"Alright, you don't look like you're lying, so I won't press you," Dugu Bo said. Although he harbored some suspicion toward Wang Zhong, he didn't question him further. Everyone had their secrets.
"Yanyan finally has some time off. You should spend it with her."
"If the two of you wish to go out, that's fine, but you must inform me first. Otherwise, the poison array outside is not something you can navigate."
Facing Dugu Bo's nagging, Dugu Yan impatiently pushed his back, urging, "Oh, we know all that. Grandfather, hurry and go!"
"Alright, alright, stop pushing. Grandfather is leaving now."
Dugu Bo chuckled helplessly, feeling the push from his back.
"Goodbye, Grandfather!" kuAiδugg
Waving vigorously towards Dugu Bo's retreating figure, Dugu Yan bid farewell with laughter.
Once he disappeared from sight, Dugu Yan ran back to Wang Zhong's side, looping her arms around his, her face beaming. "Let's go, Zhong."
"I'm telling you, those kids at school are hilarious."
"When they heard my spirit was the Jade Phosphor Serpent, they were so scared they almost cried. Even when the teacher assigned them to sit next to me, their faces turned pale with fear."
"Hahaha... If you saw their reactions, you'd burst out laughing too..."
"But, there was one person, she was so brave. She actually accepted the teacher's arrangement and sat next to me."
"Her name is Ye Lingling, and she's as cold as a block of ice..."
Wang Zhong listened with a gentle smile, his head tilted. He listened as the lonely girl shared her happy moments, occasionally interjecting a few words. Though brief, each comment fueled Dugu Yan's enthusiasm to continue speaking.
Three days later, Wang Zhong waved goodbye to Dugu Yan. Her studies would resume.
Watching her leave with a smile, Wang Zhong turned and headed towards the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well once she was out of sight.
Arriving at the edge of the pool, Wang Zhong suddenly leaped, plunging into the fire eye that symbolized extreme heat.
The ferocious, deadly heat was no threat to Wang Zhong at this point. He opened his body and sank with gravity until he touched the bottom, then his eyes snapped open.
At the bottom of the spring, a magnificent and breathtaking world unfolded before Wang Zhong like a painted scroll.
Despite being a spring whose mere touch could turn one to bone and ash, countless vibrant and exquisite flowers and plants grew at its depths.
There were large, pale pink flowers, their blossoms enormous with pale purple pistils, resembling clusters of purple diamonds. They had no leaves, their stems three feet long and almost a foot in diameter. Each petal appeared as crystal-clear as glass, emitting a faint fragrance.
There was a giant chrysanthemum, entirely bright yellow, exuding an extraordinary halo, swaying continuously and shining brilliantly.
There was a fiery red herb, resembling an apricot and a lotus, with waves of red light flashing within it. Its entire body seemed ablaze, dazzling and incandescent.
And countless other miraculous, bizarrely shaped plants and flowers vied for attention and displayed their beauty at the bottom of the spring.
Wang Zhong carefully stepped around the immortal herbs and spiritual medicines beneath his feet, slowly approaching the large flower that resembled an apricot and a lotus. He reached out, grasped it, and severed it four inches from its roots, leaving two leaves on the stem.
A warm sensation spread from his palm. Wang Zhong examined the plant in his hand and nodded with satisfaction.
"Excellent, it is indeed the Blazing Fire Apricot Blossom."
Unable to speak at the bottom of the spring, this thought naturally echoed in his mind.
Standing before the Blazing Fire Apricot Blossom, Wang Zhong used it as a focal point and gazed directly towards the side of the ice spring.
There, an immortal herb resembling an octagon swayed gently, emanating purity like snow yet tinged with a hint of blue light. Its pistils, like ice crystals, flickered with starlight as it moved.
"This is it, the Octagonal Profound Ice Grass."
He swam upwards and leaped ashore, shaking the water droplets from his body. Wang Zhong sat down cross-legged, holding the Blazing Fire Apricot Blossom in his palms, and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.
Waves of fiery energy surged from the Blazing Fire Apricot Blossom and entered Wang Zhong's body through his palms. The warmth was so intense it almost made him groan aloud.
