Dugu Bo's Arrival

"Grandpa, are the methods Xu Yang mentioned actually useful?!" Dugu Yan asked doubtfully. She believed Xu Yang, but her own knowledge was limited, and she could not judge whether those three methods were real. That was why she had taken leave to ask her grandfather for confirmation.

"They're useful, and quite practical at that. But the books that kid read may not have been entirely accurate. After I condensed my Poison Pill, it still didn't solve my poisoning problem. Of course, it's also possible that there's something wrong with the Poison Pill I condensed!"

As he listened earlier, Dugu Bo had thought of his own Poison Pill. But he had only broken through because of the unusual environment in his family's herb garden, with a certain element of luck involved. Perhaps the Poison Pill he had condensed was incomplete, which was why it could not resolve his own problem.

"As for the latter two methods, Soul Bones can solve the problems of our family's Spirit Masters. Over the next few days, I'll research ways to force out the poison, then find a Soul Bone for you, Yan Yan. That should resolve the poison in your body."

"As for the third method, I won't comment on it. I don't know enough about immortal herbs to make a proper judgment based on a single Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum."

Thinking of the herbs in his garden, Dugu Bo's mind filled with regret. He had spent his entire life studying poison and medicine. He had clearly known those medicinal herbs were extraordinarily strange, yet he had never thought to gather information about them from the outside world.

He had guarded a treasure mountain without even realizing it.

Meanwhile, Xu Yang was writing information about the Land Dragon Golden Melon in a new notebook. Although he did not know what the Land Dragon Golden Melon looked like, he could still write down some details based on the fragments of memory that remained.

If he remembered correctly, the Land Dragon Golden Melon looked little different from an ordinary sweet potato, and it was eaten directly. He only needed to let Dugu Bo search for it in the herb garden based on this remaining information.

That was right—the Land Dragon Golden Melon was the immortal herb Xu Yang had prepared for Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan. He believed that, given Dugu Bo's character, once he confirmed the information was true and that it could save both him and his granddaughter, he would certainly owe Xu Yang a favor. At that point, taking several immortal herbs from his garden would not be a problem.

Xu Yang did not ask for much. He only wanted a few of them—Aromatic Silk Beauty, Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, Daffodil Jade Flesh Bone, Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, and the like. As for the rest, he could leave them to Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan.

Of course, he would also do his best to recruit Dugu Yan into the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Then, in the future, once Dugu Bo died, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well would become property of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as well.

Xu Yang did not know much about the Land Dragon Golden Melon, so after writing one or two pages in his notebook, he had already recorded everything he knew.

Afterward, he took out various metal materials, put on the monocle he had made, and began crafting a Soul Tool Thruster according to the contents of the book.

Second by second, time passed. Xu Yang had completely immersed himself in crafting the Soul Tool, utterly unaware that a tall figure had appeared behind him at some point. The man was visibly thin, with sunken cheeks, and both his hair and pupils were Dark Green, making him look profoundly unnatural.

It was none other than Dugu Bo, known as the Poison Douluo.

After listening to his granddaughter's account, he had followed her to Heaven Dou Royal Academy, hoping to obtain more information about immortal herbs from Xu Yang. Upon arriving, he saw Xu Yang hunched over the desk, repeatedly carving something into metal with an Engraving Knife. His expression was focused, and he had not noticed anyone behind him at all.

Dugu Bo did not interrupt him. He wanted to see what Xu Yang was doing as well.

"Damn it!"

With one stroke going crooked, Xu Yang cursed in frustration and drove the Engraving Knife straight into the table beside him. He had been only one final step away from completing one of the Soul Tool Thruster's components, but all his effort had still gone to waste.

"Kid, what are you doing?!"

Just as Xu Yang relaxed, a cold voice sounded beside his ear. It startled him so badly that he nearly jumped. His Sun Martial Soul appeared instantly, and his purple Soul Ring burst with violet light, splitting into eight suns that shot behind him like lightning. Without even checking whether the attack had hit, he ran forward, intending to smash through the window and escape.

"Kid, why are you running?!"

Dugu Bo had not expected such a strong reaction from Xu Yang. With a wave of his hand, Soul Power erupted and extinguished the incoming suns. Then, with a flash, he appeared before Xu Yang could break through the window, grabbed him by the shoulder, and asked coldly.

Xu Yang turned to look at those familiar features, then lightly patted his chest and said irritably, "Senior, people can be scared to death by other people. I thought you were an enemy!"

Xu Yang might have overreacted somewhat, but this was Douluo Continent. Assassinating geniuses was common. He had once read in a book that decades ago, a genius from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had been assassinated by Spirit Hall, yet the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had been helpless to do anything about it.

That was why he had reacted so intensely.

"Kid, you know me?!" Dugu Bo asked in surprise.

"I do. Teacher Ning Fengzhi introduced me to you before, and I've seen your portrait," Xu Yang said with an awkward smile.

"That makes sense. With the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's power, they must have investigated my information thoroughly long ago!" Dugu Bo had known for quite some time that Xu Yang was Ning Fengzhi's personal disciple. That was also why he had not attacked him directly after arriving.

Though he was a Titled Douluo who stood apart from the major powers, he was not alone. He still had a granddaughter whom he deeply loved and felt guilty toward.

If he hurt Xu Yang, he might be able to run, but his granddaughter would not.

So he could not afford to offend him.

Of course, with the deterrence of his poison, the other powers did not dare offend him lightly either.

Dugu Bo looked Xu Yang up and down. He knew something about Xu Yang, though not much. Now that they were face-to-face, he noticed far more. First was the pride in Xu Yang's eyes. It was not pride brought by family or faction, but something inherent to him.

Second was his youth. Dugu Bo could tell at a glance that Xu Yang truly was only eight or nine years old, just as the rumors said.

Lastly was Xu Yang's attack from earlier. Its power had been genuinely impressive. The fireballs resembling suns had possessed strength no less than a typical Soul Elder's full-force strike, yet Xu Yang could unleash them so easily.

After studying him, Dugu Bo suddenly said, "Kid, you deliberately leaked information about immortal herbs to Yan Yan, didn't you? Your goal was to lure this old man here. Did the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect discover something?!"

"Huh?!"

Xu Yang was somewhat dumbfounded. How had this gotten connected to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? He had indeed intended to draw Dugu Bo in, but it absolutely had nothing to do with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!

"Looks like it's a little different from what I thought!"

Seeing Xu Yang's reaction, Dugu Bo knew he had overthought things. But this had always been his personality, and he had never considered changing it.