"Senior Dugu overstates it."
Lu Feng cupped his hands and said righteously, "As the saying goes, a healer's heart is benevolent. Saving the dying and healing the wounded is a healer's celestial duty..."
Hearing this, Dugu Bo nodded, a hint of appreciation in his eyes as he looked at Lu Feng.
A young man with such a sense of justice was a rare sight.
Just as he was about to speak, he heard Lu Feng continue, "As long as I get paid."
The scene fell into a brief silence.
After a while, Dugu Bo clapped Lu Feng on the shoulder and laughed loudly, "Hahahaha! You kid, you really suit my temper!"
Dugu Bo had an eccentric personality, and many people in Heaven Dou City 'turned pale at the mention of poison'.
People called Dugu Bo an old monster, not only because they were wary of his poison, but more because he had always acted according to his own preferences.
Lu Feng smiled and said calmly, "Everyone says Senior Dugu has an eccentric personality, but in my eyes, senior has a pure heart. Naturally, I don't need to beat around the bush."
"Hahaha, you kid, not bad, not bad."
Dugu Bo looked Lu Feng up and down, his eyes flickering, as if considering something.
This kid's medical skills are not bad, and he's not bad-looking either. No wonder Yan Yan mentions him every so often.
Compared to that guy from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, this kid is much more pleasing to the eye.
Dugu Bo grabbed Lu Feng's hand and squeezed it. "Level twenty-six, barely passable."
But when he wanted to determine Lu Feng's age by the bones in his hand, Dugu Bo's expression became strange. "Kid, have you been practicing some kind of soul skill on your hands?"
Lu Feng's hand felt extremely flexible when squeezed, but he couldn't get a clear sense of the bones.
Lu Feng's heart tightened. He nodded and said, "Yes."
Dugu Bo bent down and squeezed Lu Feng's calf a few times through his pants. Lu Feng immediately felt a sense of soreness and numbness.
"Huh? You've practiced a soul skill on your legs too, kid?"
"Mm," Lu Feng nodded and said, "I liked to run all over the mountains when I was a child, so my calves are a bit stronger than others'."
Dugu Bo frowned. "This old man doesn't believe it. Kid, take off your pants."
"Senior, are we treating the illness or not?" Lu Feng said speechlessly.
"Hahaha," Dugu Bo raised his hands and scratched his head.
His action made Lu Feng feel a bit amused. As a Titled Douluo, and an old man in his seventies or eighties, how could he look just like Osler?
"Ahem."
Dugu Bo coughed lightly and said seriously, "This old man has managed this medicine garden for many years and has figured out a few things."
He pointed to a large, light pink flower and said, "This herb can restrain this old man's poison, but unfortunately, it cannot cure me."
Lu Feng followed the direction Dugu Bo was pointing and saw a flower with a diameter of over a foot. Each petal looked as crystal clear as a crystal, exuding a faint, delicate fragrance.
With the flower as the center, a faint pink mist covered an area with a diameter of over ten meters.
The Aromatic Silk Beauty, Lu Feng thought to himself.
Dugu Bo continued, "This flower can neutralize poisons. This old man once used living people for experiments. Within the range of this mist, any poison is ineffective. But if one is already poisoned before entering the range of this fragrance, it cannot detoxify."
Lu Feng nodded. The Aromatic Silk Beauty was too eye-catching; it wasn't strange that Dugu Bo had studied it thoroughly.
"The prisoners this old man used for experiments were all heinous criminals. Instead of wasting food in prison, it's better to serve as flower fertilizer for this old man," Dugu Bo explained, for the first time.
Only a few people, including the emperor and Prince Xue Xing, knew that Dugu Bo used living people for experiments.
Even though Dugu Bo had an eccentric personality and was already a Titled Douluo-level powerhouse, he was also a person who cherished his reputation.
Lu Feng nodded and said, "The opportunity is right in front of us. If we don't understand it, we can't improve our own strength."
"If one is timid due to the constraints of rules, then one day, if one encounters an enemy that cannot be resisted, can one still pray for the other party to let them go?"
"Hahaha, not bad. You kid, you have some of my style from back then," Dugu Bo laughed loudly.
He pointed at a chrysanthemum-like herb not far away and continued, "This herb is called the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum."
