Tang Feng had no time to admire all the immortal treasures. The moment he stepped onto the valley floor, he felt an extreme ice and fire poison frantically burrowing into his body through his pores.
Half of it felt like raging flames burning his body, the other half like ten-thousand-year-old mysterious ice. His body felt as though it would be torn clean in two, and piercing pain exploded from deep within his marrow.
Tang Feng could not help letting out a muffled groan of pain!
Seeing this, Dugu Bo swept his hand and immediately raised a Soul Power barrier around Tang Feng, keeping the toxins out.
"Even the air here contains deadly ice and fire poison. Low-ranking Soul Masters who stay here for long will inevitably explode and die."
Seeing Tang Feng staring slack-jawed at the medicinal herbs filling the valley, Dugu Bo stood with his hands behind his back, rather pleased with himself, and spoke with a hint of a boast:
"I stumbled upon this place three years ago. Its spiritual Qi is a hundred times richer than outside. Herbs grow dozens or even hundreds of times faster here than in ordinary places. I planted all the precious herbs I collected throughout my life here. They have multiplied year after year and now form quite a garden."
Dugu Bo pointed at the immortal herbs. "There are also some rare treasures even I don't recognize, but one glance tells me they are extraordinary."
Finally, Dugu Bo changed his tone and pointed at several pitch-black plants giving off a pungent, rank odor. "Be careful. Those are jade phosphorous serpent emperor grass, ghost's dread, and soul-severing orchids. Touch them and you die. Even I don't dare touch them carelessly with my hands."
Tang Feng calmed his surging emotions, drew his gaze away from the mass of immortal herbs, and grinned at Dugu Bo, his voice brimming with confidence and wild abandon:
"Old Monster, with so many precious herbs to work with, I'm now ninety percent confident I can completely expel the toxins accumulated inside you. I might even help your cultivation advance another step and break through the bottleneck you've faced for years!"
At this, Dugu Bo's emerald pupils abruptly contracted. He stared fixedly at Tang Feng, seemingly trying to find a trace of jest on the ten-year-old boy's face.
Yet all Dugu Bo saw was a pair of clear, resolute eyes. After a moment of silence, he threw back his head and laughed. "Good! Little Monster, if you can really do it, I'll give you this herb garden! Hahahaha!"
Tempted already by these words, Tang Feng spoke sincerely:
"Old Monster, the poison in your body has accumulated for several decades. The toxins have seeped into every inch of your flesh and blood, reaching deep into your marrow. If the ice and fire power of this treasured place hadn't helped suppress them, you would probably have died from a poison flare-up long ago."
"Completely expelling the toxins now without damaging your foundation will be incredibly difficult. But I promise that even if I can't eradicate them, I can free you from the agony of poison flare-ups from now on."
"I can give you the two detoxification methods with the highest chances of success right now. As for which one to use, choose for yourself."
"Two?" Dugu Bo's voice was hoarse. Tang Feng had devised two solutions in such a brief time for the deadly poison that had plagued him his whole life. How could he not be excited? "Tell me, quickly! What are the two methods?"
Tang Feng pointed toward the edges on either side of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's pool, where two immortal herbs swayed gracefully at the boundary between ice and fire. They were none other than the infernal delicate apricot and the octagonal mysterious ice grass:
"The first is the simplest. Take these two immortal herbs at the same time, then jump into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to refine them.
"The power of ice and fire will temper all your meridians, thoroughly incinerating, freezing, and expelling the toxins from your body. All the poison inside you can be eliminated in just one day, and you can also develop a body immune to all poisons."
Dugu Bo was overjoyed. He was just about to speak when Tang Feng continued, "But! Your poison cultivation coexists symbiotically with your Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Martial Soul. While the toxins are expelled from your body, I'm afraid all your poison cultivation will be dissolved along with them. When that happens, although your life will be saved, your strength will drop from Titled Douluo to Soul Saint, or even lower."
"What?!" Dugu Bo's expression changed dramatically, his wild joy doused by a bucket of cold water. "No! Absolutely not! My poison cultivation has let me roam unchallenged under heaven for decades. Without it, I might as well die! Give me the other one!"
Tang Feng had expected this. He nodded. "The second requires me to take a risk."
Tang Feng pointed at himself. "I'll take the infernal delicate apricot and octagonal mysterious ice grass, then enter the ice and fire spring water to refine them.
"Once that's done, my blood will fuse with the power of ice and fire and the medicinal properties of the immortal herbs, and I'll gain a body immune to all poisons. My blood can then serve as the finest medicinal catalyst for detoxification."
"Then I'll use my blood as a catalyst to refine a detoxification pill for you. Take it once a day, and in just half a year, it will reduce the toxins in your body to around thirty percent."
