Heaven Dou City—one of the three great cities of the Douluo Continent, the political and economic center of the Heaven Dou Empire, and the place where the continent's winds of change converged.
At the south gate of Heaven Dou City, horse hooves shattered the afterglow scattered across the ground. The four sturdy black horses pulled the carriage forward with rhythmic clopping as they entered the city gate. Passersby hastily made way; anyone who could afford a carriage pulled by four black mane soul-beast horses was certainly rich or noble.
Before long, the carriage stopped before a courtyard. The courtyard wasn't luxurious and wouldn't even count as mid-tier among the mansions of Heaven Dou's nobles, yet this was the Body Sect's temporary base in Heaven Dou City.
"Whoa!"
Gao Wen sharply pulled the reins. The ink-black horses let out a low neigh as the carriage wheels scraped softly against the bluestone road, coming to a steady stop at the gate. Just as he turned, about to announce their arrival, a wrinkled hand gently lifted the carriage curtain. A half-glimpse of graying hair appeared first, followed by a kind-looking face—it was the Third Elder.
Before Gao Wen could step forward to assist, the rear curtain was lifted again and Chen Yi stepped out. His eyes were full of curiosity—this was Heaven Dou City, after all, the ancient city that would continue to create countless legends for the next twenty thousand years.
"Not bad."
The Third Elder's gaze swept over the courtyard in front of him, then over the densely packed, glittering East City district in the distance. He nodded approvingly.
"This place is less than ten km from where Dugu Bo lives, yet it's in the southern district. We can monitor the Dugu Estate while also avoiding the eyes of those nobles."
"As expected of you brothers. Ordinary people wouldn't be able to find such a good spot."
"It's just a bit conspicuous. This place is right on the boundary between the south and east districts. There are too many people coming and going; it's easy to be noticed."
Although this place was very convenient for observing Dugu Bo, the heavy foot traffic meant their surveillance skills had to be top-notch.
"Your criticism is just, Third Elder." Gao Wen smiled slightly. What the Third Elder said was true—if it weren't for Dugu Bo's overwhelming strength, they wouldn't have chosen this location.
"Please rest assured, Third Elder. During this time I've appeared here every day with a different face. Unless someone's strength far surpasses mine, there won't be any problems." Gao Zhan walked out from the shadows, the golden afterglow bathing him. His glittering eyes shone even brighter under the sun.
"Besides, I've always kept a low profile. There aren't many people who would suspect me."
"Please, Third Elder."
"Please, Junior Brother Chen."
The Third Elder nodded, and the group quickly entered the courtyard.
Walking alongside the Gao brothers, Chen Yi asked Gao Zhan curiously, "Senior Brother Gao, how have things been these days?"
Gao Zhan froze for a moment at the question, a warm feeling passing through his heart. He smiled at Chen Yi. "Pretty good. Heaven Dou is really prosperous. I've been eating all sorts of delicious things these days. When this is over, I'll take you around properly. I can't vouch for anything else, but Heaven Dou City definitely has all kinds of strange and interesting things."
Despite his words, as a Soul Emperor, Gao Zhan had been watching a Titled Douluo day and night. That was an enormous strain both mentally and physically—he'd barely had any chance to enjoy good food at all.
"All right, then I'll be counting on you two senior brothers." Chen Yi looked quite excited, drawing big smiles from the two brothers.
As they spoke, the group had already reached the inner hall. The Grand Elder was standing at the entrance waiting for them.
"Gao Zhan, tell them what Dugu Bo has been doing lately."
After a bit of small talk, the Grand Elder spoke, turning to Gao Zhan at the side.
Hearing this, Gao Zhan immediately sat up straighter, his expression turning serious.
"For the past half month, Dugu Bo's routine hasn't changed much. Every month he goes to the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well and stays for a few days. Aside from that, he's always in his estate and rarely goes out."
Though Dugu Bo was eccentric by nature—infamous for his odd, defiant personality—he was also one of the soul master world's rare old recluses. Other than staying at home doting on his granddaughter, he seldom had any contact with the outside world. In Heaven Dou City, he rarely interacted with anyone besides Prince Xue Xing.
No one knew how he'd managed to offend Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo back then, to the point they chased him across the entire continent.
"At most, he'll occasionally go to the Ye Family Medical Hall to chat with Ye Cien, and when he goes, he'll stay the whole day."
