Xu Jingyao stopped outside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
He turned around.
He faced the churning poisonous fog again.
Shadow Douluo followed behind him. When he saw him stop, he stopped too, without asking any questions.
He had not served this Pavilion Master for very long, but he had already figured out his temperament.
If Xu Jingyao stopped, he had something to do.
Xu Jingyao raised his right hand.
He pressed his palm toward the grayish-white fog.
The ring rested at the base of his finger.
At that moment, the ring personally forged by the God of Destruction began to glow faintly.
A dark purple halo seeped from its face, climbing along the lines of his fingers and covering his entire right hand in a layer of deep purple light.
That purple light was much denser than the protective halo he had used to keep out the poison miasma inside the valley.
So dense that it almost became solid.
The instant the purple light touched the poisonous fog.
The churning grayish-white mist abruptly froze, as though something had seized it by the throat.
Immediately afterward, the entire bank of poisonous fog split from the center toward both sides.
It revealed a wider passage.
A layer of fine purple crystals formed on the walls of fog flanking the passage.
Tiny runes flowed across the crystals' surfaces, flickering on and off.
Xu Jingyao pressed his palm against the ground in the middle of the passage.
The purple light in his palm poured into the soil, spreading along the veins of the earth toward the whole of Sunset Forest.
Those purple patterns flashed across the ground and vanished, as though the soil had swallowed them.
But standing beside him, Shadow Douluo saw clearly that before those patterns sank underground, they had already spread along the rock walls, tree roots, and streams, like an invisible net covering the entire area of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Xu Jingyao withdrew his hand and stood up.
The purple halo faded from his fingertips.
The ring grew dark again, as though sinking into a deep sleep.
He turned around and looked at the poisonous fog as it closed back up.
The instant the mist closed, an extremely faint layer of purple light shimmered along its edges and vanished.
Then the mist returned to its original state, grayish-white and churning, its cloyingly sweet scent spreading once more. It looked no different from before.
"Done."
Xu Jingyao brushed the dirt off his hands, drew the fan from his waist, and tapped it against his palm. "From today onward, no one but me can enter this place."
Shadow Douluo looked at the mist in silence for several breaths.
Finally, he asked, "Pavilion Master, what was that purple light just now?"
"A god-level destruction attribute. And next, I think our target is this place-to turn it into our Sun Moon territory as soon as possible."
Xu Jingyao opened his fan, half concealing his face, and stepped forward. "I tied the entrance to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to my Power of Destruction. From now on, only my aura can open this passage. Anyone else, even a Limit Douluo, will have to stand outside and stare helplessly."
Shadow Douluo nodded and followed him southeast.
After a few steps, he glanced back at the forest again.
The mist churned quietly, no different from before.
But he knew that beneath that seemingly ordinary poisonous fog lay a destruction formation powerful enough to send anyone below a God King retreating with clipped wings.
Of course, what Shadow Douluo did not know was this.
Apart from Xu Jingyao himself, the God of Destruction in the Divine Realm could also open this formation.
After all, that ring was the God of Destruction's Life-Bound Divine Artifact. The divine power within it shared the same source as the God of Destruction, so naturally, the formation held no defenses against him.
But would the God of Destruction make a special trip for a medicinal garden in the lower realm?
Obviously not.
Xu Jingyao understood that perfectly well.
Ultimately, this formation was meant to guard against those who coveted the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well just as he did.
Tang San had already ascended to the Divine Realm, but who could guarantee that he would not glance down on a whim one day?
If he descended to the lower realm, the God of Destruction would certainly notice. As it happened, Xu Jingyao trusted that once the God of Destruction saw the divine power in this thing, he would understand what to do.
Now that the formation had sealed the place, even if Tang San looked down from the Divine Realm, all he would see was a remote forest covered in poisonous fog. He would discover nothing.
He gathered his wandering thoughts.
His steps grew lighter as he followed the path around the outskirts of Sunset Forest toward the northern border of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Shadow Douluo followed behind, his gray figure trailing silently through the afternoon shadows of the trees.
The two traveled southeast at an unhurried pace.
The northern border of the Heaven Dou Empire adjoined the Sun Moon Empire's border.
It was roughly a two-day journey from Sunset Forest.
Xu Jingyao was in no hurry, stopping here and there along the way.
Whenever he saw an interesting town, he went in for a stroll. Whenever he saw a roadside snack stall, he stopped to sample a few bites.
He wore a golden mask and an ordinary fitted blue-green outfit, looking like a young Soul Master traveling far and wide, revealing neither mountain nor water.
By the evening of the third day.
The two entered a border town that was neither large nor small.
The city was called Qingya City, the city on the Heaven Dou Empire's northern border closest to the Sun Moon Empire.
Many merchant caravans and wandering adventurers passed through, and its streets and alleys bustled with activity.
The moment Xu Jingyao entered the city, he caught a rich scent of cooking smoke mingled with spices and the charred fragrance of grilled meat, drifting from deep within the main street.
His eyes lit up.
He tucked his fan at his waist and quickened his steps.
"Shadow Douluo, we're staying here tonight."
Shadow Douluo answered and followed behind.
Watching his Pavilion Master's impatient eagerness, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
Once Xu Jingyao entered the main street, he seemed to become an entirely different person.
He threw the reserve of the Pavilion Master of the Carefree Pavilion, the noble bearing of the Sun Moon Empire's Carefree King, and the pride of a God King's son all to the back of his mind.
He plunged into the crowd, looking this way and that.
When he saw a grilled skewer stall, he went over and ordered two skewers. When he saw someone making sugar paintings, he stood beside them and watched for ages. When he saw a little shop selling local specialty pastries, he pushed the door straight open and ordered a whole tableful.
Shadow Douluo followed behind him.
Before long, his hands were laden with all sorts of food.
Grilled skewers, sugar paintings, pastries wrapped in oiled paper, a jug of the local specialty sour plum drink, and a bag of freshly roasted chestnuts, piping hot and giving off white steam.
"Pavilion Master, please eat a little more slowly."
Shadow Douluo finally could not help saying something.
Xu Jingyao was biting into a skewer of grilled meat, grease glistening at the corners of his mouth. He mumbled, "You don't understand. All these years in Mingdu, I've had to put on an act every day. Even eating a meal, I had to keep up a prince's airs. I rarely get to come out. If I don't try everything I want to eat, I'll feel terribly shortchanged."
He swallowed the meat in his mouth.
Then he went over to a nearby wonton stall, ordered a bowl of fresh pork wontons, carried it over, and squatted on the stone steps beside the road to eat.
The wonton broth had been simmered from bones, rich, milky-white, savory, and fragrant. The wontons had thin wrappers and generous fillings, and one bite filled his mouth with meat juices.
Xu Jingyao's eyes narrowed as he ate. His satisfied expression was no different from that of a teenage boy.
Shadow Douluo stood beside him, carrying seven or eight oiled-paper parcels.
The helplessness on his face slowly softened into something indescribable.
He had followed Xu Jingyao for so long, yet this was the first time he had seen his Pavilion Master so relaxed.
"Pavilion Master."
He sat down on the stone steps beside him, placed the oiled-paper parcels on his knees, and hesitated. "How long has it been since you last wandered around like this?"
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