"We'll follow you," After a few minutes of deliberating with the others, You You and the rest of the Immortal Herbs decided on following Huo Yuhao.
They really didn't have much of a choice really. It was death or forced compliance. And naturally they didn't pick death.
They took a while to answer because You You was trying to find the Immortal Herbs and Poisons Record Book so she could pass it to Huo Yuhao.
"Thank you for your understanding." Huo Yuhao said and accepted the book.
He flipped it open and quickly read through the contents, with his photographic memory he learned everything within the book in mere seconds.
There weren't any words or title on the cover page. The first page was mostly introductory and what surprised him was that it was about Tang Sect's methods of using poison.
And as he read further into the book, he was completely incredulous.
Huo Yuhao encountered a lot of shameless people in his previous lives.
But goddamn. Tang San truly takes the top!
'I don't recognize these at all. These are all part of Tang Sect, why the hell would he even hide these away? He created the damn organization! With this information of medicine and poison, the Tang Sect would've at least held on a bit longer.'
'And what do you mean you didn't "take this place for your own"? Bullshit! Are you telling me you didn't place those Jade Phosphorus Flowers outside yourself? You didn't instruct You You to kill people if they didn't take your tests? And you even have the gall to tell me I can't be greedy and only take seven types of immortal herbs?' The more Huo Yuhao read the book, the more angry he was getting.
It was simply illogic! Moronic! To leave such a precious book in a faraway and impossible place to get into.
Did he seriously want the downfall of Tang Sect in the first place?
Now that Huo Yuhao thought about it, there had been something off about Tang Sect's inheritance.
He never really questioned it cause he didn't feel it was important. But now, why did it feel as if their core cultivation technique was... mediocre?
It certainly didn't match the legends about it.
In the past, he had felt it was the most excellent and heaven-sent technique that he had ever come across.
That was merely because of his lack of knowledge and experience.
But after creating his own cultivation technique and inheriting the knowledge of magicians from his teacher Electrolux, which indeed contain cultivation techniques for varying magicians, he had come to a realization.
The Mysterious Heaven Skill was missing some parts!
'Tang San modified it? But why? Was it because he was afraid that someone that cultivates it would pose a danger to him? How does that make any sense? Even if someone could cultivate the original version to the highest level, would they even be able to become a God?' Huo Yuhao was profoundly confused by the thinking process of this old monster.
He shook his head. He'll put it aside for now.
He had to focus on reading about the herbs' properties.
This place contained more than two-thirds of the immortal and poisonous grasses recorded in the medicine and poison chapters. This place deserved to be called a blessed land.
There were some plants that weren't recorded in the chapters, but Huo Yuhao can learn about them later.
'So that's what they could do. You You is called the Aromatic Silk Beauty, an immortal that is highly effective in neutralizing any poison. Ah Jiao is the Infernal Delicate Apricot, produces extreme heat and provides one with the purest flames to amplify its abilities to the point of the ultimate tier.'
'Star Anise is the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass, opposite to Ah Jiao, it exudes ultimate ice, one that could freeze one's heart to the core. Any of these immortal herbs can change a soul master's destiny!' Huo Yuhao immediately thought of two examples who would benefit immensely from these immortal herbs.
If Xiaotao and Ling Luochen were to devour Ah Jiao and Star Anise respectively, the former wouldn't have had to seek his help and awakened a more fiercer Ultimate Fire while the latter would've awakened the Ultimate Ice!(1)
Of course, Huo Yuhao would also benefit from these immortal herbs as well. After all he possesses the Ultimate Ice-Fire Physique.
With those two immortal herbs he was confident his body could finally rival a Great Beast! Add with the Eight Inner Gates...
Would he be able to fight a God with just his body?
Huo Yuhao shook his head.
It was nice to dream but reality is harsh.
'According to the book if I absorb both of their essences and enter the well, I would be able to awaken the ice and fire alchemy body. Which is like my Ultimate Ice-Fire Physique. If I train according to this book, my physique should evolve.'
'But that would take a while and I would likely be interrupted during the process. I should absorb an immortal herb that strengthens my spiritual power and martial soul.' Despite his numerous other abilities, his most reliable source of power would always be his sharingan!
These eyes can rival Gods themselves.
Unbeknownst to Huo Yuhao, he wouldn't be hunted down by Tang San for a while because of the time difference between the mortal realm and the divine realm.
One day in the God Realm is equivalent to one year in the lower realms. This rule is incredibly absurd. It's only been a few days since Huo Yuhao's encounter with the Apostle.
Counting since Tang San had sent his divine consciousness to his Apostle to hunt down the Child of Destiny, a few minutes has only passed in the Divine Realm.
And considering the Calamity the divine realm is going through, Tang San wouldn't be able to provide any divine intervention for at least a year.
'The most suitable immortal herb for me here should be that one.' Huo Yuhao turned towards a herb a few meters to his left. After he had calmed down the immortal herbs, he had then melted the ice freezing them.
It is a seemingly unremarkable herb. Its body is jade green, but bizarrely at the center of the plant are three snow white leaves, and at the center of the leaves are a few water droplets, as if dew left behind in the morning.
Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew.
Although it is not the best immortal herb, its effect is very mild, and it does not conflict with other immortal herbs. It is able to increase the spiritual power of the user.