"But four days ago, the eldest son of a duke kept harassing his granddaughter, Dugu Yan, day in and day out, and ended up getting beaten up badly by that girl instead. He then tried to use some shady methods, but before he could act, that very night Dugu Bo went to that duke's estate and, right in front of the duke himself, tortured his son to death."
"Later, Crown Prince Xue Qinghe and Prince Xue Xing rushed over in time and managed to keep that duke alive for now, but his ducal title will end with this generation."
Good grief.
Chen Yi inwardly exclaimed. A duke's son might be something among the high-ranking nobles of Heaven Dou, but to set his sights on the only blood relative of a Titled Douluo?
That was like an old man tired of living drinking arsenic.
Dugu Bo wasn't like those Titled Douluo who had powerful sects behind them or sprawling clans. He had no big sect, no flourishing family—only one granddaughter he cared about. And you're just a duke's son—one without any real power at that.
The Grand Elder and the Third Elder exchanged a look, each seeing the decision in the other's eyes.
"The time has come," the Grand Elder said in a low voice, his fingertips tapping lightly on the table. "Dugu Bo wanted to kill, but in the end, for Xue Xing's sake, he temporarily held back. Given that Dugu Bo is a man who repays every slight, at most within these next two days he will definitely act. At that moment, we strike and take him down!"
The Third Elder stroked his beard and nodded. "Indeed. He always moves alone. Striking then would be the best opportunity."
The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned murderous. The pressure from the two Titled Douluo seemed to make even the air congeal. The Gao brothers held their breath, ready to charge toward the Dugu Estate as soon as the elders gave the order.
"Wait!"
A clear voice suddenly rang out, shattering the heavy mood. Everyone turned toward the sound and saw Chen Yi step forward, his brows tightly knitted.
"Grand Elder, Third Elder," Chen Yi cupped his hands in salute, but his tone was firm. "This disciple believes that acting against Dugu Bo now may not be the best time."
The Grand Elder's brows furrowed. "Why do you say that?"
Chen Yi took a deep breath, as if he had already prepared himself. He flipped his wrist and took out an old scroll from his soul tool, carefully unrolling it on the table in front of the Grand Elder. On the scroll was a painting of a middle-aged man with sinister features and sharp, eagle-like eyes, with green hair. It was the image of Dugu Bo that the sect's intelligence network had collected decades ago.
"Please take a look, Grand Elder, Third Elder." Chen Yi pointed at the painting, his voice clear and steady.
"When I studied the sect's records earlier, I paid special attention to the information on Dugu Bo. Comparing this portrait with Senior Brother Gao's description just now, several decades ago Dugu Bo, although cold in manner, had a healthy, ruddy complexion. But according to Senior Brother Gao's observations, the present Dugu Bo not only has a faint green tint to his face and a constant gloom in his eyes, even his green hair shows an unnatural emerald hue. That is absolutely not the result of ordinary cultivation, but more like…the sign of some poison accumulating in his body!"
Chen Yi paused slightly, giving everyone time to digest this information. His gaze swept over the two elders and the Gao brothers, who had all fallen into thought, then he continued his reasoning:
"What's even more noteworthy is that Senior Brother Gao mentioned Dugu Bo goes to the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well on the fifteenth of every month without fail, as regular as a clock. If it were only for cultivation, why would he need to be so punctual?"
"Combining that with the abnormal changes in his appearance, I boldly speculate that he is very likely using the unique extreme cold and extreme heat of the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well to forcibly suppress a very domineering and violent poison in his body. The fifteenth of each month may be exactly when the poison in his body is about to flare up—or when it's the hardest to suppress!"
"You mean—" The Third Elder's eyes flashed brightly, as if he had grasped some key point.
"Exactly." Chen Yi's tone was firm, his words ringing. "It is highly likely that Dugu Bo has long been poisoned, and with a poison even he cannot completely resolve. His monthly trips to the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well are a last resort to maintain his life and suppress the poison."
"If that's true, then by attacking when he is about to take revenge—when his emotions are stirred and the poison in his body may be unstable—while we might have a chance to exploit a weakness, it's even more likely we'll drive him to desperation, forcing him to trigger the poison in his body and perish together with us."
"The last counterattack of a Titled Douluo whose body is saturated with strange poison and who knows he doesn't have long to live—how terrifying would that be? The consequences would be unimaginable."
When his voice fell, the inner hall plunged into silence.
Only the rising evening wind outside could be heard whistling through the corridor, making the needle-drop silence inside the hall stand out even more.