The poison within Dugu Yan had its roots in Dugu Bo's Jade-Scaled Serpent Emperor Martial Soul.
That bloodline-level poison could not be eradicated by conventional means.
Dugu Bo had merely used his formidable cultivation to slow the poison's spread throughout Dugu Yan's body.
Although he did not possess poison-cleansing methods like Tang San in the original story, he had Pure Heart Eyes, which could see the poison's flow through the body; he had the Death Domain, which could strip toxins from the vitality of all things; and he had a Life Heart, which could stimulate pure life force to repair organs corroded by poison.
For Li Qinglian, solving this problem would be absurdly easy.
When the time came, this Poison Douluo would become a pawn he could use.
"I really do need some useful people."
Li Qinglian murmured.
Whether it was the Titled Douluo of the Worship Hall or Pope Hall, everyone in Spirit Hall had Qian Daoliu and Bibi Dong behind them.
Li Qinglian had no desire to remain under someone else's watchful eye forever.
Dugu Bo was strong enough, and obedient enough.
Li Qinglian had been quite satisfied with Dugu Bo's performance in the original story.
"My Dragon Abyss Ring not only has enormous storage space, it can also store living things."
"Could those rare immortal herbs be transplanted into it as well?"
Li Qinglian murmured.
He withdrew his gaze and turned to enter the main house.
"I left in too much of a hurry this time and forgot something important."
"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is where the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King perished. I wonder if there are still any opportunities here. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well can maintain a continuous supply of energy, which should be provided by the two Dragon Kings..."
"In the original story, this place even gave birth to two Dragon Souls..."
Li Qinglian's eyes gleamed.
The Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King were two of the eighteen great Dragon Kings of the Dragon Realm!
Their strength was enough to rival God Kings.
Most importantly, every part of these Dragon Kings was a treasure!
Even one of Gu Yuena's teeth contained spatial energy and had been made into the Dragon Abyss Ring.
This showed that the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King might well have left behind supreme treasures of ice and fire attributes.
Even if there truly were no such treasures, Li Qinglian still wanted to pack the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well into his Dragon Abyss Realm!
A portable top-grade herb garden would be immensely useful to Li Qinglian.
"But if I really want to stuff the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well inside, I'll at least need the Goddess of Life or Goddess of Kindness to come and help me..."
"I don't have that kind of ability myself."
Li Qinglian put those thoughts aside and turned to enter the main house.
Meanwhile, at the other end of Heaven Dou City, within a deep and secluded residence.
Dugu Yan practically stumbled through the main gate.
She covered her still faintly burning backside, her dark green hair scattered over her shoulders in the night wind, while her eyes remained red-rimmed.
The guards at the gate were startled by her appearance and were about to step forward to ask, but one fierce glare from her sent them shrinking back.
"Where is my grandfather?"
"M-Master is in the study."
Dugu Yan bit her lip, crossed the courtyard, and pushed open the study door.
Inside, an elderly man in a dark green robe stood with his back to the door, flipping through a yellowed ancient text by the window.
He was lean but upright, emanating a cold, forbidding air that kept strangers at a distance. Hearing the door open, he slowly turned around, revealing a sharply defined face.
Dugu Bo, the Poison Douluo.
The most feared master of poison on the entire continent.
His gaze fell upon Dugu Yan. He froze for a moment, then his brows slowly furrowed.
"Yan Yan, what... happened to you?"
His gaze fell upon the hands Dugu Yan had placed over her rear, and his expression became somewhat peculiar.
Dugu Yan's face instantly flushed bright red to the tips of her ears.
Thinking of how Li Qinglian had spanked her, she felt rather embarrassed.
"Nothing!"
She practically gritted out those three words, then strode quickly to Dugu Bo, lifted her head, and stared straight into his eyes.
"Grandfather, I want to ask you something."
Seeing the unprecedented seriousness in her expression, Dugu Bo's brow furrowed even deeper.
Something was very wrong with Yan Yan today.
"What is it?"
"Someone said..." Dugu Yan took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly. "I only have three years left to live."
Dugu Bo's pupils suddenly contracted.
In that instant, the color nearly drained from his face.
"Who is spouting nonsense!"
His voice rose several notches, carrying panic he desperately tried to conceal.
"Grandfather!"
"At a time like this, are you still going to keep it from me?!"
Dugu Yan cut him off, her voice suddenly growing louder as the tears in her eyes nearly spilled over.
The study fell silent for a moment.
Dugu Bo opened his mouth. Looking at his granddaughter's tear-filled eyes, his Adam's apple bobbed, yet he could not utter a single word.
He fell silent.
Seeing his silent expression, Dugu Yan's heart sank to the bottom.
She had actually sensed something was wrong long ago.
The occasional tightness in her chest, the increasingly frequent chill in her limbs, the strange symptoms she had forced herself to ignore...
But she had always told herself that it was only because cultivation had exhausted her, only an occasional discomfort.
Yet now, her grandfather's expression told her that it was all true.
"...Who told you?"
Dugu Bo finally spoke, his voice hoarse and filled with endless pain. "Who told you about this?"
"Li Qinglian, the Holy Son of Spirit Hall."
"I met him in Heaven Dou City today. He—he saw through the poison in my body and said I had three years at most."
Dugu Yan bit her lip.
Her heart was filled with conflicting emotions.
But in the end, she was grateful.
If she had not accidentally seen Li Qinglian with the Crown Prince, she never would have become curious enough to test Li Qinglian's sexual preferences.
Nor would she have learned of her condition.
"Li Qinglian?"
"The Holy Son of Spirit Hall who was conferred the title on Pope Mountain six years ago?"
Dugu Bo's expression changed several times before finally settling into one of immense, complicated gravity.
Li Qinglian, Spirit Hall's new Holy Son, a genius jointly recommended by all the old monsters of the Worship Hall. It was said that even Qian Daoliu held him in especially high regard.
But a twelve-year-old boy could see through the poison of the Jade-Scaled Serpent Emperor at a glance?
"What... else did he say?" Dugu Bo's voice carried an urgency he himself did not notice.
"He said..."
"He told you to go find him. He has a way."
Dugu Bo froze.
He stood where he was, his dark green robe gently swaying in the night wind, while for the first time, a trace of delight appeared on that stern, cold face.
He had searched for an antidote for decades, gathered every strange formula under heaven, and exhausted every possible method, only to barely suppress it.
A twelve-year-old child said he could cure it?
But what if he could?
What if he really could?
The other party was Spirit Hall's Holy Son, and Li Qinglian was no ordinary person!
Twin Martial Souls at rank twenty! Even a supreme powerhouse like Qian Daoliu regarded him with immense importance.
Someone like that had no reason to toy with him.
Could he be trying to win me over? If he can truly save Yan Yan, what does it matter if I give him this old life of mine?
If Yan Yan is well, the Dugu Clan will not die out.
Before you continue