Dugu Yan Submits: "Your Orders, Young Master!"

"Yan Yan, mind your manners!"

Dugu Bo's face darkened, and he hastily rebuked her:

"This is His Excellency from the Holy Dragon Sect, the Title Douluo known as 'Demon Dragon.' He is far stronger than your grandfather!"

"And this is Yin Changqing, the Holy Dragon Sect's young master. He is the esteemed guest I invited here especially for you!"

"The Holy Dragon Sect's young master?"

Dugu Yan paused, her beautiful eyes sweeping over Yin Changqing.

Seeing that Yin Changqing was a boy of no more than twelve, with striking features and a composure far beyond his years, she felt the whole thing was even more absurd.

"Grandpa, have you gone senile?"

Dugu Yan could not help pursing her lips.

"He looks a few years younger than me. What makes him so special?

"Didn't you always say you'd poison anyone who came to this herb garden?"

"Watch your tongue!"

Dugu Bo's beard trembled with fright. He was terrified she might anger Yin Yu beside him.

He knew all too well the fearsome pressure of a level ninety-five Super Douluo. If Yin Yu attacked, ten of him would not be enough to withstand one hand.

Yin Changqing remained calm. He raised a hand to stop Dugu Bo's scolding, stepped forward, and met Dugu Yan's emerald-green eyes.

"You needn't doubt me."

Yin Changqing got straight to the point, his tone mild but every word cutting deep.

"On long, rainy nights, does a spot three inches below your ribs itch unbearably, as though ten thousand ants were gnawing at your bones?

"At midnight and noon, does a bone-deep chill spread through the Baihui Point atop your head and the Yongquan points on your soles, making your Soul Power sluggish and difficult to circulate?"

Dugu Yan's casual expression froze. Disbelief flashed through her eyes.

"How do you know that?!"

She instinctively took half a step back and stared at Yin Changqing warily.

"That's a problem with my cultivation I've kept to myself. I haven't even told Yu Tianheng!"

"There's more."

Yin Changqing pointed to her slender hands.

"Raise your hands and look at your nails. Dark green patches have already begun to appear at your fingertips.

"The poison has seeped through your Meridians and into your marrow.

"At this rate, within five years at most, Jade Phosphorous Serpent venom will completely corrode your Meridians. You'll lose your cultivation, then die bleeding from all seven orifices."

Dugu Yan's face went deathly pale. She turned instinctively to her grandfather.

Dugu Bo let out a long sigh, his voice bleak and heavy with grief.

"Yan Yan, every word the young master said is true.

"Your father... died young because the Jade Phosphorous Serpent venom in his body turned against him.

"All these years, I've searched desperately for medicinal ingredients and prepared remedy after remedy. I even used the earth's energy where ice and fire meet to suppress the poison.

"But I could only delay it. I couldn't cure it."

Dugu Bo's eyes reddened, and his voice shook.

"My poison arts made me the renowned Poison Douluo, yet I couldn't even save my own son!"

"I will not stand by and watch you meet the same fate!"

Hearing the truth about her father's death, Dugu Yan trembled. Tears welled in her eyes, and all her pride and doubt crumbled.

"Grandpa... what should I do?

"I don't want to die..."

Her voice quivered as she clutched Dugu Bo's sleeve.

Dugu Bo patted his granddaughter's hand, then turned solemnly to Yin Changqing and bowed with clasped fists.

"Young Master, I have already entrusted my life and everything I own to the Holy Dragon Sect.

"Yan Yan is young and didn't know better. She offended you. Please, for my sake, save her life!"

Yin Changqing raised a hand slightly.

"Mr. Dugu, there's no need for that.

"We're family now. Of course I'll do everything I can."

Yin Changqing turned to Dugu Yan and spoke calmly.

"Your condition differs from Mr. Dugu's.

"You have been poisoned for decades. The poison has long since fused with your Martial Soul and Soul Power, so it must be drawn out from within and transformed into a dragon."

"Your poisoning is still relatively mild. We only need to force the serpent venom out of your marrow and gather it in one place."

Dugu Yan asked at once:

"Gather it in one place?

"How?

"If you force it into another part of my body, won't it still poison me?"

"Ordinary flesh and blood certainly couldn't contain it."

Yin Changqing looked at Dugu Bo.

"Mr. Dugu, you should have a reasonably good Spirit Bone, shouldn't you?"

Dugu Bo paused, then understanding dawned.

"A Spirit Bone?!"

"You mean... force all the poison in her body into a Spirit Bone?!"

"Exactly."

Yin Changqing nodded and explained:

"A Spirit Bone is separate from the body's Meridians and flesh. By nature, it's an excellent vessel for Soul Power."

"With a special medicinal catalyst and the energy from the springs of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, we can drive every last trace of Jade Phosphorous Serpent venom from Yan Yan into a Spirit Bone. The poison will then become one of the bone's attributes."

"It will never turn against her again. Instead, it will make her Spirit Bone skill exceptionally poisonous."

Dugu Bo slapped his thigh, so excited that his hair and beard seemed to bristle.

"Brilliant!

"Absolutely brilliant!

"How did I never think of that?

"Fuse the poison into a Spirit Bone and turn a curse into a weapon. It's a stroke of genius!"

Without another word, Dugu Bo took a jade box glowing faintly green from his Storage Soul Tool.

Inside lay a translucent emerald-green Spirit Bone, radiating exceptionally pure Soul Power.

"This is a Ten-Thousand-Year Jade Phosphorous Serpent Right Arm Bone. I kept it as a spare, but now it's perfect for Yan Yan!"

Without hesitation, he handed the Spirit Bone to her.

Dugu Yan looked at the Spirit Bone in her hands, then at Yin Changqing's calm face. Her resistance had given way entirely to admiration and gratitude.

"Changqing... Young Master, what should I do next?"

Her tone had grown much more respectful.

Yin Changqing took out a pale purple flower and placed it between them. It was the Aromatic Silk Beauty.

"Sit cross-legged beside the Aromatic Silk Beauty and absorb the Spirit Bone."

Yin Changqing gave his instructions methodically.

"Its fragrance will suppress the poison's agitation, so it won't cloud your mind while you force it out.

"When the Spirit Bone is halfway fused, circulate your Soul Power through the Ren and Du meridians, working from the outside in. Guide all the cold serpent venom in your blood and marrow into your right arm!"

Dugu Yan took a deep breath and nodded firmly.

"All right!"

She sat cross-legged beside the Aromatic Silk Beauty as instructed, held up the Ten-Thousand-Year Jade Phosphorous Serpent Right Arm Bone with both hands, closed her eyes, and circulated her Soul Power.

As Soul Power flowed into it, the emerald-green bone dissolved into streams of rich green light that slowly merged with her right arm.

At the same time, the Aromatic Silk Beauty released a soft pinkish-purple glow that enveloped Dugu Yan and suppressed the surging poison within her.

Dugu Bo stood guard nearby, too anxious to take his eyes off his granddaughter.

About half an hour passed.

The instant the Spirit Bone finished fusing with her, Dugu Yan's dark green hair and eyes visibly began to lighten, finally turning a normal deep purple and dark brown!

The greenish-black patches on her fingertips vanished completely, and her skin regained its youthful, rosy glow.