My Blood Pressure's Been a Little High Lately

Lin Hai figured he had provided enough emotional value and began revealing his true purpose:

"Then, Old Bodhi Tree, you saw that pool outside. There's more than enough energy in it!"

"With your vast abilities, could you help me send the Bu Yuan Cauldron in without alerting the Divine Realm?"

"Once it finishes refining the pills, could I trouble you to fish it out along with the two Spirit Bones at the bottom of the pool? The Spirit Bones look like... two long pieces..."

The Bodhi Ancient Tree's voice carried a trace of helplessness and gravity:

"You want me to work for you and clean up your mess afterward? The Divine Realm is part of the Great Thousand World. This old man can't afford to provoke it."

"No, no, you're overthinking it! The gods of the Douluo Divine Realm are far weaker than you were back on the Dou Qi Continent..." Lin Hai hurriedly explained.

The Bodhi Ancient Tree said cautiously:

"Even so, this is not the Dou Qi Continent. At present, this old man can barely wield the strength of a Dou Zun."

Lin Hai could only patiently coax him:

"It's fine! I reckon even the strongest god in the Divine Realm is only around the level of a Dou Zong. You just need to..."

"Mm, the important thing is to make sure that if the pool's energy becomes unstable and causes a disturbance, you can conceal it so the Divine Realm won't detect it!"

The Bodhi Ancient Tree fell silent for a moment before sending over its thoughts:

"...Fine. This old man will give it a try."

The moment it spoke, a faint glimmer flashed from Lin Hai's dantian, and two solid yet ancient phantom branches of a Bodhi tree shot out!

One branch twisted like a spirit serpent and instantly pressed against the surface of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. A faint green membrane of invisible light quietly spread out, tightly sealing off the aura of the entire spring.

The other branch precisely wrapped around the floating Bu Yuan Cauldron. As though picking up a pebble, it silently delivered the cauldron into the depths of the churning red-and-blue waters, which contained the immense power of the Dragon King.

This wait—

Lasted a full seven days.

The extreme aura of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well cut off everything within from the outside. Unable to sense the state inside the Bu Yuan Cauldron, Lin Hai gradually grew a little impatient.

Dugu Bo, on the other hand—the Old Poison who was nearing a hundred years old—remained calm and composed, carrying himself like an old man whose heart had long found tranquility.

He simply failed to notice the Bodhi Ancient Tree's secret actions.

All he saw was Lin Hai throwing a heap of precious herbs, along with several bottles of his own fresh blood, into a strange bronze vessel that looked neither quite like a cauldron nor quite like a sphere.

A moment later, Lin Hai sent it forward through the air, and the strange vessel sank into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

When Dugu Bo finally could not restrain his curiosity and asked why Lin Hai had drawn blood, Lin Hai casually replied:

"My blood pressure's been a little high lately..."

"Blood pressure?" Dugu Bo looked utterly baffled.

Lin Hai laughed heartily beside him.

Only then did Dugu Bo realize he had been played. His emerald snake pupils widened, and the phantom of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor instantly appeared behind him. Poison mist flickered around him as he assumed a posture that said he would attack without a satisfactory explanation.

Lin Hai shook his head and laughed.

"Just a moment ago, I thought you were good at keeping your composure. You're already cracking?"

"To tell you the truth, my constitution is special. I'm immune to all poisons, and my blood is the key catalyst for neutralizing the toxicity in the herbs."

Dugu Bo shot him a vicious glare, taking the excuse to withdraw his Martial Soul, though he still sounded doubtful.

"Doesn't pill refining require you to constantly control the heat and add the herbs in sequence?"

He often refined poison pills himself. He still possessed that much common sense.

Lin Hai glanced sideways at him, carrying a hint of what a sheltered fool in his expression.

"The pill furnaces you've seen before were female, so they needed meticulous care. My male cauldron is different. Its specialty is saving effort—batch processing and automatic refinement."

Dugu Bo did his utmost to suppress the envy in his eyes and said sourly:

"You're a freak, and even the things you use are this bizarre."

Lin Hai's expression turned serious again.

