Five-Colored Spirit Rice

Dugu Bo had been meditating in a corner of 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 was losing himself in the sensation.

Then he sensed the immense source energy the myriad herbs had gathered on their own. He shot into the air to see what trouble that little monster Jiang Baiyu had stirred up this time, only to feel a dense surge of power from heaven and earth converging.

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

What is that little lunatic up to now? Dugu Bo rushed toward the well. But when he arrived, he saw Jiang Baiyu leap without hesitation into the Ice and Fire Spirit Spring—a place even Dugu Bo had once feared.

"That brat! Does he have a death wish?" Dugu Bo sped toward him.

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

Just then, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass sent out a burst of icy energy, blocking his jump into the spring. At the same time, a mental connection reached toward him.

"So that's what happened!" Once he understood, Dugu Bo relaxed a little. But there's no telling how powerful the presence beneath the spring is.

"Forget it. I'll wait here for the Jiang kid. If anything goes wrong, I'm diving in." With that, Dugu Bo stood watch 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 clearly felt two ancient, terrifying presences slowly awakening beneath the spring. Even his martial soul trembled before them.

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

"What are those presences...?" 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 once-still waters began spinning at tremendous speed.

A huge whirlpool formed around the spring's source. Water roared and spiraled faster and faster as a terrifying pull rose from below. The two presences grew more fearsome still.

Rumble!

The spring began devouring every trace of spiritual energy in the valley. Energy streamed across the sky like countless rivers running to the sea, pouring into the spinning vortex in streaks of light. It was as though two colossal mouths lay hidden beneath the spring, ready to swallow heaven and earth!

In the blink of an eye, the spring water vanished along with the valley's spiritual energy, leaving only a vast hollow. The two mighty presences 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, powerful auras of the two Dragon Kings.

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

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

His heart nearly stopped!!!

The instant he felt that aura, Dugu Bo's martial soul sounded a warning, and the Soul Core within him trembled. His expression changed. He instinctively retreated half a step.

Then fury took over. "Jiang Baiyu!" A surge of Soul Power yanked the airborne figure down, and Dugu Bo unleashed the full force of a Titled Douluo's body on Jiang Baiyu.

"You little bastard! How dare you scare me! You didn't say a word before jumping into the Ice and Fire Spirit Spring, when even I was afraid of it!"

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

"Don't you dare!" Dugu Bo's beard bristled. Then came a Titled Douluo's fist, charged with Soul Power.

What a tough body. Dugu Bo was secretly astonished. He had held back at first, but Jiang Baiyu had barely seemed to feel it. Even at full strength, his blows did not seem to hurt him.

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

Jiang Baiyu could tell Dugu Bo had only been worried, so he had let him vent. But once the blows started hurting, he dropped the act. What a slippery brat, Dugu Bo thought.

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

"Heh, don't faint when you hear it!" Jiang Baiyu perked up instantly. "You felt that dragon might just now, didn't you?" His face practically begged Dugu Bo to ask more.

Dugu Bo fought back the urge to hit the brat again. "I did. One aura was cold, the other hot, and their dragon might made even my martial soul tremble. Were they the ones who created this place?" The contrasting auras had immediately reminded him of the well itself.

"That's right!" Jiang Baiyu snapped his fingers. "Sleeping beneath it were two great generals who once served the Dragon God. Both were divine beasts stronger than ordinary gods! They're ancestors of your dragonkind too. Of course a Poison Dragon like you would bow before your ancestors!"

Dugu Bo's forehead twitched at Jiang Baiyu's infuriating explanation, but he swallowed the insult. "And?"

Encouraged by Dugu Bo's interest, Jiang Baiyu raised both arms. They had become dragon claws like Yu Tianheng's after his Dragon Transformation. A pair of wings, one red and one blue, spread behind him, making him look strikingly imposing.

He lifted his left arm. Crimson dragon markings flowed across his skin like flames, intricate and sacred, as though a fire dragon had coiled from his shoulder to his wrist. Heaven-burning flames shimmered over his arm, carrying the domineering aura of a dragon that could destroy all things. Even as he displayed it, the air around him grew warm, and tiny sparks drifted like flickering fireflies.

"This is the Explosive Heaven-Burning Left Arm Bone. It bears the Fire Dragon King's legacy and the power to set the heavens ablaze and boil the seas. A thought can ignite the world; his wrath can end it."

Then he raised his right arm, and a deep-blue chill radiated from it.

Ice-blue dragon markings gleamed like translucent jade. Layer upon layer of frosty patterns covered his arm, as though an ancient frozen abyss had settled beneath his skin. Threads of extreme cold slowly spread outward.

