Entering Sunset Forest

Xiao Chen did not give Chrysanthemum Douluo an answer regarding whether he would go to the Sunset Forest, saying only that he would consider it; they would not be departing until tomorrow morning anyway.

Xiao Chen was very clear that as long as he could help Dugu Bo and his granddaughter resolve the stubborn, toxic affliction that had plagued them for years, even if Dugu Bo were unwilling to submit to Martial Soul Hall in the future, he would certainly never openly stand as their enemy.

It was just a pity that Xiao Chen was not skilled in detoxification.

Thus, he had no choice but to seek help from the system.

As it turned out, this system fellow claimed that Xiao Chen's mission completion was still in the primary stage and could not grant a detoxification reward.

"You damn system, can't you make an exception just this once?" Xiao Chen tried to negotiate with the system.

The System Spirit shook its head and said, "Host, you were quite clever when you persuaded Lu Xiao earlier; why are you acting so muddled now!"

"What do you mean?" Xiao Chen asked, puzzled.

The System Spirit said, "Let me ask you, what is Dugu Bo's title?"

"Poison Douluo, of course!" Xiao Chen replied without a second thought.

The system continued, "Do you think he is worthy of this title?"

"Of course he is worthy; he is the number one poison expert on the Douluo Continent!" Xiao Chen said.

"Tsk tsk." The System Spirit pursed its little lips and clicked its tongue. "The number one poison expert on the Douluo Continent, yet he is trapped by poison—his own poison at that. Doesn't the Host find that ridiculous?"

"Uh..." Xiao Chen was rendered speechless by the retort. In that instant, he thought of Xiao Yi Xian from the neighboring Battle Through the Heavens.

In the early stages, Xiao Yi Xian's situation was very similar to that of the Poison Douluo.

But in the later stages, after Xiao Yi Xian fully mastered the Woeful Poison Body, the Woeful Poison Body became a cheat code for her leveling up.

As for the method Tang San used to resolve Dugu Bo's hidden danger, it was to seal all of his innate lethal poison into his Soul Bone.

Although this approach eradicated the disaster of the poison's backlash, when it came down to it, Dugu Bo still feared this poison.

Xiao Yi Xian mastered the Woeful Poison Body, while Dugu Bo fled from his own bloodline poison.

This resulted in the meridians damaged by the backlash of his bloodline poison in his early years never being fully repaired.

Although he lived to the end, his Spirit Power only reached level ninety-two.

By the time the system said this, Xiao Chen already understood what it was trying to express.

As the Poison Douluo, how could he fear his own poison?

How could one who plays with poison let the poison become a burden?

"System, so you mean to let the Poison Douluo adapt to his own poison, rather than eliminating it or fleeing from it!" Xiao Chen said.

"Correct. The way the Dugu family deals with their martial soul bloodline poison has been wrong from the start. They always think about resisting and suppressing it, never once thinking about accepting it!" the system said.

Xiao Chen nodded in agreement. Dugu Bo's method not only wasted Spirit Power but also slowed down his own cultivation speed!

It was truly rare that he managed to cultivate to the level of a Titled Douluo.

Moreover, even though Dugu Bo knew that suppressing and resisting the bloodline poison could only delay the time of the outbreak and could not cure it, he never thought of changing his approach.

Ever since she was born, Dugu Yan had been entangled with the bloodline's strange poison; it was an innate curse of fate, a life-taking shackle hanging over the heads of the Dugu clan. They spent their entire lives struggling to suppress the poison with their Spirit Power, suffering the agony of the backlash day after day.

Yet they failed to see that this Jade Phosphorous Serpent poison, which was born with them and fused into their very bones and blood, was originally a supreme opportunity gifted by heaven and earth.

Since the moment Dugu Yan was born, this poison had been nurtured in the depths of her bloodline, growing naturally alongside her Spirit Power without the need for deliberate, bitter cultivation. It was absolutely a perfect constitution for practicing poison arts.

While others could only dream of having an affinity for all poisons, the Dugu family possessed it by birth; yet they treated this heaven-sent constitution as a disaster, seeking only to eradicate and suppress it, never once thinking of going with the flow to reach the pinnacle of the poison path by utilizing the source of their bloodline poison.

"System, let me ask you, if Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan changed their thinking now and went to adapt to the bloodline poison, what is the success rate!" Xiao Chen asked.

"Dugu Bo's success rate could reach one to three percent, but for Dugu Yan, it would be a one hundred percent failure!" the system said.

"Why is that? Shouldn't the poison in Dugu Yan be weaker than Dugu Bo's?" Xiao Chen asked.

The system immediately explained, "Dugu Yan is different from Dugu Bo. Although Dugu Bo suffers from the bloodline poison, he essentially likes dealing with poison. He knows how to identify, concoct, refine, and control poison. In this world, he is indeed a grandmaster of the poison path!"

"He has been fighting against the bloodline poison for so many years; although he has no way to deal with it, because he loves the poison path, he is subconsciously already very familiar with the bloodline poison. So, if he can overcome his psychological barriers, his success rate in adapting to the bloodline poison might increase a little more!"

Having said this, the system changed its tone. "As for Dugu Yan, she has been tormented by the backlash of the bloodline poison since childhood. She hates and fears her own bloodline poison from the bottom of her heart, viewing it only as a death-inducing curse."

"She has the constitution for the poison path, but she only relies on her martial soul to release poison; she has no interest in poison at all. Therefore, her mindset is very difficult to change. Even if she knows that complying with the bloodline poison gives her a chance to survive, that innate resistance to the bloodline poison will ultimately become an insurmountable obstacle."

The system's analysis was very thorough.

However, Xiao Chen knew very well that relying on words alone to persuade a Titled Douluo had a very low probability of success.

He had to produce something substantial to make the Poison Douluo believe him.

"System, the treasure to cure Dugu Yan shouldn't require a very high mission completion rate, right? After all, she should only be at level thirty-something right now!" Xiao Chen said.

"Indeed, it is not required. However, hasn't the Host not fought against a poison-type Spirit Master yet? Only when the Host fights a poison-type Spirit Master for the first time can this system generate the corresponding reward!" the system said.

Hearing this, Xiao Chen retorted, "Your way of generating rewards is truly unique!"

With the system's guarantee, Xiao Chen could go to the Sunset Forest with peace of mind.

Of course, he could not let Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo follow him.

The next morning, it took a great deal of persuasion for Xiao Chen to convince Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo.

However, the two of them would still follow him secretly from ten miles behind.

As long as Xiao Chen injected his Spirit Power into the Concealment Pendant given to him by Bibi Dong, any Titled Douluo nearby would be able to sense him through the Elder Token; should Xiao Chen encounter danger, Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo could arrive at the first opportunity.

Hu Liena, Yan, and Xie Yue were also uneasy about Xiao Chen and wanted to accompany him.

Xiao Chen stated bluntly that the three of them held special identities, and if Dugu Bo were to discover their affiliation with Martial Soul Hall, it would certainly lead to more trouble.

After persuading them, Xiao Chen's party set off.

They separated as soon as they left the city, with Xiao Chen riding a fast horse in the lead while Chrysanthemum Douluo and the others followed ten kilometers behind.

Setting off in the early morning, Xiao Chen arrived at the edge of the Sunset Forest by the afternoon.

The Sunset Forest was also one of the gathering places for Soul Beasts, and there was no shortage of Soul Masters heading there to hunt for Spirit Rings.

With the help of the system, Xiao Chen easily located the direction of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Avoiding other Soul Masters, he entered the Sunset Forest and immediately unleashed Shadow Step Dash, speeding rapidly toward the location of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.