"Thank you very much, Clan Leader Yang," Lin Rong said as he handed the rare herbal manuscript back to Yang Wudi with a bow of gratitude. "We shall meet again in Tiandou City in four months!"
Upon hearing this, Yang Wudi was somewhat surprised. After a moment, he realized and said, "I didn't expect that old White Bird would tell you this!"
"Four months from now will be the biennial gathering of the Four Single-Element Clans. This time, it is the turn of the Strength Clan to host."
"Ah, right, the Strength Clan is based in Tiandou City. You also live in Tiandou City, so perhaps old Goryo told you about this!"
"No, neither," Lin Rong calmly replied. "This isn't exactly a secret. Since I had a request for you, Clan Leader Yang, I naturally made sure to investigate first. After all, what if we traveled all the way here and you weren't home?"
After speaking, Lin Rong hesitated for a moment, considering whether to tell Yang Wudi about Tang San's matter.
However, after thinking it through, he decided against it.
When talking with others, it's best to avoid sharing too much, especially when the other person's strength far exceeds your own. Yang Wudi's temper was volatile, and revealing such information in person might lead to unforeseen consequences.
Therefore, it was better to let Yang Wudi discover this matter on his own.
Moreover, in four months, Tang San would only be eight years and three months old, with a soul power level of less than level 20.
He could not possibly "defeat" Yang Wudi in combat the way the original storyline described. Without the two Immortal-grade medicinal herbs—Yuxiang Qiluo and Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng—Tang San would be unable to win over Yang Wudi, who was obsessed with medicinal herbs.
As a result, it was impossible for Tang San to gain the allegiance of the Break Clan within the next four months.
Even if Bai He had the intention of aligning with Tang San, the Min Clan, which was a gift of the Break Clan, would not follow him.
Perhaps the Yu Clan would join in for the sake of Titan, but that wouldn't make much of a difference.
The Yu Clan specialized in construction, and within the Four Single-Element Clans, their value was the least significant.
Given this, Lin Rong didn't feel the need to interfere, lest he be dragged into the conflict with Yang Wudi, whose rage could harm him.
Thus, Lin Rong stood up and bid farewell to Yang Wudi: "Clan Leader Yang, my apologies for disturbing you. We take our leave now."
On the journey back to Tiandou City.
Lin Rong's thoughts were consumed by the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eyes.
Now that he had the antidote, as well as the harvesting and preservation methods for various rare herbs, he was fully prepared.
With this knowledge, he could freely cross the poisonous formation set by Dugu Bo and gather the precious medicinal herbs inside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eyes at any time.
It was truly a case of "all preparations made, just waiting for the right moment."
He only needed to wait for a day when Dugu Bo wasn't around the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eyes. On that day, he could gather the herbs without any concern.
However, Dugu Bo, due to the soul backlash from his martial soul, was afflicted with a deadly poison. The extreme temperatures of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eyes helped suppress this poison.
As a result, this old man would visit the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eyes at least seven or eight days out of every ten to alleviate the intense pain caused by the poison in his body.
Therefore, Lin Rong had to be very careful in choosing the right day to harvest the herbs.
It had to be a day when Dugu Bo absolutely wouldn't be in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eyes, ensuring everything would go smoothly.
In fact, there was indeed such a day—the birthday of Dugu Bo's granddaughter, Dugu Yan.
Dugu Bo had lost his father at a young age, his wife in middle age, and his son in his later years. He treasured this only granddaughter above all else.
Thus, on Dugu Yan's birthday, Dugu Bo would definitely accompany her to celebrate and wouldn't go anywhere else.
It took Lin Rong quite a bit of effort to find out the exact date of Dugu Yan's birthday.
Now, Dugu Yan had just turned fourteen and would be fifteen in about three months.
Since Lin Rong only needed about a month to return to Tiandou City from the Star Luo Empire, the timing was perfect.
