Dugu Bo was a man of his word. Having promised Chu Chengzhou the rare herbs, he wasted no time.
Not long after, the three left the Dugu residence.
Dugu Bo took Chu Chengzhou flying directly towards the medicinal garden in the Sunset Forest, while Ning Rongrong returned to the academy on her own.
Chu Chengzhou didn't plan to bring Ning Rongrong along; she was only a two-ring auxiliary Great Soul Master and wouldn't be able to withstand the pervasive water and fire forces around the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well.
The Sunset Forest wasn't far from Tian DouCity, and it was much smaller than the Great Star Dou Forest. Before noon, they arrived at the central area of the Sunset Forest.
From mid-air, Chu Chengzhou saw a small mountain below enveloped in a light purple poisonous mist.
In the middle of the mountain, there was an inverted conical depression.
A dense, humid heat rose from the depression like a faint mist, covering the top of the small mountain.
With sharp eyes, Chu Chengzhou clearly saw an unusual elliptical spring in the center of the depression.
The color of the pool's water was different from ordinary springs, appearing milky white and bright red.
Even more peculiar was that although the milky white and bright red waters were within the same spring, they remained distinct, never mingling, always staying on their respective sides.
The rising steam, generated at the contact point of the two types of water, continuously ascended until it dispersed near the mountaintop.
This was the indispensable place of opportunity for all Douluo transmigrators—the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well!
"We're here, let's go down!"
After saying this, Dugu Bo brought Chu Chengzhou down to the depression below.
Although Dugu Bo had planted many Jade Phosphor Seven Deadly Flowers around the small mountain, forming a circle of light purple poisonous mist to deter soul beasts in the Sunset Forest, the mist only surrounded the base of the mountain. If one could fly, there was no need to traverse the mist.
Upon entering the valley but still far from the Ice-Fire Spring, Chu Chengzhou noticed the pervasive water and fire forces eroding his body.
Fortunately, he possessed extraordinary physical cultivation techniques, making his physique far stronger than that of a typical soul master. Though he couldn't completely ignore the erosion of these water and fire forces, as long as he didn't stay too long, resistance wouldn't be an issue.
Ignoring the discomfort caused by the intense water and fire forces, Chu Chengzhou surveyed the entire valley.
Despite the foggy mist in the valley, it was daytime and well-lit, even without X-ray vision he could see the scenery clearly.
Around the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well, various strange plants of all kinds flourished, creating what looked like a paradise of plants.
Though Chu Chengzhou wasn't knowledgeable about pharmacology, just by looking at the appearance of these plants, he knew each was a rare treasure, not to mention the numerous immortal-grade medicinal herbs growing among them.
"Little Chu, is my medicinal garden impressive?"
Dugu Bo proudly said to Chu Chengzhou.
"It really is impressive!"
Looking at the unique flowers and grasses around the Ice-Fire Spring, Chu Chengzhou nodded with admiration.
"I've already said, you can pick any herb in my medicinal garden, take whatever you fancy.
However, many of these herbs are poisonous and highly toxic. Be extremely careful.
Oh, and don't touch the central spring under any circumstances.
The extreme heat and cold there are unbearable even for me for long periods. With your small frame, touching it would surely mean death."
Dugu Bo warned Chu Chengzhou.
When he first discovered this peculiar spring, he sensed its uniqueness and immediately tested it with a ten-thousand-year soul beast.
That ten-thousand-year soul beast entered the spring and before it could sink into the water, it turned into a pile of bones.
Later, after achieving the eighth ring level of a Soul Combatant, he thought himself strong enough and tried it with his hand.
But within three seconds, the soul power on his hand was completely eroded. If he hadn't pulled back quickly, his arm would have been ruined.
Even so, much of the flesh on his arm melted, and he owed a favor to the Nine-Heart Begonia family because of it.
Had he not become a titled Douluo, he wouldn't have been able to resist it, even for a short time.
