Although Xing Tian had never dated a girl in his previous life, he wasn't clueless about that sort of thing. He just wasn't interested.
A girl had pursued him for a long time in his previous life, but their goals were different, and in the end, she gave up.
Xing Tian said, "Senior Dugu, you can't force a melon to be sweet."
Dugu Bo shamelessly replied, "It may not be sweet, but it'll quench your thirst. And if you don't force it, you won't even have a bitter melon. Anyway, I'm not changing my mind!"
Dugu Bo was determined to bring Dugu Yan and Xing Tian together. He knew it would let down Ye Renxin and Ye Lingling, but for his granddaughter, he was willing to abandon even his principles.
Then Xing Tian's words struck him like a bolt from the blue.
"Senior Dugu, I think I can cure your poison."
"What!"
Dugu Bo could hardly believe his ears. "You're saying you can cure it?"
"Yes." Xing Tian held up three fingers. "And I have three strategies: upper, middle, and lower."
Dugu Bo's mouth hung open wide enough to swallow an egg. "There are three? Hurry up and tell me—what are they?"
Xing Tian folded his arms and said with an easy smile, "Then, Senior Dugu, you have to promise to take back what you just said."
"Fine! Just tell me already."
Xing Tian hadn't expected Dugu Bo to agree so readily, but Dugu Bo wasn't giving up on his plan.
He was in such a hurry because he feared Dugu Yan would leave this world with regrets.
But if Dugu Yan's poison was cured, she would have a healthier body and plenty of time to grow closer to Xing Tian. Dugu Bo believed that with Dugu Yan's temperament, beauty, and talent—
Xing Tian began with the lower strategy. "Find two top-grade medicinal herbs, one extremely hot and one extremely cold, then swallow and refine them together. The poison throughout your body will vanish at once. But herbs like these are already hard to find, and finding both is practically impossible. Besides, the effect is too thorough. It'll also dispel all your poison-based cultivation."
Dugu Bo shook his head. "That won't do. More than half my strength comes from my poison arts. Without them, I'd be weaker than a Soul Douluo. As for Yanyan, she's still young, and her cultivation is shallow. This method might be worth considering for her. Go on."
"The upper strategy is this!"
This time, Xing Tian didn't explain his upper strategy directly. Instead, he tossed Dugu Bo a small booklet bearing four large characters: Ten Thousand Poisons Heart Sutra.
Dugu Bo shot Xing Tian a glance, then began leafing through it. The more he read, the more astonished he became. "You mean to say...?"
Xing Tian replied, "I found this poison art along with the Rejuvenation Art. No disrespect, but your poison arts may be powerful; compared to the Ten Thousand Poisons Heart Sutra, they're like mud to the clouds!"
Xing Tian was, of course, making it up. The Ten Thousand Poisons Heart Sutra had been given to him in his previous life by Medicine Fairy, the heir to Medicine King Valley.
Medicine King Valley had once been Ten Thousand Poisons Manor. The manor's first lord, Poison Hand Medicine God, had devoted his entire life to compiling two extraordinary books: the Medicine Canon and the Poison Canon.
The Poison Canon was founded on the principles of yin-yang duality and laid out a systematic framework for poison arts. It covered the study of poisons, methods of making and using them, and the martial arts that went with them. At its heart was the Ten Thousand Poisons Heart Sutra.
But later, Ten Thousand Poisons Manor fell into decline, and the lord's line was hunted by their enemies. The Poison Canon was reduced to fragments, though its core, the Ten Thousand Poisons Heart Sutra, remained intact.
In the end, the lord's line changed its name and went into hiding in a mysterious valley, where they established Medicine King Valley. From then on, they treated the sick and used medicine, never poison again. The Poison Canon was sealed away.
At the time, the Medicine King had been gravely wounded by a powerful expert and was on the verge of death. He needed the rare medicinal herbs recorded in the Medicine Canon to save his life, so his only daughter, Medicine Fairy, set out to search for them without hesitation.
