Huo Yuhao raised a hand and pulled back his hood, revealing a handsome but somewhat pale face, his eyes bright as cold stars. "This junior is Huo Lai." He gave a slight nod, his voice steady, showing none of the tension he had displayed while confronting Dugu Bo moments ago.
Dugu Bo's eyes flickered. Forcing down his shock and suspicion, he managed a faint smile. "Young friend Huo, please follow me." As he turned, the hem of his robe swept across the ground, dispersing every last wisp of lingering poisonous mist.
The two followed a winding path, and the fresh fragrance of plants gradually filled the air, a stark contrast to the foul, poisonous air from before.
"Long time no see," Huo Yuhao murmured. He knew this place all too well: the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, one of the three great treasure basins. As a whole, it looked like a divided hotpot.
"A hot spring split in two, one side of the ultimate ice attribute, the other of the ultimate fire attribute. The two springs don't mix, even though they're in the same pool. Twin springs in one well, the two opposing forces restraining each other. I suppose this old geezer relied on the Immortal Herbs here to pile up his cultivation."
"This is my medicinal garden." Dugu Bo raised a hand to indicate it, his voice tinged with pride. "Young friend, whatever catches your eye, feel free to pick it." He rubbed his hands together, his expression suddenly awkward, a flicker of anticipation and unease crossing his eyes. "It's just... about the detoxification we agreed on earlier..."
Huo Yuhao gazed at the roiling power of ice and fire in the pool, the faintest hint of a smile touching his lips. "Rest assured, senior. I, Huo, have always kept my word." As he turned, a faint dark-gold halo shimmered around him, its light mingling with the glow of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. "Once I've picked the medicinal ingredients I need, I'll naturally detoxify you, senior."
Dugu Bo breathed a sigh of relief, only to shiver involuntarily. The mysterious presence surrounding the youth before him was just like the oppressive pressure of that terrifying old man from earlier.
He swallowed hard, alarm bells ringing in his mind. Having offended someone like this, he feared the entire Dugu Family might be uprooted. At the thought, he hurriedly bowed. "Sorry for the trouble, young friend! I'll do everything I can to cooperate!"
Huo Yuhao rubbed his fingertips over a faintly glowing Immortal Herb and spoke without looking back. "Good. I need time to prepare the antidote. You can leave for now." The moment his words fell, the air around them seemed to grow a little more still.
Dugu Bo froze, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty. The terrifying pressure Electrolux had exerted earlier, enough to crush his soul with a flick of a finger, still clamored deep in his spine. The chill left behind by the white-haired elder had yet to dissipate, and a faint dark-gold halo shimmered around the youth before him. Neither the old one nor the young one looks easy to deal with. I'd better stay well away from them.
"Y-yes!" He bowed hastily and nearly tripped over a stone as he backed away. Turning to leave, Dugu Bo clenched his trembling hands, his eyes filled with conflicting emotions. Behind this seemingly young youth stood a terrifying force capable of easily crushing a Titled Douluo. Their brief clash over half a day had completely overturned his understanding of the balance of power on the continent. The continent truly is unfathomable.
"A young master from a hidden great family..." he murmured to himself, poisonous mist spreading behind him with each step. "A family capable of raising someone like him must have an astonishing foundation..." At the thought, cold sweat seeped down his back, soaking his inner robe. Since the other party had already promised to detoxify him, someone of such status truly had no reason to break his word over such a matter. After all, his upbringing spoke for itself.
A trial was laid by heaven's hand; nine deaths and one life, yet I knew it not.
Once, my beloved stood beside me; in autumn she gathered Yearning to save me.
Countless perilous paths, yet no regret; I knew not the pain behind me, borne for my sake.
Through ice and fire, suffering endured. Hard to discern the path of Qiankun Asks About Love.
Amid the mist rising from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Huo Yuhao watched the Immortal Herbs swaying by the pool, his fingertips unconsciously brushing the Storage Soul Tool at his waist. Memories surged like a tide, and the path of love he had walked in his previous life and the trials he had endured seemed to appear before his eyes. He sighed softly, his gaze complicated. "I never imagined I'd return here like this. Hard to discern the path of Qiankun Asks About Love... but this time, it won't be hard to discern anymore."
