Time slipped quietly by, and the dense woods halfway up the mountain began to turn yellow from the treetops down.
Amid intensive training and study, the seven grew increasingly familiar with one another, and their coordination in combat training became ever more seamless.
Early one morning, Fang Lin looked at Dugu Yan's empty spot and froze.
Then he realized he was finally going to get a boost!
Over the past month, Yu Feng and the others had all gained one level of Soul Power. Yu Tianheng and Shi Mo had now caught up to Fang Lin's Soul Power Level, while Fang Lin still needed at least five months to reach level 29. By then, Yu Tianheng would probably be close to level 30.
Although Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, and the others were not as gifted as Tang San and Oscar, they were still geniuses with Innate Soul Power of level seven or eight, in the same tier as Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing before they ate Immortal Herbs.
That night, Fang Lin strolled through the dense woods in front of the dormitory.
When he reached a secluded, empty clearing, an old man with emerald-green hair and beard appeared before him as if out of thin air.
He wore a plain gray robe, his cheeks were sunken, and his eyes shone with an intense light. An unexpected meeting with his gaze made the surrounding air feel several degrees heavier.
Poison Douluo Dugu Bo was reputed to be one of the Titled Douluo least to be trifled with.
Fang Lin bowed in greeting.
"Greetings, Senior Dugu."
Dugu Bo examined Fang Lin for a long while before speaking.
"You're a clever one. Out here so late, waiting for this old man, were you?"
Fang Lin chuckled, admitting it.
"Senior Dugu, was the serpent venom in Dugu Yan's body successfully transferred to her Soul Bone?"
At the mention of Dugu Yan, Dugu Bo's expression softened. "It was. A pity the Soul Bone wasn't old enough."
After wandering the Star Dou Forest for a month and killing dozens of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, Dugu Bo had still found nothing. In the end, he had to settle for giving Dugu Yan a thousand-year right leg bone.
Recalling the dangerous presence deep in the forest, Dugu Bo's relaxed expression tightened once more.
"I don't like beating around the bush. Tell me everything you learned from that ancient book. For Yanyan's sake, as long as you keep your mouth shut from now on, I won't make things difficult for you."
Fang Lin had spent a long time gathering his thoughts and had been considering how to ease into the subject through Dugu Yan. He had not expected Dugu Bo to be so direct.
"Senior, the key to resolving the poison cultivation art in your body lies in two medicinal herbs. One is unimaginably cold, freezing anything it touches. The other is unimaginably hot, setting anything it touches ablaze. When their medicinal properties are combined, they can neutralize the poison in a high-level Jade Phosphorous Serpent Soul Master's body. But these two herbs cannot be taken directly, or they'll dissolve the poison cultivation art along with the poison."
"Ice- and fire-attribute herbs..." Dugu Bo murmured. His expression grew a little odd, and a glint flickered in his eyes. "Brat, have you heard of my herb garden?"
"Your herb garden, Senior?" Fang Lin froze and blinked. Then delight appeared on his face. "You mean you have those two herbs in your garden?"
Dugu Bo said nothing. His figure flashed, and he appeared in front of Fang Lin.
Before Fang Lin could react, his vision spun and his feet left the ground. Dugu Bo had picked him up with one hand, and the wind began howling in his ears.
"Whether I have them or not, you'll know once you've seen them." Dugu Bo's voice carried through the rustling wind, every word reaching Fang Lin's ears.
The two leaped down from the summit of Heaven Dou Academy, crossed dense woods and lakes, and soared above a forest with even more luxuriant vegetation.
At the very center of the forest was a vast valley, sunken deep among the trees like a giant bowl. Nestled at its bottom was a red-and-green spring, resembling a strange yin-yang eye.
Dugu Bo carried Fang Lin straight down into the valley. The ice-and-fire spring pool stood out before them: wisps of white frost formed from the cold and rose from its green half, while flames churned and heat billowed from its red half.
"See if those two are the ice-and-fire herbs you mentioned."
