Earth Dragon Golden Melon Wasn't Worth It

No sense of shame?

A mere six-year-old brat dared speak to him like that. He was practically courting death!

"Dugu Bo, do you want to fight?" Golden Crocodile narrowed his eyes. The pressure of a level-98 Titled Douluo burst forth and immediately bore down on Dugu Bo.

Facing that overwhelming pressure, Dugu Bo frantically circulated his soul power to resist, but crackling sounds rang from within his bones. It felt as though his bones were about to be crushed.

The phantom of the Golden Crocodile King faintly appearing behind the other man made Dugu Bo's pupils constrict sharply!

Golden Crocodile Douluo—it was him!

"Dugu Bo was wrong. I beg Your Excellency Golden Crocodile for forgiveness!"

Those who understood the times were the wise ones. Dugu Bo was not alone; he had a gravely ill son, a poisoned daughter-in-law, and an infant granddaughter still in swaddling clothes!

The Dugu Clan was currently under his control, but he was not its only member!

"Humph!"

Golden Crocodile snorted coldly and withdrew his pressure.

"Dugu Bo, I'll give you a chance. Join my Spirit Hall." Qian Chenzhou spoke calmly, his gaze returning to the wooden hut. "And while we're at it, I'll cure the poison in your son's body. What will you choose?"

"Really?!" Dugu Bo abruptly raised his head, not even having time to examine his own injuries.

"Do you still have a way out?" Qian Chenzhou looked at Dugu Bo. "But treatment carries risks. I'll only provide the method. Whether he survives will depend on your son's own fate."

"Dugu Bo thanks Young Master!"

Dugu Bo understood that he no longer had any path of retreat. He immediately dropped to his knees and kowtowed to Qian Chenzhou.

He truly had no other options.

At first, he had been able to use the strength of a Titled Douluo to forcibly suppress his son's poison, but now, he had exhausted every possible method.

Qian Chenzhou said nothing. Instead, he walked around the Ice Fire Mandarin Duck Pot, searching for something.

In an open patch beside the Ice Fire Mandarin Duck Pot stood a large pale-pink flower. It had no leaves, and its stem was three feet long. The blossom itself was enormous, nearly a foot in diameter. Every petal looked as clear and translucent as crystal, while its pale-purple stamens resembled purple diamonds set within the flower.

Fragrant Qiluo Immortal Herb!

"Bring your son out of the house."

Without the slightest hesitation, Dugu Bo sprang up, shoved open the door, and rushed wildly inside. He soon came running back, carrying a young man with a pale complexion and dull eyes.

Golden Crocodile had not dispelled the soul power barrier around Qian Chenzhou. The toxins emanating from the poisoned young man could not harm Qian Chenzhou at all.

Even though Golden Crocodile did not understand medicine or poison, he could tell that this young man, whose hair was dark green and whose entire body had turned bluish-purple, was clearly at death's door. He would not last more than a few days.

He was even more curious about how Qian Chenzhou intended to remove the poison from the man's body!

"Lean him against here."

Dugu Bo immediately laid his son down in a cross-legged seated position.

Qian Chenzhou turned and left, searching back and forth through the surrounding area. At last, he found an old vine in one area.

Its tendrils resembled an old dragon's whiskers, and its roots spread through the earth. He casually dug open the soil and unearthed a pale-golden fruit beneath one section of the roots, shaped like a dragon's head.

Earth Dragon Golden Melon!

When Golden Crocodile saw it, he could clearly feel his martial soul's intense craving for it.

He understood that this thing held an absolute attraction for Golden Crocodile Spirits.

And now, it was being wasted on someone who was about to die. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed far too wasteful!

"If you're awake, open your eyes."

The young man forced his eyelids open and looked at the youth before him. Ravaged by the poison in his body, he was in excruciating pain. Even speaking was extraordinarily difficult.

"Eat this, then circulate your soul power." Qian Chenzhou handed him the Earth Dragon Golden Melon. "Use the potent medicinal power of this immortal herb, together with the poison in your body, to stimulate the evolution of your martial soul."

"Then he'll live?" Dugu Bo asked, his eyes filled with hope.

"No."

The hope in Dugu Bo's eyes turned into obvious disappointment, but as long as it could let his child live a little longer, that was still good!

"Son, hurry and eat this." Dugu Bo brought the Earth Dragon Golden Melon to the young man's mouth.

The young man opened his mouth with great difficulty and swallowed it. Enduring the pain, he began frantically driving his soul power.

As the medicinal effects of the Earth Dragon Golden Melon were gradually refined, the pained expression on the young man's face slowly eased, and the bluish-purple color of his skin began to fade.

Seeing his son's condition gradually improve, Dugu Bo dropped to his knees and repeatedly kowtowed to Qian Chenzhou. "Young Master, from now on, the Dugu Clan will follow your lead!"

Qian Chenzhou looked at the old fox, Dugu Bo.

He instantly understood the little scheme Dugu Bo was playing.

He had said they would follow Qian Chenzhou's lead, not Spirit Hall's.

"Old Poison, I forgot to tell you who I am. Qian Chenzhou, son of Qian Daoliu." Qian Chenzhou calmly revealed his background.

Dugu Bo froze for a moment.

"Still, it wouldn't be impossible for you to become one of my subordinates." Qian Chenzhou took out paper and a pen from his Storage Soul Tool and began writing. He tossed the paper before Dugu Bo. "This contains the method for cultivating a Poison Core. That Earth Dragon Golden Melon can only help your son live a while longer. If he truly wants to survive, he must learn to condense this Poison Core."

"Thank you, Master, for bestowing this method!"

Dugu Bo clutched the paper from the ground to his chest as though he had obtained an incomparable treasure.

For other poison-cultivating soul masters, this might be a supreme treasure. But for the Dugu Clan, it was something even a hundred-thousand-year soul bone could not compare to!

"You should cultivate it first. That will be better than having your son figure it out alone later."

"Thank you, Master!"

"Ghost, Yue Guan, you two will stay here."

"Yes!"

Ghost and Yue Guan promptly acknowledged the order. They also understood that Qian Chenzhou was leaving them behind to prevent old Dugu Bo from secretly gathering these immortal herbs and other herbs with powerful effects.

"Uncle Golden Crocodile, let's go."

Golden Crocodile nodded and directly flew toward the Star Dou Forest with Qian Chenzhou and Bibi Dong.

Traveling by carriage was too slow!

The moment they landed, Golden Crocodile could not help looking at Qian Chenzhou. "Chenzhou, was trading that thing for the loyalty of Dugu Bo's family worth it?"

To him, Dugu Bo was ultimately too weak. He simply was not worth the value of that immortal herb.

Besides, he could crush Dugu Bo to death as easily as crushing an ant whenever he wished!

"Uncle Golden Crocodile, I know you feel bad about that Earth Dragon Golden Melon." Qian Chenzhou smiled. "But that Earth Dragon Golden Melon was only a half-finished product. It isn't worth you or your descendants consuming it. Once I obtain my soul ring, I'll naturally have higher-quality Earth Dragon Golden Melons for you."

"After all, Dugu Bo's combat strength may be lacking, but his understanding of poisons is still very strong."