Seeking Knowledge, Nine Heart Begonia

"Not many people possess this kind of medical skill." Dugu Bo frowned, feeling that this made sense as well, but upon further thought, he figured out who was most suitable.

"I've got it. The Nine Heart Begonia family. I'll go find Ye Renxin for help." Dugu Bo slammed his fist down, instantly thinking of an old friend.

Back when Dugu Bo was young and his poison flared up, he had also sought out Ye Renxin. However, Ye Renxin had no particularly good method for treating him and could only temporarily suppress it. Even so, Ye Renxin had never revealed Dugu Bo's condition to anyone over all these years.

When Dugu Bo's son and daughter-in-law met with misfortune, he had also asked Ye Renxin to help. However, even the Nine Heart Begonia could not save someone whose poison had entered the marrow.

Although it could barely extend their lifespan for a time, the pain was too great. In the end, Dugu Bo's daughter-in-law chose to die. Overwhelmed by grief, Dugu Bo's son followed her not long afterward.

Dugu Bo was completely reassured by Ye Renxin's character.

The Nine Heart Begonia had always been recognized throughout the continent as the finest healer. Whether it was the healing ability of its Martial Soul or the medical knowledge accumulated over generations, both were unparalleled on the continent.

Dugu Bo looked at the medicinal herbs growing outside like weeds, his heart stirring.

"I'll get some medicinal herbs, then go ask Ye Renxin to teach you this formula. With your talent, you should be able to learn it in less than a month."

Dugu Bo was certain he could get Ye Renxin to agree. It was not because of their friendship. After all, if one truly counted, Dugu Bo still owed Ye Renxin several favors.

However, Dugu Bo had confidence in the century-old and millennium-old medicinal herbs, as well as the ten-thousand-year medicine kings in his courtyard that were as common as cabbages. As an expert in poison, he understood just how tempting high-age medicinal herbs were.

Back then, he had given Ye Renxin a thirty-thousand-year Ginseng King to repay a favor. Ye Renxin's eyes had nearly popped out of his head, and he had almost dragged Dugu Bo off to become sworn brothers. That Ginseng King apparently remained in his possession even now, kept as a family heirloom for future generations.

Although there were no Ginseng Kings of such quality now, Dugu Bo still had more than a hundred ten-thousand-year or twenty-thousand-year Ginseng Kings, Lingzhi, and similar herbs combined.

If he took out a few, would he still need to worry about Ye Renxin refusing?

"Then I'll trouble you, Senior Dugu." Chen Ming nodded with a smile.

Only then did Dugu Bo's mind finally catch up. He looked at Chen Ming solemnly. "Wait. Did you deliberately lead me to think of Ye Renxin? Your mind works better than mine. I don't believe you hadn't thought of it already."

"I did think of it, but sometimes thinking of something is useless. More importantly, I felt that saying it directly would seem like I wasn't giving senior any face. So I merely offered a suggestion and an idea. Whether senior wishes to do it is still up to your own judgment."

"However, what I value most is a promise. Since I accepted senior's benefits and made a promise, I will treat senior. Since senior has not broken the agreement, I naturally cannot betray senior's trust."

"Hmph." Dugu Bo snorted arrogantly, not knowing what he was thinking. Only after a long while did he speak again. "Kid, you'd better not disappoint this old man."

"I certainly won't. What I hate most is breaking faith." Chen Ming answered earnestly.

A person had to possess integrity and responsibility. Although Chen Ming was not inflexible, he had his own pride and stubbornness deep in his heart.

Across both his lives, what he hated most was betrayal and broken promises. Because of that, he always tried his best not to break any promise he made to others.

Now that he had AI Thinking, Chen Ming had also become accustomed to viewing things rationally and accepting established realities and rules. Just as programmers often gave people the impression that they were difficult to communicate with, Chen Ming was likewise more inclined toward practical matters.

Chen Ming gathered some medicinal herbs and, together with Dugu Bo, processed them into two types of pills: water pills and honey pills.

During this time, Chen Ming explained in detail the reasoning behind the formula, how the various medicines restrained and enhanced one another, and how to stabilize Dugu Yan's condition. He did his best to make Dugu Bo not only memorize the formula, but understand it as well.

Water pills were made by sprinkling medicinal powder onto a bamboo sieve, then adding a little water while shaking it. The resulting pellets were the size of sesame seeds. They were absorbed quickly and were meant for daily use to clear and stabilize the body.

Honey pills were slightly larger than egg yolks, with additional medicine mixed inside. They were meant to be taken when the condition became unstable.

Compared with water pills, honey pills had a shorter shelf life because they contained honey. To prevent their medicinal effects from dissipating, Chen Ming sealed the honey pills in wax to prolong their efficacy.

Although they looked unremarkable, they could actually be considered a type of external elixir method. One could even say that honey pills were elixirs in the traditional sense. As for those more mystical refining methods, Chen Ming truly had no idea how they worked yet.

One reason was that the Douluo World currently showed no trace of such a system. Things like Soul Ascension Pills or Mysterious Water Pills did not even exist, leaving him with nothing to draw inspiration from.

Another reason was that although Chen Ming intended to develop it, his lack of a fire attribute and fire affinity meant he would achieve half the result with twice the effort. He could only find a way to develop alchemy in the future.

This time, when going to study at the Nine Heart Begonia family, Chen Ming also had certain thoughts in that regard.

After first stabilizing Dugu Bo's condition, telling him how to maintain it over the coming period, and making arrangements for Dugu Yan's recent condition, Chen Ming took three ten-thousand-year precious herbs from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. He packed them in jade boxes and carefully decorated them.

Chen Ming first made a trip to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, quietly meeting the three Education Committee members. He showed them that he had not died and that his talent and ideas had earned Dugu Bo's appreciation, so he was currently cultivating at Dugu Bo's side.

He also asked about the current situation in the Holy Soul Territory. After confirming that his old home was safe, Chen Ming peacefully followed Dugu Bo toward the Ye Family estate.

The Ye Family estate was located in an extremely bustling part of Heaven Dou City. It occupied a vast area, but the number of people living inside was extremely small.

The Nine Heart Begonia had always been passed down through a single line. At present, the only people who possessed this Martial Soul were Ye Renxin and his granddaughter, Ye Lingling. Although other relatives also lived in the Ye Family estate, there were not many of them.

When the pageboy reported that Poison Douluo Dugu Bo had come to visit, Ye Renxin, who had been teaching his granddaughter Ye Lingling medical arts in the study, was momentarily stunned. After calming himself slightly, he had Ye Lingling return to her room first, then personally went to the main gate to welcome Dugu Bo.

However, the instant he saw Dugu Bo, who appeared several years younger than before, Ye Renxin's pupils sharply contracted. Although he tried his best to control his expression, he could not hide the astonishment in his eyes.

"Brother Dugu, you're all right?"