Where Was the Success?

For the next three days, Tang Hao remained in the valley.

By day, he identified herbs using Dugu Bo's notes;

by night, he sat near the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, drawing on the dense energy of heaven and earth around it to tend his injuries.

It did help, but the effect was hardly noticeable.

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well could suppress the foreign Soul Power in his body, but it could not remove it.

To truly recover, he would still need Immortal Herbs.

The problem was that he did not dare eat them outright.

Of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot, one was bitterly cold, the other fiercely hot.

They had to be swallowed together, followed by a plunge into the spring, before their medicinal power could be absorbed.

One mistake at any step could kill him on the spot.

The Tang San in the original story had dared do it because he was well versed in Pharmacology.

Tang Hao remembered only the rough steps.

Testing them on himself would be no different from knowing roughly how to make a parachute, then clutching a piece of cloth and jumping off a mountain.

"Have you used this herb?"

Tang Hao pointed to a pale yellow sprig of grass.

"I have."

Dugu Bo glanced at it. "The leaves numb the body, and the roots are poisonous."

"Three years ago, I caught a Hundred-Year Soul Beast to test it on. It convulsed for half an hour after eating it, then died."

"What happens if a person eats it?"

"I haven't tried."

"Why not?"

"No one cares if I catch Soul Beasts to test herbs. Catching Soul Masters invites trouble."

Tang Hao nodded.

That was reasonable.

Poison Douluo might do as he pleased, but he was not so mad as to snatch people off the streets to test poisons.

If he dared do that, Spirit Hall would not even need to intervene. The Heaven Dou Imperial Family would be the first to turn against him.

"What about this one?"

"It stimulates blood flow. Too much will rupture the vessels around the heart."

"Have you used it?"

"I ate some half a month ago."

Tang Hao looked up at him. "And you're still alive?"

"I only tasted one leaf."

Dugu Bo sounded perfectly calm, as though testing poison on himself were nothing unusual.

Tang Hao finally understood how those herbal notes had been compiled.

He had assumed Dugu Bo relied on experience.

Now it seemed he relied mainly on being hard to kill.

No wonder the notes described each herb's properties so simply.

When you tasted only a little of each one, finding out whether it was poisonous was an achievement in itself.

"We'll stop here for today."

Tang Hao closed the booklet. "Get ready for the first poison purge."

Dugu Bo's expression grew serious. "How?"

"Find some poison in one of your meridians and guide it into a Soul Bone. Not much—we're only checking whether the method works."

"I have a Head Soul Bone."

"No."

Tang Hao rejected the idea at once. "You want to drive poison into your head on the first try? Are you that eager to die?"

Dugu Bo's face darkened. "It's the only Soul Bone I have."

Tang Hao fell silent for a moment.

In the original story, Dugu Bo had clearly possessed a Soul Bone capable of storing poison when he resolved his condition.

Perhaps he had acquired it later. Or perhaps it was this Head Soul Bone.

But knowing the outcome was one thing. Doing it himself was another.

One wrong move, and Poison Douluo might become Idiot Douluo.

"We won't put it into the Soul Bone yet."

Tang Hao changed his plan. "We'll gather some poison in your arm and see whether you can control it. If that works, we'll consider the next step."

They sat down a little over ten meters from the spring.

Both cold and heat reached this spot. The two forces canceled each other out, making it more stable than the rest of the valley.

Dugu Bo removed his shirt, revealing a lean, gaunt body.

Dark green lines ran across his chest and arms, like countless slender snakes lurking beneath his skin.

This was not Martial Soul Possession, but poison deposited in his body.

Tang Hao sat behind him.

"Circulate your Soul Power and seal the meridians in your left arm. Leave only the opening at the shoulder."

Dugu Bo did as instructed.

"And then?"

"Bear with it."

"What?"

Tang Hao struck his back with a palm.