"The remaining thirty percent has penetrated deep into your marrow and will need a special medicinal bath to wash it out. I'll prepare a detoxifying medicinal bath for you as well. Soak in it for four hours every day. The medicinal power will penetrate your marrow, gradually dissolving and forcing out the toxins."
"Continue that for another half year, and the accumulated toxins in your body should be completely expelled. Afterward, with medicines to strengthen your foundation and nourish your vitality, not only will your foundation become more stable, but you'll also have a chance to reach a higher realm of strength."
After hearing this, Dugu Bo's emerald eyes lit up, and his whole body trembled with excitement. "Good! Good! Good! This method can remove the poison and preserve all my cultivation. It's simply perfect! Little Monster, can you... can you really do it?"
"As long as you trust me, this method will succeed!" Tang Feng declared with ironclad certainty.
With that, Tang Feng began recording the formulas and effects of the detoxification pill and detoxifying medicinal bath on parchment, then handed it to Dugu Bo so he could personally refine the pills.
Detoxification pill: named the Three Talents Poison-Cleansing Pill. Suitable for: fire poison, cold poison, mixed snake venoms, and stagnant toxins in the internal organs.
Main ingredients: vine sap, snow velvet powder, azure mist leaves, and spirit mist flower dew.
Primary effects: detoxifies and protects the heart, regenerates flesh and purifies blood.
Refining steps: extract the juices, mix into a paste, condense the pills, shape into pellets, coat with wax, and dry in the shade.
Detoxifying medicinal bath: named the Ice and Fire Bone-Tempering Decoction. Primary indications: fire poison, cold poison, mixed snake venoms, and meridian blockages.
Main ingredients: dragon whisker root, earthcore vine, heart-protecting stamens, and bone-forging grass. Supporting ingredients: breath-concealing flowers and earth vein vitality-nourishing soil.
Effects: tempers bones and forges meridians, draws toxins outward, strengthens the foundation and nourishes vitality.
Soaking duration: begin daily at the hour of the Rooster, soaking for two hours each time.
After handing Dugu Bo the formulas for the detoxification pill and medicinal bath, Tang Feng said, "Old Monster, you can prepare the herbs in a little while. Right now, I need to complete the first step, Ice and Fire Body Refining."
"In a moment, follow the method I told you and use your Soul Power to pick those two immortal herbs for me. Then I'll take them simultaneously. Once their medicinal effects kick in, I'll jump into this spring to refine them. It should take one or two days."
Dugu Bo glanced at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and asked worriedly, "Little Monster, this spring water is exceptionally violent. Are you sure you won't be in danger?"
Tang Feng reassured him, "Old Monster, don't worry about me. I wouldn't gamble with my own life. Go prepare the herbs and refine the detoxification pills without worrying. Once I come out, I can begin removing your poison."
Dugu Bo's expression shifted slightly at his words. "Very well. I'll engrave this kindness in my heart!"
The two then approached the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Tang Feng removed his Storage Soul Tool and set it aside, then stripped off all his clothes, revealing a lean body covered in scars.
Tang Feng took a deep breath. "Old Monster, we can begin. As I said earlier, don't damage their roots. Use a jade implement to harvest the infernal delicate apricot and an iron implement to pick the octagonal mysterious ice grass, then bring them over to me."
Dugu Bo did as instructed. Tang Feng immediately brought the two immortal herbs together. The instant they met and neutralized each other, he stuffed them both into his mouth without hesitation.
The two immortal herbs melted in his mouth. In the blink of an eye, Tang Feng's entire body turned blue, then red, continuously alternating between the two colors.
Dugu Bo watched from the side, his heart pounding with fear.
Boom!!!
Two extreme medicinal forces instantly exploded inside Tang Feng. The infernal delicate apricot surged like magma, burning his meridians along its path; the octagonal mysterious ice grass was like ancient mysterious ice, instantly freezing his flesh and blood.
Tang Feng let out a pained roar and leaped into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, sinking into the boundary between ice and fire.
In an instant, the scorching heat of the Yang Spring and the bitter cold of the Yin Spring invaded his body simultaneously, forming a strange equilibrium with the medicinal power of the two immortal herbs.
Tang Feng's meridians were repeatedly torn apart between destruction and rebirth, then instantly reconstructed. Every inch of his flesh and blood felt as though it were being hammered and refined a thousand times over.
Tang Feng lay in the center of the spring, letting ice and fire temper him. The pain in his muscles and bones almost made him pass out.
Yet Tang Feng still gritted his teeth and endured. He had to endure.
Tang Feng knew clearly that if he successfully underwent this Ice and Fire Body Tempering and tempered all his meridians, his physique would improve immensely. His future cultivation speed would surely increase enormously, and his overall cultivation aptitude would certainly surpass those geniuses with Innate Full Soul Power, with no further obstacles in his way.