The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eyes, one of the three great treasure troves of the world, housed a total of eleven Immortal-grade medicinal herbs:
Qi Rong Tong Tian Ju (Miracle Chrysanthemum)
Ba Bian Xian Lan (Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid)
Qi Luo Yu Jin Xiang (Qiluo Gold Tulip)
Xiang Si Duan Chang Hong (Heartbroken Red)
Ji Guan Feng Huang Kui (Phoenix Sunflower)
Shui Xian Yu Ji Gu (Water Fairy Jade Skin Bone)
Wang Chuan Qiu Shui Lu (Longing for Autumn Water Dew)
Ba Jiao Xuan Bing Cao (Eight-Cornered Ice Grass)
Lie Huo Xing Jiao Shu (Blazing Fire Apricot Blossom)
Xue Se Tian E Wen (Snow-Colored Swan Kiss)
You Xiang Qi Luo Xian Pin (Fragrant Qi Luo Immortal Herb)
Among them:
Wang Chuan Qiu Shui Lu—Consuming this would grant the ability to develop Fire Eyes and Gold Pupils, enabling one to see through all oddities.
The second layer of the Xisui Jing (Wash Marrow Sutra), Yuantong Guan Zizai, grants a similar ability to see through anything in the world after one reaches that level.
Lin Rong thought that after consuming Wang Chuan Qiu Shui Lu, he would greatly accelerate his progress toward achieving the second layer of Xisui Jing.
Qi Luo Yu Jin Xiang—This absorbs the essence of heaven and earth and the light of the sun and moon.
Although the essence of heaven and earth wasn't as important, the sun and moon themselves were related to the stars, which could align with Grandpa Yu's Tian Xing Pan (Celestial Star Plate), so this would be given to Grandpa Yu.
Ji Guan Feng Huang Kui—There was no need to elaborate here; this would be given to Ma Hongjun to absorb and purify the Phoenix Flames, allowing his martial soul to evolve into a true Fire Phoenix.
You Xiang Qi Luo Xian Pin—This was an unrivaled anti-poison Immortal-grade herb. Within a ten-step radius, it made the user immune to all poisons. Its fragrance even had the added benefit of neutralizing toxins. Such a precious herb would not be shared with anyone else.
Xue Se Tian E Wen—Although it had no poison on its own, any virus that came into contact with it would multiply a thousandfold.
This lethal weapon had to be controlled by Lin Rong himself.
As for Ba Jiao Xuan Bing Cao and Lie Huo Xing Jiao Shu—these two poisonous Immortal herbs could not be taken, only absorbed on the spot.
But Lin Rong didn't want to absorb these two toxic herbs, as it would cause the Nine Curves Vine Dragon martial soul to develop both Ice and Fire Poison attributes.
The opposite attributes of life are death, and secondly, destruction.
For the Nine Curves Vine Dragon to evolve, it had to develop these two attributes, not be contaminated with Ice and Fire Poisons.
Likewise, if Grandpa Yu absorbed them, it would pollute the purity of his star power.
Since they couldn't be taken or absorbed by anyone, Lin Rong decided to destroy these two toxic Immortal herbs instead.
Ba Jiao Xuan Bing Cao would be thrown into the Extreme Heat Spring, and Lie Huo Xing Jiao Shu would be thrown into the Extreme Cold Spring, where their Ice and Fire properties would cancel each other out.
As for the remaining four Immortal-grade herbs, Lin Rong would keep them for now and decide later depending on the situation.
Additionally, apart from the rare herbs from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eyes, he also intended to take all the soil nourished by the Extreme Cold and Extreme Heat Springs.
His Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng was only a little over five thousand years old. With that soil, it would grow to a ten-thousand-year-old age in less than three years.
The Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng was an eighth-grade herb that evolved over ten thousand years.
Only by reaching the ten-thousand-year mark could it be compared to the legendary Nine-Grade Ginseng King, and that would make it eligible to be one of the two core components for his seventh soul ring.
Although this plan was somewhat draining for the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eyes and would be detrimental to their long-term development, Lin Rong had no choice. As long as Dugu Bo still controlled them, this was the only course of action.