Chapter 18

"Haha! Calling a dagger a spear, and trying to cut me with a blade of grass? Are you an idiot?" Sun Li jeered loudly.

Tang San was unaffected. Having lived two lives, his state of mind was no longer something these children's tricks could shake. He simply stared at Sun Li and charged forward.

Xiao Wu reached Sun Li, then swiftly flipped backward to dodge away the instant her strike landed.

As she retreated, she crossed paths with Tang San. Tang San swung the Blue Silver Dagger, slashing at the fist Sun Li had just reached toward Xiao Wu with.

With a clang, the blade sank only shallowly, but it had unmistakably pierced the rock covering Sun Li's fists. Frightened, Sun Li pulled back both hands and held them against his chest.

After straightening up, Xiao Wu moved toward Sun Li's other side, preparing to twist her waist into a side kick.

At that moment, Tang San had also moved to the opposite side and was about to thrust the Blue Silver Dagger with all his strength.

Sun Li crouched on the ground with his hands over his head. "I'm done, I'm done! You win!"

Thump! Xiao Wu's kick landed anyway.

It sent Sun Li crying, "Ow! Ow!"

"Hey, why did you stop fighting?" Xiao Wu said, pouting.

"Yeah, Sun Li, why did you surrender?"

"You're facing two new work-study students, and you're still such a coward!"

Sun Li waved at them impatiently. "I can't beat them, but you think I can't beat you?"

"Boring, boring. Let's go."

As the surrounding crowd began to disperse, Sun Li glanced fearfully at the Blue Silver Dagger in Tang San's hand, then at the deep groove cut into his rock gauntlet, and shuddered.

"Hehe, of course I should surrender if I can't win."

Although Xiao Wu still had not had her fill, the others from Dorm Seven had already gathered around and begun cheering. "Oh! Sister Xiao Wu, Tang San, you two are amazing!"

"Then give back the money you took," Tang San said, stepping forward.

Looking at the Blue Silver Dagger still glowing blue in Tang San's hand, Sun Li nodded with a murmured, "Mm-hmm," took a cloth pouch from inside his clothes, and handed it to Tang San.

Tang San took the pouch and tossed it to Wang Sheng behind him. "Open it and see if anything's missing."

Only after Wang Sheng checked did they turn to leave.

Tang San glanced at Xiao Wu and decided he should wait until no one else was around before giving her the Lovesick Heartbreak Red.

Meanwhile, Lan Changsheng returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and was spotted by Dugu Bo as soon as he entered.

Seeing that the totem did not attack Lan Changsheng, but instead made way for him on its own and adopted a fawning posture, infuriated Dugu Bo.

Lan Changsheng also noticed that the surrounding poisonous mist had grown thicker, and the plants around him were telling him that someone else was there.

But why can't I see through this man's strength? Dugu Bo thought. In that case...

"Has the master of this place returned?" Lan Changsheng cupped his hands in greeting toward where Dugu Bo stood. "I did not know this place had an owner. I'm truly sorry for entering uninvited and even taking an Immortal Herb."

Dugu Bo stopped hiding, appeared, and struck out with his palm. Emerald-green Soul Power coated his hand, while the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor materialized behind him, flicking its forked tongue, even its breath carrying deadly poisonous fumes.

Lan Changsheng likewise raised his palm to block. They separated the instant they made contact and stood apart.

Seeing the other man reveal himself, Lan Changsheng understood that, though he did not look easy to deal with, this was likely because he had trespassed on his territory. "My name is Lan Changsheng. I'm truly sorry. Both this place and the Immortal Herb I took are of great use to me. I did not know this place had an owner before, which is why I entered so rashly."

Dugu Bo did not reply. His brows merely knitted tightly, and he said nothing.

"If there is anything I can help with, I will certainly see it done," Lan Changsheng said earnestly.

But before Dugu Bo could reply, he spat out a mouthful of blood, soaking the front of his clothes.

This left Lan Changsheng a little bewildered, because he knew he had not counterattacked just now, only blocked.

"It wasn't because of you," Dugu Bo explained of his own accord. From the casual ease with which Lan Changsheng had received his palm strike, Dugu Bo knew he was no ordinary man, and even addressed him respectfully.

"I am Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo. There is nothing I need you to do. I did indeed discover this place several decades ago and have used it to cultivate Immortal Herbs."

After observing him carefully, Lan Changsheng discovered that although Dugu Bo's vitality was abundant, a poison was constantly eating away at it. If it went unchecked, even as a Titled Douluo, he likely did not have long to live.

The blood he had just coughed up was probably because their exchange of palm strikes had stirred up the poison inside him.

"The poison in your body is very potent," Lan Changsheng said. "But I have a solution."

Dugu Bo looked at Lan Changsheng gravely. "Are you serious?" This poison from his Martial Soul had accompanied him all his life.

To find a cure, he had studied the arts of poison, spending years testing countless poisons on himself without hesitation. Not only had he failed to find a way to suppress the toxins inside him, he had instead made the poison in his body increasingly potent.

Had he not already become a Titled Douluo, he would probably have met the same end as his wife and son, tortured to an early death by this poison.

He had returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well this time because a recent poison test had once again worsened the poison inside him, and he had come to use the power of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to suppress the deadly poison in his body.

Over the years, others had told him they had a solution, but none had managed to resolve his problem even now. Yet this man before him...

Lan Changsheng nodded. "I do have a solution."

"My poison comes from my Martial Soul. The Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor's poison is powerful, but as a human, I have no organ capable of storing it. Every time I cultivate or release a Soul Skill, the toxins take the opportunity to build up inside my body..." Dugu Bo also feared that the greater his hopes, the greater his disappointment.

Lan Changsheng understood what he was thinking. "Why not let me try first? If it works, I'll continue treating the poison in your body. If it doesn't, I'll turn around and leave."

Dugu Bo thought it over. He is perfectly capable of driving me away and seizing this place by force. Since he is still willing to discuss it, perhaps he really does have a way to solve my problem. Then let him try.

Dugu Bo led Lan Changsheng to the place where he usually sat in meditation to cultivate. "It's rather simple. Please don't mind."

Lan Changsheng nodded amiably, sat opposite Dugu Bo, and placed his hand on his wrist.

Life Divine Power flowed slowly from his fingertips, traveling through the channels inside Dugu Bo's body.

Dugu Bo felt a power slowly kindle warmth within his body. In all these years of living with poison, he had rarely felt this kind of warmth arising from his own body.

Through the perception of Life Divine Power, the toxins inside Dugu Bo were piled layer upon layer within his bones, meridians, and internal organs.

They constantly ate away at Dugu Bo's vitality and had already become completely one with him. Forcibly stripping them away would be no different from taking half his life outright.

As Life Divine Power circulated, Dugu Bo spat out a mouthful of black blood, but felt much better, both in the circulation of his energy and in his body.

"I can completely resolve your problem. There are two methods, depending on which you prefer."