"Senior, you're joking." Fang Lin could only give an awkward smile.
Even if what Dugu Bo said was true, the fact that Fang Lin could appear here meant that Dugu Bo had at least changed his mind.
Dugu Yan, over thirty zhang away, could not hear their conversation. But when she saw the old man and the young man make a circuit and then stand there at an impasse, doubt appeared on her face.
"Grandpa, are you done looking?"
Her clear voice, amplified by Soul Power, reached both men's ears.
Dugu Bo shook out his sleeves and snorted at Fang Lin. "For Yanyan's sake, I'll let you take one more medicinal herb. Don't even think about the rest."
"One for me and nine for you!" Fang Lin blurted out.
He had just listed nearly ten medicinal herbs, yet Dugu Bo was only giving him one. That was daylight robbery!
"Did you expect nine for yourself and one for me?" Dugu Bo glared at him.
"At least three," Fang Lin muttered.
At present, only Fang Lin knew how to refine them. Since Dugu Bo had not openly fallen out with him and resorted to force, there was room for negotiation.
The two were negotiating, but also testing each other.
"You brat, even if I gave you three, you couldn't handle them." Dugu Bo sneered and casually pointed ahead. "You want to use that singular velvet sky chrysanthemum, don't you? I'm telling you, don't even think about it before level fifty."
"What do you mean, Senior?" Fang Lin was stunned. He did not remember there being a Soul Power requirement for taking the singular velvet sky chrysanthemum.
"Have you finished refining the medicinal power of those two ice and fire Immortal Herbs from before?" Dugu Bo glanced at Fang Lin.
Fang Lin fell into thought. "You mean the medicinal power left over from those two Immortal Herbs will affect my taking another one?"
With the stimulation of the Jade Phosphorus seven-absolute flower, Fang Lin had refined about seventy percent of the medicinal power of the octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot by the time he left the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Over the past half year, as his Soul Power increased, he had absorbed another five percent. To absorb it completely, he would have to wait until he broke through to Soul King.
In the original book, Tang San had also said that even with normal cultivation to Soul Saint, one could only refine seventy percent.
"You said earlier that treasures of heaven and earth belong to the virtuous. That's bullshit. They should belong to those capable of claiming them."
Dugu Bo casually swept a poisonous insect off the ground and held it suspended above his palm. It was about the size of a cicada and brightly colored.
Dugu Bo's Soul Power contained poison, but the insect showed no reaction at all. It even let out a contented chirp.
"The more exceptional the medicinal herb, the more tremendous its medicinal power. If an ordinary person took one, they'd most likely drop dead on the spot. Even a Soul Master would need a long time to refine it. You were able to take two before because you relied on the mutually complementary and opposing properties of the ice and fire herbs."
"But this singular velvet sky chrysanthemum and the two ice and fire herbs have nothing to complement each other. Instead, their medicinal effects will interfere with one another, and your meridians will become a battlefield for three immortal-grade medicinal herbs."
"Take this Three-Colored Poison Stinger. Any potent poison is nourishment to it, but if several kinds of poison are injected into it at once..."
Fang Lin looked at Dugu Bo's palm. As the color of his Soul Power changed, the once-bright insect instantly dulled, and brown fluid seeped from between the plates of its shell.
It'll go straight to pleasure heaven... For some reason, Fang Lin's mind supplied the rest.
Dugu Bo merely failed to recognize these herbs for some reason; he was well versed in medicinal properties.
That forced Fang Lin to consider his words carefully.
In the original book, aside from the two ice and fire herbs and the special Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, Tang San really had not taken any other Immortal Herbs. After Xiao Wu obtained the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, she had also refused the narcissus jade muscle bone because its presence would interfere with her absorption of its medicinal power.
He might not necessarily explode and die, but before the medicinal power was exhausted, interference between them was inevitable.
"In other words, at most I can take the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew and the singular velvet sky chrysanthemum, and for the latter I'll have to wait until the medicinal power of the octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot is completely exhausted."
Fang Lin felt a weight in his chest.
By then, Dugu Bo had walked out of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's vicinity and was approaching with Dugu Yan, enveloping her in his Soul Power.
