The Willing Take the Bait

"Fine."

Dugu Yan thought for a moment, then pressed her lips together and spoke.

Since this pill wasn't much different from the White Snake Liquid Yu Cheng had taken, it probably wasn't dangerous—after all, Yu Cheng was standing right there, alive and kicking.

In the soul beast forest, Dugu Yan had seen Yu Cheng's skilled techniques firsthand.

She admitted she couldn't match him.

What's more, Yu Cheng had just shown off a Hundred Grass Pill, and even Ye Lingling had praised it.

Dugu Yan picked up the small white bottle and swallowed the pill in one gulp. Then she sat cross-legged, held her breath, and focused her mind.

"Buddy, she's gonna be fine, right?"

Yu Cheng communicated inwardly with the Ash Box.

This White Snake Pill was something Youth Yu Cheng had spent an entire day refining, using White Phosphorus Snake Venom as the main ingredient and Seven Leaf Purple Orchid as the auxiliary.

In terms of potency, it far surpassed the White Snake Liquid Yu Cheng had taken.

In terms of toxicity, it was more than ten times stronger!

If Yu Cheng hadn't known that Youth Yu Cheng needed him to fulfill his last wishes and wouldn't harm him, he wouldn't have dared let Dugu Yan try it.

"Relax, her Jade Phosphorous Serpent poison has long since seeped into her organs. A little snake venom like this is just dessert after a meal for her."

Youth Yu Cheng said confidently.

"I'm more curious—how did she even grow up like this? And what's Dugu Bo's body like?"

Yu Cheng asked curiously, "You never studied Dugu Bo before?"

Youth Yu Cheng spread his hands. "I wasn't close with Dugu Bo. With his personality, if he knew I wanted to study his body, he'd probably just hit me with his Ninth Soul Skill."

"Damn! So you had me lure Dugu Yan just to get her grandfather out?"

Yu Cheng glared.

"Heh, a stranger trying to approach him? No way. But a grandson-in-law? That's different."

Youth Yu Cheng chuckled.

Hearing that, Yu Cheng couldn't help but roll his eyes.

His gaze lingered on Dugu Yan's face for a moment, then he smiled knowingly.

Vulgar!

This Yu Cheng studied the classics.

About half an hour later, Dugu Yan opened her eyes.

"Captain, how do you feel!"

Osler leaned in and asked curiously.

"Slap!"

She smacked his shoulder and squeezed hard.

"Ow ow ow!"

Osler's face twisted in pain as he begged for mercy.

"Yan, you broke through to level thirty-four!"

Qin Ming walked over, his tone surprised.

A year ago, Dugu Yan had obtained a two-thousand-year third ring, and her soul power was around level thirty-one at the time.

After a year of hard training, her soul power had increased by just over two levels.

Qin Ming had estimated it would take another two or three months for her to reach level thirty-four.

He never expected...

After taking Yu Cheng's pill, she'd broken through directly!

"Yan, let me check your soul power."

Qin Ming walked up beside Dugu Yan, his expression serious.

"Alright!"

Dugu Yan nodded and released her martial soul.

Qin Ming pressed his right hand against Dugu Yan's shoulder, gathered his soul power, and slowly channeled it into the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul.

In an instant, Dugu Yan's aura surged, releasing a powerful pressure.

After a moment, Qin Ming withdrew his hand.

His eyes were full of surprise.

"This pill is truly miraculous!"

Qin Ming exclaimed.

He turned to look at Yu Cheng, a flicker of brilliance in his eyes.

Within Dugu Yan's body, her blood and qi were abundant, her Soul Power thick and solid—no issues whatsoever.

Qin Ming had never heard of a pill that could instantly boost a Soul Elder by half a level of Soul Power with absolutely no side effects. With this pill alone, Yu Cheng could be hailed as a Pill Refining Master!

"Yu Cheng, can this pill be mass-produced?"

Qin Ming said excitedly.

However, Yu Cheng's words doused him with cold water.

"No."

