Chapter 100: Bluffing, and More Bluffing
"Thank you, senior, for showing mercy." Zu Zong pushed off the ground with both hands, springing up and landing in front of Dugu Bo.
At first, Zu Zong also thought that Dugu Bo genuinely wanted to kill him. But on second thought, it seemed that not much venom had been injected into his body, only a very small amount.
Of course, Zu Zong was also doing this to give Dugu Bo a way to save face. Dugu Bo valued three things: first was his granddaughter, second was his strength, and third was his pride.
Since this old fellow cared so much about his pride, he would give it to him.
Dugu Bo also realized his gaffe, cleared his throat, and said seriously, "Mm! Not bad, you've passed my test today. Now tell me, how will you cure the poison in me and my granddaughter?"
Zu Zong did not answer directly. He turned back and touched the Elegant Silk Tulip.
Zu Zong said, "Yanzi's poison is actually very easy to solve. But senior, your poison has penetrated deep into your bones. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call you a poison man."
"Kid, stop beating around the bush with me. I see you want to negotiate terms with me!" Dugu Bo frowned and said coldly.
"Don't be wishy-washy. If you can really solve the problem of the poison backlash for me and Yanyan, I can promise you three conditions within my power."
"Uh." Zu Zong rolled his eyes at Dugu Bo. Couldn't this old fellow even let someone show off a little?
Zu Zong said, "Alright! Straightforward. To show my sincerity, I can first tell you the method to cure Yanzi's poison."
Dugu Bo was clearly a bit impatient. "Hurry up and say it."
Zu Zong nodded and said, "If you both had Tool Spirits, you wouldn't have to worry about poison backlash at all. But with Beast Spirits, you need to be careful, because you are possessed by them when you activate your Spirits."
"This also causes the poison to enter your bodies when you practice poison techniques. You just need to find a suitable spirit bone for Yanzi and have her force the poison into the spirit bone when she cultivates her poison techniques."
"Then, there won't be any problems. Like me now, although I also carry poison, the poison in my body is all within the 'Mutated Blue Silver Grass' and the external spirit bone, the Eight Spider Lances, so of course, I have no problems myself."
Dugu Bo's eyes lit up. "That's right! Why didn't I think of that? If it were like this, my son wouldn't have—"
At this point, Dugu Bo showed a rare, haggard expression.
Changing the subject, Dugu Bo frowned and said, "Then what about me? You're not going to tell me to do the same, are you? Yanyan's poison skills are still shallow, so this is a good method for her."
"But I have cultivated poison techniques for seventy years and am already riddled with poison. As you just said, it's not an exaggeration to call me a poison man. One careless mistake and I could die."
Zu Zong said calmly, "This is also why I wanted to propose conditions to you."
"The first condition is that I will use the rare flowers and herbs in your medicinal garden to prepare a medicinal catalyst for you. As a Titled Douluo, you must have a spirit bone."
"At that time, with the help of the catalyst, you can transfer a portion of the poison into your spirit bone. This way, you will no longer have to endure the pain of the poison backlash, and you can also preserve your poison skills. You might even be able to advance further."
Dugu Bo's brows relaxed slightly. He was beginning to believe Zu Zong's words. "That's not a problem. You can use this medicinal garden as you wish. But do you recognize all of them?"
The corner of Zu Zong's mouth curled up. If it came to recognizing them, he only knew the few famous ones from the original story. But one shouldn't forget, he had a system.
Reading information about flowers, plants, spirit beasts, and texts was a piece of cake. It would be simple for the system to formulate a medicinal catalyst based on this information.
Zu Zong feigned regret and said, "I've had a photographic memory since I was young, and I love to read. I once happened to read an ancient book called the 'Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record,' which recorded information on most of the rare flowers and herbs."
"It's a pity that the book was later stolen."
Dugu Bo said, "No wonder you are so skilled. Having a photographic memory is a great advantage, as you can easily learn others' combat techniques. What about the second condition?"
"The second condition is that I have already broken through to level forty and need you to help me hunt a spirit beast for my fourth spirit ring."
Long before meeting Dugu Bo, Zu Zong had sensed a ten-thousand-year spirit beast deep within the Sunset Forest through his Blue Silver Domain, and its aura was extremely powerful.
According to the information transmitted by the Blue Silver Grass, it seemed to be a flood dragon. Although Zu Zong was not afraid of ordinary ten-thousand-year spirit beasts now, that was a flood dragon.
The Azure Sky Bull Python was so fierce with just a trace of dragon bloodline; this ten-thousand-year spirit beast's bloodline purity might even be higher than the Azure Sky Bull Python's, so it must be extremely formidable. Zu Zong was not confident in dealing with it.
Dugu Bo was stunned. He had thought Zu Zong would propose some strange condition, like marrying his granddaughter. In that case, he would certainly be happy to grant it.
As for that brat named Yu Tian Heng, he could just get lost if he wasn't good enough. But in the end, after all that, this was what he asked for.
Dugu Bo said, "No problem. Alright, stop keeping me in suspense, hurry up and tell me the third one!"
Dugu Bo thought: Kid, just say you've taken a liking to my Yanyan. As soon as you open your mouth, I'll arrange the marriage for you immediately.
Zu Zong rolled his eyes. "I haven't thought of the third condition yet. Since that's the case, I'll go and prepare the medicinal catalyst first."
Before Zu Zong could turn around, Dugu Bo's slightly hoarse voice sounded again, "Wait."
Zu Zong gave a helpless, bitter smile. It seemed this old fellow still didn't trust him and wanted to feed him that disgusting poison pill from the original story.
Zu Zong said, "Is there anything else, Senior Dugu?"
Dugu Bo thought for a moment and said, "Aren't you afraid that I'll kill you after you've cured the poison?"
Zu Zong was stunned and shouted in his mind, "Even if you wanted to kill me, by then I would have already gotten what I wanted. At worst, I'll just activate the system's teleportation function and escape."
Of course, Zu Zong couldn't actually answer like that, or else Dugu Bo would probably kill him on the spot.
Zu Zong said with a serious expression, "Although Senior Dugu is not a kind person, there have never been any rumors of you going back on your word or repaying kindness with enmity."
"Most importantly, I trust my teammate, Yanzi. She wouldn't harm me."
Zu Zong's words made a hint of appreciation flash in Dugu Bo's eyes. What more could one ask for than for Yanyan to have such a companion!
Dugu Bo praised, "Good kid, I'm starting to admire you."
Changing the subject, Dugu Bo continued, "However, for the sake of my granddaughter's life and my own, I still have to take a precaution."
As he spoke, Dugu Bo opened his mouth, and a green light shot out. It was a jade-green bead. Under Dugu Bo's control, the green bead slowly floated towards Zu Zong.
Zu Zong opened his right hand, letting it land in his palm.
Looking at the somewhat sticky bead, Zu Zong showed a bitter smile. So after all his sentimental words, this old fellow was still going to feed him this wretched thing.
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