Want to save your life? Then get on your knees and beg... Oh, no, let's make a deal instead

The air seemed to harden into solid cement, making it difficult to breathe.

Dugu Bo's withered, eagle-claw-like hand stopped in midair. The faint green light at his fingertips flickered, illuminating his shifting expression.

"Old Poison?"

Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes. His earlier fury had subsided somewhat, replaced by an even colder scrutiny. "Kid, you know who I am, and you still dare call me that? The last person who did is now feeding grass three meters tall."

Aside from a handful of Titled Douluo of equal rank, even the emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire had to address him respectfully as "Poison Douluo."

What gave this six-year-old brat the right?

Yu Tianyu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Rather than back down, he calmly dusted himself off, as if he'd merely taken a tumble instead of just enduring a Titled Douluo's pressure head-on.

"A name is just a label. I call you Old Poison because you're poisonous all over—you poison others, and you poison yourself."

Yu Tianyu slipped his hands into his pockets. A hint of amusement glinted in his mismatched eyes. "What? Am I wrong? Whenever it's cloudy or rainy, you feel numbness and itching beneath your ribs, and it gradually gets worse. It flares up once at noon and once at midnight. At your current level of cultivation, it should have spread to the top of your head and the soles of your feet by now, right?"

Dugu Bo's pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints.

Before, he'd merely thought the kid was a little strange. Now, shock surged through him like a storm-tossed sea.

The symptoms the boy had described were exactly right!

This secret had plagued him for decades. No one but him knew the precise locations of the pain—not even Yan Yan!

"You..." The killing intent around Dugu Bo vanished, replaced by deep wariness. "How do you know that? Who sent you?"

"No one sent me. I have no interest in investigating an old man who's about to die."

Yu Tianyu shrugged, speaking as casually as if they were chatting about the weather. "I told you, I'm a doctor. A doctor can look at a patient and tell where the problem is. You're the one who tried to kill your granddaughter's only lifeline the moment we met. Looks like your senility is worse than the poison in your body."

"You're asking to die!"

Insulted so thoroughly by a junior, Dugu Bo instinctively prepared to strike.

"Grandpa! Stop!"

Dugu Yan, who'd been frozen in shock, finally came to her senses. Ignoring her embarrassment, she rushed over and threw herself in front of Yu Tianyu, spreading her arms to shield him.

"Grandpa! You've got it wrong! He... he was treating my poison!" Dugu Yan's eyes reddened with panic. "The poison in my body just flared up, and he drew it out for me! It really worked! I feel better than I have in ages!"

Dugu Bo froze.

He looked at his granddaughter desperately trying to protect the boy, then at how much healthier and rosier she looked.

As a master of poison, he needed only one glance to see that the restless Jade Phosphorus Snake Poison in her body had indeed settled down—and that some of it was gone.

"Drew it out?"

Dugu Bo knitted his brows and eyed Yu Tianyu suspiciously. "Jade Phosphorus Snake Poison is vicious enough to kill on contact. You're only a level-ten Spirit Scholar without even a Spirit Ring. You dared to suck out the poison? Weren't you afraid of dying?"

"Dying?"

Yu Tianyu looked as if he'd heard a joke.

"Burp—"

He suddenly opened his mouth and let out an utterly unrefined belch.

A wisp of purplish-black mist immediately poured from his mouth. Rather than dissipating, it gathered in the air into a tiny phantom of a purple dragon, then was sucked back in by him.

"The taste was nothing special, but it was certainly nourishing."

Yu Tianyu licked his lips, a wicked smile playing across his face. "Old Poison, your poison is a death sentence to others. To me, it's just a snack with a little extra seasoning."

"My Martial Soul is Dragon Slayer Magic. Dragons are the rulers of all things, standing at the top of the food chain."

"And a snake, even one that cultivates into a ruler, is still just a slightly bigger loach before a True Dragon. Do you really think a loach's poison could kill a dragon?"

In that moment, Yu Tianyu's presence changed.

Gone was the lazy, boyish air. In its place was the pressure of a natural-born ruler, rising from the depths of his soul. It was the arrogance of a Dragon King.

Dugu Bo fell silent.

He stared hard at Yu Tianyu, struggling inwardly.

Reason told him this was absurd. But the facts were right before him: the boy had swallowed Jade Phosphorus Snake Poison and was not only unharmed, but looked like he wanted more.

And if he really could cure the poison...

Could the curse that had plagued the Dugu Family for generations and killed his son and daughter-in-law finally be brought to an end?

After a long while,

Dugu Bo took a deep breath, and the green light in his eyes gradually faded. He put away all signs of Soul Power and clasped his hands behind his back like an ordinary old man, though his voice remained stiff.

"Kid, you win."

"Since you can identify my symptoms and swallow Yan Yan's poison, I assume you have a way to deal with this damned backlash."

Dugu Bo fixed his gaze on Yu Tianyu. "Tell me, what do you want? Gold Soul Coins? A Spirit Bone? Or do you want me to kill someone for you?"

If they were going to negotiate, they might as well lay everything on the table.

As far as Dugu Bo was concerned, the boy had gone to great lengths to get close to Yan Yan and had shown off his abilities in front of him for a reason. He was clearly after something.

"That's more like it."

Yu Tianyu snapped his fingers. "Talking to a smart man saves time. I don't need money, and I don't need you to kill anyone for me. I only want two things."

"Go on."

"First, I want a place that's completely quiet and suitable for cultivation." Yu Tianyu raised one finger. "I heard you have a villa in Sunset Forest, with a unique spring there. I want it."

Dugu Bo's expression shifted.

The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well!

It was his treasure trove, as well as the key to suppressing the poison in his body. How did the boy know about that, too?

"You even know about that place..." Dugu Bo's eyes flickered. "The conditions there are harsh. Ordinary people can't survive there. What do you want it for?"

"That's none of your concern. I have my reasons." Yu Tianyu didn't elaborate. "Second, I can treat your granddaughter's poison. But yours has penetrated too deeply into your bones. To get rid of it completely, you'll need to follow a course of treatment with medicinal herbs."

"So I want unrestricted access to the herbs in that Herb Garden."

This was Yu Tianyu's real goal!

The Immortal Herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well!

They were the greatest cheat in Douluo Continent! Tang San had used those Immortal Herbs to soar to new heights and even build up the Shrek Seven Devils.

Now, that key had to be in his hands.

"Impossible!" Dugu Bo refused flatly. "Those herbs represent a lifetime of work. I may not recognize most of them, but that land is mine. You want to take over my garden?"

"Don't be so quick to refuse."

Yu Tianyu wasn't angry. He simply tossed out his final bargaining chip. "You don't have to agree. But I guarantee that within six months, your granddaughter's poison will fully erupt, and even the gods won't be able to save her. As for you, you'll last no more than two years before a thousand poisons devour your heart and kill you in agony."

"Would the dignified Poison Douluo rather trade a few weeds for the lives of you and your granddaughter, or guard that pile of herbs all the way to your grave? I'm sure you can do the math."