Hunting the Vermilion Sunny Ice Toad, Poison Backlash, and Meng Hongchen's Three Questions

Yu Tianjun had never imagined that a powerhouse like Jing Hongchen would travel all the way to Dragon City to lie in wait for a junior like him—not for his talent, but solely for his guiding services.

Grateful to the young prodigy for saving her life, Vina had hired far too many people to flood him with glowing reviews. She had even drawn in a giant from Sun Moon!

This time, however, Yu Tianjun finally had no chance to act.

"Ha! Little ice toad, you refuse to submit and still think you can escape? Get down before this hall master!"

On a glacier at the outskirts of the Far North, Jing Hongchen successfully located a seven-thousand-year Vermilion Sunny Ice Toad. He released his self-created Level 8 Soul Tool, the Mortal Dust Sky Curtain, trapping the little toad, whose entire body resembled jade.

The ice toad released its poison, but the Mortal Dust Sky Curtain did not budge.

Yu Tianjun watched intently. The Vermilion Sunny Ice Toad's poison spread without a sound or trace, blending into all kinds of media, including air, ice, and water. There was simply no guarding against it.

This poison is vicious. In the original story, Meng Hongchen defeated several people in succession. Even though Sister Luochеn's ice element is now so pure that it approaches ultimate ice, she still won't be immune.

Yu Tianjun surmised that the current Ling Luochеn would still fall to Meng Hongchen's poison if caught unprepared.

Come to think of it, Meng Hongchen's original fourth soul ring might not have come from a Vermilion Sunny Ice Toad. Have I indirectly made it harder for Shrek to defend their championship?

Surely Dai Yueheng, that White Tiger Soul Emperor, won't end up poisoned flat because of this?

"Long live Grandpa! Grandpa, you're amazing! Tianjun, you're amazing too. This big sister of yours just loves Vermilion Sunny Ice Toads!"

With the supreme soul beast she had dreamed of day and night right before her, Meng Hongchen leaped for joy. She gave Yu Tianjun a five-star review, then rushed over to embrace the Vermilion Sunny Ice Toad.

Jing Hongchen withdrew his soul tool so his granddaughter could properly get acquainted with her perfect fourth soul ring, then tossed a storage-ring soul tool to Yu Tianjun.

"You found the ideal soul beast on the first attempt. I'm very satisfied with your service. Here are the full hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, along with a Level 5 Invincible Shield inside. Consider that your tip."

"Young man, are you interested in a long-term partnership with us? Our academy and the Radiant Virtue Hall need talent like you."

Yu Tianjun caught the storage ring and sighed in admiration. "The Radiant Virtue Hall's wealth is unrivaled under heaven. You're truly generous, Hall Master."

"I'm willing to continue helping Miss Hongchen find suitable soul beasts, but I really have no plans to enroll."

"Do you truly have no plans to enroll, or do you look down on our Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy? With your talent, you would become a prominent figure even at Shrek."

"I truly have no plans to enroll. Rest assured, Hall Master. Unless something unforeseen happens, I won't appear in the tournament two or seven years from now to stand in the way of your championship."

"Di'ao Academy also hopes I'll attend, but they aren't strong enough to pose a threat to your academy."

Jing Hongchen's expression brightened at that, and he casually tossed over another soul tool, this one shaped like a mask.

"The Level 6 Soul Tool, Mortal Dust Hundred Forms. It conceals your appearance and hides your soul power fluctuations. You can have it too. Soul masters below Soul Douluo won't be able to sense your soul power aura. Soul Douluos will have to examine you carefully, though Titled Douluos can still see through it at a glance."

"Though I don't know what your martial soul is, your age proves your potential. I hope you won't run into a Shrek Titled Douluo the moment you step outside. Still, they generally don't plan for their descendants as diligently as I do. I hear they spend every day enjoying themselves on Sea God Island."

"Besides, your martial soul isn't weak, is it?"

"I, Yu Tianjun, thank Boss Hongchen for the generous tip. My martial soul is indeed fairly decent."

Taking the mask, Yu Tianjun badly wanted to ask Jing Hongchen, How about I make a heart gesture for you, old sir, and you give me a few Fixed Soul Cannon Shells to play with?

Of the three great empires, the Heaven Dou Empire clung most strongly to ancient ways. The Heavenly Dragon Sect was not as hidebound as the Body Sect, but even so, it had no avenue for acquiring fine goods produced by Sun Moon.

The soul tools produced by the Original Three Kingdoms were generally considered one or two grades below Sun Moon products. Most were offensive or defensive soul tools; they simply had no high-end goods like Mortal Dust Hundred Forms, the sort only filthy-rich magnates would research.

Huo Gua could set up a betting pool at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and earn as much rare metal as the Heaven Dou Empire could painstakingly mine in a year. The Heaven Dou Empire's metal reserves could not even compare with those rich young men and women at the Sun Moon Empire's imperial academy.

