Returning to Sunset Forest, Not to Find the Next Immortal Herb

A few days after the convoy returned to Heaven Dou, Dong Jian and Li Man accompanied Dugu Yan Sunset Forest.

This time, no one was rushing them. Although Dong Jian's back could walk normally, it still ached after a long period of bumpy travel; Li Man's mental state recovered slightly faster, and she would occasionally have slight pauses when continuously focusing on the array points. Qin Ming agreed to their trip on the condition that they not treat "training on the way" as recovery.

Dugu Yan stopped at the edge of the forest to check the circulation of the poisonous bone in her right arm. The Jade Sac Poison Storage contained a portion of her own toxins. Although there had been no backlash in recent days due to the frequent release and recycling during the competition, she occasionally felt a tingling sensation on the inside of her arm.

"Grandpa will scold me," she said.

Dong Jian looked at her. "Didn't you already know?"

Knowing and wanting to hear him curse are two different things.

Li Man took out the external array record she had left behind last time and reminded her to suppress the poisonous fog within a safe range before entering the poison array. Dugu Yan did as she was told, without deliberately displaying any ability beyond her own poison storage capacity.

The Yin-Yang Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well remained the familiar boundary between hot and cold. The red and blue spring waters were clearly distinguishable in the mist, and the bamboo trellis surrounding the herb garden was much sturdier than before. Just as Dong Jian was about to touch one of the herbs, Li Man reminded him, "Wash your hands first."

"I didn't bleed this time."

"You said the same thing last time."

Dong Jian had no choice but to withdraw his hand.

Dugu Bo was already waiting in the courtyard. Upon seeing the three, he didn't ask about the trophy or the Soul Bone; he simply reached out to his granddaughter. "Right arm."

Dugu Yan obediently rolled up her sleeves. The light green patterns were slightly darker than before, with a short, discontinuous dark line near her elbow. Dugu Bo examined her for a long time with his palm on the outside before letting her sit on the stone bench.

"Has it been full for too long?" Dugu Yan probed.

"You already know, why are you asking?"

"This time, we haven't reached our limit."

Dugu Bo looked up. "Are you planning to live off not having reached your limit for the rest of your life?"

Dugu Yan finally fell silent.

The examination results were better than she had expected. There was no obvious rupture in the venom sac, nor any new large-scale damage to the meridians; however, the cycle had been disrupted by the high-intensity competition, and if the recent pattern of release, sometimes rapid and sometimes slow, continued, the dullness in her right arm would become increasingly difficult to detect.

Dugu Bo did not forcibly inject his Soul Power into her body, but let her slowly release the stored poison into the designated sealed area. Li Man placed six Green Jade Bamboo nodes on the outside to monitor the direction of the poisonous fog; Dong Jian was responsible for moving the sealed container and guarding the ground support, and never touched the actual poison.

Half an hour later, the green light in Dugu Yan's palm gradually faded. She moved her fingers and for the first time clearly felt that her fingertips were rotating faster than before.

"From now on, during competitions with continuous drug use, the amount used in each round must be recorded," Dugu Bo said. "Don't just rely on how much you think you can use at the time."

Dugu Yan took out a piece of paper she had recently written on, "I've taken notes."

Dugu Bo took the report and, seeing the time, release volume, and right arm reaction for each match, his expression relaxed slightly. "At least they know how to do things now."

"Teacher Qin told me to write it down."

He's much less of a worry than you.

Dong Jian stood aside laughing, Dugu Bo turned to look at him. "Don't laugh too hard. I heard you almost broke your back?"

"It's not broken."

"If it were really broken, would you still be standing here?" Dugu Bo pointed to a flat stone area outside the herb garden. "Stand over there and turn halfway around for me to see."

Dong Jian did as instructed, but stopped halfway through when his waist started to ache. He didn't try to use his Fourth Soul Ring to overcome the strain.

After examining the wound, Dugu Bo said, "Your body's adaptation to temperature changes and the fusion of your Soul Bone are continuing, but the injuries won't disappear automatically because of these things. Especially those nine support points on your back; the more proficient you become, the easier it is to unconsciously make them help you bear the burden."

Li Man looked at Dong Jian. Dugu Bo was one of the few people who knew the truth about the Dark Gold Spine Armor, and he pointed out the very issue of load-bearing that she had been worried about.

"What if I deliberately block off all nine passages?" Dong Jian asked.

"You want to take your healed bones back apart?" Dugu Bo sneered. "Let the normal cycle run its course. What you control is when you choose to bear the weight. Don't twist your meridians just to avoid being seen."

Dong Jian nodded. He had heard Ye Lingling say something similar before, but it was even harder to refute when Dugu Bo said it.

After Dong Jian finished his examination, Dugu Yan took the initiative to ask Dugu Bo about his own condition.

