Recruiting Dugu Bo, Deciding to Reveal a Cultivation Technique

Yue Guan ultimately retreated.

Although Yu Luomian was only level eighty-five, the lightning power of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul naturally restrained his Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. With Dugu Bo's poisonous mist keeping him occupied from the side, taking down the two of them would cost him at least serious injuries. It was not worth it.

Yue Guan withdrew his Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. He lowered his head to glance at the sleeve cuff corroded by the poisonous mist, then raised his gaze past Yu Luomian and fixed it on Dugu Bo.

"Dugu Bo, someone protected you today. That may not be the case another day."

He turned to Yu Luomian, his tone regaining some courtesy. "Elder Yu, I have given you face today. But I will truthfully report this matter to His Holiness the Pope. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has sheltered a wanted criminal of Spirit Hall. I hope your clan is prepared to bear the consequences."

After saying that, his figure flashed and vanished into the depths of the forest. Only after Yue Guan's aura had completely left the range of Yu Luomian's perception did he retract his martial soul.

Blood was still seeping from Yu Luomian's shoulder. The several wounds were not deep, but the lingering Soul Power fluctuations from a Title Douluo's attack kept hindering their healing, and the bleeding would not stop.

Dugu Bo was in even worse shape. He had forced himself to keep fighting, but the backlash of his poison compounded with his external injuries. The moment Yue Guan left, he collapsed, dropping to one knee and coughing up a mouthful of blood.

"Can you still walk?" Yu Luomian asked.

"I won't die yet."

Dugu Bo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, struggled to his feet, and cupped his hands toward Yu Luomian. "Elder Yu, Dugu Bo will remember this favor."

Yu Luomian did not respond, merely nodding before turning toward Qing Luo and me. "Are you two all right?"

"We're fine."

"Good. Let's go back."

Inside the carriage, Dugu Bo leaned against a corner with his eyes closed, regulating his breathing. His breaths were heavy, each one carrying a wheeze. His lungs had been badly injured. Qing Luo rummaged through her bundle and handed him several bottles of medicine. When he accepted them, he glanced at Qing Luo's palm, his vertical snake pupils narrowing slightly.

"Little girl, your martial soul carries poison. The concentration isn't high, but its quality is very pure. Did it awaken naturally?"

Qing Luo looked at me, unsure whether she should answer. I answered for her. "Mutated awakening."

Dugu Bo grunted without asking further questions. He took the medicine, closed his eyes, and continued regulating his breath.

It was already late when we returned to the clan grounds. Yu Luomian had a guest room prepared for Dugu Bo and arranged for the clan's Soul Master healers to treat his wounds. Once everything was settled, he stood in the courtyard, staring toward the back mountain with a deeply furrowed brow.

"Second Elder, your injuries..."

"Just flesh wounds. Nothing serious." He paused.

"You heard what Yue Guan said before he left. Sheltering Dugu Bo means openly opposing Spirit Hall. Big Brother isn't here, so I'll suppress this matter for now and discuss it once he leaves seclusion. Stay in the courtyard these next few days. Don't wander around too much."

"Understood."

Early the next morning, an earth-shaking dragon roar came from the Thunder Pool on the back mountain.

The sky above the entire clan grounds darkened for an instant as heavy clouds gathered from every direction, lightning churning within them. The air was saturated with thunder-attributed Soul Power, so concentrated that even ordinary people could feel the numbness prickling across their skin.

Level ninety-six. Yu Yuanzhen had emerged from seclusion.

Every clansman stopped what they were doing and looked toward the back mountain. Several elders shot out from their respective courtyards and rushed toward the Thunder Pool. Standing outside the guest room, Yu Luomian glanced at the back mountain, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

Half an incense stick later, a blue figure descended from the sky and landed in the courtyard where Dugu Bo was recovering.

Yu Yuanzhen looked younger than before he had entered seclusion. More than half of his formerly graying hair had turned black, and the wrinkles on his face had grown shallower.

The instant he landed, the bluestone slabs within three feet of his feet shattered simultaneously, cracks spreading in every direction. Level ninety-six Soul Power surged through his body. The aura he had yet to fully restrain after his breakthrough was like a moving mountain, weighing down on everyone present.

Dugu Bo walked out of the room. Seeing Yu Yuanzhen, he cupped his hands in greeting. "Junior Dugu Bo greets Thunder Douluo. Congratulations on your breakthrough, Senior."

"Poison Douluo, no need for such formality." Yu Yuanzhen swept his gaze over him. "How are your injuries?"

"After treatment from your clan's healers, they are no longer a concern. A few more days of rest will be enough for a full recovery."

"That's good." Yu Yuanzhen turned to Yu Luomian. "Second Brother, tell me everything that happened yesterday, from beginning to end."

Yu Luomian recounted everything that had happened in Sunset Forest without omitting anything. From hunting the soul ring to Yue Guan pursuing Dugu Bo, from blocking Yue Guan to my obtaining my second soul ring. Yu Yuanzhen remained silent for a long while after hearing it, then looked toward Dugu Bo.

"Yue Guan said you stole a supreme treasure from Spirit Hall. Is that true?"

Dugu Bo sneered. "Spirit Hall is full of despicable, vicious people. Since they failed to recruit me, they tried to silence me. I cannot repay the favor of saving my life. At the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, I have a medicinal garden containing dozens of immortal-grade herbs. If your clan does not find them beneath your notice, this junior is willing to offer three herbs as a token of gratitude."

Three immortal-grade herbs.

Yu Luomian's brow twitched slightly. Dugu Bo's poison arts were unmatched across the land, and any immortal herb grown in the medicinal garden he tended personally would be enough to make auction houses fight over it. Compared to the favor of saving his life, three was not an excessive number.

