"If you don't want to die, stay put."
Glancing at Dugu Yan's tightly pressed lips and the way she could only suppress her rage, Lin Chuan gave her a cool warning.
Then his figure gradually rose into the air. Soul Power enveloped Dugu Yan as he rode the wind beneath his feet and shot toward the horizon.
The howling cold wind beat against her face. Its fierce chill finally calmed Dugu Yan completely. Her phoenix eyes fixed on Lin Chuan, filled with shock and astonishment.
Only a Titled Douluo could fly through the air.
So she instinctively assumed the other person was a Titled Douluo, but that was almost certainly impossible.
As far as she knew, no one could become a Titled Douluo at such a young age.
There were only a handful of Titled Douluo on the continent, and she had never heard of the person before her. If he had truly reached that rank at his age, he should already have been famous throughout the land.
But she knew nothing about him, and he was stronger than her...
Dugu Yan decided to endure it a little longer. After all, he was taking her to her grandfather.
Once she saw her grandfather, she would be safe.
Then she could take revenge and kill the man for looking down on her grandfather and nearly strangling her to death.
At the same time, she felt relieved. At least it wasn't one of those disgusting members of the imperial family coming to pester her. As long as he wasn't coveting her, that was fine.
Heaven Dou City wasn't very far from Sunset Forest, and Lin Chuan arrived there with Dugu Yan that afternoon.
But to make sure he was in good condition and ready for anything, he still spent the night in a nearby city.
The next day, as soon as the sky grew light, he entered Sunset Forest.
Now standing in the heart of Sunset Forest, Lin Chuan turned to ask Dugu Yan beside him:
"Where does your grandfather live? Take me to him."
Although he knew of the opportunity at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he didn't know where it was. There was no sulfur smell nearby, either.
Looking at the distant dawn and the clouds, almost transparent beneath its light, Lin Chuan took a deep breath and felt refreshed.
As for the exact location, Dugu Yan didn't know very well, either.
Her grandfather had usually brought her here. He moved too quickly for her to remember the way, and sometimes she couldn't be bothered to memorize it. Still, she remembered the general route.
"Go that way."
As she spoke, she raised her jade-like hand and pointed south.
This time, Lin Chuan flew very slowly.
Following Dugu Yan's directions, he searched for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, while his mental power spread far and wide to locate it.
With Dugu Yan's intermittent directions, the surroundings gradually became more familiar to her.
After passing through a stretch of hills, they finally stopped before a broken mountain barely six or seven meters tall, streaked with Fire Glow Stone.
Rubble covered the summit in an uneven jumble. The rock strata were scorched black, making it obvious at a glance that this place had once been a volcano.
Up close, there was also a crisp sulfur smell.
"This is it!"
Having reached the place where her grandfather lived, Dugu Yan's eyes lit up with excitement.
Lin Chuan took a deep breath, then used Soul Power to carry his voice far into the distance:
"Dugu Bo, come out and meet me. Your granddaughter is in my hands!"
His voice rang out with the surge of Soul Power, echoing back and forth.
Before long, as the two waited, a terrifying pressure erupted from the sky. Lin Chuan felt as though he'd been struck by a heavy blow, and his figure hanging in midair was instantly slammed to the ground.
The pressure deftly avoided Dugu Yan.
The Soul Power restraining her dissipated, and just as she began to fall, another gentle force enveloped her and lifted her into the air.
Under that pressure, Lin Chuan wasn't too badly shaken. He used his own pressure to counter it as soon as he hit the ground.
When it came to staying airborne, he was indeed no match for Dugu Bo.
But that didn't mean Dugu Bo could safely rescue Dugu Yan from his grasp.
As the force lifted Dugu Yan and began to carry her away, Lin Chuan had already acted to block it.
Dugu Yan remained suspended by Soul Power, no longer moving away, but she wasn't hurt, either.
"Dugu Bo, if you use even a little more force, I'll raise the stakes too."
It was a mild threat.
If Dugu Bo strengthened his Soul Power to overcome Lin Chuan's resistance, Lin Chuan would strengthen his own and continue to hold him back.
But by then, their clash of Soul Power would reach the level of a Soul King, and Dugu Yan would inevitably suffer severe injuries.
Dugu Yan was the last Core Flame of the Dugu Family.
Dugu Bo had poured all the love he felt he owed his son and daughter-in-law into his granddaughter. He doted on her and couldn't bear to see her hurt in the slightest.
And so the two of them remained locked in a standoff.
Dugu Bo didn't dare make another move. Taking advantage of the pause, Lin Chuan explained why he had come.
"I came to cure the poison afflicting you and your granddaughter. I hope you'll hear me out."
As soon as he said that both of them were poisoned, a figure appeared in the air in an instant.
The man was lean, standing alone between heaven and earth like a spear.
His dark green hair fell to his waist and fluttered in the wind. His eyes were sunken, his lips purplish-black, and his face gaunt, though he still had a handsome look about him.
His cheeks were hollow, and he wore a plain robe. His long hair was disheveled, his whole appearance a mess, and his complexion was poor. But the unsettling aura around him was all too real.
"Grandpa!"
Dugu Yan cried out excitedly from the air.
Lin Chuan understood as well. The man before him was the famed Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo.
The middle-aged man's cold eyes softened when he looked at Dugu Yan.
When he shifted his gaze, his eyes turned as cold as a viper's. He scanned the ground and met Lin Chuan's eyes.
Though people mockingly called him the "gatekeeper of Titled Douluo," the dignity of a Titled Douluo was beyond question. The instant Lin Chuan met his gaze, his eyes went unfocused for a moment.
A green serpent suddenly appeared inside him, twisting its body around his heart.
Then it squeezed tighter and tighter, and his breathing grew labored.
Just as the green serpent was about to crush his heart, Lin Chuan suddenly wrenched free. A bead of cold sweat rolled down his forehead.
As expected, Dugu Bo was a poisonous snake who would coldly take the lives of his prey.
The pain clutching his heart had felt so real...
Seeing Lin Chuan break free of the mental attack, Dugu Bo looked a little surprised.
But he remained hovering in midair, looking down at him with an indifferent expression. He raised a finger, and terrifying Soul Power gathered at its tip!
As expected, he was a man of action.
"Senior, if we really fight, I'll use every trump card I have. You won't be able to protect your granddaughter, and you won't be able to kill me."
"Don't even think of testing it. Once we start fighting, I won't be able to promise we can make peace."
Lin Chuan was willing to address him as senior because of his temperament.
His strength was indeed greater than Lin Chuan's, and he was just as cold and decisive in character.
When all was said and done, their temperaments might even suit each other.
"Are you threatening me?"
Dugu Bo's cold words dripped with murderous intent.
Lin Chuan smiled. His attitude was no longer as hostile as before, and he said:
"Of course not. As I said, I came to cure the poison afflicting you and your granddaughter."
"I'll speak plainly. Your poison can be cured. Whenever it's overcast or raining, you feel numbness and itching beneath your ribs, and it gradually worsens. Every night around the third watch, the crown of your head and the soles of your feet feel as though they're being pierced by needles. Your whole body convulses, for at least... half an hour!"