"Poison Douluo – how could he possibly be trapped by poison?"
No wonder Gao Zhan was so shocked. On the Douluo Continent, a Titled Douluo had always been synonymous with invincibility, the supreme glory countless soul masters spent their entire lives pursuing.
Every expert who obtained a title had taken their own path to the extreme and stood on the very peak of the soul master world.
And Dugu Bo, this expert who had attained his path through poison, had even resolutely given up the Jade Phosphor title bestowed by the Douluo Hall back then, choosing Poison as his name to walk the world.
What confidence and arrogance that took. Dugu Bo clearly believed that, on the path of poison, he had already surpassed the boundaries of martial souls and reached the utmost pinnacle of all poison masters in history.
Yet at this very moment, Chen Yi was firmly telling them that this Poison Douluo who dominated the world with toxins had long since been corroded by a deadly poison himself, and might even not have much time left. They simply couldn't accept this; it was utterly horrifying.
The room fell into dead silence, broken only by heavy breathing.
At first, the Grand Elder and the Third Elder also found it unbelievable. But seeing the steady, tranquil gaze in Chen Yi's eyes, and recalling those little-known secrets about Dugu Bo, some long-buried clues began to link together in their minds like flashes of lightning.
A sharp light flashed through the Grand Elder's brilliant eyes. He suddenly raised his head; his voice carried a faint, almost imperceptible hint of delight.
"If this old man remembers correctly, Dugu Bo's son, as well as his daughter-in-law, were both considered quite talented back in the day. Yet both of them died inexplicably in their prime. The cause of death remains a mystery even now. The outside world has always speculated it was an accident… or an assassination."
The Third Elder immediately picked up the thread. His eyes were obscure and unreadable; his tone grew heavier.
"Indeed. We don't know why exactly Dugu Bo is afflicted by such a deadly poison. But if he—someone who cultivated poison to the level of a Titled Douluo—still couldn't control it, then… his closest blood relatives would most likely be the first to suffer."
The more the Third Elder spoke, the more alarmed he felt.
"Dugu Bo himself probably only truly realized that maggot-in-the-bone poison had already burrowed deep into his own body after watching his children die in front of him. It's just that his cultivation is formidable enough to forcibly suppress it until now."
You had to know, Dugu Bo's martial soul wasn't some ordinary Jade Phosphor Serpent, but the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor—a truly top-tier beast martial soul. Its toxicity was terrifying; even ordinary Soul Douluos would die on contact. The Spirit Hall itself had never objected to the title "Poison Douluo", which said enough about his poison.
A poison that even someone like Dugu Bo couldn't completely suppress—just how fearsome must it be?
This speculation was too shocking, like a thunderclap detonating in the hearts of the two Titled Douluo. All the things that had never quite made sense in the past now seemed to have an explanation:
Why Dugu Bo's temperament had grown more and more irritable in recent years;
why he'd stayed secluded, rarely leaving Heaven Dou City;
why his cultivation seemed to have stagnated with no further progress.
Looking at it now, that likely wasn't a bottleneck at all. Rather, he was being forced to pour the vast majority of his soul power, time, and energy into resisting and suppressing the poison in his body, leaving him with no strength to assault a higher realm.
A man who spends every day wrestling with his own life and death – to still dream of advancing further in cultivation would be pure delusion.
"Chen Yi," the Grand Elder looked steadily at the youth standing quietly to the side, his voice low and urgent, "if what you say is true, and Dugu Bo has already been poisoned to the marrow… then what do you intend to do?"
Chen Yi met the curious gazes of the two elders, the corner of his mouth hooking into a deep, meaningful arc. He had already thought this through in his heart.
Dugu Bo was guarding a mountain of treasure without knowing it. For him, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well was a treasure trove shaped by heaven and earth. The power of extreme heat and extreme cold intersected there, nurturing countless immortal-grade herbs—a peerless sanctuary that could drive any soul master, any sect, utterly mad.
But in Dugu Bo's hands, aside from using the extreme environment to barely suppress the toxins in his body and to identify a few deadly substances for cultivation, he knew almost nothing about that valley full of treasures. It was outright squandering heaven's gifts.
Dugu Bo might know those herbs were precious, but he didn't truly understand their effects or how to use them. He could only rely on the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well to cling to life, never even considering the possibility of curing himself with it.
This—was an information gap. And it was the biggest leverage point for dealing with Dugu Bo.
"Elders, this disciple believes that with a man like Dugu Bo, killing him would be far less valuable than winning him over." After pondering for a moment, Chen Yi finally spoke slowly.
"Dugu Bo's condition is likely more serious than we imagined. The poison in his body may already have penetrated his bones. Ordinary detoxification methods are useless to him; otherwise, with his abilities, he would never have delayed it until now."
Chen Yi paused, then continued,
"Right now, what matters most is to confirm whether Dugu Yan, as his only remaining blood relative, has also been afflicted by this poison."
"You mean—" A light of understanding flashed in the Third Elder's eyes. "Dugu Bo's poison might be hereditary? Then wouldn't that Jade Phosphor Serpent martial soul be doomed to disappear from the continent?!"
"Precisely." Chen Yi nodded, affirming the Third Elder's guess. "If my speculation is correct, as long as we resolve the hereditary problem of the Dugu family, then knowing Dugu Bo's character, he will definitely stand with us in the future."
This was Chen Yi's true intention. Though Dugu Bo had an eccentric temper and was unpredictable in his moods, he was clear-cut in his grudges and gratitude and was loyal to a fault. If they could establish a good relationship with him, it would bring no small benefit when the Body Sect eventually emerged into the world.
At present, the Body Sect had been keeping a low profile. While the sect's overall strength had been rising rapidly, its influence and external reach had shrunk somewhat, as their strategic focus shifted toward Vast Sea City.
When the sect emerged in the future, if they wanted to quickly establish themselves, powerful external allies would be indispensable. Dugu Bo—strong, with relatively simple background, and urgently in need of help—was undoubtedly an excellent choice.
The two elders immediately turned their eyes toward Gao Zhan, silently asking for confirmation. Gao Zhan understood at once and hurriedly reported:
"Honored Elders, from this disciple's observations, although Miss Dugu Yan appears no different from ordinary people, there is indeed an unnatural ghostly green sheen deep in her hair color, and there's a slight dullness to the hue of her pupils. If Junior Brother Chen Yi's speculation is correct, this is definitely not normal. It's very likely an early sign that toxins have begun to deposit and manifest within her body."
Thinking of this, Gao Zhan also felt a surge of emotion. As the only close relative of a Titled Douluo, Dugu Yan should have been born to shine. Yet at such a young age she was already deeply afflicted by a fatal poison; her prime years were about to be cut brutally short.
So it was true!
Delight flashed across the faces of the two elders.
Back then, Dugu Bo had agreed to become a guest elder of the Heaven Dou Empire and settle in Heaven Dou City just because Xue Xing had saved his life once. A man as unrestrained as him had done all that for a single favor. This time, his leniency toward that ducal household was likely also on Xue Xing's account.
If they could resolve this matter, then the future Jade Phosphor Serpent clan would surely become a close ally of the Body Sect.
But if even Dugu Bo had been unable to accomplish this, what could Chen Yi possibly do?
As they all turned their gaze toward him, Chen Yi smiled mysteriously. Looking at the rising moon outside, he chuckled softly.
"Elders, Senior Brother—then we'll be finding out very soon."
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