Sunset Forest, Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!

"This old man has some private business with this young friend," Dugu Bo said. "Don't worry. I won't do anything to him. Otherwise, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."

"With my ability, even if I took him by force, none of you would know, would you?"

The three education committee members' expressions turned somewhat ugly.

Though Dugu Bo's words were unpleasant, they were indeed the truth.

They had no way of stopping Dugu Bo at all.

But Xia Yuan was a talent His Highness the Crown Prince had personally recruited, and they had witnessed Xia Yuan's talent for themselves. How could they possibly let Dugu Bo take him away for no reason?

Meng Shenji took a deep breath and said, "Your Eminence Poison Douluo, you had never even met Xia Yuan before this. What private business could there be?"

Dugu Bo said openly, "This old man heard about him from Yanyan. As it happens, this old man also has some problems that only he can solve."

Dugu Yan blinked.

She had not told her grandfather anything else, so how had he become so certain Xia Yuan could solve some problem?

Still, she believed that as long as Xia Yuan had not offended her grandfather, her grandfather would not do anything to him.

Meng Shenji frowned and looked at Xia Yuan. "Xia Yuan, what do you think?"

"Speak freely. If you don't want to leave, the three of us old fellows will definitely protect you."

"Thank you for your kindness, committee members." Xia Yuan thanked the three education committee members for their goodwill.

"Since His Eminence Poison Douluo bears no malice, I am also willing to help His Eminence Poison Douluo."

He had wanted to go to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well in the first place, so naturally he had to play along with Dugu Bo.

Seeing that Xia Yuan had actually agreed, the three education committee members looked helpless.

They had not expected Xia Yuan to agree either.

"What, do you not trust my reputation?" Dugu Bo snorted coldly.

Do you have a reputation?

The three education committee members secretly grumbled in their hearts.

Rumor had it that Dugu Bo was moody and acted only according to his likes and dislikes. They truly did not dare trust him.

Zhi Lin said, "Xia Yuan is an important student of our Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Your Eminence Poison Douluo may take him away."

"But we must also ensure his safety."

"What do you want?" Dugu Bo asked.

The exact place where he was hiding definitely could not be known by others.

Zhi Lin said, "Let us agree on a time limit. Before that time limit is up, Xia Yuan must return safe and sound."

"Fine." Dugu Bo did not refuse. "Then let's set it at seven days for now."

"Seven days?" Zhi Lin clearly felt that was rather long.

Dugu Bo stood up. "All right. Since I have already informed you, this old man will take him away first."

"Xia Yuan, boy, come with this old man."

Dugu Yan hurried to Dugu Bo's side and said in a low voice, "Grandpa, you won't do anything to Xia Yuan, right?"

Dugu Bo was both annoyed and amused. Why was his own girl taking an outsider's side?

"All right, all right. I know you like him. I won't do anything. You can relax now, can't you?"

"I don't~" Dugu Yan tugged on Dugu Bo's arm and shook it. "Let me go with you too. I still don't know where you live, Grandpa."

"No." Dugu Bo stroked Dugu Yan's hair. "Yanyan, you stay at the academy."

"Don't you know Grandpa by now? When has Grandpa ever gone back on something he promised you?"

Hearing Dugu Bo say this, Dugu Yan finally relaxed.

Meng Shenji watched Dugu Bo leave with Xia Yuan, then looked at Zhi Lin. "Zhi Lin, hurry and find His Highness the Crown Prince. Report this matter to him."

Dugu Bo was a guest elder of the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial family.

And Crown Prince Xue Qinghe's teacher was Ning Fengzhi, sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

The three of them were merely education committee members managing the academy on others' behalf. If this matter truly had to be handled, it would still have to be handled through the imperial family's backing.

On top of that, with Ning Fengzhi's status as one of the sect masters of the Upper Three Sects, no matter what Dugu Bo did regarding Xia Yuan, he would still have to consider Xue Qinghe's thoughts.

Therefore, no matter what, this matter had to be made known to the Crown Prince.

Elsewhere, Dugu Bo, who had left with Xia Yuan, sped across the ground at extreme speed and soon arrived outside Sunset Forest.

"This old man usually recuperates here. If you truly can detoxify this old man, then in the future, if anything happens, you may come here to find me."

"Within the limits of this old man's ability, I will certainly back you up."

This counted as giving a promise.

After experiencing the pain of being "cured" by Xia Yuan, Dugu Bo already believed Xia Yuan's claim that he could treat the toxins in his body.

"Let's go. The place where this old man lives is not somewhere ordinary people can easily enter."

Dugu Bo lifted his leg and walked forward.

Xia Yuan followed behind, beginning to think about how he would send Dugu Bo away later and pick the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Blazing Apricot Delicate Vegetable.

He absolutely could not let Dugu Bo see that. It had nothing to do with trust; it was purely a matter of his own safety.

As for the tools needed to harvest the immortal herbs, he had already prepared them.

After thinking it over, Xia Yuan still felt that, given their current relationship, it would be better to explain things to Dugu Bo in advance.

"Senior Dugu, I'll say the unpleasant part first."

"When I'm preparing the medicine, I don't want to be disturbed under any circumstances."

Dugu Bo's steps paused slightly, then he continued forward. "Do as you like. This old man isn't interested in peeking at a junior's secrets."

You call that not being interested? Xia Yuan was too lazy to retort.

After walking through Sunset Forest for who knew how long, Xia Yuan followed Dugu Bo to a stretch of poisonous mist.

Dugu Bo introduced it. "This is a poison formation set up by this old man. Without the cultivation of at least a Soul Douluo, it would be impossible to even force out the poison here."

"Inside the poison formation is this old man's hiding place."

"Hold this pill in your mouth. It will keep you safe within the poison formation."

As he spoke, Dugu Bo tossed Xia Yuan a pill.

Xia Yuan did not hesitate either, directly tilting his head back and taking it.

Dugu Bo was inwardly amazed. "Quite decisive. You brat actually trust me."

"It's just a question of whether Senior Dugu trusts me," Xia Yuan said.

"If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have brought you here." As Dugu Bo spoke, he led Xia Yuan into the poison formation.

Past the poison formation, a tall mountain stood directly before them.

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was already close at hand, and Xia Yuan still could not stop his heart from surging with excitement.

This was an extremely important resource, one that could save him at least several years of bitter cultivation!

At the mountaintop.

An inverted cone-shaped valley appeared before Xia Yuan, waves of heat continuously rising from below.

Only after arriving at the bottom did Xia Yuan see the full appearance of this valley.

Vermilion and milky-white spring water lay sharply divided within the oval pool at the center.

Yet the billowing steam rising upward came from the boundary where the two colors of spring water met.

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, one of the Three Great Treasure Basins, twin-born in a single well, the two forces restraining each other.

Only those rare medicinal herbs could gain the greatest benefits here. To the human body or to animals, however, it posed a fatal danger.