"Are you really sure there are the heavenly treasures you mentioned here? If you're lying, I'll eat you on the spot!" Bingdi glared at Cheng Ying with a fiercely threatening expression.
"Probably…" Cheng Ying was a little uncertain himself. First, he didn't know what time period it was. Theoretically, this should be before the main plot of Douluo Dalu began, but exactly how much earlier was anyone's guess. From a soul beast's perspective, even a thousand years ago could be considered "just recently." If they were really a thousand years early, there was no guarantee the herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had already matured.
Second, he didn't know the exact location of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Though the Sunset Forest was a relatively small soul beast habitat, it was still the size of a prefecture-level city. Finding a specific spot inside wasn't going to be easy.
"Don't give me 'probably'! If it's not there, I will eat you!" Bingdi snapped, biting his arm and leaving a neat row of tooth marks. It might've looked kind of cute from the outside, but Cheng Ying alone knew that in that split second, one ten-thousandth of his source soul power had been drained.
"No no no, don't eat me! I'm really useful! I can confirm it's in this forest—just not exactly where!"
"Idiot! Then tell me what this secret place looks like, I'll help you search!" Bingdi huffed angrily.
"The secret place… it's full of rare medicinal herbs. Surrounded by toxic miasma. In the very center are two springs—one of extreme cold, the other of extreme heat. Together, they form what's called the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well."
Hearing his description, Bingdi tilted her little head thoughtfully, then closed her eyes as her spiritual sense spread outward to scan the surroundings. In theory, Cheng Ying could do the same—maybe even farther than her—but he had no soul beast memory, no technique, and barely any control over his mental energy. At most, he could scan a few kilometers, nowhere near Bingdi's hundred-mile range.
A hundred miles was massive—nearly half the Sunset Forest came under her scan.
Before long, Bingdi opened her eyes. "I found a toxic barrier. I can't sense what's inside, but let's go! That has to be it!"
With that, she grabbed Cheng Ying and cheerfully bounced off in that direction. The Sunset Forest, though a soul beast territory, had very few hundred-thousand-year soul beasts. Faced with the nearly 400,000-year-old Bingdi, even the fiercest beasts trembled in fear, not daring to cause trouble.
Cheng Ying, this walking piece of "Tang Monk meat," took full advantage of the intimidation factor and followed her unimpeded all the way to the toxic miasma. A thick green fog stretched across the land and sky like the end of the world, blocking their path.
Even with Cheng Ying's HP comparable to that of a Limit Douluo, he could feel a deadly threat from the fog. Staying inside for just a few days would likely mean certain death.
"What now? How do we get in?" Bingdi pinched his arm and pointed irritably at the fog.
"Extreme cold can disperse it. That should be within your capability, right?" In the original story, it was mentioned that this toxic fog feared extreme yin or yang. As long as the power of either was strong enough—Ultimate Ice or Ultimate Fire—it could be cleared.
As the strongest ice-type soul beast on the continent, Bingdi could of course use Ultimate Ice with ease. She pointed her slender finger forward, and a pale blue beam shot from her fingertip. Wherever it passed, the fog retreated, opening a clear path.
"…Wait a second, isn't this the same move you used to try to kill me?" Cheng Ying's face twitched. That freezing ray looked way too familiar…
"Yep! Got a problem with that?" Bingdi gave him a smug look that said "I dare you to complain." She didn't seem to realize that threats lose effectiveness after being overused.
"No no, none at all!" Cheng Ying was mostly certain Bingdi wouldn't eat him—at least not anytime soon—but he still played it safe.
"Then stop standing around! Let's go!" Bingdi dashed off first, and Cheng Ying had no choice but to follow. It wasn't that he hadn't considered running away—but the problem was, he couldn't fly, didn't know how, and Bingdi refused to teach him. He could only rely on his legs, which made escape impossible.
---
Meanwhile, deep within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, a green-haired, green-eyed boy radiating a "forgiveness" aura wiped sweat from his brow and stared in amazement at the twin springs of ice and fire.
"What a blessed land! Totally worth all those days I spent using poison to force my way in. From now on, this place is mine! That toxic fog was strong—but still weaker than my Emerald Phosphor Serpent poison. Hmph! When I become a Title Douluo, I'll call myself the Poison Douluo!"
Just as Cheng Ying and Bingdi stepped into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, they heard that cocky (and very chunni) voice ring out. Looking closer, they saw a wide field of green grass…
"Wait, no way… is that Dugu Bo? He looks like he's ten or eleven… kinda cute, actually." Cheng Ying was still guessing the boy's identity when Bingdi's mood turned sour.
"You brat! How dare you run your mouth! This is my territory—everything here belongs to me!" Bingdi's loli voice and petite frame made it hard to take her seriously—especially in the frilly Lolita dress Cheng Ying had picked out for her.
"Who are you calling a brat, you little girl?! You're not even older than me! And I found this place first!" The young Dugu Bo clearly wasn't backing down. A prodigy like him had his pride. "Hmph! The one with the bigger fists owns the place. If you don't like it, let's fight!"
Though Bingdi looked even younger than him, Dugu Bo couldn't help but take Cheng Ying more seriously, given his mature appearance. The challenge was also a way to keep Cheng Ying from interfering. If he won, Cheng Ying would have no excuse to claim the land.
But Cheng Ying clearly had other ideas. From a distance, he gave Dugu Bo a big thumbs up.
"Kid, I admire your courage—charging toward death like that."
Dugu Bo: "???"
Something felt off. Still, he readied himself, releasing two yellow and one purple spirit ring:
"Control-type, Rank 34 Soul Elder—Dugu Bo! Please advise!"
As he spoke, green toxic mist began spreading from under his feet, corroding the ground with a harsh sizzling sound. At his level, most soul masters wouldn't dare get close.
"Bingdi." Her response was simple. No type, no rank. But that simplicity made Dugu Bo freeze. Not just anyone dared to call themselves "Emperor" on the Douluo Continent. Doing so without strength to back it up was suicide.
As Dugu Bo pondered whether this girl was just suicidal or secretly a powerful old monster in disguise, Bingdi raised her delicate finger and pointed off into the distance…