He Was Better at Bluffing

After they passed through the poison formation, the view opened up.

Sheer cliffs towered around the valley. At its center, two springs met to form a pool.

One side glowed red as lava, the other shone icy white as cold jade. They remained sharply divided, yet held a strange balance.

Herbs grew in abundance around the springs, their rich fragrance washing over them.

The Soul Power in Tang Hao's body stirred, and the old wounds near his heart eased a little.

It really was the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

"Seen enough?"

Dugu Bo's voice was cold. "This is the herb garden you mentioned. Now prove you weren't just making things up."

Tang Hao did not answer. His gaze swept over the area.

Infernal Delicate Apricot, Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid...

He recognized only a handful.

The original story had given names but no illustrations. That did not mean he could identify every herb on sight.

Besides, some of them looked decidedly dangerous. A black vine was giving off smoke, and the purple flower beside it even had several teeth.

Neither looked like something he could put straight into his mouth.

"How many of these herbs do you recognize?" Tang Hao asked.

Dugu Bo clasped his hands behind his back. "I've studied poisons for years. Naturally, I know them."

Tang Hao pointed to a white herb. "What's that one called?"

"Coldheart Grass."

"And the red one?"

"Blazing Sun Flower."

Tang Hao glanced at the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot, then asked no more.

I see.

Dugu Bo did not recognize them either. He was just better at bluffing.

Still, Tang Hao could not entirely blame him.

Most knowledge of herbs on the continent belonged to a few families. There was no standard illustrated guide, or even a fixed set of names.

Dugu Bo could distinguish their properties and had named them accordingly. That was already fairly professional.

"Come on, let me check you over first."

Dugu Bo held out his right hand. "You'd better actually have a solution."

Tang Hao placed two fingers on his wrist and sent his mental power into Dugu Bo's meridians.

Dugu Bo stiffened slightly, instinctively wanting to resist.

"Don't move."

Tang Hao warned him, "If you suddenly circulate your Soul Power, the person you poison will probably be yourself."

Dugu Bo's expression darkened, but he held back.

A moment later, Tang Hao withdrew his hand.

The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's poison had seeped into Dugu Bo's meridians, bones, and internal organs.

He maintained a balance only because his Titled Douluo-level Soul Power kept it suppressed.

Once his body aged or suffered a severe injury, the poison would erupt completely.

"It hasn't been easy for you to stay alive this long."

"How much longer do I have?"

"As long as you don't fight a Soul Master of your level to the death, you should have eight to ten years."

Dugu Bo's eyes darkened.

To a Titled Douluo, eight to ten years was hardly different from being at death's door.

"Can you treat it?"

"Find a Soul Bone and force the poison in your body into it."

"A Soul Bone?"

"The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul's poison has long since become one with your Soul Power.

Simply removing the poison would be the same as destroying your poison arts.

If you want to keep your strength and stay alive, you need somewhere else to store the poison."

Tang Hao pointed to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

"Use this place's aura to suppress the poison, then gradually force it into the Soul Bone."

"Don't force too much in the first time. You might not be able to withstand it."

Dugu Bo considered this for a moment. "How long will it take?"

"We can ease it somewhat within half a year. Solving it completely will take at least two or three years."

"What about Yanyan?"

"She isn't as badly poisoned. She'll be easier to treat."

Tang Hao paused. "But she should change the direction of her cultivation."

"She can keep the serpent venom, but she shouldn't absorb any more Soul Rings with poisons that are too complex. Otherwise, she'll follow in your footsteps."

"If a Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul doesn't cultivate poison, what does it cultivate?"

"Control."

Tang Hao did not know exactly how she should cultivate it.

He was only responsible for suggesting an approach. Dugu Bo could work out the rest himself.

The old poison master had lived for decades. Surely he could not expect the patient to teach him everything.

"What if your method doesn't work?"

"We'll try another."

"What if you get me killed while treating me?"

"As I said before, I'm not a professional, so I take no responsibility."

A vein throbbed on Dugu Bo's forehead.

"At most, I'll help raise your daughter."

If he had been able to win a fight against Tang Hao, he would have poisoned the man to death on the spot.

"Tell me your terms."

"First, I want to use the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to heal my injuries."

"Fine."

"Second, I'll take some of the herbs here."

Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes. "How many is 'some'?"

"I don't know."

Tang Hao answered without a trace of embarrassment. "There are herbs I haven't identified yet. I'll decide once I have."

"You'd take herbs you don't even recognize?"

"I will after you teach me."

Tang Hao looked around the springs. "Don't worry, I won't empty your garden. I'll leave roots or seeds of every herb, and transplant whatever I can."

Dugu Bo did not agree at once.

He had spent years collecting these herbs. Even if he did not know the true value of the Immortal Herbs, he could not simply give them away.

"What else?"

"I want to plant a Blue Silver Grass here."

"Blue Silver Grass?"

Dugu Bo thought he had misheard. "You went to all this trouble to find this place just to plant some grass?"

"And heal my injuries while I'm at it."

"What Blue Silver Grass could matter that much to you?"

Tang Hao gave him a look. "Asking too many questions won't do you any good."

Ah Yin's identity could not be exposed.

A seed left behind by a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was enough to stir greed in any Soul Master.

Dugu Bo might not dare make a move, but Tang Hao could not trust him to keep the secret forever.

"Finally, I need all your records on the herbs here, including their properties, toxicity, and how you've used them."

Dugu Bo sneered. "You can't even identify all the herbs. What makes you think you can treat my poison?"

"I know the method. That doesn't mean I recognize every plant. You know herbs, and I know how to approach the problem. We'll only have a chance if we work together."

Dugu Bo's expression eased a little.

At least Tang Hao had stopped pretending to know everything.

"I have conditions too."

"Go on."

"You won't pick any herbs without permission. If anything goes wrong during treatment, you stop immediately. And you tell no one about Yanyan's poisoning."

"Agreed."

They held each other's gaze for a moment. A tentative deal had been struck.

Dugu Bo took a booklet from his Soul Tool and tossed it to Tang Hao.

"Some of the herbs are recorded in there."

Tang Hao opened it to the first page.

It showed the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, labeled "extremely cold poisonous herb."

The second page showed the Infernal Delicate Apricot, labeled "extremely hot poisonous flower."

It was not wrong, exactly. Just rather cautious.

To withstand the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he needed to take both Immortal Herbs at once.

But in the original story, Tang San had been the one to take them.

Tang San cultivated the Mysterious Heaven Skill, knew herbs inside and out, and did not have Tang Hao's heap of old wounds ready to flare up at any moment.

Copying what he had done would be far too risky.

"What, scared?" Dugu Bo sneered. "I thought you said this place could heal your injuries."

"It can. That doesn't mean I should jump straight in and get myself killed."

Tang Hao sat beside the springs and opened the herb records.

"I'll identify all the herbs first. Then I'll work out how to use them."

A Titled Douluo's body was powerful, but that was no reason to experiment recklessly.

After all, he had only one life.

A man who had crossed into this world at full level would be the real joke if he managed to get himself killed.