As he spoke, Dugu Bo's eyes flickered, as if he had remembered some not-so-friendly things.
Dugu Bo and Yue Guan were old rivals.
Back then, when Dugu Bo had advanced to Titled Douluo, he had gone to Spirit City to be decorated with high spirits. The then-Supreme Pontiff, Qian Xunji, had personally come forward to recruit him, but Dugu Bo had never liked the rules and regulations of large powers, so he had tactfully refused.
Unexpectedly, after this matter, the Spirit Hall had actually sent people to hunt him down.
The one who had acted was precisely Yue Guan.
Dugu Bo was a newly promoted Titled Douluo, while Yue Guan had been famous for a long time, and his soul power was as high as level ninety-four.
Dugu Bo had escaped by the skin of his teeth and was later saved by Prince Xue Xing, becoming a guest elder of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.
In the following days, Yue Guan would come to trouble Dugu Bo every few years.
Each time, Dugu Bo was beaten without any ability to fight back.
And for so many years, Dugu Bo had not been able to break through to level ninety-two. It was only later that he finally understood that if Yue Guan had really wanted to kill him back then, it would have been effortless.
But understanding was one thing. Every time he saw 'Chrysanthemum Pass's' arrogant appearance, Dugu Bo felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten shit.
He wished he could use the sole of his shoe to kindly greet the other's face.
"This herb is the one this old man has studied the most," Dugu Bo said proudly.
"Take its pistil, mix it with more than ten other herbs such as the Seven Star Grass, the Snow Silkworm, and the Phoenix Flower, and then use the spiritual energy of this scorching hot spring to refine the 'Indestructible Vajra Divine Pill'."
"This pill is a royal special supply. Each furnace is worth at least fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins."
Dugu Bo moved his finger, and a filament of the chrysanthemum pistil flew into his hand. He wrapped the pistil in soul power, sent it to Lu Feng, and said, "This pistil is beneficial for cultivation, but you can't eat too much. Here, have a taste. Young people need to supplement themselves more."
Lu Feng took the pistil and was at a loss for words for a moment.
The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum was mainly for strengthening the foundation. Consuming it would circulate qi through the four limbs and open the eight vessels, allowing one to cultivate an indestructible vajra body.
Using it to refine 'Viagra'?
Nothing wrong with that!
Lu Feng consumed the pistil and immediately felt a wave of heat coming from within his body. He silently circulated his soul power to absorb the medicinal power. A moment later, Lu Feng opened his eyes, which were full of surprise.
This tiny filament of a pistil was actually equivalent to a full day of his hard cultivation.
"Senior Dugu's medical skills are superb. I am impressed!" Lu Feng said with cupped hands.
"Hmph!" Dugu Bo snorted lightly, his hands behind his back, and said with his head held high, "You, come with me."
Following the small path for a few minutes, the two stopped outside a cave.
"This is where this old man refines medicine. Kid, do you dare to follow me in and take a look?"
After speaking, Dugu Bo walked directly into the cave.
"As if I'm afraid of you," Lu Feng's expression did not change as he followed closely behind.
As soon as he walked into the cave, Lu Feng smelled a faint, fishy smell of snakes. He frowned slightly and said, "Senior, your Jade Phosphor Serpent poison is one of the most powerful poisons I have ever seen. However, there's no need to bring out these small tests anymore."
"Hahaha," Dugu Bo laughed loudly and then withdrew his snake poison.
The passage of the cave was a bit narrow, only allowing one person to pass through. The two walked forward for several dozen steps and arrived at a spacious stone chamber.
The stone chamber was somewhat dim, with only a few faint beams of light shining down through the cracks in the stone.
Lu Feng's eyes were covered with a faint purple layer, and he finally saw his surroundings clearly.
"This..."
Lu Feng looked at everything before him, his face immediately turned pale, and he felt a churning in his stomach, almost throwing up directly.
On the surrounding walls, there were transparent jars of all sizes, in which various small soul beasts and some special soul beast organs were soaking in a special liquid.
Jade Phosphor Serpent.
Jade Scorpion.
Jade Centipede.
There were also some that were completely deformed, and Lu Feng couldn't recognize them.
And in the jars in the middle of the stone chamber, there were five large jars, each as tall as a person. In each jar, an organ was soaking, corresponding to the five viscera.
