Over the next few days.
Lin Yuan did not leave the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Dugu Bo also set everything else aside completely and began condensing his poison core according to the direction Lin Yuan had given him.
This step was not easy.
The deadly poison in his body had accumulated over decades, long since seeping deep into his meridians and internal organs, even becoming entangled with his Soul Power.
Drawing all of it out meant that the slightest mistake could cause the Poison Qi to backlash.
Fortunately, they were at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
The convergence of extreme cold and extreme heat could help him suppress the rampaging toxins perfectly.
And Lin Yuan was beside him, constantly adjusting the method.
On the fourth day.
Inside the valley.
Dugu Bo sat cross-legged.
Nine Soul Rings circled his body.
Dark green Poison Qi continually seeped from every inch of his skin, but instead of spreading outward, his Soul Power forcibly pulled it back into his body.
Finally-
It all gathered in his dantian.
"Condense!"
Dugu Bo gave a low shout.
Boom!
The terrifying Poison Qi abruptly contracted.
The dark green mist that had shrouded half the valley vanished completely within a few breaths.
Deep within his dantian.
A dark green poison core slowly took shape.
Hum!
Dugu Bo's body shuddered violently.
The next moment.
The deadly poison that had accumulated in his flesh and meridians over decades surged madly into the poison core, as though it had finally found an outlet.
A little.
Then a little more.
Until the final wisp of Poison Qi was drawn away.
Dugu Bo's eyes snapped open.
All nine Soul Rings trembled at once.
A surge of Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Poison, more concentrated than before, abruptly erupted, only for him to withdraw it in an instant.
The entire process.
Went exactly as he willed.
There was no longer the slightest backlash.
Dugu Bo stood frozen in place.
He slowly raised both hands.
The bluish-green tint that had lingered on his skin for years had faded.
The rank, poisonous smell that no amount of washing could remove had also vanished completely.
Even his long, dark green hair gradually lost its color after the toxins were drawn out.
In the end, it turned grayish-white.
Standing beside him, Guang Ling looked him up and down a few times.
"Well, well."
"Old Poison."
"You finally don't look like you were just fished out of a vat of poison."
For once, Dugu Bo did not talk back.
He merely closed his eyes.
And felt his body.
No stabbing pain.
No tingling itch.
And certainly none of that sensation of toxins eating away at him, which had followed him like a shadow for decades.
Relief.
Unprecedented relief. He had never felt so clearheaded and refreshed.
A moment later.
Dugu Bo opened his eyes and walked up to Lin Yuan.
"I keep my word."
"From this day onward."
"I pledge allegiance to Spirit Hall."
He paused briefly.
"I've also committed your method for saving Yanyan to memory."
"This debt."
"I acknowledge it."
Lin Yuan nodded.
"All right."
There were no pleasantries.
Once a Titled Douluo had given his word, there was no need for any more empty talk.
Lin Yuan turned his hand over.
A jade bottle appeared in his palm.
He uncorked it.
A dark golden pill rolled into his hand.
Dugu Bo frowned after just one glance.
"This thing..."
Lin Yuan looked at him.
"You recognize it?"
"Medicine from the Hall of Relief."
Dugu Bo's voice grew low.
"They gave me one before."
Lin Yuan tossed the pill to him.
"Old Poison."
"How did you discover something was wrong with it back then?"
Dugu Bo caught the pill.
Soul Power seeped gently from his fingertips into it.
His expression soon turned cold.
"Blood Qi."
"The Blood Qi inside this thing is far too strong."
Lin Yuan said nothing.
Dugu Bo continued:
"Ordinary pills use nothing more than medicinal herbs and Soul Beast materials."
"But this thing is different."
"There's a large amount of human Blood Qi mixed into it."
"And not from just one person."
He held the pill between his fingers.
"Many."
"I took it back and studied it for half a month."
"The more I studied it, the more wrong it felt."
"This didn't seem like refining medicine at all."
"It seemed more like..."
Dugu Bo's gaze darkened.
"It was refined from living people."
"So when the Hall of Relief approached you again, you simply drove them away?"
"Exactly."
Dugu Bo sneered.
"I've played with poison all my life."
"But I'm not about to put some damned thing of unknown origin into my mouth."
Lin Yuan took the pill back.
"You guessed right."
Dugu Bo's gaze sharpened.
"It really was living people?"
"Blood essence from living people is only one ingredient."
Lin Yuan said:
"There's another organization behind the Hall of Relief."
"The Medicine King Holy Church."
"They abduct people."
"Refine medicine."
"And research what they call immortality."
"And these pills also contain a power far more troublesome than human blood."
Dugu Bo frowned.
"What power?"
"You can think of it as a kind of life force that's out of control."
Lin Yuan did not explain the Ambrosial Arbor and Abundance in detail.
"When a small amount enters the body."
"It can heal injuries."
"It can extend your lifespan."
"It can even restore vitality to an aging body."
Dugu Bo immediately caught the key point.
"A small amount?"
"Yes."
Lin Yuan looked at him.
"Because taking too much causes problems."
"The flesh grows wildly."
"Its ability to recover grows stronger and stronger."
"Then consciousness gradually disappears."
"Until you finally become a monster that doesn't even know who it is."
