The Poison Garden

He had his own calculations.

In the original story, Dugu Bo's herb garden was merely a cultivation site auxiliary to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. While it lacked the heaven-sent advantages of the Well itself—which nurtured immortal-grade treasures—it still gathered half of the Douluo Continent's poisonous spiritual materials and holy healing medicines.

More importantly, there were still two full years before Tang San would arrive to strip Dugu Bo's garden bare and conquer the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well!

This was a unique, preemptive opportunity.

Two years later, when Tang San arrived, he would harvest every single Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, Tulip of Romance, and Dew of Looking Through Autumn Waters, using them to reshape his own martial soul and foundation, leaving Dugu Bo with nothing but a barren plot. By entering the game early, he could not only use the spiritual herbs to temper himself and perfect his foundation in the way of poison, but he could also intercept the original protagonist's opportunities. He could even use these spiritual and poisonous herbs to explore the laws of medicinal properties and the fundamental principles of soul power in the Douluo world.

Furthermore, he carried the dragon bone origin of the King of Bronze and Fire. His fire attribute was extremely domineering and immune to all poisons; ordinary lethal toxins could not harm him. Instead, they could be tempered and absorbed by his fire origin, transforming into his own foundation. This was his greatest confidence in daring to enter the poison garden alone to study the myriad poisons.

Dugu Bo looked deeply at Luo Qiusheng. Seeing his calm demeanor and clear eyes—not those of a cunning or greedy person—the wariness in his heart faded slightly. After weighing the pros and cons, he replied in a deep voice, "Very well."

"But I will state this clearly: I give you only three days. If you cannot resolve my Jade Phosphor bloodline poison within three days, then for the matter of you spying on my secrets and threatening me today, I will make you pay a price worse than death!"

As a Title Douluo, being manipulated by an unknown youth was already a great humiliation. If it all ended in disappointment, he would show no mercy.

"Rest assured, Senior. I will not go back on my word," Luo Qiusheng said with a slight bow.

"Follow me."

Dugu Bo said no more. He turned and led Luo Qiusheng through the courtyard, out of the Tiantou City residence, and arrived at a hidden valley outside the city.

The valley was shrouded in layers of toxic miasma, and the perimeter was protected by concealment arrays. Even if an ordinary soul master passed by, they would only assume it was a desolate valley where no one stepped, never sensing the wonders hidden within.

The moment they stepped into the valley, a rich, dense spiritual energy of vegetation mixed with biting toxic fumes rushed toward them. Wisps of it drilled into his nostrils; an ordinary soul master would suffer chaotic soul power and physical poisoning within moments.

However, a faint, fiery red glow circulated around Luo Qiusheng. As soon as the toxic fumes approached, they were vaporized and purified by an invisible high temperature, leaving only the pure spiritual essence of the vegetation to flow into his body, nourishing his meridians and flesh.

Dugu Bo took in this scene, his suspicion deepening. He found himself increasingly unable to see through this youth's background.

"This entire valley is my herb garden. You may do as you please with all the spiritual herbs here. In three days, I want results!"

Leaving these words behind, Dugu Bo turned and departed, leaving Luo Qiusheng alone in the garden filled with rare treasures.

Looking around, the entire garden was categorized and arranged in an orderly fashion.

On the left was a patch of black soil where rows of Nether Bone-Eroding Grass grew, pitch-black with leaves wreathed in pale purple toxic smoke. Near the spiritual spring in the center grew several Millennium Soul-Condensing Flowers; their petals were translucent white, containing pure soul power—a top-tier medicinal herb for nourishing mental strength and stabilizing a martial soul foundation, extremely rare. In a dark corner on the right, a cluster of Seven-Orifice Heartbreak Vine snaked and spread, its vines emerald green with streaks of red. Its sap was highly toxic; upon entering the body, it would sever meridians and seal soul power. It was a rare poisonous vine Dugu Bo had obtained while adventuring in his early years.

At the very center of the garden, protected by layers of barriers, lay a small plot containing several semi-finished immortal-grade spiritual herbs transplanted from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Luo Qiusheng walked forward slowly, his gaze sweeping over the spiritual herbs one by one, his heart clear.

It was exactly as recorded in the original story: while there were no fully matured immortal herbs here, there were a large number of semi-finished spiritual herbs nearing completion, along with countless poisonous materials unique to the Douluo Continent. It was a treasure trove rarely seen in a hundred years.

He did not rush to pick the most precious herbs. Instead, following the principle of gradual progress, he crouched down to study the medicinal properties of the various poisonous plants.

