The two inspected the area around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Zhu Zhuqing pointed into the woods at its edge and said, "Jinge, there's another skeleton over there."
Dai Jinge looked over at her words. "Let's go take a look."
Once they approached the skeleton, Dai Jinge recognized its identity from the remnants of clothing on it. "These are Yang Wudi's remains."
"Ah!?"
Zhu Zhuqing exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be... Patriarch Yang really fought Dugu Bo?"
Dai Jinge shook his head and sighed. "He wasn't capable of that."
He stared at the skeleton with a complicated expression, then glanced back at the other set of remains and let out a long sigh.
"Yang Wudi died of poison. His entire body rotted into poisoned blood. Look at the surrounding woods-they've all withered. Apart from us, there's nothing alive here anymore. That shows just how terrifyingly potent the poisonous mist in the air is. I just don't know what method Yang Wudi used to take Dugu Bo down with him."
Zhu Zhuqing murmured, "It looks like quite a lot happened up here while we were in the spring."
"Life really is unpredictable!"
Dai Jinge gazed at the aromatic silk beauty in his hand and said gravely, "With this aromatic silk beauty protecting us, we have nothing to fear. Anyone else would probably drop dead on the spot after inhaling even the tiniest trace."
Zhu Zhuqing swallowed, fear showing in her eyes. "Jinge, what do we do now...?"
Dai Jinge drew a deep breath. "Let's go back to the spring first. That's the safest place here. We'll rest for a little while, then decide what to do."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded repeatedly, then pressed close to Dai Jinge as they returned to the spring, trembling with fear.
Dai Jinge took out everything stored inside the two Storage Soul Tools in one go.
Clatter, clatter, clatter-!
All sorts of miscellaneous objects piled into a small mountain before them.
Dai Jinge picked up a jade box and opened it to inspect its contents. When he found an aromatic silk beauty lying quietly inside, he glanced at Yang Wudi's remains with a complicated expression.
Seeing this, Zhu Zhuqing asked curiously, "Jinge, what's this?"
Dai Jinge handed the jade box to Zhu Zhuqing, then picked up the other boxes to inspect them as he explained:
"This is an immortal herb called aromatic silk beauty. It was preserved so carefully that it must have been Yang Wudi's work. The same goes for all these things."
"What a pity... Before he could use any of these heavenly treasures, all that remained of him was a skeleton."
"I let him down."
Dai Jinge sighed.
He had intended to use Dugu Bo's detoxification method from the original story to reach an agreement with him, while also bringing Yang Wudi under his command. He had never expected... that things would turn out like this...
Not wanting Dai Jinge to blame himself too much, Zhu Zhuqing consoled him. "Jinge, you don't need to be so hard on yourself. Patriarch Yang came with us because of the aromatic silk beauty. We didn't force him, and our relationship with him was only one of mutual interest."
Dai Jinge sighed. "I know all that..."
Zhu Zhuqing continued, "The only thing we can do now is take Patriarch Yang's remains back, return them to the Yang family, and give them some appropriate compensation."
Dai Jinge nodded, then began sorting through the heavenly treasures before him.
Zhu Zhuqing helped him from the side, but just then, a flash of green caught the corner of her eye.
"Ah! Jinge, there's a snake!"
Dai Jinge followed Zhu Zhuqing's gaze. When he saw a little snake slithering over the heavenly treasures, his hand shot out, seizing its mouth in the blink of an eye.
The little snake was about five inches long, its entire body emerald green and almost transparent, like jade. Its eyes were scarlet, and nine transverse bands resembling bamboo joints marked its body.
Once Dai Jinge caught the little snake, Zhu Zhuqing immediately breathed a sigh of relief and patted her already impressive, proud curves.
Zhu Zhuqing leaned closer to examine the little snake and said with a smile, "This snake is so cute!"
Dai Jinge smiled and held Nine-Section Jade a little closer to Zhu Zhuqing. "It may look cute, but its venom is astonishingly potent. If it bites you, even a Soul Saint would probably have trouble surviving."
"Ah?"
Zhu Zhuqing gasped and leaned her head back, keeping her distance from Nine-Section Jade.
Dai Jinge laughed. "Don't worry. We took the octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot to temper our bodies earlier. We're completely immune to this snake's venom."
Embarrassed and annoyed, Zhu Zhuqing raised her hand and punched Dai Jinge's shoulder. "You! You were scaring me!"
Dai Jinge couldn't help laughing, then put Nine-Section Jade away separately.
After quite some time, Dai Jinge finally finished sorting all the heavenly treasures and miscellaneous objects scattered across the ground, packing everything into the Jade-Green Brocade Pouch.
Dai Jinge held the Lovesick Heartbreak Red and examined it, saying with feeling, "Zhu Zhuqing, this immortal herb is called Lovesick Heartbreak Red. To make it bloom, you have to think of the person you love most and spit a mouthful of blood onto it."
"If your heart wavers in the slightest, even if you spit blood until you die, you won't make it bloom or cause this Black Jade Stone to fall away."
Zhu Zhuqing exclaimed in surprise, "This flower is actually that miraculous!"
"It's only a legend..."
Dai Jinge suddenly took one of Zhu Zhuqing's hands in his. Sincerity shone in his double-pupiled eyes as he said, "Zhu Zhuqing, how about we each spit a mouthful of blood onto it and see what happens?"
"Sure!"
Zhu Zhuqing agreed without giving it much thought. She circulated her soul power to stir her blood, parted her cherry-red lips, and spat a mouthful of heart's blood onto the petals of the Lovesick Heartbreak Red.
Dai Jinge likewise circulated his soul power, stirring the blood within him before opening his mouth and spitting out fresh blood.
For a moment, each saw the other's figure in their mind, along with all the little moments they had shared over these past days.
With both their blood staining the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, a wondrous phenomenon suddenly arose. The Black Jade Stone at its roots fell away on its own, and its petals unfurled layer upon layer.
A brilliant scarlet glow enveloped them both. The Lovesick Heartbreak Red split in two and actually merged into Dai Jinge's and Zhu Zhuqing's bodies of its own accord.
In an instant, the same aura emanated from both of them. As those auras fused, the phantom of a Hell White Tiger with a terrifying presence appeared behind them.
Dai Jinge and Zhu Zhuqing slowly opened their eyes, each immediately seeing the other.
Zhu Zhuqing blinked, her expression excited. "Jinge, I have such a strange feeling in my heart. It's as though... I can sense you."
Dai Jinge nodded repeatedly. "I feel the same way."
They looked up in astonishment at the phantom Hell White Tiger, eight meters long and two meters tall.
Zhu Zhuqing exclaimed, "We actually made the Hell White Tiger appear just by merging our auras."
Dai Jinge said with feeling, "The compatibility between our martial souls may have reached its peak."
The benefits they gained from receiving the Lovesick Heartbreak Red's recognition together left him utterly astonished.
It truly lived up to its name as a divine treasure, the king of flowers.
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