Ice and Fire Dragon Kings
The instant his Soul Core took shape, a towering cloud of jade-green poison erupted around Dugu Bo. His aura surged, and his Soul Power climbed until it finally stopped at level 95.
At the same time, a roar tore from his throat. His martial soul manifested on its own, beyond his control, and the phantom of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor began to transform again under the wash of immense power from heaven and earth.
Scale after scale cracked and fell from its body. Its long serpentine form stretched farther, horns broke through the skin of its brow, and its claws became a dragon's. A dark emerald sheen spread across its jade-green scales. Its serpentine ferocity faded, replaced by the vast majesty of an ancient dragon.
Its roar became a dragon's cry that shook the mountains and forests!
Above the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well coiled the phantom of an enormous dragon, its body covered in poisonous scales—the Poisonous Nether Prison Dragon!
The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor had shed its old form and ascended into a poison-attribute dragon martial soul: the Poisonous Nether Prison Dragon. Its draconic might rolled outward, trailing wisps of deadly poison. But the poison no longer ran wild and turned against Dugu Bo as it once had. The dark-green Soul Core in his dantian held every trace firmly in check.
Dugu Bo slowly drew his martial soul back into his body, and the poison raging around him subsided. He still could not fully contain the powerful aura he gave off; it made others look his way without thinking. The poison that had tormented him for so long was gone, leaving him with an indescribable sense of ease. A century of gloom fell away. His once-emerald hair had turned black again, his complexion had improved, and the brooding look he used to wear was gone.
His dark-green eyes settled on Jiang Baiyu. With utmost sincerity, he bowed deeply. "Young friend Jiang, you freed me from a century of poisonous torment, helped me break my core and forge a Soul Core, and brought about my Martial Soul Evolution. You've given me a second life. I can never repay this kindness, but I'll be your protector. Whatever you ask of me from now on, I'll do it, even if it costs me my life."
Su Wu stood beside them, stunned. A level 95 Douluo as a protector—and a poison-attribute one at that. Even before this, Dugu Bo could have slaughtered any faction until only its Title Douluo remained. Now, with his martial soul's new abilities and his increased strength, even an ordinary Douluo might die at his hands. That alone made Dugu Bo someone no one could afford to overlook.
Jiang Baiyu hurried to pull Dugu Bo upright. "Senior Dugu, please get up. I'm still inexperienced. I only thought of the Soul Core Method after seeing your inner core. Besides, both the formation of your Soul Core and your martial soul's advancement were achievements of your own."
Dugu Bo looked at the youngster's deliberately modest expression and burst out laughing. He gave Jiang Baiyu a hard slap on the back. "Enough. Don't worry about me. You and Su Wu can study the Immortal Herbs and medicinal plants here. I'll stand guard for you." Before either of them could ask him to stay, he flew off and vanished.
That old poisoner. Grandfather and grandson had the same thought. Though Dugu Bo was nowhere in sight, they were certain the old fellow was hiding somewhere nearby, ready to act the moment they were in danger.
The two of them began exploring the valley, studying the spirit-aware herbs that covered its slopes. They spoke with each Immortal Herb, asked about its innate medicinal properties, and recorded what they learned. Throughout the process, the Shennong Cauldron and Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica deep within Jiang Baiyu's sea of consciousness kept flashing with light. Su Wu also gained a great deal from speaking with so many Immortal Herbs. Even his Jade-Green Nine-Jointed Bamboo took on some of the spiritual resonance of a hundred herbs.
Several days passed in a blur. Jiang Baiyu strolled to the boundary between the ice and fire springs.
A few days earlier, Su Wu had received the innate essences of the Black Jade Divine Bamboo and the Eight-Petaled Immortal Orchid. He and Jiang Baiyu had supplemented them with the essences of other herbs and refined a Barrier-Breaking Pill. After taking it, Su Wu had found another place to enter seclusion. His Soul Power had already reached level 87. Perhaps he would emerge as the Jade Douluo. As Jiang Baiyu considered this, he arrived before two Immortal Herbs.
The two peerless Immortal Herbs stood rooted quietly beside the spring. One had eight-pointed petals like ice crystals: the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. The other blazed with fiery petals and leaves: the Infernal Delicate Apricot. They had been extraordinary to begin with, and Jiang Baiyu's Spirit-Awakening Method had long since given them considerable awareness. Sensing the rich aura of the Shennong path around him, the two little fellows edged closer and reached out with faint strands of consciousness.
"You're saying the two immense powers sleeping in your memories are down there?" Jiang Baiyu asked the two Immortal Herbs, which were playing around his feet.
"Yes, yes! Hug us. You smell so nice (ᐡ⦁⩊⦁⸝⸝ᐡ)₊୭." Their young voices reached him. The two Immortal Herbs were children at heart. Jiang Baiyu's life-filled aura made them want to take root on him.
He approached the spring and looked at the water, which radiated a chilling aura. "This water could melt a Soul Sage outright. Even a Title Douluo couldn't go down there easily."
