Revealing the Truth, Dugu Yan Refines an Immortal Herb

Dugu Bo narrowed his snake-like pupils, and his aura turned dangerous once more.

Like an enraged serpent, he stared fixedly at Lu Yan. The cloying, fishy sweetness in the air abruptly intensified severalfold.

"Xiao Yan, what nonsense are you talking about?" Dugu Yan cried out in alarm, her tone full of disbelief. "How is that possible? Grandpa's title is 'Poison.' Among all those in the world who use poison, who could possibly surpass my grandpa?

"How could he be poisoned?"

In her eyes, anyone in the world could be poisoned—except for her grandpa, who had spent his entire life wielding poison. That was absolutely impossible.

"Kid," Dugu Bo's voice seemed to come from the depths of hell, ice-cold and piercing, "do you know what you're saying?"

Facing those frigid snake eyes directly, Lu Yan spoke clearly and slowly:

"This junior knows a little about medicine.

"When Senior used Soul Power back in Heaven Dou, a distinct fishy-sweet scent filled the room.

"Moreover, Senior's beard, hair, pupils, and nails are all an unusual deep green.

"These are not the physical traits of an ordinary person. They are signs of toxins having eroded the body over a long period, penetrating deep into the blood, bones, and marrow before manifesting outwardly.

"And also..."

At this point, Lu Yan glanced at Dugu Yan, his gaze lingering particularly on her green eyes.

"And also... if this junior's guess is correct, this poison is likely not confined to Senior alone.

"Yan Yan... the color of her eyes, as well as the aura she occasionally gives off, share the same origin as Senior's.

"I fear... she has also long been subtly affected by this poison. It simply has not yet reached the point of eruption."

"W-What?"

Dugu Yan felt as if she had been struck by five bolts of lightning. She stood frozen in place, instinctively raising a hand to touch her eyes, her fingertips ice-cold.

She was poisoned too? How could that be?

But... every sign Lu Yan had described matched the changes Grandpa had undergone over the years so closely.

His hair and beard had grown greener and greener, and the fishy-sweet scent around him had become increasingly intense... And in that dream of "Heaven," when she relived memories of her parents, it seemed that in those blurred images, her parents before their deaths had also...

A cold, horrifying suspicion coiled around her heart like a venomous snake.

She suddenly raised her head to look at Dugu Bo, whose face was as dark as water. Her voice trembled with stubborn insistence.

"Grandpa... is what Xiao Yan said... true?"

"Dad and Mother... back then, were they also..."

"Yan Yan..."

Dugu Bo's throat was dry. He wanted to say something, but in the end, it became only a long, heavy sigh.

He seemed to have aged decades in an instant. Even the back that had always stood so straight appeared to hunch slightly.

In the end... he could no longer hide it.

All these years, he had borne the family's fate alone, searching for a sliver of hope in the darkness.

The Jade Scale Snake Martial Soul possessed terrifying venom and could stand above all Martial Souls.

It brought power, but it also brought the most vicious curse.

"Yan Yan," Dugu Bo said, carrying a deep weariness and pain, "he... is right.

"From the day members of our Dugu Family awaken their Martial Souls, they are destined to coexist with the Green Phosphorus Poison.

"It originates from our bloodline. The higher our cultivation and the stronger our Martial Souls, the fiercer the poison and the harsher its backlash..."

Dugu Bo closed his eyes. Images of his wife, son, and daughter-in-law being tortured by the deadly poison before dying in agony flashed through his mind, twisting his heart like a blade.

"Your parents... they... both died from the backlash of this poison."

The truth was like the cruelest blade, utterly shredding Dugu Yan's last shred of hope.

She staggered half a step back, her face pale as paper as tears silently slid down her cheeks.

No wonder she often felt unwell.

So her family had been burdened with such a desperate, vicious curse.

"Kid," Dugu Bo opened his eyes again and looked at Lu Yan with a complicated expression, "since you have already seen through it, I will not hide it from you."

"As cultivation advances, this poison will grow ever more violent.

"Yan Yan's poison will only become stronger and deadlier in the future. If you grow close to her, even through skin-to-skin contact, you will be poisoned.

"If... if you truly marry and join with her, the deadly poison will enter your body. You will absolutely not live past thirty."

Dugu Bo stared fixedly at Lu Yan. "I will give you a choice now, and a way to live.

"Leave immediately. Cut all ties with Yan Yan from this day forward, and bury everything you have seen and heard today in your stomach.

"I can pretend none of this ever happened and let you leave safely."

The hand behind his back quietly circulated Soul Power.

