Of course, you're going back to sleep with me

Another half hour passed.

Dugu Yan sat cross-legged on the rock. The jade-green light around her gradually faded from dense to faint, and a layer of dull bluish-gray toxin on the surface of her skin was slowly forced out of her body, turning into wisps of gray smoke that drifted into the air.

Her eyes snapped open, and she drew in a deep breath, her gaze astonishingly bright.

Her entire body felt indescribably light and clear, as if she had cast off shackles she had carried for more than ten years.

She could clearly sense that the sinister backlash passed down through generations within her Jade Phosphor Snake martial soul had completely vanished.

"Grandpa!" Dugu Yan jumped down from the rock and threw herself into Dugu Bo's arms, her voice caught between tears and laughter. "I'm better... I'm really better!"

Dugu Bo held his granddaughter, old tears streaming down his face, the murky drops running along the furrows in his cheeks.

He gripped Dugu Yan's wrist tightly and checked her again and again.

The poison backlash that had kept him awake night after night was truly gone, cleanly and completely, without even the slightest trace remaining.

He let go, wiped his face, then turned to face Li Yuan. Cupping his hands, he bowed deeply, bending so low his waist was nearly folded in half.

"My lord's great kindness is beyond this old man's ability to repay! From this day on, give me any order, and I will brave mountains of blades and seas of fire without so much as furrowing my brow."

Dugu Bo spoke words of gratitude, but inwardly he was cursing himself as useless.

This Fragrant Silk Immortal Herb had been growing in his medicinal field for more than twenty years, yet he had never discovered its true use.

He had guarded a mountain of treasure every day, yet had not even found the door.

If he had not met him today, sooner or later, Yan Yan would have followed in his footsteps.

He could not help but lift his head and glance at Li Yuan's back.

Just who was this young man?

So young, yet he had powerful experts under him in droves, knew immortal herbs like the back of his hand, and could casually produce a miraculous item that undid his family's inherited curse.

Dugu Bo shook his head and pressed the bellyful of questions back down.

Half a double-hour later, all the immortal herbs had been carefully packed by Dugu Bo into specially made jade boxes, then stacked neatly into more than a dozen large chests.

With a wave of Long Yuan's hand, soul power wrapped around all the chests and lifted them into the air.

Li Yuan stood at the mouth of the valley and looked back at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

"Let's go."

Dugu Bo looked back one last time at the place where he had stayed for decades, a trace of reluctance flashing through his murky eyes. Every blade of grass and every tree in this valley had been tended by his own hands. To leave just like that inevitably left his heart feeling hollow.

He shook his head, turned, and strode after them.

By the time they returned to Nibelungen, the sky was completely dark.

The manor entrance was brightly lit, and eight figures stood in a neat line before the gates, waiting.

Each of them had restrained their aura extremely well and looked just like ordinary people, but with a single sweep of his eyes, Dugu Bo's steps came to a slight halt.

With the perception of a Titled Douluo, he could clearly sense that all seven of these people concealed extremely terrifying fluctuations of power. They were merely deliberately suppressing them and not releasing them.

The eight knelt on one knee in unison. "Greetings, my lord."

Li Yuan raised a hand. "Rise."

He swept his gaze around the surroundings, and a trace of satisfaction appeared on his face.

During the day, the manor had still been overgrown with weeds and utterly dilapidated. Now, it had changed completely.

The outer walls of the main building had been freshly whitewashed, the doors and windows replaced with brand-new lacquered wood, the weeds in the courtyard cleared away until not a single one remained, the bluestone path relaid, and even the pair of stone lions at the entrance that had each been missing half their bodies had been replaced.

In just one day out, almost half the renovation had already been completed.

Sure enough, as long as the money was in place, everything moved quickly.

As Li Yuan was thinking this, a figure walked out with graceful steps.

Yue Yao had changed into a plain white gown, her black hair casually pinned behind her head, a few loose strands hanging by her cheeks and making that face seem even more otherworldly.

The lamplight fell across her, making her look as though she had stepped out of a painting.

Shui Bing'er and Dugu Yan's eyes lit up at the same time.

"What a beautiful big sister..." Dugu Yan muttered softly.

