Inside the valley, a deathly silence reigned.
Those words, "I can completely resolve the hidden danger threatening you," were like a bolt of heavenly lightning, shattering Dugu Bo's last psychological defense.
He stood frozen in place, his face turning from pale to ashen, then from ashen to a sickly flush. Even his breathing grew ragged.
Zhu Zhuqing's heart nearly leaped out of her chest.
She looked at the confident smile on Dai Weisi's face, then at the distraught Dugu Bo, and a terrifying thought grew wildly in her mind.
Could Dai Weisi be about to succeed? Was he going to subdue a Titled Douluo?!
Could he really do it?
The realization left her cold all over.
She couldn't stay here any longer!
While everyone's attention was fixed on Dai Weisi and Dugu Bo, Zhu Zhuqing silently edged backward. Her body became a blurred afterimage as she darted toward the valley's only exit.
She had to flee, to escape this place that left her suffocating.
Yet almost the instant she moved, a black shadow just as swift shifted sideways like a phantom, precisely blocking her path.
"Little sister, where are you going?"
Zhu Zhuyun stood there gracefully, her arms folded across her chest and a cold, mocking smile on her lips.
She looked her deathly pale younger sister up and down, her gaze holding not a shred of sisterly affection, only a condescending appraisal.
"That little act of betrayal of yours really... made me see you in a new light."
"Now that you see the tide has turned against you, you want to just walk away?"
Zhu Zhuyun's voice was not loud, but every word pierced the heart. "If I were you, I'd be kneeling before His Highness right now, begging for his forgiveness, instead of trying to run away like a dog that's lost its home."
Zhu Zhuqing stopped, her body taut, and looked coldly at her older sister. "Move."
"Move?"
Zhu Zhuyun acted as though she had heard a joke.
"Do you think you can leave today? Betraying His Highness is betraying the Star Luo Empire! I'll capture you right now and hand you over to His Highness to deal with personally!"
Before she had finished speaking, Zhu Zhuyun's Soul Power was already surging as she prepared to strike.
On the other side, their confrontation had not affected the central figures in the valley.
Dugu Bo stared fixedly at Dai Weisi and forced a few words through his hoarse throat:
"Why should I believe you?"
A barely perceptible tremor ran through his voice.
This was no longer a challenge, but a plea for confirmation!
"Heh."
Dai Weisi chuckled, seemingly having anticipated the question. He said no more, simply opening his right hand and willing something to happen.
A strange plant appeared in his palm out of thin air.
It was a small blade of grass, crimson as blood from top to bottom and roughly a foot tall. Yet the edges of its leaves glimmered with an eerie, nether-black color, like burning netherfire.
It lay quietly in Dai Weisi's hand, giving off no rich fragrance, yet an indescribable presence spread from it.
The instant the Netherworld Crimson Refinement Grass appeared, Dugu Bo's body shook violently!
He did not even need to look at it or smell it. The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison in his body, which had plagued him all his life and caused him unbearable suffering, suddenly stirred as never before!
It was not the violence of a backlash, but a... a yearning and submission from the depths of his bloodline!
It was like a subject beholding his king, or a lost lamb finding its home.
The poison, stirring restlessly, brought him no pain. Instead, it sent waves of soothing warmth through him.
"Th-this is?!"
Dugu Bo's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. His breathing stopped in an instant, and he could no longer tear his gaze away from the crimson-and-black grass.
"This is called Netherworld Crimson Refinement Grass."
The smile on Dai Weisi's face grew even brighter. Like a master hunter luring prey onto a hook, he leisurely cast out his final bargaining chip.
"Not only can it completely neutralize all the poison running out of control in your body in the gentlest possible way, turning it into part of your Soul Power, it can also use the opportunity to refine your Martial Soul Origin and let your Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor... undergo a second evolution!"
"When that happens, your potential will far surpass what it is now!"
Boom!
A second evolution!
Every word was like a heavy hammer smashing into Dugu Bo's heart, leaving him dizzy and barely able to stand.