Lu Feng was certain that these organs were definitely from a human body.
"Phew~"
Lu Feng slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, calming the excitement in his heart.
He turned to look at Dugu Bo, and his understanding of him deepened a little more. This guy was simply a research maniac!
"Kid, what do you think? Scared?" Dugu Bo said teasingly.
Even the emperor and the prince only knew that Dugu Bo used living people to test his medicine.
But they had never thought that he would actually dissect a human body.
Such a crazy act, if it were to get out, Dugu Bo might be labeled an evil soul master.
Lu Feng smiled and said calmly, "Senior Dugu, you also said that these people were all heinous criminals in their lifetime. Now that they are serving your research, it can be considered a worthy death."
"Good kid, you have guts!" Dugu Bo's eyes flickered, and he continued, "You guessed correctly. The poison in this old man's body was indeed produced when my martial soul mutated after I mistakenly consumed an herb."
"Sigh~"
He sighed. "The poison in this old man's body has accumulated for many years, has long since spread throughout my body, penetrated deep into my bloodline, and is passed down from generation to generation. Yan Yan's parents died because of this poison."
"For all these years, this old man has been researching day and night, just to find a way to cure the poison."
Lu Feng cupped his hands and said seriously, "I can understand Senior Dugu's deep love for his child."
"It's good that you can understand this old man's painstaking efforts. If I can cure Yan Yan, what does it matter if this old man bears a cursed name for all eternity?" Dugu Bo said proudly.
"The poison in a soul beast's body is thousands, even tens of thousands of times greater than that of a poison-attribute martial soul. Kid, have you ever thought about why a soul beast is not affected by its own poison?"
Lu Feng thought for a moment and slowly uttered two words, "Poison sac."
"The conclusion this old man reached after many years of research, you've figured it out in one sentence?" Dugu Bo exclaimed in surprise.
He walked to a jar, pointed at the organ inside, and said, "Correct, it is the poison sac. Ordinary poison-attribute soul masters, their poison is stored within their martial soul and does not have much effect on the soul master themselves."
"But the poison in my body exists in my bloodline. The human body does not have a poison sac, so my poison has spread throughout my body, and I've ended up in this state."
As Dugu Bo spoke, he sighed again. If the price of fame and success was the loss of his own son, he would rather not have had that opportunity in the first place.
"I imagine Senior Dugu's research must have yielded some results?" Lu Feng said with cupped hands.
"Hahaha, that's natural."
As he spoke, Dugu Bo opened his mouth, and a green light was spat out. An emerald-green bead slowly floated out.
"This dan bead was condensed after my Jade Phosphor Serpent evolved."
"Since the human body does not have an organ to store poison, this old man created one himself."
Dugu Bo said lightly, "This dan bead can not only condense poison but also promote the condensation of soul power. It can be said that half of my strength is in this bead."
Lu Feng looked at the bead floating in mid-air, a hint of amazement in his eyes.
As expected, those who could cultivate to the Titled Douluo realm were all heaven-defying geniuses.
This bead of Dugu Bo's already had the embryonic form of a 'soul core'.
In the original work, if it weren't for Tang San's interference, who knows, if Dugu Bo had continued his research, he might have really created a groundbreaking cultivation method.
"Senior Dugu is truly a peerless talent. I am impressed," Lu Feng said with great solemnity.
"Hahaha, kid, you can say a few more words of flattery," Dugu Bo stood proudly, unable to suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth.
"This old fellow is really improper," Lu Feng looked at Dugu Bo's crooked-mouth smile and complained inwardly.
"Senior, let's discuss the matter of detoxifying Miss Dugu. The poison in your body still needs some careful planning, but Miss Dugu's poisoning is still shallow. I am at least ninety-eight percent confident!"
The poison in Dugu Bo's body was actually very easy to solve. In the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, there were several immortal herbs that could save his life.
The Infernal Delicate Apricot and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. If he consumed both herbs at the same time and combined them with the ice and fire spring water, although all of Dugu Bo's poison skills would be neutralized, it was still better than being poisoned to death.
The Earth Dragon Golden Melon, an earth-attribute immortal-grade item, contained a trace of the Earth Dragon's power. Although it did not match Dugu Bo's attribute, that trace of Earth Dragon bloodline was enough to take his martial soul to the next level.
