Secrets of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent

Dugu Yan felt a bit lost; as time passed, she seemed to have confirmed one thing.

It seemed that her family's herb garden was truly being targeted by this old man and the young boy.

Moreover, it appeared that even her grandfather couldn't beat them?

Her emerald pupils flickered incessantly as Dugu Yan frantically pondered what she should do.

Her peripheral vision began to drift toward Luo Chen and his companion, but as luck would have it, she happened to lock eyes with another scrutinizing gaze.

Dugu Yan felt a bit awkward, so she stood up and waved at Luo Chen.

"Miss Dugu Yan, you just said you live in the Sunset Forest, so do you know where this place is?"

Before Dugu Yan could even open her mouth to say anything, Luo Chen spoke first.

During their conversation over the past few minutes, Luo Chen had taken the initiative to chat with Dugu Yan, successfully tricking the young girl into revealing her name, the fact that her family lived in the Sunset Forest, and that her grandfather was Dugu Bo.

Consequently, Luo Chen didn't feel like pretending anymore.

Securing the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well on this trip was essentially a done deal.

Facing Luo Chen's inquiry, Dugu Yan's eyes immediately began to dart around.

"Ah, uh, this, my home, my home does indeed reside in the Sunset Forest, but here..."

Dugu Yan's stammering finally caught the attention of Guang Ling Douluo.

"Little girl, do you know this place? Does this place actually exist?"

Guang Ling Douluo frowned, casting a skeptical look at Luo Chen before turning his gaze toward Dugu Yan.

Until just now, he had assumed the letter in Luo Chen's hand was merely a prank by some villagers, but seeing Dugu Yan's hesitant expression, he began to sense that something was wrong.

Dugu Yan was, at best, just a child, and Guang Ling Douluo could see her true thoughts at a glance.

Could it be that there really was such a treasure land that even their Martial Soul Hall didn't know about?

For the first time, Guang Ling Douluo began to recall everything that had happened since he first met Dugu Yan.

If such a treasure land truly existed, it must be occupied by powerful people or beasts.

Luo Chen had already pried a lot of information out of Dugu Yan earlier; she had grown up in the Sunset Forest with Dugu Bo, but no matter how much Luo Chen pressed, she never revealed the specific location.

This was highly suspicious.

Coupled with the fact that the treasure land on the letter Luo Chen produced was surrounded by a layer of eerie green poisonous miasma...

Guang Ling Douluo's eyes gradually sharpened.

Dugu Yan didn't even dare to meet his gaze anymore.

She didn't even answer the question Guang Ling Douluo had just asked her, hoping to brush it off.

On the side, Luo Chen, who had been watching the whole scene, nodded in satisfaction.

As expected, it's better to let the professionals handle it; the little girl Dugu Yan had likely convinced her "Grandpa Guang Ling" that the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well was not a fabrication.

Guang Ling Douluo stood in a stalemate with Dugu Yan for a while, and just as he was about to take action, he was suddenly interrupted by Luo Chen.

"Grandpa Guang Ling, let me handle this."

Seeing that the timing was ripe, Luo Chen stopped playing dead.

After stopping Guang Ling Douluo, he looked at Dugu Yan, who was still sitting there with her head in her hands.

"Dugu Yan, how about we make a deal?"

Luo Chen spoke with a smile. Dugu Yan hadn't wanted to pay him any mind, but thinking of her current predicament, she finally raised her head.

"What kind of deal?"

Even at her young age, she could clearly see the current situation; there were only the three of them present, and only Luo Chen was willing to speak to her properly.

"I know a secret about your Dugu family."

Luo Chen smiled slightly; he had done his homework before this trip.

Not only through the original story, but he had also researched various materials regarding the Jade Phosphorous Serpent in the archives of the Worship Hall.

As Luo Chen's words left his lips, the first one to be stunned was Dugu Yan.

She turned her head to look at Luo Chen with a bewildered expression.

A secret about her Dugu family? She didn't even know her own family had any secrets, yet Luo Chen, an outsider, claimed to know one?

"Do you know that both you and your grandfather have been poisoned?"

Dugu Yan: "???"

Although she was still in a position of being at the mercy of others, Dugu Yan couldn't help but frown.

"My grandfather is the only Poison Douluo on this continent. Who could poison both of us without us even knowing it?"

She felt that Luo Chen was just trying to swindle her, but the next second, what Luo Chen said hit her like a bolt of lightning.

"But what if I told you that your toxins come from within yourselves?"

"You have lived with your grandfather since you were young. During rainy days or in the dead of night, have you ever seen what your grandfather looks like?"

A single sentence left Dugu Yan completely stunned.

"You mean to say..."

She began to carefully recall every detail of her life from childhood to the present. Although her grandfather seemed to deliberately avoid her during the moments Luo Chen mentioned, she did indeed recall catching glimpses of his miserable state on rainy days.

She had been frightened at the time, and after much pestering, Dugu Bo told her it was just an old injury flaring up; she had believed him then.

Looking back now through the lens of Luo Chen's words, her grandfather's excuse seemed far too flimsy.

Could it be that her grandfather...

"If you still don't believe me, then let me ask you: do you remember what your hair and eye color were like during your childhood?"

Luo Chen dropped another depth charge, making Dugu Yan's body tremble uncontrollably.

"Black."

Very few people knew this, because before awakening her martial soul, she had lived with her grandfather in the Sunset Forest and had never stepped outside.

Her hair and eye color had only gradually changed after she awakened her martial soul.

Since Luo Chen knew even this, could it be...

Swallowing hard, Dugu Yan dared not think any further and turned to look at Luo Chen.

"Grandfather said that all descendants of the Dugu family would become like this once they awakened their martial soul."

Luo Chen nodded in response.

"That is indeed true, because all possessors of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent are like this; from the day they awaken their martial soul, they are eroded by toxins."

"You must also feel uncomfortable quite often now, right?"

Dugu Yan fell silent; she already mostly believed Luo Chen's words.

"Thank you for telling me this. Are you trying to use these truths to make me take you to the poisonous miasma area you mentioned?"

Dugu Yan smiled bitterly. Although she found it hard to accept the truth, she still knew the weight of the situation.

If she were to bring an enemy to her home and put her grandfather in danger just because of this, she would truly be an ungrateful wretch.

She would absolutely never do such a thing; she could never betray her grandfather!

However, Luo Chen just smiled and shook his head.

"Oh, don't be in such a rush."

As he spoke, Luo Chen glanced at Guang Ling Douluo with a smile.

"Regarding the Jade Phosphorous Serpent and the even more terrifying Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor, both my Grandpa Guang Ling and I know a thing or two."

"So, as long as you agree to lead us to the destination we need to reach, we promise you that we will help you and your grandfather detoxify, and we can even completely eradicate the problems with your lineage's martial soul!"

"By the way, there is one more thing I haven't mentioned: the toxins of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent are fatal to its possessor."

As his voice trailed off, Luo Chen looked at Guang Ling Douluo, who had been silent on the side. The latter nodded, effectively confirming the statement.

In truth, he also knew a bit about the Jade Phosphorous Serpent martial soul, as Martial Soul Hall had records of it.

Therefore, he truly agreed with everything Luo Chen had said.

At the same time, he guessed that Luo Chen must have learned these things from the ancient books in the attic.

But knowing was one thing; as for how to detoxify, he truly didn't know, yet he believed that Luo Chen, who had spent many days immersed in the attic, really did know.

This was his trust in his own Chen'er.