Huo Yuhao's Temptation

Huo Yuhao's Temptation

He naturally could not miss the opportunity to obtain a sub-fire of Strange Fire. Huo Yuhao chose the third option without hesitation. After all, the Immortal Herbs within the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well together constituted an absolutely enormous opportunity.

If this passive effect happened to activate, and Huo Yuhao had a little more luck on his side and obtained the remnant souls of the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King, it would be a heaven-defying stroke of fortune.

Correspondingly, he would then obtain a sub-fire of Strange Fire that ranked higher on the Heavenly Flame Ranking and possessed greater overall quality.

"Yuhao, my Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison and the poisonous mist released by the Jade Phosphor Seven Absolute Flowers can be considered to come from the same lineage. However, the poison it contains is more concentrated and far more toxic."

Dugu Luo possessed a certain degree of resistance to the poisonous mist released by the Jade Phosphor Seven Absolute Flowers.

"I can remain within the poisonous barrier for a while. What about you, Yuhao?"

With a thought from Huo Yuhao, pale white flames swiftly spread across his body. "Don't worry, Sister Dugu. This poisonous mist can't hurt me."

The gray-green mist within the poisonous barrier instantly turned into wisps of smoke upon touching the thin membrane of Bone Spirit Cold Fire surrounding Huo Yuhao's body. Even the space within several centimeters of him became much clearer.

However, with their current strength, the two of them could not pose enough of a threat to the Immortal Herbs.

Even if they successfully entered the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, it would be difficult to have a friendly conversation with them.

Thus, Huo Yuhao and Dugu Luo began scouting the area, circling around the regions near the poisonous barrier and marking them on the map.

Several hours later, Dugu Luo had finished making detailed annotations of the surrounding terrain on the map. She asked happily, "Yuhao, when should we come back?"

Huo Yuhao smiled but did not answer directly. Instead, he simulated a Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus.

"To be safe, we'll enter the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well once my Fire Lotus has one or two more colors. That will show our friendliness to the greatest possible extent."

Dugu Luo blinked. "You mean the more colors the Fire Lotus has, the stronger it becomes?"

Huo Yuhao nodded with a smile. "You can understand it that way."

Afterward, Dugu Luo listened to Huo Yuhao's brief description of the Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus's destructive power and began making a series of associations. The corners of her lips gradually curved upward.

As long as the Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus was powerful enough, it could help them keep their arrogance and impatience in check.

Surely the Immortal Herbs would follow their hearts and have a calmer, more productive conversation with Huo Yuhao.

By the time they finished scouting the area around the poisonous barrier of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, it was already evening.

After defeating the Cave Demon Spider earlier, Huo Yuhao had used Simulation to make himself and Dugu Luo invisible while also simulating identical "Huo Yuhao" and "Dugu Luo" heading in other directions.

He did it for no other reason than caution. Pure, steady caution.

Xu Sheng, who had intended to secretly protect Huo Yuhao and Dugu Luo from behind, was quite puzzled.

"Xuan Ziwen, didn't those Soul Guidance Glasses you made have exceptionally sharp scanning and sensing abilities toward Mental Power? How did we lose them?"

White light flickered across Xuan Ziwen's glasses. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly laughed. "It seems that the little fellow's invisibility Soul Skill has other special effects as well."

"Halfway through following them, my Spirit-Identifying Glasses were misled by their spiritual bodies, causing us to end up following the spiritual bodies instead."

Xuan Ziwen found himself appreciating Huo Yuhao more and more. Whether it was his cautious nature or those special Mental Attribute Soul Skills, they both seemed tailor-made for Soul Tools.

"Hey, Xuan Ziwen, look."

Xu Sheng vaguely spotted two figures within the poisonous mist and patted Xuan Ziwen's arm. "They're out. It doesn't look like they encountered any danger."

Several hours later, the sky had darkened. Huo Yuhao and Dugu Luo emerged from the poisonous mist, cleared out a patch of ground, and set up their tent.

The air outside the poisonous mist was much fresher. The lush green trees of the surrounding forest carried a somewhat vibrant atmosphere, allowing one to sense a trace of Life Aura.

Outside the tent, Huo Yuhao took out a Pill Furnace.

"Yuhao, are you preparing to refine pills? See if any of these herbs can be used."

With curiosity and delight on her face, Dugu Luo pulled out a large handful of herbs from her Storage Soul Guidance Device.

There were all kinds of them: common precious medicinal herbs resembling ginseng and lingzhi, as well as foxtail grass and wild chrysanthemums picked from the roadside.

Huo Yuhao glanced at them and could not help sighing over how hard Dugu Luo had worked to find a way to survive on her own.

"Most of these herbs can be used. Just wash them clean."

He then released cold air and condensed it into an Ice Cabinet. With a thought, the cabinet filled with water melted from ice, which looked exceptionally clear and clean.

