Chapter 234: Tang San's Breakdown! Things Shouldn't Be This Way
The vibrant petals of the Beautiful Silk Tulip curled inward, shrinking into a tight, defensive ball. For a long time, the sentient plant remained absolutely motionless, as if playing dead under the oppressive weight of the atmosphere.
Du Busi did not rush it. He simply stood at the edge of the steaming pool, his hands clasped behind his back. His piercing gaze shifted casually from the trembling tulip to the surrounding exotic flora, each radiating dense ripples of soul power. His expression remained placid, yet the sheer, suffocating pressure radiating from his towering frame carried an unspoken promise: I mean exactly what I say.
The heavy silence stretched over the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for nearly half a minute.
Finally, the petals of the Beautiful Silk Tulip slowly, reluctantly unfurled. The cluster of concentrated light at the flower's center flickered erratically, mimicking a heavy, defeated sigh.
"I understand." The plant's voice echoed in their minds, pitched much lower than before. Stripped entirely of its previous lazy arrogance and impatience, only a flat, hollow tone of resignation remained.
Its broad leaves trembled. A faint crack split open at the base of its largest, thickest leaf, widening just enough to allow a thin booklet to slide free from the fibrous gap. The manual was small, barely the size of an adult's palm, bound in a dark brown cover woven from an indiscernible, ancient material.
With a soft thud, the booklet landed on a smooth rock near the water's edge.
Liu Yuan stepped forward, his boots crunching lightly against the crystalline soil, and bent down to retrieve it. There were no characters printed on the worn cover. He flipped to the very first page, his eyes sweeping over the densely packed script and complex illustrations. The handwriting was careful, the diagrams drawn with clinical precision. It was written in an archaic script he had never formally studied, yet the knowledge flowed smoothly into his mind.
It was the Tang Sect's Poison Scripture.
This manual did not detail the cultivation or breeding of poisonous flora. Instead, it was a masterclass in the lethal application of toxins—how to extract them, how to synthesize antidotes, and the delicate art of fighting poison with poison. More for their current situation, the pages contained exhaustive, highly detailed introductions regarding the properties and harvesting methods of the Immortal Herbs rooted all around them.
Liu Yuan snapped the booklet shut, the sound sharp in the quiet valley, and turned his gaze toward Huo Yuhao.
"You are looking for the Yearning Heartbroken Grass, correct?" Liu Yuan's voice was measured, cutting clearly through the misty air.
Huo Yuhao blinked, caught slightly off guard by the direct address, before giving a stiff nod.
"Follow me." Liu Yuan slipped the Poison Scripture into his storage soul tool with a flick of his wrist. He turned on his heel, striding toward the opposite side of the dual-colored pool. "I also need to harvest a selection of Immortal Herbs. If we come across the Yearning Heartbroken Grass, I will hand it over to you. The rest, however, belong to me."
Huo Yuhao stared at Liu Yuan's retreating back. He remained rooted to the spot for a fleeting second, his hands clenching at his sides, before hurrying to catch up.
"Thank you," he muttered.
Liu Yuan did not bother looking back, merely offering a low hum of acknowledgment.
Du Busi cast a sidelong glance at the two youths but made no move to follow. The Body Sect's master remained stationed by the pool, his vigilant eyes sweeping the perimeter. He was standing guard, ensuring no hidden threats emerged from the toxic miasma while Liu Yuan worked.
Walking point, Liu Yuan activated his Martial Soul. The deep purple-gold light of his Double Pupils flared to life, illuminating the misty gloom with a steady, piercing radiance. His enhanced vision dissected the elemental composition of the valley, his gaze lingering on each glowing stalk and blooming flower just long enough to identify it before moving on.
His first target was an Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass.
The herb grew right at the lip of the freezing, milky-white spring on the right side of the well. Its leaves were a deep, abyssal blue crisscrossed with stark white veins, and a perpetual layer of jagged frost clung to its edges. The entire plant exuded a bone-chilling aura; merely stepping within three feet of it caused the ambient temperature to plummet drastically, crystallizing the moisture in the air.
Liu Yuan crouched, his Double Pupils analyzing the flow of extreme cold. This particular stalk wasn't exceptionally ancient—hovering around twenty thousand years of cultivation—but its elemental purity was flawless, cementing its status as an Ultimate Ice-type Immortal Herb. For any Soul Master possessing an ice-attribute Martial Soul, this was a heaven-defying treasure.
Following the harvesting method detailed in the scripture, he cleanly plucked the grass, instantly sealing it within a specialized jade box in his storage soul tool.
Standing a few paces behind, Huo Yuhao watched the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass vanish. The light in his eyes flickered. Deep within his spiritual sea, his Ice Jade Empress Scorpion Martial Soul thrummed with intense hunger, acutely sensitive to the pure ice-attribute energy. That herb would have elevated his own cultivation tremendously.
Yet, he kept his mouth firmly shut. Liu Yuan had established the rules of this expedition clearly: the rest belonged to him.