Rare herbs of that caliber naturally attracted covetous experts from every direction. When Medicine Fairy was besieged, Xing Tian stepped in and rescued her.
But Xing Tian hadn't been trying to save her. He had wanted the martial arts techniques possessed by two of the experts attacking her: the Esoteric Yama Art and the Yama Command Evil Art.
Even so, his rescue left him with a romantic debt. Medicine Fairy fell deeply in love with him and began pursuing him.
But Medicine Fairy was the Medicine King's only heir. The Medicine King was old, and although he had been saved, his foundations were damaged and his lifespan greatly reduced. She bore the future of all Medicine King Valley on her shoulders.
Xing Tian, meanwhile, pursued freedom, the pinnacle of martial arts, and the defeat of every righteous expert. He could never stay in Medicine King Valley, so the two of them parted without ever coming together.
Because Xing Tian had saved her life, Medicine Fairy—with the Medicine King's consent—gave him a Ten Thousand Year Ginseng Emperor from Medicine King Valley to help him break through. She also organized the remaining fragments of the Poison Canon, incorporated them into the Ten Thousand Poisons Heart Sutra, and gave it to him.
Because of Medicine Fairy, the Medicine King, and the Ten Thousand Poisons Heart Sutra, Xing Tian had also become quite knowledgeable about medicinal herbs and poisons.
Hearing Xing Tian's disrespectful words, Dugu Bo didn't get angry. "You're right. The Ten Thousand Poisons Heart Sutra says that all things in the world arise from yin and yang, and poisons are no exception. Thus, the highest realm of poison arts is to cultivate yin and yang together, turning the heart into a poison sac. The more poison the heart stores, the more powerful the poison arts become. Once mastered, every poison in the world can be wielded at will."
"Exactly!"
Dugu Bo was so moved that he even stopped referring to himself as "this old man." "You've just handed me such an extraordinary art. I don't know what to say."
Xing Tian cut him off. "Senior Dugu, I'm just not very interested in cultivating this art myself. Besides, the Ten Thousand Poisons Heart Sutra isn't easy to practice."
"That's true."
Dugu Bo gazed at the Ten Thousand Poisons Heart Sutra in his hands, lost in thought. "The practice is extremely dangerous. The slightest mistake, and your flesh and bones melt away until nothing remains. And once you use it, it attacks indiscriminately, friend and foe alike."
"I'm already deeply poisoned. Practicing this art would be a hundred times more dangerous for me than for an ordinary person. Yanyan's symptoms are milder, but her talent is slightly inferior to mine. Whether she could master it is anyone's guess."
Xing Tian continued, "My middle strategy also involves the Ten Thousand Poisons Heart Sutra."
Dugu Bo was a master of poison arts, and he had just studied the Ten Thousand Poisons Heart Sutra. He immediately understood. His eyes flashed with a green light. "You mean a poison sac?"
Xing Tian nodded. "Exactly. The reason you're suffering from poison backlash, besides the unique nature of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison and the flaws in your poison arts, is most importantly that your Martial Soul is a Beast Martial Soul."
"Though you're a Titled Douluo and no longer need to use Martial Soul Possession, you did before. Each time you used Martial Soul Possession, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison would seep into you again, fusing deeply with your body until it became part of you."
"If your Martial Soul were a tool-type Martial Soul, you wouldn't have this problem. All you'd need to do is transfer the poison in your body to a poison sac, like a venomous spider or snake."
"To withstand the corrosion of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison, that poison sac would probably have to be a Soul Bone!"
"Your condition is quite serious. You can't use Soul Power to force the poison into a Soul Bone directly. You'll need medicinal agents to guide it, filtering it gradually and concentrating it in the Soul Bone. It'll be a long process."
"But Sister Yan's condition is mild. It should work for her very quickly."
Before you continue