Dugu Bo Arrives, Poison Forms a Core

"I have sensed Yu Hezai's aura, but there are others with him, so I can only take you this far."

After Bi Ji clarified Yu Hezai's location to Yu Hengqing, she left him to continue on his own.

Yu Hengqing was not surprised by Bi Ji's departure, as Leiyi had already told him that the people with Yu Hezai were Poison Douluo and Dugu Yan.

"Time to proceed with the God Trial!"

Yu Hengqing glanced at the darkening sky, muttered to himself, and headed toward Yu Hezai's position.

One hour earlier.

"Senior Poison Douluo, I didn't expect you to arrive so early. If I had known, I would have set up the tent already!"

Seeing Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan arrive suddenly, Yu Hezai scratched his head in embarrassment.

Yu Hezai had been so worried about Yu Hengqing over the past few days that he hadn't had the heart to set up camp.

"It's fine, we can set it up together in a moment. Yan-yan, we will stay here for a few days until Yu Hengqing returns."

Dugu Bo ruffled Dugu Yan's hair. Dugu Yan, who was sitting on a rock, said nothing in response.

As long as she could resolve the issues within her own body, Dugu Yan was willing to stay here for a lifetime; besides, her grandfather often frequented the Sunset Forest anyway.

Seeing that Dugu Yan had no objections, Dugu Bo began to chat with Yu Hezai.

As they talked, the three of them suddenly noticed the sky above them rapidly turning black.

"Is it going to rain and thunder again? Senior Poison Douluo, we had better set up the tent quickly. It doesn't matter for us two adults, but it won't do for Miss Dugu Yan."

Having spent several days in Thunder Valley, Yu Hezai naturally recognized the signs of an approaching storm and decisively ended the conversation.

Dugu Bo had researched Thunder Valley and understood that Yu Hezai was right, so he joined him in setting up the tent.

Once the tent was ready, the three of them sat inside and began to prepare a meal.

Just as Yu Hengqing arrived near the tent, Yu Hezai and Dugu Bo rushed out.

"Little Qing, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Yu Hezai nervously checked Yu Hengqing's body, while Dugu Bo summoned his martial soul and scanned the surroundings vigilantly.

"I'm fine, I'm perfectly healthy!"

Seeing Yu Hezai's worried expression, Yu Hengqing patted his chest. Once Yu Hezai finished his inspection and felt relieved, Yu Hengqing turned to Dugu Bo.

"Senior Dugu Bo, it has been a long time!"

"It has indeed been a while, especially since I learned you had been taken away."

Seeing Yu Hengqing standing before him unscathed, Dugu Bo appeared calm on the surface, but he had already let out a long sigh of relief internally.

Yu Hengqing was the only way for Dugu Yan to rid herself of her accumulated toxins, so Dugu Bo naturally did not want any harm to come to him.

"Alright, Little Qing, let's head back into the tent! It's about to rain, and dinner is almost ready."

Yu Hezai glanced at the overcast sky and hurriedly urged Yu Hengqing inside.

"Alright, I happen to be a bit hungry anyway!"

Although Yu Hengqing wanted to use the Lightning Attraction Technique while the thunder was rolling, exchanging information with Yu Hezai was more important right now.

Stepping into the tent, Yu Hengqing saw Dugu Yan sitting at the dining table.

"Long time no see, little junior!"

Seeing Yu Hengqing enter, Dugu Yan immediately rose from her chair and waved at him.

"Long time no see, Senior Sister."

Yu Hengqing pulled out a chair, sat at the table, and responded with a smile.

As Dugu Bo and Yu Hezai took their seats, lunch officially began.

"Senior Poison Douluo, every time it is overcast or rainy, you experience a numbing itch in your ribs that lasts for over an hour, and it flares up once at noon and once at midnight, correct?"

Yu Hengqing's sudden statement caused both Yu Hezai and Dugu Yan to stop what they were doing and fix their gazes on Dugu Bo.