"Mm-hmm, I understand!"
Chu Chengzhou nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.
Of course, he agreed outwardly, but he still planned to soak in the spring later.
Before coming, Chu Chengzhou had already decided which immortal-grade medicinal herbs he wanted to consume.
There might be differences between various immortal-grade herbs, but consuming two immortal herbs would definitely provide greater talent enhancement than one.
Apart from the specialized spiritual force-enhancing Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, and the mutually restraining yet complementary Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot, immortal-grade medicinal herbs shouldn't be consumed in excess, as it could lead to conflicting effects.
Thus, he naturally set his sights on these three immortal-grade herbs.
The Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well was surrounded by countless precious herbs. How to find the immortal-grade herbs?
This posed no challenge to Chu Chengzhou. immortal-grade herbs were extraordinary, and mature ones contained vast energy. His perception abilities were strong enough to sense them unless their energy was concealed.
Moreover, he had some impressions from the original story about many immortal-grade herbs, so it wasn't a big problem.
The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot were easy to find. These two herbs were very conspicuous, one emitting frigid cold, the other intense heat.
The Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, an eight-petaled orchid.
The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, a chrysanthemum identical to the spirit chrysanthemum of the Spirit Hall's Chrysanthemum Douluo.
The Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, a red cockscomb-shaped grass.
The Beautiful Silk Tulip, a luxurious tulip exuding a rich fragrance.
The Yearning Heartbroken Red, a large white flower with roots connected to a black stone.
The Snow Swan Kiss, look for it near the swan's neck.
As for the remaining two immortal herbs mentioned in the original story, the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew and the Aromatic Silk Beauty, he couldn't remember their specific appearances.
Strong spiritual power could enhance a soul master's memory, but forgotten things couldn't be recalled even with subsequent increases in spiritual power. At least, with Chu Chengzhou's current level of spiritual power, he couldn't recall forgotten memories.
He only remembered that the leaves of the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew had dewdrops, drinking the dew would enhance spiritual power, and the Aromatic Silk Beauty could counteract toxins, emitting a faint fragrance.
Finding these two immortal herbs would be somewhat difficult.
Given the pervasive moisture near the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well, many herbs had dew on their leaves, and countless herbs emitted fragrances.
Referencing the impressions in his mind, after wandering around the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well for over an hour, Chu Chengzhou found the Infernal Delicate Apricot, Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, Eight-Petal Fairy Orchid, Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, Daffodil Jade Flesh Bone, Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, Beautiful Silk Tulip, Yearning Heartbroken Red, Snow Swan Kiss, and Aromatic Silk Beauty.
Initially, Chu Chengzhou didn't know what the Aromatic Silk Beauty looked like. But during his search, when he approached a large pale pink flower near the intersection of the red and white waters of the spring, he not only smelled a faint fragrance but also saw a direct ten-meter-wide, very pale pink protective barrier.
This miraculous sight immediately confirmed that this pale pink flower was the Aromatic Silk Beauty.
At this point, apart from the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, all the immortal herbs that Tang San obtained in the original story at the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well were found by Chu Chengzhou.
Moreover, besides finding these ten mature immortal herbs, Chu Chengzhou also discovered four extraordinary plants.
One plant resembled a pumpkin vine bearing a fist-sized golden fruit, exuding a strong earth elemental aura.
Another was a pure white grass with many leaves, containing astonishing energy.
A piece of artistic dark green bamboo, with a small dark green bamboo shoot emerging beside it.
A beautiful entity with a rare black stem and a table tennis ball-sized golden fruit at the top. Upon closer inspection, the golden fruit was actually composed of countless golden dots.
If nothing went wrong, these four extraordinary plants should be the Land Dragon Golden Melon, Origin Energy Immortal Grass, Ink Jade Divine Bamboo, and Star Luo Holy Pearl that appeared in later generations.
It made sense. In the original story, Tang San harvested mature immortal herbs. If there were mature ones, there must also be immature ones.
