Was this kid's real reason for asking his granddaughter for the Ruyi Treasure Bag simply to dig up herbs from his own treasured land?
This thought left Dugu Bo with mixed emotions. He had a lingering sense of familiarity with this young man, and now he finally recognized him. Back at the Heaven Dou Auction, there were two young men bidding over a pair of Ruyi Treasure Bags. One of them had black hair and wore a mask, standing beside Ye Lingling. That masked youth was none other than this boy in front of him—Lu Buliang.
With everything now falling into place, Dugu Bo felt as though the clouds had parted and the truth had been revealed. Had his granddaughter been played? Had he himself been drawn into this scheme?
A flicker of anger rose In Dugu Bo's heart—but it quickly faded.
Compared to those herbs Lu Buliang had taken, the boy's unique ice and fire energy was far more valuable. Besides, it appeared that Lu Buliang and his granddaughter had quite a good relationship.
In the future, when his granddaughter would inevitably suffer the painful backlash of serpent venom, she would need to enter this deadly hot spring to suppress the pain with its spiritual energy. But if she had Lu Buliang's ice and fire energy to help her suppress the venom, she wouldn't need to risk entering the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well again. Even Dugu Bo himself could set aside his pride and ask for one of those red-and-white energy beads to ease her suffering.
Dugu Bo wasn't a fool. When his granddaughter first mentioned Lu Buliang, he had already sensed she held some affection for the boy.
Quietly observing Lu Buliang's heterochromatic eyes, Dugu Bo thought to himself: Aren't they about the same age?
If Lu Buliang also liked his granddaughter, that wouldn't be a bad thing. If they were genuinely fond of each other, there'd be no need to control the boy forcibly. If they ended up together, it would also save him the constant worry that his granddaughter might be lured away by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
"Senior, the red and white energy bead formed from ice and fire can last a full month before dissipating," Lu Buliang said calmly. "I can provide them to you before your poison flares up. That way, you won't have to endure the pain, and your cultivation will go more smoothly."
"Your ice and fire energy is indeed more valuable to me than those herbs." Now that Dugu Bo had figured out who Lu Buliang was, the killing intent in his heart eased, and his cold eyes softened slightly. "I am a man of my word. Since what you offer is useful, I'll overlook the herbs you took. However… I can't let you leave."
Lu Buliang's expression darkened. "You mean to imprison me?"
"That's right." Dugu Bo's tone turned serious. "You've discovered the secret of my poisoned body. If I let you leave and you expose this, won't all my enemies come knocking?"
"You don't need to worry about that," Lu Buliang said earnestly. "To be honest, I'm a student at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, in the same class and team as your granddaughter, Dugu Yan. We're more or less friends. Since she's my friend, how could I betray her grandfather? Besides, you're a Title Douluo. I'd have to be insane to offend someone of your caliber by spreading your secrets."
Hearing this, Dugu Bo found the logic sound. Still, he remained unwilling to fully trust someone—even if that person was his granddaughter's trusted friend.
Sensing Dugu Bo's doubt, Lu Buliang continued, "How about this: give me one year. Once I've improved my knowledge of poison and medicine, I'll return to help detoxify you. If I can succeed, you won't need to rely on my energy beads anymore, and your secret won't matter."
"You think you can remove the poison in my body?" For the first time, a flicker of surprise crossed Dugu Bo's usually calm face. After a brief silence, he sneered, "You, a soul master with no knowledge in poison, think you can learn enough in one year to undo something I've battled my whole life?"
Lu Buliang nodded firmly. "Didn't you just take one of my energy beads? The ice and fire energy in that bead suppresses all poisons. Once I refine my control further, it might even eliminate them. You're an expert in poison—you should be able to judge whether I'm lying."
Dugu Bo paused, his suspicious gaze slowly fading. Folding his hands behind his back, he asked coldly, "And if you fail after a year?"
"If I fail," Lu Buliang said without hesitation, "you can kill me however you like. I won't utter a word of complaint."
"I admire your confidence, but I don't care for empty promises." Dugu Bo pulled out a dark green pill from seemingly nowhere. "This is a high-grade poison pill refined from the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor and ten other toxic ingredients."
"If I activate it with my soul power, it will detonate inside you, and even your ice and fire energy won't save you. The explosion alone would tear you apart, even if the poison doesn't. Not even a Title Douluo could survive it."
"If you truly believe you can help me in a year, swallow this pill. Once you cure me, I'll detoxify you. If not—well, you know the consequence."