"No need to flatter me. Guiding Little Meng properly is the best repayment you can give me. If you change your mind, you can also bring Mortal Dust Hundred Forms to Mingdu and seek me out. I've always appreciated talent, no matter where it comes from."

"You're truly magnanimous, Hall Master." This time, Yu Tianjun spoke from the heart.

"Mm."

Just casually producing two soul tools had changed the attitude of the previously unruffled Yu Tianjun. In a wonderful mood, Hall Master Hongchen confirmed that the Radiant Virtue Hall's technology remained unrivaled under heaven, and the corners of his lips lifted slightly.

A short while later, Meng Hongchen finished absorbing her fourth soul ring and advanced to a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor. Jing Hongchen's eyes narrowed even further with joy.

The Hongchen Family's future prodigy had made a perfect breakthrough. The hall master was delighted (#^.^#).

"Little Meng, how do you feel?"

"Great! Better than ever!"

The white-haired girl, Meng Hongchen, sprang to her feet and smilingly demonstrated the effects of her new soul skill for her grandfather. The skill was still called Frost Replenishment, but its effects were astonishing.

Using fire as its source, it stimulated the ice toad poison and converted it into pure energy to replenish her. Afterward, the power of her soul power attacks increased by a hundred percent, while her poison's potency multiplied several times over. The effect lasted an hour.

Since it came from a seven-thousand-year soul ring, its consumption would be very low.

"Good, that's wonderful! Hahahaha... Little Meng, what's wrong?"

Jing Hongchen laughed heartily, but in the midst of his laughter, he suddenly saw his adorable Little Meng's face turn white. It was not the white of fair skin, but the pallor of poisoning. Her lips lost their color.

"It's fine, Grandpa. It's my old problem."

Supported by him, Meng Hongchen gently shook her snowy-white head. She condensed a palm-sized piece of ice in her hand and tossed it away, and her complexion immediately improved considerably.

"That's good, that's good..."

Jing Hongchen hurriedly took out a number of rare natural treasures that could replenish Life Energy. Meng Hongchen ate a pink Vermilion Fruit and quietly recovered.

Poison backlash from a beast martial soul? This problem actually still exists?

Recognizing Meng Hongchen's condition, Yu Tianjun gently wiped the sweat that had appeared on his forehead.

Poison backlash from a beast martial soul was a nightmare that afflicted only top-tier poison-attribute soul masters. While their poison inflicted tremendous damage on their enemies, it also harmed the soul masters themselves.

The classic examples were the Jade Phosphorous Serpent family from the previous season: Dugu Bo and his granddaughter.

Meng Hongchen's original soul skill system had centered on ice, with poison mostly hidden beneath its surface. Looking at it now, perhaps it was not that she had been unwilling to hunt exclusively poisonous soul beasts, but that she had deliberately avoided doing so.

Now that she had hunted a Vermilion Sunny Ice Toad ahead of time, the situation had spiraled out of control.

The most famous soul masters associated with poison in this era were the Du Busi Brothers. Those brothers with body martial souls had never suffered from poison backlash.

Now that he thought about it, body martial souls possessed uniquely blessed advantages. It had been a long time since anyone had heard of a Titled Douluo with a poison-attribute beast martial soul.

"Hall Master Hongchen, Miss Hongchen's martial soul has the drawback of poison backlash. Why didn't you mention it earlier? You gave me quite a fright just now."

Yu Tianjun walked over and spoke to Jing Hongchen in a relaxed tone.

The weak young prodigy could not gauge Jing Hongchen's temperament. Worried that the man might vent his anger on him over this, he chose to speak first.

"Over the years, I've found many rare natural treasures for Little Meng to strengthen her constitution. Even I never expected something like this to happen."

Jing Hongchen's voice was filled with regret. Poison backlash was the nightmare of poison soul masters with beast martial souls, and the Sun Moon Empire, which did not excel in researching soul masters, had no solution.

"Grandpa, it's all right. Our family has always been like this. Rather than live an ordinary, unremarkable life, isn't it better to bloom with dazzling brilliance in our most beautiful years? What does it matter if we live a few years less?"

Meng Hongchen lifted her fair, exquisite face. Her long hair spilled over her shoulders like the softest silk in the world, partially veiling her lovely features.

"Little Meng, Grandpa can't bear to lose you. I can't bear it..." Jing Hongchen's eyes brimmed with tears.

"Grandpa..." Miss Hongchen reached out to touch her grandfather's face. The sight of grandfather and granddaughter embracing was indescribably moving, little pearls of tears pattering down.

At that moment, however, someone seemed rather oblivious to the mood. A single sentence shattered the beautiful atmosphere.

"Hall Master Hongchen, if I said I had a way to solve or temporarily alleviate Miss Hongchen's poison backlash, what compensation could I receive?"