Examining these immortal herbs, Chu Chengzhou fell into deep thought.
He wasn't Tang San, and he had little knowledge of pharmacology, almost none. All he knew about harvesting and consuming these immortal herbs came from the original story, and he had forgotten most of it.
Yes, the immortal herbs in Douluo Continent had special harvesting and consumption methods. Incorrect methods wouldn't necessarily be harmful but would likely result in significant loss of efficacy.
Fortunately, the harvesting issue was easy to solve. He didn't know how to harvest them properly, but digging them up with soil and taking them whole for later processing would suffice.
As for the consumption method, Chu Chengzhou also thought of a solution.
Apart from the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot being poisonous, including the "Toxin Amplifier" Snow Swan Kiss, all other immortal herbs were non-toxic.
Edible immortal herbs, according to the law of conservation of energy, would concentrate beneficial elements in parts rich in energy.
Even if a few herbs concealed their energy and he couldn't perceive it, consuming the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew first to gain insight (a low-tier version of Sun Wukong's Fire Eyes), allowing him to see through all illusions, would enable him to determine which part of an immortal herb to consume.
Thus, even as a novice in pharmacology, he could utilize the immortal herbs perfectly.
Thinking this way, Chu Chengzhou couldn't help but pat himself on the back for his cleverness.
However, his expression soon turned awkward.
With so many exotic flowers and herbs around the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well, which one with dew on its leaves was the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew he needed?
Hmm, he remembered that the medicinal properties of the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew were concentrated in the dew on its leaves. Once the dew left the plant, the plant would rapidly wither and disappear. Patiently collecting dew from each plant with a jade bottle would eventually reveal the right one.
However, the prerequisite for this experiment was immunity to all poisons.
Since many herbs growing near the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well were highly toxic, touching them carelessly could easily prove fatal.
Conveniently, consuming the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot and then soaking in the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well would not only grant immunity to water and fire but also make one immune to all poisons.
Chu Chengzhou remembered that these two immortal herbs needed to be cut with metal and jade respectively to preserve their efficacy. When the two herbs, emitting cold poison and fire poison, were brought close together, there was a brief window for consumption.
Of course, missing this window would render the two immortal herbs useless.
"The question is, which one should be cut with metal and which with jade?"
Looking at the distant Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass emitting frigid cold and the Infernal Delicate Apricot radiating scorching heat, Chu Chengzhou started to feel a headache coming on.
If only he had re-watched "Douluo Continent" before his previous life's reincarnation!
"According to the theory of the Five Elements, fire overcomes metal, indicating a conflict. By this reasoning, metal tools should be used to cut the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, and jade should be used for the Infernal Delicate Apricot?"
Chu Chengzhou thought to himself.
Without much hesitation, Chu Chengzhou settled on this plan.
Even if his calculations were wrong, at worst, some efficacy would be lost, but it wouldn't affect the overall outcome.
Besides, he wasn't relying solely on immortal herbs; his main advantage was his passive cultivation cheat.
Perhaps favored by fate, Chu Chengzhou's calculations were indeed correct.
Approaching the Infernal Delicate Apricot near the Yang Spring, Chu Chengzhou retrieved a jade piece from his storage necklace, exerted force with his hand, and the jade piece flew out rapidly.
With a flash of jade light, the fiery red Infernal Delicate Apricot, resembling a cabbage, fell to the ground with a sound.
Immediately, a blue glow flashed on Chu Chengzhou's body, materializing his Azure Cloud Patterned Armor. He swiftly moved to the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass on the other side of the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well.
Channeling soul power to protect his right hand encased in the Azure Cloud Patterned Armor gauntlet, Chu Chengzhou, with the speed of fourteen years of singlehood, rapidly plucked the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and threw it towards the Infernal Delicate Apricot on the other side of the spring.
His movements were incredibly fast, and with the protection of the spirit-forged armor and soul power, even the fierce cold poison of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass failed to freeze his arm.
