Bonus Chapter. Enjoy!
============================
The next day, Huo Yuhao and his group appeared on time outside the towering main gate of Shrek Academy.
The morning breeze still carried a hint of chill from the undried night dew, sweeping across the open plaza in front of the school gate, lifting the hems of the youths' clothes and their hair.
They did not wait long before two figures walked out side-by-side from deep within the academy; it was Zang Xin and Ya Li.
Huo Yuhao and the others only then learned that Holy Spirit Douluo would be accompanying them for the entire trip.
The group boarded a large soul tool bus prepared by the academy in advance and headed straight toward the soul guidance train station.
Their final destination was Heaven Dou City.
Three hours later, everyone got off at Heaven Dou station and boarded a vehicle arranged by the Tang Sect. After the vehicle smoothly drove out of the city, the windows silently turned black, blocking everyone's view.
This was a secrecy measure of the Tang Sect. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was the Tang Sect's most core Forbidden Land, and not even the Tang Sect's own Disciples were necessarily qualified to know the route leading there.
However, all of this was mere decoration to Huo Yuhao.
The vehicle was indeed inscribed with a soul tool Formation that restricted mental force, and it was of a high grade. Ordinary Spirit Masters, even average Spirit Saint powerhouses, could not unleash their mental force under the suppression of this Formation.
However, Huo Yuhao's mental force had now crossed into the Spirit Domain realm; these so-called mental restriction Formations were merely a thin curtain to him, which he could easily lift to see everything behind it.
After more than an hour, the vehicle finally slowed to a stop.
Everyone filed out, stepping onto the soft layer of fallen leaves and soil, looking around. Everything that met their eyes was a primeval forest that blocked out the sky and sun.
The trunks of the towering trees were so thick that it would take several people to embrace them, and the dense canopy spread out in layers, letting only a few streaks of golden sunlight leak through the gaps.
Zang Xin glanced at the group and simply spat out two words: "Follow."
After speaking, he turned and walked toward the depths of the dense forest. The group dared not delay and stepped forward to follow closely behind.
There were no roads or signs in the forest, yet Zang Xin's pace remained completely steady. They wound their way through for about two hours.
After passing another ancient tree, Huo Yuhao's eyes narrowed slightly. He clearly felt that the surrounding scenery was beginning to become a bit strange; he seemed to have stepped into a sophisticated illusion, and even with his mental force, he could not see through it.
Just as he was pondering to himself, Zang Xin suddenly stopped. He turned around to face the group, his usually gentle and smiling face now filled with unprecedented seriousness.
"From now on, follow my footsteps closely; do not take a single wrong step."
"The forest area here is covered in highly poisonous plants. If you take a wrong step and get poisoned, it will be very troublesome."
No one would joke with their own life; after Zang Xin finished speaking, everyone nodded earnestly.
Huo Yuhao held Gu Yue's small hand, following closely behind Zang Xin. Behind them were Na'er, Tang Wulin, Xu Xiaoyan, and Xie Xie, while Holy Spirit Douluo Ya Li walked at the very end of the line.
At this moment, an aged and familiar voice sounded in Huo Yuhao's mind without warning. "The illusion Formation just now was not simple; it contained a trace of Divine Rank power. Be sure to be careful from here on out."
Huo Yuhao's steps did not falter, but his pupils contracted imperceptibly for a split second. He suddenly remembered Aunt Leng saying that the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was first discovered by Tang San. Then, the Divine Rank Formation here was also most likely set up by that Tang San himself.
Not long after, the dense forest ahead suddenly opened up. The view was as if sliced open by an invisible knife; the sky-blocking ancient trees retreated completely within a few steps, and they arrived at the edge of a cliff.
Zang Xin stood still at the edge of the cliff and turned around. The next moment, a gentle force, like an invisible giant hand, steadily supported everyone and surrounded them around Zang Xin. Zang Xin stepped off the cliff, carrying the group as they drifted toward the valley below the cliff.
