"Brother Xue, this is Radiant Light-Concentrating Grass, one of the Thirty-Six Immortal Herbs!"
"Your swan-type Martial Soul is pure white and flawless. A light-aspected herb like this should suit you well!"
"Look, the Immortal Herb Handbook clearly records its properties. It can give any Martial Soul the attributes of holiness and light, and strengthen those that already have them!"
Luofan opened the jade box containing the Immortal Herb and turned the Immortal Herb Handbook, written by Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan, to the page on Radiant Light-Concentrating Grass.
Xue Qinghe: "..."
In truth, Xue Qinghe needed no handbook as proof. He trusted Luofan.
More importantly, while the jade box was closed, it had sealed in all the herb's potency.
But once it opened, an aura of pure holiness and light spread out, stirring a longing deep within Xue Qinghe.
An Immortal Herb!
Brother Fan thinks I have the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's Swan Martial Soul. Yet somehow, this herb is a perfect match for my Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul!
Holding the Immortal Herb, Xue Qinghe felt warmth sweep through him. Even his voice softened. "Brother Fan, where did you get this herb?"
"Didn't I tell you? I went thieving!"
At Xue Qinghe's question, Luofan explained, "There's a remarkable place in the Sunset Forest where all sorts of valuable herbs grow!"
"Dugu Bo doesn't know much about them, so he keeps the place surrounded by poisonous miasma year-round and won't let anyone near it!"
"I knew he'd be at Prince Xue Xing's birthday banquet tonight, so I went in and stole some. I thought this Radiant Light-Concentrating Grass suited you best, Brother Xue, so I brought it back for you!"
Xue Qinghe did not know whether to laugh or cry. "That's Poison Douluo. You stole an Immortal Herb from him? If he finds out, he'll never let you off!"
Luofan waved a hand. "Strictly speaking, he didn't create that place or plant those Immortal Herbs. He just found it and claimed it. When something valuable has no owner, anyone with the means can take it!"
"Wait!"
Xue Qinghe seemed to catch the important part. He stared at Luofan. "Brother Fan, you said Dugu Bo surrounded the place with poisonous miasma. How did you get inside?"
"I charged through and endured the poison, then found an antidote herb inside," Luofan answered honestly.
Whoosh!
The moment Luofan finished speaking, his vision blurred. Without warning, Xue Qinghe lunged forward and wrapped him in a tight embrace.
"Cough, cough! Brother Xue, what are you doing? Let go! I can't breathe!"
Luofan had been utterly unprepared for Xue Qinghe to rush over and squeeze him so tightly.
Realizing he had lost his composure, Xue Qinghe released Luofan. But he fixed him with a stern look. "You... You risked your life just to bring me an herb?"
"Don't ever do that again!"
"Your life is worth more than ten—no, a hundred Immortal Herbs. Do you understand?"
After all, Luofan had forced his way through Dugu Bo's poisonous miasma and only then found an antidote inside.
Wasn't that gambling with his life?
If the gamble paid off, he would survive and return with the Immortal Herb.
But what if it had not? What if he had failed to find an antidote?
What if the poison had killed him before he even got inside?
Xue Qinghe felt both deeply moved and terrified by what might have happened.
"Don't worry, Brother Xue. I knew I could make it..." Luofan tried to explain.
Without my Immortal Body, I wouldn't have dared gamble with my life.
Besides, I went to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for myself too, not just for him. Has he misunderstood something?
"Whatever the case, you are never to do anything that puts your life in danger again!" Xue Qinghe told Luofan firmly.
"All right, I understand!"
Fine. What was the point of arguing with a woman? Luofan could only go along with her and nod.
She might be young, but arguing with a woman of any age was never wise.
Only after Luofan agreed did Xue Qinghe seem satisfied.
"By the way, Brother Xue, you hugged me so tightly just now I nearly suffocated. I never realized how well-built you were!" Luofan said, rubbing his chest.
"Get lost!" Xue Qinghe snapped, flustered.
"You got it!" With a whoosh, Luofan darted away.
"That fellow..." Watching Luofan vanish into the night, Xue Qinghe felt his cheeks grow warm.
He shook his head and turned his attention back to the Immortal Herb in the jade box. Then he returned to his room and began absorbing its power.
It took quite some time to absorb the Radiant Light-Concentrating Grass completely.
Xue Qinghe could feel that the holy and light attributes of his Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul had grown much purer.
His Soul Power had risen rapidly too!
From rank 57, it had climbed straight to rank 60!
Xue Qinghe knew the Immortal Herb had done more than raise his Soul Power by three ranks. Without a sixth Soul Ring, he simply could not advance beyond rank 60!
"As expected of an Immortal Herb. The increase in Soul Power isn't even the main benefit. Its real value is how it strengthened and purified my holy and light attributes!"
Feeling the changes within himself, Xue Qinghe opened his eyes, which brimmed with emotion.
Brother Fan truly values loyalty and affection. If I treat him well with all my heart, he'll treat me well too.
Elsewhere, Luofan raised a hand and looked at his Martial Soul.
His nine-tiered golden Exquisite Tower had changed again!
Crimson and azure patterns now traced the solid-gold pagoda, giving the entire Martial Soul a more mysterious appearance.
This was the change Luofan had gained after following Tang San's example from the original story and eating the Infernal Delicate Apricot and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass!
Not only had his physique grown much stronger, but his Martial Soul seemed to have gained the attributes of fire and ice as well!
No rush. I brought out every Immortal Herb and Spirit Plant I could. Eating them all at once probably wouldn't kill me, but there's no need to force it. I'll take my time and eat them one by one, in the right order!
After studying the changes to his Martial Soul, Luofan mused that its already top-tier quality seemed to have risen another half-step.
It was not just the Immortal Herbs. He could start working on obtaining Soul Bones too!
Soul Bone Skills and even Self-Created Soul Skills could gain rule-based effects. Why had he never thought of that before?
In the blink of an eye, another half month passed!
One day, Ning Fengzhi arrived at the Crown Prince's Residence with Sword Douluo and Ning Rongrong...
Before you continue