"Whoosh—swoosh—"
Between mountains and open fields, one person and one dog raced like the wind, charging straight toward the nearby forest.
"Little Soft, faster!"
Bai Mu lay flat on Zygarde's back, feeling the fierce airflow rush past his ears.
Thanks to his young age, he was able to use Zygarde as a mount.
"Woof!"
Zygarde sprinted forward, its four limbs slamming into the ground with explosive force, leaving streaks of afterimages behind as it tore through the forest.
An hour later, they had already penetrated deep into Sunset Forest.
The trees here were taller and denser, the air thick with rich spiritual energy. The presence of thousand-year Spirit Beasts grew increasingly intense.
Bai Mu didn't dare lower his guard. Together with Zygarde, he remained completely invisible, following the lingering traces of Dugu Bo's aura as they pressed deeper inside.
Titled Douluo-level experts possessed power so overwhelming that even when acting discreetly, they rarely bothered to conceal their aura completely.
Moreover, Dugu Bo's uniquely identifiable aura gave Bai Mu the perfect chance to track him.
"Wuru."
After an unknown amount of time, Zygarde gradually slowed down.
"Did the aura disappear?"
Even though the guidance vanished, Bai Mu remained calm.
The location of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well had been described very clearly in the original story—and he remembered it perfectly.
The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well lay within a basin-like depression shaped like an inverted cone, near a hill roughly five hundred meters tall. The surrounding area was extremely humid, and the air was filled with a strong sulfuric smell.
On top of that, Dugu Bo had set up a Poison Array around it.
Any single condition might have been difficult to locate, but with all these features combined, finding it inside Sunset Forest wasn't hard at all.
"Look—what did I find?"
"It's a wild Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well!"
Before long, Bai Mu stared excitedly at the Toxic Mist ahead.
He was certain the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well lay within it.
However, he didn't act recklessly. He didn't even deactivate Zygarde's invisibility.
"Dugu Bo went to Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Logically, once he finishes his business, he'll definitely go see his granddaughter, Dugu Yan. He won't return until at least tomorrow."
"Snakes have extremely sharp senses of smell. Just in case, we can't leave behind even a trace of our aura."
His gaze dropped to the silver-white bracelet on his wrist.
This was a storage spirit tool that Water Ice had secretly slipped to him when he parted ways with her and her mother. Its internal space was about five cubic meters—more than enough for daily use.
"What a pity… this spirit tool can't store living things. Otherwise, I could just empty out the entire Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well."
Bai Mu sighed softly as he looked at the Toxic Mist, lost in thought.
The harvesting and storage conditions of Immortal Herbs were extremely strict—and most importantly, one couldn't consume too many.
In the original story, even Tang San only consumed Blazing Apricot Delicate and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass for Ice and Fire Body Refinement, along with Autumn Water Dew to enhance his Purple Demon Eye and mental strength.
He couldn't eat everything.
He wanted to take them all for a massive haul, but he lacked a suitable spirit tool.
"So I really only have two choices."
Bai Mu calculated silently.
"Either risk harvesting everything—eat what I can, store what I can't, and destroy the rest rather than leave it for others."
"Or conceal my tracks, take only what I need, and come back for the rest once I'm strong enough."
Bai Mu leaned toward the second option.
After all, Dugu Bo didn't recognize the value of these things, and Tang San hadn't arrived yet.
Leaving these Immortal Herbs here was actually the safest choice. He could return for them later when the timing was right.
Having made his decision, Bai Mu gave the order:
"Little Soft, stay invisible the entire time. Activate Safeguard and enter the valley. I'll direct you from outside."
He had no intention of entering the Poison Array himself.
If Dugu Bo suddenly lost his mind and returned early, getting trapped inside would mean certain death.
At that point, even if Bai Mu claimed he could help detoxify him, given the Poison Douluo's suspicious and eccentric nature, there was a high chance he'd be killed on the spot.
Even if spared initially, he might still be silenced afterward.
Leave it to me!
Zygarde responded confidently. The moment Safeguard activated, a strange protective barrier rose around it as it swaggered invisibly into the Toxic Mist.
Safeguard prevented abnormal status effects, and upon entering the Poison Array, the surrounding Toxic Mist was instantly blocked out by the barrier.
Once past the Poison Array, the scene before them caused both Zygarde—and Bai Mu, who was sharing its vision through Telepathy—to pause slightly.
Wind swept through the hollow valley. Thick mist lingered in the air. At the center lay a bizarre spring: one half crimson like molten magma, steaming upward; the other half deep blue like frozen ice, radiating bitter cold.
Around the spring grew all kinds of strange flowers and exotic grasses.
Some burned like flames, some were carved like ice crystals, some glowed faintly, and others released peculiar fragrances.
Though he had never seen Immortal Herbs in person before, Bai Mu could still recognize most of them.
"The two closest to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well are Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Blazing Apricot Delicate. That yellow chrysanthemum is Qi Rong Tong Tian Chrysanthemum. The one shaped like a fiery cockscomb is the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower…"
Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, Autumn Water Dew, Ethereal Fragrant Immortal Product, Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower…
"So many Immortal Herbs… which one should I choose?"
Since transmigrating, this was the first time Bai Mu had seen so many Heaven-and-Earth treasures growing right in front of him, ready to be picked. His hands trembled with excitement.
"Hoo—"
He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down, carefully analyzing the Immortal Herbs and his own situation.
Blazing Apricot Delicate and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass both contained powerful toxins and required Ice and Fire Body Refinement. They were immediately ruled out—he neither had the time nor the courage to undergo such dangerous tempering.
Ethereal Fragrant Immortal Product could neutralize all poisons, but it wasn't very useful for him right now.
Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower was fire-attributed, which conflicted with his own attributes.
"At present, the most suitable options are only two."
"The Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, which stabilizes the foundation, nurtures the origin, has gentle medicinal effects, and removes impurities."
"And the Qi Rong Tong Tian Chrysanthemum, which circulates qi through the limbs, unblocks the meridians, and helps cultivate an Indestructible Vajra Body."
"Removing impurities… Indestructible Vajra Body…"
Bai Mu hesitated.
The former was safe—eating it would never go wrong.
The latter sounded exaggerated, but it truly could massively strengthen one's physique, making the body tougher and more ferocious.
Although the effect on Bai Mu wouldn't be as dramatic as it had been for Dai Mubai in the original story, if he could later obtain some Whale Glue after strengthening his body, he might be able to attempt absorbing a thousand-year spirit ring for his second ring.
Even if spirit ring age wasn't everything to him, higher was always better.
What's more—
"A purple spirit ring is far more appealing than a hundred-year yellow one."
A faint smile curved Bai Mu's lips.
As for attracting unwanted attention by possessing a thousand-year second spirit ring?
He wasn't too worried.
After all, someone already drowning in trouble doesn't fear getting wet.
And besides—both he and Zygarde could turn invisible. Naturally, the spirit ring could be hidden as well.
"I'll choose the Qi Rong Tong Tian Chrysanthemum."
Having made up his mind, Bai Mu transmitted his thoughts through Telepathy.
"Little Soft, Little Soft—you're already a mature Spirit. You should learn how to choose a suitable Immortal Herb on your own."
I've already chosen!
Zygarde: (｀_´)ゞ