Within the Sea of Consciousness, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm lay in a comfortable position, his white-gold body stretched out. Puzzled, he grumbled, "What's gotten into Yuhao all of a sudden? Reciting poetry out of nowhere, all refined and literary. I've got goosebumps!" His complaint echoed through the space of divine consciousness, stirring up ripples.
Electrolux's illusory figure appeared, and his withered hand reached across the space to rap Tian Meng on the head. "Big bug, what do you know? It's called being moved by the sight of a familiar place! Yuhao has returned to an old haunt, so naturally he's full of feeling." His voice held a teasing note.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm muttered indignantly, "Moved by a familiar place? I say he's feeling the stirrings of love! Spring hasn't even arrived, and I think Yuhao's already gone into heat. I wonder which girl he's thinking about?" Before he could finish, Huo Yuhao's divine consciousness stabbed toward him like a sharp sword, whipping up a storm in the Sea of Consciousness. "Tian Meng! You're the one in heat! Your whole family's in heat!"
"Wait, wait, wait! I was wrong, all right?!" The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm darted about in fright, his white-gold body curling into a ball. "I just couldn't keep my big mouth shut!"
Huo Yuhao ignored the noisy Tian Meng and turned his gaze back to the medicinal garden. Moving like lightning, he darted among the Immortal Herbs of every color: the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew glistened like a tear and could greatly enhance spiritual power; the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower was just right for Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire;
The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, and other Immortal Herbs gave off a strange glow. The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, Infernal Delicate Apricot, Aromatic Silk Beauty-every single one was worth a fortune. He moved deftly, gathering all these precious medicinal herbs into his Storage Soul Tool.
Once he had finished picking them, Huo Yuhao condensed a wisp of Soul Power at his fingertip and gently plucked one petal from each Immortal Herb. When he blew on them, a miraculous sight unfolded: the plucked petals grew anew, turning into new plants. Although the medicinal power of these Immortal Herbs was far inferior to that of the parent plants, they still had some medicinal effect, making this a fairly good trick to fool the eye.
Of course, he had also taken plenty of the Immortal Herbs needed to refine the Universe Creation Pill and some other pills.
Tang San would come here someday anyway. Rather than let him take them, Huo Yuhao might as well strengthen himself. Later, once Tang San had cultivated the Immortal Herbs here again, he could harvest them once more. A good meal was worth waiting for...
At Dugu Bo's residence, Huo Yuhao sat upright in a wooden chair, unconsciously rubbing the cup with his fingertips as he spoke gently. "The way to detoxify you is to draw the toxins ravaging your body into a Soul Bone. The same principle applies to your granddaughter, but she hasn't been cultivating for long. Find a compatible Soul Bone and channel the toxins into it while she circulates her power. That way, the toxins will be transferred into the Soul Bone. If she has a Tool Martial Soul, the toxins will naturally gather on the Martial Soul."
Dugu Bo suddenly gripped the armrests, emerald-green Soul Power spilling out of control and condensing into tiny snakes in his palm. "There's something you don't know, young friend! I've cultivated poison techniques for over seventy years. The toxins have long since become one with my meridians, blood, and flesh. If they're forcibly expelled..." His Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty, and his aged face turned a bluish purple. "I'm afraid the toxins would lash back and take my life in an instant!"
Huo Yuhao rose unhurriedly and said, "The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is uniquely blessed. Brew its medicinal herbs into a decoction as a catalyst, then use Soul Power to channel the toxins, and they can be separated as though drawing silk from a cocoon. Filter out the toxins bit by bit like this, and you'll be all right."
He waved his fingers lightly, and the porcelain bowl on the table filled itself with clear water. The instant an Immortal Herb was dropped in, it turned into an amber-colored medicinal liquid. "I'll prepare a medicine to help stabilize your meridians. Once its medicinal power has seeped in, I'll use Soul Power as a thread to draw every last bit of the toxins into your Soul Bone."