Qian Renyu brought seven Titled Douluo to Sunset Forest. Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei led the way, and no foolish Soul Beast came looking for trouble.
But Qian Renyu didn't know the exact location of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, so he could only search around.
Suddenly, a vast poisonous miasma appeared ahead. All around it lay the white bones of many Soul Beasts. Qian Renyu was delighted. This had to be Dugu Bo's handiwork—the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was just beyond the miasma.
With seven Titled Douluo there, Dugu Bo's poisonous miasma was nothing to worry about.
Qian Renyu told everyone to keep their auras in check so they wouldn't scare Dugu Bo.
No shooting. Advance quietly.
After they passed through the miasma, they found a hot spring divided into two parts: one milky white, the other vermilion. Though both lay within the same spring, they were clearly separated. Wasn't this the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?
Above it, mist swirled amid thick clouds of steam, and strange flowers and plants grew in abundance all around.
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan looked at the flowers and plants before him, as happy as a child of seven, eight, nine, or even ten,
"Aromatic Silk Beauty,"
"Cinnabar Lotus,"
"Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass,"
"Infernal Delicate Apricot,"
"Strange Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum—Strange Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum is here!"
"I searched for so many years, and it turns out it was here all along!"
"Ah, hahahaha!" Chrysanthemum Douluo started acting delirious.
Everyone looked at him as if he were an idiot.
Ghost Douluo's expression said, "Who's that? I don't know him."
Still, after all these years of friendship, Ghost Douluo reached out and pulled Chrysanthemum Douluo back.
That tug brought Chrysanthemum Douluo to his senses. Seeing everyone staring at him like he was an idiot, he said sheepishly, "Sorry, I got a little carried away. I made a fool of myself."
"Not at all, Chrysanthemum Douluo. Don't worry about it," Qian Renyu said.
But the group's arrival at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had alerted the temporary caretaker of the place.
"Where did you rats come from? How dare you covet my medicinal garden?"
"You really don't know your place."
"It seems I'll have to show you what the might of a Titled Douluo looks like."
As he spoke, an old man descended from the sky, one step at a time.
Walking on air was a skill unique to Titled Douluo.
With each step the old man took, a Soul Ring appeared around him.
At the first step, a yellow Soul Ring appeared.
At the second step, another yellow Soul Ring appeared.
At the third step...
He took nine steps before reaching the group, two yellow, two purple, and five black Soul Rings circling his body.
The old man wore a long, dark green robe. His hair was dark green, and even his eyes held a faint green tint.
The newcomer was none other than Douluo Continent's foremost poison user, the notorious Titled Douluo with the nickname "Shit Eater"—the disgrace of them all—Poison Douluo Dugu Bo, a Level 91 Titled Douluo.
Everyone watched Dugu Bo's whole ridiculous performance and thought, Good grief.
A toad marrying a frog—their looks might be plain, but they sure knew how to get fancy.
Golden Crocodile Douluo was especially bewildered by Dugu Bo's antics. As an elder among the Titled Douluo, he was a generation senior even to Qian Daoliu and had weathered countless storms. Yet today, this seventy- or eighty-year-old child Dugu Bo had left him at a loss.
My big brother, Qian Daoliu, is a Level 99 Peerless Douluo, hailed as invincible in the sky, and even he doesn't make such a grand entrance.
You're just a mere Level 91 Titled Douluo, Dugu Bo. Do you really deserve to make such a show of yourself?
Golden Crocodile Douluo couldn't understand it.
Dugu Bo looked over Qian Renyu's group. Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei were both old acquaintances. He'd taken plenty of beatings from the two of them over the years.
Dugu Bo also knew Demon Bear Douluo and Ghost Leopard Douluo. They were Titled Douluo from Spirit Hall, and both were stronger than he was.
Golden Spear Douluo and Silver Blade Douluo had never made a name for themselves on the mainland, so Dugu Bo didn't know them. But since they were with Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, they were probably no pushovers either.
Golden Crocodile Douluo hadn't shown his face in public for many years. Dugu Bo found him vaguely familiar, but couldn't remember where he'd seen him.
Dugu Bo didn't know Qian Renyu either, but the group seemed to take their lead from those two.
Dugu Bo understood. He'd kicked a hornet's nest this time.
This was bad. He'd really overdone it.
He stopped keeping his hands behind his back, stopped puffing out his chest, and stopped showing off his Soul Rings. Even his hair no longer fluttered in the breeze.
Seeing Dugu Bo's grand entrance, Chrysanthemum Douluo thought, Oh, Dugu Bo, have you never been beaten before? Then he said:
"Dugu Bo, what an impressive show of power."
"You're only a mere Level 91 Titled Douluo. Do you deserve to make such a grand entrance?"
"You really don't know your place."
"Chrysanthemum Guan, don't push me too far."
"Old Poison, how many times have I told you? Don't call me Chrysanthemum Guan!"
"Enough, Elder Ju. Stop bickering with him," Qian Renyu said.
"Dugu Bo, this place has a connection with Spirit Hall."
"But this is my medicinal garden!" Dugu Bo knew the garden was as good as lost, but he still had to fight for it. Otherwise, how could he suppress the poison in his body?
He wasn't afraid of dying, but he couldn't stop worrying about his granddaughter, Dugu Yan.
"Ah, Poison Douluo, you're mistaken."
"A treasure like this was nurtured by heaven and earth. Naturally, it belongs to the worthy. How can you call it yours?"
"And if you look across the world, who could be more worthy than Spirit Hall?" Qian Renyu said.
At that moment, Demon Bear Douluo stepped forward too:
"Where did you come from, rat? How dare you covet Spirit Hall's medicinal garden?"
"You really don't know your place."
"It seems I'll have to show you what the might of a Titled Douluo looks like."
Hearing Demon Bear Douluo, Dugu Bo thought, Those are all my lines.
Whoever says it gets to claim it, huh?
Dugu Bo was about to argue, but when he saw the thirty-six Soul Rings on Chrysanthemum Douluo, Ghost Douluo, Demon Bear Douluo, and Ghost Leopard Douluo, he promptly gave up.
"In that case, I'll take my leave."
"Wait," Qian Renyu said.
"What? I've already handed the place over to you. What more do you want?"
"Poison Douluo, don't misunderstand. I just think you, too, have a connection with Spirit Hall."
"There's no need. I'm a free spirit and don't like being tied down. I won't join any faction."
Hearing Dugu Bo's words, Golden Crocodile Douluo immediately released the pressure of his Level 98 cultivation. "Dugu Bo, do you want to live or die?"
Dugu Bo couldn't withstand Golden Crocodile Douluo's pressure. He staggered and fell straight to his knees.
His face was full of shock. He hadn't expected the old man to be so powerful. If he refused today, there was little chance he'd see the moon that night.
Qian Renyu spoke again. "Poison Douluo, there's no need to rush your answer. Spirit Hall is the most reasonable faction around."
"Are you poisoned?"
"Ridiculous. My title is Poison. How could I be poisoned?"
"Is that so?"
"Then tell me: whenever it's overcast or raining, do your sides start to itch and go numb, with the sensation growing stronger? Does it flare up once at noon and again at midnight?"
"And every night, at around the third watch, do you feel needle-like pain in the top of your head and the pit of your heart? Does your whole body seize up for at least half an hour?"
"You... how do you know?"
"Not only do I know, I can cure the poison in both you and your granddaughter."
"Is that true?"
"Of course."
"Good. If you can solve the poison problem in me and Yanyan, then these old bones of mine are yours to Spirit Hall."
"So do you want to be cured completely, or should I leave a little behind to keep you entertained?"
Before you continue