Douluo: Martial Soul Iron-Eating Beast, Never a Slave — Part 14

Crystal clear.

Above the pond, its red and white halves sharply divided, steam billowed upward. One side was scorching hot, while the other was frigid. The auras of ice and fire stood in stark opposition.

Around the pond grew strange flowers and herbs of every shape, their halos flowing with light. They were scattered freely, with no discernible pattern.

In the only open area, merely three or four meters from the pond, a young woman with short dark-purple hair sat cross-legged with her eyes closed. She looked to be around seventeen or eighteen.

Yet, she did not seem to be in good condition. Her delicate face bore a faintly struggling expression, as though she were resisting something—or enduring tremendous pain.

Wisps of dark-green, even corrosive, gas curled around her. Strangely, the gas seemed to be suppressed by something, moving only sluggishly.

Beside the young woman stood an old man who was green from head to toe. His gaze was gloomy, like that of a venomous snake, but when he looked at the purple-haired woman, it was filled with tenderness and concern.

"Yan Yan."

"Why did this damned thing end up on Yan Yan?!"

"Although the aura here can suppress the poison in Yan Yan's body and mine, it cannot eradicate it. How can I get rid of this damned thing?!"

The old man kept muttering to himself in distress, his face unable to conceal its sorrow.

As if she sensed the old man's grief, the dark-green aura around the purple-haired woman gradually weakened. It was slowly suppressed, then finally retreated back into her body.

Even so, the green-haired old man did not relax in the slightest. Since he too suffered from this damned poison, he knew clearly that the terrain here was merely suppressing the poison in her body temporarily. Suppression did not mean a cure. On the contrary, because it had been suppressed, its next eruption would be even more violent and painful.

Fortunately, the purple-haired woman woke up. Strangely, she had a pair of green eyes, giving her an eerie air.

"Grandpa? I..."

Seeing the green-haired old man guarding her side, the purple-haired woman asked weakly.

The green-haired old man looked at her with deep concern. "Yan Yan, you suddenly fainted at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Those useless fools at Heaven Dou Royal Academy were no help at all, so they sent you to me."

"Yan Yan, do you feel better now? Is there anywhere that feels uncomfortable?"

The purple-haired woman paused, then slowly said, "Much better, Grandpa. I'm just still a little weak, and my head is a little dizzy."

Seeing his granddaughter, who was usually so lively, proud, and even a little rebellious, now looking so frail, the green-haired old man's heart nearly broke.

Why?

Why was it not enough for him alone to endure this suffering? Why did it have to affect his children as well?

It was not enough that it had taken his child's life—it had to come harm his granddaughter too!

The purple-haired woman could not bear to see him so sad and immediately comforted him. "Grandpa, don't worry too much. I only fainted. I'll be fine after resting for a while."

As she spoke, she looked around. It seemed to be her first time here as well. "Grandpa, where is this? This place is so beautiful, so amazing. There's even a cute little bear over there!"

As a wondrous sight born of heaven and earth, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was naturally beautiful and miraculous.

But when he heard the part about the little bear—

"Yan Yan, I've surrounded this place with poisonous insects and miasma. How could there possibly be a little bear? Forget a little bear—even a fly or mosquito can't get in," the green-haired old man said with a smile, shaking his head.

However, when his gaze inadvertently shifted toward the direction the purple-haired woman was looking, he was equally startled. "There... there really is a bear!"

And it was quite unusual. Its fur was not a single color, but black and white. Rather than looking messy, it made the bear seem even more adorably foolish. It was currently hugging a stalk of medicinal herb grown here and gnawing on it.

"How did this bear get in here?" The green-haired old man was equally puzzled.

More importantly, how was it still alive and kicking after eating the herbs here?

The old man could not recognize many of the herbs here, but he knew that their medicinal potency was immense. Eating them recklessly would cause serious problems.

"No. There's someone else!"

The green-haired old man narrowed his eyes. The tenderness on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by a chilling expression.

Because he had been worried about the purple-haired woman, all his attention had been on her. Coupled with the poisonous insects and miasma he had placed around the outskirts, the green-haired old man had been careless for once. Now that he extended his senses, he quickly discovered that not only had a bear intruded here, but there was another outsider as well.

With a stomp of his foot, the green-haired old man's figure flickered repeatedly. In an instant, he crossed dozens of meters, passed the little bear, and appeared before the intruder.

Zhao Mu, who was examining and identifying the Immortal Herbs, was startled by the commotion as well. When he looked up, he saw a green-haired old man standing before him. His dark-green eyes were cold and eerie, making Zhao Mu feel chilled to the bone.

Zhao Mu knew that this person had to be the gatekeeper among Title Douluos, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo.

After all, some hair colors were simply too conspicuous—green hair, red hair, and the like.

However, Zhao Mu had not expected Dugu Bo to be inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Then again, he was a Title Douluo. How could he have allowed Zhao Mu to detect him so easily?

"This junior Zhao Mu greets Senior—"

"You're sick. I can cure you!"

Zhao Mu had just raised his hands to offer a greeting, but his words abruptly changed as he quickly corrected himself.

It was not that Zhao Mu changed his tune too quickly. It was simply because, when he was about to greet Dugu Bo, he sensed the other man's intense killing intent.

