When Yang Fan was brought to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well by Dugu Bo, he saw Ye Lingling struggling to hold on while Dugu Yan hovered at death's door.
"Pavilion Master Yang, how sure are you that you can save Yan Yan?"
Dugu Bo's voice was low, with a tremor that was nearly impossible to detect.
Yang Fan hurried over to Dugu Yan and crouched beside her, placing two fingers on her wrist.
The moment his fingertips touched her, a poison both bone-chillingly cold and scorching hot surged through her meridians, heading straight for her heart.
"What overbearing poison."
Yang Fan furrowed his brow and closed his eyes. The knowledge he had learned during the Dragon King Era quickly surfaced in his mind as he began analyzing the situation.
Innate snake venom, Soul Ring poison, the strain of absorbing one beyond her limit...
Yang Fan opened his eyes and looked at Dugu Bo.
"Ordinary methods of detoxification won't work. We have to use extreme conditions to reshape her meridians, then neutralize the poison with a special medicinal catalyst."
"Would this treasure land of mine work?"
Dugu Bo blurted out.
Yang Fan nodded. "Senior, the ancient books I've read call this treasure land the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. It's one of the Three Great Treasure Basins, so it should certainly work."
Yang Fan paused briefly.
"But this is the first time I've encountered a situation like this, and the treatment will be extremely painful. The slightest mistake could sever her meridians. I need you to use your Soul Power to protect her heart, while Miss Lingling's Nine Heart Begonia continuously supplies her with vitality."
"As for the medicinal catalyst..."
Yang Fan's gaze swept across both sides of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, settling on two Immortal Herbs radiating an unusual light.
"The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot. They're the two herbs at the center of the springs. Take three leaves from each."
At his words, Dugu Bo's eyes blazed with unprecedented light.
Without a second word, he flashed over to the springs, carefully plucked the leaves, and handed them to Yang Fan.
"Let's begin!"
Yang Fan took the leaves. With a faint surge of Soul Power at his fingertips, he ground one leaf from each herb into juice and dabbed it onto Dugu Yan's chest. He repeated the process, applying more to the center of her brow.
He hesitated over the last two leaves, then put them in his mouth and chewed. He pressed his lips to Dugu Yan's and slowly fed her the mixture.
"Lingling, increase your Soul Power output!"
Dugu Bo knew Yang Fan's somewhat improper actions were meant to save her. Suppressing his displeasure, he quickly urged Ye Lingling on.
Ye Lingling clenched her teeth, and the light of the Nine Heart Begonia flared in an instant.
At the same time, Dugu Bo pressed both palms against Dugu Yan's back. The Soul Power of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor became a green barrier, fiercely guarding her heart.
"Yan Yan, hold on!"
Dugu Bo roared and abruptly drove his Soul Power forward.
In that instant, the forces of extreme cold and heat surged wildly through Dugu Yan's meridians.
"Ah!"
Dugu Yan let out a piercing scream in her unconsciousness. Her body arched sharply as she thrashed against the edge of the spring.
Instinctively, she bit down on Yang Fan's lips as he fed her the medicine. Bright red blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Yang Fan grunted, but held his ground, continuously guiding the medicinal power of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot with his mental energy.
On Dugu Yan's skin, dark purple poison clashed fiercely with the icy and fiery energies, hissing as they met.
"Steady!"
Yang Fan pressed both hands against Dugu Yan's abdomen. His Soul Power formed countless fine threads, guiding the violent energy as it flowed through her meridians.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. This delicate work placed an enormous strain on his mental energy.
Because this method was similar to the one he had used to cleanse and strengthen Tang Yuehua's meridians, Yang Fan's Soul Rings appeared before outsiders for the first time.
They were still disguised as yellow, yellow, and purple, but that was enough to leave Dugu Bo and Ye Lingling stunned.
A thirteen-year-old who was at least a Soul Elder?
What were the public records on the continent again?
Time passed, second by second.
Dugu Yan's screams gradually weakened. The faint purple light in her eyes began to fade, and the green scales at the center of her brow stopped flickering and settled into a steady glow.
"Done."
Yang Fan let out a long breath. He looked as though he'd just been fished out of the water, and at last, he could spare enough breath to speak.
