Chapter 41: Mere Immortal Herbs
“Dan Bead? May I take a look at it?”
“Alright.” Dugu Bo opened his mouth, and a green light shot out from it—a verdant green bead: “This is the Dan Bead condensed after my Jade Phosphorus Serpent evolved into the Snake Queen. One could say that half of my strength is in this bead.”
Dan Heng said somewhat surprised, “This is… the prototype of a Dragon Bead?”
“What Dragon Bead?”
“The Dragon Bead is the essence origin of a dragon’s entire power. Your Dan Bead is too crude; it can only condense half of your power and poison, and it doesn’t include the origin. Since you have a Dan Bead, that’s easy to handle. I can teach you the Dragon Bead Method to transfer the poison origin in your body into the Dragon Bead.”
“This will not only solve the problem of your poison backlashing your body, but your poison techniques won’t be affected either, and your strength will become even stronger.”
Dugu Bo was overjoyed upon hearing this. He had already mentally prepared himself for a great loss of strength after detoxifying, but he didn’t expect to have the best of both worlds, getting both the fish and the bear’s paw.
“With this Dragon Bead condensation method, my granddaughter doesn’t have a Dan Bead—can she learn it?” Dugu Bo always kept Dugu Yan in mind and asked.
“Without a Dan Bead, it will be much more troublesome, but with a few years or a dozen years, it should still succeed,” Dan Heng said.
“That’s good.” Dugu Bo breathed a sigh of relief. His granddaughter hadn’t accumulated much poison in her body yet; living another ten or twenty years was no problem, enough time to condense a Dragon Bead and resolve future troubles.
“I say, Senior Dugu, you don’t need to worry about your granddaughter at all. Your poison has seeped into your bones; ordinary detoxification methods won’t work. But your granddaughter shouldn’t be as severe as you. With so many Immortal Herbs in this medicine garden, you can easily solve the problem and greatly increase her strength,” Meng Huaifeng reminded.
Dugu Bo came to a realization—right, before he had been blind to these herbs, not recognizing most of them and not daring to use them recklessly. But now there were people who recognized them?
“Don’t call me Senior; it’s too distant. Call me Old Poison instead. If you don’t mind, boldly call me Grandfather Dugu,” Dugu Bo said.
“Don’t try to take advantage of me.” Meng Huaifeng rolled his eyes.
“So, which Immortal Herb do you think suits my Yan Yan? Her Martial Spirit is the Jade Scale Serpent.” Dugu Bo rubbed his hands, asking a bit obsequiously.
“Some of the Immortal Herbs I mentioned before are suitable, but I’ve only seen half so far—not necessarily the most fitting. I suggest waiting until we’ve seen them all.”
“Right, you’re right. It has to be the most suitable; no rush.” Dugu Bo nodded repeatedly.
Next, Dan Heng began teaching Dugu Bo the Dragon Bead Technique. Dugu Bo was straightforward; without waiting for his own problem to be fully resolved before fulfilling his promise, he waved his hand grandly: just pick whichever Immortal Herbs you like.
The next day, the recovered Meng Huaifeng identified the remaining half of the herbs and picked the Miraculous Jade-Rooftop Sky-Reaching Chrysanthemum and the Dew That Pierces Autumn Water for himself to consume.
Imaginary Energy didn’t increase at all; this only relates to Destiny, not external energy.
Body Strength increased just a tiny bit, but his spirit grew more noticeably.
Xing insisted on tasting it, so Meng Huaifeng picked the theoretically very suitable Destruction Thunder Mushroom for her, but it had no effect after she consumed it.
The body strength of Stellar Core Spirit is far stronger than Meng Huaifeng’s; a mere Immortal Herb can’t enhance her body on top of that—impossible, completely impossible.
Seeing this, March 7th decisively gave up the idea of consuming one herself; it would be purely wasteful.