"Grandpa, have you made any progress on your end?"

Dugu Bo carefully put away her records without answering immediately. After a long while, he said, "There's still a way to store the poison in your body externally that we can try. The poison in mine has been accumulating for decades and has seeped into my bones and blood. Simply finding Soul Bone that can store the poison might not be enough."

"We can't just ignore it forever."

"If I ever decide to stop caring about this, I'll hand this herb garden over to you first." Dugu Bo raised his hand to stop her from asking further. "I'm currently adjusting the rhythm of my own toxin separation process, and I can suppress it for now. You should first stabilize your own menstrual cycle."

Dugu Yan was not comforted by those words. She knew that her grandfather didn't like being treated like an old man who needed constant care, even though he was clearly suffering.

Li Man didn't interrupt, but instead recorded the intervals of Dugu Yan's adjustments in more detail. If Dugu Bo's poisoning were to be studied in the future, this data might only provide limited reference, but it was better than relying entirely on impressions.

"You're practically turning this place into a clinic." Dugu Bo's tone was unusually gentle as he watched her write.

"Then you have to allow me to repair the medicine shelves in the yard first," Li Man said.

Dugu Bo snorted, "Only if you repair it well will you be allowed to continue."

In the afternoon Dugu Yan continued to adjust the poison sac, while Dong Jian and Li Man were sent to rest by the courtyard. The two did not actively search for the next Immortal Herb. The medicinal power they had obtained in the past was enough for them to digest for a long time, and digging up another one would only add new unknown factors to their already complex bodies.

Dong Jian sat under the tree for a while and saw Li Man gently flick a green bamboo shoot with her fingertips. The color of the bamboo was a little unstable when it was first formed, so she did not force it to be lengthened, but simply withdrew her Soul Power.

"Still not feeling well?" Dong Jian asked.

"Making six is no problem, but revising too many times in a row will be tiring."

"Then let's not practice."

Li Man looked at him. "You've finally learned to say that."

I've had enough of this these past few days.

The two exchanged a smile and then stopped. In the distance, the Ice and Fire Spring murmured softly, and the herbs were shrouded in mist, with only the tips of their leaves visible.

After Dugu Yan went to the other side for the final re-examination of the stored poison, Li Man slowly walked towards Black Perish Stone. The Lovesick Heartbreak Red still grew on it, the white petals had not withered, and the light red veins in the center looked very calm.

"You still want to see it?" Dong Jian asked.

"Take a look."

"No cuts this time, and no experiments?"

"Do you want to row again?"

Dong Jian immediately shook his head.

They stood a few steps away, neither releasing their Martial Soul nor letting their blood touch the flower. Li Man gazed at the flower's heart, never reaching out. The red markings remained unchanged at first, then after a moment, a faint sliver of light appeared, like sunlight filtering through a thin mist and falling on the petals, before quickly fading away again.

Dong Jian noticed, but he wasn't in a hurry to mark this as a recognition of ownership. Last time, the flower body was only raised a very small distance from Black Perish Stone, far from being actually taken away; they didn't intend to rely on the flower to make a decision for the two of them.

Dugu Bo passed by from behind and saw the two standing side by side. He sneered, "There are so many things to see in the herb garden, yet you two always choose to stand there."

Li Man turned around. "Senior, is the examination over?"

"It's over. That girl is packing up."

Dugu Bo didn't urge them to pick the flowers, but only reminded them, "Don't use it as a tool to test people's hearts. If you can't get it, you can't get it. If you want to say something, just say it yourself."

Before Dong Jian could answer, Li Man had already turned around and walked towards the old bamboo frame outside.

"The beam I fixed last time was a little crooked," she said.

Dong Jian followed, saying, "I'll go take a look."

"Can your back bend?"

"Being able to look at it doesn't mean you have to move it yourself."

Li Man stopped, seemingly wanting to object, but in the end she simply took the tools from his hands. The two walked together towards the outer edge of the herb garden. The white flowers on the Black Perish Stone stood quietly behind them, not blooming or changing for anyone.

Li Man returned to the courtyard and checked the remaining bamboo array from today again. She didn't let the Parasitic Bamboo Formation Eye remain in the sealed area, and only after confirming that every outer bamboo node had been removed did she dispel the array. Dugu Bo looked at the uncontaminated new leaves in the herb garden and finally stopped complaining about their constant meddling.

As dusk approached, Dugu Yan's follow-up examination record was left on the table in the herb garden by Dugu Bo. The three decided to stay the night before leaving. Dong Jian glanced back at the bamboo frame and suddenly remembered that he hadn't carefully reviewed the section that Li Man had repaired last time.

"I'll come help you tomorrow," he said.

Li Man put the tools back into the wooden box. "You're in charge of holding it steady, make sure it doesn't touch any sharp-edged stones."