Deep within the Sunset Forest.
After they passed through the dense layers of woodland in the Sunset Forest, the air ahead gradually grew strange. A thin veil of jade-green poisonous mist shrouded the outskirts of the valley before them.
Poisonous miasma swirled, and the vegetation was withered and yellow.
They had reached the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!
Lin Xiao was delighted. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was one of the must-visit stops on Douluo I's must-eat list!
There was also the weakest Titled Douluo to gain as a follower.
Xuan Zi quickened his pace, his Titled Douluo Soul Power instantly sweeping the poisonous mist aside.
Once they crossed this poisonous barrier, they reached the outskirts of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. There was no poisonous mist here, but they could faintly feel two opposing currents of air drifting out of the valley: one cold, one hot.
Exotic plants and immortal herbs grew all around.
Singular velvet sky chrysanthemum, the Autumn Dew of Insight, earth dragon golden melon, nine-grade purple ganoderma...
A host of immortal herbs grew near the spring.
Beside its red and blue waters.
Infernal delicate apricot and octagonal mysterious ice grass grew quietly nearby.
Although he had known all about them long before his transmigration, Lin Xiao still could not keep the corners of his mouth from lifting when he saw these immortal herbs for the first time.
Just as he was about to take advantage of Dugu Bo's absence and sweep up all the immortal herbs he recognized.
Behind him, poisonous mist approached, carrying someone's presence.
Lin Xiao turned around.
He saw a tall, thin old man whose hair, beard, and eyes were all dark green, staring straight at him.
"Hmph, I don't know how you got in, but since you dared enter my secret sanctuary, you'll meet your end here today!"
Nine Soul Rings in the standard configuration rose from beneath his feet, and the oppressive might of a level ninety-one Titled Douluo surged toward them.
But in an instant, the powerful aura Xuan Zi unleashed forced Dugu Bo's pressure back, even driving him back a step.
"Urgh..."
Dugu Bo grunted in discomfort, staring at Xuan Zi in astonishment.
"Who are you, sir, and why have you intruded upon my treasured sanctuary?"
He knew full well that he was no match whatsoever for the old man before him.
Dugu Bo asked with a grave expression.
At that moment, Lin Xiao stepped forward.
He opened his little mouth and began reciting the redemption code for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
"Dugu Bo, whenever it's rainy and overcast, do you feel a numb itch along both sides of your ribs? At midnight and noon, the poison flares up! Each flare-up lasts more than an hour, and the crown of your head and the soles of your feet hurt as though needles are piercing them, leaving you wishing you were dead. Am I right?"
Dugu Bo could not believe it.
"You... how do you know about my condition?"
All his killing intent vanished at that moment. If an ordinary person had exposed his secret, he might have stepped forward, seized them by the throat, and demanded answers.
But the child before him was only six or seven years old, yet had a guardian at his side whose strength far surpassed his own.
A secluded clan, or perhaps someone from Spirit Hall?
Since the child could reveal his secret, perhaps he also had a way to solve it.
Dugu Bo did not dare gamble, so he chose to play it safe and see how things unfolded.
"Your Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison has probably already seeped into your marrow! Even if your own life doesn't matter to you, what about your granddaughter? Her father died for this very reason too, didn't he?"
Lin Xiao continued.
"I can cure both you and your granddaughter of the poison, and even help you advance further. But in return, you must become my servant. This place will also belong to me."
Dugu Bo fell silent.
Making a Titled Douluo like him the servant of a six-year-old child might be the greatest joke under heaven.
But he can cure both me and Yanyan...
After thinking for a moment, Dugu Bo made up his mind and gritted his teeth.
"Fine. If you can successfully cure the serpent poison in me and Yanyan, the Dugu Family will acknowledge you as our master!"
Seeing that Dugu Bo had agreed, Lin Xiao smiled.
"Your serpent poison is actually quite easy to deal with. I have three plans: a best, a middling, and a worst.
"The worst plan is to cripple all the poison abilities of your Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor. Your cultivation may drop somewhat, and your attacks will no longer carry the power of poison. But the poison within you will also be eradicated completely.
"The middling plan is to force the poison into a Soul Bone. This will greatly alleviate the torment caused by the insidious poison.
