Detoxification

Upon entering the wooden house, Shen Tianchen found its interior sparsely furnished, with only a desk, a chair, and a bed.

"Tell me, then. How do you plan to help this old man detoxify?"

Dugu Bo sat on the bed and waved for Shen Tianchen to take the chair.

After sitting down, Shen Tianchen pretended to think for a moment before presenting the explanation he had already prepared. "Since you're unwilling to give up your Poisonous Cultivation, I have two methods for you to consider."

"First, force the toxins in your body into your soul bones. The prerequisite is that you need at least three soul bones, and you must accept that your cultivation can no longer advance. Let me make this clear first: soul bones have a limit to how much they can contain. If their quality is too low, even your entire set of soul bones might not be enough."

To be honest, Shen Tianchen was not entirely certain about this method either. No one knew exactly how much poison soul bones could hold, so this was merely a more conservative approach.

But judging by Dugu Bo's temperament, he definitely would not be willing to stop there. After all, Dugu Yan still needed time to grow.

Shen Tianchen did not know whether Dugu Bo had been bragging when he pounded his chest and declared that Soul Power Level ninety-one was absolutely not his limit.

If he had not been plagued by the toxins in his body for so many years, he would probably have reached at least ninety-three by now, perhaps even higher.

Shen Tianchen did not know whether that was true, so he simply explained the second method.

"Poison is an ability inherently possessed by your martial soul. You simply haven't found a proper way to organize it, which is why it runs rampant through your body, eroding your meridians and leaving you in your current state."

"The second method is not easy either, and it depends on you. Compress the toxins in your body into a Poison Pill, similar to the inner pill of your Jade Scale Serpent martial soul. In the future, you can use it to cultivate and control your toxins as you wish."

Under normal circumstances, snake-type martial souls could naturally condense inner pills. This method would not be too difficult for Dugu Yan, but for Dugu Bo, it was truly no small challenge.

Dugu Bo's meridians had been eroded by poison for years and had become extremely fragile. If he wanted to compress the toxins into a Poison Pill in a short period of time, it would inevitably place tremendous strain on his meridians. One mistake, and only death awaited him.

Could he only use the first method?

Dugu Bo was unwilling to accept that. He possessed the pride of a Titled Douluo. How could he so easily give up the chance to improve, especially when people had begun using him as the unit of measurement for Titled Douluos?

If he could not shake off that label, it would accompany him for the rest of his life.

Seeing the unwillingness in Dugu Bo's eyes, Shen Tianchen smiled. "If you rely on yourself, the chance of successfully condensing a Poison Pill is extremely low, almost impossible. But if you use extraordinary medicinal herbs as support, the possibility of success will rise greatly."

Dugu Bo's eyes immediately lit up.

That was right! He had such a vast Medicinal Garden. Why would he worry about not finding herbs that could assist him?

"The herbs in this garden are yours to use as you please. As long as you can cure the poison in my body, what does it matter if I give you all the excess herbs as well?"

At a time like this, Dugu Bo still knew how to weigh what mattered more. Without enough time, what use would he have for more medicinal herbs?

Shen Tianchen was delighted inside. This was exactly what he had been waiting to hear.

He even deliberately asked, "The herbs here that you don't recognize but I do—can I take them all?"

Dugu Bo waved a hand carelessly. "Once my poison is cured, I can give this precious place to you."

"Stop standing around. Hurry up and get to work. I'll wait here for your good news."

Shen Tianchen agreed.

After obtaining a cauldron from Dugu Bo, Shen Tianchen left the wooden house and was immediately surrounded by a sea of flowers.

Perhaps because it was nearly ten years earlier than in the original timeline, most of the herbs here were on the verge of maturity.

Based on Chrysanthemum Douluo's research findings, Shen Tianchen soon became familiar with every herb in the area.

To detoxify Dugu Bo, he first needed to suppress the toxins in his body and prevent them from running wild. Then, he could compress them into a Poison Pill.

After that, it would be like rolling a snowball. He only needed to guide the toxins that overflowed during cultivation into the Poison Pill.

The problem was that after decades of accumulation, the toxins in Dugu Bo's body had spread everywhere, clinging to his fragile meridians with overwhelming ferocity.

He needed a medicinal herb that could absolutely suppress the toxins and temporarily make the poison in Dugu Bo's body settle down.

Now that he knew the effects of those immortal herbs, combined with Dugu Bo's years of research, it should save a great deal of time.

In the blink of an eye, a week passed.

Although Shen Tianchen had temporarily left Heaven Dou Academy, the academy's classes did not stop because of that. The students continued studying and training as usual.

Within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

After several days of research, and with the addition of a leaf and some pollen from the Aromatic Silk Beauty, the Fragrant Brocade Pill that could suppress poison was finally refined.

Dugu Bo had participated in part of the process as well, which put him greatly at ease.

As before, he placed the Jade Scale Serpent inner pill into Shen Tianchen's body.

"Kid, this old man's inner pill will greatly assist your cultivation, and this is the opportunity I originally promised to give you."

That was indeed true. The inner pill formed by a snake-type Titled Douluo was immensely beneficial to low-level soul masters. This opportunity was enough to rival some immortal herbs.

"You're sure this isn't some contingency you left behind? Planning to use it to perish with me?"

Dugu Bo smiled and shook his head. "The inner pill contains half of this old man's cultivation. Even if I fail to condense the Poison Pill, my realm will not fall too greatly. In the future, I can also use this inner pill to quickly recover my strength."

Of course, perishing together was only the final measure. What he wanted was to keep the inner pill from being damaged, which meant Shen Tianchen had to serve as its vessel.

Before entering seclusion, Dugu Bo instructed, "If you recognize any herbs that this old man does not, take them all. But do not take risks with your body, and do not damage this old man's inner pill."

Shen Tianchen agreed to each instruction.

After Dugu Bo left, he wandered through the sea of flowers.

If Chrysanthemum Douluo learned about this place, he would probably go mad. Thinking of how Chrysanthemum Douluo had looked when he recognized the Lovesick Heartbreak Red in the original timeline, Shen Tianchen found it amusing.

This was not only a sea of immortal herbs, but also an excellent mimetic cultivation ground for plant-type soul masters.

Following the information provided by Chrysanthemum Douluo, Shen Tianchen used different containers to harvest each immortal herb that could be picked, sorting them carefully.

After finishing all that, he began considering which immortal herb he should absorb.

The Dragon Abyss Sword martial soul possessed formidable attack power, while its other attributes were relatively balanced.

But for now, Shen Tianchen still felt that his Soul Power Level was too low. Immortal herbs that enhanced attributes could serve as alternatives.

Since he had decided to follow a path focused on attack and speed, strengthening his body was the best choice. That would also give him greater confidence when absorbing soul rings beyond his level in the future.

The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum could open his meridians and allow him to cultivate the Vajra Indestructible Body, but its effect was too singular for Shen Tianchen, so it could serve as a backup option.

The Diamond Grass was not bad. Besides having effects similar to the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, it could greatly strengthen his body and improve his immunity.

Suddenly, Shen Tianchen thought of something.

In the original timeline, Tang San had absorbed the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot, then used the Ice and Fire Spring Water to temper his body and forge a powerful physique.

There was no reason he could not emulate that. In the future, he would also be immune to most damage from ice and fire attributes.

With a plan in mind, he did not rush to absorb the immortal herbs. Instead, he relied on the two beads within his body to rapidly increase his cultivation.

It was free gain, after all. There was no reason to refuse it.