Five-Colored Spirit Rice

Dugu Bo had been meditating beside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. The power of heaven and earth supplied by his Soul Core made him feel as though his strength was growing every moment, and he had become rather absorbed in it.

Then he sensed an immense surge of essence gathering from the herbs of their own accord. Dugu Bo flew up at once, intending to see what that little monster Jiang Baiyu was up to this time, only to feel a dense concentration of the power of heaven and earth converging nearby.

Having formed a Soul Core and gained the ability to sense heaven and earth, Dugu Bo was certain of one thing: this power was purer even than the power of heaven and earth brought by the Planetary Will when he had formed his Soul Core!

What is that little lunatic doing now? Dugu Bo rushed toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. But by the time he arrived, Jiang Baiyu had leaped without hesitation into the Ice and Fire Spirit Spring—a place even Dugu Bo had feared entering before.

"That brat! Does he have a death wish?" Dugu Bo shot forward.

Feeling the terrifying aura pouring from the Spirit Spring, Dugu Bo gritted his teeth. "Forget it. I'm going in too!"

At that moment, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass sent out a burst of icy energy, stopping him from jumping into the spring. At the same time, a mental connection reached toward him.

"I see!" Once Dugu Bo understood what had happened, he reluctantly set his mind at ease. There's no telling how powerful whatever's beneath that spring really is.

Fine. I'll wait here for the Jiang boy. The moment anything goes wrong, I'm going in. With that, Dugu Bo waited beside the spring.

Then he witnessed a sight he would never forget:

The entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well shuddered. With his keen spiritual senses, Dugu Bo could clearly feel two ancient, terrifying auras slowly awakening beneath the spring—auras that made his martial soul tremble.

Every hair on his body stood on end. His pupils contracted, and shock surged through him!

"What kind of auras are those...?" he cried out. They could even suppress a dragon-type martial soul.

Before he could recover, the Ice and Fire Spirit Spring changed again. Its two pools, calm a moment ago, began to spin at tremendous speed.

Centered on the spring's source, a huge whirlpool formed. Water roared around it faster and faster, while a terrifying suction rose from the depths. The two auras grew more fearsome still.

Rumble—!

All the spiritual energy filling the valley was drawn toward the spring. It streamed in from every direction like rivers rushing to the sea, turning into streaks of light that plunged into the whirling water. It was as if two enormous mouths capable of swallowing heaven and earth lay beneath the spring!

In the blink of an eye, the spring water and the valley's spiritual energy vanished together, leaving only a vast hollow. The two powerful auras had weakened. Dugu Bo circulated his Soul Power, preparing to investigate below.

Bang!

A red-and-blue figure shot out of the Ice and Fire Spirit Spring like a streak of light, carrying the ancient, mighty auras of the two Dragon Kings.

That vast, domineering dragon might swept across the entire Ice and Fire Valley!

At the same time, a familiar voice rang out. "Hello, Your Excellency Dugu! ੭ᐕ)੭*⁾⁾"

Dugu Bo's heart nearly stopped!!!

The instant he sensed those auras, his martial soul sounded a warning and the Soul Core within him trembled. His expression changed sharply, and he instinctively stumbled half a step back.

Then fury took over. "Jiang Baiyu!" A surge of Soul Power snatched the flying figure from the air, and Dugu Bo unleashed the full physical strength of a Titled Douluo on him.

"You little bastard! How dare you scare me! You jumped into the Ice and Fire Spirit Spring—even I was afraid of it—without saying a word!"

"Ow! Ow! Let go of me, you old Poison! I saved your life! Don't you want your granddaughter's Poison cured?"

"Don't you dare!" Dugu Bo bristled, then drove a fist packed with Soul Power into him.

What a tough body. Dugu Bo was secretly startled. He had held back at first, but when Jiang Baiyu seemed not to feel a thing, he had used his full strength. Even that had apparently failed to hurt him.

"Ow! Damn it, you old Poison! That hurts!" Ancient dragon might surged from Jiang Baiyu again, and he broke free at once.

Jiang Baiyu had sensed Dugu Bo's concern, so he had let him vent. The moment it actually hurt, though, he stopped pretending. What a slippery brat, Dugu Bo thought.

"Tell me. What happened down there?" Dugu Bo asked.

"Heh, don't let it scare you!" Jiang Baiyu perked up at the question. "You felt that dragon might just now, didn't you?" His face all but begged Dugu Bo to ask more.

Dugu Bo fought down the urge to hit him again. "I did. One aura was cold, the other hot. Their dragon might was so overwhelming that even my martial soul trembled. Were they the ones who created this place?" He had immediately connected those opposing auras to the valley.

"Exactly!" Jiang Baiyu snapped his fingers. "Sleeping down there were two great generals who served the Dragon God. Both were divine beasts stronger than ordinary gods! They're also ancestors of your dragon clan. Naturally, a Poison Dragon like you would bow before them!"

Dugu Bo's brow twitched repeatedly at Jiang Baiyu's infuriating introduction, but he swallowed the insult. "And?"

Delighted that Dugu Bo was playing along, Jiang Baiyu raised his arms. They had become dragon claws like Yu Tianheng's after his Dragon Transformation, while a red wing and a blue wing spread from his back, making him look strikingly heroic.

He lifted his left arm. Scarlet dragon markings surfaced across his skin like flowing flame. Fine and sacred, they wound from shoulder to wrist like a fire dragon coiled around his arm. Heaven-burning flames swirled over it, carrying a domineering draconic power that seemed capable of destroying all things. Even as he displayed it, the surrounding air grew warm, and tiny sparks drifted and flickered like fireflies.