"This cauldron requires an enormous amount of Soul Power to refine pills. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well has accumulated vast Soul Power over many years, making it perfectly suited for the task. It's just that..."

His voice paused slightly.

"With the Ice and Fire aura blocking everything off, it's difficult to sense the current progress of the refinement."

After saying that, he looked at Dugu Bo again. "You're not worried at all?"

Dugu Bo remained calm.

"This old man has battled the poison in my body for an entire lifetime. I can afford to wait a few more days."

Lin Hai deeply agreed.

Just then, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well suddenly stirred violently!

The once-balanced pool began to churn fiercely, its scarlet and ice-blue spring water seeming ready to boil over and erupt!

Green light suddenly flashed across the surface. A gentle yet immense force instantly suppressed the boiling turmoil, and the water returned to calm in an instant, as though the disturbance had merely been an illusion.

Dugu Bo only felt his vision blur before the pool had returned to normal. He asked in surprise, "What was that?"

Lin Hai understood at once. The ancient tree must have succeeded!

Yet his expression remained unchanged.

"It's nothing. The pills should be nearing completion. The energy inside the cauldron must have surged."

Sure enough, before his words had faded, the ancient tree's branch burst from the water while coiled around the Bu Yuan Cauldron. It tossed the cauldron to Lin Hai, while it itself curled around two obscure streaks of light and retreated into Lin Hai's dantian.

This was an understanding Lin Hai and the ancient tree had reached long ago—the value of those two million-year Spirit Bones was incalculable. Before trust had been firmly established, it was best not to let Dugu Bo know.

Human nature was not something to be tested.

Everything returned to silence.

Lin Hai extended his Spiritual Power into the Bu Yuan Cauldron and saw dozens of pills of varying colors floating quietly within.

He removed them one by one and stored them in jade bottles, leaving behind only a single half-yellow, half-white pill shaped like a taiji symbol. With a flick of his finger, he sent it flying toward Dugu Bo.

Dugu Bo caught the pill, and his Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Martial Soul unexpectedly sent out an intense tremor! This made him trust Lin Hai a little more.

His voice trembled slightly.

"This pill... can completely cure this old man's Martial Soul backlash?"

"That's right." Lin Hai nodded.

"This pill should originally have been refined into two pills, but I deliberately merged them into one during refinement. They complement each other, making the effect better."

"The earthy yellow portion eliminates the backlash, while the snowy white portion enhances the toxicity."

"Remember, you must swallow the whole pill. If you try to split it, most of its medicinal effect will be lost!"

Dugu Bo held the pill as his expression shifted.

His thoughts were exactly the same as Lin Hai's had been before. Faced with something to be swallowed, Dugu Bo, whose trust had yet to be fully established, was instinctively wary.

But then he reconsidered.

There was no benefit in Lin Hai harming him. He had many enemies, but none of them could possibly order this boy around.

Besides, the Pill Core that contained half of his poison was likely useless against Lin Hai, who was immune to all poisons, of mysterious origins, and possessed strange abilities. If Lin Hai truly harbored ill intent, Dugu Bo might be delivering himself right into the tiger's jaws.

After weighing the pros and cons, he could only gamble!

Having made up his mind, Dugu Bo hesitated no longer. He sat down cross-legged on the spot and swallowed the pill.

The instant the pill entered his stomach and began to refine, he knew—

He had made the right bet!

The poisonous toxins accumulated throughout his body over countless years, along with the poison within his Pill Core, were frantically drawn by a gentle yet irresistible force like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea. They all poured into the rushing current of medicinal power flowing from the pill!

As the toxins passed through the core of the medicinal power, they seemed to be tempered and purified, their toxicity increasing by more than tenfold!

Immediately afterward, these strengthened, purified toxins, together with newly produced poison, continuously merged into the Pill Core.

At the same time, the Soul Power barrier that had remained stagnant for years collapsed with a crash, and his Soul Power began rising steadily!

Dugu Bo's body trembled violently, and a trace of moisture appeared in his aged eyes.

How many years had it been? At last, he felt the ease of an ordinary person!

The pain of backlash, like a disease rooted in his bones, was fading away! His stagnant cultivation had also found rebirth at this very moment!