Poison Mist in the Valley · Gambling with Lives at the Yin Yang Well
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On the third day after leaving Moonlight Pavilion, Nan Feng arrived at the outskirts of Sunset Forest.
Heading northeast from Heaven Dou City, past the remaining ridges of the Withered Bones Mountain Range, and then through a desolate hilly area.
Ahead lies Sunset Forest, one of the most famous gathering places for Soul Beast on this continent.
The trees in the forest are tall, their canopies intertwining to form a deep green dome. Sunlight filters through the gaps in the branches and leaves, scattering golden fragments on the ground.
Nan Feng stood at the edge of the forest, his Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light already probing deeper into the woods.
Within a radius of a hundred paces, countless points of light emanated from the auras of more than a dozen Soul Beast, most of which were around a thousand years old.
Some of them are nearly ten thousand years old.
His goal is not here.
Old Huai's voice rang out.
"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is deep within Sunset Forest, in a place called Poison Mist Valley. From your current direction, it will take about half a day to cross the forest."
"There is a natural poisonous miasma zone along the road. Ordinary Soul Master who enter will collapse before they can walk three miles."
The Nan Feng stepped into the forest.
The fallen leaves had accumulated for who knows how many years. They were soft and damp underfoot, and the cool, decaying leaves pressed against the backs of my feet.
Occasionally, small fragments of bones would emerge from beneath the leaves. These were the remains of some unknown Soul Beast, their bones already eroded to a grayish-white by the dampness.
He made no attempt to conceal his presence. The Gravity Field suppressed his footsteps, and the Tower Realm receded onto the surface of his soul.
He was like a shadow, moving through the shadows of the trees.
Half a day later, he smelled the odor of poisonous miasma.
The musty, rotten smell mixed with a spicy and sweet aroma, pressing down from below, rushed to the top of my head.
The treetops ahead thinned out. Sunlight shone directly down, making the grayish-white mist on the ground shine.
That was poisonous miasma, as thick as milk, flowing between the tree trunks.
A bird strayed in. It flapped its wings twice, then plummeted straight down and never rose again.
The bird's body fell into the mist without a sound.
The Nan Feng hasn't stopped.
The Tower Realm was released from the surface of his soul. A translucent, cyan-gold barrier enveloped him completely.
The Primordial World Power spread out like a golden filter on the inner wall of the barrier.
He took a breath and stepped into the poisonous miasma.
The poisonous fog churned outside the barrier. The gray fog clung to the turquoise barrier, and a layer of white smoke rose from the barrier's surface, like acid poured onto iron.
The filter kept the corrosive components of the toxic fog out. Only the purest Spiritual Power of heaven and earth seeped in, replenishing his depleted Soul Power.
He walked steadily, his pace neither fast nor slow, each step accompanied by a muffled thud as he stepped on the decaying leaves in his boots.
I walked through the poisonous miasma for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
His throat was dry. He swallowed, and the saliva tasted sweet.
The thickest section was shrouded in fog so thick you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
Nan Feng, relying on his Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light, walked the last stretch of his journey through the gray world. Three steps away, only gray remained.
He stopped the moment he stepped out of the poisonous miasma.
Poison Mist Valley.
A huge valley was enclosed by a ring of mountain walls. The valley entrance faced him directly, like a half-open mouth.
There were no trees on the mountainside, only gray-white rock layers and several vertical cracks.
The air inside the valley was unusually clean, a world apart from the poisonous miasma outside.
He took a breath, and felt a cool sensation in his lungs.
The most eye-catching feature is the spring at the bottom of the valley. A natural, arched stone ridge divides the spring in two.
The left side is an ice spring. The water is light blue, almost transparent, and a layer of ice crystals floats on the surface.
Cold air rises from the water's surface and condenses into tiny ice particles in the air.
The right half is a hot spring. The water is dark red, like a pot of molten iron about to boil.
The heatwave surged upwards, and bubbles rose continuously from the water's surface. Occasionally, a cluster of flames would leap from the bottom of the water, exploding into a spark in the air.
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Nan Feng stood at the mouth of the valley.
Two completely opposite Spiritual Power surged up from the bottom of the valley.
The cold air from the left side licked at his Tower Realm barrier, causing a layer of white frost to form on its surface. The heat wave from the right side baked his skin, and he could feel the heat even through the barrier.
The two Spiritual Power converged at the valley entrance, forming a natural barrier.
An ordinary Soul Master standing here would be half frozen and half scorched, unable to survive for more than three breaths.
Nan Feng's Tower Realm simultaneously blocked two extreme Spiritual Power. The cyan-gold barrier shone even brighter amidst the interplay of ice and fire.
