Qian Renxue's Recruitment! Dugu Yan's Alluring Temptation!

"First, improve my strength."

Tang Chen replied,

"Then, when the time is right, I'll settle accounts with the Clear Sky Sect."

Xue Qinghe did not try to dissuade him.

She understood very clearly that the enmity between Tang Chen and the Clear Sky Sect could not be resolved with a few words of persuasion.

"You've offended Xue Beng."

"You'll inevitably run into trouble at the academy in the future."

Xue Qinghe raised her eyes to look at Tang Chen.

"If Xue Beng causes you trouble again, I can protect you."

Tang Chen turned his head.

"Why does Your Highness the Crown Prince want to help me?"

"The Heaven Dou Empire needs strong people."

Xue Qinghe answered quickly.

"You reached level forty at fourteen, and your Soul Ring configuration far surpasses that of ordinary people."

"As long as you continue growing, you will certainly become a powerful figure in the future."

"I don't want such a genius to be affected by the internal disputes of the imperial family."

Tang Chen looked at her.

"Your Highness wants to invest in me?"

Xue Qinghe did not deny it.

"You could understand it that way."

"What do you want?"

"Cultivation resources, Soul Beast information, and a simulated environment suited to you."

Xue Qinghe raised her fingers and listed them one by one.

"I can have the Heaven Dou Royal Academy prioritize arranging whatever it can provide for you."

"For things the academy cannot provide, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family can find a way as well."

Tang Chen did not agree immediately.

Xue Qinghe waited quietly.

As she watched Tang Chen's thoughtful expression, that faint flutter stirred in her heart once more.

Tang Chen had not immediately agreed just because of the imperial family's name.

He was always weighing the pros and cons.

Such caution did not seem like that of a fourteen-year-old Soul Master.

"I can accept."

Tang Chen raised his head.

"But I won't do anything for the Heaven Dou Imperial Family that goes against my own wishes."

"Of course."

Xue Qinghe nodded.

"I'm investing in your future, not turning you into a subordinate of the imperial family."

"If there is a need, I will discuss it with you through proper channels."

"Alright."

Tang Chen rose to his feet.

"Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Xue Qinghe rose as well.

"You don't need to thank me so quickly."

She took out a golden token from her sleeve and placed it on the stone table.

A swan was engraved in the center of the token, while fine patterns decorated its edges.

"With this token, you can access the Soul Beast information stored by the Heaven Dou Imperial Family."

"You can also receive a batch of cultivation resources every month."

Tang Chen picked up the token.

"This is no small gift."

"A genius deserves such treatment."

Xue Qinghe looked into his eyes.

"Tang Chen, I hope you can live and grow stronger."

"I will."

"Good."

Xue Qinghe withdrew her gaze.

She did not linger any longer.

"If you encounter anything at the academy that you cannot resolve, send someone to the Crown Prince's residence to find me."

Tang Chen nodded.

"I'll remember that."

Xue Qinghe turned and left.

After walking a few steps, she stopped.

"Tang Chen."

"Does Your Highness have something else to say?"

Xue Qinghe turned back.

"The clothes you're wearing today look very good."

After saying that, she paused first.

Tang Chen looked at her.

Xue Qinghe quickly regained her composure.

"I mean, white suits you."

"Thank you."

Tang Chen replied.

Xue Qinghe nodded lightly and left along the stone path by the lake.

Only after walking some distance did she raise a hand to press against her chest.

Her heart was beating a little faster than usual.

She looked back once.

Tang Chen was still standing beside Clear Lake, the golden token held in his hand.

Xue Qinghe withdrew her gaze.

She did not explain her earlier lapse.

Sunset Forest.

Tang Chen and Tang Yuan passed through the dense woods.

The two figures moved swiftly between the trees.

Tang Yuan's wooden staff struck the ground.

The Golden-Clawed Bear Martial Soul appeared behind him.

Its enormous body directly blasted aside the vines blocking their path.

"Chen'er, Dugu Bo's residence is ahead."

"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is inside the valley."

Tang Chen looked ahead.

A layer of jade-green poisonous mist shrouded the outside of the valley.

The poison mist flowed slowly beneath the sunlight, staining the trees and rocks green.

Tang Yuan raised his wooden staff.

Golden Soul Power gathered before the two of them.

The poisonous mist parted to either side.

Tang Chen and Tang Yuan entered the valley.

The atmosphere within the valley immediately changed.

The spring on the left was milky white, cold air spreading across its surface.

The spring on the right was fiery red, waves of heat constantly rising from it.

The two springs met, yet did not merge.

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Tang Chen stopped beside the springs.

His gaze swept across the two springs before falling upon the medicinal herbs growing around them.

Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass.

Infernal Delicate Apricot.

Lovesick Heartbreak Red.

Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew.

Aromatic Silk Beauty.

All kinds of rare medicinal herbs were scattered throughout the valley.

Each plant contained special energy.

Tang Chen walked before a dark-red medicinal herb.

The aura of the Life Ancient Tree flowed slowly within his body.

