Chapter 93: The Duality of Ice and Fire Shapes the Foundation of God [Part 2]
"Could this kid really be fine?"
Behind the giant rock, Dugu Bo stroked his pale beard, his eyes flickering.
Since his departure, Dai Yao had first lain down to rest, then sat up to adjust his posture and meditated cross-legged, seemingly without any issues. But for some reason, Dugu Bo couldn't shake the feeling that Dai Yao was hiding something.
"Forget it, anyway, this kid is still in my grasp. No matter what secrets he has, I'll dig them all out!"
Dugu Bo clenched his fist tightly, thinking viciously.
"But this kid's not bad. Even in such an environment, he can calmly cultivate. I heard his talent is pretty good. If he really can detoxify Yan'er, he might be a good match for her."
Through a crack in the rocks, Dugu Bo glanced at Dai Yao, who appeared no larger than an ant at the bottom of the depression. There was a hint of admiration in his gaze.
"As long as he can detoxify Yan'er, I'll spare his life. If he truly breaks the curse on my bloodline, I wouldn't need to worry about Yan'er getting close to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. I wouldn't have to fear that, after my death, those enemies might harm her."
With a slight nod, Dugu Bo gathered his soul power, crouched down, and then, with a powerful push, leaped into the air like lightning, breaking the sound barrier and causing a series of loud bangs.
Sensing the fluctuation of soul power from the mountain pass, Dai Yao relaxed and let out a long sigh of relief. But his anxiety quickly returned:
"Has he really left? Or is he just faking it, trying to get me to expose myself?"
At the moment, he didn't know the distance from here to the Heavenly Dou Imperial City. If he had known, he could have estimated Dugu Bo's travel time. Now, he had to absorb the Octagonal Icegrass and the Fire Peach Blossom, because if Dugu Bo returned and he hadn't absorbed them yet, and if he couldn't transfer the green light into someone else to detoxify Dugu Yan, then he would be as good as dead.
But now, he was also worried that Dugu Bo was tricking him into exposing himself, and he couldn't make up his mind.
"Five more minutes. If he doesn't appear, I'll pick the Fragrant Mysterious Orchid and absorb the Octagonal Icegrass and the Fire Peach Blossom!" Dai Yao clenched his fists, making a firm decision.
Five minutes passed.
"Four more minutes!"
...
"One more minute!"
A minute later, Dai Yao let out a deep breath, opened his eyes, and said, "No more waiting! Dugu Bo hasn't appeared all this time, so he must have left! Anyway, whether I absorb the two herbs or not, I'll die. It's just a matter of how quickly."
He stood up, carefully avoiding the surrounding herbs, and approached the large flower.
A faint, refreshing fragrance wafted through the air, soothing Dai Yao's discomfort near the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes.
He was overjoyed. "This has to be the Fragrant Mysterious Orchid!"
He couldn't remember exactly how to pick the Fragrant Mysterious Orchid, and if he did it wrong, he might destroy the herb. So, Dai Yao gritted his teeth and began scooping out the soil around the flower, carefully lifting it with the soil intact.
Remembering that both the Octagonal Icegrass and the Fire Peach Blossom required special methods to be harvested, he couldn't carry the Fragrant Mysterious Orchid with his hands free, so he placed it on his head, tying it with his hair. After jumping a bit to make sure it wouldn't fall off, he looked toward the two plants growing in the center of the hot springs.
"I'm coming, my two treasures!"
With his martial soul activated, Dai Yao extended his wings and flew effortlessly to the blue-hot spring area, where the Octagonal Icegrass grew.
"It's so cold!" Dai Yao shivered, feeling the extreme chill around the blue spring. Even as an assault-type soul master, he could feel the intense cold.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Dai Yao gathered his soul power to resist the cold, focusing entirely on the large flower in front of him. He remembered that the Octagonal Icegrass and Fire Peach Blossom needed special methods to be picked, so he decided not to think too much and just dig them out together with the soil.
Stretching his hands, he formed a shovel shape with his fingers and plunged them into the earth around the Octagonal Icegrass.
"Ugh—so painful."
Dai Yao's face twisted in pain as his hands trembled. The ground surrounding the Icegrass was as hard as iron, and when his hands hit it, it was like striking metal.
"Damn it, I don't believe it!" Dai Yao gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain as a cold wave surged up his arms. He couldn't bear it and shivered.
"Green Lotus! Give me the green light!"
In his mental world, the Chaos Green Lotus swayed and emitted its green light, which flowed through Dai Yao's body and slowly expelled the cold from his hands.
But no matter how much the green light helped, his hands continued to hurt as he dug at the iron-like soil. Over time, a large pit formed in front of him, with soil and blood mixing. He was just a step away from completely uncovering the Octagonal Icegrass.
"Ha—" Dai Yao wiped the sweat from his forehead and exhaled deeply. His hands were a mess—his nails had fallen off, his skin torn and bleeding, and his hands were covered in dirt. The wounds continued to ooze blood.
Thanks to the green light, his palms were visibly healing.
The pain of new nails growing made Dai Yao wince in discomfort.
Although he couldn't remember the exact method of picking the herbs, he knew that the two herbs needed to be taken together. Once one herb was harvested, the other had to be harvested within ten breaths, or they would lose their efficacy.
Leaving the Octagonal Icegrass just a little bit away from being fully dug up, Dai Yao moved the Fragrant Mysterious Orchid on top of his head and summoned his martial soul again, extending his wings. He glided swiftly to the red hot spring area, where the Fire Peach Blossom grew.
"It's so hot!" The heat was unbearable. Dai Yao was drenched in sweat, as if his body were about to burn up.
"I have to hurry!" His face grew serious. Fortunately, the ground around the Fire Peach Blossom was soft due to the extreme temperature, and he quickly dug up the herb, leaving just the final step.
At this point, his hands had been burned black by the heat from the land near the Fire Peach Blossom, and it even smelled like burning flesh when he touched it.
Looking over at the Octagonal Icegrass nearby, Dai Yao grinned.
"Almost done! Just one last step!"
He scooped the Fire Peach Blossom out with the soil and flew back toward the Octagonal Icegrass, carefully maintaining his balance to keep the Fragrant Mysterious Orchid from falling. Once he arrived, he carefully scooped up the Icegrass and flew toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes. With both herbs in one hand, he took the Fragrant Mysterious Orchid from his head.
Dai Yao felt a cold sensation on his scalp as he realized how much hair he had lost in the process.
Holding one extremely cold herb and one scalding hot herb in each hand, he didn't hesitate any longer. He stuffed both herbs into his mouth and swallowed them, along with the dirt, in one go.
(End of Chapter)