But before that...
Qian Renxue gathered her thoughts and called softly.
"Elder Pufferfish!"
As her light voice fell, a figure suddenly appeared with a whoosh.
The newcomer was tall and powerfully built, with reddish skin and a wild mane of red hair like a lion's. His burly frame resembled that of a savage bear.
The muscles in his arms bulged in thick knots, like a heap of meat piled haphazardly on each arm.
"Young Master, what did you summon me for?" The newcomer bowed and asked.
Pufferfish Douluo and Snake Lance Douluo were both Qian Renxue's protectors, but they had different duties.
Snake Lance Douluo handled other affairs. He was Qian Renxue's assistant and, most of the time, her errand runner.
Pufferfish Douluo was responsible for protecting Qian Renxue at close quarters and supervising others on her behalf. When she was away, he ensured her plans proceeded smoothly.
So when things were busy, Pufferfish Douluo was truly busy. When things were quiet, he was truly idle.
Though idle, Pufferfish Douluo's responsibilities were no less important than Snake Lance Douluo's. He had to guard Qian Renxue's safety at all times and ensure her plans went smoothly.
Whenever Qian Renxue returned to her female form, he was the one keeping watch, preventing anyone from accidentally coming near and discovering her true identity.
It could be said that Qian Renxue's ability to use her female form without restraint in the East Palace for so long, without anyone noticing, owed a great deal to Pufferfish Douluo's discreet protection.
Without Pufferfish Douluo secretly watching over her, Qian Renxue would have been caught by someone long ago, considering how she returned to her female form every day to bathe.
And during the years Qian Renxue had disguised herself as the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, there had been women who tried to climb into her bed to improve their prospects. Pufferfish Douluo had secretly dealt with every one of them.
"Elder Pufferfish, I have something to attend to and need to leave for a while. I don't know when I'll return. I'll have to trouble you to look after everything here while I'm gone!"
"Young Master, rest assured. I'll take care of everything here for you. I absolutely won't let anything unexpected happen!"
Hearing this, Pufferfish Douluo thought nothing of it. He assumed Qian Renxue was simply making an ordinary trip back to Spirit Hall.
He immediately patted his chest and promised that she could return to Spirit Hall without worry. With him, Pufferfish Douluo, here, nothing unexpected would happen.
The Heaven Dou Empire was now entirely in Qian Renxue's grasp. Not only had all the capable princes fallen, but even Emperor Xue Ye was now bedridden with illness.
The Spirit Hall now controlled most of the Heaven Dou Empire's political power, as well as much of its military might.
The Heaven Dou Empire was already theirs for the taking.
Once Emperor Xue Ye died, Young Master would be the only legitimate heir.
Would Emperor Xue Ye die? In the past, Pufferfish Douluo couldn't have guaranteed it.
Although Pufferfish Douluo had confidence in his own poison and knew it was incredibly potent, there were always stronger people and greater things beyond what he knew. Someone might still be able to neutralize his poison.
But now, Pufferfish Douluo had no such concern.
Strictly speaking, the substance currently poisoning Emperor Xue Ye wasn't a poison.
It was a catalyst, a catalyst capable of causing the human body to become fibrotic.
The most frightening thing about this deadly substance was that the product of its catalysis was the substance itself.
What did that mean? There was no cure!
Once it began, the poison was like a snowball rolling down a mountain: impossible to stop and growing larger all the while.
Thinking of that vial of deadly poison, Pufferfish Douluo's lips curled into a smug, confident smile.
The most terrifying poison in the world was colorless and odorless, and nothing could detect it.
Even though his Martial Soul was said to be capable of storing every poison under heaven, he would still meet a dead end if he faced this substance. His entire body would become fibrotic, until he was transformed into the catalyst itself!
Before learning about this poison, Pufferfish Douluo had never known that anything so overbearing, terrifying, and downright monstrous could exist.
Once someone was afflicted by it, no one could help. Their only option was to replace their body.
Even if they could recover their health without limit, they would still meet a dead end against it.
That was because the product of its catalysis was the catalyst itself. This meant that once your fibrosis began, it would increase along a J-shaped curve.
At first, a healing power of one point could suppress the fibrosis.
But the next moment, you might need a hundred points of healing power to keep it under control.
The moment after that, ten thousand points. Then, a hundred million...
When Chu Feng gave him the substance, Pufferfish Douluo could hardly believe that anything so monstrous, overbearing, and unreasonable could exist.
That was right: the deadly poison Pufferfish Douluo had given Emperor Xue Ye had come from Chu Feng.
Chu Feng had called it "Dimethyl Bipyridinium Chloride." He had said it wasn't a poison, but a deadly catalyst with no cure.
Anyone afflicted by it would slowly die in endless agony unless they abandoned their body!
Pufferfish Douluo wasn't worried that Emperor Xue Ye might abandon his body, because he was only human. He couldn't do that.
If Emperor Xue Ye could abandon his body, they wouldn't want the Heaven Dou Empire anymore.
Not that they wouldn't want it—they wouldn't dare take it.
Star Dou Forest.
After asking Bibi Dong for Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, Chu Feng had finally reached Star Dou Forest after more than a day of travel.
Star Dou Forest was divided into an outer region, an inner region, and a Core Circle.
The three regions were divided according to the strength of the Spirit Beasts living there.
The outer region was home to Spirit Beasts ranging from a few years old to ten thousand years old. The inner region was home to those between ten thousand and a hundred thousand years old. The Core Circle was the territory of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Forest Emperor, Sky Azure Bull Python, and Forest King, Titan Giant Ape.
Of course, that didn't mean there couldn't be Spirit Beasts older than ten thousand years in the outer region.
There were Spirit Beasts older than ten thousand years in Star Dou Forest's outer region as well.
Some Spirit Beasts didn't like living in the inner region...
As the largest Spirit Beast forest on Douluo Continent, Star Dou Forest was home to a wide variety of Spirit Beasts. It also drew Spirit Beasts from forests across the land.
Chu Feng had visited Star Dou Forest several times and knew his way around. With two Titled Douluo, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, accompanying him, he reached Lake of Life in the Core Circle without a hitch.
Lake of Life was the heart of Star Dou Forest. The Gold of Life beneath it held an immense amount of life energy and was a natural holy medicine for healing injuries.
Silver Dragon King was at the bottom of Lake of Life, using the life energy of the Gold of Life to heal.
The reason Star Dou Forest had grown into the greatest Spirit Beast forest on Douluo Continent was the Silver Dragon King sleeping beneath Lake of Life.
The lake had formed when Silver Dragon King fled from the Divine Realm and willingly gave up all her cultivation.
As a result, every Spirit Beast in Star Dou Forest had benefited from Silver Dragon King's grace. They were all her descendants, and Silver Dragon King was the Common Lord of Spirit Beasts to them all.
Chu Feng arrived beside Lake of Life and gazed at the lake before him, its ethereal air making it resemble the Jade Pool of the immortal realm.
Chu Feng stopped at the water's edge and glanced out of the corner of his eye at Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo behind him.
Before you continue