The octagonal mysterious ice grass had to be cut with metal when harvested.
The infernal delicate apricot, on the other hand, had to be picked with jade.
The two immortal herbs were surrounded by cold poison and fire poison respectively. Ordinary Soul Masters risked being poisoned if they approached, but Dugu Bo's Soul Power was abundant. Following Fang Lin's instructions, he picked the two herbs separately and placed them in front of him.
Once the two immortal herbs were brought close, their emanations began to affect each other. The icy white light around the octagonal mysterious ice grass faded and was covered by a faint red glow, while the opposite happened to the infernal delicate apricot.
As their emanations mingled, the ten breaths that followed were the only window in which both herbs' poisons would completely dissipate.
Fang Lin reached out, picked them up, and stuffed both immortal herbs into his mouth. He had no need to chew or swallow; like snow meeting spring, the two herbs melted into liquid and flowed down his throat.
"Senior, I may have to excuse myself for a day or two."
Dugu Bo's eyebrows twitched. Before he could understand what Fang Lin meant, Fang Lin quickly tore off his clothes, tossed even the Storage Soul Tool ring from his hand onto the ground, and ran toward the nearby Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. With a splash, he leaped into the point where the springs met.
"Kid, you..." Dugu Bo's face twitched. Before he could finish, Fang Lin disappeared beneath the spring water, not a hair left in sight.
The ice and fire immortal herbs were supreme medicinal herbs that grew alongside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. As their source, the well's attributes could only be more violent. Even he, a Titled Douluo, did not dare enter it recklessly, yet Fang Lin had jumped right in.
"Who on earth wrote that ancient text? It truly was... an ingenious idea."
Dugu Bo stood by the springs for a long while and sighed softly.
Glancing at the clothes and storage ring Fang Lin had just cast aside, Dugu Bo waved a hand. A burst of force swept them up and brought them into his hand.
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was home not only to all kinds of herbs, but also to the occasional poisonous insect. Anything that could survive in such an environment was invariably deadly poisonous.
At that moment, Fang Lin, who had jumped into the springs, seemed to have fallen asleep. The icy attribute that had surged restlessly within him the moment he took the two herbs had now become exceptionally docile. Their immense medicinal power constantly washed through his body, and red and blue patterns flickered in and out of sight across his skin.
The night gradually passed, and the morning sun rose. Thin sunlight passed through the cold air and heat currents rising from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, shining deep into the pool and falling on Fang Lin's face.
Red and blue fluctuations of energy no longer rippled over him, and his presence grew steady.
Morning gave way to sunset. The surface of the pool churned, and a figure sprang out, both fists raised overhead.
"I, Lord Fang, did it!"
Fang Lin's face was full of exhilarated delight. The medicinal power of the two supreme herbs had merged entirely into his body.
Ice and Fire Golden Body!
Immune to all poisons, immune to ice and fire!
"Pfft."
A woman's giggle came from nearby. Fang Lin's heart skipped a beat. When he slowly turned and saw where it had come from, the smile on his face froze.
About a hundred paces away, beyond the reach of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's emanations, Dugu Yan and Dugu Bo stood together, looking at him with different expressions.
Dugu Yan was the one who had laughed. Dugu Bo's brow was slightly furrowed, and his expression was somewhat strange.
"Dugu Yan, what are you doing here?" Embarrassed, Fang Lin dug a large clump of mud out of the ground with his toes, his eyes instinctively searching in front of him. "Huh? Where are my clothes? My clothes were right here!"
Fang Lin searched in vain. With no other choice, he covered himself with both hands and jumped back into the pool of mingled red and blue water.
"Yanyan, you saw it yourself. The kid's alive and kicking. Grandpa didn't break his promise." Dugu Bo led Dugu Yan back into the valley. Although they had been far enough from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he still didn't dare let his granddaughter linger. "Come on, let's go. I'll take you back to the academy."
"All right, Grandpa loves me most." Dugu Yan grinned and slipped her arm through Dugu Bo's. "Our team's Teacher Qin has been looking everywhere for him, and the matter's even reached the three education committee members. Now that I know what's going on, I can tell them."
Before leaving, Dugu Yan glanced from afar at where Fang Lin was. As if recalling something, her eyes curved at the corners, and she couldn't help letting out another giggle.
Fang Lin waited in the spring water for half a day before Dugu Bo returned.
"Kid, well done. You didn't disappoint me."
Dugu Bo was smiling when he returned to the herb garden. Fang Lin was safe and sound, proving that the ice and fire immortal herbs had been completely refined. That meant there was a way to deal with the poison in his body.
After more than twenty years, he could finally be free of the torment of the snake venom's backlash...
Dugu Bo sighed inwardly, then tossed Fang Lin the clothes he had left behind. "The next step is making the medicine, right? What's the antidote recipe? I'll get it ready."
Fang Lin pulled on his clothes and, seeing the delight on Dugu Bo's face, chose his words carefully.
"Senior, there isn't actually a specific recipe for the antidote. Its most important ingredient is the neutralized ice and fire immortal herbs-that is, my blood as it is now. For the rest, you can choose some herbs that relax the tendons and promote blood circulation."
"No specific recipe?" Dugu Bo frowned slightly. After a pause, he looked Fang Lin's body up and down. "Kid, you'd better pray you have enough blood in you."
"Uh?" Fang Lin swallowed. "Senior, that ancient text warned against using too much at once. An excessive amount might also neutralize your poison arts. A few drops a day will be enough, and most of the snake venom in your body can be dealt with within half a year at the latest."
"It had better be." Dugu Bo gave a quiet snort. "You'll stay here for the next half year. If you can avoid being affected by the cold poison in this spring, it'll benefit your cultivation too."
Dugu Bo's tone left no room for negotiation. Fang Lin had no choice but to agree.
"I'll leave everything to your arrangements, Senior. I'll also need you to let the academy know and ask for an extended leave of absence on my behalf."
Fang Lin chuckled, his gaze wandering casually into the distance.
About eighty paces away, a huge purple ganoderma grew on a protrusion in the rock wall. Unlike an ordinary purple ganoderma, its stalk was covered in golden spirals that extended all the way up to its cap.
Fifty paces from it, a chrysanthemum with multicolored golden petals swayed gently.
Nine-grade purple ganoderma and singular velvet sky chrysanthemum.
The former could cleanse the meridians and marrow, break the shackles on a Martial Soul, and help it undergo a beneficial mutation. Unless something unexpected happened, it would surely improve the quality of Fang Lin's Martial Soul.
The latter allowed its user's Qi to flow through all four limbs and blood to circulate through the eight extraordinary meridians, forging an indestructible body. It could make up for Fang Lin's shortcomings in defense and let him make use of his powerful physique.
Besides those two, countless herbs and plants grew within a hundred paces of the spring, in all manner of shapes and colors. The other immortal-grade medicinal herbs mentioned in the original book were all among them.
After taking Fang Lin's blood, Dugu Bo went off to find a place to prepare the medicine, leaving Fang Lin in the treasure garden.
"The original book didn't mention how to pick the other immortal herbs, only how to take them..."
Fang Lin looked troubled, feeling rather like a man left guarding a mountain of treasure he could not use.
Immortal-grade medicinal herbs were naturally extraordinary. If picked improperly, they would be destroyed on the spot; if taken improperly, they would cause one's body to explode. Nor could one take too many in a short time. After taking the ice and fire immortal herbs, Tang San had waited half a year before taking a second herb, the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew.
Fang Lin composed himself and suppressed his excitement.
There were at least four or five years before Tang San came to Heaven Dou Academy. Fang Lin believed he would have a chance to solve these problems sooner or later.