Subsequently, Chu Chengzhou employed his footwork techniques, quickly retreating to the Yang Spring side.
Near the Yang Spring, the previously intensely hot and cold Infernal Delicate Apricot and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass instantly calmed both their cold and hot energies upon coming close to each other.
The originally frigid Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass was now enveloped in a faint red glow, while the previously blazing Infernal Delicate Apricot was covered in a faint white mist.
Ignoring this peculiar sight, taking advantage of the moment when the two immortal herbs were suppressing each other's energies, Chu Chengzhou swiftly picked up the two highly toxic herbs from the ground and greedily stuffed them into his mouth.
Though the two immortal herbs were highly toxic, after neutralizing each other, they no longer exhibited their previous dominance. Upon ingestion, they immediately liquefied and flowed smoothly down his throat. For a moment, Chu Chengzhou felt his mouth watering, and a fragrant aroma filled the air.
Savoring the flavors of the two immortal herbs, Chu Chengzhou quickly removed the storage necklace from his neck and stripped down to his underwear, preparing to jump into the spring for a soak.
Soon, the properties of the two immortal herbs took effect, causing Chu Chengzhou's body to tremble violently.
Following this, a layer of icy blue light rose from his feet, and in the blink of an eye, his entire body turned blue. However, the next second, a layer of fiery red light emerged, making Chu Chengzhou look like a cooked shrimp, with alternating blue and red lights appearing extremely eerie.
Yet, despite this simple alternation process, Chu Chengzhou immediately felt immense discomfort. The pain from the clash of the two extreme energies far surpassed what he experienced when absorbing the Phoenix soul ring.
However, as uncomfortable and painful as it was, Chu Chengzhou realized that he seemed to be able to bear it.
True, he and Tang San from the original story were both three-ring Soul Masters, but in terms of physique, he far surpassed Tang San.
Even excluding the powerful physique cultivated through his training techniques, the enhancements from his millennium-level first soul ring, ten-thousand-year second and third soul rings provided far superior physical attributes compared to Tang San's total of less than three thousand years of soul rings. What Tang San couldn't endure didn't mean he couldn't either.
Thinking this way, Chu Chengzhou immediately circulated his soul power, beginning to refine the properties of the two immortal herbs.
As for jumping into the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well for a soak? That would be considered only if he couldn't bear it. If he could endure, why bother jumping in?
In Chu Chengzhou's view, jumping into the spring after consuming the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot had its pros and cons.
The benefit was that with the assistance of the ice and fire spring waters, there was no need to worry about the overwhelming ice and fire energies of the two immortal herbs causing his body to explode.
As for the drawbacks?
Tang San's immunity to the scorching and freezing spring waters wasn't due to his own abilities but rather from pre-consumption of the ice and fire herbs.
Energy was conserved; to achieve immunity to the erosion of the ice and fire spring waters, a portion of the energy from the two immortal herbs would inevitably be consumed.
If he didn't jump in for a soak, he could avoid wasting that portion of energy.
If the wasted energy's effect was merely to enhance physical strength, it wouldn't matter much. But what if the effect was to boost cultivation talent? Wouldn't that be a great loss?
Although Chu Chengzhou wasn't sure if his guess was correct, it certainly couldn't hurt, right?
On the other side of the small mountain where the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well was located, there was a nearly vertical cliff.
Inside a cave on the cliff, Dugu Bo, who had gathered some herbs, was preparing pills for his granddaughter, Dugu Yan, to suppress the toxins within her body.
Though Chu Chengzhou could detoxify Dugu Yan, Dugu Bo understood that they weren't in the same academy and weren't a couple. When his granddaughter suffered from poison backlash, Chu Chengzhou wouldn't be able to appear in time. Pills to suppress the toxins were still necessary.
After a long while, the pills were prepared. Dugu Bo exited the cave and headed to the medicinal garden to check how Chu Chengzhou was doing with selecting the herbs.
