"Master… can you handle it?"
Before them stretched an endless sea of emerald-green toxic mist—so potent that not even a single small animal could be seen nearby, despite their distance from the haze.
"No problem!"
Yao Lao glanced at Yang Fan. Master and disciple understood each other perfectly.
Facing a Title Douluo who could appear at any moment, Yao Lao once again took full control of Yang Fan's body.
BOOM—!
Against the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor's poison barrier, Yao Lao merely unleashed his Bone Chilling Cold Flame—and effortlessly neutralized it.
Flame naturally countered poison—and this was the King of Flames.
Within the toxic mist, Yao Lao projected his soul perception outward. In seconds, he'd already pinpointed the mountain's location inside the barrier.
According to Yang Fan, the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well lay in the basin beneath this very hill.
Though Yao Lao didn't know what an "Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well" was, he knew it housed divine-grade herbs—some thousands, even tens of thousands of years old. A few names even rang familiar to him.
Despite his preparation, standing atop the hill still stunned him.
Below lay an inverted-cone ravine, with their position right at its rim. Thick steam billowed upward, carrying the distinct scent of hot springs.
"Remarkable!"
Hot springs rarely supported plant life—but certain exceptions existed.
Yao Lao spread his wings and dove downward.
"Master, this is it! This is the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well!"
The sight of these divine herbs sent Yang Fan into exhilaration. Any single one of these could shape a soul master's entire cultivation journey.
"Indeed," Yao Lao murmured. "This is truly a feng shui treasure land."
Even the seasoned alchemist was awestruck.
After a lifetime of refining pills, he'd never seen so many divine herbs in one place. No wonder this brat had insisted on coming.
Thousand-Year Snow Silkworm, Cinnabar Lotus, Tears of Cold Flame, Snow Jade Bone Ginseng, Ice-Fire Snake Scale Fruit…
He didn't know their Douluo Continent names—but just the ones he recognized were countless.
"Master, stop gawking—start digging!"
"Do I need you to teach me?" Yao Lao scoffed.
From his ring, he produced pre-prepared golden spades, silver jars, jade vials…
Divine herbs weren't ordinary plants!
Some required golden tools for harvesting, jade containers for storage; others needed jade harvesters, silver vessels.
Each herb had its own harvesting method, storage rules, and unique effects.
"Master, hurry up!"
Their luck held—Dugu Bo seemed absent. But who knew when the old man might return?
"You little rascal!" Yao Lao snapped. "These are divine herbs, not rice paddies! You can't just rush through them!"
Every divine herb was nature's gift.
Yao Lao harvested carefully, preserving roots to ensure regrowth decades—even centuries—from now.
"Good thing I'm here digging. If it were you, you'd have already ruined this place."
Even as he worked, Yao Lao couldn't resist lecturing Yang Fan.
To him, rootless harvesting was a sin against heaven itself.
"Master's wisdom is absolute!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than—
A thunderous roar echoed from afar, shattering the sky's silence.
Damn it.
Murphy's Law strikes again.
Yang Fan didn't need to guess the owner of that voice.
By now, Yao Lao had already secured a Thousand-Year Snow Silkworm into a jade vial. His eyes locked onto the sound's origin.
A streak of emerald light flashed atop the ridge—eyes blazing with jade fire.
In a blink, the green light vanished.
Before they could even see how he moved, Dugu Bo stood beside the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well—less than thirty meters from Yao Lao.
"How dare you?!" Dugu Bo snarled. "You've got the gall to steal from me?!"
Seeing two of his prized herbs already taken, fury erupted in his jade eyes—killing intent solidifying like physical blades.
"Yours?" Yao Lao retorted coolly. "Nature's treasures belong to no one. If you can claim them, why can't I take them?"
The black cloak hid Yang Fan's youthful face, but the aura radiating from Yao Lao was undeniably formidable.
"You're asking for death!" Dugu Bo growled.
Though mocked as the "floor tile" of Title Douluos, few in Douluo Continent dared speak to him this way—not even Emperor Xue Ye of Tian Dou treated him without respect.
Dugu Bo sensed this cloaked figure's strength—only someone powerful could withstand his aura.
But he didn't attack immediately.
This was his home. A battle here would destroy not just his mountain abode, but his meticulously cultivated herb garden.
"Let's settle this outside!"
Both spoke in unison.
Dugu Bo feared damaging his herbs—Yao Lao felt the same.
For a fleeting moment, their aged eyes met—a flicker of mutual respect passing between them.
Yao Lao soared upward, wings carrying him over a hundred meters high.
Dugu Bo refused to be outdone. Though soul masters couldn't fly, Title Douluos transcended such limits.
"In Douluo Continent, few possess your strength," Dugu Bo mused, unusually talkative for a man known for his solitude. "I should know you—or at least your name."
There were short soul masters in Douluo Continent—but none as formidable as this one.
Yet Dugu Bo had no memory of him.
"Less talk," Yao Lao cut him off.
Dou Qi surged. Heavenly Flame blazed. The Heavy Xuan Ruler materialized. His aura spiked instantly.
On the other side, Dugu Bo's nine soul rings flared—but he froze in shock at Yao Lao's transformation. Before he could react, Yao Lao's attack was already upon him.
A year of recovery hadn't been wasted. Yao Lao opened with Flame Splitting Tsunami, forcing Dugu Bo back a hundred meters.
"Who are you?!" Dugu Bo's mind reeled.
This opponent's strength and bizarre combat style baffled even a seasoned Title Douluo.
Was that black ruler a martial soul?
If so, why are there no soul rings on the old man?
One thing was certain: this cloaked figure was terrifyingly strong.
Yao Lao thought the same.
His opening move was a test—and a mere Earth-Tier low-grade technique only pushed Dugu Bo back a hundred meters. Compared to Salas, the Soul Douluo he'd slain a year ago, the gap was unbridgeable.
Even the weakest Title Douluo was leagues beyond any Soul Douluo.
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