The next morning.
The dew was heavy, the air bit with a bone-chilling cold. The thatched roof of the hut leaked in places. After eating a bit to regain his strength, Lin Xiao did some minor repairs.
After all that effort, steam rose from his body. He felt warm all over.
The evil fire had already erupted once, so it wouldn't flare up again for a while.
But the next time—it would be fiercer than before. Lin Xiao had already steeled himself for that inevitability.
"A day's plan begins in the morning."
Although he had yet to obtain a spirit ring, Lin Xiao had begun physical training. Since the Heart of Ice Technique could suppress the evil fire, then the traditional exercises from his past life—Ba Duan Jin (Eight Brocade Movements) and Wu Qin Xi (Five Animal Frolics)—might be just as helpful.
He began testing them one by one.
In the end, he found the Five Animal Frolics more effective. After completing a full round, the lingering pain left in his body from the evil fire's eruption eased considerably.
It felt like a warm current was flowing through him, circulating into every bone and organ, mending the internal damage from the fire, and even subtly strengthening his body.
"The Bird Frolic, among the Five, feels most natural to me. It even works better than the Deer, Tiger, Bear, or Monkey movements."
"Eight Brocade seems slightly less effective for injury recovery, but better at nourishing the internal organs."
Lin Xiao decided to practice both.
The Five Animal Frolics in the morning, Eight Brocade in the evening.
For now, he went through them a few more times to refresh his memory.
"If I recall correctly, the key to Eight Brocade is..."
"Let intention guide the movement, with form and spirit in harmony. Alternate tension with release, action with stillness."
Exhale—
After four hours of training, it was already noon.
Lin Xiao finally stopped to rest.
For lunch, he boiled noodles.
As he ate, he pondered:
The root of the evil fire problem lay in the flaw of his martial soul—
It was that the human body couldn't withstand the evil fire.
In that regard, it was quite similar to Dugu Bo's Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor, which poisoned his own body.
If not for the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well helping to suppress his internal toxins, Dugu Bo would have long perished.
It was the same as how Lin Xiao now relied on the Heart of Ice Technique to control the evil fire.
Getting information about the location of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well from Dugu Bo shouldn't be too hard, since both he and his granddaughter Dugu Yan also suffered from martial soul flaws. Their interests aligned with Lin Xiao's.
But there was one major problem.
Lin Xiao… didn't know anything about immortal herbs.
If he recklessly entered the Well and happened upon some highly toxic herb, he could end up dying young—poisoned on the spot.
Fortunately, he had the Heart of Ice Technique. It gave him time to investigate further.
"In the original story, the only ones with deep knowledge of immortal herbs are Tang San, Chrysanthemum Douluo, and the Po family."
"Tang San, even after becoming a god, never shared any of his skills with those close to him. He didn't even give Dugu Bo—who helped him and nearly offered his granddaughter's hand in marriage—so much as a single immortal herb, keeping the whole Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well to himself."
"Knowing Tang San's selfish nature, if I show the slightest hint that I know his secrets, he won't pass down his techniques—in fact, he might follow the Tang Sect rules and silence me permanently."
"Even if I'm not afraid of him, his father Tang Hao is an overwhelming threat. Provoking Tang San is not a smart move."
Tang San: disqualified.
"What about Chrysanthemum Douluo?"
"Setting aside his high status as an elder of Spirit Hall, the only way to get close to him would be joining the Hall—which I'm not planning to do."
"Even then, Ju Douluo is arrogant and temperamental. If I reveal secrets about immortal herbs, with so many Titled Douluo in Spirit Hall, and even Bibi Dong and the Worship Hall involved—what chance would I have to gain anything?"
"I can't afford that gamble."
Only after being ground down by society does one realize—
The world doesn't reward hard work fairly, nor does it care for merit.
It favors "flexible distribution."
Chrysanthemum Douluo: disqualified.
"As for the Po family… they treat their medicinal knowledge as sacred and never share it—not even with their own allies like the Clear Sky Sect."
"Even if I married the clan leader's daughter, I still might never get access to that information."
So much trouble—my head aches from it all!
Lin Xiao sighed. This is the difference between novels and reality, isn't it?
In fiction, things are solved in a few short lines.
But in real life—
You either plan carefully, or those few lines might be the story of your death.
Frustrated, he snapped his fingers.
A strange, demonic flame appeared in his palm. Absentmindedly, he began playing with it.
Come to think of it…
This flame's heat—is it possibly the Flame of Ultimate Yang?
"Wait a minute…"
Lin Xiao stared at the fire in his hand, eyes lighting up in surprise.
The Flame of Ultimate Yang?!
Fire, after all, was the nemesis of poison. Not just Ultimate Ice, but also Ultimate Fire were said to grant immunity to toxins.
In the original story, Tang San's so-called "resistance to all poisons and elements" came from using the Fiery Apricot Delicate Branch and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass to temper himself in the Yin-Yang Well.
But Lin Xiao was born with it!
While this era didn't yet have formal knowledge of Ultimate Elements, Lin Xiao had innate full soul power—a typical trait of Ultimate Attribute users.
Just like Ma Xiaotao in Soul Land II.
Whereas Ma Hongjun, despite having a powerful spirit, only had innate level 8 power. He didn't possess Ultimate Fire until later, after taking immortal herbs.
"I remember the appearance and effects of all the immortal herbs in the novel."
"If I'm immune to poison, this plan could actually work!"
And just to be safe, Lin Xiao could always shield himself with his Ultimate Fire before entering the Well's core area. It should be enough to keep him from danger.
He let out a helpless laugh. Looking down at the demonic flame in his palm, he couldn't help but feel love and hate toward this domineering, wicked fire.
"I searched endlessly, only to find it by chance."
Now that he had a concrete plan and a visible path to survival, Lin Xiao finally let out a long breath of relief.
His bowl of noodles had gone cold.
Yet somehow…
They tasted even better.
"First, survive. Then, find a way to live brilliantly."
Afternoon.
Lin Xiao left the house.
He visited the homes of the villagers who had once shared their food with him.
Knocking on doors, he paid his respects one by one.
"Madam Wang, I'm planning to leave the day after tomorrow."
"You're leaving, Xiao? Where will you go? Oh, I'll miss you so much—you're such a sweet, smart boy…"
"Don't worry, Auntie Wang. I'm going to become a great soul master!"
"Well, in that case, I feel better. I know you'll do great things!"
Then he visited Uncle Li's house.
"Xiao? Come in, come in! Sit down, I'll get you something to eat!"
"No need, Uncle Li—I've already eaten. I just came to say that I'll be setting out to train the day after tomorrow."
"Training? That's the spirit! A true soul master! You're going with your teacher, right?"
"Yeah… something like that."