Following the direction of Dugu Bo's finger, Fang Lin saw medicinal herbs on either side of the spring. The one on the left gave off curling frost, like a frozen ice flower, while the one on the right flickered with fiery light, like a ball of flame.
Octagonal mysterious ice grass, infernal delicate apricot!
Fang Lin's heart jumped. He took a deep breath and nodded gently. "Those are the two herbs described in the ancient book. Their shapes and characteristics are exactly the same."
"Then do you know that, besides their ice and fire attributes, these two herbs also contain deadly poison?" Dugu Bo glanced at Fang Lin, his tone turning cold, his voice as though coated in frost. "Are you certain these two herbs can be used to make an antidote?"
As Dugu Bo's expression suddenly changed, an invisible pressure slammed into Fang Lin like a heavy hammer, making his vision go dark.
This old bastard turns hostile in the blink of an eye!
Fang Lin cursed inwardly and spoke, enduring the discomfort.
"Senior Dugu, every word I said is true. As I just said, these two Immortal Herbs cannot be taken directly. Someone needs to refine them."
Dugu Bo snorted. "And how are they to be refined?"
"Someone who isn't a Jade Phosphorous Serpent Soul Master must take and refine the two Immortal Herbs. Then their blood can be used as medicine. That way, it won't directly dissolve the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Soul Master's poison cultivation art, and it can also draw out the toxins and force them into the Soul Bone."
"Use a human body to refine them?" Dugu Bo stroked his beard with one hand and paced on the spot. "That would indeed neutralize their medicinal properties, but only if the person survived."
Dugu Bo's brows were tightly furrowed. The two herbs were so fiercely poisonous that even he could not be sure he would come to no harm after taking them. Was he supposed to find a Titled Douluo stronger than himself to serve as a human medicine furnace?
"Senior Dugu, I can give it a try."
Fang Lin's voice interrupted Dugu Bo's thoughts. Ever since Father Fang told him he could enroll in Heaven Dou Academy, he had been waiting for this moment.
Seize the wonders of heaven and earth, and forge the Ice and Fire Golden Body!
Dugu Bo glanced at Fang Lin and scoffed. "What can a mere Soul Grandmaster like you try? Let me tell you, even a Titled Douluo like me wouldn't dare claim he could refine these two herbs. If you take them, you'll have ten deaths and no life."
"Senior Dugu, that ancient book mentioned a way to refine these two herbs. I'm more than eighty percent confident I can succeed."
Fang Lin's expression was resolute as he gazed at the pool, its yin and yang distinctly divided.
By taking the octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot at the same time, then relying on the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he could safely refine the two Immortal Herbs.
Tang San had managed it, and Fang Lin might be able to do the same. His physique was much stronger than Tang San's had been at the same stage.
Dugu Yan stared at Fang Lin for a moment, her eyes glinting. "Brat, these two herbs were your objective all along, weren't they? Though they contain deadly poison, if you successfully refine them, they're bound to bring you tremendous benefits."
Fang Lin's heart skipped a beat. If Dugu Bo forced him to reveal the method of refining the ice-and-fire Immortal Herbs and then found a stronger Soul Master, all his efforts up to now would have been for nothing. Fortunately, Dugu Bo did not turn hostile toward Fang Lin. Instead, he chuckled. "I like that nerve of yours. I'll grant you this chance, but whatever you do, don't die."
"Thank you, Senior." Fang Lin let out a breath. "Sorry to trouble you further, but I'll need your help picking these two herbs. Take care not to touch them directly with your body."
Without his noticing, layers of cold sweat had seeped out across Fang Lin's back. Negotiating with Dugu Bo had been a contest between unequals, and only when Dugu Bo agreed did Fang Lin finally relax.
He had needed to achieve his own goal while also attending to what the other party wanted. If a single careless move angered Dugu Bo, becoming fertilizer for the Immortal Herbs might be the best end Fang Lin could hope for.