A Deal with Dugu Bo, Mysterious Dragon Bone Beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well

"What if I told you that I could resolve the poison within your body?"

Dugu Bo's hand hung suspended in mid-air.

That withered, bony palm was a mere three inches from Qian Anci's neck.

Those vertical pupils stared fixedly at the boy before him, who was no more than ten years old.

"What did you say?"

"The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul is a top-tier existence among poison-attribute spirits.

I have seen it in the records of Martial Soul Hall; unless they encounter a fortuitous opportunity, it is difficult for spirit masters who possess this Martial Soul to break through to the Title Douluo realm."

Qian Anci's tone was remarkably calm.

"Because of the nature of the Martial Soul, toxins accumulate within the body as one's cultivation progresses, until they reach a limit."

He paused.

"I also know that your son, along with your poor daughter-in-law, died not long ago from the Jade Phosphorous Serpent poison, leaving only your granddaughter..."

The valley fell into sudden, deathly silence.

Dugu Bo finally lowered his hand.

"...Martial Soul Hall's intelligence is certainly detailed."

"Martial Soul Hall's intelligence network covers the entire continent.

A matter like this is hardly a secret."

"You are not afraid of dying from the serpent poison yourself."

Qian Anci continued.

"The only thing you fear is for your granddaughter.

She just turned seven this year and only recently awakened her Martial Soul; she hasn't even obtained her first spirit ring yet. You don't want her to walk the same path as your son, do you?"

"Enough!"

Dugu Bo roared, cutting Qian Anci off.

"What do you know! A matter that even this old man cannot resolve—what right does a wet-behind-the-ears brat like you have to..."

Qian Anci did not answer.

He simply raised his right hand.

The Scythe of Death condensed in his palm, wreathed in swirling gray-white Death Qi.

Dugu Bo's voice came to an abrupt halt.

Qian Anci extended his left hand toward him, palm open.

"Give me your hand. I have the means to suppress the toxins in your body, and perhaps even resolve them."

Dugu Bo stared at that hand, a flicker of wariness flashing through his vertical pupils.

"Give you my hand? Brat, do you take this old man for a three-year-old child?"

He sneered and reached out to seize Qian Anci's wrist.

"Since you claim you can resolve it, then try my poison first. As long as you don't die, I will believe you."

A wisp of ink-green poisonous mist surged from his fingertips, burrowing into Qian Anci's wrist.

Qian Anci did not struggle.

The moment the Jade Phosphorous Serpent poison entered his body, the gray-white Death Qi forcibly dissolved the toxin.

Dugu Bo's vertical pupils contracted slightly.

Qian Anci raised his eyes.

"My cultivation is only at level forty right now; I can only barely neutralize the poison in my own body. As for the toxins that have accumulated in yours over the years..."

He countered by gripping Dugu Bo's wrist.

A wisp of gray-white Death Qi snaked into Dugu Bo's meridians.

Wherever it passed, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent poison that had been entrenched for years shrank back and retreated, as if encountering a natural predator.

The Death Qi ultimately suppressed it.

"My spirit power is not yet strong enough."

Qian Anci withdrew his hand. "For now, I can only suppress it, not eradicate it."

"This wisp of Death Qi will last for one year."

"I will return in a year to infuse another wisp."

"When I break through to a higher realm in the future, perhaps I will be able to resolve it for you completely."

Dugu Bo looked down at his wrist, remaining silent for a long time.

"As for Dugu Yan, she has only just awakened her Martial Soul and has yet to hunt for her first spirit ring; she only has the trace amounts of toxin inherited from the womb."

"Once she obtains her spirit ring and begins cultivation, I will regulate her condition every six months."

Qian Anci stated his terms, then paused as if remembering something else, and added a sentence.

"As for the spirit rings and resources Dugu Yan will need for her future cultivation, Martial Soul Hall can cover them, including assisting in hunting suitable spirit beasts."

Dugu Bo suddenly laughed, as if he had heard some grand joke.

