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

"Yan Yan, mind your manners!"

Dugu Bo's face hardened, and he hurriedly rebuked her:

"This is His Excellency Demon Dragon of the Holy Dragon Sect, a Title Douluo far stronger than your grandfather!

And this is Yin Changqing, the young master of the Holy Dragon Sect. I invited him here especially for you!"

"The Holy Dragon Sect's young master?"

Dugu Yan blinked and looked Yin Changqing up and down.

He looked no older than twelve. Though strikingly handsome and unnervingly composed, he seemed far too young for the role her grandfather had given him.

"Grandpa, have you gone senile?"

Dugu Yan could not help pursing her lips.

"He looks a few years younger than me. How could he be someone you brought here to help me?

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

"How dare you!"

Dugu Bo's beard trembled with fright. He feared she would anger Yin Yu, who stood nearby.

He knew all too well how terrifying the pressure of Yin Yu's level 95 Super Douluo power was. If they came to blows, even ten of him would not be enough to withstand a single hand of Yin Yu's.

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

"You needn't doubt me."

Yin Changqing got straight to the point, his voice even 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 piercing cold rise from the Baihui Point atop your head and the Yongquan Points in the soles of your feet, while your Soul Power grows 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 watched Yin Changqing warily.

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

"And there's more."

Yin Changqing pointed at her slender hands.

"Look at your fingernails. Dark green marks have begun to appear at the tips.

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 eat away your Meridians. You'll lose your cultivation and die bleeding from all seven orifices."

Dugu Yan turned deathly pale and instinctively looked to Dugu Bo.

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

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

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

All these years, I've searched desperately for herbs and prepared remedy after remedy. I even used the earth's energy where ice and fire meet to hold the poison back.

But I could only delay its onset. I could never cure it."

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

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

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

At last hearing the truth about her father's death, Dugu Yan trembled. Tears filled her eyes, and all her pride and doubt fell away.

"Grandpa... what should I do?

I don't want to die..."

Her voice shook 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. For my sake, please save her!"

Yin Changqing raised a hand slightly.

"Mr. Dugu, there's no need to ask.

We're on the same side now. I'll do everything I can."

He turned to Dugu Yan and spoke calmly.

"Your condition differs from Mr. Dugu's.

He has been poisoned for decades. The venom has long since fused with his Martial Soul and Soul Power, so it must be drawn out from within and transformed into dragon power.

Your poisoning is less advanced. We only need to force the serpent venom from your marrow and gather it in one place."

Dugu Yan asked at once:

"Gather it in one place?

How?

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

"Ordinary flesh and blood couldn't withstand it."

Yin Changqing looked at Dugu Bo.

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

Dugu Bo paused, then realization dawned.

"A Spirit Bone?!

Young Master, you mean... force all the poison into a Spirit Bone?!"

"Exactly."

Yin Changqing nodded and explained:

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

With a special medicinal catalyst and energy from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, we can force every trace of Jade Phosphorous Serpent venom in Yan Yan into a Spirit Bone. The poison will then become an attribute of the bone.

It will never turn against her again. Instead, when she uses the bone's ability, it will unleash extraordinary poison damage."

Dugu Bo slapped his thigh. Even his hair and beard seemed to bristle with excitement.

"Brilliant!

Absolutely brilliant!

Why did I never think of that?

Fuse the poison into a Spirit Bone and turn harm into an advantage! It's a stroke of genius!"

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

He opened it to reveal a translucent, emerald-green Spirit Bone that radiated exceptionally pure Soul Power.

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

Without hesitation, Dugu Bo handed the Spirit Bone to his granddaughter.

Dugu Yan looked at the bone in her hands, then at Yin Changqing's calm face. The last of her resistance gave way to respect and gratitude.

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

Her tone was far more respectful now.

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 step by step.

"Its fragrance can calm any poison, keeping the venom from clouding your mind while you force it out.

Once the Spirit Bone is halfway fused, circulate your Soul Power through the Ren and Du Meridians, drawing all the cold serpent venom from your blood and marrow toward your right arm!"

Dugu Yan took a deep breath and nodded firmly.

"All right!"

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

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

At the same time, the Aromatic Silk Beauty gave off a faint pinkish-purple glow. It enveloped Dugu Yan and suppressed the poison surging inside her.

Dugu Bo stood guard nearby, too anxious to take his eyes off his granddaughter for even a moment.

About half an hour passed.

The instant the Spirit Bone fully fused with Dugu Yan, her dark green hair and eyes visibly lightened, finally becoming a natural deep purple and dark brown!

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