"Grandfather, what happened to me?" Dugu Yan's eyes fluttered open. She looked around the hall, scattered debris, cracked walls, all traces of a fierce clash.
The memory struck her, her father's brother had threatened her grandfather, and then… darkness.
Her gaze snapped toward Dugu Shuo, cold and accusing.
Dugu Bo only smiled gently at his granddaughter.
"It's fine, Yan Yan. Come...there's a place I've been meaning to show you. You've never seen the heart of the Sunset Forest, have you? I'll take you there."
Dugu Yan blinked in confusion but obediently nodded.From her grandfather's tone, it was clear he and Dugu Shuo had come to some kind of… understanding.
Ever since that battle in Heaven Dou City, when she watched Dugu Feng defeat Yan, her pride had taken a blow. She no longer dared to compare herself with him.
But curiosity had replaced her frustration.Just what makes the Poison Branch so strong? she thought. Perhaps this trip will tell me.
Five figures left Heaven Dou City together, heading straight for the Sunset Forest.
They spoke little on the way, traveling swiftly toward the forest's core. There was a massive hill rising nearly five hundred meters tall.
At the foot of the hill, Dugu Bo took Dugu Yan by the arm and began to climb as easily as walking on level ground.
Behind them, Dugu Feng summoned his two Emerald Dragon Serpents. Dugu Shuo rode one, while he and Old Snake shared the other, soaring upward in pursuit.
When they reached the summit, they were greeted by a breathtaking sight—
A great crater-like valley, mist swirling from within. Dense vapor rolled upward, thick and humid, carrying a faint sulfur scent.
Without hesitation, Dugu Bo leapt down into the fog with Dugu Yan. In an instant, both vanished into the mist.
Dugu Feng, Dugu Shuo, and Old Snake exchanged a glance, then followed suit.
At the bottom of the valley lay a hot spring, oval in shape, its waters split cleanly into two halves—one milky white, the other crimson red.
Two extremes coexisting within a single pool, the boundary between them sharp and unmoving.
The sight made everyone's breath catch.
"Heaven and Earth in harmony… yin and yang in perfect balance," Dugu Shuo murmured. "A place like this… is a miracle."
Dugu Bo stood at the edge, his eyes distant, as though recalling years past.
"When I left the family," he said slowly, "I searched for a secluded place to cultivate. I settled here, in the middle of the Sunset Forest.
While training in a cave halfway up the hill, I discovered this valley. The spring below...its waters can suppress the poisons in my body.
Over time, I found it also nourished countless rare herbs, both poisons and medicines alike. With this place's help, I've lived to this day."
He paused, his voice turning low.
"The energies here are strange—one blazing hot, one deathly cold. Together they form an overwhelming poison. Without sufficient cultivation, one would die instantly.
Even I can only endure it for a short while when the toxins within me surge."
Dugu Shuo and Old Snake carefully surveyed the surroundings. Herbs of every color and shape filled the valley.
Old Snake's eyes darted everywhere, his heart pounding—half the plants here he couldn't even name.
But Dugu Shuo recognized them...and his expression froze in sheer disbelief.
"Fragrant Silk Immortal Herb!Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass!Blazing Apricot!Strange Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum!…"
One name after another spilled from his lips, each rarer than the last.
He couldn't believe it.
What kind of paradise is this?
Every herb that existed only in family legends grew here—lush, alive, radiating divine energy.
He looked toward Dugu Feng, whose calm expression betrayed not the slightest ripple.
Dugu Shuo's heart swelled with pride.
My son truly carries my blood. Calm even in front of a mountain of treasure.
Then he looked toward Dugu Bo again and chuckled silently.
Second Uncle, you've lived atop a treasure trove all these years and didn't even realize it. Truly blind as a bat!
"Old Snake," Dugu Shuo commanded, his tone crisp, "from now on, any of our clan members at or above the Soul King level will come here once a month to cultivate for one hour."
"Yes, Clan Head!" Old Snake answered eagerly.
A cultivation holy land, paired with the clan's newfound detoxification methods—The Dugu Clan's rise was inevitable.
Dugu Bo, meanwhile, was already leading Dugu Yan deeper into the valley.
"Yan Yan, this place isn't suited for your training just yet," he said. "But come, I'll help you obtain a soul bone first."
He was visibly impatient. He possessed one himself, but his granddaughter had none.
As for the herbs scattered around them, Dugu Bo merely sneered.
"Most of them are poisonous," he thought coldly. If you're foolish enough to touch them, don't blame me when you die.
He didn't bother to warn them aloud.
"Second Uncle, safe travels."
Dugu Shuo smiled faintly.
With a dark scowl, Dugu Bo turned away, vanishing with Dugu Yan into the depths of the valley.
When the two were gone, Dugu Shuo began to pace along the valley's edge, examining the terrain and the twin-colored spring.
Finally, he stopped before the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well itself.
"The air here holds both blazing heat and bone-chilling cold," he said solemnly. "The energy is too violent so don't go near the water."
The clan's oldest texts had described many rare herbs, but not this place.
He could only rely on instinct to gauge the danger.
At his words, Old Snake found a shaded spot and sat cross-legged, closing his eyes to begin cultivating, eager to feel the benefits of this paradise.
Dugu Feng, however, stood by the spring, quietly sensing the flows of fire and ice.
The extremes of heat and cold carried deadly toxins, it was the reason weaker spirit masters couldn't survive here.
Even breathing was painful; each inhale burned his throat.
After half a stick of incense's time, Dugu Shuo gave a small nod.
That was the signal.
Dugu Feng immediately loosened his restraints. His upper garment fell away.
From his back burst forth a pair of glistening scorpion pincers and then, eight sharp spider legs, each glimmering like crystal steel, pierced the ground, lifting him into the air.
The emergence of the external spirit bones filled him with relief, the oppressive cold receding from his veins.
The crystalline pincers spread wide, three meters long, gleaming like silver mirrors.
They greedily drank in the icy energy, siphoning the chill from his body.
At the same time, the Eight Spider Lances absorbed the fiery toxin, balancing the extremes within him.
Both sets of bones pulsed rhythmically, harmonizing perfectly with the environment.
"Father," Dugu Feng said, his voice steady, "the heat and cold here can't harm me."
Dugu Shuo nodded, his eyes blazing with excitement.
"Good! This valley...this entire Medicine Garden...is the blessing of our Dugu Clan. In your second uncle's hands, it was wasted. Look around, Feng'er. Do you recognize these herbs?"
"Of course," Dugu Feng replied with a faint smile. "If Second Granduncle truly knew their worth, he'd never have let us step foot here. These Immortal Herbs could remake the entire clan."
"Hahaha!"
Dugu Shuo burst into wild laughter, his composure breaking at last.
Even when he'd ascended to Soul Douluo, he hadn't felt such elation.
"We don't know when that old fool will return. Start gathering the useful ones first!"
He reached to his waist and unclasped a small fragrant pouch. It was a specialized soul tool for storing living plants.
This was the treasure he always carried to collect herbs.
And now, in the valley of legends, he was ready to harvest destiny itself.