Lin Fan summoned his Eight Spider Lances and stabbed them into both sides of the spring to leap onto the shore.
He then sat cross-legged on a large boulder by the shore, calmly reflecting on the gains from the Ice and Fire Refinement.
"Now I'm immune to poison, ice, and fire. I already had poison immunity, but this ice and fire immunity is quite impressive."
The main benefit of the Ice and Fire Refinement was the strengthening of his physique. Lin Fan found that even his once-fixed bones had stretched, making him about five centimeters taller.
His raw physical strength had also doubled, at the very least.
Even his soul power had risen by one level, reaching Rank 93 Title Douluo. Not long ago, his soul power had just advanced, and now it had increased again—quite a remarkable result.
After all, as a Title Douluo, every increase in soul power required massive amounts of energy. Naturally, he couldn't expect the same rapid improvement as the Shrek Seven Devils, who could jump several levels after eating immortal herbs.
After examining the effects of the Ice and Fire Refinement, Lin Fan turned his gaze to his Eight Spider Lances.
Originally dark purple-black, the Eight Spider Lances had now turned blue and red, becoming much longer and larger, with their soul bone age raised to over 20,000 years.
"The Eight Spider Lances evolved along with my physique, absorbing the toxic properties of the two immortal herbs. Their venom is now even more potent than the Man-Faced Demon Spider's poison."
"With the soul bone age upgraded to over 20,000 years, the overall stat boost from releasing the Eight Spider Lances has increased from 20% to 30%."
The gains from the immortal herbs were extremely satisfactory—his strength had improved in all aspects.
Though his soul power was only at Rank 93, Lin Fan felt confident that he could now face even Rank 95 Title Douluos.
After spending a full day and night meditating on the boulder to stabilize his improvements, Lin Fan finally stood up.
"Now that my physique is reforged, it's time to enhance the quality of my martial soul."
Recalling his knowledge of rare plants from the encyclopedia given by the system, Lin Fan focused on herbs suitable for sword-type martial souls, which prioritized sharpness and offensive power, unlike the Haotian Hammer, which focused on brute strength.
After reviewing many immortal herbs, Lin Fan set his sights on a herb called "Black Jade Divine Bamboo."
The Black Jade Divine Bamboo had slender, sharp leaves shaped like pointed blades. Its stalk was sectioned every two centimeters, growing up to twenty centimeters tall, with frosty white flowers blooming atop it.
The stalk resembled polished black jade—glossy and extremely hard.
Absorbing this herb could toughen a martial soul, greatly boosting its attack power.
"Perfect. This is exactly what my Blue Shadow Sword needs."
Without hesitation, Lin Fan jumped down from the boulder and searched around the spring for the Black Jade Divine Bamboo.
Soon, he found a nearly twenty-centimeter stalk wedged between some rocks. Carefully, he uprooted the entire plant, including its roots—the most essential part of the herb.
Unlike most herbs, the Black Jade Divine Bamboo wasn't meant to be eaten but instead absorbed through refining, allowing the martial soul to fully integrate its power.
Returning to the boulder, Lin Fan summoned his Blue Shadow Sword and began refining the herb.
Clang—
The Blue Shadow Sword emitted a clear sword hum, glowing with radiant blue light. Lin Fan could even sense a faint emotion of joy from his martial soul.
After about three hours, the Black Jade Divine Bamboo turned into green residue—its medicinal essence fully absorbed by the Blue Shadow Sword.
[Congratulations, Host! You have successfully refined the medicinal energy of the immortal herb, causing your Blue Shadow Sword martial soul to evolve into a top-tier quality. Mission Complete.]
[Reward: Your second soul ring upgraded to a thousand-year level. Gain +1 soul power rank at the Soul Ancestor level.]
"Wait, what?"
"When was this new mission posted? I didn't even know!"
Lin Fan was dumbfounded by the sudden reward.
He checked his system interface and realized that the system had posted the mission while he was immersed in the Ice and Fire Refinement.
Eager to see the effects of the refinement, Lin Fan had skipped over the task notification entirely.
The mission was simple—refine an immortal herb to upgrade his Blue Shadow Sword martial soul.
"Tch, even if the reward isn't anything earth-shattering, getting my second soul ring upgraded to a thousand-year level is still useful."
After the upgrade, Lin Fan found that his second soul skill, "Draw Sword Slash," now had an explosive attack boost of 300%.
With his Blue Shadow Sword now evolved into a top-tier martial soul, all his soul skills had doubled in effectiveness.
"My body, soul power, and martial soul have all been enhanced—my spiritual power can't lag either."
Without hesitation, Lin Fan sought out the "Autumn Water Dew" immortal herb, known for improving spiritual power.
Before he knew it, another half a month had passed inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
By the time he fully finished digesting the medicinal effects and consolidating his cultivation, Lin Fan's overall power had skyrocketed.
His physique, soul power, martial soul, and spiritual power were all dramatically elevated, completely different from when he first entered.
"I've already consumed every immortal herb here that can strengthen me. After half a month of absorption and consolidation, I've reached Rank 94 soul power."
"But now comes the tricky part—how do I take the remaining herbs with me?"
Lin Fan looked around at the immortal herbs filling the area, scratching his head in frustration.
"System, can I store these herbs in your space?"
He waited, but the system didn't respond at all.
"Tsk, useless as always."
His Reverse Fate System only cared about missions; it ignored everything else.
"Wait a minute, I forgot about Dugu Bo—he should have a storage item capable of preserving live herbs."
"Then again, there's still plenty of time. These herbs will continue to grow much faster here. I'll leave them for now and retrieve them later when the Shrek Academy moves to Heaven Dou City."
Lin Fan decided to wait before harvesting the remaining herbs.
Even if Dugu Bo returned, he wouldn't recognize the herbs' true value—he merely saw this place as a means to suppress his poison.
"Now, I should focus on the system's new task."
He checked his mission panel—this task had been posted days ago, but he'd been too busy to pay attention.
[New Mission: Due to rapid power growth from consuming immortal herbs, your mindset has fallen behind. Plus, your second martial soul—the Slaughter Sword—makes it easier to succumb to inner demons. Please head to Moon Pavilion in Heaven Dou City and study etiquette and music to temper your heart.]
[Note: This mission affects your future path to godhood and cannot be abandoned.]
[Reward: Your fourth soul ring will be upgraded by 5,000 years, plus you will gain a Wisdom-type Head Soul Bone with a ten-thousand-year age, and a Mystic Secret Realm Map Fragment.]
"Tang Yuehua…" Lin Fan let out a helpless smile.
Honestly, he wanted to skip this mission. But since it was mandatory, plus the attractive rewards—especially the secret realm map—he had no choice but to comply.
"Sigh… Looks like I'm fated to visit that place after all."
Without delay, Lin Fan picked a rare herb to take with him, then departed the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.