Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Dual Springs of Ice and Fire

Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo was momentarily taken aback, then his anger flared even more. What a bold kid—not only do you covet my dwelling, you won’t even let me off the hook.

After a long pause, Dugu Bo seemed to have made up his mind and said, “As long as you can accomplish that task, I can give you the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. However, I have never liked being constrained all my life, and besides, I once received the favor of Prince Xuexing. Now, I am an honored guest of the Heaven Dou Empire, so I cannot agree to your second condition!”

Dugu Bo’s reaction was well within Xiao Yu’s expectations. The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well was something Dugu Bo had claimed to suppress the deadly poison within him. Once the poison was cured, the well would lose its purpose for him; he didn’t even recognize those medicinal herbs, and even if he occupied the place, he wouldn’t dare consume them.

As for the second condition, Xiao Yu had never thought things would go that smoothly from the start. Just as Dugu Bo said, he was not a man who liked to be tied down. In the original work, whether with the Heaven Dou royal family or at Shrek Academy, he was only nominally affiliated. Even after joining Tang Sect, he was not an administrator; rather, he lent his support to Tang San and perhaps acted as a link between the Tang Sect and the Heaven Dou royal family, with Xuexing and Xue Beng, both in power at the time, having a good relationship with him after Qian Renxue’s identity had been exposed.

“I am not one to force others,” Xiao Yu replied with a gentle smile. “Since you are unwilling, let us drop the second condition.” After all, time was still on his side; for now, it was best to build a good relationship with Dugu Bo. “Even if you do not wish to join my sect, surely we can at least be friends?”

The more friends, the broader the path. Dugu Bo could also tell this young man was no ordinary figure. Nodding, he said, “As long as you can help me and my granddaughter resolve our trouble, although I won’t join your sect, if you ever need my help in the future, I, Dugu Bo, will not refuse!”

“Good, Senior Dugu. Let us be on our way!” Xiao Yu clapped his hands, signaling Dugu Bo to lead.

“To go? Go where?” Dugu Bo was momentarily confused.

“To the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, of course,” Xiao Yu rolled his eyes. “Unless you want me to discuss everything out here in the open?”

“Oh, right, right!” Dugu Bo finally came to his senses. Throughout their conversation, they had used the word ‘trouble’ to refer to his poisoning, not out of fear that Ye Renxin would betray his trust—after all, Ye Renxin had been clan chief for decades and knew what could and could not be spoken of. But if it became known that the Poison Douluo, a master of toxins, could not cure his own poison, he would become the laughingstock of the world—how could he show his face then?

Without another word, Dugu Bo turned and took off into the sky.

Before leaving, Xiao Yu entrusted Ye Renxin, “Elder Ye, I will be away with Senior Poison Douluo for some time. In my absence, please take care of Zilong and the others.”

“No problem at all!” Having glimpsed Xiao Yu’s background, Ye Renxin could hardly do enough to please him, pounding his chest and vowing sincerely.

The speed of a Titled Douluo was astonishing. It took less than ten minutes from the departure at the Nine-Heart Begonia Clan’s residence to reach the Sunset Forest.

“Up ahead is my retreat, which is also the location of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well you spoke of,” Dugu Bo announced. As they neared their destination, he slowed and descended, with Xiao Yu and the others following suit.

No sooner had they landed than Dugu Bo produced several pills from his soul tool. “I detest being disturbed, so I set up a poison array around the perimeter—even spirit beasts over ten thousand years old dare not trespass. These are antidote pills; after taking them, you’ll be immune to the miasma for a short while.”

“There’s no need,” Miro stepped forward, studied the drifting miasma, gathered his soul power, and pointed. A ray of red light shot out; in an instant, the poison array Dugu Bo had constructed with his own deadly venom was dispelled.

Dugu Bo was dumbstruck.

“Don’t be surprised, Senior Dugu,” Xiao Yu said, “Miro is also well-versed in the art of poison—this level of toxin is no threat to him.”

Scorpions and vipers were both among the Five Poisons. Though Miro was not like Dugu Bo, who had devoted ninety percent of his cultivation to toxins, dealing with a poison array was a trivial matter.

After all, since the moment he received his granddaughter’s letter, Dugu Bo had suffered one shock after another. By now, he simply strode ahead without further comment.

Under Dugu Bo’s guidance, the four of them climbed the mountain path and soon reached the summit. There, before their eyes, was an inverted cone-shaped valley. They stood at the rim, looking down through thick white mist swirling above the depression; the pungent stench of sulfur assaulted their noses.

Dugu Bo turned to ask, “The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well is right below this valley. Xiao Yu, do you need me to take you down?”

“Thank you for your kindness, Senior Dugu!” Though Xiao Yu could descend by himself—after all, in the original story, even Tang San managed it with less than thirty-five ranks of spirit power—since Dugu Bo offered, he saw no need to refuse.

Dugu Bo’s figure blurred as he summoned his martial soul: a thirty-meter-long, vat-thick emerald green serpent—the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor, the evolved form of the clan’s inherited martial soul and known as the ancestor of all serpents.

Xiao Yu leapt lightly onto the serpent’s crown.

“Hold on!” Dugu Bo warned, then soared into the clouds. The massive serpent body cut through the air at astonishing speed, soon piercing the sea of mist and descending steadily to a shallow basin.

“At last, the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well!” Xiao Yu jumped down from the serpent’s head, unable to hide his awe as he surveyed the surroundings.

This place was the greatest opportunity for the Shrek Seven Devils. Here lay countless treasures of nature that could transform one’s body. In the original work, the Seven Devils’ rapid rise among their peers owed much to the immortal herbs of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

At the heart of the valley was an oval hot spring, not large in size. Its waters were divided by color into two halves: one was milky white, the other vermilion red. Strangely, they coexisted within the same pool, each remaining distinct and never intermingling.

Between the two springs, vapors of contrasting colors constantly rose, billowing and drifting until they slowly dissipated at the valley’s mouth.

In his previous life, Xiao Yu had only read the sequel, but he had once come across the origin of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well in various forum posts: it was formed after the Water Dragon King and Fire Dragon King, two of the Nine Dragon Kings of the Divine Realm, fell and were buried deep within the Sunset Forest. The well was born from their power, nourishing all things.