Chapter 236: Finally Found You, Lovesick Heartbroken Grass
The petals of the Beautiful Silk Tulip trembled.
It wasn't just the petals; its entire body shivered slightly. The edges of its leaves curled inward, its stem bent low, and the entire plant shrank into a tight, defensive ball.
Its voice drifted out from the center of its stamen, laced with undisguised panic. "I'll tell you, I'll tell you! Just don't pull me out. I'll take you there."
Du Busi stood before it, looking down at the cowering immortal herb. His expression remained entirely flat, yet that absolute lack of emotion was far more terrifying than any scowl he could have mustered. His previous threat still echoed through the cavernous underground space: If you don't start being honest, I'll uproot every single plant in this place.
The Beautiful Silk Tulip did not doubt him for a second. Its leaves slowly unfurled. Its stem lifted from the rock, and the entire plant began to awkwardly shuffle across the stone surface. Its roots pulled free from the crevices, bringing up fine bits of damp soil. Those root whiskers swayed in the air for a moment before plunging back into another crack further along the rock face. It moved forward in this agonizing, inch-by-inch fashion.
"Follow me," its voice squeaked, much softer than before, its previous arrogance completely shattered.
Liu Yuan cast a brief glance at Du Busi, a faint smirk playing on his lips, before following behind the trembling plant. Du Busi walked beside Liu Yuan, his pace measured and unhurried, radiating the absolute confidence of a Rank 98 Super Douluo.
Huo Yuhao trailed at the very back. His gaze remained glued to the Beautiful Silk Tulip, his heart hammering against his ribs in a frantic rhythm. Long Aotian brought up the rear of the group, his sharp eyes scanning the vibrant flora, maintaining his usual flawless alertness.
The Beautiful Silk Tulip led them around the northwest corner of the glowing pool. The terrain here grew steeper, the rocks jagged and slick with moisture. Short, resilient ferns clung to the vertical rock walls, their broad leaves dripping with heavy condensation. The ambient temperature twisted into a bizarre, chaotic flux; the biting chill of the extreme cold spring clashed violently with the searing heat of the extreme hot spring, creating a suffocating, indescribable thermal pressure that clung to their skin.
After traversing several dozen steps, the Beautiful Silk Tulip finally stopped. Its slender stem pointed toward a nearby rock formation.
"It's right there," it whispered, its voice still vibrating with lingering fear.
The rock protruded sharply from the edge of the pool, half-submerged in the swirling, dual-colored water and half-exposed to the humid air. Its surface was a dull grayish-black, coated in a thin, slippery layer of moss.
Nestled within the narrow crevices of this rock grew several small plants. Among them, one stood out. It possessed slender, dark red leaves laced with complex black veins. The entire plant was diminutive, barely the size of a human palm, yet its deep, blood-like crimson hue commanded attention, contrasting fiercely against the emerald greens and radiant golds that dominated the pool's edge.
Huo Yuhao's breath hitched in his throat.
He saw the dark red plant. His Spirit Eyes flared to life, locking onto the tiny herb without him even needing to consciously channel his soul power.
The shape, the color, the distinct texture of those serrated leaves—it matched the ancient texts perfectly.
His fingers curled into tight fists, his nails digging into his palms, before slowly relaxing. He took two hesitant steps forward, then froze. A sudden, suffocating wave of anxiety washed over him. He was terrified that his desperation was playing tricks on him, afraid that in his blind eagerness, he had mistaken some ordinary weed for the legendary herb.
He stared harder, his golden pupils shrinking as he scrutinized the complex patterns on the leaves and the exact shade of the delicate stamens.
No mistake.
It was it.
Above the God Realm.
Tang San sat rigidly upon his ornate throne within the grand palace. The divine tea resting on the table before him had gone completely cold, untouched and ignored.
His entire attention was violently pinned to the Water Mirror suspended in the air, his piercing gaze locked onto the moving Beautiful Silk Tulip. He watched the ancient plant shrink into a pathetic ball under Du Busi's threat. He watched it scurry across the rocks, leading Liu Yuan and Huo Yuhao directly toward their prize.
Every single step they took felt like a heavy boot stomping directly onto his carefully crafted plans.
His fingers twitched against the armrest, slowly curling into a white-knuckled fist that he brought down to rest heavily upon his knee. His breathing grew ragged and heavy. It wasn't the explosive panting of a man losing control to a fiery rage, but rather a dark, suppressed suffocation trapped deep within his chest.
"Damn it."
The words squeezed through his gritted teeth, low, raspy, and dripping with venom.
Tai Tan and Niu Tian stood silently behind the throne. The two massive men exchanged a heavy, complicated glance but dared not utter a single word.
Tang San's furious gaze shifted from the cowering immortal herb to Du Busi. That arrogant elder with grayish-green hair strolled by the legendary pool with steady steps and a flat, unbothered expression, acting as if the divine machinations of the universe were entirely beneath his notice.
Tang San knew the truth. If not for this damned Body Sect Master, his grand orchestration would never have been derailed so spectacularly.
"A mere Rank 98 Super Douluo."
Tang San's voice rose half a pitch, the temperature in the grand hall plummeting as his grip tightened on his knee.
He was a God King. He was the Sea God. He was the Asura God. He held the absolute authority to dictate the fate of the Lower Realm, controlling the life, death, and destiny of countless mortals. Yet, a mere mortal—a man who hadn't even touched the threshold of a Limit Douluo—actually dared to trample upon his divine chessboard.
