First Meeting with Dugu Bo, Entering the Immortal Herb Redemption Code

At dusk, Lin Chen arrived at a secluded residence in the western outskirts of Heaven Dou City, as agreed.

The residence stood halfway up a mountain, with no other homes nearby, standing alone in the twilight.

Its walls were built from bluish-gray stone bricks, covered in dark green vines. They looked quite old.

The moment he reached the gate, it opened on its own.

A hoarse voice came from within the courtyard. "Come in."

Lin Chen pushed the gate open and entered.

The courtyard was not large. Several old locust trees grew within it, and beneath them stood a stone table with two stone stools. An old man sat on one of the stools with his back to Lin Chen, slowly sipping tea from a cup.

The old man wore a dark green robe. He was lean, with a head of white hair casually draped over his shoulders. Without turning around, he merely said, "Sit."

Lin Chen sat on the stone stool opposite him, finally getting a clear look at this Poison Douluo.

Dugu Bo looked somewhat older than Lin Chen had imagined.

His face was lined with wrinkles, his eye sockets deeply sunken and his cheekbones prominent. His eyes were a ghostly green, glowing faintly in the dusk.

His lips were somewhat purplish, and his complexion was poor, carrying a sickly pallor.

Yet his aura was extraordinarily powerful. He sat there as steady as a mountain, like a dormant beast that could lash out and wound someone at any moment.

A Titled Douluo.

Lin Chen silently assessed him. With his current strength, he was still far from being able to face a Titled Douluo. But he had the life-saving methods granted by the God King, so he was not afraid.

"Kid, you've got guts." Dugu Bo spoke, his voice hoarse and low. "You beat Xue Beng, and you still dare come see me. Aren't you afraid I'll hand you over to the royal family?"

"If Senior intended to hand me over to the royal family, you wouldn't have sent Sister Yan to invite me," Lin Chen said calmly.

Dugu Bo snorted and raised his teacup for a sip. "You're clever, I'll give you that. Tell me, why did you beat Xue Beng?"

"He harassed my friend."

"Just for that?"

"Isn't that reason enough?"

Dugu Bo stared at him for several seconds, then suddenly laughed. The smile looked somewhat eerie on his wrinkled face, but Lin Chen could sense that there was no malice in it.

"Good kid. You've got backbone." Dugu Bo set down his cup. "I've disliked that little bastard for ages. He relies on being a prince to run wild at the academy. If not for his status, I'd have slapped him to death long ago. You let me vent my anger. Not bad, not bad."

He said "not bad" twice, his tone filled with obvious approval.

Lin Chen did not respond. He simply waited quietly.

Dugu Bo took another sip of tea, then suddenly asked an unrelated question. "Kid, do you know medicine?"

Lin Chen's heart stirred. He knew the real subject had arrived.

"I know a little."

"Then take a look at me. Is there anything wrong with me?" Dugu Bo extended one hand onto the stone table, palm up.

Lin Chen did not take his pulse. Instead, he said directly, "Whenever the weather turns cloudy or rainy, Senior should feel numbness and itching along both sides of your ribs. It flares up once at noon and once at midnight, each episode lasting more than two hours."

Dugu Bo's gaze abruptly sharpened.

Lin Chen continued, "Every night around midnight, you feel needle-like pain on the top of your head and the soles of your feet, pain so intense you would rather die. And these symptoms have persisted for many years."

The courtyard fell silent.

Dugu Bo said nothing. He merely stared fixedly at Lin Chen, his ghostly green eyes churning with shock, wariness, disbelief, and a deeply buried trace of hope.

Only after a long while did he slowly speak. "How did you know?"

"I could tell," Lin Chen said. "Your complexion, lip color, and pupil color all show that there is a potent poison in your body. And this poison did not come from outside. It comes from your own martial soul."

Dugu Bo's pupils contracted sharply.

"The Jade Phosphor Serpent martial soul is a top-tier beast martial soul with a poison attribute. It is immensely powerful, but its price is equally immense," Lin Chen said unhurriedly.

"As your cultivation rises, the poison gradually backlashes against its host. Senior, you should already be a Titled Douluo, correct? The poison's backlash should have already reached the point of seeping into your bones and marrow."

He paused, then added one final sentence. "Senior, you are not merely poisoned. The poison has entered your bones and marrow. If you do not receive treatment soon, I'm afraid you will not live past three years."

Those words were like a blade, precisely piercing Dugu Bo's deepest wound.

Dugu Bo was silent for a long time.

He lowered his head and looked at his callused hands, his voice growing hoarse. "You're right. I am indeed poisoned, and it has already entered my bones and marrow. Over the years, I've tried countless methods and sought countless famous physicians, but not one of them could cure me. They all told me this was the fate of the Jade Phosphor Serpent martial soul, with no solution."

He raised his head and looked at Lin Chen, a complicated emotion flashing through his eyes. "But you saw through it at a glance. Kid, do you have a way?"

Lin Chen did not answer immediately.

Of course he had a way. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was in Sunset Forest, and the immortal herbs there could neutralize all poisons. The Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot could be used together for Icefire Golden Body Tempering.

But Lin Chen would not reveal it so easily.

"There is a way," Lin Chen said slowly. "But I need Senior to cooperate."

"How?"

"Take me somewhere."

"Where?"

Lin Chen looked at him and spoke four words. "The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well."

Dugu Bo's expression changed.

He abruptly rose to his feet, sharp light shooting from his ghostly green eyes as he stared at Lin Chen. "How do you know about that place?!"

"I naturally have my own sources of information." Lin Chen remained seated, his expression calm. "Senior only needs to tell me: will you take me there or not?"

Dugu Bo stared at him for a long time. The sharpness in his eyes gradually turned to contemplation.

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was his greatest secret.

It was a treasure ground he had discovered by chance, deep within Sunset Forest. It gathered the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and grew countless rare medicinal herbs.

The reason he had been able to suppress the poison in his body over the years was largely due to the herbs there.

But he had never told anyone this secret.

How did this youth know?

Countless doubts and wariness churned in Dugu Bo's heart. Yet in the end, his desire to live overwhelmed everything else.

"Fine," he said. "I'll take you there."

He stood up, his dark green robe fluttering in the twilight. "But kid, let me make this clear first. If you dare play any tricks, I won't mind letting you taste Jade Phosphor Serpent poison."

Lin Chen stood as well and smiled. "Don't worry, Senior. My life is still quite valuable."