Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well

"Trust me, you won't regret it!" Jiang Baiyu said.

Dugu Bo looked at Jiang Baiyu. "How about we leave now?"

Jiang Baiyu shook his head. "Please give me a day, Your Eminence. I'll see if I can contact my grandfather."

"The Medicine King? Very well. I'll pick you up myself tomorrow morning. I'll speak to those education board members for you shortly." Dugu Bo's gaze turned serious. "If you can truly rid the Dugu family of this poison, I promise you this: as long as I'm in Heaven Dou, no one will make trouble for you."

As a Title Douluo, he had every confidence in that promise.

Jiang Baiyu cupped his hands. "Thank you, senior."

Dugu Bo nodded, turned, and opened the courtyard gate. Looking at the people eavesdropping outside, he said, "Yanyan, we've settled things. Young Jiang here really is remarkable." It sounded casual, but he was making a point to Dugu Yan and Yu Tianheng, ensuring they understood Jiang Baiyu's talent.

There was no shame in getting close to someone powerful. After their brief contest, Dugu Bo was certain Jiang Baiyu would become a Title Douluo. It could only benefit his granddaughter and future grandson-in-law to be on good terms with one.

Neither of them missed Dugu Bo's meaning.

"You all talk. I have business with your education board members. I'll take Baiyu with me tomorrow." With that, Dugu Bo left.

The three outside entered the courtyard. Dugu Yan went straight to Jiang Baiyu. "Baiyu, did my grandfather poison you? Are you all right?"

She knew her grandfather's temper better than anyone. Even though Dugu Bo had accepted Jiang Baiyu, he might still have poisoned him in the end.

She studied Jiang Baiyu closely. She had not known him long, but the little fellow was cute and gentle, and she had grown quite fond of him.

"I'm fine. Senior Dugu was very kind," Jiang Baiyu said with a smile.

His face was rosy, with no sign of poisoning, so Dugu Yan let the matter drop.

"Baiyu." Yu Tianheng cupped his hands. "You came through His Eminence Dugu's test unscathed. I admire you." Yu Tianheng had taken Dugu Bo's precious granddaughter away, and the old poison master had given him plenty of trouble for it. If not for his own grandfather, he might have been poisoned to death long ago. His admiration now was entirely sincere.

Then he added, "Oh, my grandfather has heard about you too. He asked me to bring you to our family when you have time. What do you say?"

"His Eminence Thunderclap?" Jiang Baiyu thought for a moment. "I'm grateful for his kindness, but I've made a promise to His Eminence Dugu. I don't know when I'll be back."

"That's all right. The Blue Lightning Family will always welcome you."

"Then I'll be sure to visit when I return," Jiang Baiyu said.

The two glanced at Zhu Zhuqing, then at each other. "We won't disturb you any longer." They left the courtyard.

Only Zhu Zhuqing and Jiang Baiyu remained.

"How did it go? Are you all right?" Zhu Zhuqing's dark eyes rested on Jiang Baiyu.

"Of course. With what your senior brother has learned, even Old Su can't match me now," Jiang Baiyu said with a smile.

"Take care of yourself at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well," Zhu Zhuqing said.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine." After a pause, he looked at her. "Zhuqing, stay at Heaven Dou Royal Academy and focus on your cultivation. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well isn't somewhere you should rush into. Its opposing forces of ice and fire are too violent; one wrong move could damage your meridians. Stay here and look after A-Lan, all right?"

Zhu Zhuqing pressed her lips together. She was worried, but she knew he was right. She nodded softly.

Jiang Baiyu hurried back inside and took out a letter, intending to have someone deliver it to a teahouse in Heaven Dou. Before Su Wu left, he had said to leave any messages for him there.

With everything arranged, Jiang Baiyu closed his eyes and returned to the Shennong Book, studying agriculture and considering the path he would take in the future.