Standing behind him, Tai Tan finally couldn't contain himself. He bowed his massive frame and whispered, "Lord Tang San, should your subordinate..."
"No need," Tang San snapped, cutting him off. His tone forcibly returned to a chilling calm, though the underlying suppression was suffocating. "It's too late to intervene now. They've already reached it."
His gaze snapped back to the Water Mirror, fixating on that tiny, dark red plant.
The Lovesick Heartbroken Grass. He had planted that seed with his own divine hands thousands of years ago. He remembered the curve of every leaf, the path of every black vein.
He hadn't planted it simply to cure Huo Yuhao's hidden ailments. He planted it for today.
He had designed this entire trial. He wanted Huo Yuhao to hurl himself into the agonizing waters, to thrash and struggle on the brink of death between the extreme cold and extreme hot springs. He wanted to see the desperate, tear-soaked relief on the boy's face when he finally plucked the herb with his dying breath.
These agonizing trials were meant to forge unbreakable, traumatic imprints deep within Huo Yuhao's soul, binding him forever to the path Tang San had decreed.
But the sudden intrusion of Du Busi and Liu Yuan had utterly tainted the process.
Huo Yuhao hadn't walked this path of suffering alone. Every step of the way, he had someone shielding him, someone standing by his side, mocking the very danger Tang San had set up.
This was not the narrative Tang San demanded. He wanted Huo Yuhao isolated, broken, forced to endure the agony alone, risking his very life for Wang Dong'er in a display of ultimate, solitary sacrifice.
Tang San took a deep, shuddering breath. He closed his eyes, sealing away the divine light, before snapping them open again.
"The events that follow must not go wrong again."
His voice was a low, dangerous murmur, as if whispering to himself, yet clearly issuing an absolute command to Tai Tan and Niu Tian.
His gaze shifted from the Lovesick Heartbroken Grass toward the chaotic depths of the pool, right to the violent nexus where the extreme cold and extreme hot springs violently collided.
There was still one final step left.
After Huo Yuhao plucked the Lovesick Heartbroken Grass, he would be forced to use his own heart's blood to nourish it. Only then would its true medicinal properties awaken.
That was the most critical, excruciating phase of the entire ordeal.
Tang San wanted Huo Yuhao's very soul to be frozen by the extreme cold power the exact moment he drew his heart's blood. Only by pushing the boy to the absolute limits of human suffering would this memory be branded into his core for the rest of his miserable life.
"This time, there must be no failure." Tang San's fingers dug into his knee, his knuckles turning a stark, bloodless white.
Within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
After leading Liu Yuan and Huo Yuhao to the designated rock, the Beautiful Silk Tulip immediately retreated to the periphery. Its petals remained half-closed, its stem bent low as it pressed its entire body against the damp soil, desperately trying to erase its own presence.
Beside it rested another ancient plant.
This one grew stubbornly within a jagged crevice at the very edge of the boiling pool. It possessed broad, fiery-red leaves laced with brilliant golden veins. The entire plant radiated a scorching, tyrannical aura that distorted the air around it.
Its cultivation age was immense, easily reaching the hundred-thousand-year threshold. Just like the Beautiful Silk Tulip, it belonged to the very first generation of immortal herbs born within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
The Infernal Delicate Apricot.
Its broad leaves quivered slightly, the intense firelight flickering within its core. It sensed Du Busi's powerful aura. It saw Liu Yuan and Huo Yuhao approach. Yet, it uttered no sound. It didn't even fully unfurl its blazing leaves. It simply shrank deeper into the rocky crevice, maintaining an absolute, terrified silence.
Du Busi's sharp gaze swept over the fiery herb, dismissing it without a second thought.
Liu Yuan also noticed the hundred-thousand-year Infernal Delicate Apricot. His Double Pupils flashed with a deep, calculating light, but he made no aggressive moves. His immediate focus wasn't on the fiery cabbage, but on the tiny, dark red grass clinging to the grayish-black rock.
Huo Yuhao crouched beside the stone, his head bowed, his eyes completely locked onto the dark red plant.
Its leaves were incredibly thin, lined with microscopic serrations along the edges. The deep black veins pulsed faintly, extending from the base of the stem all the way to the sharp tips.
The flower itself was minuscule, barely the size of a fingernail. It was a deep, melancholic red, its delicate petals curled slightly inward as if hiding a deep sorrow.
The entire plant exuded a faint, lingering fragrance. It wasn't a fresh, vibrant scent, but rather a heavy, sickeningly sweet aroma that made the mind spin and the heart ache.
Huo Yuhao slowly reached out. His trembling fingers stopped mere centimeters from the serrated leaves. He didn't dare touch it. He just knelt there, staring at it for what felt like an eternity.
"I finally found you."
His voice was barely a whisper, yet in the dead silence of the underground cavern, every syllable rang with a crushing weight.
His fingers trembled violently before he forcefully pulled his hand back. He took a deep, ragged breath, his chest heaving as the rims of his eyes turned a stark, watery red.
He thought of Wang Dong'er.
He thought of the gentle way she smiled at him beneath the moonlight by the Sea God Lake at Shrek Academy. He remembered the soft, melodic tone of her voice when she called his name, and the flushed, beautiful red of her cheeks on that fateful night she finally nodded in agreement.
He had endured all of this for her.
He had abandoned the safety of Shrek, crossed half the continent, plunged into the deadly Sunset Forest, braved the suffocating poison miasma, and descended into the lethal Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. After an eternity of desperate searching, he had finally found his salvation.
"Lovesick Heartbroken Grass."
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