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was a treasure trove. He had stumbled into such a precious place, and Dugu Bo was solitary, eccentric, and casual about killing. The man could very well kill him on the spot. Zhao Mu had already felt powerful killing intent and pressure from Dugu Bo.

So greetings could go to hell. Zhao Mu decided to get straight to the point.

To gain more leverage, Zhao Mu immediately pointed at the purple-haired woman and said, "I can cure her illness too!"

Dugu Bo was no kind man. The original story had said that he was someone capable of massacring an entire city at a whim.

Do not think that Dugu Bo would pity someone simply because he was a six- or seven-year-old child.

Although Dugu Bo did not know much about the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he understood the tremendous value of this miraculous place that could suppress the poison in his body. Not to mention that there were countless Immortal Herbs here.

Zhao Mu's intrusion was like someone suddenly barging into his home and discovering a vast collection of treasures.

Human nature was the least capable of withstanding tests, so Dugu Bo truly had developed killing intent.

The reason Dugu Bo had not acted was precisely because Zhao Mu reacted quickly and immediately spoke those final words.

Most importantly, Zhao Mu had pointed at the purple-haired woman—Dugu Bo's granddaughter, Dugu Yan—and said that he could cure her illness.

As a Title Douluo named for poison, no one would have expected Poison Douluo to be plagued by a deadly toxin. It was truly absurd.

Thinking of the poison's backlash, Dugu Bo's eyes flickered unpredictably. Beneath his great strength, he endured torture beyond ordinary imagination. Every episode left him wishing for death without being able to die. The pain was so unbearable that even a Title Douluo could scarcely endure it; it was simply impossible to describe with words.

It would have been one thing if he alone had to endure it, but Dugu Bo had never imagined—and felt most guilty about—the fact that this damned thing would affect his descendants.

His son. And now, even his granddaughter.

At the thought of his granddaughter suffering that inhuman torment as well, Dugu Bo was filled with lingering fear.

The worst part was that he could do nothing about the poison. He was called Poison Douluo, yet this was truly ironic.

Though stormy waves raged in his heart, Dugu Bo's face remained calm. He barked, "Nonsense! Whose child are you? How dare you spout such nonsense here? I am a dignified Title Douluo. How could I fall ill so easily?"

Zhao Mu smiled at that.

Dugu Bo did not understand. "Heh, you brat, you're still smiling? Do you think I really don't dare kill you?"

Though Dugu Bo was the gatekeeper among Title Douluos, he was also the Title Douluo that Soul Masters below that rank feared the most.

He was the type who was weak in a direct clash, but exceptionally good at crushing weaker opponents.

Thus, Soul Masters below the Soul Douluo rank trembled whenever they faced him, terrified of offending Dugu Bo and dying without even knowing how.

Yet Zhao Mu still dared to smile?

Was he truly fearless because he knew nothing?

"Senior Dugu, there is no need to test my background. I'm merely an ordinary Soul Master. It just so happens that I know how to cure the illness of both you and that young lady. Or rather, poison would be a more fitting word."

Dugu Bo had asked which family Zhao Mu belonged to because he wanted to probe his background. However, Zhao Mu had no intention of borrowing anyone else's name. First, he did not know whose name to invoke. Second, based on the original story's description of Dugu Bo's temperament, though Dugu Bo was eccentric and always acted according to his own preferences, he kept his promises and had his own principles.

Therefore, when dealing with someone like this, the greatest taboo was mixing in falsehoods and lies.

Dugu Bo gave a chilling smile. His gloomy green pupils examined Zhao Mu like a hidden venomous snake eyeing its prey.

An invisible aura completely locked Zhao Mu in place.

"You look to be no more than seven or eight, yet you possess such cunning. You are indeed clever. I truly wanted to know where you came from. After all, I do not believe you alone could have broken through the poisonous miasma and insects I set outside."

Seeing that Zhao Mu said nothing, Dugu Bo fell silent for a moment before asking in a low voice, "Did you truly come here alone?"

Zhao Mu nodded firmly.

"Ha ha, interesting. A seven- or eight-year-old child like you actually has such ability. I don't feel like killing today. Get lost! Go back where you came from! But if you dare tell anyone about this place, I will make you regret being alive."

Zhao Mu smiled and shook his head. The old man was still testing him!

When the old man had asked whose child he was, it had been to probe his background. Dugu Bo was merely a gatekeeper among Title Douluos, and there were still quite a few people on the continent whom he found troublesome and feared.

Furthermore, Dugu Bo was not alone. He and Dugu Yan depended on each other for survival, giving others even more ways to restrain him.

And now, Dugu Bo was telling Zhao Mu to leave in order to test whether Zhao Mu truly knew about the poison afflicting him and Yan Yan, or whether he was merely talking nonsense to save his life.

If he had been talking nonsense to save himself, then upon being told to get lost, the child would leave at once. At that point, Dugu Bo would make sure he remained here forever.

Dugu Bo had dared to kill Yu Xiaogang of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and Liu Erlong. How could he possibly allow Zhao Mu to leave with the secret of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?

Rather than leaving, Zhao Mu took a deep breath. "Senior Dugu, the poison affecting you and your granddaughter comes from your martial souls, doesn't it? Or rather, it was caused by defects in your martial souls."

Boom!

The instant Zhao Mu's words fell—