"Senior Sister, I may actually have a lead on an immortal herb... though I'm not entirely sure yet."
"What? You have a lead on an immortal herb?!"
Yue Guan reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. His whole body jolted upright, and in the next second, he grabbed Gu Han's shoulders and began shaking him furiously.
"You brat, say it! Where is it? Where's the immortal herb?"
"Ugh, Senior Yue Guan, please stop shaking me—I'm getting dizzy…"
"Calm down, Yue Guan."
Ghost quickly stepped forward and pulled him away.
"Seriously, Senior Yue Guan, are you trying to shake my junior brother into a coma?" Bibi Dong said, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
"Ah—sorry, I got too excited," Yue Guan said, coming back to his senses. But the eager gleam in his eyes remained. "Xiao Han, tell me quickly—which immortal herb are you talking about?"
"Ahem, well… this is just a guess on my part. I can't confirm if it's truly an immortal herb."
Gu Han feigned helplessness as he shook his head, then explained under Yue Guan's slightly disappointed gaze.
"In the book you gave me, Senior Yue Guan, it says that every immortal herb grows in an extremely unique environment. While going through one of the ancient records in Spirit Hall, I found a description of a mysterious place deep in the Sunset Forest."
He wasn't lying. Spirit Hall did have records of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, but the record was categorized under rare geographical phenomena and didn't explicitly mention any immortal herbs growing there.
In fact, when Gu Han discovered that particular book, it had a thick layer of dust on it—proof that it hadn't been touched for a long time.
"The book mentioned a strange lake—half boiling hot, half freezing cold. It was described as something extraordinary, though there weren't many details. Still, it stood out among the other entries, which is why I thought it might be worth checking."
Hearing this, Yue Guan finally calmed down. "That actually sounds promising. But let's help Xiao Dongdong obtain her third soul ring first. After that, we can head over and take a look."
"Alright."
With their plans set, the group left the inn and made their way toward the Great Star Dou Forest.
"Xiao Dongdong, brat, the Great Star Dou Forest is extremely dangerous. You two stick between me and Old Ghost—don't wander off, understand?"
Yue Guan's tone was dead serious. This was no place for carelessness. Even in the outer regions, they needed to stay vigilant.
"Got it."
Both Bibi Dong and Gu Han nodded seriously. They were well aware of the risks and remained alert, even while walking in the middle of the group.
Over the past few days, Gu Han had broken through from the peak of Rank 26 to Rank 27. The energy from five whale jelly had been perfectly absorbed, raising his soul power by a solid four levels.
It was a clean and stable increase, though the pills were most effective during initial use. Later on, unless the age of the materials was increased, the effects would gradually diminish.
The group gradually ventured into the area where thousand-year soul beasts resided. Beasts here typically ranged from 3,000 to 10,000 years in age, and even the vegetation was noticeably denser and more vigorous than in the outer forest.
"There's movement."
Suddenly, both Ghost and Yue Guan stopped in unison, their expressions sharpening.
As Soul Douluo-level experts, their spiritual perception far surpassed that of Bibi Dong and Gu Han.
"Yue Guan, stay here. I'll go check it out."
"Alright."
Ghost leapt into the air and landed on a tall tree, his gaze fixed in the direction the soul energy was emanating from.
A swirl of green mist hovered in the distance, and from within it, a massive spider came charging in their direction at full speed.
"It's an 8,000-year Man-Faced Demon Spider!"
Ghost's eyes lit up. What a stroke of luck—it was exactly what they were looking for.
The attributes of the Man-Faced Demon Spider were a perfect match for Bibi Dong's martial soul, and its age was just right.
Ghost used soundless transmission to inform Yue Guan of the situation.
"Haha! Excellent, what perfect timing! Xiao Dongdong, looks like your soul ring has arrived."
Yue Guan laughed heartily. He had expected to spend at least a week searching in the forest, yet they'd stumbled upon the ideal target on the very first day.
"Senior Yue Guan, what kind of soul beast is it?"
Gu Han immediately understood what that meant—this soul beast was the perfect candidate for Bibi Dong's third ring.
"It's an 8,000-year-old Man-Faced Demon Spider. You two stay behind me. Leave the rest to me and Old Ghost."
As he spoke, Yue Guan summoned his martial soul. Two yellow, two purple, and four black soul rings rose beneath him—eight in total.
Ghost, on the other hand, was different. A shadowy silhouette emerged behind him, but no rings were visible beneath his feet.
Gu Han immediately recalled the original description of Ghost—only the shadow could be seen, never the soul rings.
Of course, Gu Han also summoned his martial soul, while Bibi Dong only summoned her soul rings, without entering soul possession.
It was clear she disliked the appearance of her soul form when her two martial souls possessed her.
RUMBLE!!!
The ground trembled as a massive spider—at least seven to eight meters tall—burst through the jungle into view. But its steps were frantic, as though fleeing from a predator.
Yue Guan and Ghost didn't care in the slightest.
"I'll handle this!"
Yue Guan roared. His Marvelous Intoxicated Chrysanthemum bloomed in the wind, growing rapidly. Wielding it like a massive club, he slammed it directly onto the spider's head with precision, knocking it unconscious on the spot.
After finishing the attack, Yue Guan gracefully returned to his usual elegant demeanor, retracted his soul, and used a finger to brush the hair at his temple.
"Xiao Dongdong, come finish it off."
"Stop!!!"
A shout rang out. Two figures in green appeared across from them.
When both sides got a clear look at each other, their eyes widened in shock.
"You old poison freak?!"
"Chrysanthemum?!"
"What are you doing here?" ×2
Old poison freak?
Gu Han turned his gaze toward the newcomers. One of them was clad entirely in green—even his hair was green. His lips were tinged with purple.
It was indeed Dugu Bo—the future Poison Douluo.
The young man beside him looked to be about seventeen or eighteen. He was roughly the same height as Dugu Bo, perhaps even taller, and bore a clear resemblance to him.
Gu Han's heart stirred. That must be Dugu Bo's son, Dugu Xin.
"Hmph. Obviously, I'm here to help our Holy Maiden obtain her soul ring," Yue Guan said, crossing his arms as his eyes swept over Dugu Bo. He sneered, "Oh my, don't tell me someone failed to capture a mere thousand-year beast?"
A vein popped on Dugu Bo's forehead as he gritted his teeth. "Chrysanthemum, I don't have time for your nonsense. That soul beast is one my son and I have been hunting for two days. I already wounded it—it was only a matter of time before we caught it. And now you just barge in and take it? That's downright shameless."