Huo Yuhao had never really intended to fight. His grand display earlier, with both his Two-Word Battle Armor and Martial Soul True Body, was ultimately just using his might to suppress the grass, making these Immortal Herbs, which had lived comfortably for over Ten Thousand Years under the protection of the poison formation, recognize reality.
Now that the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass had voluntarily conceded, he was naturally happy to see it.
However, Huo Yuhao was in no rush to withdraw the vast, abyssal pressure emanating from his body. He remained suspended in mid-air, looking down at the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass below, waiting for what she had to say next.
Seeing that Huo Yuhao had no intention of continuing to attack, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She steadied her mind and asked tentatively, "Your Excellency, what exactly do you require? Please, speak plainly."
Huo Yuhao looked down from above, his voice deliberately carrying a hint of unquestionable cold arrogance as he said, "Naturally, I have come for the Immortal Herbs, but what I want is not just one."
As he spoke, his gaze glanced intentionally or unintentionally toward the large pink flower curled up on the bank of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Being swept by Huo Yuhao's sharp gaze, the Youxiang Qiluo Fairy Herb's originally straight stem instantly bent slightly, and its crystal-clear petals dimmed visibly. After all, it was she who had said earlier that only one Immortal Herb could be taken after passing the test.
The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass took in this scene, and her mind was already made up.
Her bottom line was clearly much more flexible than Youyou's. Now that the situation was overwhelming, if he really wanted to forcibly take them, the three of them combined wouldn't be able to stop him.
Rather than fighting to the death and still failing to protect the Immortal Herbs in the end, it was better to take a step back first.
However, just as she was about to speak, she caught sight of the Fiery Delicate Apricot's layered fiery red leaves shaking violently again, clearly wanting to say something in anger.
The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass didn't hesitate in the slightest. An ice crystal flew out silently and landed precisely on the Fiery Delicate Apricot's leaves, blocking the words she was about to blurt out.
Given the Fiery Delicate Apricot's explosive temper, it was better for her to speak less at this time.
After "dealing" with her good friend, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass turned her gaze back to Huo Yuhao in mid-air.
She spoke slowly, "Then, exactly how many Immortal Herbs does Your Excellency want?"
Huo Yuhao did not immediately say that he wanted to claim the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for himself; after all, such things required a step-by-step approach.
If he forced these Immortal Herbs too far and they really decided to perish together with him, he would suffer a huge loss.
Huo Yuhao calculated rapidly in his heart. First, he had to pick the most suitable Immortal Herb for Gu Yue.
Both times he condensed a Spirit core, Gu Yue had given him a generous gift, and his return gift would fall upon these Immortal Herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
However, the physical bodies of the Immortal Herbs could not be brought through time to the World Ten Thousand Years later. Perhaps later, he could find a suitable opportunity to confess his ability to travel through time to Gu Yue, and then bring her here to choose in person.
Given their current relationship, Huo Yuhao felt he could tell her some secrets.
Secondly, he also needed to select an Immortal Herb for Gongyang Mo to help him break through the shackles of the seventh ring.
Over the past half year, Gongyang Mo had been exposed to the wind and sun at the Spirit Pagoda construction site, and he had seen all of this sincerity and diligence.
Gongyang Mo was his designated future Vice Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda; he had to be "served" well with the most suitable Immortal Herb. After all, he couldn't use him for nothing.
Finally, there was himself. Thinking of this, his gaze fell once again upon the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass below.
In the original historical trajectory, this Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass had eventually become his Spirit Soul.
Now, Huo Yuhao's second Spirit only had one Spirit Soul. If the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass could join him, his strength would be able to advance to a higher level.
Having thought this through, Huo Yuhao had a plan in mind.
He slowly raised three fingers and said in a calm, unhurried voice, "I want three Immortal Herbs."
Hearing this, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass finally felt the heart that had been hanging in her chest settle down securely.
If it was only three Immortal Herbs, it couldn't be considered an exorbitant demand.
She did not hesitate too much. Her tone remained as cold and steady as before, but it was clearly a bit more relaxed than just a moment ago. "Very well, Your Excellency may take three Immortal Herbs from here."
Upon hearing this, the coldness Huo Yuhao had deliberately maintained on his face dissipated like snow melting in the spring breeze.
With a thought, the golden vertical pupil behind him, which stood dozens of meters tall, slowly retracted, turning into starlight-like radiance that dissipated into the air. The silver-purple halo of the Two-Word Battle Armor also receded like a tide, revealing his original figure once again.
He slowly descended from mid-air back to the ground, and his entire person seemed to have returned to that gentle, refined, and harmless-looking youth he usually was.
