It had to be said — the immortal herbs within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well all had beautiful names: Splendid Tulip, Octagonal Mysterious Chrysanthemum, Daffodil Jade Flesh Bone, Fragrant Splendid Immortal.
Even if the plot of that "certain third series" was a mess, the names of these immortal herbs were undeniably elegant and pleasant to the ear.
Among them, Lin Yun's favorite was still the Glazed Jade Tea Blossom — not only because he liked the shape of the flower, but because he found the name especially beautiful. So, he simply borrowed it to name the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass.
"Ming Li..." The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass — no, she should now be called Ming Li — repeated softly.
The first thought that flashed through Ming Li's mind when she heard the name was, naturally, of the Glazed Jade Tea Blossom itself. Although that immortal herb hadn't developed sentience like she had, it had also grown within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Ming Li naturally knew of its existence.
She didn't particularly dislike the name, but she couldn't help feeling that using another herb's name carried a faint sense of... being NTR'ed in person.
Still, what could she do? The name was bestowed by her master — she couldn't refuse it. If anyone was to blame, it was that poor Glazed Jade Tea Blossom for not having developed sentience first.
"Forgive me," Ming Li thought, "I'll be taking your name then!"
Arigato, Glazed Jade Tea Blossom-san!
Since Ming Li had already joined them, Lin Yun had no reason to linger any longer in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Before leaving, he casually swept his gaze across the many immortal herbs below. Under his glance, all of them trembled violently, not daring to move until he finally turned and left the area.
The gathered herbs let out a collective sigh of relief.
"Phew~ The calamity has finally left! This time, he only took the Octagonal one — didn't kill anyone. Did the sun just rise from the west?!"
It had been another day of trembling in fear, living on the edge of death.
We survived!
The herbs almost wept with joy.
Meanwhile, in the mortal world, the Dou Ling Empire and the Star Luo Empire had declared a ceasefire.
The reason was simple — after two years of relentless war, both sides had suffered devastating losses.
The Star Luo Empire had taken heavy damage, yes, but nothing beyond recovery. After all, their national strength had always surpassed Dou Ling's by several levels. The only reason they had been forced onto the defensive multiple times was because of Dou Ling's completely reckless, suicidal tactics.
Good men fear bad men, bad men fear ruthless men — and ruthless men fear those who no longer care for their own lives.
Having lost Xue Qingci and their opportunity for Martial Soul evolution, the Dou Ling Empire had become just that — a nation that no longer cared whether it lived or died. Fueled by pure rage, they had beaten Star Luo to the ground with wild abandon.
But while the beating had felt good in the moment, after two long years of war, with their national resources drained to the bone, even the blood-crazed Dou Ling Empire finally began to cool down.
The cost of war had been immense. The situation within Dou Ling's borders was now so dire that "the people live in misery" was barely an exaggeration.
Many of the empire's sects had already fled the country, relocating to the peaceful Heaven Dou Empire or Sun Moon Empire instead.
Better to be called traitors than to remain in this godforsaken wasteland — no profits left to earn, and constant risk of being "taxed" at swordpoint by the royal family.
War, of course, required funding. Once the royal treasury was drained, how could the war continue?
Naturally, the next source of "funding" came from the pockets of the empire's major sects and factions. Since those sects operated within Dou Ling's borders, they couldn't simply refuse the royal decree. Even if each contribution was small, the endless demands quickly added up.
No matter how rich a sect was, they couldn't withstand that kind of constant bleeding.
Just look at Xuanming Sect, the wealthiest and most powerful sect within Dou Ling. Once upon a time, they had monopolized the sale of elixirs like Xuan Shui Pills, which could increase innate soul power — practically divine medicine. Xuanming Sect had been the richest sect in the empire.
But now? The situation was pitiful beyond words.
Deeply tied to the royal family, Xuanming Sect had been nearly sucked dry. If not for their Sect Master — Xu Sanshi's father — nearly breaking down in tears and threatening to turn against the Dou Ling Emperor right then and there, the sect would've been completely bankrupted by the royal family's greed.
When Xuanming's supply chain finally broke, the other sects scattered like frightened birds.
And so, the Dou Ling royal family — once roaring with warlike fervor — suddenly went limp, like a man whose eyes hid lice.
The army was withdrawn, the fiery speeches about "perishing together with Star Luo" instantly forgotten like so much nonsense.
Dou Ling was still Dou Ling...
Truly deserving of its reputation as the weakest of the four empires on the Douluo Continent.
Bravo, Dou Ling. Bravo indeed.
Since Dou Ling had called off the war, the Star Luo Empire naturally saw no reason to continue either.
Even though this was a golden opportunity — a moment when they could have easily crushed Dou Ling's exhausted forces and unified the south — the Star Luo Emperor Xu Jiawei didn't dare.
He simply didn't dare.
Even if seizing this chance could make him a legendary conqueror, Xu Jiawei knew better than anyone the true price both empires had paid during this war.
Corner a rabbit and it will bite. If Star Luo pressed its attack now, Dou Ling would retaliate with everything it had left.
Sure, they could annihilate Dou Ling... but Star Luo would also be left crippled — its bones broken even if its flesh remained intact.
And when that happened, the Sun Moon Empire, ever hungry and watching from the sidelines, would simply tear up their "peace treaty," wipe out the weakened Star Luo Empire, and then crush the Heaven Dou Empire in turn.
Destroying Dou Ling might satisfy Xu Jiawei's pride and anger for a moment, but it would also destroy his empire.
So he had no choice but to grit his teeth and endure.
In his heart, the Star Luo Emperor was already cursing to the heavens. Even now, he still didn't understand what madness had possessed Dou Ling in the first place — how the war had even begun.
"Why haven't we sent envoys to ask?" one might wonder.
They had.
But the Dou Ling Emperor — eyes bloodshot with rage — refused to listen to reason. He had thrown himself wholly into the war, venting the fury of his royal Snow family over their lost Martial Soul evolution.
The envoys Xu Jiawei had sent never even made it to the imperial court — they were thrown out and executed before they could open their mouths.
In the end, the war might have ended... but the hatred born from it would not fade.
Xu Jiawei would never forget.
Meanwhile, the long-tense Heaven Dou Empire finally breathed a sigh of relief.
End of Chapter)
────────────────────────────────────
"If you want early access to nearly 60+ chapters, join my patreon:- patreon.com/BaDwYGaMeR"