Tang Feng bit through the tip of his tongue, trading the sharp pain for a sliver of strength, and crawled toward the cave entrance inch by inch. The sunlight stung his eyes. He first spat out a mouthful of blackish-purple poisoned blood, its foul, bloody stench piercing his nose.
In another cave, the old man opened his eyes in surprise when he sensed Tang Feng's movements, then closed them again to rest.
Tang Feng lay at the cave entrance and glanced out of the corner of his eye. Medicinal herbs covered the hillside, their leaves swaying in the spirit breeze as though beckoning.
"Seven-Star Emerald Leaf Orchid... Scarlet Yang Blood-Veined Vine... Snow Silkworm Clover... Purple-Leaf Money Flower... Clear-Heart Mint Leaf..."
Tang Feng had spent years studying his maternal grandfather's Complete Compendium of Pharmacology and Complete Compendium of Toxicology. Though he had never truly put them into practice, he knew their contents by heart.
Now his life hung by a thread. Staying alive came first; he could not afford to worry about anything else.
Hope lit up Tang Feng's eyes. Digging all five fingers into the soil, he used his last sliver of strength to drag himself slowly forward. With great difficulty, he gathered three kinds of medicinal herbs, crushed the Seven-Star Emerald Leaf Orchid into emerald-green juice, and applied it to his wounds. Agonizing pain struck, and purplish-black blood welled out.
He then chewed up the Scarlet Yang Blood-Veined Vine and Clear-Heart Mint Leaf and swallowed them with spirit dew. A warm current flowed down his throat, protecting his heart meridians and slowing the poison's spread.
Then he circulated his Soul Power to regulate his breathing and force out the poison. Two hours later, Tang Feng's condition had improved slightly. Enduring his weakness, he crawled to the shaded side of the hillside and gathered Snow Silkworm Clover and Purple-Leaf Money Flower. He steeped them in spring water seeping from the edge of a rock crevice and drank it in small sips.
The icy medicinal potency entered his belly and collided with the fiery nature of the snake venom. Frost formed over his pores one moment, and steam rose from them the next. The pain felt like ten thousand needles piercing him at once, but he gritted his teeth and circulated the last trace of Soul Power in his body, allowing both medicinal effects to work fully and confine the poison to the ends of his limbs.
He then cut open his fingers and toes with a stone to release the poisoned blood. Large amounts seeped out through the gaps around his nails.
He repeated this process. Ten days later, Tang Feng's wounds had gradually improved and scabbed over. Most of the poison had been expelled from his body, and the purple color of his lips and skin had visibly faded.
The old man in the other location had been closely observing Tang Feng's every move, clicking his tongue in wonder at his perseverance and his various methods of treating poison.
To think a ten-year-old child possessed such composure and knew so many methods of treating wounds and poison. He truly was a monster.
Just like that, another half month passed.
Tang Feng sat cross-legged at the cave entrance. Soul Power surged through his body, and he spat out the last mouthful of poisoned blood. His injuries had now healed completely, and all the poison in his body had been cleared away. With so many precious medicinal herbs entering his body as well, his Soul Power had broken through level twenty-three in one leap and reached level twenty-four.
Just as he was inwardly rejoicing, a green figure suddenly arrived. It was an old man of roughly fifty or sixty, who stood with his hands behind his back, his jade-green eyes unfathomable.
Tang Feng immediately recognized him as the old man who had rescued him from the poison miasma when he was at death's door. He rose at once and said respectfully, "This junior is Tang Feng of the Clear Sky Sect. Thank you, Senior, for saving my life! May I ask your honored name? I have no way to repay you."
The old man said coldly, "I am Dugu Bo. My title is Poison."
Dugu Bo's tone was indifferent. Glancing at the poisoned blood on the ground, he continued, "I merely dislike Spirit Hall. I did not act to save you. You saved yourself."
"A Titled Douluo expert!" Tang Feng was utterly shocked by his words, his thoughts racing. Dugu Bo? Poison Douluo? That rings a faint bell. He helped the protagonist many times in the original story, but I wonder what his temperament is like. Could the protagonist's fortuitous opportunity have come from Dugu Bo?
Tang Feng immediately spoke even more respectfully. "Had Your Eminence not brought this junior out of the poison miasma, I would probably be a puddle of pus by now. Please accept my bow!"
With that, he bent at the waist and bowed to Dugu Bo.
Seeing how respectful and grateful the boy was, Dugu Bo's brow relaxed slightly, and his tone softened somewhat. "I noticed you have quite a knack for treating wounds and expelling poison. Where did you learn this knowledge of pharmacology?"
Hearing this, Tang Feng explained without hesitation, "This junior's maternal grandfather is Yang Wudi, chief of the Breaking Clan. He is well versed in pharmacology and has devoted his life to studying the refinement of medicines and poisons. Since I was little, he has taught me to identify herbs and medicines, along with all kinds of methods for making poisons and neutralizing them. Only thanks to that was I fortunate enough to escape death."
"Oh? So that is why. No wonder you are so accomplished in pharmacology." Dugu Bo was quite surprised as well.
"I must also thank Your Eminence for the precious medicinal herbs here. This junior will certainly repay you in the future!" Tang Feng bowed again in gratitude.