The two Immortal Herbs swayed gently. Each gathered a portion of its innate essence—one bitterly cold, the other intensely hot—and offered it to Jiang Baiyu without the two forces interfering with each other. "Here," their young voices said.
Looking at the two guileless little fellows, Jiang Baiyu felt awkward. He had spoken partly because the spring truly was a problem, but also because he had hoped to coax a little of their essence from them. He had never expected the herbs all across the mountain to glow when they sensed the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot offering theirs. Each contributed some of its own essence. To them, Jiang Baiyu had helped them find their paths. They had held back only because they thought someone favored by the supreme aura of a hundred herbs would have no use for their essence.
"This..." Jiang Baiyu looked at the sphere of essence gathered by the plant spirits across the mountain and felt ashamed. Faced with such innocent spirits, even he, who had always held fast to the path of a hundred herbs, could not help feeling guilty.
Still, he summoned the Shennong Cauldron and drew the vast sphere of essence into it. Yin and yang revolved within the cauldron without a trace of impurity. Each little fellow had offered exactly the portion best suited to Jiang Baiyu. Before long, a rich aura of creation poured out, and a pill slowly rose from the cauldron. One half was icy white like jade; the other, flame-red. Ring-shaped patterns of yin and yang flowed across its surface. Refined from the essences of countless Immortal Herbs in Jiang Baiyu's Shennong Cauldron, it was a peerless pill: the Yin-Yang Creation Origin-Returning Pill.
As the pill appeared, the sky outside darkened. Thunder rumbled, as though even the heavens coveted it.
Jiang Baiyu channeled his Soul Power and divided the pill into two, one large and one small. The spiritual energy filling the mountain did not diminish, but the thunder outside gradually faded and fell silent.
He looked at the two pills that had provoked the heavens' envy, picked up the larger one, and swallowed it. It instantly became two torrents inside him. One chilled him to the core; the other seared his organs. They surged and collided through his meridians, until the pill's own origin-returning power balanced them against each other and began remaking his body. Two gentle currents of innate essence enveloped him, shielding him from the spring's power to burn bone and freeze the soul.
Sensing his Soul Power steadily rising, Jiang Baiyu raised a hand and drew water from the Ice and Fire Spirit Spring. He dissolved the smaller pill in it. His Medicine Flame reappeared, refining the spring water until it brimmed with the aura of creation. With another sweep of his hand, the water became a spiritual rain that fell over every herb on the mountain.
The rain carried not only the distinct plant essence of every herb, but also the Shennong vitality and power of creation within Jiang Baiyu's martial soul.
He cupped his hands toward the plant spirits. "Thank you, everyone. To be honest, I meant to trick these two little fellows into helping me. I'm sorry."
Washed by the spiritual rain, the herbs throughout the valley grew even more aware. At his words, they all swayed as though telling him it was all right.
Once he had made every preparation, Jiang Baiyu walked to where the ice and fire springs met and plunged in.
At first, wrapped in the essences of the two Immortal Herbs, Jiang Baiyu felt as though he were descending through ordinary water. But the deeper he swam, the more heavily the power accumulated over countless ages at the bottom of the spring pressed down on him. Bone-piercing cold and searing heat struck in turns. The cold threatened to freeze his blood; the fire seemed ready to char his flesh. His body endured both torments at once. Even after taking the Yin-Yang Creation Origin-Returning Pill, he was nearing his limit.
Under that crushing pressure, Jiang Baiyu could not even exhale. At the critical moment, the Shennong Cauldron in his dantian emerged with a hum. Abundant vitality carried the powers of ice and fire outward, forming a thick barrier around him that kept their corrosive force at bay. Yet the ancient weight rising from the spring's depths still bore down in layer after layer, as though the entire earth rested on his shoulders. Every further stretch of his descent demanded immense effort. With a chance to catch his breath, Jiang Baiyu continued downward.
After an unknown length of time, the spring water suddenly vanished before his eyes. In its place lay a strange, enclosed space cut off from the outside world.
The space was dim. Two enormous ancient dragon skeletons lay across it. One was scarlet, with flames still burning over its bones. The other was translucent ice-blue, its bones radiating frost that had endured for ages. Neither skeleton held any trace of life, but their immense auras remained.
The little herbs would not have lied. The vast souls that had fallen into long slumber had to be hidden deep within those bones.
At a thought from Jiang Baiyu, the Shennong Cauldron appeared. A surging aura of plants swept through the space. If there are souls in there... Gold-green light shone at his fingertips. Then wake up!
Spirit-Awakening Method!
The radiance of a hundred herbs surged like a tide over both enormous dragon skeletons, calling to the souls that had slept within them for countless ages.
The space shook violently. Like undead bone dragons from a Western fantasy film, the two skeletons stirred. Their empty eye sockets swiftly filled with ghostly blue and deep red light.
Roar! An immense dragon's cry rang out.
The Ice Dragon King and the Fire Dragon King—two supreme powers from the age of the Dragon God—had returned, roused by Jiang Baiyu's Spirit-Awakening Method.