Lu Xuan's Innocent Heart

Dugu Xin's second Soul Ring had come from a five-hundred-year-old Diamond Python!

After obtaining that Soul Ring, the toxins in his body had indeed stopped worsening for a long time. But once he became a Soul Elder, his health declined again, and he had not thought to look for the reason there.

"If your body can't withstand the toxins, then strengthen it," Lu Xuan said as if the answer were obvious. "If you had a body as sturdy as those of the Diamond Mammoth clan, you could probably hold on for quite a few more years."

Dugu Xin and Dugu Bo exchanged a glance. For a moment, neither could find a rebuttal.

But how were they supposed to turn themselves into brutes like the Diamond Mammoth clan?

Even if they gave their Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Souls nine Diamond Python Soul Rings, they could never reach that level.

Dugu Yan had been chatting and laughing with Ye Lingling nearby. When she happened to overhear them, she shuddered, her little face filling with resistance. "I don't want to turn into one of those muscle-bound people!"

A moment ago, she had been huddled with Ye Lingling, happily whispering about things girls found interesting.

But the thought of the Diamond Mammoth clan's hulking, knotted muscles—and of growing into that kind of burly figure herself—made her tremble. She lost most of her desire to play.

Once grown, members of the Diamond Mammoth clan easily stood over two meters tall. Those with high cultivation could grow past three meters.

Wouldn't a single one of their thighs weigh more than her entire body?

Just picturing herself with that thick, hulking build made Dugu Yan's heart quail. The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. Her eyes reddened, and two tears gathered at their corners.

"Friend Lu, that method simply won't work."

Dugu Xin hurriedly soothed his frightened daughter, then turned to Lu Xuan with a helpless look. "Your idea is too far removed from reality. If we gave our Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Souls Soul Rings like that, they might not even measure up to second-rate Martial Souls."

"You have a point." Lu Xuan nodded, then tossed out another wild idea. "I've heard Soul Bones can greatly strengthen the body. I've never seen one myself, but wouldn't absorbing one or two help?"

As soon as he said it, he "seemed" to remember something and cast aside that approach, which would treat the symptoms but not the cause. "Wait! Could you use a Soul Bone as a venom sac and force all the Jade Phosphorous Serpent's toxins into it? Then the toxins wouldn't keep eating away at your body, would they?"

"Force the toxins into a Soul Bone?"

Dugu Bo and Dugu Xin looked at each other. In all their years, neither father nor son had ever considered such a thing.

Yet of all Lu Xuan's fanciful suggestions, this was the only one that sounded remotely plausible.

Dugu Bo had just begun to think it might work when Lu Xuan spoke again.

"No, no. There's a serious risk." Lu Xuan shook his head. "A Soul Bone can only hold so much. How many toxins could it store? Once it filled up, you might face an even more terrible outbreak. Unless the Soul Bone itself had a poison attribute and could consume the Jade Phosphorous Serpent's toxins as nourishment."

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

When Dugu Bo heard his reasoning, his dark green eyes practically lit up.

If a Soul Bone contained the poison, his body would be spared its constant erosion. A poison-attributed Soul Bone could even avert the deadly danger of exceeding its capacity.

It might even absorb the poison's power and increase the age of the Soul Bone!

As the thought turned in his mind, Dugu Bo's imagination ran further. He could not help wondering whether some other means existed to cure the affliction passed down through the Dugu family's Martial Soul once and for all.

But he soon remembered why Ye Renxin and the others had come.

"Brother Ye." Dugu Bo turned to Ye Renxin, finally returning to the matter at hand. "You said you were looking for poisonous plants. Tell me which ones, and I'll see whether I have any."

Glad that Dugu Bo had finally remembered the purpose of his visit, Ye Renxin immediately listed them. "Soul-Silencing Sleepflower, Nether-Returning Frost Floss, Soul-Eroding Bloodvine, Spirit-Shattering Thornflower..."

Ye Renxin named more than twenty poisonous plants in one breath. Dugu Bo's brows rose slightly as he listened to the unfamiliar names.

Even he recognized only half of them. Of those on the list, his herb garden held just one Soul-Silencing Sleepflower and one Spirit-Shattering Thornflower. The rest might well exist, but he would not even know how to identify them.

"I don't need them all. Three or four would be enough," Ye Renxin said. "Brother Dugu, which ones do you have?"

"I only have Soul-Silencing Sleepflower and Spirit-Shattering Thornflower. As for the others, I can't be sure whether I have the varieties you need." Dugu Bo considered for a moment before continuing. "Brother Ye, I have a private herb garden with quite a few rare plants. Why don't I take you there to look for yourself?"

"That would be wonderful." Ye Renxin did not know what that garden meant to Dugu Bo and agreed without hesitation.

"There is one condition..." Dugu Bo's gaze settled on Lu Xuan before shifting back to Ye Renxin. "Friend Lu must come with us."

This was no invitation. He was plainly taking Lu Xuan as a hostage.

Dugu Bo did not know the garden's value, but he had been cautious all his life. Though he had known Ye Renxin for years, people's hearts were hard to judge. He could not afford to let down his guard.

If Ye Renxin grew greedy after entering the garden and tried to seize its rare herbs and potent poisons, Lu Xuan would be Dugu Bo's leverage. He could kill the boy on the spot.

Ye Renxin immediately caught the deadly threat hidden in Dugu Bo's words. His heart sank, and he looked at Lu Xuan with worry.

But Lu Xuan wore a look of utter innocence and smiled. "Master, Senior Dugu wants to show me something new. That's a rare opportunity!"

Ye Renxin sighed inwardly.

His disciple was exceptionally clever, but he must have been sheltered too well in the past.

Even after surviving such an ordeal, he remained so open and trusting.

Innocence was no flaw in itself. But in the perilous world of Soul Masters, it could cost a person dearly.

Worry flickered through his eyes, but he could not expose Dugu Bo's intentions in front of everyone.

"Since Xiao Xuan has no objections, we'll all go together." Ye Renxin looked at Dugu Bo. "Brother Dugu, let's set out now."