Dugu Bo, under the scrutiny of the others, calmly finished chewing his food, set down his chopsticks, and looked up at Yu Hengqing.

"That is correct. Do you think you have the ability to cure me?"

"This junior would naturally not dare to boast recklessly, but I can certainly offer a treatment plan for you, Senior."

After responding softly to Dugu Bo, Yu Hengqing went back to picking up food and eating.

"Very well. Tell me what you want or what you need me to do."

With that, Dugu Bo picked up his bowl and continued eating as if nothing had happened.

"No, Grandfather, how can you be so calm! Junior has a plan to treat the toxins accumulated in your body!"

Dugu Yan slammed her hands onto the table, knocking over the bowls and chopsticks in front of her.

Yu Hengqing could understand why Dugu Yan might not grasp the situation—perhaps she didn't realize how important this plan was to Dugu Bo—but why was her grandfather acting so indifferent?

Dugu Bo righted Dugu Yan's bowl and patted her shoulder, signaling her to sit down.

"Yan-yan, the toxins in my body are not so easily cured. I want you to understand that sometimes, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment."

"I—hmpf! Do whatever you want, Grandfather. Anyway, you don't care, so I don't care either!"

After venting her anger, Dugu Yan ignored Dugu Bo, finished her meal in a few quick bites, and left.

As for Yu Hezai, he was still digesting the information he had just heard; it was the first time he had learned that Dugu Bo, the Poison Douluo, was actually poisoned himself.

After finishing the meal, Yu Hezai took it upon himself to handle the heavy responsibility of washing the dishes. Of course, he did this partly to escape this place; sometimes, the more one knows, the greater the danger.

"Tell me about your treatment plan."

Dugu Bo pulled a chair over to sit beside Yu Hengqing and asked as if they were just chatting.

"I possess a special cultivation method called the Soul Core. It can condense liquid soul power into a solid state. The toxins inside your body, Senior, are a type of special soul power, aren't they?"

Yu Hengqing leaned back in his chair, quietly watching the ink-black sky.

"Crack!"

A bolt of thunder tore through the pitch-black sky, illuminating the faces of Dugu Bo and Yu Hengqing.

"The toxins accumulated in this old man's body are indeed a form of special soul power. Every time I cultivate, my martial soul, the Jade Phosphorus Snake Emperor, produces this toxin."

"Your plan is a good one. If it succeeds, I will owe you two lives; if it fails, I will treat it as if you never said anything."

Having studied the toxins in his body for so many years, Dugu Bo understood immediately after hearing the plan that its success rate was extremely high, and that once successful, he would never suffer from the illness again.

"Senior, you speak too heavily. I only wish to visit your Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well; there is no need for you to repay me with your life."

"Very well. Whenever you want to go, just let me know, and I will take you inside."

If it weren't for the fact that Yu Hengqing looked so incredibly young, others would surely have assumed that he and Dugu Bo were old friends of many years.

"Are you not afraid of dying from the backlash of the toxins if it fails, Senior? I cannot guarantee that this plan is one hundred percent safe."

This was the reason Yu Hengqing had told Dugu Bo about the method of condensing a Soul Core; Yu Hengqing dared not, and would not, trust the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm one hundred percent.

Because the method he provided was summarized by a soul beast, it could not possibly be one hundred percent suitable for soul masters; there were bound to be flaws.

Rather than waiting to cultivate it himself and then patching the holes, it was better to let Title Douluos like Dugu Bo try it out first. Gathering wisdom was sometimes better than working behind closed doors.

Hearing Yu Hengqing's words, Dugu Bo chuckled as if he had heard a joke and replied, "If I were afraid of failure, I would never have cultivated to become a Title Douluo on my own, nor would I have endured so many years of torture!"

"However, I am quite afraid of death. After all, if I die, I won't be able to eat good food, play with fun things, or see Yan-yan become a Title Douluo."

The latter part is the real point, isn't it!

Yu Hengqing glanced at Dugu Bo, who had closed his eyes to listen to the sound of the rain, and secretly complained in his heart.