Tang Hao Arrives

"Enough. Let's put the Immortal Herbs aside for now."

Inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Azure Luan Douluo interrupted Tang San's rambling, a trace of impatience already creeping into his voice.

"Tell me, what secret is Dugu Bo hiding? Where is he hiding now?"

Tang San leaned against the rubble by Chen Xin's feet, his chest rising and falling rapidly. At those words, he began calculating quickly.

He had to stall, but stalling required finesse. He had already used the "I'm in pain" excuse once. It would not work again.

He had to give them something real, but not everything.

"Dugu Bo... does indeed have a major secret."

Tang San caught his breath, his voice coming in broken gasps. "He's poisoned. It's the Life-Bound Poison of his Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Martial Soul. He's carried it since birth."

Azure Luan Douluo raised his eyebrows. They, as Titled Douluos, had long since learned from the Light Screen that Dugu Bo was poisoned; they simply did not know the specifics of his condition.

"Whenever the weather turns overcast or rainy, his poison causes numbness and itching along both flanks, and it gradually intensifies. In particular, he suffers an attack at both noon and midnight, each lasting more than two hours.

"During an attack, every meridian in his body aches violently, and his Soul Power circulation is obstructed. In severe cases, he can't even release his Martial Soul."

At this, Azure Luan Douluo's eyebrows lifted slightly. That frequency of attacks was truly absurdly high.

"There's something else. His poison also acts up late at night..."

Listening beside them, Chen Xin's brow stirred slightly.

He belonged to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, whose intelligence network spanned the continent, yet he truly had not known about Dugu Bo's poisoning. That old monster had buried this matter far too deeply.

"What good is telling us all this?"

After hearing Tang San out, Azure Luan Douluo asked discontentedly, "I asked where he's hiding now."

"Please don't rush, senior."

Tang San took another two gasping breaths. "What I'm telling you has a great deal to do with where he's hiding. Every time Dugu Bo's poison flares up, he remains weakened for a while.

"It's autumn now, and his period of poison attacks only ended recently. But when he fought me, he used his Martial Soul Avatar and Head Soul Bone. With all that expenditure added together, his poison may well flare up early."

Azure Luan Douluo's eyes lit up.

"You mean-"

"His poison is about to flare up."

Tang San nodded. "But he has no medicine with him. He gathered so many Immortal Herbs, but those aren't things you can just eat casually. Eating the wrong one can kill you. Dugu Bo is the Poison Douluo himself, so he understands that. That's why he won't go far."

"Previously, with the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well suppressing his poison, he successfully broke through to become a Titled Douluo. But now, without the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well..."

Tang San raised a finger and pointed toward Sunset Forest.

"You seniors entered Sunset Forest from different directions, yet none of you sensed Dugu Bo's Soul Power fluctuations. So I suspect he's already found somewhere to hide."

Azure Luan Douluo exchanged glances with Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo behind him.

"How do you know all this so clearly?" Azure Luan Douluo asked.

"I deduced it all from Dugu Bo's Life-Bound Poison and the timing."

Azure Luan Douluo fell silent for several breaths.

Tang San's words were logically sound.

Moreover, the six of them had arrived at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well one after another. Dugu Bo would never have dared release his Soul Power to flee, so he had to be hiding in Sunset Forest.

And the assessment that his poison would flare up matched the situation at the scene. Dugu Bo had used his Martial Soul Avatar and a Soul Bone Skill during the fight, expending an enormous amount of power. His poison could very well flare up ahead of time.

"Then let's go." Azure Luan Douluo turned toward Chen Xin and Tang Xiao. "We'll find Dugu Bo first."

"Wait," Tang Xiao spoke up.

"You're taking Tang San with you?"

"If I don't take him, should I take you? If there are any problems, I'll still need to question him." Azure Luan Douluo spoke as though it were only natural.

"He can't even move right now." Tang Xiao's voice sank. "If you take him along and something happens on the way, will you take responsibility?"

"If he dies, won't that leave you with one less burden?"

Azure Luan Douluo sneered. Tang San's death would be better for him.

Tang Xiao's expression darkened, and the Soul Power around him began to fluctuate.

Seeing their reactions, Chen Xin interjected, "I need him alive too."

"Tang San not only knows Dugu Bo fairly well, but also understands the properties of Immortal-grade Herbs. Keeping him alive benefits all of you."

Azure Luan Douluo looked at Chen Xin, then at Tang Xiao.

"Fine. What do you suggest, then?"

"I'll carry him," Tang Xiao said.

"No." Azure Luan Douluo rejected it outright. "If you carry him, what if you run off on the way? Wherever you go, I'll go. I don't trust you."

"I trust you even less to carry him."

The two stared at each other, and that faint, elusive sense of pressure once again filled the air.

Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo moved a step forward, taking their places to either side behind Azure Luan Douluo.

The Clear Sky Sect elder also stepped half a pace forward, standing behind Tang Xiao.

Chen Xin sighed. He did not want to get mixed up in the mess between these two sides, but Dugu Bo had the Aromatic Silk Beauty, and Tang San was the only person who knew Dugu Bo well.

"Stop arguing, both of you," Chen Xin said. "I'll carry him. I won't get involved in the grievances between your two sides, but Tang San must stay alive. Once we arrive, find Dugu Bo, and I've finished my business, I'll leave. You can fight then. I won't interfere."

Azure Luan Douluo glanced at him, considered it, and nodded. "Fine. I'll grant Sword Douluo that courtesy."

Tang Xiao was silent for a while before nodding as well, but everyone could see that he was only yielding for the moment and remained unconvinced.

Before the seven of them were ready to set out, the sky had already darkened.

The canopy of Sunset Forest blocked most of the daylight, leaving the woods dim and gloomy.

Chen Xin hoisted Tang San onto his shoulder and walked in the middle. Azure Luan Douluo led the way at the front, while Tang Xiao brought up the rear.

Snake Lance, Pufferfish, and the Clear Sky Sect elder took positions along the two flanks, keeping watch on one another.

The six had traveled less than five li.

An aura swept toward them from the northwest.

The aura carried a savage, blazing pressure filled with destructive force.

It shared the same source as Tang Xiao's Clear Sky Hammer, but was rougher and wilder, like flames burning in a storm.

And it was highly unstable, surging and fading by turns. At its strongest, it could press down on even a Titled Douluo until he could barely breathe; at its weakest, it resembled a thread that might snap at any moment.

Tang Xiao's expression was the first to change.

"Little Brother Hao..."

Azure Luan Douluo sensed it too. His perception of wind elements was the first to catch the details of that aura.

That Soul Power was indeed formidable, but it contained many chaotic fluctuations, like a river that was mostly blocked. Though it still flowed, it might burst its banks at any moment.

"It's actually Tang Hao."

A trace of excitement entered Azure Luan Douluo's voice. "He can't keep his injuries suppressed anymore. He's burning Soul Power to sustain this aura."

He turned toward Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo, the curve of his lips considerably wider than before.

"An injured Clear Sky Douluo. Wouldn't taking him down be a great achievement?"

"Azure Luan, just try it."

Tang Xiao's voice came from behind, as cold as though it had been dredged from an icy spring. "If you dare touch a single hair on my little brother's head, I'll leave you in Sunset Forest even if it costs me my life."

Azure Luan Douluo laughed. "Sect Master Tang, isn't it a little late to say that now? Your brother's aura is thrashing wildly up ahead. He can barely hold on himself. Can you stop me?"