Chrysanthemum Douluo Joins; the Immortal Herb Garden Opens

When Nan Feng and Shifang left through the Heaven Dou City, it was just dawn.

Shifang carried two jars of spirit wine in his arms, and tucked a jar of Blazing Sun Special Brew that he had stored for more than half a year under his arm. The grilled fish rack was strapped to his back. He walked with a clanging sound, like a peddler.

Nan Feng walked ahead, his Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light spreading out to pave the way. He was still pondering the message sent by Bi Ji.

He still hasn't figured out the exact use of the beads that the Abyss Sect refines in the Core Circle of Star Dou Great Forest.

"Brother Nan, how much do you think that hunter Old Zhao could know?" Shifang caught up and asked.

"Have no idea."

The Nan Feng continued its march.

"Tang Yuehua said he's well-informed; it wouldn't hurt to go and check it out."

Two or three miles outside the city gate, the woods on both sides of the official road grew denser. The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and one could not see very far ahead.

Nan Feng paused as he walked, raising his hand to stop Shifang.

"What's wrong?"

Nan Feng gestured towards the roadside ahead with his lip.

A man stood under Old Huai at the bend in the official road. His gray hair was loose over his shoulders, and he wore an old, faded robe, the hem of which was half-wet with morning dew.

The man leaned against a tree trunk, unarmed, with a flat, long wooden box at his feet, its contents unknown.

Seeing Nan Feng looking over, the man straightened up. He didn't move forward, nor did he release any Soul Power pressure; he just stood there watching him.

Shifang squinted at it for a long time, then slammed the grill rack on the ground.

"Chrysanthemum Douluo?"

Nan Feng had already recognized him.

Yue Guan, the Chrysanthemum Douluo of the Spirit Hall, was the one who chased after him several times back then.

However, Yue Guan was a completely different person now. His Soul Power was so restrained that it was almost undetectable, and the sharp aura he once possessed had dissipated. Standing under the Old Huai, he looked like a retired schoolteacher.

"What are you doing here?" Nan Feng didn't move forward.

Yue Guan remained silent for a while.

His first words were. "You won."

Nan Feng didn't reply.

"The Spirit Hall has fallen, Bibi Dong has been defeated, and those old fogies in the Worship Hall have gone their separate ways."

Yue Guan's voice was calm, neither disheartened nor relieved, and he simply stated the facts.

"I had nowhere to go. I took a look back at the Spirit Hall ruins; the weeds were taller than a person, and there wasn't even a gatekeeper."

"Ghost Douluo has gone into hiding and fled. I looked for him twice but couldn't find him, so I decided to give up."

Shifang muttered to himself, "Then why did you look for Brother Nan?"

Yue Guan glanced at him, then turned her gaze back to Nan Feng.

I heard you're cultivating Immortal Herb.

"Who told you that?"

"Dugu Bo."

Yue Guan said, "I recently took a trip to Sunset Forest, and I was thinking of finding a place to settle down."

"That old bastard Dugu Bo curses at me whenever he sees me, and after he's done cursing, he tells me what kind of 'Immortal Herb garden' I'm running."

"You've collected a whole bunch of these things —the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, the Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma, and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass —and are cultivating them in the Tower Spirit Space."

Nan Feng's eyebrows twitched slightly. His Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light swept over Yue Guan.

Yue Guan did indeed possess the Martial Soul aura of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. Unlike ordinary Soul Master who cultivate flowers and grass, his Martial Soul was naturally compatible with immortal Immortal Herb, and he was born knowing what kind of soil to grow what kind of grass and what kind of water to water what kind of roots.

If this kind of person were placed in the Immortal Herb Garden, he would be infinitely better than Shifang's half-baked horticulture.

Old Huai poked half its head out of the Tower Spirit Space.

"He's right. Chrysanthemum Douluo's Martial Soul is the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, and he does indeed have a deep understanding of Immortal Herb."

"Although you've collected all the Immortal Herb from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the cultivation and propagation of these Immortal Herb require professionals."

"You can't expect Shifang to use the oil from grilled fish to water the flowers every day, can you?"

Shifang, standing to the side, was displeased.

When did I ever use fish oil to water my flowers?

"Last month you poured a ladle of water on the Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma, and there was half a roasted fish scale floating in the water. I saw it with my own eyes." Old Huai rolled his eyes.

Shifang opened his mouth, then managed to utter a sentence.

That was an accident.

Nan Feng ignored their usual bickering and looked at Yue Guan, asking a question.

"You want to come with me?"

I want to find a place to stay.

Yue Guan spoke with a hint of emotion, not strong, but noticeable.

"I spent most of my life in the Spirit Hall, doing nothing but murder and arson."

"Now that the Spirit Hall is gone, my enemies don't bother to come after me anymore. They know I have no ambition; I just want a peaceful life."

"But I'm bored being alone. I know how to grow flowers and grass, but I don't have the space to do so."

He bent down and opened the long wooden box at his feet. Inside were dozens of small porcelain bottles, each about the size of a thumb, neatly stacked, each with a label on it.

Nan Feng scanned the Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light and found they were all seeds of Immortal Herb.

"These are things I found in the ruins of the Spirit Hall's medicine storehouse; they're all rare items I secretly kept back then."

Yue Guan lifted the lid of the wooden box. Shifang leaned over for a look, then let out a greasy "whoosh."

Nan Feng looked at the box of Immortal Herb seeds, then at Yue Guan's calm face, and mentally processed the pros and cons.

Chrysanthemum Douluo was Bibi Dong's man, and he didn't hold back when he was hunting him down, but that was a matter of each serving their own master.

