The return journey
Absorbing a third soul ring beyond his level had brought Lu Yang's soul power straight to rank thirty-two. After refining the singular velvet sky chrysanthemum, his soul power had risen another five ranks. With his current physique, his cultivation speed had also improved considerably. Although he still could not achieve the fivefold cultivation speed he had enjoyed before rank thirty, he could now match an ordinary soul master's cultivation speed under the sun, or even exceed it slightly.
Judging by that, gaining three ranks of soul power a year should not have been too difficult for him. That answer, however, left Dugu Yan momentarily stunned.
After taking the earth dragon golden melon, Dugu Yan's soul power had reached rank thirty-six. She had thought she could put some distance between herself and Lu Yang. Who would have thought that she still had not caught up to him?
But remembering that she had given him the immortal herb herself, Dugu Yan pursed her lips. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have given it to you."
"Hahaha!" Beside them, Dugu Bo burst out laughing at her words. Now that both his and Dugu Yan's problems had been resolved, he was naturally in excellent spirits.
Not only did he not mind Dugu Yan giving away an immortal herb, he thought nothing of her sulking now, either. It was all just children fooling around. He could leave them to sort it out themselves.
In truth, Dugu Bo had genuinely wanted to win Lu Yang over. However, after learning from Ye Qingling that Lu Yang had been sent to study with the Ye Family through Crown Prince Xue Qinghe's connections, he had abandoned the idea. After all, his ties to Prince Xue Xing put him on the opposite side from Xue Qinghe.
Still, while Lu Yang could not take all the credit for helping him and Dugu Yan survive their life-threatening crisis, his contribution had certainly been substantial. Ye Qingling had also said that without Lu Yang's reminder, she would never have thought of the things recorded in the illustrated tome passed down through her family, and would not have accompanied Dugu Bo to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Thus, Dugu Bo felt that his relationship with Prince Xue Xing should not become shackles binding Dugu Yan. He also thought Lu Yang was far from ordinary and might one day rise higher than he himself had. Having Dugu Yan befriend him was hardly a bad thing.
At least in Dugu Bo's eyes, Lu Yang was much better than Yu Tianheng, the boy at Heaven Dou Royal Academy who was always pestering his granddaughter.
Of course, Lu Yang and the others did not hurry back to Heaven Dou City. Instead, they stayed overnight at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Fortunately, they were all soul masters and could spend the night meditating. Moreover, in a treasure land like the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, meditation was more effective. With the surrounding poison barrier keeping soul beasts out, there were no safety concerns, either.
Dugu Bo also took advantage of the free time to go out and bring back a plant-type soul beast of a suitable age for Ye Lingling's third soul ring. After refining the aromatic silk beauty, Ye Lingling's soul power had also broken through rank thirty. Compared with Lu Yang and Dugu Yan, however, she still lagged behind.
"Oh, right, Sister Yanzi, what happened to my senior sister's martial soul? Did it evolve?" Watching Ye Lingling absorb her soul ring, Lu Yang finally remembered to ask about her martial soul.
"Of course it did, but its evolution doesn't seem quite complete," Dugu Yan said.
"Lingling's nine heart begonia originally had only nine petals. After she took the aromatic silk beauty, her martial soul grew a tenth petal. But the new petal looks a little insubstantial, so Grandpa and Aunt Qingling think the evolution might be incomplete, or that Lingling hasn't fully refined the medicinal power yet. They'll have to observe it a little longer before reaching a conclusion."
Lu Yang nodded at Dugu Yan's explanation. He could not be certain of Ye Lingling's condition now, either, but since the aromatic silk beauty had worked, that was a good thing.
As for whether the limitations of the nine heart begonia could be broken, Lu Yang could not be sure. If even an immortal herb could not help Ye Lingling's martial soul break free of its shackles, he could simply help her find another way in the future.
Without realizing it, Lu Yang's outlook had quietly begun to change. Once, he truly had not thought much of the Douluo Continent. Compared with the convenient, secure life of his previous world, the Douluo Continent really was a realm of human suffering.
Yet as time passed, Lu Yang found that his ties to the Douluo Continent seemed to be growing ever stronger. Whether it was Windbreath Village, where he had been raised, or the friends he had now made, such as Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan, they were all important influences subtly changing his outlook.
Qian Renxue, however, held a somewhat different place in Lu Yang's heart. He knew perfectly well that she had sent She Long to bring him back from Nuoding City to recruit him into her service. Although their current interactions might look like those of friends, that was not truly the case.
Qian Renxue had maintained her haughty attitude from beginning to end, and that was something Lu Yang disliked. He was neither a fool blinded by romance nor a slavish admirer. He would not chase after her simply because she was beautiful.
Thus, when planning to obtain the immortal herbs, he had not considered Qian Renxue. If their relationship changed in the future, he might help her acquire an immortal herb to improve her strength. For now, however, he had no intention of doing so.
After taking the singular velvet sky chrysanthemum to improve his physique and confirming that this could alleviate the slowdown in his soul power growth, Lu Yang's next task was to keep finding ways to strengthen his body. Whale rubber from beasts under five thousand years old now had little effect on him, while whale rubber from beasts older than five thousand years was rare even in a place like Heaven Dou City. If he wanted to keep experimenting with whale rubber, he might have to make a trip to a coastal city.
Nor had Lu Yang forgotten the benefits soul masters gained from absorbing soul rings beyond their level. His fourth soul ring had to be at least ten thousand years old. However, absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring required enduring Soul Shock, and he was unsure whether his spiritual power could withstand it. Thus, another immortal herb at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, was also one of his targets.
However, he had already taken a singular velvet sky chrysanthemum and felt too embarrassed to ask Dugu Bo for the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew now. He could only wait for another opportunity. Still, his soul power was only at rank thirty-seven, so he had time and did not need to rush.
The next day, after getting everything ready, the group prepared to leave the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and return to Heaven Dou City.
Before leaving, however, Lu Yang and Dugu Yan glanced back at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well several times.
Seeing this, Dugu Bo chuckled beside them. "You two little rascals have taken a fancy to this old man's herb garden, haven't you? If you want to visit in the future, I'll bring you."
"Grandpa, you said it yourself!" Dugu Yan was delighted. Cultivating at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, she could clearly feel her soul power growing much faster. Naturally, she wanted to come often.
"As long as you don't wreck your grandpa's herb garden." Dugu Bo waved a hand irritably. How could he not know what his own granddaughter was like?
"Tch, won't this whole place be mine someday anyway?" Dugu Yan pursed her lips and muttered unhappily.
"Tsk." Dugu Bo clicked his tongue. He stared at Dugu Yan for a long while, silently repeating to himself several times, She's my own granddaughter. I can't hit her, and I can't scold her. Only then did he suppress the urge to raise his hand.