After dealing with everything else, Chen Ming returned to Dugu Bo's residence in Heaven Dou City.
During the period since bringing Xiao Wu back, her cultivation had already risen to Level 33, and she had successfully condensed her third Spirit Ring.
Just as Xiao Wu herself had said before, the Blue Silver Empress provided her with tremendous benefits. If she had been able to completely consume Ah Yin, her spirit power could have increased by an entire ten levels in one go.
Even though she had only eaten some of Ah Yin's leaves, the vast amount of energy contained within them still benefited her enormously.
And there was one thing that had to be made clear.
Although Chen Ming merely kept Xiao Wu under supervision and occasionally observed her physical condition, while normally forbidding her from casually leaving the residence—
he genuinely did not mistreat her in daily life.
In fact, her treatment could even be considered excellent.
Back at the former Junior Academy—no, more accurately, the Emperial Intermediate Academy—Xiao Wu had practically been growing wild on her own.
She had no exceptional teacher, no suitable cultivation environment, and no sufficient resources. Even her attitude toward cultivation had been somewhat lazy, preventing her from fully developing her natural talent.
But now, Xiao Wu possessed the best cultivation methods available. Chen Ming would occasionally return to personally guide her, and she also had access to the abundant cultivation resources he prepared for her.
Although the extra supervision prevented her from going out freely, it also forced her to focus all of her energy on cultivation.
As a result, this period had become the fastest stage of improvement she had experienced since entering the human world.
When Xiao Wu saw Chen Ming return, her eyes were filled with resentment and grievance.
Originally, she had thought something would happen to her.
Even if he didn't harvest her Spirit Bone, she had at least expected something more... adult.
But what she encountered instead was somehow even more adult.
Every day, Chen Ming practically drove her cultivation forward like he was whipping her with a lash. Any slight attempt at slacking off would immediately be caught by his cold gaze, leaving her with not even the tiniest opportunity to secretly play around.
This treatment simply didn't feel like dealing with a hundred-thousand-year-old "child."
It felt like being treated as a genuine adult without the slightest mercy.
As for what Xiao Wu herself actually had to give in return, it amounted to little more than allowing Chen Ming to occasionally examine her body when necessary and answer some questions regarding conditions within the Star Dou Great Forest.
From Xiao Wu's perspective, she was practically paying nothing at all.
Sometimes, Xiao Wu genuinely wanted to shout at Chen Ming:
You might as well just sleep with me already! At least then I'd get some time off, maybe even a break to act spoiled and ask you for things!
But the way you're acting now—completely merciless, like you're just short of actually whipping me—it leaves me with absolutely no idea what I'm supposed to do!
After thoroughly bullying the rabbit girl for a while, Chen Ming rested for one or two days.
Then, after leaving Qian Renfeng behind to guard Dugu Bo's residence, he departed Heaven Dou City together with Dugu Bo, secretly entering the Sunset Forest and heading toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
It had already been quite some time since Chen Ming last returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
However, before leaving previously, he had already harvested most of the medicinal herbs he required, so there had been no shortage of ingredients during this period.
Still, now that he had returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—and now that his cultivation finally allowed him to move freely within it—Chen Ming could not help but sigh emotionally.
The environment within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was simply far superior to the outside world in every conceivable way.
"Being here honestly gives me the feeling of oxygen intoxication," Chen Ming remarked as he lightly jumped on the ground.
Every single breath he took caused his Martial Soul to tremble faintly with comfort and delight.
Back when he had first come here, he hadn't been able to sense it clearly. But now, after his cultivation had advanced and he had gained two additional attributes, Chen Ming could distinctly feel that within the heaven and earth origin energy permeating the area existed a certain latent element that was extraordinarily beneficial to him.
Though he wasn't hungry, he could feel his martial soul producing an instinctive craving, as if it wished to endlessly devour the surrounding heaven and earth origin energy to complete something missing within itself.
Standing before the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the energy radiating from the spring water caused Chen Ming's body to tremble slightly. Facing the pool, he felt both a sense of mortal danger and an overwhelming greed.
Looking at the two immortal herbs growing within the waters, Chen Ming silently calculated in his mind.
"To harvest the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, you need a metal tool to pluck it."
"But for the Infernal Delicate Apricot, it's the exact opposite. Only jade tools can remove it without damaging it."
"When the two immortal herbs are brought together, their energies briefly neutralize one another. Only by consuming them during that interval can one leap into the spring and forge a body immune to ice and fire."
Looking at the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, Chen Ming nodded slightly. But when his gaze shifted toward the Infernal Delicate Apricot, he fell silent for a moment.
The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass resembled a medicinal herb roughly one meter tall. Its entire body looked like a fusion of crystalline ice and some strange metal.
The Infernal Delicate Apricot, meanwhile, looked like a fiery-red cabbage larger than a human head, its texture resembling polished jade.
Compared to the hundred-thousand-year immortal herb Spirit Beasts of the Unrivaled Tang Sect era, the two herbs were considerably smaller. But even so, they still didn't look remotely like something a person could casually swallow whole.
"Hopefully these things really do melt in the mouth… otherwise there's no way I can chew them," Chen Ming silently grumbled inwardly.
Afterward, he said a few words to Dugu Bo behind him.
When Dugu Bo heard that Chen Ming intended to consume these two immortal herbs, his reaction wasn't heartbreak over the herbs themselves, but fear that Chen Ming might run into trouble.
But seeing Chen Ming's expression that clearly said I've prepared for this long ago, Dugu Bo ultimately didn't continue trying to persuade him and merely nodded silently.
Chen Ming removed his storage soul tool and clothing, standing naked upon the ground. Then he took out a pair of metal scissors and a sharpened jade blade.
Light radiated from his right leg Spirit Bone as a pair of tiny translucent wings appeared behind him.
His Vajra Invincible Body activated.
Using his flight ability, Chen Ming shot directly above the spring. His left hand flashed like an afterimage as he instantly cut down the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass.
Then, before the freezing aura could invade his body, he hurriedly flew beside the Infernal Delicate Apricot and used the jade blade to sever the fiery "cabbage."
The two immortal herbs came together, their opposing auras suppressing one another and stabilizing both plants simultaneously.
Spirit Power surged through Chen Ming's body. His neck abruptly thickened severalfold as he partially activated his dragonification. Then he opened his mouth wide and stuffed both immortal herbs directly inside with a series of crunching bites.
Because the two herbs were brought together so closely, they instantly melted upon entering his mouth, transforming into liquid that surged straight into his stomach.
Then, as the energy exploded outward—
Chen Ming dropped into the spring like a helicopter with its rotor blades snapped off.
Even though Chen Ming had already assured him he would be fine, seeing this scene nearly made Dugu Bo instinctively jump into the pool to drag him back out. He had to forcibly steady himself before managing to regain control.
The instant Chen Ming fell into the pool, the previously calm spring suddenly began to boil violently.
The heaven and earth origin energy surged turbulently with the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well at its center.
A silent dragon's roar echoed across the spiritual plane, so overwhelming that Dugu Bo nearly collapsed to his knees in shock.
...
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