Icefire Yin Yang Well, Immortal Herb Youyou

After passing through the final layer of emerald-green poisonous miasma, the scene before him abruptly changed.

Yan Jingzhe stopped in his tracks. He stood atop a natural cliff.

The Icefire Yin Yang Well.

Yan Jingzhe had read descriptions of this place in the original work before, but words and seeing it with his own eyes were entirely different things.

This was a circular valley roughly three hundred meters in diameter, surrounded by towering cliffs that completely cut this treasure land off from the outside world. Vines and moss covered the cliff faces, while tiny waterfalls hung in some places. Water cascaded down from above, only to have most of it evaporate in midair, turning into a hazy mist.

The valley floor was not level. Instead, it resembled an enormous bowl, gradually sloping from all sides toward the center. At its very heart lay a small lake.

That was the Icefire Yin Yang Well.

The lake displayed an unbelievable sight—its left half was boiling crimson, bubbles churning across the surface as heat waves rose and even the air warped from the searing temperature. Its right half was frozen icy blue, its surface as still as a mirror beneath a thin layer of ice crystals. Cold air spilled from the lake, condensing into fine frost in the air.

Crimson and icy blue, boiling and freezing, heat and cold.

Two utterly opposing powers coexisted within the same body of water, clearly divided and never infringing upon one another. The boundary between them was so straight it seemed measured with a ruler, without the slightest blur.

This treasure land had formed after the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King fell during the era of the Dragon God. Their bodies had landed here, and after tens of millions of years of transformation, this wonder had eventually taken shape. The spring water of the Icefire Yin Yang Well contained an incomparably dense life energy, making it the dream growing environment of any heavenly treasure.

And now, this treasure land had been claimed by Tang San.

No, it was more than merely claimed. He had turned the entire Sunset Forest into a land of death with the Jade-Phosphor Seven-Extinction Flower, then sealed off the Icefire Yin Yang Well with a poison formation, turning it into a forbidden place accessible only to his own people.

Yan Jingzhe withdrew his gaze and stepped into the valley.

The granite beneath his feet gradually grew damp. A complex scent filled the air—the scorched heat of flames, the crisp chill of ice and snow, the fragrance of earth, and the distinctive aromas emitted by all manner of Immortal Herbs. Blended together, they formed a peculiar, refreshing fragrance.

After walking roughly a hundred paces, he saw a flowerbed ahead.

It was a man-made flowerbed, neat and square, enclosed by jade railings. The soil within was no ordinary earth, but a special deep-purple soil with a faint sheen. Every grain was plump and round, as though it had been carefully selected.

Yan Jingzhe crouched down, pinched up a small bit of soil, and rubbed it between his fingertips.

"Purple Spirit Soil," he murmured.

This was an extremely rare type of soil, rich in soul power and life energy. It was an exceptional growing medium for spiritual herbs and Immortal Herbs. Outside, even a small handful of Purple Spirit Soil could fetch an astronomical price. Yet here, an entire flowerbed of it was used for nothing more than growing a single plant.

He raised his head and looked toward the center of the flowerbed.

A golden plant stood tall there. Its stalk was straight, its leaves broad, and at its crown bloomed a golden flower as large as a bowl. Its petals layered atop one another, each seeming to have been forged from pure gold as they glittered brilliantly beneath the sunlight. At its center, an even richer golden halo slowly swirled, like a miniature sun.

Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum.

Yan Jingzhe's gaze lingered on it briefly before shifting farther away.

There was more than one flowerbed. Following the contours of the valley, flowerbeds large and small were scattered around the lake in an orderly arrangement. Each was encircled by jade railings and planted with different types of Immortal Herbs.

Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone was pure white throughout, exuding a cold, delicate fragrance. Its petals were as thin as cicada wings, and one could vaguely see the fluid flowing beneath them.

Blazing Apricot Delicate was crimson throughout. Genuine flames danced upon its leaves, warping the air around it with heat. Yet strangely, the soil beneath it was icy cold.

Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass had icy-blue leaves covered in fine frost. A thin veil of cold surrounded the entire plant; within three steps of it, even the air would freeze.

Beautiful Silk Tulip bore pale-pink flowers, its petals as soft as silk. The fragrance it released was neither too strong nor too faint, but perfectly balanced. One breath of it left the mind clear and refreshed, even making the soul power within one's body a little more active.