Just as Yu Yuanzhen was about to speak, I stepped forward.

"Clan Leader, I have a few words I would like to say to Senior Dugu Bo in private."

Yu Yuanzhen looked at me and nodded. Yu Luomian tactfully withdrew beyond the courtyard.

Only Dugu Bo and I remained in the courtyard. Dugu Bo leaned against the doorframe, his snake eyes watching me with a faintly amused curve on his lips.

"Yu Tianlin, right? Elder Yu mentioned you. A mutated true dragon martial soul, with level twenty-three Soul Power at your age. Remarkable talent. What do you wish to say to this old man?"

"Senior Dugu, how often does the poison within your body flare up?"

Dugu Bo's smile froze.

"How do you know?"

"Your martial soul is the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor, the strongest poison-type martial soul on the continent. But the more powerful the poison, the deeper its backlash. No wielder of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor martial soul has ever lived a long life. There is a faint dark line beneath the nail of your left hand. That is a sign that poison has accumulated deeply. Every night at midnight, you feel a needle-like pain between your third and fourth ribs. It worsens on rainy days, and when it hurts, even breathing becomes difficult."

Dugu Bo said nothing, but his hand unconsciously moved to his left ribs. That was exactly where I had said, between the third and fourth ribs.

"You know these symptoms better than anyone."

Dugu Bo remained silent for a long time before letting out a low laugh, one filled with bitterness.

"You're right. This old man does not have many years left. Over the years, I have searched every medical text and poison manual I could find, yet found no cure. The fate of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor martial soul is to die from its own poison's backlash. There is no solution. You're only a child. Even if you have read a few medical books, what could you possibly do?"

"I have one."

Two words, spoken lightly.

Dugu Bo abruptly raised his head.

"Say that again?"

"I said I have a way." I met his gaze.

"I can control your symptoms. I can reduce the frequency of the poison backlash to the lowest possible level and suppress the pain of each episode to a bearable range. With my method, you can live at least another twenty or thirty years."

Dugu Bo grabbed my shoulders. "Is that true?"

I did not answer. Instead, I activated my Azure Dragon martial soul and sent a thread of blue-green Soul Power into his body through the meridians in his hand. The vitality of Azure Dragon Longevity slowly advanced through his meridians. When it reached a meridian wall that had been corroded black by poison, the vitality automatically wrapped around it and began repairing it.

Dugu Bo's body shook violently. He could feel it—the meridian that had been ravaged by poison for decades was reacting differently for the first time. It was enveloped by a gentle force, slowly regaining its elasticity bit by bit. He had never experienced such a sensation in all his life.

"Your soul skill can repair meridians too?" His voice trembled.

"More than that." I withdrew my Soul Power. "Azure Dragon Longevity can draw out Soul Power and life force from a target, but it can also replenish them. It can restore more than people—meridians, bones, and internal organs can all be repaired. The backlash from your martial soul is essentially poison constantly accumulating in your meridians and corroding them. My soul skill can periodically clear the poison deposits from your meridians. It cannot eradicate the poison produced by the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor itself, but it can keep it beneath a safe threshold at all times."

"Besides that, I know a breathing technique. It comes from an ancient inheritance and can mobilize your own Soul Power in harmony with your breathing rhythm, creating a small circulation within your body that expels excess poison through the pores of your skin. The detoxification is not fast, but it is steady and lasting. Your granddaughter can use it as well."

This breathing technique was something I had used in the cultivation world specifically to expel pill toxins. Alchemy in the cultivation world was far more complex than concocting poisons on the Douluo Continent. A method for expelling pill toxins was more than enough to handle the poison backlash of a martial soul here.

Dugu Bo slowly released me and took a step back, leaning against the doorframe. His expression shifted from shock to silence, then from silence to a complicated scrutiny.

"This old man has lived for many years and never accepted favors from others. Your clan saved my life yesterday, already an immense kindness. Today, you have offered a method to cure my poison. This gift is too heavy. What do you want?"

"I want you to remain in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and serve as the Fourth Elder."

Dugu Bo froze.

"This old man is being hunted by Spirit Hall. Keeping me here will only bring trouble to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."

"The moment the Second Elder blocked Chrysanthemum Douluo yesterday, a rift had already formed between the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and Spirit Hall. Whether you stay or not, that rift remains. If you stay, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan gains another Title Douluo and another measure of confidence against Spirit Hall. If you leave, then the price the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan paid for offending Spirit Hall yesterday will have been in vain."

Dugu Bo looked into my eyes, as though judging how much of what this child said was calculation and how much was sincerity.

"I will clear the poison deposits in your meridians once every half month. I can teach you the breathing technique right now." I added my final bargaining chip.

Dugu Bo closed his eyes. The wind swept through the courtyard, stirring the hem of his dark green robe. When he opened his eyes again, the hesitation in his snake pupils had vanished, replaced by a resolute determination to stake everything on one throw.

"Fine. This old man, Dugu Bo, accepts." He straightened and walked into the room. "Tomorrow, this old man will accompany you to meet the Clan Leader and formally join the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Take whatever herbs you want from my medicinal garden. Consider them this old man's greeting gift to his new master."

"It's a deal."

I turned and walked out of the courtyard. Yu Luomian stood outside the gate, leaning against the wall with folded arms. He had clearly heard the conversation.

"Looks like Big Brother chose well."

With that, he left.

Standing in the courtyard, I suddenly realized that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was still too weak. But now, my spiritual power and Soul Power were sufficient to inscribe the superior cultivation techniques and divine abilities of the cultivation world. Once I handed them to the Clan Leader, the strength of our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would surely rise to another level.