Dugu Bo waved a hand dismissively and continued, "Since you have studied toxicology from childhood, I shall put you to the test!"
With that, before Tang Feng could react, a wisp of emerald-green poisonous mist quietly slipped into the space between his brows.
"This is a trace of my Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's innate venom. Though there is not much of it, it is more than ten times as overbearing as the poison you suffered before." Dugu Bo's voice was calm. "You have ten days. If you cannot neutralize it, stay here and become fertilizer for my flowers."
Before Tang Feng could speak, Dugu Bo vanished from the cave entrance in a flash.
Dugu Bo's sudden change of face caught Tang Feng completely off guard, leaving him dumbfounded. He thought to himself that the man truly was eccentric by nature, his moods as changeable as sunshine and clouds.
Tang Feng dared not delay. He began examining the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Poison in his body and considering ways to neutralize it.
As that wisp of Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Poison entered his body, he immediately felt the world spinning. His internal organs felt as though countless venomous snakes were gnawing at them all at once.
Not daring to waste time, Tang Feng immediately sat cross-legged and examined his meridians internally. The jade-green poisonous mist moved through his flesh and blood like a living thing. Wherever it passed, his meridians instantly took on a layer of eerie bluish-black.
Tang Feng drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the excruciating pain, and began rapidly thinking of countermeasures.
This poison came from the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's innate source. It should possess the dual poison attributes of metal and fire, overbearing and searing, corroding the meridians and attacking the spiritual consciousness between the brows directly. It could potentially damage the spiritual origin and would continually replicate itself, accumulating ever more deeply. Ordinary herbs for neutralizing snake venom would have very little effect.
Although Dugu Bo had administered only a small amount, unless Tang Feng quickly found a way to suppress it, never mind ten days-the poison would spread throughout his body in one day, his spiritual origin would be completely corroded in two, and on the third day, his entire body would slowly begin to fester until he became a puddle of pus. It was overbearing to the extreme.
Following his earlier method, Tang Feng first took Scarlet Yang Blood-Veined Vine and Clear-Heart Mint Leaf to protect his heart meridians and spiritual consciousness and slow the poison's spread.
Tang Feng began considering how to neutralize the poison. A moment later, he had made a decision and murmured, "Perhaps Grandfather's Five Elements Reverse Overcoming method is worth a try.
"Use five mutually generating and overcoming poisons to form a five-element cycle, gradually breaking down the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Poison.
"Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Poison belongs to metal.
"Then, for wood poison, I can use ghost vine spores; for water poison, Cold Pool Silver Thread Grass; for fire poison, Earthfire Horsetail Flower; and for earth poison, Earth Dragon Earthworm Grass.
"I only need to account for the toxicity within my body and mix the poisons in the order of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, using the proportions taught in the book, to make a five-poison liquid.
"After swallowing it, I must immediately circulate my Soul Power along the reverse five-element route.
"The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Poison will be broken down and diluted by the other four poisons during the cycle, ultimately turning into ordinary fire poison, which can then be expelled through conventional methods.
"That would give me roughly a fifty-percent chance of suppressing the poison's outbreak until after ten days. If there are more suitable spirit herbs, I might even be able to clear it away completely."
Having settled on his plan, Tang Feng sighed. "Ah, it's just that this method is excruciatingly painful. I must guard my spiritual awareness at every moment to prevent the five poisons from turning on me. I can only treat a dead horse as though it were still alive. Fortunately, medicinal herbs are plentiful here. I should be able to find the corresponding herbs, and if not, I'll substitute ones with the same attributes."
Tang Feng acted as soon as he had decided, dragging his severely poisoned body along as he searched the hillside with stumbling steps.
Tang Feng deliberately avoided the hollow at the summit where spiritual Qi surged. Though the medicinal herbs there might be even rarer, given Dugu Bo's eccentric, mercurial temperament, he dared not rashly enter that core of spiritual Qi.
Little did he know that Dugu Bo had heard every word of his quiet muttering through his spiritual perception.
"Ghost vine spores... Earthfire Horsetail Flower..."
"Five Elements Reverse Overcoming, metal as the guide, earth as the foundation... Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Poison belongs to metal..."
Hidden in the shadows, Dugu Bo's jade-green eyes flashed with an unusual light as he marveled inwardly. This boy not only recognizes almost every poisonous herb, but also knows the principles of how their medicinal properties counteract one another like the back of his hand. Even after immersing myself in this path for decades, I might not be able to handle every poisonous herb with such precision. Interesting, interesting!
Meanwhile, in just half an hour, Tang Feng had gathered all the poisonous herbs he needed. Using a rock as a mortar, he carefully ground the four poisonous substances according to the proportions he had calculated. Dark red, silvery white, reddish gold, and earthy yellow liquids mingled in the hollow of the stone, finally turning into a pool of eerie, deep-purple slurry.
Tang Feng drew a deep breath and first chewed a handful of Clear-Heart Mint Leaf to protect his heart meridians. Then he actually drank the mixed poison in a single gulp!
The instant the poisonous liquid entered his belly, it battled the snake venom within him, like five steel boning knives twisting wildly through his meridians.