Chapter 38: Tuoba Xi: Dugu Bo's Medicine Garden Has This Many Treasures?

Yin Changqing smiled at the sight, stepped forward, and spoke clearly:

"Grandfather, don't be alarmed. Let me tell you what happened."

Tuoba Xi drew a deep breath, forced down the turmoil in his heart, and sat back down behind his desk. Rubbing his temples, he said:

"Changqing, hurry up and tell me!

My head's a complete mess right now!"

Yin Changqing calmly recounted the whole affair from beginning to end.

"Grandfather, here's what happened.

After we won the Golden Earth Dragon King Right Arm Bone Douluo at the Heaven Dou City auction house, Prince Xue Xing hosted a banquet to smooth things over. During the meal, I noticed faint signs of Snake Poison Backlash in Miss Dugu Yan.

So I approached Mr. Dugu with a proposal to work together."

Tuoba Xi frowned.

"That much I know. You mentioned it when you got back.

But what does that have to do with the old poisoner... no, with Mr. Dugu coming here himself?"

"Everything."

Yin Changqing smiled.

"As I expected, Mr. Dugu couldn't sit still once he got home.

He spent several days quietly investigating the Holy Dragon Sect. Once he confirmed that we had a solid foundation, he came to visit in person."

Tuoba Xi nodded.

"I know all that. Get to the point. What was in that Medicine Garden?"

Yin Changqing looked at Dugu Bo and smiled.

"Elder Dugu, why don't you tell the sect master about that treasure trove of yours yourself?"

Dugu Bo stroked his beard with a smile and stepped forward. His expression toward Tuoba Xi was more than ten times warmer than before, though a note of pride remained in his voice.

"Sect Master Tuoba, my Medicine Garden lies in a forbidden area at the heart of Sunset Forest.

It's called the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, a spring of opposing yin and yang formed by nature itself.

Where its cold and hot springs meet, they've created soil exceptionally rich in spiritual energy. Countless rare plants have grown there over the centuries."

Even as he spoke, Dugu Bo felt a little rueful.

He had cultivated at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—his own Medicine Garden—for decades.

Yet Yin Changqing had been the one to tell him the details about it!

Tuoba Xi stared at him.

"Rare plants?

What kinds?"

Dugu Bo laughed and looked at Yin Changqing.

"Young Master Changqing, why don't you tell him for me?"

Yin Changqing nodded and held up four fingers.

"Grandfather, I'll give you a rough count:

From the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's Medicine Garden, I harvested more than ten top-grade Immortal Herbs, including Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, Infernal Delicate Apricot, Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, Aromatic Silk Beauty, Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, Aromatic Silk Beauty, Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone, Earth Dragon Golden Melon, and Snow-Colored Swan Kiss.

Any one of them appearing outside the garden would be enough to spark a fierce struggle across the Soul Master World. It might even draw the attention of Spirit Hall and the Upper Three Sects.”

Tuoba Xi's jaw slowly fell open. He stood frozen in place, and even his voice changed pitch.

"M-more than ten Immortal Herbs?!

Changqing, I haven't even heard the names of half the herbs you mentioned!"

"That's only natural, Grandfather."

Yin Changqing explained calmly.

"They require extremely specific conditions to grow. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well may be the only place on the entire continent capable of nurturing so many varieties of Immortal Herbs at once.

An ordinary soul master could walk right past them without recognizing their true value."

Tuoba Xi swallowed hard, rubbed his face, and turned to Yin Yu.

"Yin Yu, is he telling the truth?"

Yin Yu folded his arms, smiling.

"Father, I saw everything Changqing described with my own eyes.

That Medicine Garden really does hold an extraordinary fortune. We gained far more from this trip than we ever imagined."

Tuoba Xi sank back into his chair and let out a long breath.

"My heavens... Dugu Bo, you guarded such a vast treasure for all these years, and then simply handed it over to the Holy Dragon Sect?"

Dugu Bo waved a hand with a wry smile.

"That's not quite right, Sect Master.

I guarded that place for decades, but I only knew the poisonous properties of some of its herbs. They were barely enough to suppress the snake poison in Yan's body.

As for Immortal Herbs or extraordinary fortunes, I knew nothing about them.

In my hands, those plants were nothing more than pretty poisonous weeds.

Young Master Changqing recognized their worth and pointed out their true value, one by one.

And on top of that, he gave me a Jade Dragon Fruit and a supreme method for condensing a Dragon Core."

As Dugu Bo spoke, he stirred the power in his Dantian. A deep, dense aura of jade-gold Dragon Aura spread from him, making the air in the hall feel heavier.

Tuoba Xi's pupils contracted sharply.

"Your aura... it's far stronger than before!

Even your martial soul feels different!"

"You have a keen eye, Sect Master."

Dugu Bo smiled proudly.

"My Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor has successfully evolved into a Jade Phosphorous Flood Dragon Emperor.

My Soul Power also rose two levels in succession, from level 91 to level 93.

And I owe it all to Young Master Changqing."

Tuoba Xi whipped his head toward Yin Changqing and looked his grandson up and down several times. His searching gaze seemed to ask, Just how many secrets are you hiding, boy?

Meeting his grandfather's intense stare, Yin Changqing merely smiled. Then, without a trace of hurry, he dropped a second bombshell.

"Grandfather, that's everything about Elder Dugu.

Now it's time to talk about what happened to me."

Tuoba Xi's eyelid twitched.

"What happened to you?"

Yin Yu burst out laughing beside them.

"Father, stay seated and listen. Don't jump up and knock your chair over again."

Tuoba Xi glared at him and forced his legs—already on the verge of springing up—to stay put.

"Go on, then!"

Yin Changqing said:

"Grandfather, I refined four Immortal Herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

The first pair was Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot. Together, they gave me the Ultimate Ice and Fire Golden Body.

My body is now completely immune to ice- and fire-type attacks and impervious to all poisons. The resilience of my Blood Qi and Meridians has doubled.”

Tuoba Xi silently tightened his grip on the chair's armrests.

Yin Changqing continued:

“The second pair was Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and Aromatic Silk Beauty. Together, they gave me the Heaven-Connecting Vajra Dao Bone Douluo.

My physical and energy defenses increased by another eighty percent, the natural recovery rate of my Soul Power doubled, and my Soul Power capacity increased by fifty percent."

The corners of Tuoba Xi's mouth began to twitch.

Yin Changqing added one final point:

"My Soul Power has now reached the level 50 bottleneck.

Once I absorb my fifth soul ring, I'll become a Soul King!"

Clatter!

Tuoba Xi's Golden Feather Pen fell from his hand for the second time. This time, he didn't even have the strength to bend down and pick it up. Slumped against the back of his chair, he stared blankly at the vaulted ceiling for five full breaths.

Then Tuoba Xi slammed a hand onto the desk.

"Twelve years old and level fifty!"