Dugu Bo lowered his hands as well. Watching his granddaughter's face gradually regain its color, the ninety-first-ranked Super Douluo felt his eyes grow misty.
"Grandpa..."
A faint murmur rang out.
Dugu Yan slowly opened her eyes. The green irises that had once been swallowed by purple were now astonishingly clear. The green scale at the center of her brow had become a small, diamond-shaped mark, glowing with a gentle luster.
"Yan Yan!"
Dugu Bo swept his granddaughter into his arms, his voice choked with emotion.
Ye Lingling finally couldn't hold on any longer. She sank to the ground and gasped for breath. Seeing Dugu Yan restored, she let the faintest smile touch her lips.
Dugu Yan felt something salty at the corner of her mouth and couldn't help licking it. She looked around, then paused when she saw the blood on Yang Fan's lips.
Her face flushed. She seemed to realize what had happened.
"Was it little brother Yang Fan who saved me?"
A few dark lines seemed to appear on Yang Fan's forehead as he leaned against a nearby rock. By the logic of Douluo Continent, he really should have been younger than Dugu Yan.
"Since you took my granddaughter's first kiss, you'd better take responsibility!"
Dugu Bo addressed Yang Fan like an elder speaking to a younger man, though there was an unmistakable hint of threat in his words, as if he might do something if Yang Fan refused.
"That was my first kiss too..."
Yang Fan replied weakly.
He had no idea that Lan Yin had secretly stolen his first kiss on some night long ago.
At that moment, Lan Yin watched the scene in the Sea of Consciousness, smiling. So sweet.
Still, sorry, but that first kiss belonged to big sister.
"How is that the same?!"
Dugu Bo was like an old child. Now that his granddaughter was safe, he had returned to his usual mercurial, eccentric self.
"Yan Yan, does anything still feel wrong? If it does, hurry and tell your fiancé."
What fiancé?!
Dugu Yan's face reddened, and she didn't want to deal with her grandfather.
Still, she obediently tried Martial Soul Possession. Her Martial Soul seemed to have changed. Most notably, she felt as though she'd grown two little horns.
"Your snake is transforming into a Flood Dragon! Yan Yan, you've turned disaster into a blessing!"
Dugu Bo exclaimed with delight at the little horns on Dugu Yan's head after she possessed her Martial Soul.
There were two recorded paths for the Jade Phosphor Snake's evolution within the family. One was to strengthen its poison and become the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor. The other was to revert to the ancestral bloodline of snakes and Flood Dragons and transform into a dragon.
But in the past few centuries, he, Dugu Bo, was the only one to succeed at the former. The latter was almost a legend.
Who would have thought that disaster would become a blessing for Yan Yan, leading her onto this path by sheer chance?
Yang Fan wasn't surprised.
Even if they were only leaves, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot were top-tier Immortal Herbs, handpicked by God King Tang.
On top of that, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had formed from the divine remains of the Water Dragon King and Fire Dragon King, two of the Nine Great Dragon Kings, who had fallen there together. In a place like this, it was only natural for a snake-type Soul Master to undergo a transformation after surviving the worst.
He had originally planned for Dugu Yan to follow Tang San's example and take the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot.
In the original story, Tang San had been able to neutralize the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's poison with his blood after taking them. Taking the herbs directly should work even better. With the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well supporting her, at the very least, turning a snake into a dragon should be possible.
But now, the Earth Dragon Golden Melon might be more suitable.
After all, to take the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot, she'd have to rely on the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to help refine them. Even Tang San had found that ordeal unbearable, let alone a snake-type Martial Soul whose yin and yang were already out of balance.
"Yanzi, I think I might have a way to help you take the final step and transform your Jade Phosphor Snake into a dragon."
"But you know quite a lot. Why are you willing to tell me? You should know that Poison Douluo doesn't have a very good reputation."
Dugu Bo stared into Yang Fan's eyes.
"I trust your character and your word, Senior."
Yang Fan replied, his gaze unwavering.
Dugu Bo was "neither wholly good nor wholly evil." He had a bad reputation and did whatever he pleased, but Yang Fan also knew that Dugu Bo was a man of his word, true to every promise.
At least, Yang Fan, who considered himself a law-abiding person, would never let it slide if someone destroyed his medicinal garden—not even if the culprit had saved his life.