Chapter 6. The Eye of Ice and Fire
To be honest, the relationship between this father and son had always seemed strange to me.
On one hand, we have Tang San — a transmigrator who in his past life was an orphan, raised in the outer circle of an assassin clan, without any family attachments. Wanting to reach the peak, he secretly learned techniques available only to members of the inner circle and even recreated an incredibly powerful weapon that no one in the clan had been able to reproduce at the time. However, his deed was discovered, and during the ensuing chase he committed suicide by jumping off a cliff. In this life, desperately yearning for family bonds, he gained a father, as well as a younger sister in the person of Xiao Wu, whom he met at the academy.
As for Tang San's father, now known as the youngest Titled Douluo, he fell into such despair over the fact that his wife, the hundred-thousand-year-old Blue Silver Emperor, had to sacrifice herself because they were being hunted by Spirit Hall that, in the end, even though he became a Titled Douluo, he wasn't even able to properly take care of his own son. He drowned his grief in alcohol, and all that remained of his wife was a small sprout that had to cultivate back to a hundred thousand years in order to return. It ended up in a situation where, had Tang San not been a transmigrator, it's far from certain he would have survived childhood at all. Moreover, it was precisely thanks to his longing for family from his past life that, despite his father's attitude, he grew attached to him. Only when Tang San awakened his twin spirits did the man seem to wake up. His son became his hope for the future, so at first he protected him from the shadows. In the end, it turned out that the son didn't care who his father was — he was simply happy to have a father at all — and the father didn't care where his son's knowledge came from; what mattered to him was that the boy was a genius. Having had good parents in my past life, I most likely wouldn't have been able to grow that attached to such a father in Tang San's place. On the other hand, my parents in this life are even worse, so my attachment to the Zhu clan is zero, elder Mu being the only exception.
Anyway, I digressed too much. The exchange between the unsociable Tang Hao and Tang San was quite brief. The boy was stunned when he realized that his father had heard our entire conversation and turned out to be not just anyone, but one of the strongest people on the continent. However, Tang Hao himself didn't allow them to make up for lost time, as he didn't want to talk about the past yet. Instead, he said that the only purpose of his arrival was to help obtain a ring and immortal herbs and, along the way, if it turned out impossible to heal Dugu Bo, to simply kill him.
Naturally, when it came to killing, I tried to intervene and suggest it would be better to take a peaceful approach. After all, I knew Dugu Bo had a difficult character, though he was fairly honest — at the very least, he kept his word, and he repaid those who helped him many times over. But Tang Hao shot me such a glare that the words stuck in my throat, and, what was worse, when we set off, this, to put it mildly, unpleasant man, while carrying Tang San in one arm, letting him sit on his hand, used his other hand to hold me by the scruff of the neck like some troublesome kitten.
I do understand that his attitude toward his son would definitely be better than toward me, but I'm still a girl; he could at least have been a bit more delicate!
It was at least fortunate that we reached the forest quickly, in just two hours, and the man himself took care to shield us from the wind. Finding the center of Sunset Forest from the sky wasn't difficult, so soon we landed right at the edge of the poisonous barrier.
"You were talking about this place?" Tang Hao asked, setting me and Tang San down on the ground.
"Yes, behind this barrier should be Dugu Bo's medicinal garden, as well as the Eye of Ice and Fire."
"Good. Stay close to me," the man ordered, and at the same time grabbed my shoulder with his muscular arm, pulling me closer to him.
I felt his spirit power extend outward and cover Tang San and me like a barrier, and then we walked through the green curtain of poison.
The first thing that caught our eyes was a crater, in the center of which lay a round lake divided into two halves — a bright red one and a white-blue one. From the very center rose what seemed like two columns: hot steam and icy mist, twisting around each other and forming something like a vortex. All around the lake grew herbs that, from where we stood, looked like a carpet of precious stones. The plants glowed and had fantastical shapes.
"This really is the Eye of Ice and Fire!" Tang San exclaimed excitedly.
"Hm, so you really do know what this place is," Tang Hao muttered, but because he was standing close I heard him.
"Tang San, can you tell how fast herbs could grow here if they were planted?" the man asked his son.
"I don't know exactly, but because of the Yin–Yang energy from the lake, herbs would grow about a hundred times faster than usual."
"A hundred?" Tang Hao repeated, and his voice shook.
"Yes," Tang San nodded, then looked at him. "Father, are you all right?"
"Yes." Tang Hao quickly pulled himself together. "Let's go down."
This time he picked me up properly, the same way as Tang San, then jumped down straight to the herbs.