"Grandpa." Dugu Yan suddenly lifted her head. With tears in her eyes, she called out before anyone else could speak, "I never liked Lu Yan in the first place. I only said those things before to trick you into agreeing to bring him to the Medicine Garden."

"Lu Yan, choose the herbs you need, then... leave."

After saying that, Dugu Yan's eyes reddened further.

Her family was burdened with such a fate. She would not be with anyone.

Yet at that moment, Lu Yan suddenly smiled.

That smile seemed particularly abrupt amid such a grave atmosphere, yet also particularly bright.

"Sister Yan Yan." Lu Yan stepped forward and, without giving her a chance to object, grasped her ice-cold, slightly trembling hand.

"Isn't it a little too late to say you don't like me now?"

Dugu Yan instinctively tried to pull free, but his grip only tightened.

"Besides, I'm not done speaking yet." Lu Yan turned to Dugu Bo and said confidently:

"I can cure the Green Phosphorus Poison."

"Kid!"

"What did you say?"

"Say that again?!"

After all these years, Lu Yan was the first person to see through the poison in his body.

Not even Titled Douluo had seen through his condition.

Perhaps...

The Green Phosphorus Poison really could be cured.

"This junior noticed it back in Heaven Dou." Lu Yan looked over the garden full of immortal herbs and said confidently, "It was only after seeing this garden of rare Spirit Grass that this junior became certain I could cure the Jade Scale Snake Poison."

Dugu Bo stared at Lu Yan. Slowly, he spoke, his voice carrying a weighty promise.

"Kid... Lu Yan.

"If you can truly cure this Green Phosphorus Snake Poison, then you will be the greatest benefactor of my Dugu Clan."

"You may take any Spirit Grass here as you please. I would not mind giving them all to you."

He had guarded this place for decades and knew how precious these Spirit Grass were, yet he had been unable to use them. All he could do was sigh helplessly before a mountain of treasure.

"There are indeed several Spirit Grass here that would be of great use to me." Lu Yan accepted openly, but his gaze turned toward Dugu Yan. "However, the most urgent matter is to cleanse Sister Yan Yan's meridians and marrow first, completely removing the toxins hidden within her body so they do not bring disaster in the future."

In those clear, resolute eyes, Dugu Yan saw unreserved concern and responsibility.

Her heart trembled.

Lu Yan released her hand and turned to walk among the exotic flowers and strange herbs.

Dugu Yan curled her fingers slightly, as though she wanted to grasp the fading warmth.

Lu Yan soon returned, holding an immortal herb in his hand.

The herb was dark red throughout, winding like a snake. Its leaves were covered in patterns resembling dragon scales, while a tiny golden flower shaped like a dragon's head bloomed at its tip.

"Sister Yan Yan." Lu Yan held it out before Dugu Yan.

"This is called the Snake-shaped Dragon Blood Orchid. It is said to help a snake shed into a dragon. It is especially effective at cleansing the meridians, purifying the bloodline, and dispelling sinister toxins.

"It will certainly remove the Green Phosphorus Snake Poison from your body in one stroke. It may even... allow your Jade Scale Snake Martial Soul to undergo a beneficial transformation."

Lu Yan paused before explaining how to take it. "Simply swallow the flower."

Dugu Yan held the strange-looking, warm-to-the-touch Spirit Grass. "Th-this Spirit Grass... really has such miraculous effects?"

Lu Yan nodded. Noticing Dugu Bo's gaze, he said solemnly, "Senior, rest assured. I would never joke with Yan Yan's life and safety."

"Grandpa." Dugu Yan drew a deep breath, wiped away the tears on her face, and her eyes became firm once more. "I believe Xiao Yan."

She no longer hesitated and sat down cross-legged.

She plucked off the flower and swallowed it in one bite.

In an instant—

Scorching energy erupted violently from Dugu Yan's dantian. Her skin instantly turned bright red as the medicinal power surged through her meridians like an erupting volcano.

Immediately afterward, thick strands of deep green mist began to steam uncontrollably from every pore of her body. It lingered around her, giving off a heart-palpitating fishy-sweet scent.

The Heaven and Earth Vitality around them was drawn in, wildly converging upon her and forming an invisible vortex.

"Move back!"

Dugu Bo's expression changed as he shouted sharply.

With a sweep of his sleeve, a gentle force of Soul Power pushed Lu Yan more than ten meters backward.

Those words had made him completely regard Lu Yan as his grandson-in-law.

Dugu Bo stared fixedly at the mist.

He had studied the Green Phosphorus Snake Poison his entire life. There was no way he could mistake it.

This was precisely the deadly poison that had accumulated within Dugu Yan's bloodline.

The Green Phosphorus Snake Poison... really was being forced out.