As soon as Yu Hengqing finished speaking, a stream of Soul Power shot from the pearl at his waist and silently entered the water.
"You just need to hold on for one minute. Then I'll activate the Dragon Pearls and bring them up!"
Yu Zhantian assured Yu Hengqing with complete confidence. In truth, he could have done it faster, but he wanted to see what Yu Hengqing was made of.
"One minute? No problem."
Hearing that it would only take a minute, Yu Hengqing breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been afraid Yu Zhantian would suddenly tell him,
"I can't activate the Dragon Pearls right away. You might have to hang on for an hour or two, Xiao Qing."
If that had happened, Yu Hengqing wouldn't have given Yu Zhantian the time of day. He would've turned and left.
"Senior, what do you think of these two Immortal Herbs closest to the pools?"
To pass the time, Yu Hengqing immediately asked Dugu Bo, who was standing beside him, what he thought of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot.
"I haven't really studied these two Immortal Herbs. They're just too unusual, and I'm afraid I might damage them."
Dugu Bo regarded the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot with a mixture of reverence and curiosity.
It wasn't that Dugu Bo had no desire to study them, but the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was just too unusual.
Even Dugu Bo, who was usually bold, couldn't help but tread carefully.
"I see. I agree with your approach, Senior. With an Immortal Herb this unusual, nobody knows if there's another one like it. Better safe than sorry!"
Yu Hengqing could easily guess that Dugu Bo would answer this way. If he had studied them, he wouldn't have been as clueless as he was in the original story.
While Yu Hengqing and Dugu Bo chatted, Yu Zhantian had already fished both Icefire Dragon Pearls out of the pools.
"Xiao Qing, there are remnant souls inside the Dragon Pearls, so I shouldn't awaken them directly. I'm afraid that might cause the pools to erupt, so I brought them both up instead."
Under the cover of Yu Zhantian's Soul Power, one red and one blue Dragon Pearl safely entered Yu Hengqing's Ruyi Treasure Bag.
To keep the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' Dragon Pearls from damaging Yu Hengqing's Ruyi Treasure Bag, Yu Zhantian even made sure to leave a safe distance between them.
"Senior, I don't think I can hold on much longer. We should head back first!"
Dugu Bo wasn't sure how much truth there was in Yu Hengqing's words, but he still led him back to where they had been standing earlier.
Once they reached a safe place, Dugu Bo removed the Soul Power barrier and calmly told Yu Hengqing:
"For a while, I'll work on the Poison Core Condensation Method I've been deriving, while also going out to borrow books and study."
"If I'm not here, stay put and don't wander around. This place is dangerous. Some areas could kill even me if I got too close."
Yu Hengqing didn't take Dugu Bo's warning lightly. Immortal Herbs had all sorts of strange effects, and killing a Titled Douluo was by no means out of the question.
"Understood, Senior. While you're away, I'll stay here and cultivate quietly on my own."
And so, Yu Hengqing and Dugu Bo successfully moved from Thunder Valley to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
After settling in, Dugu Bo began showing Yu Hengqing his preliminary version of the Poison Core Condensation Method.
The method was based on the Soul Core condensation technique Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had taught Yu Hengqing. The only difference was that Dugu Bo replaced the Soul Power, which should have condensed into a solid core, with the poison inside his body.
But that was only the theory. It was only when Dugu Bo actually put it into practice that he truly understood how difficult it was to turn the Soul Power that should have condensed into poison.
After enduring the marrow-splitting pain several times, Dugu Bo finally extracted a trace of the poison that had accumulated throughout his body.
With cold sweat pouring down his forehead, Dugu Bo guided that trace of poison toward his dantian.
But before he could move it very far, the trace of poison dispersed and merged back into his body.
Unwilling to accept defeat, Dugu Bo extracted another trace of poison using the same method and tried to guide it into his dantian.
But the result was the same. Halfway there, the trace of poison dispersed and returned to Dugu Bo's body.
With no other options, Dugu Bo temporarily left the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. He planned to look for some ancient texts and see if they could give him any inspiration.
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