"Hahaha! Looks like you guys have been doing pretty well!"
Suddenly, just as Xiao Lin and Tang San were chatting, Dugu Bo's voice echoed from within the valley.
From his tone, Dugu Bo seemed to be in an excellent mood.
Seeing Dugu Bo descend from the sky, smiles appeared on Xiao Lin and Tang San's faces.
He had finally come. They had been stuck at level 40 for quite a while now.
It was only thanks to absorbing the immortal herbs that their spirit power hadn't been wasted.
"You old poison! You look happy—did you find an external spirit bone?"
Once Dugu Bo landed in front of them, Xiao Lin casually asked.
"I haven't found an external spirit bone yet, but you don't need to worry about Yan Yan's poison anymore."
Although he hadn't received a detoxification method directly from Master Xiao Yan, the method provided by Xiao Yan's disciple Xiao Lin and the others was perfect.
Soon, Dugu Bo began sharing all the good news from the past month.
First, he had tried storing his toxins inside a spirit bone—and the results were incredible. A single spirit bone could achieve effects similar to his poison pills and significantly reduce the toll the toxins took on his body.
Because of that, over the past month, Dugu Bo had visited several auction houses and even sought out Emperor Xue Ye in hopes of acquiring a spirit bone.
His luck wasn't bad—Emperor Xue Ye happened to have a ten-thousand-year spirit bone. Dugu Bo only had to promise to support the Heaven Dou Empire unconditionally in a major future matter, and Emperor Xue Ye gifted him the spirit bone.
That spirit bone now belonged to Dugu Yan, and it helped her completely absorb the remaining toxins in her body.
Hearing this, Xiao Lin finally noticed that the color in Dugu Bo's eyes had faded significantly; it was no longer that deep poisonous green. Even his hair had started turning back to a pale white.
"Haha, I even went to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's library and found the legend you mentioned about the Jade Phosphor Serpent Dragon. It's said to be a soul beast that lives in springs on mountains over a thousand meters above sea level. Wherever the Jade Phosphor Serpent Dragon appears, no other poisonous creatures exist."
Dugu Bo wasn't doubting Xiao Lin's previous claims—he had verified them. Now, with this legend confirmed, Dugu Bo was preparing to help Dugu Yan evolve her martial soul into the Jade Phosphor Serpent Dragon.
"That's great. Little San and I looked around the area and found a Dragon Blood Herb. It should help Senior Sister Dugu Yan evolve her martial soul. That way, even if she doesn't detoxify, she'll be fine."
Xiao Lin pointed toward a lush Dragon Blood Herb growing near the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Dugu Bo's eyes lit up—he hadn't expected things to move so quickly. Could Yan Yan really evolve her martial soul into a Jade Phosphor Serpent Dragon this soon?
"This, this, this…"
For a moment, Dugu Bo was at a loss for words. He didn't know how to thank them.
Technically, the herbs here originally belonged to Dugu Bo's medicinal garden, but he never dared use any unknown plants carelessly—not even to test them on himself.
And now, they had found the right one with such ease. It was like the classic saying: After searching for him thousands of times in the crowd, I suddenly turn around and find him where the lights are dim…
Of course, Dugu Bo didn't actually understand that poem.
"Why are you thanking us? You were going to give us these herbs anyway. If anything, we're the ones who made a profit."
Xiao Lin shook his head and then nodded to Tang San, signaling him, "Little San, give the antidote to Senior Dugu."
"Senior Dugu, here's the antidote. We made enough for thirty days—it'll keep you safe from your poison for the rest of your life."
Tang San handed over several small porcelain bottles to Dugu Bo. Thanks to Xiao Lin's blood, the medicine was far more effective than in the original timeline, producing dramatic results.
"Hehe, hahaha… The poison that plagued me for a lifetime, and it's resolved by two kids?"
Dugu Bo was momentarily dazed. In a foggy state, he swallowed one of the antidotes.
Soon, a wave of cold and heat spread from his abdomen, and he could clearly feel the toxins in his body being neutralized.
