Within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well grew countless immortal herbs, many of which had been mentioned in the original story. But as for his goal, Chen Ming had long since made his choice.
His best option was not the so-called kings of the Yin Yang Well—the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot—but rather an earth-attribute immortal herb that would only appear much later in the timeline: the Land Dragon Golden Melon.
There was no need to explain further. The name alone said everything.
Chen Ming's Martial Soul, the Heavy Armored Earth Dragon, was a high-grade sub-dragon species. It was said to carry traces of earth dragon blood, capable of strengthening its bones and scales through the consumption of metal. A well-developed Heavy Armored Earth Dragon could boast defensive power rivaling that of top-tier Spirit Beasts.
Among ordinary Spirit Masters, this Martial Soul was considered excellent.
But when facing truly high-level Martial Souls—especially dragon-type ones with purer bloodlines—it would fall into a severe disadvantage.
The Land Dragon Golden Melon, however, could significantly enhance Chen Ming's foundation. Not only would it increase his Spirit Power, but it would also strengthen his physical body, potentially allowing him to attempt absorbing a thousand-year Spirit Ring as early as his second ring.
More importantly, it carried a high probability of evolving his Martial Soul from a sub-dragon into a true dragon.
That kind of bloodline transformation—that was what Chen Ming valued most.
If the opportunity ever arose in the future, he even intended to aim higher, perhaps seeking out the torso bone of the Mountain Dragon King hidden within the Dragon Cemetery.
This single herb could both boost his current combat strength and raise his future potential.
Naturally, it became his first target.
Protected by Dugu Bo's Spirit Power barrier against the violent elemental energies, Chen Ming walked deeper into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, occasionally crouching down to examine the herbs growing at his feet.
"Ten-thousand-year Ginseng… ten-thousand-year Lingzhi… ten-thousand-year Fleeceflower Root… ten-thousand-year Golden Marrow Grass…"
After inspecting several samples, a question arose in his mind.
"Senior, the age of these herbs… they all seem to fall between ten and twenty thousand years, don't they?"
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had existed for at least ten thousand years. Moreover, the plants here grew at ten times the normal rate, and it was even said that the environment could help plant-type Spirit Beasts survive their first heavenly tribulation.
Logically speaking, there should have been plant-type Spirit Beasts here that had reached the hundred-thousand-year level. Even if not, herbs of seventy or eighty thousand years should have been plentiful.
And yet…
Even in the core region of the Yin Yang Well, the herbs Chen Ming observed were all roughly between ten and twenty thousand years old.
Compared to the outside world, that was already extraordinarily high—but within this environment, it was strangely low. After all, with the accelerated growth rate, that corresponded to only about a thousand or two thousand years of actual growth time.
Even more suspicious was how uniform those ages were.
"I noticed the same thing when I first came here," Dugu Bo replied, his tone tinged with confusion. "There used to be a thirty-thousand-year Ginseng King, which I took for cultivation. The rest have always remained at around the ten-thousand-year level. For some reason, there don't seem to be any plant-type Spirit Beasts here at all."
Back when he first discovered this place, he had already been a high-level Spirit Douluo. The Spirit Beast guarding the perimeter at the time was a top-tier creature with a cultivation of seventy thousand years: the Medusa Queen. His ninth Spirit Bing and head Spirit Bone had both come from that formidable creature.
Given such an environment, with so many high-grade herbs, even accounting for the lower probability of plants evolving into Spirit Beasts, there should have been more than one plant-type Spirit Beast present.
And yet… there were none.
Of course Dugu Bo found it strange—extremely so. But for years, he had never dared to speak of this place to anyone, and so his doubts remained buried. Now that Chen Ming had brought it up, he simply voiced them all at once.
"Senior," Chen Ming continued thoughtfully, "in this environment, the growth rate of herbs is several times faster than outside, correct?"
"I've tested it before—about ten times faster," Dugu Bo answered. "When I first found this place, I scattered a handful of ginseng seeds near the outer area. Now, even hundred-year ginseng grows there like weeds."
"Ten times faster… which means, Senior, that the herbs here have only been growing for about one to two thousand years. But before that? The name Sunset Forest has been passed down for at least several thousand years, and the legends even speak of a meteor falling here tens of thousands of years ago."
Chen Ming paused, his gaze sweeping across the surrounding vegetation.
"Given that timespan… don't you think the age of these herbs is far too low?"
Dugu Bo lowered himself, examining the plants more closely. At first, his expression held a trace of surprise—but gradually, that surprise gave way to a quiet sense of inevitability.
"…You're saying I wasn't the first person in history to discover this place?"
The thought, once voiced, felt strangely reasonable.
After all, this treasure land had existed for so long. The likelihood that he was the very first to find it was far smaller than the possibility that someone had come before him.
"I'd guess that several thousand years ago, someone discovered this place, harvested the herbs that originally grew here, and then deliberately planted new seeds," Chen Ming continued calmly. "Another thousand years passed… and only then did you arrive."
"Think about it, Senior. This place can nurture all kinds of plants—but their seeds come from vastly different regions. Some grow in volcanic environments, others in the legendary northern ice fields."
"Even if the environment here is extraordinary, could all these seeds have appeared naturally? I'd say at least part of them must have been brought here by someone in the past—only, that person likely passed away before seeing the results."
He let out a soft sigh.
"For plant-type Spirit Beasts, a thousand years is nothing more than the blink of an eye. But for humans, it spans dozens of generations—enough to turn seas into fields and fields into seas. Perhaps someone once lived here… or perhaps something else happened."
The environment of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well made it extremely difficult for artificial traces to endure. Even if someone had once inhabited this place, centuries—no, millennia—would have erased every sign of their existence.
The development of the Douluo world itself was painfully slow—so slow that centuries or even millennia could pass without any significant change.
Just like in the later era recorded in the original story: ten thousand years after this time, even Dugu Bo's name had nearly faded from memory. Even the Spirit Beasts that would later regrow within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well would have no knowledge of what had once occurred here.
If the opportunity arose in the future, Chen Ming thought, he might search the icy mountain and nearby cliffs for any lingering traces of the past.
But for now… that could wait.
Continuing his search, Chen Ming discovered several immortal herbs mentioned in the original story. Among them were the Black Jade Divine Bamboo, hidden underground with only its tip exposed, and the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, gleaming like something carved from metal.
As for the others, however, he did not come across them.
...
Time passed.
At last, after searching for quite a while longer, Chen Ming suddenly felt a sharp tremor ripple through his Martial Soul as he passed a certain area.
His steps halted.
Then, without hesitation, he turned and walked straight toward the source of that sensation.
Moments later, he saw it—
A golden melon, lying quietly upon the ground.