According to You You's knowledge, the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew has already reached a 100,000 years old and has long since attained spiritual wisdom. But it seems to be physically weaker than even its peers so it prefers to go into deep slumber and would only awaken after a dozen years or so.
And it does seem to be a deep sleeper, since even after being frozen it remained unresponsive.
"It's not dead...is it?" Jianxin worriedly asked, tilting her head.
"Nah. The guy's a really heavy sleeper." You You casually replied.
"Then how do we wake it up?"
"Simple. You—"
Huo Yuhao walked up to the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew and kicked it. Of course, it wasn't no ordinary kick.
He fused a bit of his spiritual power into his leg so it would reach the herb's consciousness.
It was highly effective!
"Ahh! Wha? Who are you? A human! What's happening? Are we being invaded?!" A crisp sharp voice rang out.
The little herb's leaves quivered violently, scattering dewdrops that glittered like fragments of moonlight. It immediately withdrew its roots slightly, as though trying to retreat back into the soil.
"Wait! Wait! Stop!" You You sighed, "You see what I mean? A heavy sleeper and a coward."
The Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew flared, "You You, shut up! Wait, why aren't y'all hiding? A human—"
"I don't have time for this." Huo Yuhao froze its body.
"You! Help me!!"
Huo Yuhao ignored its words and started harvesting its essence according to the book.
You You, Ah Jiao, and the others trembled. For a moment they showed a hesitant look.
Jianxin cleared her throat and glanced at them.
They quickly straightened up and showed determined looks. Nope! They certainly weren't going to go against a Great Beast and have their consciousness annihilated by Huo Yuhao.
They want to live!
"Alright. Thanks for your help. Calm down, You You will explain everything to you." Huo Yuhao said, having successfully extracted the essence of the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew.
"H-How....could you..? Aah!" Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew cried pitifully, its slightly withered body trembling.
"Bohoo! I got defiled by a human! Ah! I hope karma gets you one day!"
He ignored it and headed straight to the shore in between the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
Jianxin quickly arrived behind him and muttered, "Don't worry. I'll protect you."
Huo Yuhao nodded, his eyes softening.
'Would this finally be enough to awaken you all? Skydream, Ice Empress, Snow Empress...'
The essence of the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew was like water droplets so he had them placed into a cup the size of his hand. He tilted it and the transparent dewdrop-like water droplets immediately flowed into his mouth.
Huo Yuhao felt a sweet taste flow down his throat, and a crisp aroma that refreshed his heart and mind immediately filled every corner of his body.
He didn't dare to delay. He sat down cross-legged and quietly felt all the delicate changes that were happening to his body.
It didn't take long before the thing he was waiting for arrived.
The refreshing sensations extended across his entire body at first, but that feeling gradually started to withdraw and follow his veins through his limbs as they travelled upward towards his head.
The sensations continued flowing upward through his veins, and slowly congregated towards his head.
Huo Yuhao concentrated all his attention on the flow of these sensations. The clean and refreshing feeling quickly reached across his chest, but didn't attack his heart in any way as it continued travelling upward, just as he had suspected.
The sensations rushed into his head, but they didn't slowly enter into his spiritual sea or his brain – they just exploded!
He felt a cold and clean-feeling wave burst across his brain, and there was an indescribable restrictive feeling about everything. The sensations then began to congregate towards his eyes as if they were all rivers flowing into an ocean.
Huo Yuhao felt as if his Sharingan were being continuously rinsed by a peculiar force, as if something was being continuously injected inside them.
Beneath his eyelids, his eyes had already taken on their Mangekyou Sharingan forms. Strangely, the lotus-shaped pupils started to show changes. It was as if six veins sprouted from the tips and connected with the edge of the eye.
Beyond the Mangekyou was Eternal — Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan!
The clean and fresh feeling slowly became fiery warmth. His eyes felt as if they were being bathed in lukewarm water, and his soul power and spiritual power became supplements for absorbing the herb essence' effects.
The bags under his eyes quietly disappeared. His handsome face appeared brighter, more vigorous. He was almost ethereal under the soft glow of the twin springs.
The changes to his eyes didn't seem to be over!
Both of his eyes turned completely purple and black rings rippling outward from the pupils like expanding halos of power. The air around him trembled; the balance of yin and yang in the entire valley momentarily froze.
Huo Yuhao slowly opened his eyes after the last of the essence's effects had been assimilated.
Two purple eyes. The next evolution of the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan!
The Rinnegan!
Just as Huo Yuhao was feeling invigorated after absorbing the immortal herb,
"Woah! Yuhao, you look so much more different than before! Didja gain weight or something?" A familiar exuberant voice rang from within his spiritual sea.
Huo Yuhao's eyes widened.
"Skydream?!"
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(1)There might be some confusion with the Infernal Delicate Apricot being useful for Ma Xiaotao. According to the storyline, there are two known pure yang immortal herbs. One is the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower and Infernal Delicate Apricot. The difference is that the former is a nourishing one, while the latter is a highly poisonous one.
Now, I came up with a theory that the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower might be more suitable for males who awaken the Evil Phoenix while the Infernal Delicate Apricot is suitable for females. Why? Because the Infernal Delicate Apricot had taken a female orientation despite being a "Pure Yang" immortal herb. And we all know what pure yang means.
AN: Sorry for the late update. A lot was going on this week.