Purging the Poison, Making the Choice

Specks of luminous white light rose from roots buried deep in the soil. It was the Life Origin that had lain dormant within the plants for countless ages. The branches and leaves of the Spirit Plants swayed gently, their roots pulsing beneath the earth as the Shennong Cauldron's power slowly awakened their long-sealed Spirit Awareness. The light grew brighter, layer upon layer enveloping the entire Medicine Valley.

The Spirit-Awakening Method did not force wisdom upon plants. It awakened the Spirituality hidden within them, giving them a chance to develop intelligence.

More than that, several Immortal Herbs instantly learned the Mental Communication Method. Flecks of Spirituality reached toward the two men's seas of consciousness.

The Ethereal Dao Speech unique to plants sounded softly in their minds. "Who are you? Are you the Father God?" The question came like a newborn child's murmur, accompanied by the rustle of trembling petals and leaves, echoing through the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Every Spirit Plant across the valley had awakened, and all Ten Great Immortal Herbs had gained intelligence.

Dugu Bo stood frozen, having witnessed the scene with his own eyes. His eyes widened and his pupils contracted. He had roamed the continent for decades, yet he had never seen or heard of a person awakening an entire valley of Spirit Plants.

Even animal Soul Beasts generally had to cultivate for over ten thousand years before they could develop intelligence this advanced. For most living things, such a transformation required Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Cultivation and the accumulation of countless years. It was a mark of higher life. Though the Immortal Herbs grew exceptionally fast in this place where ice and fire sustained each other, its immense Heaven and Earth Essence had cut off any possibility of their developing intelligence. Jiang Baiyu had turned the impossible into reality.

What was more, Dugu Bo had just sensed at least ten plants with complete Spirit Awareness and another twenty or more with faint Spirit Awareness, to say nothing of the Spirit Herbs covering the valley. Could Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts eventually emerge among them?

His breathing grew ragged. If seven or more of those plants with complete Spirit Awareness reached that stage, he could obtain a full set of Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones. Even if he stored all his poison in those bones, he would face almost no risk of his body bursting apart. Heat flared in his eyes at the thought. After a long while, Dugu Bo let out a slow breath. The shock in his eyes faded, replaced by openness and resolve, without a trace of greed. Watching Jiang Baiyu quietly approach an herb he did not recognize, he spoke.

"Boy, I've lived a long time with poison coursing through my body. It torments me day and night, and I've searched endlessly for a cure. What you've done today with your secret art proves your ability. Take whatever Immortal Herbs you need. Don't hold back. I told you: if you can cure me one day, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and every Spirit Herb and Medicine here will belong to you, Jiang Baiyu. I won't covet a single thing."

He looked Jiang Baiyu in the eye, each word firm and earnest. Dugu Bo had always been blunt, with no taste for beating around the bush. He had made his promise plainly.

Jiang Baiyu, who had been frantically communicating with the surrounding Spirit Herbs, relaxed and breathed out.

He had just arranged with the newly awakened Immortal Herbs that, if Dugu Bo made a move, the Aromatic Silk Beauty would shield him from poison, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum would help him withstand an attack, and the Snow-Colored Swan Kiss nearby would hit Dugu Bo with something fierce.

It had been a tremendous gamble from the start. The moment he obtained the Spirit-Awakening Method, he had thought of using it at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. With so many Spirit Herbs, this was the ideal place, which meant he had to act right under Dugu Bo's nose. Fortunately, Dugu Bo was a decent man. Jiang Baiyu could finally proceed without holding back.

He bowed. "I hope you'll forgive me, Your Eminence Dugu. Anyone who saw what I just did would be tempted by greed. I admire your integrity." He meant it. Put in Dugu Bo's place, Jiang Baiyu doubted he could show the same strength of character.

He looked across the valley of Spirit Herbs. "There's something I should tell you first, Your Eminence Dugu. These Spirit Herbs have minds now, and some have even reached the intelligence of ordinary humans. But they aren't Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts." Jiang Baiyu went straight to the point.

"What?" Dugu Bo did not suspect Jiang Baiyu of lying. If he killed any one of the nearby Spirit Herbs and a Soul Ring appeared, Jiang Baiyu would be dead.

"That's right. Because this place is so unusual, these Spirit Herbs could only ever be medicinal ingredients. They had no chance of awakening intelligence and becoming Soul Beasts on their own," Jiang Baiyu said. He was telling the truth. Only after communicating with the herbs had he learned that two immensely powerful presences lay dormant here. As long as they remained, these herbs could never develop Spirituality by themselves.

"But now..." Jiang Baiyu paused. "I suppose they're all one-year Soul Beasts." His Spirit-Awakening Method had given them the ability to cultivate on their own, and under Douluo Star's peculiar laws, they had all become Soul Beasts.

"Hm?" Dugu Bo stared at the herbs covering the valley. "You mean they're now a group of one-year Soul Beasts with unusually advanced Spirit Awareness?" Disbelief filled his voice.

