Dugu Bo's Nightmare and His Benefactor

This was his greatest secret!

Other than himself, not even his closest granddaughter knew!

How could this child, who looked no more than six years old, describe it so precisely?

"I don't just know that."

Bai Tang San continued closing in, every word like a sledgehammer striking Dugu Bo's weak spot.

"I also know."

"The poison has already invaded your heart."

"Although your Soul Power has reached level ninety-one, it's hollow."

"Every time you use your Soul Power, the poison sinks deeper."

"At this rate."

"In less than three years."

"Your entire body will rot away, and you'll die as a puddle of pus and blood."

Boom!

The green glow around Dugu Bo suddenly flared.

The phantom of an enormous Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor emerged behind him, viciously flicking its tongue.

He had hit the mark!

Every word had hit the mark!

The terror of having his trump card exposed made him instantly want to kill.

"Little brat, knowing too much isn't a good thing."

"Do you believe this old man could kill you right now and turn you into fertilizer for this place?"

Dugu Bo raised a hand, poisonous mist swirling around his fingertips.

Faced with a Titled Douluo's killing blow.

Bai Tang San remained calm.

He even straightened the collar that the wind had ruffled.

Then.

He lightly uttered a sentence.

"Kill me."

"Your granddaughter, Dugu Yan."

"Will die miserably in endless agony, just like you."

Creak—

Dugu Bo's hand froze in midair.

His eyes, once filled with killing intent, instantly turned bloodshot.

That was... extreme terror and heartache.

She was his reverse scale.

The only family member he would protect even at the cost of his life.

"You... what did you say?"

Dugu Bo's voice trembled, a shudder rising from the depths of his soul.

"I said."

Bai Tang San looked straight into those terrifying green eyes, speaking each word clearly.

"This is the Congenital Poison of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul. It's hereditary."

"She will suffer the same torment you do."

"And because she's a woman with a yin-leaning constitution, the backlash will come sooner and strike harder."

"You've managed to cling to life until becoming a Titled Douluo."

"But her?"

"She probably won't even make it past level forty."

Thud.

Dugu Bo staggered back two steps, as though he had aged ten years.

The poisonous mist around him dispersed, leaving only the desolation of a helpless old man.

He knew.

Bai Tang San was telling the truth.

Because Yan Yan had recently started complaining of headaches.

"You..."

"Can you really cure it?"

Dugu Bo raised his head, his eyes holding a final shred of hope, along with a gambler's madness.

"As long as you can save Yan Yan."

"What do you want?"

"Money? Power? Or my life?"

"This old man can give you all of it!"

At that moment.

He was no longer the lofty Poison Douluo.

He was merely a grandfather willing to give everything for his granddaughter.

Bai Tang San looked at the old man whose mental defenses he had completely shattered.

He felt not the slightest pity.

Only cold, rational calculation.

"What I want is simple."

Bai Tang San took a map from his robes.

His finger pointed to the very heart of Sunset Forest.

"I can cure you, and I can cure your granddaughter too."

"I can also give you a cultivation method for a Poison Technique, allowing you to turn poison into Soul Power and take your strength to another level."

"In exchange."

"I want to borrow your 'Private Residence.'"

"That place..."

"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well."

Dugu Bo froze.

That place?

Though it had some unusual flowers and grasses, the environment was incredibly harsh. Other than someone like him who cultivated poison, no one could survive there.

What did this brat want with it?

"That's all?"

Dugu Bo could hardly believe it.

"That's all."

Bai Tang San put away the map and extended his right hand.

"A fair trade. No cheating the young or old."

"Senior Dugu, please lead the way."

This was an unequal game.

Dugu Bo thought he was merely giving up a patch of wasteland.

But he did not know.

What he was giving away.

Was the greatest treasury of Immortal Herbs in all of Douluo Continent.

And the most important piece of Bai Tang San's path to godhood.

[Real World]

Black World.

In a dark corner.

Dugu Bo stared fixedly at the Sky Curtain.

His hands gripped his thighs tightly, his nails digging deep into his flesh, yet he felt no pain.

Because every word Bai Tang San said on the Sky Curtain pierced his heart like a needle.

"Headaches at midnight... itching ribs on cloudy days..."

"Yan Yan... Congenital Poison..."

Old tears streamed down Dugu Bo's face.

"So..."

"So there really is a cure?"

"So this old man's poison isn't incurable?"

He watched the confident Bai Tang San in the image, and an unprecedented light burst from his eyes.

That light had a name—desire.

"Kid!"

"As long as you can truly save Yan Yan!"

"Forget borrowing the treasure ground!"

"This old man would give you the Herb Garden!"

"Even if you wanted this old man's life, I'd give it to you!"

Dugu Bo roared at the Sky Curtain.

It was surrender to fate.

And his final cry for hope.

[White World]

The scene shifted.

Dugu Bo led Bai Tang San through layer after layer of poison formations.

Finally.

They arrived at that legendary place.

An inverted cone-shaped valley.

Steam billowed from the mountaintop.

Red and white spring water met within an enormous pool, yet remained completely separate, distinctly divided.

At a glance, it looked like a massive yin-yang hot pot.

Countless strange plants, glowing with peculiar light, grew around the spring.

Those were—Immortal Herbs!

Infernal Delicate Apricot.

Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass.

Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.

Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew...

Bai Tang San stood atop the cliff, looking down at the magnificent treasure below.

Even with his composure, his breathing could not help quickening.

A fanatical flame burned in his dark-gold eyes.

"Finally..."

"I found it."

"With these things."

"Not only can I completely resolve the backlash of my Twin Martial Souls."

"I can also build a true... God-level Legion."

He turned toward Dugu Bo, who looked utterly confused and had no idea how valuable these wild grasses were.

A meaningful smile curved across his lips.

"Senior."

"Are you ready?"

"To witness a miracle?"

[Black World]

Nuoding Academy, beside the pigsty in the rear courtyard.

Yu Xiaogang held a wooden stick as he crouched beside a large pot, vigorously stirring the murky paste inside.

It was pig feed—a mixture of radishes, sweet potatoes, and cheap herbs.

"Oink, oink..."

Luo San Pao lay nearby, weakly grunting.

Its stomach had been upset after eating Whale Rubber last time, and it still had not recovered.

"San Pao, be good."

Yu Xiaogang wiped the sweat from his forehead, his face solemn and earnest.

"This is the latest 'High-fiber Liquid Diet' I developed."

"Though it can't evolve, it can regulate your stomach and intestines, ensuring you have plenty of gas."

"As long as there's enough gas, there's combat power."

Hei Tang San stood to one side, notebook in hand, recording Teacher's "feed formula."

"Three jin of radishes, two jin of sweet potatoes, two qian of dried tangerine peel..."

He wrote with great care.

Because in his heart, everything Teacher did carried profound meaning.

Even feeding pigs was for the sake of exploring the mysteries of Martial Soul mutations.

He even felt quite fulfilled.

Little did he know.

This so-called fulfillment, compared with what lay beyond the Sky Curtain,

was so laughable and tragic.