"This is the Explosive Heaven-Burning Left Arm Bone. It carries the Fire Dragon King's legacy and the power to burn the heavens and boil the seas. A single thought can set the world ablaze; a single fit of anger can destroy it."

Then he gently raised his right arm, releasing a deep-blue chill.

Its ice-blue dragon markings were translucent as jade. Layers of frost-fine patterns covered his arm, as though an ancient frozen abyss had condensed upon his skin. Wisps of extreme cold spread slowly outward.

"This is the Myriad Calamities Frozen Abyss Right Arm Bone. It inherits the Ice Dragon King's essence and holds the power to freeze heaven and earth with a single thought."

One arm burned with ancient dragonfire; the other bore the frost of the highest heavens. The two Dragon Kings' opposing powers rested perfectly upon Jiang Baiyu's arms, suffusing him inside and out. Their divine radiance was restrained, leaving only the supremely noble aura of a dragon around him.

"This..." Dugu Bo stared at the little fellow radiating such powerful draconic energy, his eyes full of astonishment.

"And that's not all. There's this too!" Jiang Baiyu raised a hand and pointed. The illusory form of the Shennong Cauldron appeared in midair. Within it lay a world wrapped in red and blue, with faint glimpses of sun, moon, stars, mountains, and rivers. Ice and fire slowly revolved through it, brightening and dimming as though it breathed.

"A world inside the cauldron!" Jiang Baiyu held out his palm beneath the image as though he were holding an entire world.

"This is... a god! Two Dragon King soul bones on his body, ice and fire sharing a Yin-Yang source, dragon markings formed naturally—he's like a born divine being!" Dugu Bo was genuinely excited now. With claws for hands and a world in his grasp, Jiang Baiyu looked to him like a young god.

"Calm down, calm down." Seeing Dugu Bo's shock, Jiang Baiyu made a show of modesty.

Jiang Baiyu looked toward the Spirit Herbs covering the mountains and spoke slowly.

"A little Yin-Yang world has opened within my cauldron. Its heavens and earth have just formed, its spiritual veins have begun to grow, and its land and water are stable. Yin and Yang turn without end, and its energy of creation is inexhaustible. You were born amid ice and fire and nurtured by creation. Now that you have gained intelligence, why not become the first living beings in my little world and enjoy the favor of the Flora Realm?" His voice was sincere, rich with Shennong's life-giving energy.

He paused, then earnestly addressed every herb in the valley. "Will you come with me into the world within the cauldron and become spirits of flora? There, you need not fear withering with age, erosion by wind and frost, or disturbance from the mortal world. You can dwell in my Shennong Creation Realm and live alongside Yin and Yang, just as you do now."

For an instant, the entire valley fell silent.

Then—

Rustling leaves, whispering stems, tinkling notes—a chorus of spirit voices!

All the Immortal Herbs across the mountains bowed, and spiritual light flashed everywhere.

Countless Spirit Herbs, immortal plants, spirit flowers, and spirit roots released the light of their essence. They had grown in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for countless years, blessed by the Secret Realm yet bound to it. Only with Jiang Baiyu's help had they gained intelligence. Now the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings had brought the well's ice-and-fire spiritual energy, where water and fire supported each other and Yin and Yang coexisted, into the Shennong Cauldron to form the Cauldron World. That world possessed not only Shennong's energy of creation, but also the well's former ice-and-fire spiritual energy. It was a realm of extraordinary standing, guarded by two Dragon Kings. If they were fortunate enough to refine even a trace of dragon energy, the benefits would be boundless. It was truly a blessed land of longevity and creation.

Moving into the world inside the cauldron was the supreme opportunity every spirit plant dreamed of. Now that Jiang Baiyu had invited them, they could hardly ask for more.

"Then come on, everyone!" Jiang Baiyu was overjoyed when all the Spirit Herbs agreed. The vitality of the Hundred Herbs would make his world more complete. With a thought, he acted.

The image of the Shennong Cauldron hovering before him burst with blue-white spiritual light. Its mouth opened, releasing a vast power of absorption.

It was gentle and pure, without a trace of forceful plunder.

One by one, the peerless Immortal Herbs lifted themselves from the ground, roots and soil together. Wrapped in spiritual light, they became specks of colorful radiance.

The icy spirit herbs shone blue, and crimson energy surged from the fiery immortal plants. Countless lights from the plants streamed like a star-filled sky pouring backward into the cauldron. In an instant, the once-flourishing Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well stood empty. Inside the cauldron, countless spirit plants took root in the fertile earth among its newborn mountains and rivers.

The Shennong world had been divided by the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' Yin-Yang Energy. Cold mist veiled one half, where icy Immortal Herbs rooted themselves in frost-covered ground. Gentle heat filled the other, where fire-aligned Spirit Herbs settled among warm mountains and streams.

Yin and Yang suited each other, and every plant found its place.

The newly born world inside the cauldron instantly flourished with plants. Green covered the mountains, Spirit Springs burbled, and the fragrance of herbs filled the air.

With those countless Immortal Herbs inside it, the newly formed world became vibrant and lush, brimming with unending life.

Outside, at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, one Spirit Herb remained in an inconspicuous corner.

Is that... a Rice seed? Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow. What is that brat planning?

Jiang Baiyu walked up to the one plant left behind and slowly exhaled. Bowing to the extraordinary primordial Rice seed, he said, "Five-Colored Spirit Rice, as Shennong's successor, I hope you'll walk the same path as me and help me put Shennong's teachings into practice. Will you?"