The Ye Clan's main hall.
After Lin Yuan posed his question, Ye Lingqiu did not answer for a long time.
On one side were the nobles who had entrenched themselves in Heaven Dou for years and the Hall of Relief.
On the other was Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, already poised to swing his blade.
One wrong step.
The Ye Clan's years of foundations could all come to nothing.
But she understood something else even more clearly.
From the moment Lin Yuan produced that pill, the Ye Clan had actually had little choice left.
After a long while.
Ye Lingqiu slowly rose.
"The Nine Heart Begonia Clan."
"Is willing to follow Your Highness's commands."
Lin Yuan looked at her.
Several breaths later, he nodded.
"Very good."
"Soon, there will be a need for Nine Heart Begonia to act."
Ye Lingqiu's heart stirred slightly.
"Are you referring to those who have taken the pills, Young Master Lin?"
"You'll know when the time comes."
Lin Yuan stood.
"Clan Leader Ye, you only need to remember one thing."
"From today onward, everyone in the Ye Clan must continue to refrain from using the Hall of Relief's pills."
"Also, don't let a third person know about today's conversation."
Ye Lingqiu nodded solemnly.
"Understood."
Lin Yuan did not stay long.
He returned to the crown prince's residence that afternoon.
Inside the study.
Qian Renxue still wore Xue Qinghe's face.
Guang Ling leaned to one side, polishing his bow in utter boredom.
Lin Yuan pushed the door open and entered.
Qian Renxue immediately looked up.
"How did it go?"
"The Ye Clan agreed."
"Nine Heart Begonia will stand with the crown prince."
A trace of satisfaction flashed in Qian Renxue's eyes.
"Ye Lingqiu knows what's good for her."
"It's not that."
Lin Yuan sat down.
"She knows there really is something wrong with the Hall of Relief's medicine."
"She just didn't know how serious the problem was before."
Nine Heart Begonia was secured.
Now only one other person remained.
Lin Yuan looked at Guang Ling.
"Teacher."
"Come with me to Sunset Forest tomorrow."
Guang Ling paused in polishing his bow.
"Sunset Forest?"
"To find Dugu Bo."
Guang Ling raised an eyebrow.
"You really intend to bring that Old Poison over?"
"He has considerable value."
"He's just a Titled Douluo who keeps to himself."
Guang Ling sounded rather dismissive.
"Is Spirit Hall short of Titled Douluo these days?"
Lin Yuan shook his head.
"It's not about combat strength."
"At least, not just combat strength."
Dugu Bo was skilled with poison.
He had also harbored suspicions about the Hall of Relief's pills.
More importantly-
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
But there was no need to explain any of that now.
"We'll talk once we meet him."
Guang Ling gave him a couple of looks.
"So secretive."
The next day.
Sunset Forest.
Two figures darted swiftly through the woods.
The deeper they went, the fewer traces of Soul Beasts remained around them.
Until a stretch of strangely colored mist appeared ahead.
Purple.
Green.
Black.
Various poisonous mists intertwined, completely shrouding a vast stretch of mountain forest.
Guang Ling stopped.
"We're here."
Lin Yuan looked ahead.
Even without Hunting Sense, he could feel its potent toxicity.
A poison formation laid by Dugu Bo.
If an ordinary Soul Master recklessly charged inside, they probably would not even leave an intact corpse.
Guang Ling watched for a while, then suddenly laughed.
"That Old Poison hasn't changed a bit."
"He can't even settle somewhere without wanting to poison every living thing for ten miles around."
As his words fell.
He grabbed Lin Yuan by the shoulder.
A freezing chill instantly enveloped them both.
"Let's go."
The next instant.
Guang Ling charged straight into the poison formation.
Wherever his ice-cold Soul Power passed, the nearby poisonous mist scattered.
Lin Yuan only felt the scenery before him rushing backward.
Then he glanced down at himself.
He fell silent.
At that moment, Guang Ling was carrying him in one hand.
Like a little chick.
"Teacher."
"Hmm?"
"Could you carry me another way?"
"No."
Guang Ling did not slow in the slightest.
"If you walked yourself, it'd be dark by the time you got inside."
Lin Yuan: "..."
Forget it.
Honor your teacher and respect his teachings.
Endure.
The two continued deeper.
After they crossed the poison formation, their surroundings abruptly changed.
Outside, poisonous mist filled the air.
Inside, lush vegetation flourished.
Even the air was filled with a rich medicinal fragrance.
Guang Ling slowed, surveying their surroundings.
"That Old Poison is pretty cautious."
"Setting up such a huge poison formation outside."
"Anyone below Titled Douluo would struggle to sneak in."
Still dangling from his hand, Lin Yuan said evenly:
"He has reasons that leave him no choice but to be cautious."
Guang Ling looked down.
"What do you mean?"
Lin Yuan was just about to speak.
Boom!
A surge of dark green Soul Power suddenly erupted in the distance!
The surrounding vegetation instantly took on an eerie green sheen.
Immediately afterward, an angry shout rang through the valley.
"Who dares trespass in my medicinal garden!"
A terrifying pressure crashed down on them.
A green figure shot skyward from the depths of the valley.
Nine Soul Rings emerged one after another.
Dugu Bo!
He had thought it was yet another reckless Soul Master intruding on his territory.
But once he saw who had come.
His expression instantly darkened.
