Dugu Bo was horrified. He desperately drove the Soul Power within him, trying to break free from the gravitational restraint, but it was futile.
At that moment, Luo Nan slowly raised his right hand.
"Bzz—"
Amid a strange hum, rings of dazzling spirit rings slowly rose from beneath Luo Nan's feet.
Yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red!
Eight spirit rings, like eight blazing suns, illuminated the entire Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well as brightly as day.
Especially the final Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring, flashing with a piercing red glow, which radiated a terrifying pressure that made one's heart tremble.
"E-eighty-sixth rank?! And... a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring?!"
Dugu Bo stared at the eight spirit rings around Luo Nan, especially that red Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring, and was completely dumbfounded.
He had never imagined that this seemingly young man was actually an eighty-sixth-rank Soul Douluo with a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring!
One had to know that Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings were among the greatest treasures on Douluo Continent. Even Titled Douluo might not possess one.
Yet this man not only possessed a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring, but his cultivation had also reached the eighty-sixth rank!
Dugu Bo knew himself well.
Though he was a Titled Douluo, his combat strength ranked near the bottom among Titled Douluo.
If he encountered Titled Douluo skilled in direct assault or control, he might not even have the chance to fight back.
And although the man before him was merely a Soul Douluo, the terrifying aura radiating from him filled Dugu Bo with a profound sense of powerlessness.
More importantly, Dugu Bo recognized this man.
"Y-you're Golden Scale Blood Butcher, Luo Nan?!"
There was an unmistakable tremor in Dugu Bo's voice.
Golden Scale Blood Butcher Luo Nan—this name was renowned throughout Douluo Continent.
Since his rise to fame, he had relied on his powerful martial soul and terrifying combat strength to challenge opponents above his rank time and again, never suffering a defeat. Quite a few Soul Saints and even Soul Douluo had died by his hand.
Dugu Bo knew that he was absolutely no match for Luo Nan. If they really fought, he would likely die here today.
At that thought, the last trace of pride in Dugu Bo's heart vanished instantly.
He hurriedly withdrew his Martial Soul Avatar and forced a smile even uglier than crying onto his face.
"Ah, so it's Brother Luo Nan! What a misunderstanding—one family failing to recognize another!"
Rubbing his hands together, Dugu Bo spoke with a broad smile.
"Since Brother Luo Nan has taken a fancy to this place, this old man will naturally yield it to you. I'll leave at once, at once!"
With that, Dugu Bo turned around and prepared to slip away.
"Wait."
Luo Nan's cold voice rang out behind Dugu Bo, freezing his just-raised foot in midair.
Dugu Bo turned around and looked at Luo Nan with a dark expression. "Luo Nan, I've given you this place. What more do you want?"
"Dugu Bo, whenever it rains, do your flanks itch and go numb, with the sensation gradually worsening until, by midnight, the pain becomes unbearable?"
"And every night at midnight and noon, do the crown of your head and the soles of your feet suffer needle-like stabbing pains, while your entire body convulses for at least half an hour?"
Hearing Luo Nan's words, Dugu Bo seemed to have been struck by lightning, instantly freezing in place.
His deep eyes were filled with incredulous shock as he stared fixedly at Luo Nan and asked in a trembling voice:
"H-how do you know that?!"
Those symptoms were precisely the backlash of the Green Phosphorus Snake Emperor Poison within his body.
This was his greatest secret. Apart from himself, not even his closest granddaughter, Dugu Yan, knew about it.
How could this Luo Nan know it so clearly?!
Luo Nan merely cast Dugu Bo a faint glance and did not answer his question. Instead, he continued:
"The poison in your body has already seeped into your bones. If you don't bring it under control soon, you won't live much longer."
"Th-this..." Dugu Bo's face turned deathly pale. He knew Luo Nan was telling the truth. No one understood his own condition better than he did.
"Brother Luo Nan, since you can see this old man's symptoms, then you must have a way to solve it, right?!"
As though he had grasped his final lifeline, Dugu Bo rushed before Luo Nan and looked at him with a pleading expression.
"This old bag of bones can die without regret, but my poor granddaughter Yan Yan is only ten years old!"
"She inherited the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul too. If this poison backlash cannot be resolved, she will sooner or later follow in this old man's footsteps!"
"Please, save her!"
As he spoke, Dugu Bo's knees buckled, and he was about to kneel before Luo Nan.
Luo Nan's brows furrowed slightly, and an invisible force of Soul Power lifted Dugu Bo back up.
"Gold lies beneath a man's knees. Don't kneel at the drop of a hat," Luo Nan said coldly.
After all, Luo Nan was a transmigrator. Although he had grown accustomed to the customs here, he still could not accept someone kneeling before him—especially an old man.
Looking at the anxious and despairing expression in Dugu Bo's eyes, Luo Nan could not help feeling moved.
Though this Old Poison was reclusive and ruthless, he truly loved his granddaughter.
"I do have a way," Luo Nan said slowly after pondering for a moment.
"Really?!" Dugu Bo was overjoyed upon hearing this, trembling all over with excitement.
"As long as you can save Yan Yan, this old man is willing to pay any price! Even if it costs me my life, this old man will not so much as frown!"
"I'm not interested in your life."
Luo Nan waved a hand.
"The reason the Green Phosphorus Snake Poison of your Dugu Clan backlashes against its users is fundamentally because your martial souls themselves are sources of deadly poison."
"As your cultivation rises, the poison continuously accumulates. Once your bodies can no longer bear it, the backlash begins."
Dugu Bo nodded repeatedly. Luo Nan had hit the nail right on the head.
"Solving this problem is actually very simple."
Luo Nan looked at Dugu Bo. "Since you cannot change your body to adapt to the poison, then find the poison an outlet."
"An outlet?"
Dugu Bo was slightly stunned and looked at Luo Nan in confusion.
"That's right."
Luo Nan nodded. "You only need to find a poison-attribute Spirit Bone of decent quality, preferably one over ten thousand years old."
"Then, while cultivating your poison arts, deliberately guide the poison within your body and slowly transfer it, forcing it into that Spirit Bone."
"A Spirit Bone?!" Dugu Bo shuddered, as though enlightenment had struck him, and an unbelievable light burst from his eyes.
"Though Spirit Bones fuse into your bodies, they are fundamentally still independent carriers of energy."
"They feel no pain, nor will they be corroded by poison."
Before you continue