"Looks like Dugu Bo isn't here," Tang Hao declared after a brief inspection. "Take what you need and let's leave. We still have to find a suitable beast, so there's no point in lingering."
"Father, it's not that simple. My belt can't store these herbs; we need a special container for that. And some of these herbs can only be taken right here. Besides, we're planning to take the ten-thousand-year glue, and it'll be hard to do that somewhere else."
… Tang Hao exhaled in irritation.
"Do what you came here to do, I'll protect you," he threw over his shoulder before rising into the sky — apparently so that, if needed, he could meet Dugu Bo away from us.
I watched him fly off, then shifted my gaze to Tang San. "Well, have you come up with anything?"
"Yes." He nodded, then pointed to some trees whose bark resembled dark metal. "See those trees with peaches?"
"Those are longevity peaches. They're not immortal herbs, but they contain enormous life force and, thanks to this place, they're more resistant to temperature changes. So, using a branch from that tree, I'll take a drop of water from the Extreme Cold Spring and then, using the peach, prepare a pill that will distribute the cold of this drop in such a way that it won't interfere with the effect of the whale glue and, at the same time, will not only protect against the excessive heat, but, due to the abundance of gentle life force, should actually enhance the effect."
"Maybe we should take the immortal herbs first to guarantee our safety?" I suggested a bit uncertainly.
"No," came the firm answer. "The whale glue still contains impurities. For the best result we have to take it first and then cleanse the body through the immortal herb; that way the outcome will be maximized."
"All right, we'll do as you say," I didn't argue. Unlike me, he really did understand this stuff.
In the end, I simply sat down by a nearby rock and watched as he first reached the tree and then, clearly with difficulty, broke off a branch, showing how sturdy the wood was — after all, his physical stats should be around rank 40 right now.
Then he very carefully plucked a peach, took a small cauldron from his belt and, finally, dipped the tip of the branch into the icy-attributed water, after which he let a drop, I assumed, fall directly onto the peach in the cauldron, then sat down in front of it in a meditation posture.
To be honest, it was a bit boring to watch. There were no special effects or anything, but this place itself was beautiful enough to simply admire while I waited.
I didn't have to wait long. Literally ten minutes after he sat down, he practically ran to me with the cauldron in his hands.
"Zhuxin, listen carefully. I'm going to melt the whale glue and pass half of it to you. At that moment you'll open the lid, and you must quickly swallow it and then immediately take the pill from the cauldron. The main thing is to act quickly, understood?"
"Yes," I nodded seriously.
"Good, let's begin."
Tang San took out a small burner and lit it.
I felt like a taut bowstring, closely following the process, and when the piece of whale glue began to take on the familiar golden glow, I lifted the cauldron lid. Cold air rushed out, and at the bottom lay exactly two pills that looked more like balls of compressed peach pulp, faintly glowing blue from within.
"Now!" Tang San barked, immediately handing me half of the thick golden liquid.
Without hesitation, I grasped it with my spirit power and, picking up the cold pill with my hand, tossed them into my mouth one after the other.
My throat was instantly seared by a familiar burning. Only, whereas when I took the thousand-year glue I thought it was like molten metal, now I couldn't even find words to describe it. The pain was noticeably greater until everything finally reached my insides. There was the familiar explosion of energy inside, almost knocking me out from the pain, but then the effect of the pill followed — its life force was much gentler, immediately healing my injuries, and the light coolness suppressed the heat that had begun to melt my skin. This time, despite the much larger volume of energy, with my prior experience I managed to bring it under control quicker, directing it through my meridians and subjecting them to a torturous tempering.
Meanwhile, as the eight-year-old boy and girl went through the process of strengthening their bodies, two figures descended from above not far from them. One of them was the imperturbable Tang Hao, and the other an old man with a clear fist imprint on his face. He observed the pair of children with a mixture of displeasure and anticipation; judging by his senses, something truly astonishing was happening within their bodies. And despite the obvious, agonizing pain they were experiencing, both children were carefully controlling the entire process, focusing first and foremost on strengthening their meridians — on which most of their future cultivation speed and the acceptable limit of spirit rings would depend — and only after that their bodies as a whole.
"What did those children take? Even this old man wouldn't dare randomly ingest herbs from this garden," Dugu Bo muttered.
"That doesn't matter. What matters is that you remember our agreement," Tang Hao answered coldly, making the old man's face involuntarily twitch as his hand moved toward the fist mark on his cheek.