The amusement on Dugu Bo's face vanished completely.
He looked at the pill again.
"The Hall of Relief has been selling this stuff all over Heaven Dou City?"
"Not just selling it."
Lin Yuan said calmly:
"Some people already can't do without it."
"A great many nobles in Heaven Dou City have been taking it for years."
"To live a few more years, some even willingly cover up evidence of the Hall of Relief's crimes."
"Prince Xue Xing is even more direct."
"He supplies the Medicine King Holy Church with living people."
Killing intent flashed in Dugu Bo's eyes.
"Xue Xing?"
"Yes."
"Refugees."
"Slaves."
"Death row prisoners."
"Even commoners without household registration."
"They traded those people's lives for medicine for themselves."
Dugu Bo's expression grew increasingly ugly.
His temper might have been eccentric.
And he had killed plenty of people.
But treating living people as medicinal ingredients and stuffing them into pill furnaces in batches-
That was another matter entirely.
"Xue Ye doesn't know?"
"He knows there's something wrong with the Hall of Relief."
Lin Yuan said evenly:
"But he chose to play blind."
Dugu Bo fell silent for a few breaths.
Then he suddenly sneered.
"No wonder Heaven Dou has been rotting more and more over the years."
Lin Yuan stood up.
"So, come back to Heaven Dou City with me in a few days."
Dugu Bo raised his eyes.
"To do what?"
"Purge them."
"Every Medicine King Holy Church stronghold within Heaven Dou's borders. Not one left."
"Anyone involved in refining medicine from living people dies."
"Anyone trafficking people for them dies."
"As for those nobles who know full well they're consuming human lives, yet still pave the way for the Medicine King Holy Church..."
Lin Yuan's gaze turned cold.
"It's time to purge them too."
Dugu Bo grinned.
"Now that, I like."
"My Poison Core just formed, too."
"I can try my hand on them."
Something else suddenly occurred to Lin Yuan.
"Right."
"What?"
"Since you've already pledged allegiance to Spirit Hall."
Lin Yuan looked at him.
"Your granddaughter should break up with that little boyfriend from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
Dugu Bo froze.
"Yu Tianheng?"
"Yes."
"Why should she?"
Dugu Bo immediately frowned.
His pledging allegiance to Spirit Hall was one thing.
His granddaughter's love life was another.
Lin Yuan said evenly:
"Because the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's ties to the Hall of Relief run deeper than you imagine."
Dugu Bo's gaze shifted slightly.
"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was involved too?"
"Some of their clansmen escorted medicinal ingredients for the Hall of Relief."
"Cleared the way for them."
"Accepted the pills they provided."
"So far, we haven't found any direct involvement by Yu Tianheng."
Lin Yuan paused.
"But sooner or later, that clan will be investigated."
"Not one person who deserves to be purged will escape."
Dugu Bo's face darkened.
Lin Yuan drove the knife in further.
"You just saved Dugu Yan from Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison."
"Surely you don't want her marrying into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan someday."
"Only to discover a whole bunch of her in-laws are taking medicine refined from living people?"
Dugu Bo: "..."
Those words.
They packed quite a punch.
The expression on Old Poison's face grew uglier at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Dugu Bo fell silent for a moment.
Then he suddenly looked at Lin Yuan.
"Since they have to break up."
"Why not have Yanyan marry you instead?"
Lin Yuan froze.
Then he smiled.
"Sure."
"But I already have Xue'er."
"She could only be a concubine at most."
Dugu Bo did not even think about it.
"A concubine is fine."
This time, it was Lin Yuan's turn to lose his smile.
"...You're serious?"
"Obviously."
Dugu Bo shot him a glance.
After spending these past few days together, he had already gained a rough understanding of Lin Yuan's background.
Fifteen years old.
A rank forty-eight Soul Ancestor.
A true core member of the Worship Hall's inner circle.
Light Feather Douluo's only disciple.
And he could casually produce a solution to the backlash from Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison.
Even Dugu Bo himself dared not imagine how far someone like that could go in the future.
If Yanyan really became his woman-
Even as just a concubine.
She would not lose out.
"I think it's quite suitable."
The corner of Lin Yuan's mouth stiffened.
Beside him, Guang Ling could no longer hold it in.
"Hahahahaha!"
His shoulders shook with laughter.
"You little brat!"
"You said it yourself!"
"I'll tell Xiao Xue as soon as we get back!"
Lin Yuan's face immediately darkened.
"Teacher, you-"
"And there's evidence!"
A cheerful voice suddenly came from behind Guang Ling.
Lin Yuan froze mid-motion.
A red-and-white mask slowly peeked out.
Who knew how long Aha had been hiding there.
He was now excitedly waving the Image-Recording Crystal Ball in his hand.
From inside the crystal ball.
Came precisely what Lin Yuan had said earlier-
"She could only be a concubine at most."
Aha laughed, his mask nearly pressing against Lin Yuan's face.
"Recorded it!"
"Didn't miss a single word!"
Lin Yuan: "..."
Guang Ling: "Hahahahahaha!"
Dugu Bo looked at the crystal ball.
Then he looked at Lin Yuan.
He suddenly felt-
This grandson-in-law of his.
Might have to make it back to Heaven Dou City alive first.