Chapter 57: The Dumbfounded Dugu Bo
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was gone.
In its place lay a massive, bottomless pit.
The edges of the pit were jagged and uneven, as if a section had been forcibly "scooped out" by some terrifying power.
The bottom of the pit was pitch black; only a faint scent of sulfur and damp earth lingered in the air, serving as proof that something had indeed once existed here.
But the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well itself... had vanished.
"What... the hell?"
Jiang Bai shot to his feet and strode quickly to the edge of the pit, leaning over to peer down.
It was bottomless; only a biting wind swirled upward from the depths, carrying with it the earthy scent of the soil.
He glanced around once more. The valley remained the same valley—save for its most precious central feature... which had been completely excavated and taken away.
"Snow Empress? Ice Empress?" Jiang Bai called out instinctively, his voice echoing through the valley.
There was no response.
Jiang Bai’s heart sank.
Could something have gone wrong while he was absorbing the Immortal Herbs just moments ago? Had something happened to the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress? Had the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well somehow flown away?
Just as his mind raced with wild conjectures, a cool, ethereal voice suddenly rang out right beside his ear.
"We... are currently inside your Martial Soul."
It was the Snow Empress!
Jiang Bai froze for a moment, then immediately snapped back to reality and hurriedly raised his right hand.
With a shift of his will, a nine-story Glazed Pagoda—crystal-clear and shimmering with a radiant nine-colored glow—slowly materialized in the palm of his hand.
The structure of the pagoda appeared even more exquisite and sacred than before.
"Are you really inside my pagoda?" Jiang Bai asked tentatively, his voice tinged with disbelief.
"Indeed we are." This time it was the Ice Empress who spoke, her voice carrying a hint of surprise and playful teasing. "I can even see those dragons of yours from in here."
Jiang Bai’s heart surged with joy. The fact that his four Dragon Beasts had all undergone such significant enhancements was undoubtedly excellent news. However, he was even more concerned about another matter entirely.
"Then... what about the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well? And all those immortal herbs?"
"They’re all inside," the Snow Empress replied calmly. "The entire core region of the valley—including the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and the majority of the medicinal herbs—has been absorbed into your Martial Soul. They now reside within this space, forming a distinct, self-contained zone."
Jiang Bai parted his lips, momentarily at a loss for words.
The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda... had actually swallowed the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well? Taking the springs and immortal herbs right along with it?
What... what kind of bizarre phenomenon was this?
"Can you two come out?" Jiang Bai asked tentatively.
"We’ll give it a try."
No sooner had the words left her lips than two beams of light shot out from the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, hovering in the air before Jiang Bai. As the light subsided, the figures of the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress were revealed.
The moment they appeared, both women simultaneously lowered their gazes to the ground beneath their feet. Upon seeing the massive, bottomless crater left behind, they couldn’t help but look utterly stunned once again—despite having mentally prepared themselves for the sight.
The Ice Empress placed her hands on her hips and asked with a look of sheer curiosity:
"Hey, you little brat—just what kind of heaven-defying immortal herb did you actually consume? It’s one thing for your Martial Soul to undergo a tribulation and evolve, but to actually suck up such a massive chunk of the landscape along with it?!"
Jiang Bai lowered his head to gaze at the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda resting in his palm, then looked back up at the colossal crater before him, his mind racing.
The Qiluo Tulip—by enabling the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda to evolve into the Nine Treasures—had actually triggered a Heavenly Tribulation?
And it had even allowed him to directly transplant a natural treasure trove like the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well right into the spatial dimension of his own Martial Soul...
It felt absolutely surreal—like a dream.
"I’m not entirely sure myself..." Jiang Bai admitted truthfully. "The Qiluo Tulip is an immortal-grade herb; perhaps its effects simply far exceeded my expectations. As for why my Martial Soul ended up like this... perhaps its evolutionary path was simply a bit unique?"
The Snow Empress listened in silence, her ice-blue eyes fixed upon Jiang Bai as if attempting to discern something from his facial expressions.