"This is the Myriad Calamities Frozen Abyss Right Arm Bone. It carries the Ice Dragon King's source power, enough to seal the heavens and freeze the earth with a thought."

One arm burned with ancient dragonfire; the other bore frost from the highest heavens. The opposing powers of the two Dragon Kings rested perfectly within Jiang Baiyu's arms, fused through and through. Their divine radiance was contained, leaving only the aura of supreme dragon nobility around him.

"This..." Dugu Bo stared at the young man radiating powerful dragon might, his eyes full of astonishment.

"And that's not all. There's this too!" Jiang Baiyu raised a hand and tapped the air. The phantom of the Shennong Cauldron appeared before him. Inside was a world wrapped in red and blue, where the sun, moon, stars, mountains, and rivers could be faintly seen. Ice and fire slowly revolved within it, brightening and dimming as though it breathed.

"The Cauldron World!" Jiang Baiyu held out his palm as if he carried an entire world.

"A god! Two Dragon King Soul Bones fused to his body, yin and yang united with ice and fire, dragon markings formed by nature... It's as though he was born with a divine body!" Dugu Bo was genuinely excited now. With clawed hands holding a world, Jiang Baiyu looked like a young god in his eyes.

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

Jiang Baiyu turned to the Spirit Herbs covering the hills and slowly spoke.

"I've opened a small yin-yang world inside my cauldron. Its heavens and earth have just formed, its spiritual veins have just awakened, and its soil and water are stable. Yin and yang turn without end, and its life-giving energy is inexhaustible. You were born amid ice and fire and grew under its blessings. Now that you've gained awareness, why not become the first living beings in my little world and enjoy the favor of heaven and earth in my Flora Realm?"

He paused, then sincerely addressed every plant in the valley. "Will you enter the world inside my cauldron and become spirits of flora? There, you need not fear withering with age, the bite of wind and frost, or disturbance from the mortal world. You can dwell in my Shennong Creation Realm alongside yin and yang, just as you do now."

For a moment, the entire valley fell silent.

Then—

Rustling leaves, whispering stems, chiming notes—Spirit Plants spoke all around him!

The Immortal Herbs across the hills bowed in unison, and spiritual light filled the sky.

Countless Spirit Herbs, Immortal Herbs, spirit flowers, and spirit roots released their source light. They had lived in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for countless ages, blessed by the Secret Realm but also bound to it. Only with Jiang Baiyu's help had they gained awareness. Now the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings had carried all the well's balanced energy of water, fire, yin, and yang into the Shennong Cauldron, forming Jiang Baiyu's little world. It held not only Shennong's life-giving energy, but also the ice and fire spiritual energy once found in the well. Its standing was far beyond the old realm's, and the two Dragon Kings guarded it. With luck, a plant might even refine a trace of dragon energy and gain boundless blessings. It was truly a blessed land of life and creation.

Moving into the Cauldron World was the supreme opportunity every Spirit Plant dreamed of. Now that Jiang Baiyu had invited them, they could not have been more eager.

"Then come on in, everyone!" Jiang Baiyu was delighted to see every Spirit Herb agree. Nourished by the vitality of the myriad plants, his world would grow more complete. With a thought, he set it in motion.

The phantom Shennong Cauldron floating before him burst with blue-white light. Its mouth opened, releasing a vast power of attraction.

It was gentle and pure, without the slightest trace of force or greed.

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

Icy Spirit Herbs condensed blue light, while fiery Immortal Herbs flared crimson. The lights of countless plants streamed together like a starry river flowing backward into the cauldron. In an instant, the once-lush Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well stood empty. Countless Spirit Plants took root in the newborn mountains and fertile soil within the cauldron.

The yin-yang energy of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings had divided the Shennong Creation Realm in two. Cold mist veiled one half, where ice-type Immortal Herbs rooted themselves in frosted earth; gentle flames warmed the other, where fire-type Spirit Herbs settled among sun-warmed mountains.

Yin and yang were in harmony, and every plant found its place.

In an instant, the newborn Cauldron World flourished. Greenery covered its mountains, Spirit Springs murmured, and the scent of herbs filled the air.

The entry of those countless Immortal Herbs made the newly formed world vibrant and lush, brimming with life.

Outside the Cauldron World, only one Spirit Plant remained in an inconspicuous corner of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

A rice seed? Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow. What is that brat planning?

Jiang Baiyu approached the sole remaining plant and slowly exhaled. He bowed to the extraordinary primordial rice seed. "Five-Colored Spirit Rice, as Shennong's successor, I hope you'll walk the same path as me and practice the Way of Shennong together. Will you?"