Especially when he saw Guang Ling.
The anger in Dugu Bo's eyes was almost entirely unconcealed.
"Guang Ling!"
"Spirit Hall really does haunt me like a lingering ghost!"
Guang Ling, however, laughed.
"Old Poison."
"It's been so many years, and your temper still stinks."
With that.
He casually let go.
Lin Yuan: "?"
The next second.
He plummeted straight out of midair.
"Teacher, you-"
Thud!
Lin Yuan landed steadily.
He looked up.
Guang Ling had already stepped into the air.
An ice-blue longbow appeared in his hand.
Soul Power erupted.
A chill swept across the entire valley in an instant.
He looked at the ashen-faced Dugu Bo, fighting spirit rising in his eyes.
"Old Poison."
"It's been a long time."
"Let me see-"
"Whether you've improved over the years!"
Dugu Bo's expression instantly darkened.
"Arrogant!"
Jade-green Soul Power erupted with a roar.
Nine Soul Rings rose.
An enormous phantom of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor reared its head behind him, and terrifying poisonous mist instantly blanketed half the valley.
"Guang Ling!"
"This is my territory!"
"You want a fight?"
"I'll oblige!"
Boom!
Poisonous mist churned.
Vast swaths of vegetation withered in an instant.
Yet Guang Ling did not retreat a single step.
He held the ice-blue longbow across his body.
Freezing cold exploded outward.
The poisonous mist froze solid the moment it drew near!
Crack, crack, crack-
Dark green ice crystals fell from midair.
Dugu Bo's pupils contracted.
The next instant.
The bowstring rang out!
Thrum!
An ice-blue arrow tore through the poisonous mist.
Fast!
So fast that Dugu Bo could only twist hastily aside.
Boom!
The arrow grazed his shoulder and pierced straight through the cliff behind him.
Half the valley shook with a thunderous rumble.
"You!"
Dugu Bo had barely begun to speak.
The second arrow had already arrived.
Then came the third.
The fourth!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ice-blue light kept tearing through the sky.
Dugu Bo was forced back again and again.
Poisonous mist?
Frozen solid.
Serpent Emperor True Body?
Shot through.
Close combat?
He could not even get close.
The gap between rank ninety-one and rank ninety-six bore down without restraint at that moment.
"Guang Ling!"
Dugu Bo roared furiously.
"If you have any guts, stop hiding in the distance and shooting arrows!"
Guang Ling was amused.
"Old Poison."
"My Martial Soul is a bow, and you want me to fight you up close?"
"Has poison rotted your brain?"
The next second.
Another arrow.
Boom!
Dugu Bo was blasted bodily away.
And just as the two Titled Douluos shook the valley with their battle-
Lin Yuan had already run off.
That was right.
Run off.
He had not even looked back for another glance.
Dugu Bo?
With Guang Ling here.
He would not die anytime soon.
What he had truly come to Sunset Forest to see had never been Dugu Bo.
Lin Yuan followed the valley downward.
The temperature in the air began to change.
One side grew increasingly scorching.
The other was bone-chillingly cold.
Two utterly opposite presences actually existed at the same time.
Lin Yuan's steps grew faster and faster.
Until he passed through the final stretch of mountain forest.
The view suddenly opened up.
He stopped in his tracks.
Ahead.
An enormous spring lay quietly in the deepest part of the valley.
Its waters were sharply divided.
One side was crimson as blood, steaming with heat that scorched even the air into a slight distortion.
The other was milky white as jade, shrouded in cold, with even the edge of the spring covered in fine frost.
Extreme heat.
Extreme cold.
Two completely opposing forces had been forcibly compressed into the same spring.
Eroding each other.
Yet balancing each other.
And all around the spring.
Exotic medicinal herbs rarely seen in the outside world grew unchecked.
A rich medicinal fragrance filled the entire valley.
Lin Yuan gazed at the wondrous sight before him.
At last, a trace of genuine feeling stirred in his eyes.
"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well..."
Found it.
Rather, it was here.
Lin Yuan was just about to approach.
Suddenly-
Boom!!!
An enormous crash came from overhead.
Immediately afterward.
A green figure flew sideways down from the top of the cliff.
"Damn you, Guang Ling-!"
Bang!
Dugu Bo slammed hard into the ground.
Earth exploded.
Broken stones scattered everywhere.
The mighty Poison Douluo now had disheveled hair and torn robes, with even a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.
He was utterly bedraggled.
He had just tried to climb to his feet.
An ice-blue figure had already descended from the sky.
Guang Ling landed lightly beside Lin Yuan.
His clothes were undisturbed.
He was not even out of breath.
He even had the leisure to flick the longbow in his hand.
"After all these years."
"You still can't take a beating."
"You!"
Dugu Bo's face turned green with anger.
No.
It had been green to begin with.
Lin Yuan held back his laughter.
Guang Ling, however, did not keep needling Dugu Bo.
His gaze had already fallen on the spring of ice and fire ahead.
Then he looked at the exotic flowers and herbs covering the ground around it.
Finally, he turned to Lin Yuan.
His gaze gradually grew strange.
He finally understood.
All that talk of visiting Dugu Bo.
All that talk of Old Poison being valuable.
It had all been incidental.
Guang Ling raised a hand and pointed at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
"You little brat."
"This place-"
"Was your real target all along, wasn't it?"