The Deposit Beneath the Old Scholar Tree
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At the end of the official road outside the east gate of Jialing Pass stands an Old Huai.
The tree canopy blocked out the sky, its shade covering half of the official road. The trunk was so thick that three people couldn't wrap their arms around it. The bark was cracked into deep grooves, and the roots arched out of the ground, tilting two of the stone slabs along the roadside.
There are several charred old scars on the tree trunk, left by the war in earlier years.
It is said to have been planted at the founding of the Heaven Dou Empire. Despite hundreds of years of war, its branches and leaves are still lush and abundant.
As Nan Feng walked out of the city gate, he immediately saw Dugu Yan.
The shadows of the city gate still lingered behind him, and grass grew in the cracks of the stone slabs beneath his feet. The morning breeze carried the muddy smell of the official road and the scent of grass juice.
She leaned against the Old Huai tree, her shoulder blade against the trunk, her purple hair fluttering in the morning breeze. The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison circulated around her, and golden Immortal Mark floated in the dark green poisonous mist.
The poisonous fog spread half a foot along the ground, and the grass blades curled up at the edges as soon as they touched it.
She had been waiting for a long time.
The dust on the official road was held down by the morning dew, so it didn't stir up any dust when you stepped on it. A thin layer of water accumulated in the ruts, reflecting the sunlight.
A patch of grass beside her boots had fallen over, with shoe prints pressed into the grass roots, layered several times. It had been at least half an hour.
She shifted her stance. There was a small patch of bark that had been rubbed off, reaching up to her shoulder.
Nan Feng walked up to her.
Ye Lingling followed three steps behind him. The petals of the Nine Heart Begonia bloomed around her, their pinkish-white light shimmering in the morning breeze. She nodded to Dugu Yan, then stepped aside, making room for them to speak.
Dugu Yan sized him up.
Her gaze swept from the nine-tiered bronze pagoda in his palm to the new red ribbon on his left wrist, and finally settled on his face.
The red hairband was new; the edges weren't worn down yet.
"You've succeeded." Her voice was flat, with a slight hoarseness at the end. Nan Feng could hear the weight in it.
Nan Feng nodded. The tower spun in his palm, its azure-gold Immortal Mark shimmering with golden immortal light, and the Nine Heavens Treasure Pearl at the top of the tower emitted a tri-colored interwoven immortal radiance.
"Foundation Establishment Perfection, Golden Core formed."
Dugu Yan remained silent for a while.
She started counting from the first time she met him in the underground black market of Gengxin City, the sparring match at the intermediate level of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and the back-to-back battle on the battlefield of Jialing Pass.
The man before her had risen from a Three-Ring Soul Elder to Soul Power exceeding one hundred and Immortal Dao Foundation Establishment in the Immortal Path. Meanwhile, she had progressed from a level twenty-something Jade Phosphorous Serpent Soul Master to where she was today, capable of poisoning Titled Douluo and stuck at the Demigod Level.
"Are you going back to the Divine Realm?" Dugu Yan asked.
The Nan Feng shook its head.
He looked up at the eastern horizon. The wilderness Jialing Pass stretched to the horizon, and the routed army of the Spirit Hall Empire had vanished without a trace.
The cavalry of the Heaven Dou Empire were retreating in batches. Each group consisted of about fifty riders, their armor covered in grass clippings and dew, their hooves loosening another layer of compacted dust.
The last horse in the procession was lame, and the rider didn't dismount, holding the reins in one hand and pressing the other hand on the horse's neck.
"The Divine Realm cannot tolerate the Immortal Dao," Nan Feng said. "I am going to a faraway place, but I will return."
Dugu Yan did not ask where "further places" were.
She leaned back against the Old Huai tree, crossed her arms, and tapped her fingers twice on her sleeve. The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison condensed into a small snake at her fingertips, with a golden stripe flowing across its body.
The little snake circled her finger joint once, then dispersed back into the poisonous mist.
"My Jade Phosphorous Serpent has evolved," she said. "Your Primordial World Power has rewritten my bloodline. I can now poison even Titled Douluo."
Nan Feng sensed that the Immortal Mark in her Martial Soul Core had become even more solid than those on the Jialing Pass battlefield. The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison had changed from dark green to dark green with gold, and its toxicity had more than doubled.
"That's just the beginning," Nan Feng said. "I'll help you cultivate to the Immortal Level when I get back."
