Chapter 15: Detailed Explanation of Immortal Herbs, Junior Brother You're the Best!
After Su Mo returned to his room, he took out that thick illustrated compendium of flowers and plants, sat down by the desk, and began to read through it seriously.
The compendium was extremely well-preserved, each page as smooth as new, clearly having been meticulously cared for by Yue Guan.
It depicted patterns of various rare treasures and exotic herbs, with delicate lines that were lifelike.
Below were dense small characters—names, growth habits, harvesting and storage methods—every detail was recorded with extreme precision.
Su Mo read very seriously, not missing a single rare treasure or exotic herb.
Although most were not Immortal Grade medicinal herbs, many materials were of great benefit to a Soul Master's cultivation.
When he flipped to a certain page, Su Mo's movements suddenly slowed down.
"Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid..." he softly read the name on the illustration.
The illustration showed a translucent white orchid with eight petals stretching out.
The annotations below were dense.
Su Mo read this page especially carefully.
He knew that the harvesting and storage of each Immortal Herb had strict requirements; a slight oversight would greatly diminish its medicinal effects or even cause them to vanish completely.
Each Immortal Herb also had its own method of consumption; if done improperly, it could even cause irreparable harm.
Since he had obtained this compendium, he intended to firmly memorize the characteristics of every Immortal Herb.
Only after memorizing everything did he continue flipping pages.
Next, one familiar name after another entered his sight: mystic velvet heaven-reaching chrysanthemum, qiluo tulip, Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower...
Every single one was an Immortal Herb mentioned in the original work, and every single one was enough to drive the Soul Master World into a frenzy.
Of course, the Immortal Grade medicinal herbs recorded in the book were far more than these; there were many others that had never been mentioned.
Su Mo read more and more carefully, his gaze drifting back and forth between the patterns and the text, completely unaware of the passage of time...
...
Night fell.
Su Mo's door was pushed open, and a figure nimbly slipped inside and closed the door again, the movements so practiced it was as if they had been done countless times.
Hearing the movement, Su Mo looked up; the person was none other than Bibi Dong.
His expression was very calm, as if he had long expected this.
Over the past year, Bibi Dong had indeed come here frequently and stayed the night.
The first time she came, she said she had a nightmare about her family being killed by Fallen Spirit Masters.
That night, Su Mo comforted her for a long time and stayed with her until she fell into a deep sleep.
From then on, Bibi Dong frequently ran to his room, and it gradually became a regular occurrence.
Sometimes when Su Mo was already asleep, she would quietly sneak over, gently lift the quilt, and burrow into the bed, curling up beside him like a kitten.
At this moment, Bibi Dong walked to Su Mo's side, naturally leaned in, and curiously peeked at the book in his hand.
"Junior Brother, what are you reading?"
"An illustrated guide to flowers and plants borrowed from Bishop Yue Guan; it records many rare treasures and exotic herbs."
Su Mo moved to the side to make room for her.
"Rare treasures and exotic herbs?" Bibi Dong sat down next to him, tilting her head to look at the patterns, her eyes filled with a bit of novelty. "What's so interesting about this?"
"These aren't ordinary plants." Su Mo shook his head slightly.
He flipped through a few pages of the compendium and pointed at the pattern on one: "Look at this one; it's called the Yearning Heartbroken Red, an Immortal Grade medicinal herb, the king of all flowers.
After taking it, one can significantly increase their Soul Power and even improve their cultivation talent, and there are no side effects."
Bibi Dong's mouth opened slightly, her eyes full of shock: "It can increase Soul Power without side effects? And even improve talent? How could such a thing exist?"
A year had passed, and she was no longer the ignorant little girl she once was.
She knew very well that methods to increase Soul Power did exist in this world, but most required a price—either overdrawing potential or damaging one's foundation.
Something like what Su Mo described, an Immortal Herb that could improve talent without side effects, was unheard of to her.
"It should be real; this is an heirloom of Bishop Yue Guan." Su Mo didn't say much more and changed the subject. "By the way, there's a story about this Immortal Herb. Do you want to hear it?"
Bibi Dong nodded hurriedly, "I do!"
Su Mo said gently:
"Legend has it that a long time ago, there was a young man who was obsessed with flowers. His sincerity moved a Flower Fairy from the God Realm.
The Flower Fairy secretly descended to the mortal realm to marry him, but was discovered by the Heavenly Gods. Immortals and mortals follow different paths, and the Heavenly Gods, in their wrath, summoned the Flower Fairy back to the God Realm.
The young man, having lost his love, was depressed all day and no longer had the heart to care for his flowers.
Until one day, a white-haired old man told him that the white peony in the garden was the incarnation of his lover. If he destroyed it, the Flower Fairy would become a mortal and return to the mortal world.
But how could the young man bear to hurt it? He could only drink and weep before it every day, eventually dying of a broken heart from yearning. Before he died, a mouthful of blood splattered onto the petals."
Su Mo pointed to the several blood-red spots on the petals in the illustration: "Look, these blood-red patches are the young man's heart's blood."
"Those Heavenly Gods are so mean, actually tearing them apart!" Bibi Dong's eyes grew red, her voice carrying a hint of a sob.
On the Douluo Continent, whether physically or mentally, Soul Masters naturally develop faster. Although she was young now, she was not ignorant of the feelings between men and women.
This story happened to touch a soft chord in her heart.
"Alright." Su Mo rubbed her head, his movements gentle. "It's just a legend."
"Junior Brother, you're so annoying, telling such a tragic story late at night." Bibi Dong pouted and gave him a reproachful look.
Su Mo smiled: "Let's look at the others."
He continued flipping through the compendium, showing her other Immortal Herbs, introducing their names and characteristics one by one.
Bibi Dong was gradually attracted by those novel things.
A moment later.
"Junior Brother, these Immortal Herbs are all so amazing." Bibi Dong grabbed his arm. "If you find any Immortal Herbs in the future and have extras, don't forget your Senior Sister."
"Don't worry, I could forget anyone, but I could never forget you."
"Heehee, Junior Brother, I knew you were the best." Bibi Dong's eyes curved into crescents.
...
The night deepened.
After an unknown amount of time, Bibi Dong, who had been reading with Su Mo, suddenly yawned.
Su Mo's movements paused, and he turned his head to look at her.
"Sleepy?" Su Mo asked.
Bibi Dong rubbed her eyes and nodded.
"Then let's rest for today; we'll look at it more later." Su Mo closed the illustrated compendium and put it into his spirit tool.
Su Mo turned off the light, and the two lay down on the bed.
Bibi Dong naturally rolled over, hugged his arm, found a comfortable position, and closed her eyes.
Before long, the sound of steady breathing softly echoed.
Although Su Mo's eyes were closed, his mind was still reflecting on the Immortal Herbs recorded in the compendium.
He silently calculated when it would be appropriate to go and get those Immortal Herbs. He was still young, and Qian Xunji probably wouldn't let him leave Spirit City...
Forget it, why think so much?
It's still quite early for Dugu Bo to discover the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well; it's still unclaimed land, so there's no rush for the time being.
With that thought, he stopped thinking further and gradually drifted into a dreamland.