A Three-Day Appointment!

Facing Dugu Bo's hostile questioning and the Bilin Snake Poison surging around him, Fu Ze's expression remained unchanged. He calmly cupped his fists and said in a deep voice:

"I am Fu Ze. By order of my Young Master, I have come to deliver a letter to Your Excellency, the Poison Douluo."

His voice was neither servile nor overbearing. At the same time, the heavy aura of Soul Power belonging to a level ninety-five Title Douluo was released for an instant before being withdrawn, allowing Dugu Bo to immediately sense Soul Power far surpassing his own.

Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes and looked Fu Ze up and down, the wariness and suspicion in his gaze growing stronger.

His temperament was eccentric, but he was far from mindless.

Not only was the other party unfathomably powerful, but his bearing was also steady. He was clearly no ordinary independent cultivator.

That mention of "Young Master" made Dugu Bo's heart tighten even more!

Any force capable of commanding such a powerful man was likely no small matter.

The poison mist churning around him unconsciously subsided by several degrees. Though his tone remained cold, it was less overbearing than before.

"This old man has never known your Young Master. What letter could he possibly have to send me?"

Fu Ze did not waste words. Following the telepathic instructions of Fu Shiyan's Avatar hidden in the shadows, he directly took out the slip of paper from his robes.

Rather than handing it over directly, he flicked his wrist. The paper was steadily supported by pure Soul Power and slowly floated toward Dugu Bo, stopping a foot before him.

"Your Excellency will understand once you have read it."

Dugu Bo snorted coldly. Still cautious, he wrapped the paper in Soul Power and carefully examined it. Only after confirming that it was not poisoned did he draw it before his eyes, his gaze carrying scrutiny and a trace of disdain as it fell upon those few lines.

Yet the very first line—"Bilin Snake Poison devours the body and erodes the soul. At midnight, the pain pierces to the marrow"—was like an icy spike viciously stabbing into his heart!

The fingers gripping the paper suddenly tightened, his knuckles turning white. His face instantly became extremely unsightly, and his pupils violently contracted.

How was this possible?! This was a secret even Yanyan did not know! How had this person learned of it?!

After the immense shock came even greater fury and the panic of having his secret exposed!

Without even thinking, he almost instinctively denied it in a sharp voice. "Nonsense! When has this old man ever been poisoned?! Utterly ridiculous!"

But when he anxiously read on and saw, "Your granddaughter, Dugu Yan, has passable talent, but the hidden danger in her bloodline has already emerged. If it is not eradicated, she may struggle to surpass the Soul Saint realm," the fury behind his denial seemed to be doused by a basin of ice water and froze in an instant.

Yanyan... his most beloved granddaughter, his only weakness.

The other party not only knew his own symptoms, but had even pointed out Yanyan's still minor, nearly imperceptible hidden danger!

Then he saw, "A wondrous medicinal garden, where ice and fire share the same source, rare herbs grow beside one another, and deadly poisons surround them. What a waste of nature's gifts; pearls buried in dust, guarding a treasure mountain only to sigh in vain." A chill shot from Dugu Bo's tailbone to the crown of his head, and even the hand holding the paper began to tremble slightly.

That medicinal garden was his greatest secret, a treasured place that absolutely no one but Yanyan knew about!

Not only did this person know of it, he even criticized him for "wasting nature's gifts" and "guarding a treasure mountain only to sigh in vain"?

The final line read, "The bearer of this letter can free you from the calamity that has plagued your line for generations, and you may in turn satisfy my need for medicinal herbs. Three days from now, wait at the southeastern entrance of Sunset Forest."

Cure the poison? The calamity of generations? Medicinal herbs?

After reading this passage, he felt as though he had suddenly glimpsed a sliver of hope amid the despair that had trapped him.

He abruptly raised his head. Green light flared in his eyes as he stared fixedly at Fu Ze, his voice hoarse and distorted from the effort of suppressing his emotions.

"Outrageous! You expect this old man to believe such nonsense based on a slip of paper filled with hearsay and fabricated lies?"

They merely coveted this old man's possessions!

"Who exactly is your Young Master? How did he learn all this?! If there is even half a lie, this old man..."

Though he put on a fierce front and spoke harshly, he did not dare truly tear things apart with the other party.

Whether it was the oppressive pressure from the level ninety-five Soul Power Fu Ze had displayed earlier, or the information on the paper that was so precise and struck directly at his weak points, both had thrown his mind into turmoil.

At that moment, Fu Shiyan's Caomu Huashen, hidden in the shadows, saw that Dugu Bo had begun to lose his composure and knew the time was ripe. Through a Soul Power transmission, he clearly relayed his instructions into Fu Ze's ears.

Receiving the instructions, Fu Ze remained calm in the face of Dugu Bo's questioning and replied according to the words Fu Shiyan had taught him.

"Why must Your Excellency rush to deny it? You know the truth best in your heart."

"As for how my Young Master came to know..."

He paused, openly meeting Dugu Bo's gaze, which was filled with doubt and alarm.

"My Young Master has unique and profound knowledge of medicinal herbs, their properties, the origins of Martial Souls, and even many strange ailments and deadly poisons in this world."

"The backlash caused by the flaws in the Martial Souls of Your Excellency and Miss Dugu Yan, as well as the characteristics of the many rare herbs in that place where ice and fire share the same source, and the principles by which they promote and restrain one another—my Young Master has long understood them all."

"Because he understands them, he has a solution."

Seeing Dugu Bo's expression constantly shift, he continued according to Fu Shiyan's instructions.

"My Young Master has said that he has no intention of becoming Your Excellency's enemy, nor is he one who covets another's possessions and seeks to seize them by force or trickery."

"He sent me here only to convey an invitation for a mutually beneficial transaction."

"Nothing written on the paper is false. My Young Master has already prepared the specific method of treatment and a plan to eradicate the hidden danger."

"Whether it is true or not, Your Excellency need only meet him in three days and verify it face-to-face."

"As for Your Excellency's claim that we covet your possessions!"

Before Fu Ze had finished speaking, he slowly summoned the Destruction Tiangang Halberd in his right hand, and nine Spirit Rings gradually rose around him.

The pressure of level ninety-five Soul Power descended directly upon Dugu Bo!

"Everything depends on Your Excellency's own judgment."

When he saw the nine Spirit Rings rising around Fu Ze, as well as the final blood-red Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring!

Dugu Bo's expression was exceptionally grim, yet he secretly let out a sigh of relief. After all, if the other party truly had ill intentions, he would have no room to refuse anyway.

More importantly, the information on the paper was far too lethal. It had accurately seized every one of his secrets and weak points, leaving him no choice but to believe in this sliver of hope!

In the end, his longing to be freed from his suffering, his concern for his granddaughter's future, and that faint glimmer of hope overcame his doubt and fear.

He took a deep breath and slowly said, "Fine... This old man will see just who your Young Master is, and what heaven-defying methods he possesses!"

He clenched the slip of paper tightly in his hand, then turned and walked into the poison mist.

"Three days from now, at the southeastern entrance of Sunset Forest, this old man will certainly arrive on time!"

After leaving those words behind, he no longer looked at Fu Ze. His figure flickered, and the surrounding poison mist swirled, rapidly blurring his silhouette until only a faint stench lingered where he had stood.

Only after confirming that Dugu Bo's aura had completely departed did Fu Ze let out a slight breath of relief.

He gave a slight nod toward the direction where Fu Shiyan's Caomu Huashen was hidden, then turned into an inconspicuous streak of light and quietly departed from the edge of this poisonous formation.