"Kid, I am tempted by the conditions you mentioned, but what guarantee can you offer? Can you truly deliver on what you've said?"

Qian Anci took a token from his robes and tossed it toward Dugu Bo.

"The Martial Soul Hall Saint Son Token."

"On the basis that I am the Saint Son of Martial Soul Hall."

"If I do not fall in the future, barring any accidents, I will be the next Pope. What do you say?"

For the first time, Dugu Bo's expression shifted noticeably.

"And the price? What is the price? I don't believe you are so kind-hearted."

Qian Anci retrieved the token and tucked it back into his robes.

"You know the answer without asking."

"Let us go see your precious granddaughter first."

"Once that is resolved, it won't be too late for you to consider."

Dugu Bo did not refuse.

He turned and pushed open the wooden door of the stone hut.

Qian Anci followed behind him.

The stone hut was sparsely furnished, with a beast-hide bed laid out in the corner.

A girl of about seven years old was curled up on it, her small face noticeably paler than that of an ordinary child.

"When her mother was pregnant with her, there was already a significant accumulation of toxins in her body."

"Yanyan brought some of it out from the womb, so her constitution has always been weaker than other children her age."

Dugu Bo sat down by the bedside and reached out to gently brush the stray hair from his granddaughter's forehead.

"However, she has just awakened her martial soul and only just begun to cultivate, so the toxins in her body are not yet excessive."

"I am just afraid that..."

He paused, unable to continue.

Qian Anci did not respond.

He raised his hand, extended a finger, and condensed a wisp of Death Qi.

He gently tapped it against Dugu Yan's brow.

A thin thread of grey-white mist probed along her meridians, quietly dissolving the residual toxins she had carried from the womb.

Dugu Yan let out a soft whimper in her sleep, her expression gradually returning to peace, her breathing becoming steady and deep.

Qian Anci withdrew his finger.

"The toxins in her body were not extensive; they are cleared after this one time. When she wakes up, her body will be much better than before. By then, she can go hunt for her first spirit ring."

Dugu Bo reached out to check his granddaughter's forehead and felt her pulse.

He was silent for a moment, then spoke only two words.

"...Thank you."

"A mere trifle."

Qian Anci walked toward the doorway and stopped at the threshold.

"I will return in half a year to suppress the next round of toxins for you. Do not touch the Immortal Herbs in the valley until I bring people to handle them."

"Understood."

Dugu Bo let out a huff.

Qian Anci said no more, simply shaking his head with a smile before heading toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

He truly did not know why this Douluo Continent was so prone to producing such tsunderes.

Behind him, Dugu Bo suddenly tilted his head to glance in the direction outside the valley, snorted, but said nothing.

After leaving the stone hut, Qian Anci walked straight to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well in the center of the valley.

Feeling the pure energy constantly emanating from the spring water before him, he could not help but sigh.

"As expected of the burial ground of the Ancient Ice Dragon King and the Fire Dragon King, this extreme ice and fire attribute..."

He dared not even imagine that if the Dragon Souls of these two giant dragons were turned into spirit rings, those rings would surely be so red they would turn black!

Just as he was thinking this.

Suddenly, a suction force pulled at him, and before he could react, he plummeted directly into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Extreme cold and extreme heat surged in simultaneously.

The two forces intertwined within the spring water; any living creature falling into it should have been reduced to ashes.

But Qian Anci was not.

The Silver Dragon King scale in his embrace emitted a soft silver glow, propping up a thin membrane of light around his body.

A force held Qian Anci firmly within its protection.

The Silver Dragon King's scale, he mused inwardly, the things Big Sister gives me are truly useful.

He allowed the suction force to pull him downward.

Ten zhang.

Twenty zhang.

Thirty zhang.

The light grew increasingly dim.

The red and blue fluorescent glow above was gradually swallowed by the darkness, leaving only endless, profound depths all around.

Then, Qian Anci saw it.

The two colossal skeletons lying horizontally at the bottom of the spring.