Zhu Zhuqing cultivated beside him. The Blue Silver Emperor gave off pinpricks of light, gathering an aura that calmed the mind and sharpened the spirit.

A bird flew in.

Jiang Baiyu held out his hand. It landed steadily, and he untied the letter fastened to it.

"What did our teacher say?" Zhu Zhuqing asked curiously.

"The old man has something to deal with. He said he won't reach Sunset Forest for a few more days," Jiang Baiyu replied.

After that brief exchange, they resumed cultivating.

At dawn the next day, the sky began to pale, and the first rosy light fell across the courtyard wall. A powerful current of air descended from above. Dugu Bo landed before the courtyard gate, his gray robe stirring in the wind. "Let's go."

Jiang Baiyu stopped cultivating and rose. He turned to Zhu Zhuqing. "Be careful while I'm gone. If anything happens, go to the education board members or Xue Qinghe."

"I will. Stay safe," Zhu Zhuqing said.

Jiang Baiyu nodded and walked out without another word. Dugu Bo's Soul Power swept around him, a gentle force supporting his body. Wind roared as they shot skyward, broke through the morning mist, and sped toward Sunset Forest. They crossed barren hills and vast woodland at a pace too fast for the eye to follow.

Before long, an endless expanse of dark green swallowed the distant horizon. Sunset Forest lay ahead.

As they reached the forest's core, a bank of poisonous fog loomed before them. It was a miasma that had lingered deep in Sunset Forest for years. Jiang Baiyu's gaze sharpened. He instinctively stirred the herbal energy within him, ready to unleash the Hundred Herbs Domain. Beside him, Dugu Bo merely raised a hand. Jade-scaled Soul Power rippled around him, and a crushing pressure surged outward!

The vast poisonous fog parted like a tide, retreating to either side. With the innate pressure of a Titled Douluo, he forced open a clear path through it.

"I created this poison by combining Sunset Forest's natural miasma with the Seven-Extremity Poison Scale Flower. It's just a little measure to keep visitors away." He was a Douluo whose title was Poison, after all. This "little measure" could leave even an ordinary Soul Sage without a corpse.

Dugu Bo spoke calmly as he led Jiang Baiyu deeper along the path. They passed through layer after layer of poisonous mist, and the view suddenly opened up. The dense miasma fell away, the fierce wind ceased, and the hostile air vanished.

A secluded, inverted-cone valley hidden in the deepest reaches of Sunset Forest spread out before them.

Steep, rugged cliffs ringed the valley, making it a world unto itself. Faint, hazy colors hovered above it year-round as Yin-Yang Energy flowed in ceaseless motion, shielding this Secret Realm.

At the valley's center lay twin Spirit Springs. On the left was the Extreme Cold Ice Spring; on the right, the Extreme Yang Fire Spring. One half of the pool was clear milky white, radiating bone-piercing cold as wisps of mist rose without end. Frost that never melted covered the rocks along its edge. The air was so cold it nearly froze, and even falling dust turned instantly to frost. The other half churned crimson. Heat rolled off it, tiny fiery bubbles burst across its surface, and the air around it warped. Its heat could melt gold and forge iron; nearby stone had been baked red and hot. The two springs remained sharply divided, neither encroaching on the other. Cold and heat, yin and yang met at a stark boundary that wavered faintly down the center.

The extremes of cold and heat clashed violently, yet held each other in balance. Together they hinted at the Two-Yi Great Dao, where yin and yang coexisted and water and fire sustained each other.

Rare flowers and herbs covered the valley. Every plant shimmered with precious light and brimmed with spiritual energy, having grown by absorbing Yin-Yang Energy. Their spiritual qualities far surpassed those of plants outside the valley. When the breeze stirred, a rich aura of life swept across the slopes, almost tangible.

Jiang Baiyu stood at the valley entrance. The Shennong Cauldron appeared on its own, radiating the vitality of growing things. Divine markings flickered across it, as though it resonated with this place.

"We're here. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, a Realm of Creation."