"The drawback is that once the Soul Bone fills up with accumulated poison, it will erupt again, killing you in an instant."
"Then what's the best plan?"
Dugu Bo asked anxiously.
The worst plan would undoubtedly cripple most of his combat strength, perhaps leaving him unable to defeat even a somewhat stronger Soul Douluo. As for the middling plan, he only had one Soul Bone, so it certainly would not work in the long run.
"The best plan can not only eliminate the backlash from your poison completely, but even make your Martial Soul stronger!
"But it carries tremendous risk and pain. If you fail to endure it, you'll die!"
Lin Xiao said.
"Heh, if it's only pain, what does that matter? No matter how much it hurts, could it hurt more than losing my son?"
Dugu Bo sounded as though he was mocking himself, yet also asking a question.
Lin Xiao smiled, then began searching.
"This is the Snow-Colored Swan Kiss! This immortal herb can amplify the poison within you hundreds or thousands of times. But if you can successfully refine it, the poison in your body will condense into a poison core.
"Not only will your cultivation increase, but your command of poison will become several times stronger!"
"Do you dare try?"
Dugu Bo looked at the beautiful, snow-white flower before him, which could take his life with a single misstep, and did not hesitate.
He stepped forward, accepted the flower, and began refining it on the spot.
He was not worried that Lin Xiao wanted to harm him.
With the strength of the man beside him, even if killing Dugu Bo proved impossible, seriously injuring him would be no problem at all.
If Lin Xiao wanted to deal with Dugu Bo, there was no need to go to such lengths.
In an instant, the poison intensified over a hundredfold. Dugu Bo's brow furrowed tightly, and his entire body trembled. The immense pain tormented him mercilessly.
"Xuan Zi, watch over him, and gather the immortal herbs nearby while you're at it."
Lin Xiao picked up the octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot.
He jumped into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and began refining them.
He was already largely immune to ice and fire. He was absorbing these two immortal herbs partly to bring his resistance up to one hundred percent, and partly to temper his physique.
Time passed in the blink of an eye.
Dugu Bo went from excruciating pain at first to comfort later, before finally opening his eyes slowly.
A poison core appeared before his chest.
His Soul Power Level had broken through to level ninety-two!
Dugu Bo examined his condition. The backlash from his Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison had vanished completely.
At that moment, he felt incomparably at ease.
Then he turned to look at Lin Xiao, only to find him soaking in the ice-and-fire spring.
Dugu Bo was horrified and instinctively moved to rush forward and save him.
"Wait. The young master is tempering his body!"
Xuan Zi's voice rang out.
Dugu Bo stopped, looking at him in utter disbelief.
But choosing to trust him, he said nothing and simply sat cross-legged nearby to meditate and digest his gains.
At that moment, Lin Xiao also completed the Ice and Fire Golden Body.
He leaped out of the pool, deftly used Soul Power to dry the water from his body, and put on his clothes.
"Master, you truly are extraordinary! This old servant wouldn't dare take even half a step toward that pool, yet you can actually temper your body inside it!"
Seeing that Lin Xiao was completely unharmed, Dugu Bo's face filled with astonishment and admiration.
Then he grew somewhat awkward.
"Well, Master, about my granddaughter... the pain one must endure from this immortal herb is too great. I dare to ask whether there's another way to help Yanyan."
Watching Dugu Bo, who was old enough to be his grandfather, suddenly grow awkward for his granddaughter's sake, Lin Xiao found it rather amusing.
"The poison hasn't penetrated your granddaughter's body too deeply. This Golden-Patterned Clematis here can help her Martial Soul evolve, and once that happens, the poison can be eliminated too."
Lin Xiao looked at Xuan Zi.
"Earth dragon golden melon is suitable for earth-attribute Soul Masters. Xuan Zi, you should take it. Perhaps once you've refined it, you'll reach the realm of Peerless Douluo." (In Douluo I's setting, there were only Peerless Douluo, not Limit Douluo.)
Dugu Bo was shocked once again.
Peerless Douluo... then that means the man before me actually has level ninety-eight Soul Power!
"It's not as though I come here all that often... why does it feel as though the whole world has changed?"
He murmured.
Before you continue