"Sigh… Xin'er, you two really…"
Dugu Bo's emotions turned melancholic as he held the antidote, his expression complicated. Xiao Lin and Tang San, seeing this, didn't disturb him.
After a short while, once he had calmed down, Dugu Bo took out a medicinal pouch.
"This is my 'Wishful Hundred Treasure Pouch.' It can store living things. I can tell you want to take quite a few herbs with you, so I'm giving this to you."
As he spoke, he looked between Xiao Lin and Tang San, unsure who to give it to.
"Give it to Little San—he likes growing herbs."
"Brother Lin!"
Tang San was deeply moved by Xiao Lin's words. While the pouch wasn't particularly useful to Xiao Lin, the gesture still touched Tang San.
"We're brothers—what's the big deal?"
Xiao Lin knew that in the original timeline, Tang San had also received the Wishful Hundred Treasure Pouch, so he didn't care.
His presence only shortened some of the scheming between Tang San and Dugu Bo.
"In that case, let me give this to Senior Dugu!"
Tang San then took out the hidden weapon he had spent a month creating: the "Mother-Child Soul-Chasing Life-Stealing Gallbladder."
"Senior Dugu, this hidden weapon was passed down to us by our teacher to save our lives. It contains soul tool technology. Once thrown and triggered, both the soul tool and the hidden weapons inside will attack the enemy simultaneously."
"Even a Titled Douluo caught off guard could be severely injured or killed."
Tang San said seriously. Though he wasn't fully aware of a Titled Douluo's true strength, he had spent an entire month crafting this hidden weapon and had full confidence in its power.
Xiao Lin, watching Tang San hand over the device, couldn't help feeling a bit emotional.
He knew very well what Tang San had added into the soul tool—it included a lightning-acceleration soul skill.
Although it didn't directly increase attack power, it enhanced the reaction of the hidden weapon—like adding sugar to gunpowder.
It would allow the hidden weapon to explode instantly upon impact, and the poisonous needles released would carry lightning energy, increasing their armor-piercing capability.
After Tang San's explanation, Dugu Bo carefully stored the "Mother-Child Soul-Chasing Life-Stealing Gallbladder" in two separate places.
No wonder these two kids dared to come to him so boldly—so they had Master Xiao Yan's hidden weapons, Dugu Bo mused to himself.
Seeing Dugu Bo's expression, Xiao Lin knew he was once again imagining the existence of Xiao Yan.
…
After quickly packing up, Tang San practically emptied the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well of all its herbs, only leaving those that would lose potency if harvested and a few seeds.
Then, with Dugu Bo's help, Xiao Lin and Tang San returned smoothly to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Emperor Battle Team.
Xiao Wu and Tang Ni were sparring with each other.
Suddenly, Tang Ni got distracted, giving Xiao Wu an opening. With a flash of her third soul ring, Xiao Wu appeared behind her.
Electricity surged in Xiao Wu's hand, forming into a sharp dagger. If Tang Ni didn't dodge, she'd definitely suffer serious injuries.
"Xiao Wu, stop messing around. I think Xiao Lin and the others are back."
As a mythical beast in human form, Tang Ni instantly sensed a powerful aura approaching. That familiar energy—it had to be Xiao Lin and the others.
In such a short time apart, Tang Ni could already sense that Xiao Lin's destiny aura had grown even stronger—strong enough to even affect soul beasts' fate.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Wu's pupils trembled. She instinctively dispersed the lightning with her powerful reflexes.
Then she started scanning around, looking for Tang San.
"Xiao Wu!"
At that moment, Tang San's voice—full of longing—rang in her ears. Her eyes instantly welled up with tears.
"Brother San! And Brother Lin!"
In the next second, Xiao Wu leapt into Tang San's arms.
"Oooh, Brother San~"
Xiao Lin called out teasingly.
But soon, he stopped bothering with Tang San and Xiao Wu. He clapped his hands, ready to exercise his right as team captain—gather the team and start selling the immortal herbs.
(End of chapter)