Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Dugu Bo: Is that called a choice? That's coercion!

Gu Yuena's thoughts stirred, and silver spatial radiance wrapped around the two of them once more. With a single step, they traversed a thousand miles.

When they reappeared, the surrounding air had changed completely.

It was no longer the pure, rich life force of the Life Lake, but a complex scent where dampness, decay, and new life intertwined.

Sunset Forest.

The two did not linger on the forest's outskirts; their figures moved like phantoms, silently penetrating deep into the very heart of the woods.

Soon, a peculiar basin appeared before them.

Within the basin, clouds and mist swirled. One half of the spring water was as crimson as fire, bubbling with scorching heat; the other half was as azure as ice, radiating a bone-chilling cold.

The two diametrically opposed energies of cold and heat converged in the center of the basin, forming a boundary that was both sharply defined and strangely harmonious.

Nourished by this Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, countless rare herbs and flowers grew all around, their medicinal fragrance refreshing and invigorating.

This was none other than one of the world's three great treasure basins: the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

And at this very moment, right at the intersection of the icy and fiery springs, a withered figure sat cross-legged.

It was an old man with green hair—Dugu Bo.

Today happened to be a day of persistent rain, and the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison, inherited from his martial soul, was flaring up violently once again.

The toxin, like maggots boring into bone, rampaged through Dugu Bo's meridians, the agony so intense that even a Title Douluo like him was nearly rendered unconscious.

He had no choice but to exhaust all his strength to reach this treasure land he had discovered by chance, using the extreme environment of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to suppress the poison and buy himself a moment of respite.

Just as Dugu Bo was channeling his energy to resist, wracked with pain, a strong sense of crisis suddenly surged from the depths of his heart!

Dugu Bo snapped his eyes open, looking up in horror.

He saw that, at some point, two figures had appeared above the basin.

A man and a woman, standing in the void, their robes fluttering as if they were untainted by the dust of the mortal world.

They hovered silently in the air, overlooking the entire valley with indifferent eyes, like gods surveying their own courtyard.

"Who goes there?!"

Dugu Bo's heart shook violently, a chill shooting from his tailbone straight to his crown.

With his perception as a Title Douluo, he hadn't even sensed when or how these two had appeared!

Such a method was simply unheard of!

Dugu Bo instinctively wanted to mobilize his soul power and release his True Body of the Martial Soul, but the rampaging Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison dealt him its heaviest blow at that very moment.

The sharp pain surged like a tidal wave, forcing a muffled groan from his throat. His complexion turned an even more ghastly shade of green, and he couldn't even manage to stand.

Damn it!

Why now of all times!

Dugu Bo was filled with both shock and rage, yet he felt utterly powerless.

He could only stare fixedly at the two in the air, his entire body on guard, praying silently that these two were merely passing through and would take no interest in a "fish on the chopping block" like himself.

Gu Yuan and Gu Yuena exchanged a glance in the air, both seeing a hint of amusement in the other's eyes.

Their goal had been this very place, but they hadn't expected a "bonus" to be included.

Gu Yuena's gaze fell upon Dugu Bo, those beautiful purple eyes seemingly capable of piercing through every corner of his body and discerning the agony deep within his soul.

Gu Yuena parted her lips, her voice as cold as moonlight, yet it echoed clearly throughout the entire valley:

"You are quite lucky. If not for this treasure land, you would have already died from the poison."

This calm statement fell upon Dugu Bo's ears like a thunderclap!

His greatest secret, the root of his lifelong suffering, had been laid bare by this mysterious woman in a single sentence!

Dugu Bo's pupils contracted sharply. He looked at Gu Yuena in horror, his voice turning hoarse from shock and weakness:

"Who... who exactly are you?

How could you know about my affairs?"

Gu Yuan held Gu Yuena's hand and slowly descended from the air, finally stopping on a rock ten meters away from Dugu Bo.

Gu Yuan surveyed the surrounding immortal-grade herbs, then looked at the ashen-faced Dugu Bo. He smiled as he spoke, his tone carrying an unquestionable insight:

"Is it difficult to know about your affairs?

The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor martial soul is peerless in its toxicity, but it also backfires on its master.

Every generation of inheritors is eroded by this poison day and night; living past sixty is considered a long life.

You have forcibly suppressed it with your cultivation as a Title Douluo, but now you are at the end of your rope."

Gu Yuan paused, gesturing toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well:

"And this place, while it can indeed help you suppress the toxicity, the energies of ice and fire are simultaneously nourishing the serpent poison within you, making it even more stubborn.

Drinking poison to quench thirst—it is merely making you die a little slower."

Every word from Gu Yuan struck Dugu Bo's heart like a heavy hammer.

This young man not only knew his Martial Soul and his suffering, but even analyzed the pros and cons of him using the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to suppress his toxins with absolute clarity!

This was no longer a simple case of "knowing," but of seeing through him entirely!

Fear, an unprecedented fear, instantly overwhelmed Dugu Bo's reason.

In his eyes, the young man and woman before him were even more mysterious and terrifying than the Pope of Martial Soul Hall!

"What... what do you want?"

Dugu Bo swallowed hard. He had already abandoned any thought of resistance, seeking only to understand the other party's intentions.

Gu Yuena watched his terrified and desperate expression, a faint, almost imperceptible curve touching her lips as she said indifferently:

"We are giving you a choice."

"A choice that will allow you to truly live."

Dugu Bo gritted his teeth, cold sweat streaming down his forehead, mixing with the sickly green poisonous mist as it slid down his cheeks.

While frantically circulating his soul power to suppress the bone-gnawing pain, Dugu Bo struggled to lift his head, his eyes filled with a mix of defiance and helplessness:

"A choice? Cough, cough..."

Dugu Bo coughed violently, a trace of black blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, and asked in a hoarse voice:

"If there is only one choice, can that even be called a choice?

That is coercion!

Although I fear death, if you want me to do something heinous or go against my principles, I would rather die here beside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!"

Gu Yuan and Gu Yuena exchanged a glance, both of their eyes revealing a smile that suggested this was within their expectations.

Gu Yuena nodded slightly, signaling for Gu Yuan to speak.

Gu Yuan stepped forward, looking down at Dugu Bo with an air of ease, as if he were discussing the weather:

"Rest assured, you won't be asked to do anything heinous.

The choice is simple—submit to us, join our ranks, and become the first human enshrined elder of our faction."

"Join you?"

Dugu Bo was stunned, his brows furrowing immediately as a flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes.

Throughout his life, Dugu Bo had acted in solitude, neither strictly righteous nor evil, and he detested being bound by the rules of any sect.