Liu Yuan continued his methodical sweep.
Crossing over to the boiling, crimson hot spring on the left side of the pool, he located an Infernal Precious Apricot. This plant was the absolute antithesis of the ice grass. Its leaves were a violent, fiery red laced with molten gold veins, radiating a scorching heat that warped the air around it. Also boasting a cultivation of roughly ten thousand years, it was a supreme catalyst for fire-attribute Soul Masters.
Liu Yuan harvested it with practiced efficiency, locking it away.
Huo Yuhao watched in silence.
A few steps later, wedged within a jagged rock crevice near the pool's edge, Liu Yuan spotted a Singular Velvet Chrysanthemum. The massive flower boasted radiant golden petals surrounding a pure white pistil, exuding a faint, deeply refreshing fragrance that cleared the mind. With a cultivation age exceeding fifty thousand years, this Immortal Herb was universally coveted. It possessed the tyrannical ability to forge an indestructible physique and vastly enhance bodily strength, making it a perfect match for the Body Sect's inherited techniques.
Liu Yuan secured it without hesitation.
His search accelerated, his movements becoming a blur of calculated precision.
He found a Daffodil Jade Potent. It was a diminutive, snow-white flower with petals as delicate as translucent paper, barely the size of a palm. At ten thousand years old, its essence nourished the skin and violently purged impurities from the meridians.
He found an Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid. A stunning blossom with eight light purple petals and a glowing golden center. At forty thousand years old, it was a supreme treasure for purifying soul power and permanently accelerating a Soul Master's cultivation speed.
He found a Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower. A vibrant, crimson plant shaped exactly like a rooster's comb, boasting broad leaves and blindingly bright colors. At twenty-five thousand years old, it was a peerless tonic for igniting vital blood qi and supercharging flame-type Martial Souls.
Liu Yuan moved faster and faster, his spatial ring filling with dozens of legendary Immortal Herbs—each one an extinct treasure that would cause rivers of blood to flow in the outside world. A thrill of genuine excitement touched his stoic features, though he kept it buried deep within his glowing Double Pupils. The purple-gold light in his eyes burned brighter than ever, reflecting the immense fortune he was reaping.
Trailing in his wake, Huo Yuhao's initial spark of anticipation slowly eroded into a heavy, suffocating silence, eventually settling into a hollow sense of despair. He watched Liu Yuan harvest miracle after miracle, but not a single one was the Yearning Heartbroken Grass.
Unable to bear the mounting anxiety, he finally broke the silence. "The Yearning Heartbroken Grass... is it really even here?"
Liu Yuan paused his harvesting and turned to face the younger boy.
"The letter claimed it was?" Liu Yuan asked, his tone neutral.
Huo Yuhao nodded, his fists clenched tight.
Liu Yuan studied him for a quiet moment. "What is written in letters is not always the truth. But since you have already come this far, keep looking. Even if you fail to find it, you will at least know you did everything in your power."
Huo Yuhao swallowed hard, offering no reply as he cast his gaze back into the glowing underbrush.
Liu Yuan turned away, resuming his relentless harvest.
High above, in the ethereal expanse of the God Realm.
Tang San sat rigidly upon his divine throne inside the grand palace, the shimmering surface of the Water Mirror floating actively before him. His divine gaze swept over every blade of grass within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, tracking Liu Yuan and Huo Yuhao's every movement.
A dark shadow cast over Tang San's features, his jaw tightening until the muscles jumped beneath his skin.
When Liu Yuan first bent down to claim the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, Tang San's brow had furrowed into a sharp V.
When Liu Yuan casually pocketed the Infernal Precious Apricot, Tang San's index finger began a rapid, agitated tapping against the armrest of his throne.
But as Liu Yuan systematically swept up the Singular Velvet Chrysanthemum, the Daffodil Jade Potent, the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, and the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, Tang San's finger stopped tapping. His hand clamped down on the divine armrest, his grip so violently tight that his knuckles turned a stark, bloodless white.
"Damn it!"
The curse hissed through Tang San's teeth. The volume was low, but in the echoing silence of the divine hall, Tai Tan and Niu Tian heard it with crystal clarity.
Tai Tan immediately lowered his massive head, staring a hole into the marble floor, absolutely unwilling to meet the Sea God's furious gaze. Niu Tian, standing rigidly to the side, parted his lips to offer a word of appeasement. But upon seeing the absolute gloom twisting Tang San's usually composed face, he wisely swallowed his words.
Tang San glared at the image of Liu Yuan in the Water Mirror, his eyes burning with an indescribable intensity.
It wasn't pure anger, nor was it outright killing intent. It was the deeply unsettling irritation of a master manipulator watching his carefully crafted script be torn to shreds. It was the burning humiliation of seeing a mere mortal casually swoop in and plunder the massive advantages he had specifically engineered for his chosen pawn.
"Things shouldn't be proceeding like this!"
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