"Fell into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring?"
After hearing Dugu Bo's words, Gui Mei froze briefly, then let out a long breath of relief.
"Ah, Brother Gui, you don't understand! This Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring is extremely dangerous. Even Titled Douluos like us would enter it and die without so much as a bone left behind. The Holy Son is probably only a level-twenty Soul Grandmaster right now, isn't he? Doesn't that mean he's surely done for?"
Seeing Gui Mei's relaxed expression, Dugu Bo explained anxiously, trying to make him understand how dangerous the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring was and the possibility that Yu Tianling had already met with disaster.
"There's no need to say any more. I believe the Holy Son must have his own plans. He should be cultivating in the spring right now. Let's wait patiently."
Gui Mei raised a hand to stop Dugu Bo's rambling and spoke coldly, his words brimming with admiration for Yu Tianling.
Having followed Yu Tianling for so long, Gui Mei knew full well that he never fought a battle he wasn't sure of winning. So even though he had fallen into spring water that even Titled Douluos feared, Gui Mei did not think Yu Tianling would die. Especially after seeing that the two Immortal Herbs that had originally grown in the spring were now gone, Gui Mei became even more certain that Yu Tianling was fine.
"Brother Gui..."
Dugu Bo looked at Gui Mei, who stood near the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring waiting patiently, and opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing more.
He had no idea what sort of bewitching potion that so-called Holy Son of Spirit Hall, Yu Tianling, had fed a dignified Titled Douluo to make Gui Mei trust him so much, even believing he could emerge unscathed from spring water that even Titled Douluos had to avoid.
But there was nothing he could do. If Gui Mei wanted to wait, he could only keep him company.
Time trickled by, and half a day passed.
"Bubble, bubble..."
Suddenly, the calm spring water began churning again. Then, under Gui Mei's delighted gaze and Dugu Bo's shocked eyes, Yu Tianling floated up out of the spring.
"This... this..."
Dugu Bo pointed at the floating Yu Tianling, too shocked to speak.
He had never expected Yu Tianling to remain completely unharmed after spending so long inside. Only his clothes were gone.
Now that he was certain Yu Tianling was fine, however, Dugu Bo relaxed completely, and anticipation rose in his heart for Yu Tianling's promise to help rid him of his poison.
Then, under their gazes, Yu Tianling slowly opened his eyes. His pupils had changed, one red and one blue, possessing an unusual beauty.
After briefly sensing his condition, a trace of delighted surprise flashed through Yu Tianling's eyes.
He had not expected that, after falling unconscious, a twist of fate would grant him the gifts of the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King. Not only had they fused the medicinal power of the two immortal-grade herbs within him, they had then stimulated his eight extraordinary meridians and compressed his Soul Power once more, actually allowing him to condense a Soul Core at level forty-eight.
Soul Cores were a concept that had only emerged during the Peerless Tang Sect era. They could increase the rate at which a Soul Master's Soul Power grew and were one of the essential thresholds for a Soul Master to become a Titled Douluo or Limit Douluo. He had never imagined he would successfully condense one through such a twist of fate. Now he could perfectly resolve the drawback of slow advancement that Twin Martial Souls faced in the later stages.
Yu Tianling could even attempt to form Yin-Yang Balanced Dual Soul Cores ahead of time in the future.
Once the Yin-Yang Balanced Dual Soul Cores form, the power of the two Soul Cores will blend together-or rather, after colliding with each other, they will recombine, cleanse, and condense my own power, giving my Soul Power the characteristics of both spiritual power and Ultimate Ice. At the same time, the newly produced Soul Power will also take the form of vortices. This vortex-shaped Soul Power will inevitably be a combination of spiritual power and Soul Power, possessing tremendous destructive force. It will also compress Soul Power to the utmost. The strength of a Titled Douluo achieved this way is difficult to imagine.
And that was not even the greatest surprise. Most surprising of all was that Yu Tianling could clearly feel that his Ancient Void Dragon Martial Soul had evolved. It had actually gained the two attributes of Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire. Now, staying in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring felt just like taking a bath.
"But why did I receive gifts from the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King? Tang San didn't receive them in the original story."
Amid his delight, Yu Tianling began considering why the Dragon Kings had given him their gifts.
"Could it be because of the God King of Equality?!"
Suddenly catching sight of the storage ring on his finger, Yu Tianling instantly thought of a possibility.
During the great upheaval in the Divine Realm, the God King of Equality could have been considered an ally of the Dragon God. As two of the Nine Great Dragon Kings under the Dragon God, the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings must have known the God King of Equality. And as the key that opened the gate to the small world, this storage ring had to be an item belonging to the God King of Equality that his parents had obtained from the ruins back then.
So the two Dragon Kings only decided to give me their final essence after sensing the presence of the God King of Equality? And Tang San didn't receive it because he didn't carry the God King of Equality's presence?
After pondering for a long while, Yu Tianling also felt this possibility was the most likely to match the truth. Still, whether that was actually the case did not matter anymore. After all, everything had already become reality, hadn't it?
Shaking his head to clear away his stray thoughts, Yu Tianling rose and leaped back onto the shore. He hurriedly took a brand-new set of clothes from his storage ring and put them on, then walked toward Gui Mei and Dugu Bo.
"Holy Son!"
The two men looked at Yu Tianling as he approached and bowed respectfully.
Then Dugu Bo stared straight at Yu Tianling and opened his mouth, but still said nothing.
Seeing Dugu Bo like this, Yu Tianling finally realized and spoke directly. "Senior Poison, I'll help rid you of your poison next. This Holy Son will not go back on his word."
"Thank you, Holy Son!"
Dugu Bo thanked Yu Tianling excitedly.
The poison in his body had nearly driven him mad over the years. Every time it flared up, he truly felt that living was worse than death. Now that detoxification was within reach, how could he not be excited?
Compared with that, what did these Immortal Herbs amount to? Leaving them here was a waste anyway.
"Senior Poison, I currently have two methods that can rid you of your poison."
Once Dugu Bo had calmed down, Yu Tianling spoke.
"Then what are the two methods? And what advantages and disadvantages do they have?"
Dugu Bo asked impatiently.
"For the first, I can use Immortal Herbs to dissolve all the toxins in your body, but the drawback is that all your Soul Power will also be completely eliminated."
"I choose the second!"
The moment Yu Tianling finished explaining the first method, Dugu Bo shook his head vigorously and firmly chose the second.
He was a Titled Douluo, and there was no telling how many enemies he had made throughout his life. If he truly used the first method to dissolve the toxins along with a lifetime's Soul Power, it probably would not be long before his life became worse than death.
Hearing Dugu Bo's choice, the corner of Yu Tianling's mouth curled up. If Dugu Bo had truly chosen the first method, he really would have had no way to carry it out. After all, he had already eaten the two Immortal Herbs it required, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot.
"The second method is to find a Soul Bone of a suitable age, then use it together with the pills I've prepared to force all the toxins in your body into the Soul Bone. That way, this Soul Bone will become a vessel for storing the toxins, resolving your poisoning problem. The drawback is that this method takes effect more slowly than the first. If you want to remove the poison completely, it will probably take a full year."
Under Dugu Bo's expectant gaze, Yu Tianling slowly explained the second method.