"Kid!"
Dugu Bo's voice cut through the quiet as he strolled over with Dugu Yan beside him.
Yin Xuan stood up, eyes shifting toward them.
Dugu Bo sighed and took a moment, thinking hard. "Use your Second Soul Skill on my granddaughter again. I need to see it for myself."
Dugu Yan met Yin Xuan's gaze, her face serious. "Xuan, I'm relying on you."
As Yin Xuan activated his skill, the Dark Blue Silver Emperor appeared, bringing along two purple thousand-year spirit rings. The second ring flashed, and a vine shot from the ground, wrapping around Dugu Yan's body.
Yin Xuan didn't hesitate. He knew exactly what Dugu Bo wanted to check.
A faint purple glow crept across the vine, giving it an unusual, unsettling look.
Dugu Bo's brows pinched together. He reached out, curious, and as soon as he touched the vine, his spirit power started seeping away. That spooked him. He jerked his hand back and cleared his throat, embarrassed.
"Alright, that's enough," he muttered.
What he saw there confirmed it—Yin Xuan's soul skill, or more accurately, his whole Spirit, could actually pull the Bilin Snake Poison right out from Dugu Yan's flesh and bones. The purple shine on the vine made it clear.
Just before he ended the skill, Yin Xuan sent back the spirit power he'd drawn from Dugu Yan, so she didn't look even the slightest bit drained.
Dugu Bo still looked troubled. "Kid, did you feel anything? Any discomfort?"
Yin Xuan shook his head. "I'm fine. Didn't notice a thing."
"That's odd. Why like this? Why..." Dugu Bo couldn't make sense of it.
His family had been tormented by the Bilin Snake Poison for generations. His father, his son, and his daughter-in-law—they all died horrible deaths from it. If not for a rare stroke of luck, he'd have ended up forgotten in the wilderness.
It wasn't just the poison—it was all the misery it brought. Even dying at home would be a disaster, because with the poison in his body, Dugu Bo could contaminate everyone else. He didn't want to die in front of Dugu Yan's eyes, all because of this cursed poison.
And yet, here was Yin Xuan, calmly absorbing the poison from Dugu Yan with zero side effects.
"Kid, use your soul skill on me," Dugu Bo said, steadying himself.
Yin Xuan responded, and the Dark Blue Silver Emperor vines surged out again, this time surrounding Dugu Bo.
But honestly, the Second Soul Skill from a Spirit Grandmaster wasn't much against a Titled Douluo like Dugu Bo. Yin Xuan did his best, but Dugu Bo's face didn't even twitch.
Dugu Bo closed his eyes, paying attention to any changes inside himself. He felt barely a flicker—maybe a tiny nudge in his spirit power, a slight shift in physical strength, but really, almost nothing at all. The skill was far too weak to affect him much.
But the real concern wasn't the strength—it was the poison. The Bilin Snake Emperor Poison in his body was way, way more concentrated than what Dugu Yan carried. Under Yin Xuan's Second Soul Skill, with zero interference from himself, even his poison twitched just a little.
That gave him hope.
"Enough, that's fine!"
Dugu Bo let out a long breath, finally smiling, though he still looked pale.
Yin Xuan's skill couldn't do much for him yet, but it was huge for Dugu Yan. And this was only the start. Someday, Yin Xuan would be strong enough to really help, and the worry for Dugu Yan would disappear.
Yin Xuan sighed. "Senior Dugu's poison is thousands of times more concentrated than Little Goose's. I don't have the power to do anything about it."
Dugu Bo looked at Yin Xuan, his face serious. After a while, he spoke. "So, you know both my granddaughter and I carry deadly poison."
Yin Xuan pointed at the vine. "With symptoms so obvious, how could I miss it?"
He paused, then said, "I can only help Little Goose a bit. Senior, your poison is just too much for me."
Dugu Yan, hearing all this, couldn't hide the sadness in her eyes.
"Don't make that face, girl. Your grandfather's bones aren't breaking yet! I'll live at least another hundred years—long enough to see you become a Titled Douluo!" Dugu Bo gently lifted Dugu Yan's chin, forcing a smile.
He turned to Yin Xuan. "Kid, never speak of this to anyone. My granddaughter's life and mine depend on this secret. If you share it, I won't show mercy."
Yin Xuan nodded casually. "You don't need to worry, Senior. Has Senior ever tried searching for a cure?"
Dugu Bo laughed bitterly. "Of course I've tried—it's just easier said than done."
"The Breaking Clan is one of the Clear Sky Sect's four sub-clans. They're great with alchemy and poison. Yang Wudi, their leader, is top-notch with medicines. Maybe you should ask them for help."
Yin Xuan actually didn't know much about pharmacology himself. Besides his special Dark Blue Silver Emperor and some foresight, he had nothing. He'd need others to help Dugu Bo with this poison.
"The Breaking Clan?" Dugu Bo looked puzzled. "Didn't Spirit Hall wipe them out when they attacked the Clear Sky Sect?"
Honestly, Dugu Bo seemed surprised that Yin Xuan knew these things. Not the kind of info a young guy should have.
"They survived," Yin Xuan said. "All four clans took heavy losses, but they made it. The Strength Clan, for example, lives in Heaven Dou City now. Senior, don't tell me you haven't heard any of this?"
Yin Xuan felt speechless. Was Dugu Bo really that eccentric? He hadn't bothered to check up on even basic news?
"Of course I knew!" Dugu Bo coughed, obviously a little ashamed, seeing the weird looks from both Yin Xuan and Dugu Yan.
"If even I—a Titled Douluo who specializes in poison—can't find a solution, what can the Breaking Clan do?"
Yin Xuan couldn't help himself. "There's always more to learn, and everyone has their strengths. Just because you haven't solved it doesn't mean nobody can. Let me say this politely: don't look down on the rest of the world."
Dugu Bo squinted a bit. "Kid, you really know your stuff! You're more level-headed than my granddaughter!"
Yin Xuan laughed. "Experience teaches you a lot."
Dugu Bo frowned, a little baffled. "You're not that old, but you sure have plenty to say."