"From your description, that aromatic silk beauty can help the Soul Master with the gem Martial Soul break through its constraints mainly because they are compatible. I suspect the same wouldn't happen with Yanyan, so I'm inclined to have her take the narcissus jade muscle bone or the eight-petal immortal orchid."
Dugu Bo's Martial Soul had originally been the Jade Phosphorous Serpent as well. It had evolved into the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor when he broke through to Titled Douluo.
With an Immortal Herb as a foundation, Dugu Yan's chances of breaking through to Titled Douluo would greatly increase. Dugu Bo's plan was the safer one.
After learning that the eight-petal immortal orchid could increase a Soul Master's cultivation speed, Dugu Yan made her own choice. She looked at Fang Lin.
"How do I refine it?"
"The eight-petal immortal orchid is the simplest. Just chew and swallow the whole thing except for the roots, then use Soul Power to absorb it into your body."
"That simple?" Dugu Yan blinked and reached out to pick it, but Fang Lin stopped her.
"You can't touch it directly with your hands. Squat down and bite it off."
"Squat down... and bite it off?" Dugu Yan's eyes widened, then she looked at her grandfather Dugu Bo suspiciously.
Only when she saw her grandfather nod with his lips pressed together did Dugu Yan reluctantly gather up her skirt and half squat on the ground, chewing and swallowing the herb starting with its petals.
When she reached the stalk, Dugu Yan had to stick her backside halfway up to reach it, which she felt was not a very graceful sight.
With Dugu Bo there, Fang Lin kept his eyes straight ahead.
Fang Lin had actually remembered later that the original book mentioned picking the eight-petal immortal orchid with gold and storing it in jade, but he was afraid saying so now would make Dugu Bo suspicious.
Since Dugu Yan had taken the eight-petal immortal orchid, Dugu Bo chose the nine-grade purple ganoderma instead.
The nine-grade purple ganoderma was an exceptional specimen among ganoderma. Though it could not be called immortal-grade, it could still shed one's mortal body and transform one's bones.
"Senior, when you take the nine-grade purple ganoderma, you only need to eat the cap. Chew and swallow it, then refine it with Soul Power as well."
The three came to a patch of purple soil, at the center of which grew a ganoderma that was pale purple all over, with a stem like jade.
After Fang Lin finished explaining, he and Dugu Yan both fixed their eyes on Dugu Bo.
"I know." Dugu Bo merely nodded expressionlessly. Then he waved an arm, and a tremendous surge of Soul Power abruptly swept them both up, carrying them across the herb garden and tossing them straight into the valley.
By the time the two returned, all that remained of the enormous ganoderma was its jade-colored stem, adorned with nine small leaves.
After taking their herbs, Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan left the garden and each found a place to refine them.
The Ice and Fire Valley was Dugu Bo's private land, and ordinarily no one would disturb them. After making sure the two were all right, Fang Lin returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well alone.
The Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew was green all over, with three snow-white leaves growing at its center and several drops of crystalline dew gathered in their hearts.
Following the original book's description, Fang Lin found the Immortal Herb in a place piled with broken stones.
The Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew.
It was the only immortal-grade herb that did not conflict with the two ice and fire herbs. The original book described it as capable, when consumed, of cultivating fiery eyes and golden pupils that could see through the myriad wonders of the world.
Fang Lin lay on the ground, opened his mouth, and drew in a sharp breath, sucking the crystal-clear drops of dew onto the tip of his tongue. Then he sat cross-legged where he was and meditated, refining their medicinal power.
When he took the octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot, Fang Lin had felt the stinging pain of extreme cold and heat, until he had almost lost all sensation.
The Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew was much gentler.
As the dew went down his throat, a cool current flowed through his limbs and bones before converging between his brows.
His eyes also felt cool, as though a clear spring were constantly washing over them.
Compared with either the Whale Rubber or the medicinal bath, this was the most comfortable absorption Fang Lin had experienced. There was no tearing sensation or agonizing pain at all. It was like eating ten bowls of the boss's second Soul Skill in a row.