Li Yuan beckoned, and Yue Yao walked to his side, standing there quietly.

"This is Nibelungen's third consecrator, Yue Yao, a rank ninety-seven control-type Titled Douluo."

The moment his words fell, Shui Bing'er's pupils abruptly contracted.

Rank ninety-seven? This woman, who looked so gentle and delicate, like a banished immortal descended to the mortal world, was actually a rank ninety-seven Titled Douluo?

Dugu Yan's mouth fell open outright. She looked at Yue Yao, then at Li Yuan, her mind unable to make sense of it.

She had seen far too many absurd things today.

Rank ninety-eight Long Yuan, rank ninety-nine Di Jun, and now another rank ninety-seven Yue Yao.

Just how many Titled Douluo did Nibelungen have?

Dugu Bo stood at the back, already completely numb.

He silently pinched his own thigh.

It hurt.

He was not dreaming.

So he let out a long sigh and thought that the greatest fortune of his life was probably getting beaten up today.

But what chilled his back even more was that, if he had guessed correctly, the remaining seven people were probably all Titled Douluo too.

The moment that thought surfaced, he himself sucked in a breath of cold air.

Ten Titled Douluo?

How many were there on the entire continent combined?

Spirit Hall only had a few on the surface, yet Nibelungen had gathered ten?

He did not dare think about it anymore, because the picture was far too beautiful.

With a lineup like this, he would believe it if someone said they were going to attack Spirit Hall headquarters.

Li Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze falling on Dugu Bo. "From today onward, Dugu Bo shall be Nibelungen's Spirit Field Elder, responsible for guarding the medicine garden and cultivating immortal herbs and spirit medicines."

Dugu Bo was stunned at first, then instantly overjoyed.

The thing he was best at in this life was dealing with medicinal herbs. He had thought that after entering Nibelungen, he would be assigned some fighting and killing duty, but he had never expected to be told to tend those precious immortal herbs instead.

This job suited him perfectly.

He hurriedly bowed and cupped his hands. "This subordinate accepts the order!"

If outsiders saw this scene, they would probably start doubting reality.

A mighty Titled Douluo, the Poison Douluo whose name shook the continent, had actually been assigned to guard a medicine garden? Who would dare believe it if word got out?

Li Yuan raised his head and looked at the sky. The night was already filled with stars.

"It's getting late. All of you go rest." His gaze swept around. "Yue Yao stays."

Everyone answered in unison, "Yes, my lord."

Di Jun was the first to turn and leave. Long Yuan yawned and left as well, while the other seven consecrators each dispersed.

Soon, only Li Yuan, Yue Yao, and Shui Bing'er remained in the courtyard, along with Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan.

Li Yuan opened the system space and took out the "Rare Spirit Field x1" he had obtained from his previous sign-in.

A piece of land about one mu square, giving off a faint glow, appeared out of thin air on the open ground on the east side of the manor. The soil was dark and fertile, and along its edge came an exquisite irrigation formation, with water flowing automatically through the channels in a cycle.

He turned to look at Dugu Bo and said slowly, "Dugu Bo."

"What are your orders, my lord?"

"There is one mu of spirit field on the east side of the manor. Take those immortal herbs and spirit medicines over there at once and transplant them." Li Yuan pointed toward the glowing patch of land not far away. "With this spirit field, the immortal herbs will only grow better than they did at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. You should know what to do."

Dugu Bo looked in the direction he indicated, and his eyes nearly popped out.

He could feel the density of spiritual energy in that patch of land even from several dozen steps away.

Compared with his land at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, this was more than ten times better.

"This old man understands! This subordinate will go at once!" He was so excited that his voice changed pitch, and he turned around and ran toward the place where the medicine chests had been put.

"Oh, right," Li Yuan added. "There happen to be two side rooms over there. You and Dugu Yan can settle in first."

"Many thanks, my lord!"

Dugu Bo left with flying steps, so excited he looked like a child who had just gotten a new toy.

Li Yuan withdrew his gaze and turned to Shui Bing'er, who was still standing there, her hands clasped in front of her, looking somewhat uneasy.

"My lord, what about me?" she asked softly.

Li Yuan froze for a moment, then laughed despite himself. "Of course you're coming back with me to sleep."