The energy at the herb's roots immediately became clear to his senses.

"There's more here than I imagined."

Tang Yuan looked around.

"Dugu Bo has always treated this place as a cultivation ground."

"Though he does not understand medicinal herbs, he has not allowed outsiders to come in and ruin them."

The two continued deeper into the valley.

Beside a wooden house,

Dugu Bo was sorting medicinal herbs.

Dugu Yan was crouched by the spring, holding a purple flower in her hand.

Upon hearing the movement, she immediately stood up.

"Grandfather, who are they?"

Dugu Yan looked at Tang Chen and Tang Yuan as they approached.

She wore a jade-green short skirt, her long hair draped behind her shoulders, with several medicinal leaves still clinging to her arms.

Dugu Bo turned around.

"Yan Yan, they are the people I told you about before."

"Tang Chen, and his grandfather, Tang Yuan."

Dugu Yan looked at Tang Chen.

"Is he the one who can cure Jade Phosphorous Serpent poison?"

"It's him."

Dugu Yan's gaze lingered on Tang Chen for a moment.

She had long heard Dugu Bo speak of Tang Chen.

But upon seeing him in person, she still found it hard to believe that he was so much younger than her.

"Can he really detoxify us?"

"Tang Chen says he can."

Dugu Bo walked over to the two of them.

"This old man has already agreed to give the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to him."

"In exchange, he will help the two of us, grandfather and granddaughter, neutralize the toxins in our bodies."

The purple flower in Dugu Yan's hand fell to the ground.

"Grandfather, you agreed to give this place away?"

"This is our Dugu family's territory."

Dugu Bo glanced at the valley.

"If Tang Chen can resolve the toxins that have plagued us for years, then keeping these herbs in this old man's hands will not allow them to serve their true purpose."

"But..."

Dugu Yan looked at Tang Chen.

"I don't believe him."

Tang Chen did not mind her wariness.

"You don't have to believe me."

"But the toxins in your body will continue accumulating as your Soul Power rises."

Dugu Yan's expression changed.

Dugu Bo said in a deep voice,

"Yan Yan, Tang Chen has already suppressed this old man's toxins once."

"That power really could separate the poison from the internal organs."

Dugu Yan looked at her grandfather.

"Did it really work?"

"I would not joke with your life."

Dugu Yan lowered her head.

Thinking of why her father and uncle had died young, her fingers gradually clenched.

Dugu Bo looked at Tang Chen.

"What do we do next?"

Tang Chen walked to the edge of the herb field.

He raised a hand and pointed at several medicinal herbs.

"Harvest these herbs first."

"Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, Infernal Delicate Apricot, Aromatic Silk Beauty, and Earth Dragon Golden Melon."

"Handle them all according to my instructions."

Dugu Bo acted as instructed.

Though he did not understand medicinal theory, he recognized the herbs within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Dugu Yan joined in gathering them as well.

Tang Yuan stood to one side without intervening.

He merely watched the surroundings of the valley.

His level ninety-five Soul Power remained contained within his body.

Dugu Bo placed the herbs on a wooden table.

Tang Chen inspected them one by one.

"These herbs cannot be consumed directly."

"We need to use the ice and fire spring water to balance their medicinal properties."

Tang Chen took out several jade bottles.

He drew Cold Spring water from the white spring eye, then Fire Spring water from the crimson spring eye.

The two kinds of spring water fell into separate jade bottles.

Then, Tang Chen placed the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot into them.

White frost immediately formed on the surface of one jade bottle.

Steam rose from the other.

"Senior Dugu, sit down first."

Dugu Bo walked over to the stone platform.

"What will it feel like during the treatment?"

"When the poison separates from your meridians and internal organs, it will cause pain."

"You need to circulate your Soul Power and work with the Life Force to force the poison into your Soul Bone."

Dugu Bo nodded.

"Begin."

Tang Chen moved behind Dugu Bo.

He raised his right hand.

Purple-black radiance gathered in his palm.

The Destruction Scepter slowly emerged.

Three black Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.

Dugu Yan watched those three Soul Rings, her gaze still filled with shock.

Tang Chen did not stop.

A second light rose from within his body.

Emerald branches spread out behind him.

A massive Life Ancient Tree appeared in the center of the valley.

Gentle light flowed between its leaves.

A dense aura of life spread outward.

Dugu Bo abruptly lifted his head.

"This is..."

His gaze fixed upon the Life Ancient Tree.

"You have a second Martial Soul?"

Tang Chen did not answer.

The phantom roots of the Life Ancient Tree spread along the ground.

Emerald radiance fell upon Dugu Bo.

The next moment.

The Serpent Emperor Poison that had lain dormant in Dugu Bo's body for years began gathering deep within his meridians.

His body tensed.

Dugu Yan immediately stepped forward.

"Grandfather!"

"Do not come closer."

Tang Chen spoke.

"The poison is separating."

"It cannot be interrupted now."

Dugu Yan stopped where she was.

Dugu Bo closed his eyes and began circulating his Soul Power.