Autumn Dew of Insight was an inconspicuous herb with slender leaves and a crystal-clear dewdrop at its tip. That dewdrop never evaporated, refracting seven-colored light beneath the sun like a frozen rainbow.

There were also Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma, Snow Silkworm, Ink Jade Lotus, Dragon Whisker Icefire Fruit...

Plant after plant, cluster after cluster, they formed a dazzling sight too abundant for the eyes to take in.

Yan Jingzhe slowly walked past the flowerbeds, his gaze moving from one Immortal Herb to the next. He could sense that these Immortal Herbs were all Hundred-Thousand-Year plant-type Soul Beasts. However, although they possessed a hundred thousand years of cultivation, their true combat power was probably only equivalent to fifty or sixty thousand years, so none of them were worth fearing.

He stopped at the lake's edge.

At the center of the lake, on a small island built from jade, grew the most precious Immortal Herb in the entire Icefire Yin Yang Well.

Beautiful Silk Tulip.

No, not just Beautiful Silk Tulip. Beside it was another golden Immortal Herb.

Radiant Primordial Chaos Grass.

Yan Jingzhe stared at it for a long time, the corners of his lips slowly lifting.

Good stuff. It will be very helpful for my push toward Limit Douluo.

Just as he was about to step toward the island in the lake, a voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

"Human, you should not have come here."

The voice was soft and gentle, like the whisper of a young woman, carrying an innate coolness and distance. Yet Yan Jingzhe could hear a faint, barely perceptible tremor in it.

It was not fear, but vigilance.

Yan Jingzhe halted and looked around. The Immortal Herbs in the flowerbeds were all trembling slightly, their leaves and blossoms turned in his direction as though they were "watching" him.

"Who is speaking?" he asked calmly.

"It is me." The voice sounded again, and this time its source was clear—it came from the Beautiful Silk Tulip on the island in the lake. Its flower gently turned, and the glow at its center flickered, as though it were "gazing" at Yan Jingzhe.

"You may call me... Youyou." There was a trace of hesitation in Beautiful Silk Tulip's voice. "I am the caretaker of this Medicine Garden, entrusted by my master to watch over these Immortal Herbs."

"Your master?" Yan Jingzhe raised a brow. "Tang San?"

Youyou fell silent for a moment.

"My master's name is not something I may speak directly." Its tone was respectful yet distant. "Human, the fact that you could pass through the poison formation outside and reach this place proves that you are very strong. But this is not somewhere you may enter as you please. Please leave."

"And if I refuse?" Yan Jingzhe said.

Youyou's flower trembled lightly.

"The poison formation outside is merely the first line of defense." Its voice grew colder. "Every Immortal Herb here is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. If you dare forcefully harvest them, we will strike together. Even a Titled Douluo will bleed and perish here."

Yan Jingzhe laughed.

"Are you threatening me?"

"I am stating a fact," Youyou replied, neither servile nor arrogant. "This is my master's Medicine Garden, and we have been ordered to protect it. Any intruder who enters without permission is our enemy."

Yan Jingzhe looked at the pale-pink flower and remained silent for a moment.

"Interesting," he said. "An Immortal Herb can actually be this loyal."

"Our master bestowed upon us intelligence and long lives. It is only right that we repay him." Youyou's voice carried an unwavering conviction that seemed only natural. "Human, leave. Since you did not attack immediately, I will not hold your intrusion against you."

Yan Jingzhe did not leave.

He sat down on a stone by the lakeshore, crossing his long legs with a relaxed posture.

"Youyou," he called its name in the casual tone of someone chatting with an old friend, "have you ever considered that your master has already left this world and gone to the God Realm? He will not return. Who are you guarding this place for?"

Youyou fell silent for a moment.

"Master will return," it said, but its voice was no longer as firm as before.

"Will he?" Yan Jingzhe asked. "One day in the God Realm is one year in the lower realm. If he stays in the God Realm for a month, thirty years will pass down here. Even if he truly wishes to return, by the time he does, who knows how many people will have set their sights on you Immortal Herbs?"

Youyou said nothing.

Yan Jingzhe rose to his feet and dusted off his robe.

"I will say it again. I did not come here to pull you all out by the roots. I only need a portion of your essence, and it will not harm your foundations. After your essence is taken, you can continue growing. In ten years, a hundred years, your essence will naturally regenerate."

"Impossible." Youyou's voice hardened. "Not a blade of grass or a leaf in my master's Medicine Garden may be touched."

Yan Jingzhe sighed.

"Then there is no helping it."