Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well

Dugu Bo stared at the young man before him, inscrutable emotions roiling in his snake-like pupils.

Silence stretched on.

"Boy."

Dugu Bo finally spoke. "You certainly talk a good game, but what use is it just being able to diagnose me?"

He took a step forward, and the pressure of a Titled Douluo bore down once more. "I've lived for all these years and seen more famous doctors than I can count. Every one of them described my illness in the most flowery terms, yet in the end, none could do a thing about it."

"You say you can cure me. Then I'd like to hear how you intend to do it."

At those words, every gaze in the hall turned to Xu Linjiu.

Xu Linjiu only smiled faintly.

"Since Senior has asked, this junior will do his best to explain."

He spoke calmly. "There are two ways to treat the poison in your body."

"Two ways?" Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow.

"The first won't cure the root of the problem, but it's relatively simple to carry out."

Xu Linjiu continued slowly, "The poison in your body has long since fused with your Soul Power and meridians. Forcibly driving it out would only harm you. That is the fundamental reason no one has been able to cure your poison all these years."

"But if we took a different approach and used a high-grade Spirit Bone as a vessel, we could gather all the poison that has accumulated in your body over the years into it."

"However, a Spirit Bone can only hold so much poison, and it can't be removed once implanted. Unless Senior can obtain a full set of high-quality Spirit Bones, you won't be able to live out the rest of your days without worry."

Dugu Bo snorted. "And this is what you call relatively simple? Do you have any idea how precious Spirit Bones are?"

"This junior does, of course. But compared with the second method, obtaining a Spirit Bone is less than one ten-thousandth as difficult."

"One ten-thousandth?"

Dugu Bo's voice dropped slightly. "Let's hear it."

"The second method would treat both the symptoms and the root cause: make the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul evolve completely. Then the poison in your body would no longer be a threat. It would become a true tonic instead."

"Martial Soul Evolution? Heh!"

Dugu Bo laughed aloud, and the pressure of a Titled Douluo instantly intensified. "In the thousands of years of Martial Soul development on the Douluo Continent, how many people have truly figured out how Martial Souls evolve? Are you making a joke of me?"

"Please don't be hasty, Senior. Since this junior brought it up, I naturally know of a way to trigger Martial Soul Evolution."

Dugu Bo stared into Xu Linjiu's eyes. After confirming that he didn't seem to be lying, he continued, "You'd better not be deceiving me."

"Thank you for your mercy, Senior."

Xu Linjiu bowed. "I learned from that strange book that there is a kind of rare treasure in this world known as an Immortal Herb. Each one has mysterious, unfathomable effects."

"If we can find an Immortal Herb suited to the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul, then Martial Soul Evolution won't be a problem."

"Immortal Herb."

Dugu Bo murmured the words, a complicated look appearing in his emerald snake-like eyes for the first time.

How many years had it been? He'd thought he would be trapped in this poisonous body for the rest of his life, until the day the poison finally took him.

Yet he'd never imagined that someone would one day calmly point out two paths to survival right before his eyes!

Especially the second path. Other people might not know where to find an Immortal Herb, but did he, Dugu Bo, not know?

"Hmph."

Dugu Bo suppressed the stir in his heart, but his tone remained hard. "Easy to say. Immortal Herbs are rare treasures, almost impossible to find in this world. You're a Spirit King at level fifty. Where are you supposed to find one?"

"Senior is right."

Xu Linjiu smiled faintly. "That's why my advice is to prioritize the Spirit Bone, and then search for traces of an Immortal Herb over time."

Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes. "Search over time? Why should I believe anything you've said is true?"

"Because every word I just said was true."

Xu Linjiu remained neither servile nor overbearing. "I can Detect the poison in your body, and I have a way to cure it. Whether you believe me or not, we'll know once we try."

Dugu Bo fell silent.

After a long while, he suddenly laughed.

"Then let's find out by trying."

Before his words had even faded, he suddenly sprang into action!

"Then I'll let you try!"

A streak of emerald light, carrying the terrifying power of a Titled Douluo, instantly engulfed Xu Linjiu!

Tang San's expression changed dramatically, and he rushed forward.

But how could an eight-year-old Soul Grandmaster react to the speed of a Titled Douluo?

Meng Shenji and the other two also turned pale and moved to intervene, only to feel that the pressure bore down like something tangible, freezing them in place!

In an instant, the emerald light swept Xu Linjiu up and lifted him off the ground!

"My precious granddaughter will stay here for now. If anything happens to her, you'll answer for it!"

Dugu Bo's voice echoed through the hall. "As for this boy, I'm taking him with me!"

"If you want to save your student, you'd better hope he has the skills to back up his claims!"

Before his voice had faded, the dark green figure had already transformed into a streak of light, carrying Xu Linjiu away into the distance!

"Teacher!"

Tang San rushed to the hall entrance, but all he saw was the streak of emerald light receding into the distance. In the blink of an eye, it had vanished.

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

A strange place hidden in a deep mountain valley.

Xu Linjiu's vision blurred, and the scenery beneath his feet changed completely.

The spring was not large, but it was clearly divided into two halves. On one side, cold mist billowed above nearly transparent water that radiated bone-piercing chill. The other side was blood-red, its heat surging as if it would set the air itself aflame.

Where extreme cold and heat met, white mist swirled, and the spiritual energy was so dense it almost seemed to solidify.

All around this little world grew a dense profusion of exotic flowers and herbs. Some were entirely ice-blue, others red as fire. Some were wreathed in a hazy fragrance, while others shimmered with a faint glow.

Every single one was a rare natural treasure, seldom seen in the outside world.

"This place..."

Xu Linjiu's pupils contracted slightly, and he instinctively raised a hand.

The Pokédex Martial Soul quietly appeared, transforming into an invisible screen. One Immortal Herb after another flashed before his eyes—

[Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass · Ice-type natural treasure · Can be used to strengthen Ice-type Martial Souls...]

[Infernal Delicate Apricot · Fire-type natural treasure · Counterbalances the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass...]

[Aromatic Silk Beauty · ...]

One piece of information after another passed through his mind, and Xu Linjiu's eyes gradually lit up.

"So that's how it is..."

He murmured, "This Poison Douluo is guarding a natural treasure trove of medicinal herbs."

"What did you figure out?"

Dugu Bo's cold voice came from behind him.

He stood with his hands behind his back beside the spring where cold and heat converged, his emerald snake-like eyes fixed on Xu Linjiu.

"This place has been my secret for decades. Those famous doctors outside don't even know I've been poisoned, much less know about this place."

"If you really have the skills, prove it to me here."

"But if you dare try anything..."

He left the threat unfinished, but the cold glint that flashed through his snake-like eyes said everything.

Xu Linjiu merely smiled faintly.

He did not hurry to answer. Instead, he turned and let his gaze pass slowly over the garden of Immortal Herbs, finally settling on the herb whose subtle fragrance and abundant spiritual energy set it apart.

He already had a plan.

"Rest assured, Senior." He spoke slowly. "Since I dared to come, I won't disappoint you."

Deep within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, mist surged where cold and heat met.

As if some strange presence were quietly awakening...