Metamorphosis!

At Gu Qing's instruction, Dugu Bo immediately shut his eyes and began frantically circulating the Soul Power within his body.

Strands of dark green poison gas crept slowly along Dugu Bo's limbs and torso, climbing toward his skull.

The intense pain twisted Dugu Bo's facial muscles horribly, while large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

The moment they formed, the spring's freezing temperature turned them into ice crystals.

It was an ordeal like being slowly unraveled, thread by thread.

"Don't stop. Use the herbs' medicinal power to protect your heart meridians, then drive all the poison in at once."

Gu Qing's voice was steady and strong, echoing clearly through the empty valley.

Time passed second by second. The mist inside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well roiled violently as Dugu Bo's Soul Power surged.

The sickly dark green hue of Dugu Bo's skin faded at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In its place appeared a healthy complexion, full of vitality.

All the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison was forcibly compressed by an immense force and driven into the Head Soul Bone.

The once crystal-clear Soul Bone had now completely transformed into a dark green crystal radiating a terrifying poisonous aura.

A high, piercing howl burst from Dugu Bo's mouth, scattering the poisonous fog within dozens of meters.

Dugu Bo leapt from the cold spring and landed steadily on the bluestone shore.

The backlash pain that had tormented Dugu Bo for decades vanished completely, leaving his entire body filled with a feeling of ease unlike anything he had ever known.

Even his Soul Power showed faint signs of breaking through now that the poison's suppression had been lifted.

Dugu Bo trembled with excitement and dropped to one knee before Gu Qing.

"Brother Gu, I'll never forget your life-restoring kindness!"

"Get up. It was just a fair trade."

Gu Qing raised a hand, without the slightest hint of pride in his accomplishment.

Turning his gaze from Dugu Bo, Gu Qing looked toward Dugu Yan, who stood a short distance away.

Seeing that her grandfather had finally escaped the torment of his illness, Dugu Yan's eyes had long since filled with tears of excitement.

"Now it's your turn."

Gu Qing looked at Dugu Yan and calmly stated what would happen next.

Dugu Yan hurried over to Gu Qing and stood obediently before him.

"The poison in my body isn't as deep as Grandpa's, and I don't have a Soul Bone to contain it. How will you get rid of it?"

Dugu Yan studied Gu Qing curiously with her emerald-green eyes.

"Your situation is indeed different. The poison has invaded your internal organs, but it hasn't taken root too deeply yet."

Gu Qing walked over to the scarlet spring and felt the scorching heat around it.

"We'll need to use a specific needling technique and the heat here to force the poison out of your body through your sweat."

Hearing this, Dugu Bo immediately and discreetly backed away several paces.

"In that case, I'll stand guard outside the valley and make sure no living thing comes in to disturb you."

With that, Dugu Bo transformed into a streak of green light and vanished into the vast poisonous miasma.

Only Gu Qing and Dugu Yan remained beside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

The atmosphere around them grew somewhat delicate.

"This needling technique requires me to reach thirty-six major acupoints across your body."

Gu Qing turned around and met Dugu Yan's gaze.

"So you'll need to remove all your clothes."

At those words, a vivid blush instantly spread across Dugu Yan's fair cheeks.

The red crept all the way to her ears, leaving her flustered.

No matter how bold and fiery she usually was, the thought of revealing her body without reserve before a man her own age still made Dugu Yan feel deeply embarrassed.

Dugu Yan clutched the hem of her clothes, her lips pressed tightly together.

The valley was so quiet that only the bubbling of the spring could be heard.

Gu Qing didn't urge her. He simply waited where he stood for Dugu Yan to decide.

After a brief struggle, a few images suddenly flashed through Dugu Yan's mind.

Back in the hot spring, Gu Qing had already seen everything there was to see—and everything there wasn't.

If she acted coy now, all for the sake of treatment, she would only seem affected.

Once she'd thought it through, Dugu Yan took a deep breath and finally let go of her clothes.

Her slender fingers rested on the sash at her waist and tugged it loose.

Her purple outer robe slipped from her smooth shoulders and fell in a heap on the weed-covered ground.

Next came the undergarments beneath it, which Dugu Yan removed one by one.

Her perfect figure was laid bare beneath the glow of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Her youthful, vibrant curves gleamed with an alluring sheen.