Hearing that the herbs she had collected had not been gathered in vain, Dugu Luo said happily, "Yuhao, your sister here was amazing when she was little. I could run through mountains and forests like the wind when I was only five or six."

"After awakening my Martial Soul, I tried countless herbs to suppress the poison in my body. I wasn't afraid of poisonous herbs anyway. No poison could be worse than Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison."

As she spoke, Dugu Luo carried the pile of herbs to the Ice Cabinet full of water and carefully cleaned them.

Huo Yuhao released Purple Fire and began refining pills. He intended to make some Soul Return Pills and Antidote Pills.

Several batches of herbs had been sorted in advance according to their medicinal properties. Lifted by Soul Power, they were placed into the Pill Furnace one after another. Then, Purple Fire surged within the furnace.

As the herbs were continuously tossed and turned, waves of pill fragrance drifted from the Pill Furnace. A single breath of it felt as though one might ascend to immortality.

Dugu Luo's jade eyes were half nervous and half expectant. Although the Antidote Pills would break down the poison in her body that was tied to her combat strength—

Compared to escaping the life-threatening danger of a poison outbreak, losing a little was nothing.

Nearly two hours later, a clanging sound rang out, followed by waves of refreshing fragrance.

Previously, Huo Yuhao had needed Old Yi's cooperation to infuse the Life Aura of the Mark of Life into the pills. After reaching the second ring, he could now accomplish it on his own.

With a thought from Huo Yuhao, several green pills flew out under the guidance of Soul Power.

"Sister Dugu, this is my first time refining Antidote Pills, so I don't know how effective they are. Give one a try."

Huo Yuhao wrapped a pill in Soul Power and controlled it as it slowly flew toward Dugu Luo.

"Mhm, thank you, Yuhao." Dugu Luo caught the green pill.

"It's nothing. Finding the location of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well this time will actually be a great help to my future."

Huo Yuhao responded before continuing to refine pills. The supply of Soul Return Pills had to be constantly replenished. After all, these pills were even more outrageous than Milk Bottles.

After swallowing the pill, Dugu Luo could clearly feel her entire body becoming lighter. The accumulated deadly toxins within her seemed to have encountered a nemesis, and a portion was neutralized by the medicinal effects of the Antidote Pill.

She let out a breath. In the short term, one Antidote Pill was enough.

When the toxins accumulated from cultivating her Martial Soul reached a level she could no longer endure, she could take another Antidote Pill. However, compared to before, her cultivation speed would certainly slow down.

"Xuan Ziwen, what am I seeing? That little brother is actually refining pills himself. If he had been born in Sun Moon, I'd suspect he emerged in response to Sun Moon's culture of everyone taking pills."

Xu Sheng found it unbelievable.

Then he remembered Xuan Ziwen's origins and gave a light cough.

"Ahem, you don't seem to be a native of Sun Moon either. But none of that matters. As long as you came to Sun Moon and received better opportunities for development, that's enough."

Xuan Ziwen paid no attention to his words. He was watching Huo Yuhao refine pills with utmost concentration.

"The pills he refines seem to be an entirely different kind from ours. Their medicinal properties are utilized nearly perfectly, and I can't sense any drawbacks."

Xuan Ziwen suddenly understood why pills could differ so greatly in quality.

He felt that he was seeing Huo Yuhao less and less clearly. Earlier, Huo Yuhao had released a Fire Lotus whose power far exceeded that of Soul Masters at the same level, and just now he had condensed an Ice Cabinet with a wave of his hand.

What amazed him even more was that the other party actually possessed a peculiar Alchemy Art. This was far beyond the limits of his understanding.

Faced with Huo Yuhao's temptation—

Xuan Ziwen's desire to nurture talent could no longer be restrained. It would be an enormous pity if such a genius were not trained by him.

Perhaps one day in the future, the master and disciple could achieve a major breakthrough in the Soul Guidance field and bring Soul Guidance technology another step forward.

They might develop Soul Guidance technology several generations ahead of the Three Douluo Kingdoms.

Huo Yuhao was concentrating on refining pills when a gentle voice suddenly sounded.

"Little fellow, are your pills for sale?"

A refined-looking man wearing glasses approached alongside another man who was tall and thin yet possessed a steady demeanor. They were Xuan Ziwen and Xu Sheng.

With a highly infectious, friendly smile on his face, Xuan Ziwen asked Huo Yuhao before taking the initiative to introduce himself and reveal his identity.

"Little fellow, don't be afraid. My name is Xuan Ziwen. I'm a senior researcher at Mingde Hall of the Sun Moon Empire, and also an instructor at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy."

"His name is Xu Sheng. His position is the same as mine."

