From the Soul Motion Machine onwards, the Mechanized Douluo

Chapter 266 Achieving Freedom of Immortal Herbs Across the Continent! [Bonus Chapter]

"A hundred times faster growth rate than the outside world?!"

Everyone was shocked upon hearing this! They all stared at Chen Hong with disbelief, their eyes wide, wondering if they had misheard.

Golden Crocodile Douluo stared blankly at Chen Hong, and instantly felt that the Earth Dragon Golden Melon he really wanted was no longer appealing.

"That's the theory, but in practice, we still need to conduct further experiments," Chen Hong said with a smile, offering a rather conservative assessment.

"So this is the most precious part of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well that you mentioned?!" Third Elder Qingluan Douluo asked in shock.

Chen Hong nodded: "The theory is correct. In my hands, I can mass-produce plant soul beasts that are hundreds or thousands of years old in such an environment. However, the environment here seems to suppress the evolution of plants into soul beasts. Therefore, I need to conduct further research on whether I can widely awaken the intelligence of plants in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well."

Chen Hong discovered something strange about the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eye: none of the plants here could evolve into soul beasts. Soul beasts are about "cultivating the mind," meaning that the intelligence of these plants had been suppressed, and they even had difficulty crossing the threshold of the White Realm (ten years).

Yes, in Chen Hong's opinion, that earth dragon golden melon might have medicinal effects that lasted for ten thousand years, but its internal intelligence was almost not even at the level of a white realm (ten-year plant soul beast)!

If Chen Hong's Sage Soul Technique hadn't been so domineering, forcibly elevating the Earth Dragon Golden Melon's mental state to the White Realm, this guy would have been completely unable to communicate.

A soul beast's cultivation level provides a boost to its basic cultivation speed. In other words, this Earth Dragon Golden Melon, whose age Chen Hong couldn't even discern, had been cultivating at the lowest possible speed while enjoying the highest level of environmental support. The end result was that it cultivated itself into a ten-thousand-year-old immortal herb, not a ten-thousand-year-old plant soul beast. The difference between the two is utterly vast. For example, from an energy level perspective, a single spittle of soul power from a ten-thousand-year-old plant soul beast (where do plant soul beasts get their spittle?) might contain more energy than a ten-thousand-year-old immortal herb. The only thing commendable about a ten-thousand-year-old immortal herb is the quality of energy within its body.

(This can be considered a logical patch to explain the various immortal herbs in the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire.)

Chen Hong suspected that the unique environment of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well might have an overwhelming effect on the weak intelligence of plants. For example, if the soul force gusts that occasionally rise within the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well contained some mysterious substance that could influence mental power, then as long as this substance rose periodically, none of the plants within the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well could even think about developing intelligence on their own. Because whenever they were just one step away from becoming White Realm Plant Soul Beasts, the moment the soul force gusts blew, all the plants in this valley would have to rely on their powerful vitality to cultivate intelligence anew.

Fortunately, they are plants, so even without consciousness, they can still survive tenaciously in the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire.

Without hesitation, Chen Hong, while everyone was still in shock, directly asked the astonished Dugu Bo in the distance, "Senior Dugu, I have a question: are there any seasonal things in this valley?"

"Ice, fire, and wind?" Dugu Bo was taken aback upon hearing this, and then subconsciously answered.

Seemingly noticing the confusion in Chen Hong's eyes, he barely suppressed his inner shock and explained to Chen Hong and the group of Title Douluos from the Spirit Hall: "This valley, also known as the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, has been a place where, after living here for many years, I've discovered that an Ice and Fire Wind appears every two or three years."

Through Dugu Bo's explanation, Chen Hong quickly understood what Dugu Bo meant by "ice, fire, and wind."

The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eye was located at the vent of an ancient volcano, but over the long years, it eventually formed the valley we see today.

The core of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eye lies in the central ice spring and fire spring. These two energy lakes, one cold and one hot, form a red-blue vortex in the air, swirling above the valley and siphoning away the surrounding spiritual energy. Even the poisonous mist naturally released by the Azure Scale Seven Absolute Flowers on the outer perimeter is affected by the red-blue vortex of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eye, spontaneously forming a perpetual poisonous miasma around it. (How's this patch?)

Every two to three years, the red and blue cyclones, having absorbed sufficient saturation of heaven and earth soul power, disrupt their internal thermal balance. This causes them to misalign with the corresponding Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eyes below, resulting in an 'explosion' of energies. The red and blue cyclones are 'ignited' by the newly rising energy cyclones from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eyes below, filling the entire valley with red and blue heaven and earth soul power gales. This disrupts the already complex environment within the valley and even disturbs the natural poisonous miasma array outside, creating gaps. Dugu Bo discovered this place by chance. Otherwise, even if he was immune to the poisonous miasma, he might not have been able to find it amidst the swirling poisonous fog. (Douluo Continent II says that lucky individuals occasionally find the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eyes.)

The strange phenomenon that erupts periodically in the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire is called the "Ice and Fire Wind." During the Ice and Fire Wind eruption, the environment in the valley is extremely harsh, and the ice and fire elemental energies are out of balance. Dugu Bo dares not stay inside for long, fearing that his soul power will be damaged.

Of course, the above is Chen Hong's interpretation of the information given by Dugu Bo. Dugu Bo certainly couldn't explain it as clearly as Chen Hong. He could only give a general outline, and then Chen Hong would need to fill in the gaps based on various basic knowledge.

"Well, although I don't know why 'Ice, Fire, and Wind' has a damaging effect on the spirit, I'm pretty sure that this natural phenomenon of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well is the reason why there are no immortal herbs or soul beasts in this valley. Due to the special natural environment here, the spiritual intelligence of immortal herbs is destroyed every once in a while. If the immortal herbs cannot complete their soul beast transformation within a limited time, then no matter how long they grow, they will still be plants, not soul beasts."

According to Dugu Bo's introduction, Chen Hong's doubts finally dissipated, so he directly addressed all the Title Douluos present: "I have tried to enlighten soul beasts, and twice successfully sent two soul beasts to the White Realm, which is the ten-year realm, within a year."

"Therefore, I believe it is very promising to transform the immortal herbs in the Yin-Yang Well into plant soul beasts within a year. Thus, I hope that you seniors will refrain from pursuing the immortal herbs for the time being and wait a year to see if the immortal herb-level plant soul beasts can enable you seniors to achieve immortal herb freedom."

One day, the Soul Masters of Douluo Continent will achieve their own freedom from the effects of immortal herbs.

"The Triple Realm of Soul Rings was the first time that Soul Masters clearly understood the difference between mortals and gods."

"The Three Souls Theory was the first to allow Soul Masters to examine this familiar yet unfamiliar world with a critical eye."

"The 'Soul Beast Cultivation Manual' made Soul Masters aware of the difference between Soul Masters and Soul Beasts for the first time, and at the same time, it revealed the 'Four Elements of Cultivation' that are equally applicable to Soul Master cultivation."

"."

"The arrogant and sinful god wants to destroy His faith."

"But how could the sinful god have imagined that the era of 'paying for faith' is nothing more than a self-deprecating joke by fanatics!"

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Excerpt from "Hymns of the Fanatics" by Huo Yuhao, published by the Sacred Martial Soul Technology University.

(End of this chapter)