Although Dugu Bo was a Titled Douluo, in truth he was the weakest among his peers. On top of that, at the Titled Douluo level the difference in strength between ranks was much greater. While Dugu Bo, because of the poison, couldn't surpass rank 91, Tang Hao, though similarly stuck at rank 95 due to injuries, had combat power no less than rank 98, especially with his special techniques, making him one of the strongest people on the continent.
The two watched the entire process closely, and I was the first to finish because of my higher rank. When I opened my eyes, a smile appeared on my face all by itself. I could feel that my body had undergone another qualitative leap and, even better, thanks to the peach pill in combination with the whale glue, I had broken through to rank 30. If I now took an immortal herb as well, and the gamble with the ten-thousand-year ring succeeded, I would instantly jump to rank 40 and be able to obtain my fourth ring. After that, sadly, the cheat items would run out, and at least up until the Spirit Emperor level I'd have to cultivate in the usual way. But even so, by my estimates, by the time of the Continental Tournament I should be able to break through roughly to that level, and after that I'd have to take real risks if I wanted to steal a couple of opportunities from Huo Yuhao, who would only be born ten thousand years later.
"What kind of monster is she?" Dugu Bo exclaimed in shock as he felt the fluctuations of my spirit power. "Rank 30 at that age — where did you find her?"
"She found us herself."
"Senior Tang, Senior Dugu. I've made you wait," I bowed respectfully.
"Come here," Tang Hao ordered.
Hearing him, I involuntarily recalled the test he'd put me through in the dormitory. With a wry smile, I walked over.
He put his hand on my shoulder and I felt his spirit power scanning my body.
… There was clear astonishment on his face. He had, of course, known from my calculations that the increase would be, to put it mildly, significant, but it was one thing to hear and quite another to see. Especially when an eight-year-old girl possessed the physique of a Spirit King.
He looked at his son, who was still tempering his body, and a note of warmth appeared in his cold eyes. "What ring did you say you needed?"
I was a bit taken aback that he asked so suddenly, but recovered quickly. Previously, from the options Grandmaster had proposed, I could have chosen the razor-tailed swift to maximize speed and thus truly be worthy of becoming the second-ranking goddess of speed. But now my sights were higher. I wanted to break into the elemental gods that held first rank. In my case, that had to be darkness.
"I need a shadow leopard, whose age is at the lower boundary of ten thousand years."
"Fine, after Tang San's ring I'll help you."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Dugu Bo's face twisted. "A ten-thousand-year beast for a rank-30 child? Tang Hao, are you trying to ruin a genius?"
Tang Hao only snorted and didn't answer. So I decided to respond instead, at the same time showing my ring configuration: a white and a purple ring.
"A thousand-year second ring…" the old man muttered, stunned.
"Senior Dugu, thank you for your concern, but it's unnecessary. I'm merely following my theory, and right now my body is no weaker than that of Spirit Kings, so I'm confident I can handle it."
"Even if your body is strong, it's not that simple. When spirit beasts reach ten thousand years, their rings also attack the mind. If your mind isn't strong enough, then even if your body endures, you'll become nothing but an empty shell, unable even to think."
"Of course, I've taken that into account as well," I nodded seriously, without elaborating.
"By the way, Senior, before we go hunting, Tang San and I would like to take herbs suited to us. Although they can only be taken once in a lifetime, in combination with the ring they'll most likely directly raise me to rank 40. And Tang San will probably also jump straight to rank 30."
… It was clear that, despite his imperturbable demeanor, everything that was happening was shattering Tang Hao's worldview. And really, simply taking true treasures at the start was giving us far too explosive a head start.
"About ninety percent," I answered. "If I'm mistaken, it might end up a couple of ranks lower or, on the contrary, a couple of ranks higher. But I should note as well that further advancement, aside from moments of absorbing much older rings, won't proceed in such leaps anymore."
"All right, we'll wait."
"We?" Dugu Bo immediately repeated in displeasure.
"Do you have any objections?" Tang Hao looked at him coldly.
"No…" the old man ground out through clenched teeth.
"Senior, there's no need to be this harsh; after all, we are using what was…" I tried to smooth things over, but his glare made me fall silent.
We then waited in silence until Tang San finally finished. A familiar smile was on the boy's face, the same kind I'd worn when I felt how much stronger I'd become — and when that feeling came together with the realization of how far ahead of others you were, it became even more delightful. He rose and walked over to us. Just as he had with me, Tang Hao scanned his body, and for the first time a joyful expression appeared on the burly man's face. He clearly liked the result.
"Son, the girl said you were going to take herbs before going hunting. You can choose what you need."
