To the north of the Heaven Dou Empire's northernmost point lies a region called the Extreme North.
It is a vast expanse of ice and snow, and what people have explored so far is merely the tip of the iceberg. It is a veritable forbidden land for life and a death zone.
On the outermost edge of the Extreme North, there are dozens of coniferous forests covered in snow.
These coniferous forests are home to a large number of spirit beasts with ice-attribute martial souls, making them a gathering place for spirit beasts.
Although the trees in the forest are evergreen conifers, the area is extremely cold with heavy snowfall, and the trees are covered in a thick layer of snow.
As far as the eye can see, everything is clad in white, with no trace of the vibrant green of a forest.
Therefore, these coniferous forests of varying sizes are called the Frozen Forests by people.
The Frozen Forests are rarely visited and have harsh climates.
Few spirit masters of other attributes venture here, except for those with ice-attribute martial souls who come to obtain spirit rings.
"Is this the largest Frozen Forest in the empire's northern territory?"
Amidst the wind and snow, Lin Rong stood at the edge of a forest, a phantom green dragon shadow coiled around him, warding off the biting cold and snow.
Behind Lin Rong, the old butler unfolded a map to confirm, and replied:
"There are a total of thirty-seven Frozen Forests, large and small, within the empire's northern territory. According to records, the one before us is undoubtedly the largest."
"If the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King is indeed in one of the Frozen Forests of the Extreme North, then the probability of it being in this forest before us is the highest."
Lin Rong nodded, and he and the old butler entered the forest, intending to find a place to rest first.
...
A quarter of an hour later, inside a certain cave.
Twelve pots of Blazing Sun Flowers were arranged in a circle within the cave.
These twelve pots of Blazing Sun Flowers are one of the many rare and precious herbs found in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye. Not only can this herb be used as medicine, but it can also continuously release heat, making it a natural treasure for warding off the cold.
Inside the cave, the twelve Blazing Sun Flowers in their pots emitted a scorching radiance like little suns, dispelling the severe cold.
"It's convenient to have many treasures in hand."
Lin Rong muttered to himself as he put away six pots of the Blazing Sun Flowers.
After only a short while, the temperature inside the cave had already gone from cold to somewhat hot.
When half of the Blazing Sun Flowers were put away, the temperature inside the cave finally stabilized within a comfortable range.
The phantom green dragon shadow around Lin Rong had also disappeared.
Since he no longer needed to ward off the severe cold, there was no need for him to continue using the Dragon Soul for protection, as maintaining the skill consumed Soul Power constantly.
Before he began luring the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King, both he and the old butler needed to recover to their optimal states.
...
Deep beneath the Frozen Forest.
In a cave, lying on a rock, was a ginseng about one foot and eight inches long.
This ginseng was very similar to the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng. The skin of the ginseng was equally crystal clear, and even someone who didn't know its value could tell at a glance that this ginseng was extraordinary.
However, unlike the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng, which was crystal clear and blood-red, this ginseng was crystal clear and emerald green, like a flawless piece of jade.
Like the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng, this ginseng also had a distinct raised pattern on its skin.
However, while the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng's pattern was a five-clawed dragon, this ginseng's pattern was a five-feathered green phoenix.
The green phoenix pattern was lifelike, emitting a faint green light, appearing like a true phoenix that was about to burst from the surface of the ginseng skin and soar into the sky at any moment.
Undoubtedly, this ginseng was the legendary Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King, a peerless immortal grade product born from the creation of heaven and earth.
Among the many immortal grade medicinal herbs, only the king of immortal grades, the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, and the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng that had grown to ten thousand years could compare to it.
Endless life force emanated from the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King, seeping into the soil at the top of the cave.
Above the cave, the roots of a pine tree, rooted in the soil, absorbed this life force, growing much more robust and thicker than the other pine trees in the forest.
The moment Lin Rong stepped into the Extreme North carrying the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng.
Deep in the cave, the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King stirred slightly. Having developed high intelligence, it inexplicably had a vague sense of foreboding.
However, this premonition was not strong, and it seemed to be mixed with something it craved.
Furthermore, the Ten Thousand Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King was extremely confident in its earth-escape ability, so it did not choose to leave its hiding place.
...
Inside the cave.
A pot was placed over the campfire.
The old butler cut a small piece from the Ten Thousand Year Ginseng King in his hand and put it into the pot, then added the remaining hot pot ingredients.
Lin Rong sat to the side, looking at the Ten Thousand Year Ginseng King in the old butler's hand, a question lingering in his mind.
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye had existed for so long, and there were quite a few Ten Thousand Year Ginseng Kings growing within it.
Logically speaking, since there were Ginseng Kings in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye, it shouldn't be a problem for these Ginseng Kings to reach the nine-rank over the years.
But in reality, the few Ten Thousand Year Ginseng Kings in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye had no rank at all.
In other words, there wasn't even a single ginseng with an age exceeding twenty thousand years.
Given the growth-enhancing effects of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye on rare plants, such a situation should be impossible.
Yet, this incredibly bizarre phenomenon had genuinely occurred within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye.
Could it be that ginsengs, once they reach the "King" grade, become sentient?
And if so, when a ginseng reached the first grade of the King, perhaps they disliked the environment of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye and would leave on their own to find a place to hide?
Alternatively, could it be that once a single ginseng reached the first grade of the King, all other ginsengs, due to the limitations of natural laws, would cease to grow once their own age exceeded ten thousand years?
After much thought, these were the only two explanations that could account for the absence of King-grade ginsengs of the first grade or higher within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye.
And between these two, the latter seemed significantly more reasonable.
This was because the former couldn't explain why a King-grade ginseng, having already reached a certain grade, would abandon the superior environment of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye to seek out other growing locations.
The latter, on the other hand, not only provided an explanation but also addressed the issue of the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng's age.
The Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng was naturally an eighth-grade plant, evolving over ten thousand years.
A ten-thousand-year-old Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng could already rival a ten-thousand-year-old ninth-grade King Ginseng.
If the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng were twenty thousand, thirty thousand, or even older, which Immortal Grade Medicinal Herb in this world could possibly compare to it?
However, if the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng was also suppressed by a King-grade ginseng, its own growth would halt once it reached ten thousand years of age.
This way, a ten-thousand-year-old ninth-grade King Ginseng could be placed on equal footing with a Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng whose maximum age was also ten thousand years. Only then would they be qualified to be called the King and Queen of ginsengs, respectively.
In the original work, the ten-thousand-year-old ninth-grade King Ginseng was described as a ginseng that had grown for nearly one hundred thousand years.
However, the original work also described Tang Hao's ninth Spirit Ring as black with a reddish hue at the beginning.
Similarly, the Titan, initially described as being over ten thousand years old, was later stated by Dragon Duke Meng Shu to be over sixty thousand years old.
Yet, in the end, both Tang Hao's ninth Spirit Ring and the Titan were stated to be one hundred thousand years old.
The data was incredibly inconsistent.
Therefore, I've directly adjusted the setting for the ten-thousand-year-old ninth-grade King Ginseng: a ten-thousand-year-old ninth-grade King Ginseng is a ginseng that has grown for one hundred thousand years.
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