However, the price was also the loss of his poison skills.
But in Lu Feng's opinion, since Dugu Bo had already condensed a poison dan, the path of the soul core was already half complete. To give up at this point would be a real pity.
Sometimes, when you encounter a problem, you don't necessarily have to solve it; you can also use it.
If Dugu Bo used the poison dan as a foundation to condense a soul core, it would undoubtedly be a path to the heavens for him.
In the second Douluo book, a soul master's soul core was immersed in their dantian. It needed to absorb soul power from the outside world to store it for the soul master's use, thereby increasing combat power and recovery ability.
Dugu Bo's 'poison-type soul core' had an advantage over them. He could accumulate power through his own poison, and perhaps he could also consume poisonous herbs to enhance his own strength.
"Since you are confident about Yan Yan's poison, then help her detoxify first," Dugu Bo nodded and said in agreement.
"Let's go out first. It wouldn't be good if Yan Yan found these things."
In another cave.
Dugu Bo stood with his hands behind his back and said lightly, "I'll go and pick up Yan Yan. There's food and fresh water in the cave. You can stay here for the next two days."
At this moment, Dugu Bo's eyes darted around twice, and he said teasingly, "Kid, although I don't know exactly what your detoxification method entails, if you can persuade Yan Yan, it's not impossible for you to nourish her meridians for her."
"Ahem." Lu Feng's face turned slightly red, and he coughed lightly. He had just come up with that method on a whim.
Yellow Heaven above!
I, Lu, am only a nine-year-old child right now.
"Senior Dugu, you may go. I have lived alone since I was a child. Cooking and washing clothes are naturally no problem for me," Lu Feng said lightly.
Hearing this, Dugu Bo's eyes immediately lit up. "Oh, you're an orphan? This is really great!"
Lu Feng's face immediately darkened, and he waved his hand in disgust, telling Dugu Bo to leave quickly.
Watching Dugu Bo's retreating figure, Lu Feng shook his head helplessly. After spending half a day with Dugu Bo, he found that this old fellow was just an old lecher.
Just based on his mouth, if he didn't have the strength of a Titled Douluo, he would have probably been beaten to death long ago.
"No wonder he's called an 'old monster'," Lu Feng muttered as he tidied the bed.
But when he turned around, he suddenly found that Dugu Bo had returned at some point.
"Kid, I have to be away for two or three days. You'd better not steal and eat my herbs," Dugu Bo snorted coldly.
"Uh, Senior, don't worry. My name is Tang Si, and I am an upright person!" Lu Feng said with a smile.
"Hmph, then swear it," Dugu Bo said teasingly, his arms crossed.
Dugu Bo didn't actually care whether 'Tang Si' took the herbs or not. As he had said, if it could save his granddaughter's life, he would even give the entire medicine garden to Tang Si.
He just wanted to see this kid make a fool of himself.
That feeling of looking at a mountain of treasure but not being able to get it must be like having a cat scratch at your heart. The last time he had invited the grand steward of the imperial palace to visit a brothel, he imagined that the other party must have felt this way.
Hehehe!
"Alright, alright, I swear. Whoever eats your crappy herbs is a little dog, okay!" Lu Feng raised his right hand and said righteously.
"Good!" Dugu Bo said excitedly.
When Tang Si had first seen the medicine garden, that excited expression of his was definitely not faked.
He didn't believe that this kid could really resist.
Dugu Bo had already planned it. He would wander around Heaven Dou City for a few more days. When he returned, he would mock Tang Si mercilessly.
Dugu Bo's figure disappeared over the horizon, and this time he did not return again.
"Hmph, what an old child," Lu Feng shook his head and said helplessly.
Lu Feng had also seen through Dugu Bo's thoughts. Who knows, he might even deliberately delay for a few days in Heaven Dou City just to see him make a fool of himself.
"The immortal herbs can be left to drop fragments, but I can't let go of the two most special ones. The most precious thing in this Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings buried in the ten-thousand-fathom abyss."
"The Infernal Delicate Apricot and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. Without consuming these two immortal herbs, how can I enter the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?"
"Want to see me make a fool of myself?"
"Hmph, good thing my skills are superior!"
Immediately after, Lu Feng waved his right hand, and a pale yellow figure appeared at his feet.
"Come out, Luo Wupao!"