Soon, under the guidance of the System, Xu Ran arrived at the site of the Icefire Polarized Eyes.
The Icefire Polarized Eyes was an oval pond, not very large, but divided into two sections. The colors of the hot spring water were milky white and vermilion. Strangely enough, although they were in the same pond, they were clearly delineated and did not encroach upon each other, each remaining on its respective side.
The milky white and vermilion energies in the Icefire Polarized Eyes represented extreme heat and extreme cold, respectively.
System's Missy guided Xu Ran, and he quickly dug them up, storing them in a jade box.
"Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower."
"Acacia Red."
"Narcissus Jade Bone."
"Ninth Grade Purple Ganoderma."
"Piercing Gaze Dew."
Under the guidance of the System, these rare and strange treasures, which played a significant role in the original work for the Shrek Seven Monsters, were all collected by Xu Ran without exception.
Regarding the arrangement of these herbs, Xu Ran already had a plan in mind.
The Immortal Herbs for Zhu Qing and the others would be the same as in the original work; it was fine to fob off Oscar and Ma Hongjun with just any medicinal herb. After all, his relationship with them was just that of ordinary classmates, mediocre at best, not even at the level of good friends.
In the future, his "Harem" would be so vast that these Immortal Herbs would not be enough, leaving none for others.
After stripping the place of Immortal Herbs and some other precious medicinal materials, he then plunged directly into the Icefire Polarized Eyes.
The energy of ice and fire could temper the body, and those side effects Tang San might have encountered in the original work were naturally nothing to worry about for Xu Ran. After all, Xu Ran was now level 95, and his physical quality was incredibly strong.
So taking advantage of this opportunity, he wanted to absorb the tremendous energy of the Icefire Polarized Eyes and seal it within his body using his formidable power, ready to refine this energy when he cultivated later.
...
While Xu Ran was refining the vast energy in the Icefire Polarized Eyes, an elderly man, pulling along a youthful girl by the hand, approached the pond.
The elder was tall and thin. He looked like a javelin, with both his hair and beard being dark green, and his eyes shone bright like emeralds. His aged face was expressionless, with sunken cheeks and disheveled green hair. His attire was merely a plain gray robe. This was the renowned Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo.
Dugu Bo's strength wasn't particularly formidable among the Titled Douluo, but even those Titled Douluo with established reputations didn't want to tangle with him, as poison is too bizarre and troublesome.
Fighting with other strong opponents, one was injured and just recovered slowly. But poison could leave a lasting affliction in the body that might cause substantial trouble when seeking breakthroughs after being poisoned.
Therefore, although Dugu Bo was only a level 91 Titled Douluo, his status among the Titled Douluo was no less prestigious.
By Dugu Bo's side was a charming young girl.
The girl wore a black high-waisted short top and a pair of slim-fitting women's trousers that clung tightly to her slender, well-shaped legs, outlining the perfect curve of her legs.
The girl's upper body was extraordinarily tight, wrapping her full and perky figure, and the hem did not cover all of her skin, revealing a delicate belly button and a waist so slim that it could be encircled by a single hand.
The snow-white bare belly even showed faint traces of abs. It could be said that the girl's figure was excellent.
"Grandpa, why do we have to go to such a remote place to cultivate? Can't I just cultivate at home?" Dugu Yan pouted, looking somewhat resentfully at the elder beside her. Although it was a complaint, the affection and closeness for Dugu Bo could not be more evident in her tone.
Dugu Yan's green eyes gazed at her grandfather in front of her, still somewhat puzzled.
Ever since she was little, she often had to follow her grandfather to his medicinal garden for cultivation. Although her cultivation speed increased significantly there, it was incredibly boring. Her grandfather wouldn't allow her to touch any of the herbs, and she could only stay in her room to cultivate, which was naturally very depressing for her.
Moreover, as she grew older, the frequency with which she was required to go to that place increased even more.
Originally, her grandfather wanted her to cultivate there constantly, but after her persistent nagging, he agreed to let her go to Sky Dou Royal Academy. However, his condition was that she had to visit his medicinal garden at least once a week.
"There are some things you don't understand." Dugu Bo's aged face turned towards Dugu Yan; that expressionless face softened with a hint of tenderness. Looking at his granddaughter in the prime of her youth, he couldn't help but sigh.
"Grandpa, is there something wrong with my body?" Dugu Yan couldn't help but ask. This question had troubled her for many years, and although she wasn't sure if she was ill, her grandfather's strange actions time and again made her think so.
"It's nothing, you're fine," Dugu Bo said with a forced smile, his pale hand stroking Dugu Yan's dark green hair. At this moment, he felt such heartache.
His son had died young because of the poison passed down from him.
His daughter-in-law was the same, as the poison could be transmitted in her body in that way.
Now his son and daughter-in-law were both dead, was it Yan Yan's turn next? Yan Yan was the Dugu family's last hope; if anything happened to her, the Dugu family would be truly extinct.
The place was indeed wondrous, capable of helping them suppress the snake poison in their bodies, but for how many more days could it hold?
"Yan Yan, if I could do it all over, I would rather be an ordinary person. What's so good about being a Titled Douluo?" Dugu Bo sighed, uttering a sentence that baffled Dugu Yan.
She didn't understand why her grandfather had suddenly become so sentimental, and besides, was being a Titled Douluo not good? That was a peak existence in the entire world. And her status today was all because her grandfather was a Titled Douluo.
"Grandpa, what's wrong?" Dugu Yan looked at Dugu Bo with concern.
"It's nothing, let's go down," said Dugu Bo, taking Dugu Yan to a mountain peak before swooping down towards the lower area.
But his brows wrinkled soon after; he sensed something was off about his medicinal garden, as if someone had been there recently.
Could it be that his cultivation haven had been discovered by others?
There were many Heavenly and Earthly Treasures in that place, and if someone harbored greedy intentions, it could be disastrous. Of course, the garden also contained some bizarre plants, extremely poisonous, which even he dared not touch. If someone indeed harbored greedy intentions, they would undoubtedly die.
What he worried about was that his herbs might have been spoiled. What if someone who didn't understand ruined his herbs?
Dugu Bo's face was gloomy as he rushed down with Dugu Yan in his arms.
But when they arrived below, the scene before them left them stunned.
The medicinal patch was now a mess, all of the herbs, both those deliberately planted by Dugu Bo and those unknown to him, were gone without a trace. Only a few insignificant plants remained growing; all the valuable ones had been plundered.
Seeing this, Dugu Bo was completely bewildered.
And Dugu Yan, with her green eyes wide open, stood there dumbfounded as well. The herbs in this medicinal patch were treasured by her grandfather, and even she wasn't allowed to touch them casually, yet now someone had stolen the herbs her grandfather had held so dear?