The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well

Deep in Sunset Forest lay a valley shrouded in thick mist.

Waves of heat and cold surged in turns. Two springs, one crimson and one blue, curled around each other without mingling.

This was the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

The moment Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) stepped into the valley, he stopped.

"Someone's here."

Qian Daoliu frowned, sensing a powerful yet chaotic Soul Power fluctuation. But he did not immediately emerge from hiding. He wanted to see what other surprises his granddaughter could give him.

Deep in the valley, an old man with green hair sat cross-legged beside the springs, his face withered.

Beside him stood a girl of eleven or twelve, her face pale as paper and her lips an unnatural shade of blue-purple.

Dugu Bo, a Level 92 Titled Douluo, the Poison Douluo.

His granddaughter, Dugu Yan, suffered from Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison, sharing her grandfather's affliction.

Cheng Ran saw through it at a glance.

Qian Renxue asked in confusion within their mind, Lord Evil God, what are they doing?

Cheng Ran: Waiting for you to save them.

Qian Renxue: *?*

Cheng Ran: Come on. Time to go through the motions.

"Dugu Bo," Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) said.

The green-haired old man's eyes snapped open. "Who are you? How did you find this place?"

The oppressive aura of a Titled Douluo erupted instantly.

Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) did not budge and spoke calmly.

"Your Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison backfires on you every full moon, making every meridian in your body feel as though it's being stabbed with needles and throwing your Soul Power into chaos. As for your granddaughter, Dugu Yan, the poison has already begun eroding her meridians. Though she hasn't noticed it herself, if left unchecked, she'll follow in your footsteps within ten years."

Dugu Bo's pupils contracted sharply. "How do you know?"

"Because I read a detailed account of your condition in an ancient book. I know how to cure it."

Cheng Ran added inwardly, Strictly speaking, I'm not lying to you. It's just that the book was called Douluo Continent.

Dugu Bo shuddered.

He had traveled all across the Douluo Continent, seeking out renowned physicians, yet none could cure the backlash of his Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison.

And this girl before him, who looked only fifteen or sixteen, had identified the root of his illness at a glance?

"Little girl, I've roamed the Douluo Continent for decades. I've met more so-called miracle doctors than you've eaten meals."

Dugu Bo sneered. "Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison is one of the world's extraordinary poisons. Even I can do nothing about it. What makes a little fledgling like you think you can cure it?"

Qian Renxue: Lord Evil God, he's laughing at you.

Cheng Ran: Let's see whether he can still laugh in a moment.

Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) did not answer, walking straight toward the springheads of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Dugu Bo frowned deeply but did not stop him.

He wanted to see just what this girl intended to do.

Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) crouched and parted a clump of seemingly ordinary weeds beside a springhead, revealing an ice-blue immortal herb that radiated cold.

"Octagonal mysterious ice grass," Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) said casually. "An object of utmost cold. It grows within three feet of the cold springhead of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, nourished by the cold spring's spiritual energy.

"You mustn't touch it barehanded when harvesting it. Wrap its roots in Soul Power and lift it out with the surrounding soil. Otherwise, its cold will lash back and frostbite your meridians."

Dugu Bo's eyelid twitched.

He had stayed here for three months and knew only that unusual flowers and herbs grew around the springheads. He had never noticed this little herb hidden beneath the weeds, much less known its name or how to harvest it.

With deft movements, Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) enveloped its roots in Soul Power. An intact octagonal mysterious ice grass emerged from the soil, ice-blue light flowing over it.

Dugu Bo's mouth twitched slightly. Lucky. She just happened to recognize that one, he thought.

Immediately afterward, Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) turned to the other side and plucked a scarlet immortal herb with flame-like leaves from a crack in the rocks beside the hot springhead.

"Infernal delicate apricot." Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) did not even lift his head. "An object of utmost yang. It grows alongside octagonal mysterious ice grass, one cold and one hot, yin and yang balancing each other.

"This one must be harvested with its stem intact. Fire poison is stored inside the stem. Break its skin and the fire poison will escape, halving its medicinal potency."

Dugu Bo's expression changed.

He had studied this place for three months and could not even name these two herbs, yet this girl named them effortlessly and knew their harvesting methods, medicinal properties, and precautions inside out?

Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) stood, the blue octagonal mysterious ice grass and red infernal delicate apricot setting each other aglow.

She looked at Dugu Bo. "There are two ways to cure your Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison."

"First, consume these two immortal herbs together and use their extreme cold and heat to counteract the poison. This will detoxify you quickly, but the price is the complete dissipation of your Soul Power, reducing you to an ordinary person."

Dugu Bo's expression changed abruptly. His cultivation was his very lifeblood.

"Second, use your own Soul Bone as a vessel and gradually force the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison inside your body into it for storage, purifying your body. This method costs neither Soul Power nor cultivation, but takes longer, roughly half a year. You'll need specific medicinal herbs to assist you during that time."

Dugu Bo shuddered. The second method was practically tailor-made for him. He happened to have a Soul Bone in his body.

Cheng Ran laughed inwardly. This was exactly the trick Tang San used in the original.

Saying that consuming both herbs would destroy his Soul Power scared Dugu Bo out of choosing the first option.