Tang Chen picked up the prepared herbs.

The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass transformed into a clear, frigid medicinal force.

The Infernal Delicate Apricot released blazing energy.

The two medicinal forces entered the life radiance and gradually merged into Dugu Bo's meridians.

The emerald glow grew increasingly brilliant.

Strands of emerald poison seeped from Dugu Bo's chest, arms, and back.

Tang Chen controlled the Life Force, guiding all of that poison toward Dugu Bo's Soul Bone.

Dugu Bo's body began enduring the dual impact of the medicinal force and poison.

He did not open his eyes.

He merely continued circulating his Soul Power according to Tang Chen's guidance.

The leaves of the Life Ancient Tree gently swayed.

Emerald radiance enveloped the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Emerald radiance enveloped the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

The phantom roots of the Life Ancient Tree coiled around the stone platform.

Dugu Bo sat cross-legged at its center.

Strands of Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Poison separated from his internal organs and bones, continuously flowing through his meridians into the Soul Bone in his right arm.

Once the poison entered the Soul Bone, it was immediately sealed away.

A layer of dark green patterns gradually appeared across his right arm, which had originally borne a normal skin tone.

Sweat covered Dugu Bo's forehead.

The pain coursing through his meridians grew more intense.

Yet he never stopped circulating his Soul Power.

Tang Chen stood behind the stone platform.

The Life Ancient Tree continuously scattered emerald motes of light.

The medicinal properties of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot fused together, the cold and hot energies simultaneously protecting Dugu Bo's heart meridians.

"The final step."

Tang Chen raised his right hand.

A Leaf of Life fell onto the center of Dugu Bo's back.

Dense life energy swiftly entered his body.

The Serpent Emperor Poison lingering deep within his meridians was drawn out, all of it surging toward the Soul Bone in his right arm.

Dugu Bo's body abruptly stiffened.

The dark green patterns on his right arm rapidly spread.

Only after all the poison had entered the Soul Bone did Tang Chen withdraw his hand.

The radiance of the Life Ancient Tree gradually faded.

The valley returned to silence.

Dugu Yan stood beside the stone platform.

Looking at her unmoving grandfather with his eyes closed, she pressed her hands tightly against her chest.

"Tang Chen."

"How is Grandfather?"

"It is complete."

Tang Chen withdrew his two Martial Souls.

The three black Soul Rings merged back into his body one by one.

Dugu Yan immediately walked to the stone platform.

Just as she was about to reach out, Dugu Bo opened his eyes.

Emerald light flashed through the old man's eyes.

Dugu Bo raised his right arm.

As his Soul Power circulated, the dark green poison patterns all contracted into the Soul Bone.

He carefully sensed his internal organs and meridians.

For the past several decades, the Serpent Emperor Poison had remained entrenched deep within his body.

Even when it did not flare up, his ribs and bones would still itch and ache.

But now, all those sensations had vanished.

Dugu Bo immediately circulated his Soul Power.

The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor appeared behind him.

Nine Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.

A vast poisonous mist spread above the valley, then swiftly withdrew under his control.

His poison cultivation had not been affected in the slightest.

His Soul Power instead circulated more smoothly than before.

Dugu Bo looked at his hands.

"It truly worked..."

He examined the Soul Bone in his right arm once again.

All the poison had been stored within it.

With a single thought, he could still release the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Poison at any time.

Dugu Bo looked up at Tang Chen.

"The poison in my body has truly been cured?"

"The toxins in your meridians, internal organs, and bone marrow have all been cleared."

Tang Chen said, "The Soul Bone in your right arm is now the vessel for the Serpent Emperor Poison."

"During future cultivation, you will need to periodically send the accumulated poison into the Soul Bone."

"As long as you do not allow the poison to reenter your internal organs, the backlash will not occur again."

Dugu Bo rose from the stone platform.

He raised a hand to press against his ribs, then carefully felt the top of his head and the soles of his feet.

The stabbing pain that had tormented him for decades had completely disappeared.

The old man's solemn expression was gradually replaced by delight.

"Several decades."

"I searched everywhere for antidotes, yet could only suppress it temporarily."

"You actually separated the Serpent Emperor Poison from my body."

Dugu Yan came to her grandfather's side.

"Grandfather, are you really all right?"

Dugu Bo grasped his granddaughter's wrist.

Once his Soul Power entered her meridians, the joy on his face became even more obvious.

"I'm all right."

"Yan Yan, Grandfather is truly all right."

Dugu Yan looked at her grandfather.

She was still not entirely reassured.

"What about your poison cultivation?"

"Not only has my poison cultivation not weakened, its circulation speed has improved considerably."

Dugu Bo withdrew the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor.

He turned to look at Tang Chen.

"Tang Chen, please treat Yan Yan next."

Tang Chen nodded.

"The toxins accumulated in her body are less than yours."

"The treatment won't take long."

Dugu Yan pursed her red lips.

She glanced at the stone platform, then looked at Tang Chen.

"What do I need to do?"

"First, take off your outer clothes."