"What did you say?"

In a single second, Jing Hongchen released his granddaughter, who could already stand steadily on her own. His large face appeared before Yu Tianjun like lightning, radiating an intense sense of oppression.

Hall Master Hongchen's face-to-face assault—a full blast of pressure!

"I said I have a way to temporarily alleviate Miss Hongchen's poison backlash."

Facing Jing Hongchen's pressure, Yu Tianjun stated his words clearly.

"If you succeed, I'll owe you an enormous favor. Whether you want a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and soul bone or a Level 9 Soul Tool, I'll agree to any of it. But do you know the consequences of deceiving me? And why should I believe you?"

Jing Hongchen gave him an appraising look that said, "Let's hear what you have to say."

Yu Tianjun's expression remained calm as a lake as he attributed everything he knew to his family's history:

"My sect, the Heavenly Dragon Sect, originated from the continent's third-greatest sect ten thousand years ago, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. When Spirit Hall launched its surprise attack on the Blue Lightning Family, only a handful of its disciples survived. Among them was our sect's ancestor, the young heir of the Blue Lightning clan at the time, Yu Tianheng."

"Our ancestor's former girlfriend was Dugu Yan, granddaughter of Jade Phosphorous Douluo Dugu Bo. The Dugu Family's martial soul was a supreme poison-attribute beast martial soul, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor. It also suffered from poison backlash."

"If you've studied that history, Hall Master, you should know I'm telling the truth."

Jing Hongchen's eyes lit up, and he clapped in approval. "Excellent. I'm fifty percent convinced now. Tell me what the method is. I certainly won't take your help for free."

"There are three methods. The first is to find the legendary Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and use its special immortal herbs to purge the poison. But this method is unavailable."

"Why?"

"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well originally belonged to the Dugu Family, but the Sea God later acquired it. Before ascending, the Sea God sealed off all information about it."

"Don't you have any leads?"

"We have guesses, but no actual leads. Our ancestral records state that Nine Treasure Douluo, one of the original Shrek Seven Monsters, underwent a transformation thanks to the immortal herbs from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. But Nine Treasure Douluo left no children, nor did she tell later generations where the well was located. Thus, after her, the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect never again possessed a Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda."

"Could our ties with the Sea God possibly compare to those of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect?"

"That makes perfect sense. I'm seventy percent convinced now. What's the second method?"

"Body Sect Master Du Busi is the foremost poison martial soul expert alive. If we could obtain his method of controlling poison and strengthening the body, there should be hope. But this method is difficult too."

"I'm ninety percent convinced now, all right? Hurry up and tell me the method!"

Jing Hongchen's face fell. Yu Tianjun's first two methods were theoretically sound, but their chances of success were infinitely close to zero.

In plain terms, they were merely setting the stage for the third method!

"Poison Infusion into Soul Bone."

Yu Tianjun stopped keeping him in suspense and told Jing Hongchen, "Find soul bones with the highest possible ages for Miss Hongchen, and guide the poison into them. The principle is similar to turning a beast martial soul into a tool martial soul."

"Our ancestral records state that Jade Phosphorous Douluo infused his poison into a Medusa Skull, temporarily purging his body of its potent poison. His soul power rose from rank ninety-one to rank ninety-two, and he developed even stronger poison."

"This method, I believe. Excellent!"

Jing Hongchen's expression finally relaxed. After praising him, he asked, "What do you mean by 'temporarily purging'?"

Yu Tianjun said softly, "The poison is an innate product of the martial soul. As long as the soul master remains alive, it will continue producing poison. But a soul bone's capacity is limited. Once that limit is exceeded, the soul bone can no longer help."

"Therefore, my best recommendation is to find an external soul bone whose age can continually increase. In that regard, dark gold terrorclaw bears and poisonous spider soul beasts have fairly good yields.

"Also, unless there is absolutely no alternative, don't guide the poison into torso or head soul bones. Otherwise, once the poison erupts, there will be no saving her."

"That makes sense!" Jing Hongchen wholeheartedly agreed.

After listening for a while, Meng Hongchen's luminous blue eyes had, at some point, settled on Yu Tianjun's face and stayed there. She felt that simply looking at that handsome face could bring her an entire day of happiness.

And with such a handsome man discussing how to solve her lifelong trouble with her grandfather, she could be happy for a whole month (#^.^#).

Coming to the Far North was truly the best decision I ever made. Grandpa, I love you.

"Um..." Miss Hongchen blinked her brilliant, crystal-blue eyes and looked at Yu Tianjun with boundless tenderness.

"I have three questions. First, did Jade Phosphorous Douluo meet a peaceful end? Second, why was Dugu Yan your ancestor's former girlfriend? And third, does your family forbid its heirs from marrying poison soul masters?"