Hearing Qiluo Tulip's anxious tone, which bordered on losing his composure, a hint of confusion also flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes.
He was absolutely certain that this was the World from Ten Thousand Years ago, but Qiluo Tulip's original body had actually vanished into thin air from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. This was indeed completely beyond his expectations.
How could a King of Immortal Herbs that had lived for tens of thousands of years, rooted in a treasure land with the densest Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi like the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, just vanish like that?
Huo Yuhao suppressed the doubts in his heart and said, "Don't panic yet. Keep your composure and search carefully once more."
Qiluo Tulip took a deep breath. Having temporarily lost his composure just now, he had now regained some of his usual poise and calmness.
He closed his eyes, sinking his entire mind into his perception of the outside World, and began to conduct a new round of careful and meticulous investigation.
After passing through the Seven-colored Toxic Miasma, the pink halo around Huo Yuhao's body had quietly dissipated.
However, at this moment, as Qiluo Tulip began to exert his full strength, that soft pink halo emerged from Huo Yuhao's body once more.
But this time, the halo no longer wrapped tightly around Huo Yuhao's body without dispersing; instead, it spread out in all directions.
The pink halo, like ripples of invisible waves, slowly rippled outward with Huo Yuhao as the center toward the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well valley, searching inch by inch for everything hidden within the valley.
Seeing this, Jin Li turned to look at Huo Yuhao beside her and asked, "What is this?"
Huo Yuhao merely shook his head gently without explaining much.
Looking at his serious profile, although Jin Li's curiosity grew even stronger, she did not press further.
She just stood quietly beside Huo Yuhao, watching the gentle pink halo expand further and further.
On the shore of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, right at the boundary where the two-colored lake waters met, grew a large, pale pink flower.
It had no leaves, and its stem was as straight as if carved from jade. The flower at the top was extremely large, with every petal as crystal clear as pink crystal, refracting a dreamlike soft halo under the reflecting lights of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
What made it most unique was that within a ten-zhang radius of this flower, no other plants could grow, leaving a clean and empty territory. Thus, it stood out exceptionally in this lushly vegetated valley.
When the pink halo emitted by Qiluo Tulip touched this large pink flower, the flower suddenly swayed slightly, its petals trembling gently, and then it actually emitted a pink gas from its pistil.
The color of the gas was extremely similar to Qiluo Tulip's pink halo, and an even denser fragrance, like the richest fine wine spilled into the air, slowly diffused.
Immediately after, Huo Yuhao also saw that Qiluo Tulip's expanding pink halo abruptly ground to a halt the moment this pink gas appeared.
Following that, Huo Yuhao heard Qiluo Tulip's shocked, almost hysterical voice explode within his Spiritual Sea.
"How is this possible? How can this be? How could it possess this kind of ability? This is absolutely impossible!"
Huo Yuhao frowned slightly and asked in a deep voice, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with that flower?"
Qiluo Tulip's voice trembled slightly. He took several deep breaths, as if trying his best to calm the turbulent waves crashing in his heart.
Only after a moment did he manage to explain in a calm tone, "The reason why my original body, the Qiluo Tulip, can suppress all poisons and is naturally immune to all toxins in the World is because I possess the Heart of Qiluo."
"The Heart of Qiluo is my innate foundation as the King of Immortal Herbs, my inborn source power, and the fundamental trait that distinguishes me from all other Immortal Herbs."
At this point, his voice suddenly rose a few pitches: "But... that Immortal Herb, the aura it just emitted, the power contained in that pink gas, clearly also originates from the Heart of Qiluo."
"I wouldn't mistake it. That is absolutely the power of the Heart of Qiluo as well!"
Huo Yuhao cast his gaze toward the proud, solitary pink flower by the shore of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. His Spirit Eyes narrowed slightly as he carefully observed its every movement.
The flower still stood quietly by the lakeside, its petals swaying gently in the breeze. The pink gas it emitted actually blended slowly with Qiluo Tulip's pink halo in midair.
Indeed, just as Qiluo Tulip had said, that aura was almost identical to the halo he emitted, sharing the exact same root and Origin.
Qiluo Tulip's voice paused for a moment, as if repeatedly confirming everything he perceived, before sounding again.
