"That's right! Just use your soul power to support yourself—like that. I didn't expect you to be quite talented in this area!" Bing Di watched as Cheng Ying quickly mastered the art of flying, feeling a twinge of regret.
He was flying so swiftly if he really wanted to run away someday, chasing him might be difficult. Fortunately, no matter how fast he got, he still wasn't faster than her. That thought brought her some comfort. Watching Cheng Ying soaring through the air with such joy, she didn't feel quite so regretful anymore.
Cheng Ying wasn't overthinking it at all. His only feeling right now was: flying is amazing! After all, his current body had over 900,000 years of cultivation, and his total soul power vastly surpassed even that of an Ultimate Douluo. With a basic understanding of aerodynamics, flying was relatively simple for him.
Meanwhile, Dugu Bo, who had been sketching an herb, silently put away his earlier idea of using Cheng Ying to pressure Bing Di…
Seriously...
To fly that well, your cultivation had to be at least at the Title Douluo level. Even if he looked a bit weak on the surface, there was no way someone like Dugu Bo, a mere three-ringed Soul Master, could beat him.
And the truth was, in terms of direct combat strength, Cheng Ying might not actually be that much stronger than Dugu Bo—but the real problem was his ridiculous durability. Even if he just stood there letting someone hit him, unless they were a Title Douluo, they probably couldn't kill him even after hours of trying.
"Hey! Now can you tell me why you value that little brat so much?" Bing Di angrily dragged Cheng Ying down from the sky.
"Because he's very talented with poisons. Think about it—he managed to come in here all on his own. The poisonous barrier outside is no joke. Without your help, there's no way he got through unless he had deep mastery of toxins. I plan to take him as a disciple and teach him chemistry and medicine. I think he has the potential to become someone like Orochimaru."
Bing Di looked completely confused. "What's chemistry? And what's an Orochimaru? Is that some kind of meatball? Is it tasty?"
Cheng Ying scratched his head, realizing too late that he'd slipped in a reference from his past life. "Chemistry is a field of study about how substances change. Not something you'd be interested in, I'm sure. As for Orochimaru, he was a scientist—well, it's a long story. It happened in a distant land, in a place called the Village Hidden in the Leaves..."
As he spoke, Cheng Ying started drifting off-topic, eventually telling Bing Di the story of Naruto. Bing Di was completely captivated. Part of the reason she had become so emotionally attached to Cheng Ying was because he always had endless stories to tell. For soul beasts, who lacked cultural and entertainment outlets, these tales were like fine wine—impossible to stop drinking once you've had a taste.
The story of Naruto was long, and by the time the sky had darkened, Cheng Ying had only just reached the Chūnin Exams arc. Just as he was feeling parched and ready to take a break, Orochimaru—no, Dugu Bo—finally came back, out of breath, after recording all the herbs he recognized.
"Lord Cheng Ying, please have a look. I also drew the ones I couldn't identify."
Cheng Ying took the papers, glanced through them, and casually wrote in the names of a few herbs he recognized—things like Panax notoginseng, kudzu root, and Isatis root. These herbs had relatively mild properties, and Dugu Bo didn't recognize any of them. On the other hand, the herbs he did recognize were almost all ones Cheng Ying had never seen before—likely native to this world.
At that moment, Cheng Ying noticed something interesting. Among the herbs Dugu Bo had documented, two in particular caught his eye: one was an ice-blue herb with eight pointed leaves, and the other was a fire-red plant that resembled Chinese cabbage. Dugu Bo didn't recognize either of them, but had marked both as highly toxic.
"Where did you find these two herbs?" Cheng Ying asked, pointing at the drawings.
"Over there!" Dugu Bo obediently led them to the spring and pointed them out. The two herbs grew alone—one beside an icy spring, and the other beside a fiery one.
Each thrived in these extreme environments, the only living plants in their respective zones.
"That should be the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot. What luck—we've found real treasures!" Cheng Ying exclaimed, immediately reaching to pick the ice grass.
To his surprise, Bing Di grabbed his hand. "I don't know what these herbs are, but I'm certain both are extremely poisonous. Even I would be seriously injured if I ate them!"
Cheng Ying patted her head and replied, "It's fine. On their own, yes—they're deadly poisons. But taken together, they become a powerful tonic. Trust me, I'm way too afraid of dying to take any reckless risks."
"Hmph! Who cares if you live or die! I'm just worried that if you die from the poison, I won't be able to eat your corpse!" Bing Di folded her arms and turned away, eyes shut. But she couldn't help peeking at him with one eye—classic tsundere behavior.
Cheng Ying just smiled. Under Bing Di's nervous gaze, he picked the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. The intense cold toxin caused frost to instantly form over his hand, making him grimace in pain. Fortunately, his body was aligned with the ice element, so it wasn't too harmful.
He quickly made his way to the Infernal Delicate Apricot, placed the ice grass beside it, and the opposing toxins of extreme cold and heat neutralized each other. The surrounding frost and flames vanished.
According to the original story, he only had ten breaths—barely over thirty seconds—to ingest both herbs after combining them.
After a moment of hesitation, he divided the herbs into three equal parts. He swallowed one portion himself, shoved a second into Bing Di's mouth, and tossed the last one to Dugu Bo.
"Eat it, and your power will skyrocket. You'll become immune to all poisons—but your own poison techniques will be erased. Still, I advise you to take it. Your serpent venom is already harming your body and could even pass on to future generations. If you eat this, I'll teach you poison techniques far superior to your current ones."
With that, Cheng Ying said no more. He started counting breaths. If Dugu Bo didn't eat it in time, he'd just snatch it back and eat it himself.
After all, wasting good stuff was a crime!
Bing Di's cheeks bulged, looking like a hamster with its mouth stuffed full. Seeing Cheng Ying swallow his without hesitation, she puffed her cheeks for a moment longer before finally choosing to trust him—and swallowed.
Dugu Bo, on the other hand, was visibly conflicted. He knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but the Green Scale Serpent Venom was his pride. Without it, he'd just be another average beast-type Soul Master.
Still… he'd noticed the venom was already affecting his body. And Cheng Ying had casually explained how to neutralize two extreme toxins a clear sign of true expertise.
Eventually, all these factors tipped the scales. Dugu Bo took a leap of faith and swallowed the herbs.