Xuan Ziwen? Huo Yuhao was suddenly stunned. What a strange coincidence—he had actually encountered this scientific research giant in Sunset Forest of the Heaven Dou Empire.

After thinking for several seconds without reaching any conclusion, he smiled and replied politely, "Hello, Teachers. I do sell these Antidote Pills. Their effect is to neutralize most ordinary poisons. You can decide on the price yourselves."

For the time being, Huo Yuhao did not intend to sell Soul Return Pills. They restored Soul Power without any side effects.

Within the current pill system of Douluo, which was practically a complete mess, they would ultimately be an overwhelming advantage.

If Xuan Ziwen learned of the Soul Return Pill's effects and connected them with the Advanced Milk Bottles he had painstakingly researched, he would surely fall into deep self-doubt and suffer a severe blow.

Pointing at the Soul Return Pills, Xu Sheng asked with a chuckle, "Little brother, aren't you selling those pills?"

Huo Yuhao considered it briefly. "Those pills are still in the experimental stage and have serious side effects. My principles do not allow me to sell them."

Xu Sheng wore an expression that said, You little rascal, you're not being honest. He had just seen Huo Yuhao occasionally pop a Soul Return Pill into his mouth.

Xuan Ziwen smiled gently and said unhurriedly, "I once heard that in the former Three Douluo Kingdoms, a single Mystic Water Pill was worth a fortune."

"However, they cannot be sold for such a high price in the Sun Moon Empire. Depending on their quality and effects, Antidote Pills range in market price from one Silver Soul Coin to one hundred Gold Soul Coins."

"Little fellow, I'll buy one of your Antidote Pills for the highest price of one hundred Gold Soul Coins. How about it?"

Huo Yuhao nodded. "Alright."

He then took out a Porcelain White Bottle, placed an Antidote Pill inside, and handed it to Xuan Ziwen.

As Xuan Ziwen accepted the Porcelain White Bottle, he took out a small bag of Gold Soul Coins and gave it to Huo Yuhao.

Since other people had arrived, Huo Yuhao stopped refining pills and put away the Pill Furnace.

"Well then, Teachers, please make yourselves at home."

Huo Yuhao walked over to Dugu Luo. "We're getting ready to rest."

As he spoke, he and Dugu Luo prepared to crawl into the tent. After scouting the location of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well today, they truly were rather tired.

As for Xuan Ziwen's purpose, he did not think too much about it. After all, in the Original Work, this man was considered a fairly upright character. He had great talent for researching Soul Guidance technology and did not have many flaws.

"Wait, little fellow." Xuan Ziwen called out to Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao turned back with a polite smile. "Is there anything else, Teacher Xuan?"

"I see that the two of you came to Sunset Forest without any adults or teachers accompanying you..."

Because Huo Yuhao knew Xuan Ziwen's character from the Original Work, and because Xuan Ziwen had already introduced himself, he did not conceal anything.

"My name is Huo Yuhao, and I'm from the Star Luo Empire. My mother was killed by a noblewoman, and now I'm the only one left in my family."

Xuan Ziwen had not expected that answer and froze for a moment.

What had originally been a fairly harmonious topic seemed to have reached an impasse.

Xuan Ziwen felt deeply apologetic. "I'm sorry, Yuhao. I didn't mean to reopen your wounds."

Huo Yuhao shook his head without saying anything.

Tang Ya: ? No one mentioned me, right?

Xuan Ziwen had not gotten the key details about Huo Yuhao's experiences. He was considering how to speak and gain a more accurate assessment and understanding of him.

At that moment, Xu Sheng, standing beside him, asked, "Yuhao, do you have any plans for the future? For example, becoming a powerful Soul Master and avenging your mother?"

Huo Yuhao answered without hesitation, "That is one of my goals. I want revenge—for my mother!"

Xuan Ziwen patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder. "Yuhao, are you currently studying at any academy?"

"If not, can you tell your teacher what your Martial Soul is? Perhaps I can recommend you to my academy. It's a very good academy."

Huo Yuhao understood something. These two seemed to want to draw him to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, so he explained his situation to see how they would react.

"I haven't entered an academy to study yet."

"As for my Martial Soul, it is an Original Martial Soul with a Mental Attribute—the Spirit Eyes, which mutated from my eyes."

Although he had already guessed it, hearing the two key phrases, Mental Attribute and Original Martial Soul, still sent considerable waves through Xuan Ziwen's heart.

Xu Sheng nearly failed to restrain himself from crushing the Porcelain White Bottle in his hand.

An Eye Martial Soul! A top-tier Mental Attribute Original Martial Soul!

"Yuhao, are you willing to study at our Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy? With the uniquely blessed advantages of your Martial Soul, you will absolutely be able to bring out your potential to the fullest at our academy."

Xuan Ziwen looked at Dugu Luo with a smile. "Of course, your friend beside you can also study at our Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy."