"Medicinal herbs?"
Although Dugu Xin still had his doubts, if this concerned medicinal herbs, there should be no problem. As long as they stayed close to Long Qianming, they were unlikely to encounter powerful Soul Beasts.
"Qing'er, switch places with me. Stay between the two of us so it'll be easier to retreat if there's danger."
Dugu Xin spoke worriedly, holding Su Qing'er's delicate hand all the while.
"All right!"
Su Qing'er had no objections. Led by Long Qianming, the three ventured deeper into Sunset Forest, step by step. The roars of hundred-year and thousand-year beasts gradually grew more frequent.
Along the way, Long Qianming also asked whether either of them had visited Sunset Forest before. Both shook their heads.
Because of this, Long Qianming could only proceed deeper into the forest with even greater care. According to his recollection, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well should have been near the center of Sunset Forest, in the region inhabited by Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. As for its exact location, he did not know.
Yet he had barely taken a few more steps when Dugu Xin suddenly warned him,
"Brother Ming, about five hundred meters ahead, there are several strange flowers, green all over and growing in an exceptionally bewitching fashion. They're constantly spewing poisonous gas."
Dugu Xin was exceptionally sensitive to poison, but when he focused his spiritual power and extended it toward those strange flowers, he felt both shock and a measure of fear.
"Those are actually Jade Phosphorus Seven-Absolute Flowers, among the most poisonous plants of all. And these flowers always grow in clusters. Where there's one, there will be countless more."
"Jade Phosphorus Seven-Absolute Flowers?"
Hearing the name, Long Qianming's face lit up with wild joy. How could he have forgotten at this crucial moment that vast numbers of Jade Phosphorus Seven-Absolute Flowers grew outside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!
It was precisely their presence that made the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well a treasure land isolated from the world. Otherwise, given Sunset Forest's fame, someone would have beaten the others to it and discovered the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well long ago.
How, then, could Dugu Bo have later discovered the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, used its yin-yang power to suppress his poison, and broken through to Titled Douluo!
At that moment, Dugu Xin was rather bewildered as he looked at Long Qianming's delighted face.
"Brother Ming, could the medicinal herbs you're looking for be within the poisonous mist over that sea of Jade Phosphorus Seven-Absolute Flowers?"
"Exactly!"
At this, Dugu Xin looked troubled and hurriedly tried to dissuade him.
"Brother Ming, the poison of the Jade Phosphorus Seven-Absolute Flower is extremely potent. The deeper you go into the sea of flowers, the stronger it becomes. Even ordinary Titled Douluos wouldn't dare enter. If my father were here, he would have some confidence in getting inside."
"But right now..."
"Brother Dugu, don't worry. I'm a physician, so I usually keep some antidote pills on hand."
Long Qianming promptly took out antidote pills contained in three porcelain bottles from his Storage Soul Tool, tossed two bottles to each of them, then continued,
"I spent a fortune having someone buy these antidote pills from the exclusive pharmacy of the Breaking Clan, a subsidiary clan of the Clear Sky Sect. Their detoxifying effects are quite good."
"Twenty pills each should be enough to deal with this poisonous mist."
Before purchasing the Breaking Clan's antidote pills, Long Qianming had already learned about their detoxifying effects. They were sufficient to neutralize the toxins released by plants.
To be safe, Long Qianming had specifically bought six bottles, a total of sixty pills.
"All right! My Martial Soul is the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul. It shares the same roots and origin as the Jade Phosphorus Seven-Absolute Flower, so it can resist some of the poisonous mist. I'll go in with you. If anything goes wrong, we can still pull out in time."
"Qing'er, you..."
Just as Dugu Xin was about to speak, Su Qing'er already knew what he wanted to say. Her gaze was utterly resolute.
"No, I'm not staying here. Even if I die, I want to stay with you."
Given this, all three immediately swallowed an antidote pill. With Long Qianming in front, Su Qing'er in the middle, and Dugu Xin at the rear, they slowly walked inside. At first, they were deeply apprehensive, but once they found nothing unusual happening to their bodies, the pressure eased considerably.
"Brother Ming, what exactly do the medicinal herbs you're looking for look like? Qing'er and I can search with our spiritual power to find them faster."
"There's no rush for that yet. First, we need to find a place surrounded by something like four mountains. The medicinal herbs are inside."
This puzzled Dugu Xin even more. Did searching for medicinal herbs require a particular terrain? But when he thought of Long Qianming's remarkably miraculous medical skills, he could understand it.
By the time each of them had only five antidote pills left, Long Qianming finally reached the foot of a cliff. He handed climbing spikes to Dugu Xin and Su Qing'er and said,
"Climb up with me. The medicinal herbs should be up there."
Now exceptionally excited, Long Qianming could no longer wait. He quickly drove his climbing spikes into the cliff face and, using his hands and feet together, climbed step by step toward a cave halfway up the cliff.
Dugu Xin and Su Qing'er followed close behind. Like geckos, the three crawled through the poisonous mist.
Before long, as the poisonous mist gradually thinned, the three climbed into the cave in the cliff without difficulty.
"Let's keep going deeper along this cave."
Long Qianming looked at the cave, which gave off a faint green glow. It somewhat resembled that sole passage leading to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
To guard against any danger suddenly appearing,
he still held the Soul Guidance Ray and Dragon Whisker Needle in his hands.
Seeing this, Dugu Xin swiftly completed his Martial Soul Possession, and the three continued cautiously inside.
"Qianming, Brother Xin, this cave is so eerie, and there's so much green light. It's terrifying."
Su Qing'er's voice kept echoing through the cave. After they had walked roughly four or five hundred meters, a light suddenly appeared before Long Qianming's eyes, and the three hurriedly ran toward it.
Once they left the poison-filled cave, the view suddenly opened up. Looking out, they saw a sunken valley adorned with crystals of ice and fire below them.
"This place is so beautiful. That lake with red and blue interwoven is magnificent."
Su Qing'er was awestruck by the beautiful scenery, but then a faint warm current and a cold current swept over her one after the other.
"Why is it both cold and hot here?"
Looking at the scenery below and the countless Immortal Herbs, Long Qianming could no longer hold back his smile.
"Hahaha, Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, here I come!"
"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well? What kind of place is that?"
Only then did the two beside him learn the name of this extraordinary place, though they remained confused.
Long Qianming patiently explained to them,
"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is an extraordinary place I read about in an ancient book. Ice and fire form yin and yang, twins born from a single well. The two forces counteract each other, with cold and heat alternating. Cultivating here yields twice the results with half the effort."
Then Long Qianming looked at Dugu Xin and continued,
"This place can effectively suppress the poison in your body."
Both were utterly shocked to hear this, and Dugu Xin spoke with particular excitement,
"No wonder my whole body feels so relaxed now. This treasure land really can suppress the poison inside me!"