Yu Yan had barely begun when Dugu Bo quickly grasped his intent and drafted a workable plan—discussing things with a smart person had its perks.
After chatting a while longer, Dugu Bo led Dugu Yan away from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. While Yu Yan brewed his secret medicine, he couldn't watch; that had been their prior agreement.
With practiced ease, Yu Yan used a large cauldron to prepare a two-month supply of qi-boosting, blood-enriching elixir for Dugu Bo, finishing it by dripping in a few drops of his own blood.
Bagging the pills, Yu Yan walked over to the gazing through autumn water dew. Following the Breaking Clan's pharmacopoeia, he preserved the roots and harvested the main plant.
Half a year had passed since the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and blazing apricot cactus had stopped interfering with his body. At last he could use this mild Immortal Herb that didn't conflict with the other two—essentially scavenging the leftovers.
Seated cross-legged inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Yu Yan let a few transparent drops from the gazing through autumn water dew fall onto his tongue. The instant the liquid left the leaf, the entire herb withered, crumbling to dust that scattered on the wind.
gazing through autumn water dew: consume it to forge Fiery Eyes that pierce all wonders.
As the herb took effect, a faint red-gold halo enveloped Yu Yan's head, threads of golden light continuously converging on his eyes.
By the time the moon hung above the treetops, Yu Yan opened his eyes, now finished absorbing the gazing through autumn water dew. Golden light shot from them; night looked like day, and every unpicked Immortal Herb glowed faintly in his sight.
With golden light flickering in his eyes, everything around him slowed—something like a weaker version of bullet time.
In short, the World unfolded before Yu Yan in an entirely new way.
Besides the change in his eyes, Yu Yan sensed his mental force had strengthened slightly.
'Does this count as Fiery Eyes?'
Looking down at his reflection—eyes flashing gold—Yu Yan recalled the herb's description and began speculating about what his own eyes could now do.
He already knew the answer: true Fiery Eyes were far mightier, yet these gleaming eyes must share at least a sliver of connection with them, right?
Right?
After half an hour of testing the changes, Yu Yan submerged himself once more in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to Cultivate. At dawn the next day, Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan arrived to find him picking herbs inside the well, medical text in hand.
'Yu Yan Kid, what are you up to?'
Knowing each other well, Dugu Bo didn't bother guessing; he simply asked outright.
'I'm going to refine medicine and use it to hit level 40 within the next two days, so you—our Titled Douluo—can fetch my fourth spirit ring.' Yu Yan plucked a fruit brimming with spirit power from a tree and turned to Dugu Bo. 'After all, if I leave, I won't find another Titled Douluo willing to hunt the right ring for me.'
'What?' Shock filled Dugu Yan's face. 'You're breaking through to 40?'
'Yeah. Didn't you know I was at 39, Yan-jie? Why so surprised?'
Yu Yan answered casually; they were already familiar.
Calling her Dugu Yan felt distant, while following Dugu Bo and calling her Yanyan felt too intimate. After rounding up, Yu Yan settled on Yan-jie for the woman three years his senior.
Dugu Yan rolled her eyes. 'You hit 39 ten days ago—now you say you're going for 40. Why do you think I'm shocked?'
'Yanyan's right,' Dugu Bo added. 'Kid, advancing this fast—aren't you afraid your spirit power will turn hollow and your Foundation unstable?'
Dugu Yan's worry was Dugu Bo's as well.
'Senior Dugu, Yan-jie, I know my own condition. If you don't believe me, check whether my spirit power is unstable.'
The reason Yu Yan's spirit power had soared these past six months was the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the perfect training ground for him, plus the lingering potency of the two Immortal Herbs. spirit power forged by those two methods couldn't possibly be hollow.
Any slight instability from daily herbs or Medicinal Pills had long been ground away by the well and the miniature Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well spinning inside him from the two herbs.
Add to that the rock-solid spirit power he'd gained by cultivating with purple qi and moonlight, and breaking through to 40 with outside aid posed no problem at all.
'I can't be bothered to check. As long as you know what you're doing—smart as a monkey, you'd never gamble your future.'
Since Yu Yan said he was fine, Dugu Bo dropped the matter.
Dugu Yan, seeing her grandfather had no objection, said nothing more.
With time on his hands, Dugu Bo stepped forward to help refine the medicine.
Medicine and poison were two sides of the same coin; Dugu Bo knew a thing or two about pill-making.
Watching the two busy men, Dugu Yan found a spot to Cultivate. Spending so much time with Yu Yan made her own progress feel negligible.
With Dugu Bo's help, the cauldron of medicine was soon finished.
Yu Yan swallowed the liquid, sat at the edge of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and began digesting the medicinal potency.
Glancing at the cultivating Yu Yan Kid and his granddaughter, Dugu Bo—bored—took out his secret elixir and tried drawing the remaining Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison into the pearl inside his body. It would be a long, slow process.
By evening, Yu Yan opened his eyes; the medicine was fully absorbed. His spirit power had reached level 40—he could now obtain his fourth spirit ring and break into Spirit Ancestor.
Freshly advanced, the pulse of his spirit power spread outward; Dugu Bo naturally sensed it.
'Yu Yan Kid, what spirit ring are you going for this time?'
More than the Breakthrough itself, Dugu Bo was curious what Yu Yan would choose as his fourth spirit ring.
'The Molten Vortex Ice Light Dragon in the lava volcano of the Extreme North Land.'
Yu Yan answered. This Spirit Beast came from the compendium Ning Fengzhi had sent, marked by Ning himself as suitable for Yu Yan.
Both the probable Spirit Ability it could yield and the beast's location were clearly noted.
'Extreme North Land, Molten Vortex Ice Light Dragon? What kind of Spirit Beast is that?'
Another creature Dugu Bo had never heard of, and one located in the Extreme North Land he seldom visited.
Snakes hibernate in the cold; influenced by his Jade Phosphor Serpent Spirit, Dugu Bo avoided the far north unless absolutely necessary.
'Explaining is a pain—see for yourself.'
Finding a lengthy explanation tiresome, Yu Yan pulled the book from his golden scepter, flipped to the page on the Molten Vortex Ice Light Dragon, and handed it to Dugu Bo.