"Tang Hao," Dugu Bo called, frowning; the whole situation was starting to get on his nerves too much. Whatever the case, he was still the Poison Douluo, and while he might not be able to win, that didn't change the fact that he could kill us with his poison — and there'd be nothing Tang Hao could do about it except take revenge. "Don't think you can provoke me endlessly."
"Senior Dugu, please forgive my father, he has a difficult character."
"Hmph, fine. I've been putting up with it only because he's certain you can help me and my granddaughter, but seeing your age, it sounds more like a joke," the old man cooled a bit, but his reply was understandably scornful.
"You're right, it does sound like a joke — an eight-year-old child knowing poisons better than you," Tang San suddenly sneered. It seemed his pride as a poison master of the Tang Sect had been wounded.
"Brat," Dugu Bo flushed with rage, but what restrained him was that Tang Hao had summoned his hammer, and the red glow from his hundred-thousand-year ring was rather sobering.
"Believe me, Senior, I'm not trying to simply insult you, and I'm prepared to prove my knowledge," Tang San continued as his eyes lit up purple. The Purple Demon Eye — that very eye technique I honestly wanted to obtain, as it was clearly better than my improvised methods of improving mental strength.
"And how exactly are you going to prove it, boy?" the old man asked, still with anger in his voice. It was clear that, if not for Tang Hao's presence, Tang San would be in a great deal of pain right now.
"Let's see if what I list sounds familiar to you. First," Tang San raised his palm and bent a finger, "the burning in your meridians. Every night at exactly midnight the poison in your body starts to riot. It feels as if molten iron flows through your veins, and this lasts no less than an hour. You try to suppress it with your spirit power, but each time it becomes harder, doesn't it?"
Dugu Bo's face paled slightly.
"Second," the youth continued, "the stabbing pain in your joints and limbs. At noon, when the sun is at its zenith, your soles and palms are pierced by a thousand invisible needles. This is a sign that the toxins of the 'Biphosphorous Green Serpent' have already begun to crystallize in your tissues."
"And third, the most terrifying symptom — numbness of your internal organs. When you use your highest technique, your liver and lungs seem to turn to stone. Your poison is too strong for a human body; it's corroding you from the inside. Look at your nails and the whites of your eyes — you can no longer hide the green tint. Your bones are soaked in poison through and through. If nothing is done, within three years you'll turn into a pool of rot. And I've heard you have a granddaughter; with high probability she'll follow the same path, only much faster."
Dugu Bo froze. The mention of his granddaughter and the precision of the diagnosis knocked the ground from under his feet. "You… how do you know all this?"
"It doesn't matter how I know. What matters is that I know how to help you and your granddaughter."
"What do you want in return?"
"I want this place," Tang Hao immediately stated. "And when the time comes, you'll help these two in searching for rings."
"Alr…" Dugu Bo began to agree, but I was quick to butt in.
"We also need a storage tool that can preserve herbs inside it."
… For a moment the old man seemed at a loss for words at my audacity.
Tang Hao gave Tang San a questioning look, and he immediately nodded rapidly, making it clear that this really was very much needed.
"You heard her," Tang Hao backed up my request with his own authority.
"Damn bandits," Dugu Bo grumbled, then reached into his robe, pulled out a small pouch and tossed it to Tang San. "Here, little monster. Now tell me how you're going to help me."
"I'll teach you how to transfer the excess toxins into a spirit bone, so in the end they'll all gather there, and I'll also help neutralize the poison in your blood. But for that I'll need herbs from this garden. If your granddaughter is still young, it'll be much easier with her — we'll just need to make medicine and then find a spirit bone for her."
"Tang San, do you mind if I intervene?" I spoke up, deciding this was the right moment to test one of my theories — one that normally wouldn't be available for another ten thousand years and would be mandatory for Titled Douluo. Because of it, despite fewer talented people, there would be many times more of them in that era than in the current one.
"What is it?" Tang San was taken aback.
"Actually, I have another theory that works only for those whose body and mind are at the Titled Douluo level, and it should work better than a spirit bone."
"What theory?" Tang Hao was the first to ask. Seeing the results so far, it was clear he was very interested.
"The theory of spirit cores. If I'm not mistaken, the spirit power of Titled Douluo is generally so dense that it's more like a liquid, and usually it's already close to crystallization."
"That's right," the man confirmed.
"So, the theory is to begin rotating your spirit power at one of three main points of the body — the abdomen, chest, or head. This creates a vortex, with a vacuum point at its center. Next, if your spirit power hasn't yet become liquid, you compress it until it does, then continue until it crystallizes, and finally, when the core forms, it will begin to resonate with the world around you. Then you'll no longer need to meditate to recover and cultivate — it will happen passively. But there's a danger: if your control over your energy is insufficient, an explosion will occur, which can either maim or kill you. For a second core, your body and mind must reach a level comparable to rank 98; thanks to this, those with twin spirits can use them simultaneously."