After meditating cross-legged on the ground for a while, Wang Zhong opened his eyes and stared at the Blazing Fire Apricot Blossom in his hands, lost in thought.
According to his memory, consuming the Blazing Fire Apricot Blossom and the Octagonal Profound Ice Grass simultaneously would yield immense benefits: strengthening one's bone structure, fortifying the body, and granting immunity to ice and fire...
However, these benefits held insufficient appeal for Wang Zhong.
His own bone structure? That was a joke. He had already reached over level thirty as a Soul Elder within two years. If his bone structure was poor, he would be a rare monster in this world. How much further could it be improved?
Fortifying the body? Wang Zhong's own body possessed incredible recovery abilities and strange poison immunity. Coupled with the Eight Gates Dun Jia and the two self-created soul skills of the Eight Extremes Heaven, as long as he had time, even with swords at his body and ice and lightning striking him, they wouldn't be able to harm him in the slightest.
Immunity to ice and fire? In the Great Soul Arena, Wang Zhong had long discovered that his Wood Clone, apart from being harmed by powerful soul force and physical strength, was completely immune to any elemental damage. Wind, fire, lightning, ice, and poison—none of these elements had any effect on the Wood Clone.
Useless to consume, yet regrettable to discard.
This was Wang Zhong's initial thought regarding the Blazing Fire Apricot Blossom.
"Should I give it to Nana, Xie Yue, Yan, Teacher Ying, or even His Holiness the Pope?"
He thought for a moment, then shook his head abruptly. Although the Blazing Fire Apricot Blossom was an immortal herb, it was highly poisonous! This poison could kill even a Titled Douluo!
Moreover, Wang Zhong had discovered numerous immortal herbs at the bottom of the spring that were far superior to the Blazing Fire Apricot Blossom.
"Forget it, I'll keep it for now. I'll consider it after I obtain the Octagonal Profound Ice Grass!"
Half a month later.
Wang Zhong had already ventured deep into the ice spring and retrieved the Octagonal Profound Ice Grass. The red and blue immortal herbs now floated quietly in mid-air.
Wang Zhong, however, propped his chin on his hand, staring at the two herbs, lost in contemplation.
Both immortal herbs were highly poisonous, but if consumed simultaneously, they would transform into top-tier elixirs. However, there was a risk involved! It could be fatal! Even for Titled Douluo.
Given Wang Zhong's personality, he would never hand over something like this to those who genuinely cared about him.
"Ice and Fire Yin Yang... one cold, one hot... mutually restraining..."
With his arms crossed, Wang Zhong frowned, pondering silently.
As he thought, Wang Zhong suddenly had a peculiar association. It seemed as though two things, akin to the springs, existed within his mind.
Nine-Tailed Fox!
Tree!
These two martial spirits existed as orbs of light in his mind. In terms of their fundamental attributes, they were also mutually restraining. The former was fire-attributed, while the latter was wood-attributed.
Opposites, restraining each other, yet coexisting!
This sudden realization made Wang Zhong's eyes gleam.
"What if I feed the Blazing Fire Apricot Blossom to the little fox, and let the Tree martial spirit absorb the Octagonal Profound Ice Grass? Would something interesting happen?"
As he lowered his head, Wang Zhong felt a surge of recklessness.
The little fox was a corporeal beast martial spirit, so consuming the Blazing Fire Apricot Blossom would be completely fine.
However, the Tree martial spirit, though it had undergone a second awakening and grown larger, was far from corporeal. It was an aggregation of energy.
"Wait, an aggregation of energy?"
"If my Tree martial spirit is like other plant-type soul masters, then the existence of the Wood Clone is completely inexplicable!"
Wang Zhong suddenly thought of an issue he had never paid attention to.
The Wood Clone, formed from condensed soul force, would dissipate in an instant without a continuous supply of soul force.
Yet, his Wood Clone, apart from consuming soul force during its formation, movement, and combat, required absolutely no soul force at other times.
Furthermore, whether it was his third, second, or first soul skill, when Wang Zhong activated a soul skill, it seemed to emerge from the ground.
Covering his mouth with one hand, Wang Zhong appeared to have discovered something significant.
The method by which the Tree martial spirit activated its soul skills seemed different from other soul masters!