Immediately, Huo Yuhao raised his eyes to look at the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and his tone carried a hint of meaningful laughter as he added unhurriedly, "What if those three Immortal Herbs include you?"
As soon as these words were spoken, all three Immortal Herbs were stunned.
Even the Immortal Herbs with slightly lower ages in the surroundings all simultaneously stopped swaying their branches and leaves. The entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well valley became so quiet at this moment that a pin dropping could be heard.
The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass was silent for a moment, her crystal-like leaves drooping slightly, as if she were seriously contemplating something.
She was silent for a moment and did not directly refuse. Her voice remained as cold and calm as before: "Your Spirit should be of the mental attribute, while my power belongs to the ice system; they do not match your Spirit."
Huo Yuhao did not waste any breath explaining. He did not perform Spirit Body Enhancement, nor did he reveal the spirit ring of his second Spirit, but the aura of extreme cold that suddenly burst forth from his body could not be fake.
A frigid chill, cold to the extreme, suddenly spread outwards from him as the center. The emerald moss beneath his feet was instantly covered with a thin layer of frost, and the water vapor permeating the air was frozen into countless tiny ice crystals, which drifted down rustlingly under the reflection of the two-colored light of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass's perception of the ice attribute was naturally extremely clear. Almost the instant that chill appeared, she trembled all over, and her cold, steady voice carried undisguised astonishment for the first time: "This is... Ultimate Ice?!"
Huo Yuhao retracted that aura of extreme cold, the corners of his mouth still hanging with that calm smile, and said unhurriedly, "I have twin spirits; my second Spirit is precisely of the Ultimate Ice attribute."
No obvious expression could be seen on the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass's crystal-like leaves, but Huo Yuhao felt she must be astonished at this moment.
He had originally thought that this steady and calm Immortal Herb would at least hesitate repeatedly, weigh the pros and cons, and might even propose some additional conditions.
However, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass's silence did not last long, and when she spoke again, the three words she uttered made Huo Yuhao himself freeze suddenly.
"I am willing."
The words that were just at the tip of Huo Yuhao's tongue were swallowed back directly. He was certain he hadn't misheard, but precisely because he had heard it so clearly, he was instead somewhat unable to believe his own ears.
He had originally prepared a belly full of arguments, intending to reason with her and appeal to her emotions.
But he never expected that the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass would agree so cleanly and decisively.
Beside them, the Fiery Delicate Apricot's layered fiery red leaves suddenly shook violently, and her voice was full of incredulous anxiety and anger: "Bingbing, have you gone mad?!"
"Do you know what you are saying? Don't you know what it means to become a human's spirit ring?"
Youyou also looked as if she had been frightened; that large pink flower's branches and leaves trembled chaotically: "Bingbing, don't be impulsive. This matter can still be discussed; you don't necessarily have to go to this step."
"We can think of a way together; there's no need to sacrifice yourself!"
However, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass only gently shook her crystal-like leaves, her voice remaining calm: "I am not being impulsive, nor am I acting on a momentary whim."
"You don't need to persuade me; this is a decision I have made after careful consideration."
Her gaze crossed over the Fiery Delicate Apricot and Youyou, landing once again on Huo Yuhao: "I have taken root in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for over Ten Thousand Years. For these Ten Thousand Years, day after day, year after year."
"Although the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi here is rich, enough to let me live comfortably for another Ten Thousand Years, I have grown tired of these days. I want to go and see the outside World."
Speaking of this, her crystal-like leaves lifted slightly, as if a human were looking up at the sky, and her voice carried a trace of something Huo Yuhao had never heard from her before—that thing was called anticipation.
She looked at Huo Yuhao and said: "Your Excellency's age should not be great, yet your strength has already surpassed us Spirit Beasts who have been Cultivating in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for Ten Thousand Years, possessing a cultivation equivalent to a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast."
"Such talent, even among you humans, should be as rare as a Phoenix, right?"
Huo Yuhao did not deny it, just listening quietly.
The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass paused, then continued, her tone carrying a sense of clarity and decisiveness: "Therefore, I am willing to become your spirit ring. This is not just a compromise, but a major gamble. I am betting that you will be able to step onto the divine rank in the future!"
"If you become a god, I, as your Spirit Soul, will naturally be able to attain eternal life along with you."
[A/N: I don't know why she said Spirit Soul. Yuhao hasn't yet told them of the Spirit Soul Contract. It should be Spirit Ring.]
"Using this Ten Thousand Years of comfort now to gamble for a chance at eternal life—I think this deal is very worthwhile."
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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.