Escaping Death, Turning Enemies into Friends!

There was a trace of imperceptible trembling in Poison Douluo's voice.

Even though he tried his best to conceal it, he could not hide this fear.

At this critical juncture, Zhou Tong knew that his chance for survival had arrived; it was even possible that he could take this opportunity to turn Poison Douluo into an ally.

"My martial soul is unique, naturally sensitive to toxins, so it is only natural that I could perceive your abnormality."

To increase his persuasiveness, Zhou Tong even released his martial soul directly.

A vine as thick as a baby's arm rapidly spread from his hand, and terrifying golden arcs of electricity flickered across its surface.

"Hum!"

One yellow and one purple soul ring slowly emerged from beneath his feet; the bright purple, thousand-year second soul ring looked exceptionally striking in the gray-white valley.

"This?"

Poison Douluo's eyes widened in disbelief. He raised his right hand to pinch the contracting Thunderous Hell Vine and immediately exclaimed in shock.

"Seven years old, a level twenty-five Great Soul Master, a thousand-year second soul ring—kid, you really are a monster!"

Seeing this, Zhou Tong stared firmly into Poison Douluo's eyes and said with a resolute tone, "I have a way to detoxify you, and I can even cure your granddaughter."

"Whether you change your fate or not depends entirely on your own choice."

"Of course, I will not act easily."

"The Dao is not lightly imparted, nor is it cheaply sold. Whether you can be cured depends on your own sincerity!"

Having said this, Zhou Tong stood with his hands behind his back, looking proudly at Poison Douluo, as if he were a grandmaster who had just descended from the mountains, detached from the world.

Gazing at the dazzling purple soul ring at Zhou Tong's feet, Poison Douluo frowned deeply, a battle raging in his mind as he pondered.

"I don't know what method you used to suppress the toxins in your body."

"But it can never treat the root cause."

"Your symptoms will continue to worsen, and the toxins will continue to accumulate. Even if you aren't poisoned to death, you will be tortured to death by the agony of the toxins' backlash."

"I advise you to think clearly. This time may be the only chance you have to survive."

"Furthermore, your granddaughter faces the same fate."

Upon hearing this, a flickering, uncertain light shone in Poison Douluo's eyes. Everything Zhou Tong said struck at his most vulnerable point.

Although he was the number one Poison Douluo in the world, he endured the pain of toxic backlash every single moment, and every episode made him wish he were dead.

"Can you really cure my poison?"

Poison Douluo completely withdrew the pressure he had been exerting, a dangerous light flickering in his emerald pupils.

"Kid, I haven't even been able to solve the poison in my own body or my granddaughter's. Why should I trust a seven-year-old brat?"

Poison Douluo had spent his life playing with poison, yet he was helpless against the deadly toxins in his own body. He had made countless attempts, only to be met with even greater disappointment.

The uncertain expression on Poison Douluo's face grew more intense.

He slowly placed his hands behind his back, his tone softening slightly.

Zhou Tong smiled, "Senior, I have noticed that while the Dugu Family has always been powerful on the Douluo Continent, there are only you and your granddaughter left. Surely, you have suffered no small amount of torment from toxic backlash."

"After all these years, you haven't found a way to detoxify, which clearly means you have no other options."

"Besides trusting me and taking a gamble on this one chance, do you have any other way?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Poison Douluo became somewhat agitated. "Kid, don't be so arrogant in front of me!"

"If you push me too far, I will kill you right now!"

"At the very least, my secret will not be known by outsiders!"

A ruthless glint flashed in Poison Douluo's eyes again, and he made a move to raise his right hand, with dark green light flickering within it.

Zhou Tong, however, remained fearless. Although Poison Douluo was powerful, he had to rely on Zhou Tong to survive.

Poison Douluo's threats could not intimidate him at all.

He said nonchalantly, "Senior, please do as you wish. In any case, your family won't last many more years before it goes extinct."

Hearing this, Poison Douluo's expression immediately fell. He realized that Zhou Tong would not be swayed by force, so he had no choice but to negotiate a deal.

After all, he still cared for his beautiful granddaughter and could not bear to see her suffer the torture of deadly toxins day after day just like him.

Poison Douluo's tone softened. He suppressed the anger in his heart and spoke.

"Kid, a deal is fine, but you must provide some real evidence to make me believe you, right?"

At these words, the corners of Zhou Tong's mouth curled up. Poison Douluo was already in his grasp; now, it was just a matter of his own negotiation skills.

"Senior, have you ever heard of a poison soul master being poisoned to death by their own poison?"

"Hmm?"

Poison Douluo's expression changed in surprise. He furrowed his brows and began to think.

Poison soul masters were emerging in endless succession on the Douluo Continent, but it was truly rare to see one poisoned to death by their own craft.

Looking at it this way, was his own poisoning not normal?

"Then why am I afflicted by my own poison?"

Dugu Bo's gaze locked deeply onto Zhou Tong, expectant of what this overly mature boy might say that could change his fate.

"Most soul masters don't have the problem of their martial soul's poison backfiring."

"That simply means your Jade Phosphor Serpent martial soul has developed a problem."

"It is likely that during the evolution of your ancestral martial soul, a mutation occurred, causing the Jade Phosphor Serpent's toxins to backfire on the soul master."

"Long-term erosion from the toxins, accumulating..."

Zhou Tong did not need to continue, instead looking calmly at Dugu Bo.

Upon hearing Zhou Tong's words, Dugu Bo's figure stiffened, his expression turning anxious, and his tone becoming more hurried as he stared fixedly at Zhou Tong.

"So, what is your method for detoxification?"

What Zhou Tong said truly matched the situation of the Dugu Family.

Over a hundred years ago, the Dugu family's martial soul did not have the issue of toxic backfire, but after one particular family head took over, the descendants began to discover increasingly severe problems with toxic backlash.

By his generation, because his martial soul had evolved into the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor, it had perhaps inadvertently partially repaired the martial soul's mutation, which was the only reason he had persisted for so long.

But the Jade Phosphor Serpent poison had caused the deaths of his parents, his wife, his son, and his daughter-in-law; such experiences were truly too painful.

If he could be cured of the poison, he would be willing to exchange everything he had.

At this moment, Zhou Tong did not speak, but instead held his head high, looking calmly at Dugu Bo.

Dugu Bo understood instantly that Zhou Tong was holding out for a better price and wanted to negotiate terms.

Dugu Bo pondered for a moment before attempting to ask, "Kid, as long as it is within my capabilities, I promise you three favors. You help me detoxify, how about that?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tong did not agree immediately, but calmly said, "That is not enough."

Dugu Bo suppressed his dissatisfaction, gritted his teeth, and said, "Fine, this old man will take you as my disciple and act as your guardian. How about that?"

"For how many years will you be my guardian?"

Seeing this, Zhou Tong finally became interested.

As he was now, he was merely a solitary commoner soul master, easily targeted by high-level soul masters for sneak attacks.

Especially soul masters like Tang Hao, who lacked martial virtue and enjoyed launching surprise attacks; having Poison Douluo as a bodyguard would certainly be much safer.