His gaze passed over the Yin Yang Well and landed on the slopes on both sides of the spring.
The soil on the slope was black, without a single weed. The Immortal Herb grew side by side, their roots moist.
The place was covered with Immortal Herb.
The Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma is entirely purple-gold, with rings of patterns on its cap resembling tree rings, radiating a warm and luminous glow.
The Snow Silkworm lay on the moss by the icy spring. Its plump, white body was translucent, and silver threads could be seen flowing inside.
Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid grows in a rock crevice beside a hot spring. The eight petals are all different colors, gradually changing from deep red to light pink, and each one is opening and closing.
The Aromatic Silk Beauty flowers droop low. Purple pollen floats in the air, each drift creating a shower of tiny specks of light.
The roots of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum are as thick as a baby's arm. The petals are layered upon each other, and a golden dewdrop lingers at the center of the flower.
The petals of the Aromatic Silk Beauty are like velvet. Its color changes between the chill of an icy spring and the heat of a fiery spring, sometimes leaning towards blue, sometimes towards red.
The Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower is the most eye-catching. Its corolla resembles a burning fire, with golden-red light flowing across its petals.
There are also the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, the Infernal Delicate Apricot, and the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew. Each one carries a rich Spiritual Power of heaven and earth, having grown for countless years under the nourishment of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Nan Feng's gaze swept over the Immortal Herb, finally settling on the very center of the spring.
The Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus.
It grows on a rock protruding above the water at the confluence of Yin Yang Well. Its roots penetrate into the cracks in the rock, half of which are immersed in the icy spring and the other half in the fiery spring.
The nine petals are bluish-gold in color, each about the size of a palm. The surface of the petals is covered with fine lines, within which a golden light flows.
At the heart of the lotus is a lotus seedpod the size of a fist. On the seedpod are nine neatly arranged bluish-gold lotus seeds.
Every lotus seed was pulsating.
The rhythm was perfectly synchronized with the Primordial World Imprint deep within his soul. The lotus seed would leap with every flick of the imprint, without fail.
Old Huai's voice rang out, filled with barely suppressed excitement.
"This is the Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus that the Pagoda God planted himself. It is the physical manifestation of the Primordial World Fragment in this world."
"It can temper the tower soul, stabilize your Primordial World Power, and raise the absorption limit of your Soul Ring to another level."
"Remove it, and the third door of the tower will open completely, and your Soul Power will experience a leap forward."
But you must be careful--
The Nan Feng has already sensed it.
As he stared at the Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus, his Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light caught a glimpse of light in his consciousness.
The point of light was moving from behind the mountain wall deep in the valley.
The Soul Power fluctuations were profound, more so than any opponent he had encountered in the Slaughter City, and even the combined Soul Beast auras of the entire Sunset Forest couldn't compare to this one.
Old Huai's voice trailed off.
"Dugu Bo, the Poison Douluo, lives in this valley."
The Nan Feng remained still.
He stood at the valley entrance, the Tower Realm maintaining a stable operation.
His gaze shifted from the Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus to the approaching figure deep within the valley.
Dugu Bo's aura carried a strong poisonous Soul Power, a poison completely different from the poisonous miasma outside.
More refined, more violent, like something forged from a fusion of hundreds of potent poisons.
The poisonous gas swept across the valley entrance, and a bitter taste entered Nan Feng's nostrils.
Footsteps came from deep within the valley.
Slowly, steadily, each step is in the same rhythm.
As it approached, that aura released its oppressive force. The Soul Power of Titled Douluo level pressed down like a mountain.
Nan Feng's feet sank, the sand and gravel sinking in half an inch.
The air at the valley entrance became thick; you had to breathe forcefully to get it in.
Then he saw Dugu Bo.
He was a thin, elderly man with gray hair, a stern face, and eyes as sharp as two knives.
He was wearing a dark green robe, the hem of which was stained with bits of herbs and dirt.
He stood at the other end of the valley, gazing at Nan Feng across the Yin Yang Well.
There were about thirty steps between them.
His gaze fell on Nan Feng and lingered for a moment.
Then the light swept over the cyan-gold Tower Realm surrounding him, finally settling on his young face.
Dugu Bo spoke. His voice was hoarse and somber, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth.
"Hey kid, who are you? How did you find this place?"
Nan Feng looked at him but did not answer immediately.
The Yin Yang Well at the bottom of the valley churned between them. Ice dust and sparks rose up in a mingled manner.
The Immortal Herb on the slope swayed in the Spiritual Power ice and fire. The nine lotus seeds of the Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus throbbed on the lotus pod.
Nan Feng spoke. His voice was steady.
The valley entrance was quiet, save for the sound of the gushing spring water.
"People who come to gamble with their lives."