Nine Methods

"N-nine!"

It wasn't just the Dugu Family—even Feng Qingluan was stunned by Feng Baiyu's words.

Their Dugu Family had passed down this unsolved problem for generations. Feng Baiyu had only taken one look, and he'd already come up with nine solutions?

"Y-Young Master Feng..." Dugu Bo's voice trembled. "C-could it be... you really have a way to resolve the deadly poison in our Dugu Family's Martial Soul?"

Forget nine methods. Even just one would have been enough to satisfy Dugu Bo!

Now that he'd heard Feng Baiyu say he had nine methods, even though Dugu Bo found the claim absurd, he still wanted to hear what they were.

Just one would be enough to let their Dugu Family survive.

"That's right. There are nine." Feng Baiyu's gaze swept over the three of them. His tone was calm, yet carried an unquestionable certainty. "Mr. Dugu, I'll start with the simplest method—the one you can put into practice right away."

Dugu Bo's eyes lit up. He cupped his hands and said, "I would be grateful to hear the details."

Feng Baiyu looked at Dugu Bo and said with a smile, "Mr. Dugu, if a venomous snake uses its venom to poison another venomous snake, will that snake die from the venom?"

Feng Baiyu had suddenly posed a tongue twister, leaving everyone present rather puzzled. Dugu Yan, in particular, had no idea what he meant.

Dugu Bo was also trying to work out what Feng Baiyu was getting at. But Dugu Xin, who was already gravely ill, only pondered for a moment before speaking up. "Young Master Feng, a venomous snake's venom can kill another venomous snake, but a snake won't die from its own venom."

"Why not?" Feng Baiyu looked at Dugu Xin and said with a smile. "It's all snake venom. Why can't a snake poison itself? Is it because it has antibodies?"

"It's not antibodies. It's the venom sac!" As Dugu Xin spoke, his eyes suddenly lit up. "The reason a venomous snake won't poison itself is that it has a venom sac! Our Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul has no venom sac, which is why we end up poisoning ourselves!"

"The venom sac! Of course!" Dugu Xin suddenly understood. He exclaimed, "If our Martial Soul evolved a venom sac, we wouldn't die from our own poison!"

"Young Mr. Dugu, you're remarkably clever!" Seeing that Dugu Xin had figured it out, Feng Baiyu couldn't help applauding.

So there were clever people in the Dugu Family after all!

Perhaps Dugu Xin simply hadn't thought of it before. In the end, he'd died with regrets while still only a Soul King.

With just this one hint, Dugu Xin could probably have come up with a solution himself within five years!

"One of my methods is to add a 'venom sac' to the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul." Feng Baiyu paused, then continued, "Young Mr. Dugu, bear in mind that a venomous snake's venom sac only stores venom. Once it's full, the venom will overflow."

"My first method treats the symptoms, not the root cause. It uses a Spirit Bone as a 'venom sac' to store the snake venom." Feng Baiyu glanced at Dugu Bo, then turned his gaze to Dugu Xin. "As long as you absorb a Spirit Bone and draw the poison in your body into it, you'll be safe until the bone fills with poison."

After Feng Baiyu finished explaining the first method, Dugu Bo and Dugu Xin both understood.

Although it only treated the symptoms, it really could let the Dugu Family live for several more decades. How long depended on the quality of the Spirit Bone.

"Thank you, Young Master Feng." Dugu Bo and Dugu Xin rose to their feet and bowed to Feng Baiyu together. "We'll never forget your life-saving kindness."

Feng Baiyu gave a slight nod but said nothing.

He still had eight other methods to share. Whether he got to explain them depended on the Dugu Family's sincerity.

Dugu Bo was an old hand who'd seen it all, so of course he understood that Feng Baiyu didn't intend to continue just yet. Now it was up to him to pledge his allegiance!

Dugu Bo was an eighty-ninth-rank Soul Douluo, only one step away from becoming a Titled Douluo, with an excellent chance of breaking through. With strength like his, he would be a top-tier force in any faction, powerful enough to sway the balance of power and impossible to underestimate.

"Your Excellency Azure Luan, Young Master Feng..." Dugu Bo suddenly drew a deep breath, his chest heaving violently, as if he were making the greatest decision of his life. He said solemnly, "As long as you can resolve the calamity afflicting my Dugu Family's Martial Soul, my life is yours to command from this day forth. I'll brave fire and water for you without hesitation!"

"I'm willing, too!" Before he'd even finished speaking, Dugu Yan dropped to her knees in front of Feng Baiyu with a thud. Her smooth forehead struck the ground hard. Her voice was choked with tears, but her resolve was unwavering. "If Young Master Feng can save my Dugu Family from this crisis, I, Dugu Yan, am willing to serve at your side for the rest of my life, as a slave or a handmaid, without a single complaint!"

"I, too..."

Seeing this, Dugu Xin was about to kneel as well, but Feng Baiyu had already signaled to his grandfather to help the two of them back to their feet.

"Pledging your lives to me, becoming my servants—those are far too strong a commitment." Feng Baiyu's gaze swept over the three of them, his expression open and sincere. "To be honest, the Feng Family does hope to recruit Mr. Dugu, and we'll certainly do everything we can to resolve the hidden danger in your Martial Souls. But we've only just arrived in Heaven Dou City and don't know the place or its people. We need a few people who know their way around here to help us."

If he could keep Dugu Bo in hand, he'd be very useful.

But the Feng Family still belonged to Spirit City. They couldn't let the Grand Pontiff think they had divided loyalties.

Dugu Bo didn't know what Feng Baiyu was thinking, but he understood that Feng Baiyu was willing to accept their family and give them a chance to change their fate.

Returning to the matter at hand, Feng Baiyu began explaining the next few methods.

"Actually, the second method also treats the symptoms, not the root cause!" Feng Baiyu said. "Didn't I just say that even venomous snakes with venom sacs can poison themselves? Yet they survive! The reason is that they know how to expel their venom from their bodies!"

"That's true." Dugu Bo nodded and said, "This old man has several Snake Venom Soul Skills, but using them consumes Soul Power, not the snake venom inside my body."

"The second method I'm talking about is to forcibly expel the snake venom from your bodies!" Feng Baiyu said. "The Man Faced Demon Spider, Blood-Stabbing Pufferfish, Gilded Poison Scorpion, Six-Tailed Centipede, Iceheart Poison Silkworm, and Vermilion Clear Ice Toad! These Soul Beasts can all devour deadly poison. If you can't hold on any longer, find one of these Soul Beasts and let it suck out the poison. The poison inside you will be more tempting to them than blood. They'll purge the poison from your bodies without harming you."

"Of course, the poison in your bodies is already deeply bound to your Soul Power and cultivation!" Feng Baiyu said leisurely. "As the poison is purged, your cultivation will also decline."

Feng Baiyu looked at Dugu Xin and said, "You're currently a fifty-seventh-rank Soul King. If half the poison in your body is sucked out, your Soul Power will probably drop by three ranks. As for your lifespan, you'll be safe for fifteen years."

"The advantage of this method is that you only need to catch one of the Soul Beasts I mentioned. It's much cheaper and easier than getting a Spirit Bone." Feng Baiyu paused, then continued, "Of course, if you're careless and fail to control it, the Soul Beast might swallow you whole, poison and all."

"Like Young Mr. Dugu," Feng Baiyu said, turning to look at Dugu Xin. "With Mr. Dugu protecting you, it's still best not to find a Soul Beast over a hundred years old to suck out your poison."

"Uh..." Hearing himself used as an example, Dugu Xin said awkwardly, "I'll keep that in mind."