Yu Cheng shook his head and said, "The medicinal herbs required for this pill are very scarce, and for Soul Masters with other Martial Souls, the Snake Venom isn't so easy to endure."

"Ah."

Qin Ming let out a soft sigh.

He quickly recovered and patted Yu Cheng on the shoulder. "Yu Cheng, give me a copy of the herb list too. I'll prepare the materials. I don't need a large quantity, so it won't take up too much of your training time."

"No problem."

Yu Cheng smiled and handed over a list.

Just then, Dugu Yan walked up to Yu Cheng.

"Yu Cheng, thank you!"

Her gaze burned as she looked at him, her tone sincere.

Yu Cheng waved his hand and said, "Captain, we're teammates. Saying 'thank you' makes it too formal. If you really feel bad about it, just pay up."

"Hahaha."

Dugu Yan couldn't help but laugh at that.

She suddenly realized that besides burying his head in theoretical research, Yu Cheng was also a very interesting person.

After a long while, her emotions finally settled down.

"Can I take this pill long-term?"

Dugu Yan asked.

"No."

Yu Cheng explained, "Your body can partially resist the Snake Venom, but over a long accumulation, it will eventually cause harm."

"However..."

He shifted his tone.

"Taking it once every three months should be fine."

"And before each dose, I have to give you a physical examination," Yu Cheng said with a serious face.

"Mm, then I'll trouble you from now on."

Dugu Yan nodded.

Her eyes darted around, and she took out a black gold coin card from her Soul Tool.

"There's ten thousand Gold Soul Coins in here. Consider it my advance payment to you."

"Thanks, Captain!"

Yu Cheng smiled as he took the Black Gold Card.

He hadn't expected Dugu Yan to be a little rich girl—this wave was a win.

Night.

Inside the dormitory.

Yu Cheng skillfully manipulated his Soul Power, and the Pill Furnace blazed with roaring flames.

"As expected of my past self—only in my twenties and already with such strong control."

Youth Yu Cheng praised.

"Although our anchor points are the same, we are two different people. Don't flatter yourself."

Yu Cheng said seriously.

"Nice one. Who was it that just blew up the furnace?"

Youth Yu Cheng teased.

"And could it be that someone deliberately left out a step?"

Yu Cheng retorted without holding back.

Youth Yu Cheng's personality was cheerful—a complete extreme compared to Evil Soul Master Yu Cheng.

He even liked to joke around sometimes.

Youth Yu Cheng guessed that he had probably been cooped up in the Ash Box for too long and was bored out of his mind.

"Hehe..."

Youth Yu Cheng chuckled softly. He was about to fire back a retort when he suddenly sensed footsteps approaching from outside the door.

"Someone's coming."

"Who is it?"

Yu Cheng reined in his emotions and asked curiously.

"A man. Unfortunately, it's not Dugu Yan looking for you," Youth Yu Cheng replied with a smile.

Before long, a knock came at the door.

"Knock, knock, knock~"

"Come in~"

The door swung open. Yu Cheng looked at the visitor with some surprise: "Brother Tianheng, what business do you have with me?"

Yu Tianheng smiled, his gaze lingering for a moment on the Pill Furnace inside the room.

"Yu Cheng, still refining medicine at this late hour?"

Yu Tianheng said with a grin.

"That's right. That bastard Osler ordered a full ten Hundred Grass Pills. Charging him a thousand Gold Soul Coins for that—I'm practically taking a loss!"

Yu Cheng said half-jokingly.

Yu Tianheng gave an awkward smile. He seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

Finally, he made up his mind.

"Yu Cheng, I'd like to ask you to refine some pills."

Yu Tianheng mustered his courage and spoke.

"I thought it was something serious. Turns out you just want me to refine medicine—no problem!"

Yu Cheng patted Yu Tianheng on the shoulder.

In Yu Cheng's plan, revealing a portion of his alchemist skills was only meant to get close to Dugu Yan, then seize the opportunity to scheme for the Immortal Herb.

Unexpectedly, instead of hooking Dugu Yan, it was Yu Tianheng who took the bait.