A surge of dense Soul Power entered Dugu Bo's meridians, forcing the nearby Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Poison toward his left shoulder.

Dugu Bo grunted. The green lines on his left arm rapidly darkened, and the skin swelled.

"Slower!"

"If I slow down, I can't keep it contained."

Tang Hao watched the poison's path closely.

His control had improved considerably since he first arrived in this world, but it was still nowhere near as precise as the original Tang Hao's.

Fortunately, Dugu Bo was a Titled Douluo. His body could take the punishment.

An ordinary Soul Master hit by that palm would already need funeral arrangements.

"Seal the meridians near Jianjing."

"I already have!"

"Then why are you shouting?"

"That meridian's about to split!"

"But it hasn't. Keep bearing it."

Dugu Bo clenched his teeth as cold sweat gradually beaded on his forehead.

Fifteen minutes later, Tang Hao withdrew his hand.

Without the pressure of his Soul Power, the poison gathered in Dugu Bo's left arm immediately began to flow back.

"Now force it back."

"Force it back?"

Dugu Bo whipped his head around. "After all that, you want me to force it back?"

"What else?"

Tang Hao sounded entirely justified. "This was only a test. Were you expecting me to leave the poison in your arm until it ate through it?"

Dugu Bo badly wanted to curse him, but he had no strength to spare. He dealt with the poison first.

Half an hour later, the dark green faded from his arm, and the swelling subsided.

Tang Hao examined his meridians again.

They had suffered minor damage, but the poison could indeed be separated and moved. That meant the method of storing it in a Soul Bone was viable.

"It worked."

"What part of that worked?"

Dugu Bo flexed his still-aching left arm, his face grim.

He had no less poison in his body and one more injury.

Apart from proving he could endure pain, they seemed to have gained nothing.

"At least we know the method is sound."

Tang Hao took out the booklet and recorded Dugu Bo's reactions during the purge.

"Next time, we'll shorten the session and use less poison. Once you can control it completely, we'll try guiding it into your Head Soul Bone."

Dugu Bo said coldly, "If I could beat you, I'd make you taste Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Poison yourself right now."

"You should be glad you can't."

Tang Hao closed the booklet. "If I were poisoned, settling today's treatment fee would get complicated."

"When did I say I'd pay a treatment fee?"

Tang Hao pointed at the herbs around them.

Dugu Bo fell silent.

After a moment, he rose from the ground.

"When are you bringing that Blue Silver Grass here?"

"Tomorrow."

Tang Hao was now fairly certain Dugu Bo had no intention of turning on him for the time being.

Transplanting Ah Yin here would let the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well speed her growth.

"I'll go back with you."

"No need."

"What if you reveal this place's location after you leave?"

Tang Hao glanced at him. "If I wanted to reveal it, bringing you along wouldn't stop me."

Dugu Bo had no answer.

Ordinary Soul Masters would never dare offend the renowned Poison Douluo, but this man plainly thought nothing of him.

And why was he nothing like the rumors?

What happened to the taciturn man they spoke of? His tongue might as well have been steeped in poison.

"Don't worry."

Tang Hao said, "This place matters to me. I want outsiders kept away even more than you do."

Dugu Bo studied him for a moment, then tossed him a dark green Jade Token.

"Carry that. The Poison Formation won't attack you on its own."

Tang Hao caught the Jade Token.

"You could've given me this earlier. That antidote you gave me a few days ago tasted awful. Did you never think to make it a little more palatable?"

"Give it back!"

"Since when do you take back a gift?"

Tang Hao put the Jade Token into his Soul Tool and headed out of the valley.

Dusk was approaching.

He needed to return to Heaven Dou City first and bring Ah Yin here.

He would stop by that apothecary while he was at it.

The antidote that had cost him two Gold Soul Coins had done absolutely nothing. He could not just let that go.

Tang Hao considered himself a reasonable Douluo.

Surely they could not expect to cheat every decent person they caught.