However, she also selected an Immortal Herb, the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid. It looks beautiful, emits a strange fragrance, and if preserved properly, won’t wither for a thousand years or fade for a hundred generations—perfect as a potted plant on the train for viewing.
Immortal Herbs are most useful for Zhu Zhuqing; Meng Huaifeng intends to arrange the protagonist treatment for Zhu Zhuqing.
“Zhu Qing, these two Immortal Herbs are the most precious in this place, with the strongest effects, but they must be consumed together. After consuming them, you’ll experience intense pain—extremely dangerous. If not careful, their terrifying medicinal properties could make you vanish into ashes. Do you dare to take them?”
Meng Huaifeng pointed to the two Immortal Herbs in the center of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes and asked Zhu Zhuqing.
“I dare!” Zhu Zhuqing didn’t hesitate at all, saying resolutely: “If there was no opportunity, so be it. But now the chance to become stronger is right in front of me; I won’t give it up.”
“You’ve already escaped your original fate. Even if you can’t join the train crew, we can at least take you away from Douluo Star to start a new life on other planets,” Meng Huaifeng said.
“Are there no new dangers in other worlds? Only with enough strength can you control your own fate—the stronger, the better,” Zhu Zhuqing saw very clearly.
“You should know that this improvement, which you gain at the risk of your life with all your effort, might be worthless after you step onto the Pioneer Destiny. Even so, will you still go all out?” Meng Huaifeng asked again.
Ice-Fire Forged Golden Body grants a body immune to water and fire—of course, this is an exaggeration; it’s only limited immunity to water and fire.
But as long as you step onto the Pioneer Destiny, you’ll gain the Pioneer’s protection, with strong resistance to various harsh environments, including water and fire.
Perhaps in pure resistance to water and fire, it’s not as good as the water-fire immune body, but the Pioneer’s protection is more comprehensive and grows stronger as the pioneer advances further on the Destiny.
“Even so, I’m willing to take the gamble. Stepping onto the Destiny is an uncertain future matter. I believe seizing the present is the most practical and important. If you can’t seize the now, can you seize the future?” Zhu Zhuqing’s awareness left March 7th dumbfounded.
“Clap clap.”
Meng Huaifeng clapped twice, smiling faintly: “Congratulations on passing the test. Rest assured, with Dan Heng here, if you can’t bear it, he can dispel the Immortal Herb’s energy with a wave of his hand—no life danger.”
Zhu Zhuqing’s expression relaxed slightly. Though she had the resolve to go all out, who wouldn’t want guaranteed safety?
“Then I’ll trouble Teacher Dan Heng.”
“Just a small effort.” Dan Heng waved his hand.
Dan Heng had already finished teaching the Dragon Bead Technique, and Dugu Bo was in secluded cultivation.
With Meng Huaifeng and March 7th’s help, Zhu Zhuqing consumed the Eight-Corner Mysterious Ice Grass and the Fierce Fire Apricot Jiaoshu simultaneously, waited for the effects to take hold, then jumped into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes.
Her ordinary clothes instantly dissolved in the spring water.
“You two, turn away quick—don’t look!” March 7th hurriedly blocked Meng Huaifeng and Dan Heng’s line of sight.
Without March 7th’s reminder, Meng Huaifeng and Dan Heng had already turned around—don’t look where you shouldn’t, don’t listen where you shouldn’t.
“Hehe, I can look.” Xing grinned smugly, then openly watched without stop.
March 7th was a bit torn about whether to make Xing turn away too.
It had to be admitted that the kitten’s will was extremely resilient—slightly less than Tang San’s, but far surpassing the other five.
Amid the intense pain, Zhu Zhuqing only occasionally couldn’t endure it, letting out a few pained groans.
After enduring this bout, Zhu Zhuqing fainted, letting the Immortal Herb spring water’s power strengthen her body.
The original work has many retcons across its parts, with inconsistent or even contradictory settings, so please forgive any discrepancies with what you know.