Now that the Spirit Hall is gone, it's safer to Yue Guan, a person without ambition, tending to the flowers and plants in the Immortal Herb Garden every day, than to let him run around causing trouble.

"You can come with me," Nan Feng finally said.

"But there's one condition: you can no longer kill indiscriminately."

Yue Guan was stunned for a moment.

"I don't care how many people you killed in the Spirit Hall before, I won't bring up those debts."

Nan Feng said, "But from today onwards, you are under my Immortal Dao, and when you go out, you represent the face of the Immortal Dao."

"If you ever lay a hand on an ordinary person again, or use the Immortal Herb to concoct some kind of poison, I'll personally send you back to the Spirit Hall ruins to live among the weeds."

Yue Guan looked into his eyes, remained silent for a few moments, and then nodded.

"I promise."

Nan Feng took two steps forward, took the long wooden box from Yue Guan, and handed it to Shifang.

"Keep it safe. Plant it in the Immortal Herb Garden in the Tower Spirit Space later, and have Old Huai watch over you and water it."

Shifang took the wooden box and chuckled at Chong Yue Guan.

"Old Yue, from now on we're colleagues. My name is Shifang, I'll be in charge of grilling fish and guarding the tower, and you'll be in charge of planting flowers. Clear division of labor."

Yue Guan glanced at him.

My name isn't Old Yue.

"What should I call him? 'Chrysanthemum Douluo' sounds too formal, and 'Yue Guan ' sounds too serious."

Shifang tilted his head, pondering.

"Old Ju? No way, that sounds like an insult..."

Just call me Yue Guan.

Yue Guan sighed, bent down, picked up the jar of wine from the ground, and handed it to Nan Feng.

"Here, take this. Dugu Bo asked me to bring it to you, saying that you owed him a favor last time, and this jar of wine is part of it."

Nan Feng took it, broke the mud seal, and smelled it. The strong, pungent aroma of wild fruit wine hit him, just like the jar of apprenticeship wine that Old Zhao the hunter had given him.

He raised his chin slightly towards Chaoyue Yue Guan.

"Let's go. We can talk about the situation in the Star Dou Great Forest as we walk."

"Since you've rummaged through the Spirit Hall's medicine storehouse, do you know anything about the Abyss Sect's soul-refining scheme?"

Yue Guan followed, holding the hem of his robe.

"I know a little. I don't know what kind of array the Abyss Sect uses for soul refining, but the beads they refine are called Soul Pearl, specifically for absorbing the turbid energy in the Abyssal Rift."

"A single Soul Pearl can widen the crack by an inch. They've refined so many beads; they've probably already stockpiled a batch for use."

The Nan Feng paused.

"Where are the cracks used?"

"The Far North," Yue Guan said, "The Far North has the largest rift, and the Soul Pearl devours it the fastest. A group of people from the Abyss Sect have already headed to the Far North."

Shifang cursed from behind.

"Why bother going to the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest to find Old Zhao? Let's just head straight to the Far North!"

Nan Feng shook his head.

"We still need to find Old Zhao. The hunters are always out there, they know best what's going on in the Far North."

"Yue Guan, come with me. On the way, tell me everything you can remember about the Abyss Sect's strongholds and routes of operation in the Far North."

Yue Guan nodded in agreement.

Nan Feng shoved the strong liquor into Shifang's arms and quickened his pace toward the outer edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.

After taking a few steps, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to look at Yue Guan.

"What are the chances of breeding your Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum Martial Soul with the Nine Heart Begonia?"

Yue Guan stumbled.

"What?"

"Ye Lingling's Nine Heart Begonia is a healing type, while your Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum is a strengthening type."

"If we could hybridize a Immortal Herb that could both heal and fight, those few acres of land in the Tower Spirit Space wouldn't have been wasted."

Yue Guan remained silent for a long while.

I'll give it a try.

The Old Huai laughed so hard in the Tower Spirit Space that the immortal trees swayed wildly.

"Nan Feng, you little bastard, you've only just surrendered and you're already making her breed?"

Nan Feng's expression remained unchanged.

"That's called making the best use of resources."

Shifang caught up from behind, carrying the grilled fish rack, and patted Yue Guan.

"Old Yue, don't listen to Brother Nan's nonsense. That's just how he is; he tries to push everyone he sees into the Immortal Herb Garden."

"Last time they wanted me to use the Fire of the Blazing Sun to heat the Immortal Herb greenhouse. I told them my fire was for grilling fish, not as a heater."

Yue Guan turned her head and glanced at him, her lips twitching, it was unclear whether she wanted to laugh or say something.

In the end, he said nothing and followed Nan Feng towards the Star Dou Great Forest.

After walking half a mile, the Old Huai poked its head out from among the sacred trees.

"By the way, Nan Feng, about that thing you mentioned about having Chrysanthemum Douluo breed, you need to let Ye Lingling know beforehand."

"The Nine Heart Begonia is her Martial Soul; you should at least ask her before using it for hybridization experiments."

Nan Feng didn't stop.

"Write to her later."

"Write a letter? Would it kill you to go to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy in person?"

"Aren't we busy investigating the Abyss Sect right now?"

Old Huai clicked his tongue and shrank back.

Shifang muttered from behind, "If Brother Nan had been more clear in his letters, he and Tang Yuehua wouldn't have dragged things out for so many years."

Yue Guan, standing nearby, couldn't help but chuckle.

Nan Feng turned around and glared at Shifang. Shifang immediately shut up, slung the grill over his shoulder, and walked away with his head down.