The confusion in his tone, far from diminishing, grew even stronger: "But this Immortal Herb is clearly not me. It's not a Qiluo Tulip."
"And in my memory, such an Immortal Herb has never existed around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well."
"I have been rooted here for tens of thousands of years. I know every inch of this land like the back of my hand. I remember exactly how many Immortal Herbs are by the lakeside, where each one grows, when they bloom, and when they bear fruit."
"Only this flower, I have absolutely no impression of it."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao's pupils also contracted slightly. Could it be that some subtle changes had truly occurred between the two Worlds?
Just as countless thoughts were racing through his mind, a crisp, pleasant female voice suddenly came from ahead.
"Who are you? How do you have the exact same aura as me on your body?"
Before Huo Yuhao could react, Jin Li beside him instantly tensed up.
Her golden eyes widened suddenly, and she instinctively took half a step forward to shield Huo Yuhao: "It can speak? A hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast!"
Not far away, the large pink flower gently shook its petals in an elegant and calm manner, as if shaking its head in denial.
The crisp female voice sounded again: "Don't be nervous. I don't really count as a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast, and I bear no ill will toward you."
"I'm just curious why you have my aura on you."
Seeing that the other party spoke with no ill intent, Jin Li's tensed shoulders relaxed slightly, though she still did not completely lower her guard.
Huo Yuhao, however, had a calm expression. He raised his hand and gently patted Jin Li's shoulder to indicate she didn't need to be nervous, then took a step forward and slowly walked up to the large pink flower.
Yet before Huo Yuhao could even speak, a streak of pink light suddenly shot out from between his brows, quickly condensing into shape before him.
Qiluo Tulip had actually burst out from the Spiritual Sea on his own. His purple robe fluttered in the breeze, and his usually calm and elegant face was now filled with confusion, as well as a complex emotion that even he couldn't put into words.
His figure hovered in midair, looking down at the large pink flower rooted by the lakeside, and asked point-blank, "What kind of Immortal Herb are you? How do you possess the Heart of Qiluo?"
Jin Li's large golden eyes went wide as she watched in surprise as the pink streak of light that flew out from Huo Yuhao's brow quickly condensed into a tall man before her.
She subconsciously took half a step back, raised her hand to point at Qiluo Tulip hovering in midair, and turned her head to ask Huo Yuhao, "He... what is he?"
Huo Yuhao's expression was calm. Had he not tacitly allowed it, Qiluo Tulip would not have been able to emerge from the Spiritual Sea.
His ultimate destination for this trip was the Star Dou Great Forest, where he and Jin Li were to meet Di Tian, the Beast God who ruled over all Spirit Beasts in the World.
Since he wanted to persuade Di Tian to recognize the Spirit Pagoda's soul spirit system, the existence of Spirit Souls would have to be brought to light sooner or later. Rather than explaining it on the spot then, it was better to let Jin Li see with her own eyes right now what a Spirit Soul actually was.
Looking at Jin Li's face, which was filled with shock and curiosity, he explained unhurriedly, "Haven't you always been curious about what the Spirit Pagoda actually does? This is a Spirit Soul, a brand-new form of existence that can replace spirit rings..."
While Huo Yuhao was educating Jin Li on Spirit Soul knowledge, the conversation between the two "Immortal Herb" on the other side had already begun on its own.
Faced with Qiluo Tulip's undisguised, anxious questioning, the large pink flower gently shook its petals and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "The Heart of Qiluo was originally mine. I've always had it, since a very, very long time ago."
Hearing this, Qiluo Tulip froze in midair. His lips twitched several times, and for a moment, he actually didn't know what to say.
After a moment of silence, Qiluo Tulip took a deep breath and asked a more direct question: "What is your original body?"
Hearing this, the large flower's pink fragrance grew a bit denser, and the entire flower swayed happily, as if asked a question she was very glad to answer.
"My original body is the Youxiang Qiluo Fairy Product, and you can call me Youyou."
"What about you? You're an Immortal Herb transformed into human shape, right? Your aura is really similar to mine. What kind of Immortal Herb are you, anyway?"
"I've stayed here for a very, very long time, and I've never met anyone so similar to me."
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A/N:
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.