As his fingertips lightly touched the Nether Bone-Eroding Grass, the dragon bone fire origin quietly circulated, instantly sensing the corrosive toxins and the cold, earthy energy contained within.

Combining his own knowledge of the way of poison with the medicinal properties, Luo Qiusheng quickly perfected his own system of poison, grasping the laws of fusion between Douluo soul power and plant toxins.

For a full half-day, he immersed himself in the garden, recording the growth habits, medicinal strength, and soul power compatibility of various herbs while harvesting mature, ordinary spiritual herbs to refine into poison essence.

After half a day, Luo Qiusheng had gained much.

He had harvested two mature Millennium Soul-Condensing Flowers to nourish his mental strength. His mental power since transmigrating far exceeded that of ordinary people, but he had lacked targeted nourishment resources. With these flowers, he could further solidify his mental foundation, paving the way for controlling greater power and deducing secret poison techniques later.

He had transplanted over a dozen seedlings of the Seven-Orifice Heartbreak Vine, preparing to cultivate them himself to create his own trump card in poison.

His greatest harvest, however, came from the area within the barrier at the center of the garden.

Luo Qiusheng avoided the mature herbs on the periphery and specifically selected three semi-finished immortal-grade herbs:

The semi-formed Dew of Looking Through Autumn Waters, the newly blooming Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, and the green, budding Tulip of Romance.

These three herbs were not yet fully formed, their medicinal properties restrained and their aura faint. Dugu Bo, long obsessed with the way of poison, knew they were precious but did not recognize the true wonders of immortal-grade items, treating them merely as rare herbs without intentionally refining or using them.

But Luo Qiusheng knew their heaven-defying effects.

The Dew of Looking Through Autumn Waters, once mature, could temper the eyes to the extreme, allowing one to see through illusions, discern the flow of soul power, and gaze directly through all disguises and concealment—a top-tier immortal item for investigation and perception.

The Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid possessed an inherent life-sustaining property, capable of strengthening the foundation, eradicating hidden ailments, and purifying physical impurities. It was best at neutralizing various chronic, lethal poisons, perfectly countering Dugu Bo's Jade Phosphor bloodline poison.

The Tulip of Romance could harmonize the compatibility between a martial soul and the body, resolve martial soul rejection, and optimize one's innate foundation—a miraculous herb for reshaping martial souls and breaking through cultivation shackles.

If he had waited for Tang San to arrive in two years, these three immortal herbs would have fully matured and been harvested and utilized by him.

Now that Luo Qiusheng had intercepted them as semi-finished products, although they possessed only sixty percent of their full potential, they still held heaven-defying effects and would not damage the garden's foundation, allowing them to be re-cultivated.

Luo Qiusheng noted the locations of the three semi-finished immortal herbs in his mind.

In addition, deep in the garden, he discovered a page of Dugu Bo's discarded notes on the way of poison.

The page was yellowed and old, recording the essence of the Douluo Continent's way of poison that Dugu Bo had summarized over half a lifetime of adventuring, the flaws and weaknesses of various poison techniques, and records of his deductions regarding the Jade Phosphor Serpent bloodline curse. It even roughly mentioned the existence of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, though Dugu Bo only knew of its location without understanding its path, unaware that it was a peerless treasure land, thinking it merely a secret realm overgrown with poisonous weeds.

For Luo Qiusheng, this was a priceless harvest far exceeding the spiritual herbs.

With these notes, he completely grasped the underlying logic of the Douluo way of poison. He understood the root of Dugu Bo's bloodline poison—it was not merely a martial soul backlash, but an inherent conflict between the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor martial soul and the plant laws of the Douluo plane. Accumulated over generations, it eventually formed an unsolvable bloodline toxin, which was also the core reason Dugu Bo could never break through to level 95.

With this, the plan to cure Dugu Bo's hidden ailment was fully formed in his mind.

The sun set, and the evening glow bathed the valley garden.

Luo Qiusheng gathered his aura, looking at the bountiful harvest in his hands, a faint glimmer flashing in his eyes.

Spiritual herbs to nourish the foundation, the way of poison perfected into a closed loop, clues to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well secured, and the original protagonist's opportunities intercepted in advance.

This three-day garden appointment was worth it!

In the distance, at the entrance of the valley, a jade-green figure stood quietly.

Dugu Bo had returned at some point, silently watching the youth in the garden who was calmly harvesting and deducing medicinal properties. Watching him, immune to all poisons and controlling them with ease, a glimmer of hope arose in his heart for the first time.

Perhaps... this youth could truly resolve the poison that had plagued him for decades.