"Are there problems with that for twin spirits?" Tang San immediately asked, as he hadn't had many chances to test his Clear Sky Hammer because he had to hide it.
"Yes," I nodded, summoning my diadem and the Hell Civet for clarity. "You can summon two spirits at the same time and use their passive abilities."
"But the moment you use a spirit ring…" For demonstration, I activated my white ring, and my claws changed. "Until the effect of the ring ends, you can't use the rings of your second spirit."
"Two spirits?" Tang San and Dugu Bo exclaimed at once, though the old man was interested in something else.
"How exactly will this core help me?"
"The first spirit core always shares the attribute of your spirit. The second core is usually made mental or spatial, and if you have twin spirits, under the attribute of the second spirit. In your case it will be a poison core, in which you can safely store your poison. Instead of harming you, it will help you improve, and if I'm not mistaken, your spirit should have tried to guide you toward this. After all, a purely harmful spirit is a bit strange."
"What kind of monsters are you?" the old man asked, bewildered. I had, in essence, hit the nail right on the head, because his spirit had indeed tried to help him. The problem was that only a poisonous pearl had formed, which was separate from his energy, so he could no longer use it.
"Boy, is what she said really better than your spirit bone method?" There was no longer any prejudice in the old man's voice. Too many things had shocked him in this short time.
"If it really works, then yes, it'll be much better, and it'll also be much easier later to purify your blood."
… Dugu Bo fell silent in thought. He was sure that if the only requirements were a body and mind at the Titled Douluo level, then he would have no problem — even if the weakest, he was still a Titled Douluo.
"All right, do whatever you want in this garden, and I'll go into seclusion," the old man finally decided and headed to the cave entrance in the crater.
"Well, he won't come out for a few days," I said, having no doubt he would succeed. "In the meantime, I suggest we deal with the herbs."
"I agree," Tang San replied, and Tang Hao simply nodded in silence.
I didn't interfere with picking the herbs; unlike Tang San, I knew almost nothing about them, so I simply sat and began cultivating. Things went on like that until he returned, by which time almost all the herbs in the garden had been harvested, leaving only the roots so they could grow back.
"Zhuxin, this herb should be perfect for you." He handed me a dazzling white flower whose petals seemed semi-transparent and glowed with a soft pearly light.
"This is the Narcissus of Ice Muscle and Jade Bone. It washes the meridians, removes impurities from the bones, and makes the body incredibly strong and flexible. In combination with the whale glue we took, it should give the greatest effect."
"Thank you," I said, accepting the flower, before recalling one old, overly proud man of few words. "By the way, is there an herb that could help with hidden injuries? I think your father really needs it."
"Hidden injuries? Father?" Tang San looked at Tang Hao, whose face twisted because I had sold him out.
… The man chose to remain silent. Tang San, with a heavy sigh, gave me a grateful look.
"Father, let me take a look," the boy walked up to him and insisted.
… With a complex expression, Tang Hao extended his hand, and Tang San, grabbing his wrist, sent his energy into him, scanning his father's body.
"Father, where did you get such injuries?"
"It's too early for you to know that. You're too weak."
… Hearing that answer, Tang San clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white, but in the next moment he calmed down and rummaged through his new herb pouch until he took out a plant whose root had a peculiar shape reminiscent of a twisting Chinese dragon.
"Father, this is Cinnabar Dragon Ginseng; it should help you," Tang San handed him the herb. "It's not an immortal herb, but among the herbs below immortal level it's one of the best, and all its medicinal power is contained in the root. Please take it."
"All right," Tang Hao didn't refuse. Tearing off everything unnecessary, he tossed the root into his mouth.
"Tang San, how should I take my herb?" I reminded him of myself.
"First, you need to eat the petals one by one, then suck the juice from the stem, and then you must guide that energy through all your limbs to achieve maximum effect."
"Thank you," I said, and began. With each petal I ate, I felt energy accumulating inside me that, unlike the whale glue, felt quite pleasant. When I finally drank the juice from the stem, that energy already resembled a small warm sun which, as I guided it through my meridians, left part of its power behind. I could feel my body undergoing another series of changes, but it was painless and actually rather pleasant.
"This really is worthy of being called an immortal herb," I sighed in satisfaction when I finished absorbing it. Unlike the painful tempering from the whale glue, this method of becoming stronger definitely appealed to me much more.