Dugu Yan looked at him, her purple pupils reflecting the azure -Golden Immortal light emanating from the tower.
She was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke.
"Nan Feng."
"Um."
You owe me a drink.
Nan Feng looked at her serious face and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.
"Must."
Dugu Yan straightened up from under the Old Huai and walked up to him. She was half a head shorter than him and looked up at him. The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison swirled around her, and golden Immortal Mark within the poisonous mist glowed one by one.
"My grandfather has been stuck at the Demigod Level for many years," Dugu Yan said. "Go see him after you return from the Divine Realm."
The Nan Feng nodded.
"Good."
Dugu Yan reached out her hand.
Her fingers were long and slender, with white tips, and a thin layer of calluses on her fingertips from years of handling poisons. Poisonous mist condensed into a point of golden light at her fingertips.
Nan Feng took her hand in his. Her hand was cold, while the temperature of his palm was much higher.
The poisonous mist was forced back an inch by the divine light, dissipating along the back of her hand without touching him.
The moment he grasped her, he sensed that the Immortal Mark within her Martial Soul Core lit up, and the poisonous mist of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent shifted from dark green to cyan-gold.
He released her hand, his fingertips brushing against her calluses, pausing for a moment before separating.
A wisp of golden light lingered on Dugu Yan's fingertip, swirling twice around her fingertip before dissipating.
"This is the deposit." Dugu Yan withdrew her hand, looking at her fingertips. "Wait until you come back and help me cultivate to the Immortal Level."
The Nan Feng held the pagoda close to its chest. The nine-story bronze pagoda turned in the morning light, Nine Heavens Treasure Pearl at its top emitted a tricolored celestial glow.
He sensed that the Immortal Mark within Dugu Yan's Martial Soul Core had stabilized. The evolutionary direction of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent was shifting from poison to immortal poison, and it might become a unique force under the Immortal Dao Path in the future.
"The Dugu Yan," said the Nan Feng.
"Um."
"We'll drink with your grandpa when I get back."
Dugu Yan looked at him.
She turned her head away and looked at the open field at the end of the official road. The morning light turned her profile golden.
"Okay," she said, her voice slightly softer than usual.
"If you don't come back, I'll take the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison and go to the Divine Realm to find you."
Nan Feng did not respond.
He sensed an obsession within her soul, one that had been there since their first meeting in the underground black market of Gengxin City. That obsession had taken root within her, breaking free from her identity as the granddaughter of the Dugu Family and from the burden of being a descendant of the Poison Douluo.
Now it belongs only to her.
Ye Lingling walked over from the side and stood between the two of them on the Nan Feng side.
The petals of the Nine Heart Begonia bloomed all around her, the pinkish-white light intertwining with the golden fairy light at Dugu Yan's fingertips in the morning breeze, briefly entwining before separating again.
"It's time to go," Ye Lingling said softly. "Hu Liena's tavern is opening today."
Dugu Yan took a step back and leaned back against the Old Huai tree. She raised her chin towards the Nan Feng, her arrogance returning.
"Let's go. Don't keep the little fox waiting."
Nan Feng turned and walked towards the official road. Ye Lingling followed beside him, petals of the Nine Heart Begonia drifting along the way and landing on his shoulder.
He didn't brush it away. After walking a few steps, the wind blew the petal off.
After walking a dozen steps, Dugu Yan's voice caught up from behind, carrying the hoarse, characteristic tone of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison.
"Nan Feng."
He stopped walking, but didn't turn around.
"That drink is on me."
Nan Feng smiled slightly and continued walking forward.
The nine-story bronze pagoda spun in his palm, its lapis Immortal Mark shimmering with golden light. Dugu Yan leaned against the Old Huai tree, watching his figure disappear further and further away on the official road.
She didn't count her steps. When she reached the section where the morning mist was thickest, both figures disappeared together.
She looked down at the golden light at her fingertips, pointed to her palm, and then clenched it again.
The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison circulated around her body, changing from dark green to bluish-gold.
She clenched her fist, squeezing that glimmer of light into her palm.
"Immortal Level," Dugu Yan said. "I'll be waiting."
The branches and leaves of the Old Huai rustled in the morning breeze. The official road was deserted, with only the trampled grass under the tree roots and the undried water in the cart tracks remaining.