"I told you, I'm here to make a deal."
Qian Yu looked Dugu Bo straight in the eyes and said, each word clear and deliberate:
"I can cure the poison in your son's body.
Not just his. I can completely purge the poison that has built up in your body, too, as well as the Martial Soul backlash that has plagued your Dugu Family for generations!"
"Impossible!"
Dugu Bo stepped forward sharply, his voice a furious growl:
"I've spent most of my life studying poison and searched the world over for renowned healers. None of them could do a thing!
What makes a greenhorn like you think you can make such a boast?!"
"Because I'm the Martial Soul Hall Holy Son, and because I have access to resources you could never even touch."
Qian Yu let out a cold laugh and shot back without the slightest courtesy:
"Dugu Bo, how much time does your son have left?
Do you have any choice besides clutching at straws?"
Dugu Bo shuddered. His once-straight frame seemed to hunch in an instant.
His fists clenched, his nails digging deep into his palms. He stared at Qian Yu for a long time before finally speaking in a hoarse voice:
"If you really can save Xin'er... what do you want?"
"Simple."
The corner of Qian Yu's mouth lifted in a satisfied smile:
"First, I want you, Dugu Bo, to swear loyalty to me from this day onward."
"Second, you've got a treasure trove in Sunset Forest, don't you? A place filled with rare flowers and exotic herbs.
That place is mine."
Dugu Bo's expression changed drastically. He stared at Qian Yu, uncertain and alarmed:
"You even know about my medicine garden?!"
"I know far more than you can imagine."
Qian Yu didn't deny it. He merely urged him on in an even tone:
"I've already named my terms.
Whether you accept is up to you.
But I should warn you: your son doesn't have much time left."
Dugu Bo's expression shifted between dark and light as he struggled fiercely with himself.
At last, he let out a dejected sigh and stepped aside from the doorway:
"If you can save Xin'er... my life and that treasure trove are yours!
Come in!"
Qian Yu and Bibi Dong followed Dugu Bo through the courtyard and into a sealed inner room.
As soon as the door opened, a strong, sickly-sweet stench wafted out.
On the bed, a gaunt young man lay curled up in pain.
Terrifying, dark-green poison patterns covered his exposed skin, and his breathing was faint.
"Xin'er..."
Dugu Bo's eyes reddened, and his voice trembled:
"Your Highness the Holy Son, Xin'er's poison flared up suddenly last night. Even my Soul Power couldn't suppress it.
Please... please help him!"
Qian Yu stepped forward and took one look before speaking calmly:
"The poison has reached his heart. He's barely clinging to life.
Still, he's lucky. He ran into me."
With that, Qian Yu raised his right hand. A stream of pure, domineering purple-black Soul Power surged into Dugu Xin's body.
"What are you doing?!"
Dugu Bo was horrified and instinctively tried to stop him.
"Quiet. Watch!"
Qian Yu snapped.
Under the pressure of Qian Yu's domineering Soul Power, the dark-green poison in Dugu Xin's body seemed to encounter its natural enemy.
It quickly retreated from his heart meridians, then was firmly suppressed in a corner of his dantian.
In just a few moments, most of the terrifying dark green faded from Dugu Xin's face.
His feeble breathing gradually steadied, too.
"How... how is this possible?!"
Dugu Bo's eyes widened in disbelief.
The deadly poison he had spent half his life trying and failing to deal with had been suppressed with a casual wave of this young man's hand?
"I've only temporarily sealed the poison in his heart meridians and saved his life."
Qian Yu withdrew his hand, then turned to the stunned Dugu Bo and said evenly:
"To completely eliminate the hidden danger in both your bodies, we'll need something from your medicine garden."
Dugu Bo had no doubts left. He dropped to one knee with a thud, his face alight with emotion:
"Thank you, Your Highness the Holy Son, for saving his life!
From this day on, my life is yours!
Wherever you point, I'll never turn the other way!"
"Get up. I don't need you to kneel. I need you to get things done."
Qian Yu accepted the bow without a fuss, then gave his orders:
"There's no time to waste. Take your son. We're leaving for Sunset Forest right now."
"Yes!
I obey, sir!"
Dugu Bo answered without hesitation and immediately turned to lift Dugu Xin from the bed.
Dugu Bo carefully picked up the unconscious Dugu Xin and stood respectfully beside Qian Yu.
"Your Highness, Sunset Forest is some distance from here, and I've set up a Jade Phosphorous Poison Array around the medicine garden. The poison is deadly..."
"No matter. Just lead the way. That little miasma won't stop us."
Qian Yu cut him off with a calm reply.
"Yes!"
Several hours later, at the heart of Sunset Forest.
After passing through layers of dense poisonous miasma, the four arrived at a strange valley.
Steaming hot springs filled the valley. At its center lay a pool of water in two bizarre colors: vermilion and milky white.
The colors were sharply divided, neither encroaching on the other. The air was filled with extremes of icy cold and searing heat, alternating in turn.
"Brother Qian Yu, the energy here feels so strange."
Bibi Dong looked around, surprise flashing in her beautiful eyes.
"This is the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, one of the three great treasure basins in the world."
Qian Yu explained casually.
Dugu Bo, standing nearby, was shaken to the core. His face filled with bitterness and awe:
"Your Highness is truly well-informed.
I've stayed here for so many years. I only knew the spring water could somewhat suppress poison. I didn't even know its real name."
Qian Yu snorted and gestured toward the valley's abundance of exotic flowers and herbs:
"You don't just not know its name.
You're wasting a treasure!
You've been treating peerless Immortal Herbs as weeds. No wonder you and your son have been reduced to this state by a mere snake's poison."
Dugu Bo's old face flushed red, and he lowered his head in shame:
"I'm a fool... Please enlighten me, Your Highness. How can Xin'er be saved?"
"Put him on the ground between the two kinds of spring water."
After directing Dugu Bo to settle Dugu Xin there, Qian Yu swept his gaze over the medicine garden and slowly began to explain:
"The poison of your Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul is a poison of the source.
As your cultivation deepens, it doesn't just kill your enemies. It also keeps eating away at you."
"There are two ways to solve this problem for good."
Dugu Bo's breath caught, and he hurriedly asked:
"What are they?"
"First, find a high-quality Soul Bone and force all the poison in your body into it for storage. It'll serve as a vessel for the poison."
Qian Yu glanced at Dugu Bo and said evenly:
"But judging by the state you're in, you clearly don't have an extra top-grade Soul Bone capable of withstanding such deadly poison.
And your son's body is too weak. He couldn't endure the pain of forcing the poison out right now, either."
"Then... what's the second way?"
Dugu Bo nervously swallowed.
The corner of Qian Yu's mouth curled into a smile. His gaze settled on several Immortal Herbs glowing with a strange light beside the spring:
"The second way is to use the Immortal Herbs here to cleanse and refine your bodies, then form a Poison Core within you!"
"That won't just completely end the backlash tormenting you and your son. It'll also let your Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Souls... evolve once more!"
Before you continue