Dugu Yan covered her chest with both hands. Her long lashes trembled, and she hardly dared to look Gu Qing in the eye.

"Lie down on that flat bluestone."

Gu Qing's voice remained utterly calm, as if he were dealing with an ordinary object.

That matter-of-fact attitude eased some of Dugu Yan's nervousness.

Dugu Yan cautiously walked over to the bluestone and lay down as Gu Qing had instructed.

With a turn of his wrist, Gu Qing produced a row of gleaming silver needles in his palm.

He walked over to the bluestone and looked down at Dugu Yan.

"It'll sting and feel hot. Try to bear it and keep still."

Gu Qing picked up a silver needle, and a faint glow of Soul Power lit at his fingertips.

Before Dugu Yan could answer, the needle in Gu Qing's hand had already entered an acupoint on her lower abdomen with pinpoint accuracy.

A warm current flowed through the needle and into her body, drawing a soft moan from Dugu Yan.

Gu Qing's hands moved swiftly, one silver needle after another finding its mark.

From her shoulders to her waist and abdomen, then down her long, straight legs.

Gu Qing's fingertips inevitably brushed against Dugu Yan's soft, warm skin.

Every fleeting touch felt like a faint electric current, darting freely through Dugu Yan's body.

Dugu Yan felt her temperature rising steadily, and her breathing grew more and more hurried.

A faintly suggestive tension gradually filled the air around them.

This strange, tingling sensation was far more torturous than simple pain.

Dugu Yan bit her lower lip and fought to suppress her instinct to twist and turn.

Gu Qing's gaze remained perfectly clear throughout, free of any improper thoughts.

As the final needle struck its mark, Dugu Yan's skin flushed an unnatural red from head to toe.

Strands of purplish-black sweat seeped from her pores, giving off a pungent stench.

This was the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison that had accumulated in her body over the years, now being stripped away bit by bit through Gu Qing's Soul Power and needling technique.

More than half an hour passed before the sweat that had been expelled finally ran clear.

Gu Qing swept his sleeve, and all thirty-six silver needles were withdrawn from Dugu Yan's body.

"It's over."

Gu Qing turned away, his back to Dugu Yan as she lay on the bluestone.

"Rinse off in the pool over there, then get dressed."

Dugu Yan felt as light as a feather, the heaviness she had carried for more than a decade swept away.

Looking at Gu Qing's broad, upright back, an exceedingly complex, unfamiliar light flashed in Dugu Yan's eyes.

After washing herself, Dugu Yan dressed again and quietly walked up behind Gu Qing.

"Thank you."

Dugu Yan spoke those two words with great sincerity, and even with a hint of tenderness she could barely conceal.

Gu Qing didn't turn around. His gaze had already settled on the Immortal Herbs surrounding the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

"Go find your grandfather outside. I'll be staying here for a while longer."

Dugu Yan nodded obediently. She didn't linger, turning to head out of the valley.

Only after Dugu Yan's presence had completely vanished did Gu Qing begin strolling through this natural treasure trove.

The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, the Infernal Delicate Apricot, the Aromatic Silk Beauty.

One by one, peerless Immortal Herbs rarely seen in the outside world were harvested by Gu Qing using a special technique.

After carefully gathering all the herbs he needed, Gu Qing finally set off for Heaven Dou City.

Chapter 38

A few faint candle flames flickered unsteadily in the bedroom of the Crown Prince Mansion.

Qian Renxue sat at the edge of the bed, staring fixedly at the tightly shut door.

Outside the window, the sky was beginning to pale, and a new day was about to dawn.

Qian Renxue had sat in this room all night without closing her eyes once.

An unbearable restlessness churned in Qian Renxue's heart.

Gu Qing hadn't returned all night, and he had spent that time with that woman, Dugu Yan, in Sunset Forest.

Over and over, Qian Renxue pictured Dugu Yan's exaggeratedly swaying hips.

And the way Dugu Yan looked at Gu Qing, as though she couldn't wait to cling to him.

A man and a woman, alone together in the wilderness in the dead of night.

Treating poison?

Qian Renxue clenched the bedsheet beneath her, her knuckles turning pale from the force.

What kind of poison needed an entire night to treat?