Lu Buliang deactivated his Shadow Martial Spirit. His heterochromatic eyes returned to black, and the black aura around him vanished. Walking calmly to Dugu Bo, he took the poisonous pill, popped it into his mouth, and swallowed—first enveloping it in his ice and fire energy to neutralize it.
Dugu Bo's icy expression softened with a touch of admiration. It seemed his granddaughter hadn't exaggerated—this Lu Buliang was indeed different from the rest. With such courage and composure, it was no wonder she admired him. Even Dugu Bo himself felt a trace of respect.
Could someone really master poison in just one year and resolve the suffering of the Poison Douluo—a burden he had carried for a lifetime?
If not, why was the boy so confident, staking his life on it?
Lu Buliang didn't seem like a fool. He wouldn't do something so reckless without reason. His resolve proved he believed he could succeed.
Letting go of his doubts, Dugu Bo decided that keeping this opportunity was better than letting it slip away. He said plainly, "Fine. I'll let you go. But if I find out that anyone else learns my secret within this year, I'll detonate the poison pill inside you without hesitation."
"Thank you, senior," Lu Buliang said, patting his stomach with relief. He was glad Dugu Bo gave him a pill and not the poison of the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor like in the original story with Tang San.
Before swallowing the pill, Lu Buliang had wrapped it in his extreme ice and fire energy. Now that it was in his body, it was as if the pill had been dropped into a miniature Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. The energy suppressed the poison completely.
Even if it had been forged with the power of a Title Douluo, poison was still poison. Unless it was the most extreme kind, it would always be countered by equally extreme forces.
As long as the energy barrier held, it was like trying to light a fuse in a vacuum—impossible.
To remove the pill later, Lu Buliang would simply enter the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well and use the clash between internal and external energies to shatter the pill, letting the flames consume the fragments completely.
Now that he'd earned Dugu Bo's trust, Lu Buliang grew bolder. Pointing toward a patch of unusual plants, he grinned and said, "Senior, if I do manage to cure your poison, could I have the herbs near the well that you don't recognize?"
Dugu Bo's eyes swept over the plant haven. Gritting his teeth, he snapped, "You already used the treasure bag my granddaughter gave you to steal from me, and now you dare ask for more?"
Lu Buliang suddenly became wary. How did he know I used the Bag from Dugu Yan? Had she mentioned me before?
"Enough. Go," Dugu Bo said, turning his back on him. He knew that if he imprisoned Lu Buliang here, the herbs around the spring would soon be stripped bare.
Sensing it was time to quit while he was ahead, Lu Buliang didn't linger. "Senior, I promise—I'll remove your poison within a year. Until then, if your condition worsens and you can't bear the pain, come to Heaven Dou Royal Academy. I'll have a red and white bead ready to ease the symptoms. If you find your granddaughter, you'll find me too—we're always training together."
With those final words, Lu Buliang vanished in a flash, leaving only a small stone behind in his place—he had used Shadow Exchange to jump a hundred meters away, out of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
Catching sight of the stone, Dugu Bo was surprised. So the Shadow Martial Spirit allows for this kind of instant movement?
Vanished in an instant, not even his spiritual senses could track him.
If he had tried to imprison Lu Buliang just now, he might've failed. Tracking him down afterward would've been nearly impossible.
Looking up at the moonlit sky, Dugu Bo silently mused, No wonder my granddaughter couldn't defeat him. Heaven Dou Royal Academy has really picked up a rare talent this time. On this continent, which true expert doesn't admire a genius?
Even if Lu Buliang failed to cure him a year later, Dugu Bo had already decided not to kill him. All the talk of death earlier was just for show—he had to maintain the dignity of the Poison Douluo, after all.
—
Having left the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, Lu Buliang reached the other side of the mountain. Before him stretched a dense expanse of emerald-green poison mist.
This was the poison formation Dugu Bo had set up. Lu Buliang had passed through it once before when he entered the Yin-Yang Well. Now, on his way out, he was far more experienced and needed no antidotes or protective items.
With his Shadow Martial Spirit active once more, Lu Buliang's left eye turned milky white, his right eye blood-red. The moment the heterochromatic eyes appeared, dark energy wrapped around him.
Within that darkness surged the ultimate ice and fire energy—like a miniature Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well radiating its opposing forces. It suppressed all toxins around him.
Stepping into the poison mist, any invading poisons were blocked before they could even reach him. The extreme energy rendered them inert on contact.
Walking calmly through the deadly fog, Lu Buliang remained untouched, already plotting his next move.
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