"Greetings, Elders. It looks like all of you gained quite a lot." Wu Ling cupped his hands toward the three people walking over and congratulated them.
Yue Guan lightly covered her mouth, then replied with a soft laugh, "Not at all. This was all thanks to you, dear Wu Ling. Without your potions, we would never have gained so much. If you ever need me for anything in the future, just say the word."
Ghost nodded as well, meaning that Yue Guan's words were his words too.
Erasmus Graves refused to be left behind. "Wu Ling, I already tested the cultivation method. The poison throughout my body has been absorbed cleanly. Great kindness needs no words. Even though I paid with the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, if you ever need help in the future, you can come to me at any time."
Yue Guan and Ghost's reactions were normal. As for Erasmus Graves's change in attitude, it was also within Wu Ling's expectations. After all, anyone who could become a Titled Sage was an old fox. Once Erasmus Graves's own problem was solved, he no longer had much resistance toward joining Spirit Hall.
He had also seen Wu Ling's potential. Building a good relationship with a genius of limitless potential was never a losing deal, no matter what one did. That was even more true when only Wu Ling could provide those potions.
Wu Ling smiled and exchanged a few polite compliments with the three of them. Then he paused, glanced at the sky, and gave instructions.
"It is already getting late. We will return tomorrow. Grandpa Yue, please look for more spirit herbs tonight. Elder Poison, please strengthen the poison circle around the area. Grandpa Ghost, please place these array discs along the inner and outer edges of the poison circle."
After saying that, Wu Ling took out sixteen array discs and handed them to Ghost. He also took out several poison pills and gave Erasmus Graves a few requirements, then explained to Yue Guan the exact spirit herbs he needed.
Wu Ling stood at the edge of the Ice and Fire Spring. After seeing all three of them leave, he put away his smile, turned around, and asked Rose, who had appeared behind him at some point, "Are you sure?"
Rose nodded. "I am a Caster, after all, so I can repeatedly review my own memories. Because of my connection to you, my main body, I also examined some of your memories."
"Relax. I looked through your memories of the original Soul Land novels and some fan works. I did not look at anything else."
Wu Ling did not mind. Rose was a clone split off from him through a form of spiritual division, so it was normal for her to have his memories. Still, Rose's explanation satisfied him, and he nodded slightly.
"I only read Soul Land, Soul Land II, Legend of the Divine Realm, and a small part of Soul Land III. I still remember the broad plot, but I have forgotten most of the specific details. If you can recall some important matters, that counts as a major contribution."
"So, what did you find? And what does it have to do with making me send the three elders away?"
Rose pointed at the Ice and Fire Spring.
"Main body, I am afraid there is something extraordinary beneath these two pools."
Wu Ling raised an eyebrow. Something that Rose called extraordinary was rare.
"Explain."
Rose thought for a moment, adjusted her wording, and finally decided to speak directly.
"Main body, beneath this spring, there may be the corpses of the Ice Dragon King and the Fire Dragon King."
Wu Ling froze, then repeated in a heavier voice, "Are you sure?"
"I am sure. I found it in a fanfic called Soul Land: Spirit Heroes. At first, I thought it was fan creation. But after you left the spring just now, the water, whose energy had already been nearly half consumed, began recovering at a rate so slow it could almost be ignored. The fluctuation was extremely tiny, but my detection Magecraft had not been withdrawn yet, so I still noticed it."
"After that, while you were talking, I probed downward and really did find two enormous energy sources."
Wu Ling's expression did not change. He stared at the spring for a while.
"Did that book say what the two corpses are useful for?"
Rose shook her head. "No. The author abandoned it."
"...Then, Rose, what do you think those corpses can be used for?"
Rose thought carefully, then said in a serious tone, "To be honest, main body, since they are already corpses, they definitely do not have Spirit Rings anymore. Spirit Bones are still possible, though only barely. As for other uses, they could be made into weapons or armor. If nothing else works, they could be turned into two dragon-bone soldiers at the super Titled Sage level."
"But compared to their usefulness, the real problem is how to get them out."
Wu Ling asked, "Why do you say that?"
"Because those two corpses are at least ten thousand meters beneath the spring."
Wu Ling was just about to say, "Isn't it only ten thousand meters?" Then he suddenly remembered that the gods of Soul Land seemed to have reached only one or two thousand meters below.
Before Wu Ling could think further, Rose continued, "Of course, if you give me time, I can still do it. But the result would be that after we obtain the two corpses, whether this treasure ground can continue to exist would become a problem."
Wu Ling was not an indecisive person. Since Rose had already said that much, he waved a hand.
"Then forget it. We can deal with them after I become stronger, or after we no longer need this place."
Even after Wu Ling made his decision, Rose remained serious.
"Main body, compared to the two corpses themselves, what they represent is actually the more important matter."
"Say it."
"If Tang San's cultivation method is an internal art that can be practiced as long as one has meridians, then that is still within reason."
"If the immortal herbs and spirit herbs of two worlds are identical, that can also be called luck. After all, Blue Star has things like lingzhi and ginseng too. They simply cannot become spirits there."
"But, main body, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is a treasure ground formed above the corpses of the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King. Why would Tang San, who came from a martial arts world, know about it? Could his world also have the corpses of an ice dragon and a fire dragon?"
Listening to Rose's analysis, Wu Ling frowned slightly.
"You mean?"
"The original story never stated it directly, and many fan works say it is only coincidence. But some fan works proposed the Asura God conspiracy theory, meaning Tang San's transmigration was arranged by Asura God."
"And now, main body, setting every other factor aside, I am more than eighty percent certain that the Tang San in our world was indeed brought here by Asura God."
Wu Ling fell silent after hearing Rose's words. After all, he now had a Deathgod Domain inside him.
Seeing him like that, Rose suddenly giggled.
"All right, I was teasing you. Since I brought this up, I obviously have a solution. Here. Take a look. This is the fifth Spirit Ring I found for you."
Rose placed two books in front of Wu Ling.
"This is... the Titan Giant Ape?" Wu Ling said after seeing the Soul Beast drawn in the book.
"Exactly, main body. I found more than just information about the corpses of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings in your memories. I also found information on the Titan Giant Ape. Apparently, it has the bloodline of the Titan God inside its body, which is why it can fight Titled Sages while still at the ten-thousand-year level."
Wu Ling read the information in the book while listening to Rose's explanation.
After he finished, Wu Ling closed the book, looked up at the sky, and sighed. In the end, he could not resist complaining.
"I only skipped two later novels. How many settings did they add? Why does this feel even more absurd than fanfic?"