When Dugu Bo appeared in the valley, the first thing he saw was Chu Chengzhou, shirtless and wearing only his underwear, his skin turning red and then blue, with a pained expression on his face.
Seeing this scene, Dugu Bo couldn't help but be stunned.
What was going on with this kid? He was fine earlier, how did he end up like this?
Could it be that he ate some random herbs?
Hesitating for a moment, Dugu Bo didn't approach to disturb him. He could tell that Chu Chengzhou's current state was similar to absorbing a soul ring, which mustn't be interrupted.
Suddenly, Dugu Bo noticed that the two peculiar herbs in his medicinal garden, which emitted severe cold and fire toxins, were gone.
The medicinal garden had countless exotic flowers and herbs. Missing one or two others might be hard for Dugu Bo to notice, but these two herbs with severe cold and fire toxins were too distinctive. A glance revealed their absence.
"Shit, could it be that this kid ate them?"
Shocked, Dugu Bo couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.
It wasn't that he was heartbroken over the loss of these two peculiar herbs. To him, precious herbs weren't valuable; his garden had plenty. What shocked him was that this young man, Chu Chengzhou, dared to eat herbs with such potent toxicity.
Seeing Chu Chengzhou's skin alternating between red and blue, Dugu Bo couldn't help but feel worried.
He wasn't a good person, but he was someone who repaid kindness and vengeance fairly. Although he hadn't fed those poisonous herbs, he had brought Chu Chengzhou here, and the latter had done him a favor. If anything went wrong, he'd feel guilty.
Time passed unnoticed; the sun set, the moon rose, and night fell. Sitting cross-legged beside the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well, Chu Chengzhou's body finally stopped alternating between red and blue colors.
Not long after, having refined the properties of the two immortal herbs, Chu Chengzhou opened his eyes.
Realizing that the pervasive water and fire forces around the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well could no longer erode his body, Chu Chengzhou nodded with satisfaction.
Moreover, he knew that being impervious to water and fire was just one of the benefits of consuming the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot.
Even being impervious to water and fire, resisting all poisons, and enhancing physical strength were, to him, relatively trivial.
After all, being immune to ice, fire, and poison wasn't absolute. He could resist low-intensity ice, fire attacks, and toxins, but anything too strong would still be impossible.
Ultimately, the numerous immortal herbs around the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well were merely derivatives of the energy emanating from the unformed corpses of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings. Translating their cultivation levels into the soul beast system, they were equivalent to at most ten-thousand-year soul beasts. Their additional effects couldn't be overly powerful.
They were useful early on but ineffective in the later stages.
What Chu Chengzhou valued most was the enhancement in cultivation talent.
The only pity was that these two immortal herbs might have inherent limitations and didn't boost soul power. Like Tang San in the original story, his soul power didn't increase, remaining at the 36th level Soul Elder stage.
Chu Chengzhou felt a bit disappointed but not too much.
With his cultivation talent evolving again, a few levels at the three-ring stage were insignificant.
Back when he first awakened his martial soul, with half-level innate soul power, he was undoubtedly a cultivation failure, perhaps even worse than another super failure, Yu Xiaogang.
But with successive transformations in the quality of his martial soul, his cultivation talent was no weaker than that of an ordinary genius soul master.
Now, having consumed the ice and fire herbs, his cultivation talent undoubtedly surpassed full innate soul power.
Even considering the soul power cultivation speed boost from the nine-breath technique, even Qian Renxue with innate 20-level soul power, working hard at cultivation, couldn't match him!
Among those who could rival his cultivation speed, perhaps only Xiaowu, who would similarly consume immortal herbs in the future, could.
Over the years, spanning eight years, he, Chu Chengzhou, had finally transformed from a super failure into a super genius!
Title Douluo qualifications?
Who do you think you're looking down on?!
I, Chu Chengzhou, undoubtedly have the qualifications to be a god... a God-King!
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