All around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, plants of every kind thrived—lush, diverse, and radiant in color. It looked like a paradise of flora, each herb more exotic than the last.
At that moment, Li Chang'an was like a mouse that had fallen into a barrel of rice—overflowing with excitement as he examined the plants near the well, occasionally gasping aloud in awe.
"This… this is Snow Silkworm! The king among Cordyceps—Snow Silkworm!"
"That's Cinnabar Lotus? How can it grow this large?"
"Heavens! The Fragrant Qiluo Immortal Herb, bane of all poisons!"
"This one—Fire-attribute Immortal Herb, the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower!"
"…Qiluo Tulip!"
"…Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid!"
"…Strange Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum!"
"…Autumn-Water Dew of Clarity!"
"There are so many Immortal Herbs here!"
After touring the area once, Li Chang'an was completely overwhelmed.His heart raced, his breathing quickened, and at last he had to sit down to calm himself.
Dugu Yan, puzzled by his reaction, looked at him with concern."Brother Chang'an, are you all right?"
To her, who had little understanding of the value of such herbs, his excitement seemed almost inexplicable.
Li Chang'an took a deep breath and smiled."I'm fine, Yan'er. It's just that… seeing so many priceless Immortal Herbs all at once—it's too much excitement for me to handle."
"Are they really that valuable?" she asked, still doubtful.
"It's not just that they're valuable," he replied, shaking his head. "They are unfathomably rare. Let me put it this way—each of these Immortal Herbs is worth as much as a hundred-thousand-year spirit bone. Does that help you understand how precious they are?"
"What?"
Dugu Yan's rosy lips parted in shock.A hundred-thousand-year spirit bone—the rarest treasure of all! In the entire continent, there were almost none who had ever possessed one. Its value was beyond measure.
And yet Li Chang'an was claiming that each of these herbs equaled one in worth?
That couldn't be right… could it?
Since when was our family this rich?
Her disbelief was written plainly across her face.
Indeed, at this point in time, very few on the continent—aside from a handful of experts—understood the true worth of Immortal Herbs.
So to Dugu Yan, comparing these strange, unfamiliar plants to hundred-thousand-year spirit bones sounded absurd.
"Yan'er," Li Chang'an continued, "I said they're that valuable because, according to that ancient text I once read, when taken properly, these herbs can cause one's Martial Soul to evolve. At the very least, they can drastically improve a person's talent or make up for their martial soul's flaws."
He didn't mind sharing their value with Dugu Yan or Dugu Bo—because even if they knew how precious the herbs were, without understanding their properties, they would still be helpless.
After all—herbs cannot be eaten carelessly.
If someone consumed one that clashed with their body, they could die instantly.
Without precise knowledge of each herb's effects, even Dugu Bo could do nothing but guard a mountain of treasure, unable to turn it into tangible power.
And since most of these herbs existed only as single specimens, there was no way to test their effects through trial and error.
One herb—one chance. Once used, it was gone forever.
Experimenting to determine its properties would require hundreds, even thousands of trials across different individuals. The results varied from person to person, depending on constitution, soul power, even dosage.
Such conditions made human experimentation utterly impossible.
Li Chang'an had always wondered this himself—back when he'd read Douluo Dalu in his previous life.How exactly did those "predecessors" discover what each Immortal Herb did?
Each herb was unique, growing only under incredibly specific conditions—so how could anyone possibly have "tested" their effects accurately?
"What—you mean these herbs can evolve martial souls?" Dugu Yan asked, stunned.
Li Chang'an nodded. "These aren't ordinary herbs, Yan'er. They're Immortal Herbs, unmatched treasures of heaven and earth. Without this special environment—the Treasure Basin—they couldn't exist anywhere else."
"But to think they can make a martial soul evolve… that's too unbelievable," she said, still struggling to accept it.
"I know. Before I saw this Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it either," Li Chang'an admitted, his gaze sweeping across the red-and-white lake. "But if that ancient book wasn't exaggerating, then these herbs truly hold the powers described within."
"Yan'er, this discovery is too important. We must tell your grandfather immediately."
Meanwhile, Dugu Bo was still in his cave, deliberately leaving the younger pair alone to explore—and, in his words, "develop their relationship."
When the two returned, they found him leisurely mixing some vitality and strength-restoring pills. After all, he lived atop a land that nurtured herbs at impossible speeds. And as a master of poisons, he was naturally skilled in medicine as well.
So when Li Chang'an explained the true value of the plants around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, even Dugu Bo—who prided himself on his knowledge—was speechless.Immortal Herbs? Capable of evolving martial souls? Could that really exist?
How could this little brat know such things when even he, a Titled Douluo, had never heard of them?
Li Chang'an calmly explained that, as a child, he had once stumbled upon a decaying old book at a street stall. Most of it had rotted away, but a few pages still mentioned "Treasure Basins" and mystical herbs with extraordinary powers.
At the time, he'd thought it was nothing more than a collection of myths and legends—until today, when he saw the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and recognized the herbs described in its pages.
Only now did he realize that the book had spoken the truth.
Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo immediately asked where that ancient book was.
Li Chang'an sighed and said regretfully, "It was too old. Half the pages had disintegrated. After reading it, I tossed it away."
Dugu Bo's face fell in disappointment.
But before the old man could scold him, Li Chang'an added reassuringly, "Though the book is gone, I memorized the parts that were still legible. I don't know all the herbs around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, but I recognize quite a few of them."
Hearing this, Dugu Bo's expression brightened again.
The mountain of treasure before him might finally be unlockable—thanks to the boy who'd won his granddaughter's heart.
(End of Chapter)
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