In truth, anyone who gave it a little thought would realize: if they destroyed Soul Power, would Tang San have eaten them himself?

Give someone two choices, one terrifying and the other acceptable, and he would obediently choose the one you found acceptable, even thinking you had shown him the utmost benevolence.

At its core, this was a psychological game.

For example, suppose that besides Qian Renxue, his first believer, the Evil God wanted to take Bibi Dong, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, Hu Liena, Bo Saixi, Ah Yin, Bai Chenxiang, Liu Erlong, and Dugu Yan as nine more believers, but Qian Renxue objected.

The Evil God said, "Two choices. First, I take all nine girls as alternate identities."

Qian Renxue expressed strong objections.

The Evil God continued, "Second, you help me pick three of them."

Then, by comparison, Qian Renxue reluctantly accepted. "Fine, I choose..."

Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) continued evenly, "As for your granddaughter, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison is still lying dormant in her meridians and hasn't damaged her foundation. She doesn't need a Soul Bone. A medicine prepared with water from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well can clear it in seven days."

Dugu Bo opened his mouth but could not find any words for a moment.

He had spent three months keeping watch over the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, thinking day and night about how to cure the poison, without finding a single lead.

This girl had been here less than three minutes and already had a prescription?

Ignoring Dugu Bo's shock, Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) continued deeper into the valley.

"Lord Evil God, what else are you going to pick?" Qian Renxue asked within their mind.

Cheng Ran: There are too many good things here. Since we've come, of course we're going to strip it clean.

Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) stopped before an immortal flower emitting a faint purple glow.

"This one is called aromatic silk beauty." Cheng Ran spoke calmly, seemingly giving Dugu Bo a lesson in passing. "The king of all herbs, the bane of every poison. Its fragrance wards off all manner of poisons. Wear a petal on your person and ordinary poisonous things won't be able to approach you."

He harvested it.

He kept walking.

"Singular velvet sky chrysanthemum." A glittering golden chrysanthemum was pulled up by the roots. "Unblocks the meridians, strengthens qi and blood, prolongs life and increases vitality. Exceptionally effective against old injuries and chronic ailments."

"Narcissus jade muscle bone." An immortal herb with a jade-like body was lifted out, its roots and stem white as snow, its leaves translucent as emerald, giving off a gentle, moist vapor. "Nourishes the skin and replenishes the bones, remakes the body down to its very bones, and greatly improves physical strength and flexibility."

"Cockscomb phoenix sunflower." An immortal flower shaped like a cockscomb, scarlet all over like a phoenix undergoing rebirth, was plucked. "Purifies fire-attribute Soul Power and impurities in flames, with a chance of inducing evolution in a fire-attribute Martial Soul."

"Nine-grade purple ganoderma." A purple ganoderma emerged from the soil, its nine caps stacked like a pagoda, releasing a rich medicinal fragrance. "Strengthens the foundation and nourishes the essence, boosts qi and increases power, and may help someone break through a cultivation bottleneck."

"Aromatic silk beauty." A magnificent golden tulip was carefully plucked, its petals smooth as silk, radiating a rich, treasure-like aura. "Absorbs the essence of heaven and earth and the radiance of the sun and moon. It can break a Martial Soul's innate shackles and surpass its growth limit. It has an evolutionary effect on treasure-type Martial Souls."

"Eight-petal immortal orchid."

With every name announced, Dugu Bo's expression changed a little more.

He considered himself a grandmaster of poison, able to enumerate the world's plants and poisonous things like his own family treasures, yet he had never even heard of these immortal herbs before him.

No, he had seen a few of them.

In tattered pages of ancient books, in scattered fragments of legends.

Immortal herbs that existed only in ancient texts were being pulled out by this girl as though she were yanking up radishes.

Dugu Bo's granddaughter, Dugu Yan, tugged on his sleeve and whispered, "Grandpa, she seems to recognize everything..."

Dugu Bo fell silent.

He watched Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) weave among the immortal herbs like flowing clouds and running water. Such practiced techniques and profound knowledge of medicine were far beyond what a fifteen-year-old girl should possess.

"Impossible," Dugu Bo murmured. "Even I don't know these immortal herbs' names. She's just a little girl from Spirit Hall..."

Qian Renxue was equally awestruck within their mind. How do you recognize every kind of herb?

Cheng Ran: Can you call yourself a veteran player if you don't recognize the treasure chests on the map?

Qian Renxue: *...*

At last, Dugu Bo could no longer hold back. "Wait!"

Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) stopped and looked back at him.

Dugu Bo stared fixedly at those immortal herbs, his voice trembling slightly. "That prescription you just mentioned-are you certain it can cure Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison?"

Cheng Ran (Qian Renxue) smiled faintly. "Believe me or not. It's up to you."

Dugu Bo froze.

"Dugu Bo, you don't have to believe me. But the poison in your granddaughter is still shallow. This is the best time to eradicate it. Once it fully merges with her meridians, it will be too late."

Dugu Bo shuddered and instinctively looked at Dugu Yan beside him.

Dugu Yan's lips had a faint bluish tinge, and her little hands were icy cold. She was completely unaware of it herself, and Dugu Bo had never noticed these abnormalities in her either.