That wanton woman could have used any number of shameless tricks to seduce Gu Qing.

And Gu Qing was a normal man in the prime of his life.

The more Qian Renxue thought about it, the more stifled she felt, a nameless fury careening through her chest.

"What an utterly shameless bastard!"

Qian Renxue ground the words out through clenched teeth, resentment filling her eyes.

Only yesterday, Qian Renxue had felt a flicker of attraction toward Gu Qing's composure and strength.

His air of having everything under control had even made Qian Renxue think that marrying him might not be something she would absolutely despise.

The defenses Qian Renxue had painstakingly built up over more than a decade had already developed severe cracks.

But now, all that goodwill had vanished amid a night of anguish and waiting.

Qian Renxue decided that Gu Qing was no different from any other lecherous man.

He looked aloof and indifferent on the surface, but behind closed doors he couldn't resist the charms of a seductive woman.

Qian Renxue took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the sourness in her heart.

Her wavering feelings hardened once more, becoming as steadfast as rock.

Even if she remained alone for the rest of her life, Qian Renxue would never marry a man who was one thing to her face and another behind her back.

That was the bottom line and pride of Qian Renxue, the Martial Soul Hall Young Master.

The sky grew fully bright, and the morning sun streamed into the room through the window lattice.

A faint sound of footsteps in the corridor outside broke the morning's silence.

Qian Renxue jerked her head up, her gaze fixed on the heavy wooden door.

Creak.

The door swung open from the outside, and Gu Qing walked in at an unhurried pace.

Morning dew had stained the clothes Gu Qing had worn the day before.

After spending the night in close proximity to Dugu Yan, even the sleeve of his robe still carried a trace of her face powder's fragrance.

A breeze carried the scent straight to the tip of Qian Renxue's nose.

To Qian Renxue, it was like a fuse being thrust into a powder keg and lit.

Qian Renxue's expression darkened instantly, and she looked at Gu Qing with undisguised disgust.

Gu Qing entered the room looking as composed as ever, apparently oblivious to its charged atmosphere.

He casually placed an Immortal Herb radiating a peculiar glow on the table, then poured himself a cup of cold tea.

Qian Renxue sprang up from the bed and strode over to Gu Qing.

"What are you even coming back for?"

Qian Renxue folded her arms, her eyes full of mockery as she taunted him sarcastically.

Gu Qing lifted the cold tea from the table and took a sip, calmly looking at Qian Renxue.

The tea flowed down his throat, easing a little of the weariness from his nightlong journey.

He set the teacup back on the table but didn't immediately answer Qian Renxue's accusation.

In Qian Renxue's eyes, that cool, unhurried attitude was nothing less than a deliberate provocation over his absence all night.

The fury in Qian Renxue's chest surged another notch.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

Qian Renxue stepped forward, her gaze locked on Gu Qing's unruffled face.

"Did I hit a nerve, or are you reliving last night's tender moments in Sunset Forest?"

The words were harsh, each one steeped in hostility.

Gu Qing studied Qian Renxue, his gaze pausing briefly on the fine red veins in her eyes.

"You sat here all night?"

Gu Qing's voice was perfectly even; he was merely stating the obvious.

At the question, Qian Renxue's fierce bearing faltered in a subtle flicker of panic.

Qian Renxue quickly looked away, not daring to meet Gu Qing's eyes.

"Don't flatter yourself."

"As the Martial Soul Hall Young Master, I have endless affairs to deal with every day. Why would I have the time to wait for you?"

Qian Renxue forced herself to steady her nerves, doing her best to make her voice sound disdainful.

But her hands, which had gone faintly white from gripping too hard, had already betrayed what Qian Renxue truly felt.

Watching Qian Renxue stubbornly deny it, Gu Qing couldn't help finding her a little amusing.

Still, Gu Qing didn't call her out. Instead, he lowered his gaze to his sleeve, where a little morning dew clung.

The faint scent of powder that belonged to Dugu Yan still lingered around Gu Qing's cuff.

"The poisonous miasma in Sunset Forest is extremely dense. If you don't stay alert at all times, you won't even know how you died."

Gu Qing brushed a fallen leaf from his sleeve, his tone still utterly even.

Hearing Gu Qing bring up Sunset Forest of his own accord, Qian Renxue immediately turned her gaze back to him.