With Honghong now by his side, Zhou Sichen's gains from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well could only be described as tremendous. He wasn't in a hurry to leave; instead, he stayed to carefully choose more immortal herbs.
There were plenty of treasures here. Now fully knowledgeable about the effects and uses of each, he began selecting with serious intent.
His sister, Ye Guyi, no longer needed a herb—Honghong's clone could be gifted to her.
With the support of an emperor-tier immortal herb, he was confident she would one day stand at the summit of the continent.
And it wasn't just a one-time benefit. Every year, Honghong would be able to produce another clone.
Aside from his sister, the next priority was his grandfather.
The old man was in his eighties, and his spirit power had been stuck at rank 89 for far too long. A suitable immortal herb should allow him to break through the final barrier to become a Title Douluo.
His parents, on the other hand, had average talent. They too could benefit from the physical transformation granted by a high-level immortal herb. The best option would obviously be a Lovesick Heartbreak Crimson clone.
But with only one produced per year, and since Ye Guyi's cultivation was the current priority, they'd have to wait a couple more years.
Once their bodies and aptitude were transformed through the herb, reaching the Title Douluo realm would no longer be a problem for them.
Next came Cao Jin Xuan and Long Xiangyue.
Cao Jin Xuan had excellent talent. Even without an immortal herb, he would likely still reach rank 90 through cultivation alone. With one, however, his future growth and achievements would be on a whole different level.
After all, he wielded the Clock of Passing Time, one of the rare Martial Souls capable of manipulating time itself.
If someone like him were favored by fate, he'd undoubtedly be a protagonist-tier figure.
The path Zhou Sichen envisioned for him was no less than a full main-character template.
Long Xiangyue's natural aptitude was slightly lower, and he had spent years sweating and struggling just to keep pace with his two brothers.
Choosing the right immortal herb for him could elevate him directly into the ranks of elite prodigies.
Having settled things for those closest to him, Zhou Sichen turned his thoughts to Dugu Xianmeng.
He wasn't sure if she'd emerged from closed-door cultivation yet. The 15,000-year Snake Emperor Medusa his sister had brought back should have provided her with a powerful fifth spirit ability.
Xianmeng's biggest issue had always been the poison that had permeated her very bones. But now that Zhou Sichen had control over the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he could remove it.
However, completely purging it would be another matter.
He had considered several methods. The first was the traditional approach of the Dugu Clan: channeling the poison into a spirit bone.
This was what Xianmeng had already done. She had a 10,000-year right arm spirit bone filled with venom. But unlike the clan's usual Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison, she cultivated a more tyrannical variation—the nearly ultimate Green Phosphor Five-Poison.
So despite not even reaching the Spirit King realm, her spirit bone was already almost saturated.
This method was flawed. As her cultivation increased, even multiple spirit bones wouldn't be enough to contain the escalating toxicity.
Zhou Sichen proposed another solution—after removing the poison embedded in her bones, she could begin storing all newly refined venom into a Poison Core.
Not the kind Dugu Bo once used—one that was inseparable from his life—but a disposable, external storage unit.
The Poison Core could be discarded or dealt with through other means. If her body couldn't handle its power anymore, it could be expelled—or neutralized using Ultimate Ice or Ultimate Fire.
In the future, as her strength grew, this Poison Core could even serve as the foundation for condensing a spirit nucleus, ensuring none of her accumulated strength went to waste.
Perhaps the method used by the Body Sect's master, Du Bushi, was something similar—harboring poison beneath the skin, like the wart-covered back of a toad. It caused no harm to the user, only to enemies.
All of these methods were feasible. In fact, Dugu Xianmeng herself could execute most of them. The only thing she couldn't handle was the poison already deep within her bones.
But ironically, that was now the easiest part to solve. The Killer Orchid Heart could neutralize it. So could Zhou Sichen's blood.
In other words, there was no longer any need to worry about the poison devouring her from within.
That said, until the detoxification process was complete, she shouldn't consume any immortal herbs. The collision of the herb's effects with her body's poison could lead to catastrophic backlash.
Still, Zhou Sichen planned to pick out an herb for her in advance. After all, he had already decided that she was someone he would take under his wing. He wasn't about to neglect her.
Then there were Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luocheng.
Both were top-tier prodigies—one wielded Ultimate Fire, the other had potential for Ultimate Ice.
Talents of their caliber were exactly the kind Zhou Sichen wanted by his side.
In terms of relationships, he was closer to Ma Xiaotao. Her Evil Fire Phoenix problem was easily solvable. All he needed to do was bring back some Phoenix Sunflower seeds for her to consume.
Seeds cultivated for 10,000 years were nearly equal in effect to the original plant itself.
As for Ling Luocheng, they had only exchanged brief greetings. There was no rush. Immortal herbs weren't exactly cabbages—you didn't just hand them out casually. He'd secure her loyalty first.
Han Ruoruo... well, he'd spend more time getting to know her before deciding.
Again, immortal herbs weren't cabbages.
Finally came the question Zhou Sichen had to seriously consider.
With all the resources hidden within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and the miraculous properties of these immortal herbs, Zhou Sichen could save Elder Mu's life.
While it might not allow Mu to walk tall again, it could easily extend his life.
He might even help Xuanzi ascend further—possibly reaching rank 99.
And yet… Zhou Sichen hesitated.
The truth was, he had no emotional attachment to Shrek Academy. From the moment he entered, it had always been with a purpose.
Even though he'd now officially become Elder Mu's disciple and was enjoying the academy's top-tier resources, his motivations remained rooted in self-interest.
That said, if he could be certain that Elder Mu wouldn't stand in his way in the future, then yes—Zhou Sichen did want him to recover.
Because no matter how cold-blooded he might seem, Zhou Sichen was still a man of flesh and blood.
But the path he had chosen—one that challenged the very heavens—would one day inevitably pit him against Tang San, the God-King of the Divine Realm.
Zhou Sichen's ambitions clashed fundamentally with the divine plans that had been set in motion for ten thousand years.
And a man like Tang San would never tolerate someone like him.
Zhou Sichen had known this from the start. He had always been clear about his goal, and who his enemies were.
What he feared was that if he saved Elder Mu now, the old man might eventually become one of those enemies.
And that was what left him truly conflicted.
Because under his long-term plans, even Shrek Academy would eventually be nothing more than a province of his empire.
So the question of whether or not to use an immortal herb to save Elder Mu... gnawed at him.
There was, however, one man he didn't need to hesitate about.
Even though they had never met, Zhou Sichen was certain that the moment he entered that man's field of vision, he would treat him like his own son.
That man… was Du Bushi, the current sect master of the Body Sect.
Call him selfish, overbearing, or unreasonable—but Du Bushi was a man of loyalty and emotion.
In the original story, in order to delay the collapse of the Heavenly Soul Empire, he had dared to assassinate Xu Tiannan alone, fully prepared to die. Even though the result was death and the annihilation of his soul, he never once regretted it.
His only mistake may have been choosing the wrong successor—Huo Yuhao.
Du Bushi treated Huo as his heir, but Huo's heart belonged solely to Shrek. He never saw his master as anything more than a stepping stone.
Honestly, if Zhou Sichen truly admired anyone deep in his heart—it would be Du Bushi.
And so, Zhou Sichen had already chosen an immortal herb for him.
When the day came that he visited the Body Sect, as long as they didn't clash in ideology…
They would form an unstoppable alliance.
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