"Yes. And that has an advantage. They can release their own essence and turn it directly into medicinal ingredients." Jiang Baiyu explained that the Spirit Herb Soul Beasts had accumulated enormous plant essence over countless years without awareness. But that accumulation would hinder their future advancement. Soul Beasts had to endure heavenly tribulations, and with all that essence weighing on them, they would never survive the lightning. They would gladly have someone take it away.

"So you've gained a whole valley of Soul Beasts as your assistants," Dugu Bo said.

"Yes." Jiang Baiyu's expression turned grave. "Senior, let me ask you something. Do you dare try the Soul Core Method I told you about?"

"What do you mean?" Dugu Bo studied Jiang Baiyu with his emerald-green eyes.

"As I said before, the Soul Core Method is the best way to deal with the poison in your body. With a Soul Core, the poison would no longer burden you. The core would act as a bridge between you and the world, circulating on its own. Your Soul Power would grow naturally even if you never cultivated again, and you'd have far more of it than an ordinary soul master." Jiang Baiyu laid out the benefits, then added, "But there's one strict requirement: your Soul Power must be dense enough to solidify. Forgive my bluntness, but as a Titled Douluo who advanced by relying on poison, you'll find that step difficult."

"But..." Jiang Baiyu drew out the word and pointed to the Snow-Colored Swan Kiss. "This herb isn't poisonous. Its chief effect is amplifying poison. It could draw out all the poison accumulated in your body at once, raising your poison-aspected Soul Power to an extraordinary level in an instant. Use that power to form a Soul Core, and you could force a Poison-Attribute Soul Core into existence."

Dugu Bo considered the idea, his green eyes brightening. "If that works, the odds of success would rise dramatically!"

"Yes. You'd be the first soul master in the world with a Soul Core." Jiang Baiyu's voice was persuasive but measured. "But you'd be gambling with your life. You've already experienced the Snow-Colored Swan Kiss's power. If you lose control, your poison will run wild, destroy your meridians on the spot, and kill you."

He added, "Believe me or not, the Soul Core Method would make you far stronger than other soul masters. I intend to try it myself someday, whatever happens."

Dugu Bo's brow furrowed, his fingers curling tight as green Soul Power stirred around him. He had considered the principles and effects Jiang Baiyu had described. In theory, forming a Soul Core within his dantian was possible. It even resembled the Poison Core he had once tried to form to cure himself. But Jiang Baiyu was right: this was a gamble with his life. Win, and he would never again face a poison outbreak; he might even become a far stronger soul master. Lose, and nothing would remain of him.

Seeing his struggle, Jiang Baiyu said, "Senior, take your time and decide whether you're willing to gamble. If not, we won't touch that herb. We can follow my earlier plan and use the ice and fire energies of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, along with various medicines, to purge the poison built up inside you. We can choose the safer path. What do you think?"

Dugu Bo's conflict deepened. On one side lay a chance to defy fate at the risk of his life; on the other, a safer road to survival. Which should he choose?

He looked at the earnest young man before him and remembered how the valley's plants had bowed to him. A wild gleam flashed in his eyes. "I choose to form the Soul Core." Dugu Bo had become a Titled Douluo despite the dangers of Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison. He was an exceptional talent in his own right, and recklessness had always been part of his nature. If this boy believed it could be done, why couldn't he take one more gamble?

Dugu Bo fixed Jiang Baiyu with a hard stare. "Tell me. What are your odds of success?" His eyes were bloodshot.

"Over seventy percent," Jiang Baiyu said earnestly.

"Fine." Dugu Bo's expression hardened. He opened his mouth and spat out a flash of green light: an emerald bead. "I've done something similar to your Soul Core Method before. This is the core bead I formed when my Jade Phosphorous Serpent ascended to Serpent Emperor. Swallow it. If I die, it'll explode. What do you say? Do you dare?"

Jiang Baiyu eyed the bead uneasily. Dugu Bo said, "Don't worry. There's no saliva on it."

Jiang Baiyu still felt squeamish looking at the bead in Dugu Bo's hand. But Dugu Bo was about to stake his life on this gamble with him. He ought to show some commitment in return. After a moment, he reached out to take it.

Dugu Bo swallowed the bead again before Jiang Baiyu could touch it. "Do you have any idea what you're doing? You just told me to condense all my Soul Power into one Soul Core, and now you're about to swallow a bead containing half my cultivation."

The interruption snapped Jiang Baiyu out of his daze over Dugu Bo's reckless decision. Of course. If Dugu Bo needed to condense all his Soul Power, there was no way he could hand over his Poison Core now. He had clearly been testing him.

"But you were willing to swallow it. Fine, I trust you," Dugu Bo said. After a pause, he added, "If it fails, take good care of Yanzi for me."

Looking at him, Jiang Baiyu found himself thinking that Dugu Bo was an impressive man.