Huo Yuhao looked down; below appeared a layer of seven-colored mist, refracting countless tiny specks of light under the sunlight, gorgeous to the point of being dreamlike.
Zang Xin waved his hand, and a pale golden light shield appeared out of thin air, enveloping everyone completely.
Then, he carried the group and slowly descended into that seven-colored mist. As soon as they touched that layer of mist, the surface of the pale golden light shield underwent a heart-palpitating change.
On the originally smooth-as-a-mirror light wall, dense pitting suddenly began to appear, accompanied by a faint hissing sound, as if something invisible was frantically gnawing at the surface of the light shield.
The marks corroded away spread rapidly, and golden light flashed across the shield from time to time, barely repairing the eroded parts. Pitted and covered in spots, dense and numerous, it made one's scalp tingle just looking at it.
Clearly, this seven-colored mist was far from as beautiful as it looked.
Everyone could not help but click their tongues in secret; if they didn't have Zang Xin's protective light shield and had just rushed directly into this mist, they would likely be reduced to nothing but bones within a few breaths.
The name of the Tang Sect's Forbidden Land was truly not just for show.
Fortunately, although this layer of mist was deadly, its thickness was not exaggerated. Zang Xin controlled the speed of descent, and the golden light shield traveled steadily through the seven-colored mist, crossing a distance of several tens of meters in the time of a few dozen breaths.
Finally, the seven-colored light around them suddenly vanished.
The World outside the light shield suddenly brightened, and the view became clear and transparent once again.
Below the canyon was a sight they had never seen before, breathtakingly beautiful.
In the center of the valley, a lake lay quietly. The lake was not very large, but it was strangely divided into two distinct colors: one half was ice blue, and the other half was crimson red.
The lake water of the two colors met in the center without any barrier, yet they were as distinct as two gems cut by fate, neither encroaching upon the other.
'Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.' Huo Yuhao silently recited the name in his heart and suddenly felt that it could not be more fitting.
And around the lake grew all kinds of exotic flowers and rare herbs.
Huo Yuhao's mental force quietly spread out; many of these flowers and herbs were surrounded by quite strong energy fluctuations. They were not ordinary medicinal herbs, but Heaven And Earth Treasures in the true sense.
Zang Xin carried the group and landed steadily on the shore of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and everyone curiously looked at everything around them.
The air became thick in an instant, and the breeze that had been gently brushing their faces seemed to be suddenly strangled by an invisible hand, stopping abruptly.
Huo Yuhao frowned slightly, a touch of doubt welling up in his heart.
This is the Tang Sect's Forbidden Land; could there still be enemies?
However, when he looked at Zang Xin, he found that there was no astonishment on that gentle and elegant face, as if all of this had been within his expectations.
The next moment, Zang Xin's aura burst forth.
In just a few seconds, the incoming pressure was shattered layer by layer by Zang Xin's aura.
Not long after, six figures slowly emerged from the distance.
With Huo Yuhao's mental force, he could tell at a glance that they were not human, but plant-type Spirit Beasts.
And being able to transform into human form meant that their cultivation had already reached the level of a Vicious Beast.
Zang Xin, however, acted as if he had met old acquaintances, walking up with a smile to exchange pleasantries.
However, the attitude of the six Vicious Beasts on the opposite side was not very good.
And when Zang Xin said the four words "obtain an Immortal Herb," the six Vicious Beasts on the opposite side all changed their expressions.
The purple-clothed man in the lead stared at Zang Xin, his voice not heavy but carrying an undisguised malice.
"According to our agreement with the Tang Sect, only one person is allowed to enter the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well every hundred years."
He paused, as if suppressing some churning emotions, his face as dark as water: "Now, it hasn't even been a hundred years since the last time."
He swept his gaze over the six youths behind Zang Xin and added: "And this time, you have actually brought six people!"
-------------------------------------------------
A/N:
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
2 Reviews = 1 Extra Chapter
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.