Chapter 235 I'll talk! I'll talk! Don't pull it out!
Above the realm of gods, the atmosphere inside the hall was as cold as if it were frozen.
Tang San sat in the main seat, his fingers gripping the armrests, his knuckles turning white.
His gaze was fixed on the water mirror, where the image of the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire was still circulating, and the figures of Liu Yuan and Huo Yuhao moved around the edge of the pool.
His chest heaved, and his breathing was heavier than usual.
He hadn't lost his composure like this in a long time.
As a god-king, he was used to controlling everything.
Every piece in the lower realm, every cause and effect, and every turning point in fate is within his calculations.
He spent many years planning, starting before Huo Yuhao was even born, step by step, with each step linked to the next.
He made Huo Yuhao's mother suffer, made Huo Yuhao endure cold treatment in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, and made him know from a young age what powerlessness and longing are.
Then he arranged for Wang Dong'er to appear in Huo Yuhao's life, allowing the lonely boy to feel warmth and care for the first time.
This is exactly what he wanted.
Having something to worry about creates a vulnerability.
If you have a weakness, you can be tamed.
He had been planning this Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well for a long time. In his plan, Huo Yuhao would encounter the Fragrant and Exquisite Immortal Item after arriving here.
The 100,000-year-old plant-type soul beast will take out the Poison Scripture as he instructed, but it won't give it to him directly.
It will present a test, forcing Huo Yuhao to ingest a poisonous herb.
The poisonous herb wouldn't be fatal, but it would cause excruciating pain, as if the internal organs were on fire and the meridians were being pierced by needles. Huo Yuhao would struggle through that agony, teetering on the brink of life and death, but ultimately pull through through sheer willpower.
This process isn't really about taking his life, but about planting a seed in his heart.
He will remember what he would do for Wang Dong'er.
If I'm willing to give up my life, what else can't I give up?
Once it happens, it will happen again.
The first time was to take poison for Dong'er's illness, the second time was to risk everything for Dong'er's safety, and the third time was to give up something for Dong'er's happiness.
Repeating this process time and time again will turn that sacrifice into a habit. From now on, no matter what request Tang San makes, as long as Wang Dong'er is mentioned, Huo Yuhao will do it without hesitation. He won't even need Tang San to say anything; he will take the initiative to go in that direction.
This is domestication, not coercion.
Forced behavior will backfire, but domestication will not.
A tamed person will think that everything they do is out of love, is voluntary, and is a matter of course.
He doesn't feel like he's being used; instead, he finds satisfaction in the sacrifice.
This is exactly the effect Tang San wanted.
But now, all of that is ruined.
With just one sentence from Du Bu Si, Youxiang Qiluo Xianpin handed over the Poison Scripture.
There were no trials, no poisoning, no pain, and no sacrifice.
Huo Yuhao didn't even get a good look at what the poisonous herb looked like before Liu Yuan took the book away.
Tang San took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.
His chest was still heaving, and the veins on the back of his hand throbbed a few times.
"Liu Yuan, you two damned bastards, you're both poisoned!"
The eye of ice and fire.
Liu Yuan led Huo Yuhao to continue searching by the pool.
He had already picked quite a few rare herbs, and his storage soul tool contained dozens of such rare plants that could not be found anywhere else, but he showed no sign of stopping.
His three pupils kept flashing, the purple-gold light standing out particularly brightly amidst the alternating hot and cold water of the pool.
Huo Yuhao followed behind him, his gaze never leaving the plants.
Every time he saw a new plant, he would take a second look to see if it was the love-sickness herb. But every time, the result was negative.
He had lost count of how many plants he had seen.
Some had slender leaves, some had broad leaves, some were in bloom, and some bore fruit. They came in all sorts of colors: red, yellow, purple, and white. But none of them looked like the love-sick heartbreak grass he had imagined.
He even began to doubt whether what was written in the letter was true.
Titan and Niu Tian agreed, but Liu Yuan was right. Why didn't they come in person? Why didn't they escort him here?
Huo Yuhao shook his head, banishing the thought.
He was unwilling to doubt those two elders, at least not now.
Liu Yuan picked another plant called "Longing for Autumn Dew". The plant grew on a protruding rock in the middle of the pool. Its leaves were slender and pale golden, with transparent veins that looked as if liquid was flowing inside.
The whole plant exudes a cool fragrance, not cold, but a feeling that makes one's mind clear.
Liu Yuan squatted down and examined it carefully for a while.
This Dewdrop Tree is very old, around 60,000 years old.
Its effect is to enhance mental strength and perception, and it has a particularly significant strengthening effect on eye-type martial souls. Liu Yuan took it off and put it into his storage soul tool.
Huo Yuhao stood to the side, watching the pale golden grass being taken away, without saying a word. His spiritual eyes also sensed the grass; he could feel that it would benefit his martial soul. But Liu Yuan didn't give it to him, and he didn't ask for it either.
The two continued walking forward.
They had already walked around most of the area around the pond and had seen almost all the plants that could be seen.
Liu Yuan's storage soul tool was full, but Huo Yuhao's hands were still empty.
Huo Yuhao finally couldn't hold back any longer. He stopped and turned around to look at the rock in the northwest corner of the pool.
The fragrant and exquisite fairy flower was still there, its petals half-open and half-closed, and the halo in the center of the flower had dimmed considerably.
It kept pretending it didn't exist, trying to minimize its presence. But when Huo Yuhao's gaze fell on it, its petals still trembled.
Liu Yuan also stopped walking.
He followed Huo Yuhao's gaze and saw the fragrant Qiluo Immortal Herb that had shrunk into a ball.
"Where is the Love-Sickness Heartbreak Grass?" Liu Yuan asked directly.
The Fragrant Silk Fairy did not reply.
Its petals were completely closed, shrunken into a ball, as if it were playing dead.
Liu Yuan did not urge him.
He simply stared at it, the purple-gold light in its three pupils flickering slightly.
His expression was calm, but there was a hint of "you'd better answer honestly" in that calmness.
Huo Yuhao also looked at the plant, his eyes filled with urgency.
He wanted to speak, but didn't know what to say.
He was afraid that he would lose control of his emotions once he opened his mouth, and he was also afraid that his eagerness would make the plant even less willing to cooperate.
The silence lasted for a few seconds.
On the other side of the pool, Poison Undying stood there.
His gaze was originally fixed on the spring in the center of the pool, but the few seconds of silence drew his attention away.
He glanced at the fragrant and exquisite immortal product, then at Liu Yuan, and then strode over.
His steps were slow, but each step was firm and steady. The sound of his footsteps echoed in the empty underground space, once, twice, three times.
The petals of the fragrant and exquisite fairy product suddenly sprang open.
"I'll talk! I'll talk!" Its voice was tinged with panic, and it spoke several times faster than before.
"Don't pull me out! I'll tell you where the love-sick heartbreak grass is!"
(End of chapter)