Yet, Jiang Bai’s look of bewilderment and shock appeared entirely genuine.
"In any case, this is a good thing for you," the Snow Empress finally said.
"That space is perfectly suited for cultivation; from now on, the Ice Empress and I will temporarily reside within it. Whenever you require our assistance, simply reach out to us through a mental link."
Jiang Bai nodded, suppressing the surge of ecstasy rising within his heart.
Jiang Bai’s gaze swept past the crater, fixing upon the still-unconscious figure lying near the base of the distant mountain wall.
After a moment’s thought, Jiang Bai retrieved a pen and paper from his storage ring and quickly scribbled a few lines.
He then walked over to Dugu Bo’s side and tucked the note into his hand.
Having done this, Jiang Bai returned to the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress and spoke:
"We’ve caused quite a commotion here; there’s a chance it might attract the attention of other Soul Masters within the Sunset Forest. To avoid any unnecessary trouble, we should leave as soon as possible."
The Snow Empress nodded. "A sound point. Where shall we go?"
Jiang Bai pondered for a moment.
Now that he possessed the treasure trove known as the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, along with the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress as his two trump cards, his immediate concerns regarding resources and safety were effectively resolved.
His next priority, therefore, should be to focus on enhancing his own personal strength.
"Let’s head toward Silves City," Jiang Bai suggested.
The Snow Empress asked no further questions; reaching out, she grasped Jiang Bai’s arm, preparing to whisk him into the sky.
"Wait—"
Before the Ice Empress could even finish the word, the Snow Empress had already transformed into a streak of pale-blue light, shooting skyward and vanishing instantly into the skies above the forest.
"..."
The Ice Empress stood frozen in place.
She stared in the direction where the Snow Empress and Jiang Bai had vanished—her exquisite, petite face shifting from a look of utter bewilderment to a deep flush of indignation, until finally, seething with rage, she stomped her foot furiously in mid-air several times.
"Xue’er!!! You forgot about me again!!!"
Gritting her teeth, the Ice Empress’s figure flickered, transforming into a streak of emerald-green light as she sped off in hot pursuit of the Snow Empress.
Three figures—one leading the way, the other two following close behind—swiftly vanished beyond the horizon of the Sunset Forest.
...
Not long after they had departed...
Dugu Bo slowly regained consciousness.
Rubbing his head, he struggled painfully to his feet.
Having been knocked unconscious by a single slap from that little girl earlier, he had escaped any fatal injuries—yet a concussion was, unfortunately, unavoidable. Right now, his head was throbbing, and his entire body ached.
Three intruders... a little girl with green hair, a woman with blue hair, and a youth with black hair.
Dugu Bo suddenly recalled something.
He stumbled toward the edge of the valley, and when he saw the massive, bottomless pit gaping below, he froze in utter shock.
"This... What is this...?"
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
Where was the hot spring? Where was the poison formation he had spent decades of painstaking effort to construct? Where were all those precious medicinal and poisonous herbs?
They were all gone.
All that remained was a barren, gaping crater—as if a colossal beast had taken a massive bite out of the earth.
Dugu Bo’s face instantly turned ashen. He staggered back two steps, his chest heaving violently; he nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
That was his life’s work! It was his only hope for curing his own virulent poison! And just like that... it was gone?
At that very moment, he suddenly felt something clutched in his right hand. He looked down to see a folded slip of paper.
With trembling hands, Dugu Bo unfolded the note; a few lines of text were written upon it.
He scanned the words quickly, his expression shifting between fury and gloom.
After finishing the note, he clenched it in a death grip.
After taking several deep breaths to compose himself, Dugu Bo flew back toward Heaven Dou City.
...
Not long after...
Another streak of black light flew out from the depths of the forest and landed atop the mountain peak.
As the light subsided, the figure of a withered, elderly man was revealed.
He stared in disbelief at the bottomless pit yawning in the valley below.
Since when had the Sunset Forest acquired such a massive crater?
Was it connected to the commotion that had occurred moments ago?
After observing the scene for a few more moments, the withered old man took flight and departed.