The greatest pride of his life was poison, and his greatest pain was also poison.
He dreamed of solving this problem. For its sake, he had even once set aside his dignity as a Titled Douluo and placed his trust in a teenage boy.
And now, a real opportunity to shed his old self and be reborn lay right before him!
The price was merely submission.
A fierce struggle raged within him.
His pride as a Titled Douluo and his desire to cast off his suffering and greatly increase his strength tore at each other in his mind like two savage beasts.
Submit to some wet-behind-the-ears brat in his twenties?
If word got out, how could he, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo, ever show his old face again?
But if he refused...
He would continue to endure that inhuman torment, his strength scarcely able to advance another inch. Day and night, he would suffer in agony until the poison consumed him completely.
Dai Weisi seemed to see through his hesitation, and the curve of his lips grew wider.
Holding the Netherworld Crimson Refinement Grass in his palm, he calmly raised three fingers.
"My patience is limited."
"Three."
He slowly lowered one finger, uttering an icy number.
Beads of cold sweat instantly covered Dugu Bo's forehead.
"Two."
Dai Weisi's voice was flat and even, yet it carried an unquestionable pressure. His second finger lowered with it.
Dugu Bo's body began to tremble slightly. His gaze shifted back and forth between Dai Weisi's young yet unfathomable face and the Immortal Herb radiating a deadly temptation.
A possibility occurred to him.
He could pretend to agree first, obtain the Immortal Herb, and solve his own problem.
With his strength as a Titled Douluo, if he wanted to escape this control later, what could this brat do to him?
The world was vast. If he was determined to leave, no one could stop him!
Once the thought emerged, it grew wildly like weeds.
"I..."
Just as Dai Weisi was about to lower his last finger, Dugu Bo gritted his teeth. As though using every ounce of strength in his body, he roared, "I agree!"
"Dugu Bo greets his master!"
"Very good."
The smile on Dai Weisi's face instantly blossomed, dazzlingly bright.
Without the slightest hesitation or wariness, he flicked his wrist, and the priceless Netherworld Crimson Refinement Grass became a streak of crimson-and-black light, flying straight toward Dugu Bo.
Dugu Bo instinctively reached out and caught it. A warm, smooth sensation spread through his palm, and the presence that made his whole body feel at ease grew even stronger.
He froze. He had not expected Dai Weisi to be so straightforward, leaving himself no backup plan at all.
This boy... what tremendous resolve!
For a moment, the thought of "rebelling later" in Dugu Bo's heart involuntarily faded somewhat.
He gave Dai Weisi a long look, then hesitated no longer. He sat down cross-legged, put the Netherworld Crimson Refinement Grass in his mouth, and began circulating his power to absorb it.
Watching Dugu Bo enter a state of cultivation, Dai Weisi's smile deepened, though a hint of amusement had appeared in it, unnoticed by anyone.
Resolve?
No, this was called leaving nothing to chance.
The instant Dugu Bo had shouted "I agree," Dai Weisi had already silently recited the words in his heart and activated the special item rewarded by the system-the [Master-Servant United Hearts Contract]!
This was an incomparably domineering soul contract. Once the target willingly agreed to submit, the contract would take effect instantly, branding itself directly into the depths of the other party's soul origin.
From then on, if Dugu Bo so much as entertained the slightest thought of betrayal, his soul would suffer excruciating pain, as though ten thousand ants were devouring his heart.
If he forcibly betrayed Dai Weisi, his soul would be utterly destroyed, and he would drop dead on the spot!
Better still, the contract would subtly influence Dugu Bo's thoughts, giving him a natural sense of closeness and absolute loyalty toward Dai Weisi.
At that moment, a complex and mysterious golden mark had quietly taken shape in Dai Weisi's Sea of Consciousness. One end of the mark was connected to him, while the other extended toward Dugu Bo, who was not far away.
He could clearly feel that a bond of absolute dominion had formed between him and Dugu Bo.
If you want to play tricks on me...
Dai Weisi laughed inwardly.
Old man, you're still a little green.