"Is... is what you said true?" The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass's voice trembled with incredulous delight. "You're willing to give us life force... without taking all of us away?"
"Yes." Xu Jingyao nodded, slowly drawing in the green glow in his palm. Yet the gentle aura of life still lingered on the stone ridge, making the surrounding immortal herbs feel warm all over. "Keep growing here. It's good for you, and it benefits me too. The longer you absorb energy from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring, the higher the quality of your essence. I don't kill the hen to get its eggs."
The Infernal Delicate Apricot's consciousness was the first to react.
Its stem suddenly bent downward, its petals touching the stone. A crimson ball of light welled out of its heart, churning with fire energy of the utmost purity.
After leaving the flower's heart, the ball of light slowly rose and hovered before Xu Jingyao, its scorching aura baking the surrounding air until it warped slightly.
"My lord, this is my fire origin. Please accept it." The Infernal Delicate Apricot's voice was light with relief. "I only need a wisp of your life force... just one wisp... to replenish my origin completely!"
Xu Jingyao reached out and laid his palm over the crimson ball of light.
The moment it touched his skin, it melted into him, flowing along the meridians in his arm into his dantian.
A surge of scorching energy circulated through his body. The Destruction Core gently enveloped it, and it settled into quiet dormancy, like a tamed beast.
At the same time, a thread of emerald light seeped from his palm and sank into the Infernal Delicate Apricot's stem.
The entire immortal herb shuddered. The golden flames on its petals suddenly flared, then slowly subsided, more substantial and gentler than before.
Its flower bud closed a little, but its aura was noticeably purer than before.
"Thank you, my lord! Thank you, my lord!" The Infernal Delicate Apricot's voice brimmed with joy, its stem swaying lightly as though it were dancing.
The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass followed close behind.
An ice-blue bead the size of a thumb formed at the center of its leaves. It was translucent throughout, with a constantly swirling current of cold sealed inside.
The bead left its leaves and hovered before Xu Jingyao, radiating a chill that coated the surrounding ground in a thin layer of frost.
"My lord, this is my ice origin."
Xu Jingyao took the ice bead. The same scorching heat and gentle warmth circulated through his body at once. The cold current flowed into his dantian, where the Life Divine Core gently enveloped it, and it settled into quiet dormancy.
A green thread sank into the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass's roots. Its leaves abruptly unfurled, the silver frost growing thicker on their ice-blue surfaces. The ice beads gathered at their tips grew a size larger, their sheen even colder and sharper.
"Many thanks, my lord!"
Then came the Aromatic Silk Beauty.
The king of immortal herbs' petals trembled gently. The dewdrop at its heart slowly rose, turning into a golden bead in midair. A gentle yet intricate energy flowed within it, as though the vitality of an entire garden had been condensed inside.
The bead hovered before Xu Jingyao, giving off a faint fragrance that refreshed the mind and lifted the spirit.
"My lord, this is my immortal herb origin. Please accept it." The Aromatic Silk Beauty spoke at an unhurried pace, with a composure befitting its status as the king of immortal herbs. "My origin is rather special. It can command all immortal herbs. Once you accept it, you can use this wisp of origin to communicate with any immortal herb you encounter on the Douluo Continent."
Xu Jingyao took the golden bead. The instant it entered his body, he felt a faint light flare deep within his Sea of Consciousness.
The Golden Tree's origin quivered gently, as though responding to something.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual form also poked out to take a look, his feelers swaying gently. He was clearly quite curious about the bead.
A green thread sank into the Aromatic Silk Beauty's roots. Its golden petals spread wider, and another dewdrop formed at its heart, clearer and more translucent than before.
"Many thanks, my lord."
Next was the Aromatic Silk Beauty.
This immortal herb grew at the foot of the stone wall at the very edge of the clearing. Pale purple all over, it had tiny, star-like flowers and gave off a faint, elusive fragrance that invigorated the mind.
Its consciousness was weaker than those of the other immortal herbs, as though something had depleted its origin and it had never fully recovered.
"My lord..." The Aromatic Silk Beauty's voice was very soft, carrying a trace of hesitation. "My origin has been depleted too much. The essence I can offer in exchange may not be as good as that of the other immortal herbs..."
Xu Jingyao turned his head to glance at it, walked over, crouched down, and pressed his palm against the soil around its roots.
This time, he did not restrain the life force in his palm. A rich thread of emerald light surged out and sank straight into the Aromatic Silk Beauty's roots.
The entire pale-purple immortal herb shuddered. Its tiny flowers burst into bloom, and its formerly drooping stems and leaves straightened section by section. Its color slowly deepened from pale purple to a richer violet.
"I'll replenish the origin you've lost directly." Xu Jingyao stood up and withdrew his hand, looking at the visibly more vigorous Aromatic Silk Beauty. "You don't need to give me any essence. Once you've recovered, just condense your immunity to all poisons into a seed for me."
The Aromatic Silk Beauty's flowers trembled gently. Tiny dewdrops formed on its delicate purple petals, glistening in that narrow shaft of daylight.
Its consciousness trembled violently, its voice choked with sobs it could not suppress.
"My lord... I... I'll definitely condense the very best seed for you..."
Xu Jingyao smiled, turned, and returned to the stone ridge.
He looked around at the immortal herbs that were still trembling faintly, drew the fan from his waist, and tapped it lightly against his palm.
"All right, that's enough trading for today. Keep growing. I'll come again after a while, and we'll trade again then."
The immortal herbs' consciousnesses all bowed low, as though paying their respects.
Their low humming gradually subsided, and the clearing grew quiet again. Only the faint clinking of ice crystals in the Cold Spring and the bubbling pops of bursting bubbles in the Hot Spring remained.
Xu Jingyao stepped down from the stone ridge at an unhurried pace.
His dantian now held a crimson mass of fire origin, an ice-blue mass of ice origin, a golden bead of immortal herb origin, and a wisp of the Aromatic Silk Beauty's pale-purple aura.
The four powers lay quietly dormant around the Life Divine Core and the Destruction Core, maintaining a delicate balance among themselves.
When he reached the edge of the clearing, Shadow Douluo flashed out of the shadows of the stone wall. Droplets of mist clung to his gray robes, and his expression revealed nothing. But his gaze swept over Xu Jingyao, and only after seeing that he was unharmed did he let out a slight breath of relief.
"Pavilion Master, those immortal herbs..."
"Yes, I gave them a few things and got a few things in exchange." Xu Jingyao tucked his fan back at his waist and glanced back at the clearing.
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