Fang Ling climbed out of the spring, putting on his clothes while sharing the benefits he had gained.
"So, after eating two of my precious herbs, you gained physical enhancement, immunity to ice and fire, and resistance to all poisons?"
"Yep."
Hearing Fang Ling openly describe the advantages he had gained, Dugu Bo looked visibly stunned.
He had expected the absorption of those two rare herbs would bring significant benefits, but this was still beyond his expectations.
"I saw your immunity to ice and fire with my own eyes," he said, recalling the earlier scene of Fang Ling swimming in the Ice-Fire Spring. It had left him too shocked to speak.
As for physical enhancement…
Dugu Bo pinched Fang Ling's arm.
"A beast-type Soul Sect... If I remember correctly, you were just entering the Soul Elder level not long ago. You jumped an entire rank?"
His eyes gleamed with disbelief.
Could this be the so-called reward for the brave?
Like how one could gain the age limit of a fourth spirit ring at the third.
After a brief pause, Dugu Bo asked the question that concerned him most: "Just how effective is your poison immunity?"
Given the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well's suppressive effect on poison, and the two precious herbs Fang Ling had consumed, it was no surprise that his body developed a resistance to toxins.
But how strong was it?
Besides, Dugu Bo intended to rely on Fang Ling's intuition to identify herbs that could neutralize the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor's venom. If Fang Ling died from the testing phase, that would be a huge problem.
"Hard to say," Fang Ling replied with a shake of his head.
It was impossible to gauge without testing. People reacted differently.
"Then let's test it?" Dugu Bo asked, with a hint of anticipation. "You know why I brought you here, to rely on your intuition to find the antidote."
"Alright, let's do it."
Fang Ling showed no fear.
"Need any preparation?" Dugu Bo asked, ready to release poison.
"No need, senior. Go ahead."
The best preparation was already done, Fang Ling's body had absorbed the power of the Ice-Fire Twin Herbs. That was enough.
Besides, if Dugu Bo was running the same kind of experiments on Tang San and his group, then Fang Ling knew the process just by looking at him.
Dugu Bo nodded lightly. He bent the middle finger of his right hand slightly, and a faint green smoke silently emerged from his fingertip, swirling gracefully and quickly spreading out.
The green mist, thin as silk, instantly enveloped Fang Ling completely.
Yet…
There was no reaction. Not even a flinch.
Fang Ling stood upright, smiling calmly. "Senior, you can increase the dose. I don't feel anything."
Dugu Bo's eyes narrowed slightly, surprised. This wasn't the result he had expected.
He slightly increased his soul power, thickening the green mist. Fang Ling still remained composed and unchanged, showing no signs of poisoning.
Even without the protective range of the Fragrant Amorous Immortal Herb, just his poison immunity alone was enough to resist Dugu Bo's probing toxin.
"Your poison immunity is more effective than I thought," Dugu Bo remarked, looking at him with curious interest.
If even this low-level toxin couldn't break through, then there was no point in testing stronger ones unless the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor's poison was involved.
"Shall I use a stronger poison?"
"Go ahead."
Impressed by Fang Ling's boldness, Dugu Bo nodded and took out a small, bright green snake from a pouch.
The snake was nearly transparent, about five inches long, with a faint green glow running through its body, full of life energy.
Its crimson, flame-like eyes shimmered with intelligence, almost making it look adorable.
Its green body was marked with nine evenly spaced, bamboo-joint-like patterns.
"This is a highly venomous soul beast, the Nine-Segment Jadeite. One bite will reduce a person to pus in an instant. Though it looks fragile, it's harder than steel. Ordinary weapons can't harm it."
After the introduction, Dugu Bo held the little snake in his hand and gently stroked its scales.
The snake flicked its tongue happily and lightly twitched its tail.
"Let it bite you."
"Uh… alright."
Fang Ling extended his hand. Under Dugu Bo's urging, the Nine-Segment Jadeite bit down on Fang Ling's wrist.
There was no pain, just a slight numbness and itchiness.
Then a green hue spread rapidly. In the blink of an eye, Fang Ling's entire arm turned green.
Seeing this, Dugu Bo frowned slightly. Could the miniature Ice-Fire Spring really not handle even this?
But in the next second, he saw Fang Ling's green arm rapidly returning to normal at an astonishing speed.
Beneath his skin, red and white lights faintly flickered, making his arm appear as smooth and luminous as jade.
Meanwhile, the Nine-Segment Jadeite rolled over and fainted, completely motionless in Fang Ling's hand.
"Your poison immunity is indeed remarkable. Even this didn't harm you. Now, let's test the final and most crucial one."
Dugu Bo's eyes glinted with thought as he picked up the unconscious snake between two fingers.
Soul ring light rose from under his feet, nine soul rings hovered around him. This time, however, there was no oppressive pressure.
In an instant, his fingernails quietly extended to about three inches, sharp as spikes. A green glow shimmered on them, surrounded by multicolored halos, looking like carved jade.
As he brought them closer to Fang Ling, Dugu Bo said cautiously, "Boy, this is my most potent poison — the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor Venom. Focus. What does your intuition tell you?"
Seeing the green mixed with multicolored light, Fang Ling's expression turned serious.
"My intuition says… I'll die."
Any sensible person would know not to touch something like this just by looking at it.
"So what does your intuition say about the antidote?"
"Nothing… I haven't been poisoned yet. Can't feel it," Fang Ling said.
"Poisoned?" Dugu Bo paused for a moment. "This is my ultimate poison. Even I can't fully control it. In the real Ice-Fire Spring, it can last a while, but your version is just a miniaturized version."
"And judging from how your arm turned green earlier, although your resistance has greatly increased, you're still vulnerable to poison. If this one hits you… even if it doesn't fully take effect, you'd be dead before you could try purging it."
"I just wanted to show it to you, not use it on you."
"No reaction means no feeling," Fang Ling said with a smile. "After all, I've gained two precious herbs from you. I need to give something back."
"This was the deal, wasn't it?"
"You sure?" Dugu Bo now looked more hesitant, almost like he was nagging.
"Sure!" Fang Ling nodded firmly.
Dugu Bo would only use the tiniest possible dose, this was a rare chance to earn his trust.
Before heading to the City of Slaughter, whether Fang Ling could quickly advance and whether his Martial Spirit could evolve would depend on Dugu Bo.
To earn easy points, he had to win genuine trust.
Of course, this wasn't a reckless move.
The key to resisting poison was the medicinal power of the Ice-Fire Twin Herbs.
Thanks to his digestion abilities, Fang Ling had absorbed more medicinal power than Tang San. Under the pressure of Dugu Bo's poison, he'd absorb it even faster.
Using stronger medicine to resist a smaller dose of poison, there shouldn't be any problem.
Seeing the faint smile on Fang Ling's face, Dugu Bo went momentarily silent.
"Kid, you really do have some guts…"
Just as the poisoned fingernails were about to touch him, Fang Ling's expression changed slightly, as if something occurred to him.
"No, wait, senior. Let me take a bit more time to feel it."
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