The leaves fluttered, and the frost was imminent.
Time passed by unnoticed.
One day.
In the deep mountains, more than a hundred kilometers away from Tiandou City.
A golden lotus flower drew an arc in the air before colliding with a large rock.
The moment the golden lotus flower collided with the rock,
The center of the lotus, a red gem-like object, burst out with an eerie red light.
"Ding~"
A clear, melodious sound echoed through the mountain fields, like a jade bead falling into a jade plate.
In the next instant,
The golden lotus flower unleashed a golden-red vortex that swept through the majority of the mountain peak.
The golden-red vortex appeared for a split second before vanishing, leaving those watching from another mountain peak feeling like they had imagined it.
"Hmph!" Yang Wudi sneered and was about to speak with mockery, but from the corner of his eye, he noticed something unusual.
A tree that had been swept by the golden-red vortex had its branches frozen, with three little birds seemingly frozen in place, motionless.
A cold wind howled, blowing from behind them toward the mountain peak.
On that peak, wherever the golden-red vortex had passed, trees, shrubs, grass, insects, birds, and even rocks and sand turned to dust, blown away by the wind. Even the ground itself had formed a massive crater.
"..."
An intense silence followed.
Everyone was shocked by the immense power of the Buddha's Wrath Lotus, including Titan, Lou Gao, and Tang San, who had all witnessed the power of the super-concentrated gunpowder before.
Though Tang San had successfully created the Buddha's Wrath Lotus in his past life, he had left the three lotus flowers for the Tang Clan to preserve his dignity.
Therefore, this was the first time he had witnessed the true power of the Buddha's Wrath Lotus himself.
After a few moments,
Tang San was the first to come back to his senses. He turned to the clan leaders—Niu Gao, Bai He, and Yang Wudi—and proudly said:
"Well? How do you like my Tang Clan's hidden weapon? Is it up to the standards of the esteemed seniors?"
"With such a weapon, the Tang Clan will surely become renowned across the world."
"At present, my Tang Clan is in a time of rebuilding and is lacking middle management and pillar figures. If you seniors don't mind, I would be honored to have you join my Tang Clan, and together we can share in this glorious future."
"This is a rare opportunity. Don't let it slip by."
"After all, once my Tang Clan develops, the threshold to join will no longer be so easy to cross. Don't regret it later!"
Hearing these veiled threats, Yang Wudi, who had the fiercest temper, couldn't hold back and was about to teach Tang San a lesson. However, Bai He, quick-witted as ever, intervened and stopped him.
Bai He tugged at Yang Wudi's sleeve, signaling for him not to act rashly. He then turned to Tang San and asked:
"Nephew, this hidden weapon of yours has great potential. I'd like to know, if we join the Tang Clan, what responsibilities would we have? And what benefits would there be?"
Nephew? Uncle?
Tang San couldn't help but sneer internally. Now he wanted to bring up that relationship? His attitude had been much less friendly before.
However, on the surface, Tang San still put on a smile and replied politely:
"As I said before, the Tang Clan is short on manpower. If you seniors join, you'll naturally become elders of my clan."
"At the moment, the Tang Clan only has the Strength Hall, which was established by the Power Clan, and it mainly focuses on forging our hidden weapons."
"If you seniors are willing to lead your clans to join, then we will establish three new halls for the three clans, each responsible for tasks related to their respective specialties."
"For example, Uncle Bai He's clan, which excels at speed, could be responsible for reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and scouting."
"As for the benefits, our hidden weapons will be directly equipped to the direct descendants of each clan, which is the greatest benefit."
Tang San spoke, but when he saw that Yang Wudi still had that rebellious, defiant look, his expression became a little hard to maintain.
In the dining hall.
A few ancient soul-guiding lamps emitted a hot light, dispelling the chill from outside, keeping the room at a comfortable temperature.
"Winter is best for hotpot," Lin Rong remarked as he picked up a slice of meat, dipped it in sauce, and took a bite.
At this moment, a servant entered, bowed, and reported:
"My lord, a person claiming to be the leader of the Po Clan has come to visit. He is a Soul Douluo and is waiting in the reception hall."
Lin Rong didn't stop his actions as he continued cooking his hotpot, but thought to himself:
"Yang Wudi? I only said that offhand, why would he come here?"
"Could it be that this old man was defeated by Tang San and now seeks to vent his anger here?"
After clearing his thoughts, Lin Rong ordered the servant:
"It's mealtime, and we can't let our guest wait on an empty stomach. Go ahead and invite Clan Leader Yang over, and I'll catch up with him."
"Understood." The servant took the order and left.
While waiting, Lin Rong ordered another set of bowls and chopsticks to be added.
Not long after, Lin Rong saw Yang Wudi walking into the dining hall, his face dark and gloomy.
Seeing the look on Yang Wudi's face, as if someone owed him eight million, Lin Rong immediately guessed that Tang San had failed to recruit the Po Clan into the Tang Clan.
This was quite normal.
To win Yang Wudi's loyalty, one had to surpass him in combat strength and present rare and precious herbs that would make him obsessed.
As of now, Tang San had neither of these qualities and naturally could not make Yang Wudi submit.
"Clan Leader Yang, long time no see. Please, have a seat and eat something," Lin Rong greeted.
At this point, hotpot had not yet become a common way of eating.
So, seeing that Yang Wudi looked confused, Lin Rong personally demonstrated how to eat hotpot.
Although Yang Wudi was still holding in his anger, he had been dragged out early this morning by Tang San to witness the power of the Buddha's Wrath Lotus.
He was now famished, and upon smelling the delicious aroma of the hotpot, his appetite got the best of him.
Therefore, Yang Wudi didn't say much and, following Lin Rong's example, began eating the hotpot.
After just one bite, Yang Wudi, an expert in pharmacology, immediately recognized the exceptional quality of the soup base.
"Ginger, (Yuzhu), ginseng… The medicinal power, the taste, and the herbs in this soup base are of exceptional quality!"
He turned to Lin Rong and asked:
"Could it be that these top-tier herbs come from that place you mentioned last time?"
"Damn it! I slipped up!"
Lin Rong cursed inwardly, then quickly composed himself and replied:
"Not all of them. Only the ginseng and angelica were obtained from that place. The rest of the herbs are from my estate's private collection."
Of course, there was one thing Lin Rong didn't say aloud.
The only herbs that could qualify to appear in the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well were the ten-thousand-year-old King Ginseng and the ten-thousand-year-old Angelica.
The rest of the herbs didn't even qualify to grow there.