"Senior Dugu, you remind me of someone," Lin Xiao said.
Dugu Bo, currently feasting with gusto, surrounded by a small mountain of bones, paused mid-bite and looked up in curiosity.
"I remind you of someone?"
"Who? A peerless master? A fellow eccentric like myself?"
He spoke with a touch of pride. After all, he saw himself as a loner by nature—one who walked his own path. And he was a Title Douluo, after all.
So surely, whoever Lin Xiao had in mind must be a fellow reclusive powerhouse.
"No… it's this kindly-looking old granny," Lin Xiao replied.
Dugu Bo's expression stiffened.
His eyes narrowed.
"You little brat—are you asking for a beating?"
How was this not just a roundabout way of calling him an old hag?!
But Lin Xiao continued calmly, almost wistfully:
"She, like you, doubted my cooking skills."
"In the end… you both had to eat your words."
Dugu Bo coughed, feeling a little sheepish.
He glanced at the pile of bones around him, cleared his throat, and muttered:
"I simply don't like to waste food."
"The flavor was, uh…"
After a long pause, he gave up trying to lie.
"It was actually… pretty good."
Ye Qingxian nodded in agreement, then added thoughtfully:
"To think medicinal herbs and spices could be combined so seamlessly… I honestly don't know how you come up with this stuff. Most Soul Masters don't have time for such things."
Lin Xiao simply smiled.
He had always enjoyed cooking.
There was a special kind of pride he felt whenever people reacted with surprise or joy to his food—not pride in himself, but a deeper happiness in seeing Chinese culinary culture being appreciated.
"Food is the people's first need."
"A good meal, even a simple one, can bring true happiness."
"Senior Dugu, Aunt Ye… you know, I grew up eating at every home in the village. None of them were Soul Masters. But they lived fulfilling lives in their own way."
"To me, happiness isn't about how much you gain… but how much you're content with."
Contentment is a kind of joy.
But Dugu Bo burst into laughter.
"And yet, Soul Masters advance precisely because they are never content!"
Ye Qingxian added:
"Isn't the phoenix's rebirth a perfect example of discontent? Never satisfied with the present—always pushing forward. And you, of all people, talking to us about contentment?"
Lin Xiao grinned and gave them a thumbs-up.
"You two are truly worthy seniors. You're absolutely right."
Those who are content know how to appreciate life. Those who are not content know how to chase progress. But both need to balance the two.
The next morning.
The three set out once again.
Ye Qingxian was searching for a soul beast known as the Snow-Hoofed Unicorn Horse, one around 50,000 years old. After a long search, they finally located one in the heart of the Sunset Forest by midday.
The Snow-Hoofed Unicorn Horse was a rare healing-type soul beast, pure white from head to hoof, its limbs gleaming like white jade.
Despite being a healing beast, one that had lived for 50,000 years still possessed strong combat abilities. Its single horn could emit searing white light capable of piercing and melting metal. It had great stamina, explosive power, and relied on charging attacks with its horn.
Ye Qingxian's eyes lit up with delight.
"It's almost 60,000 years old? Under normal circumstances, I would've had to give it up—but after consuming that celestial herb, my body has strengthened. And this one doesn't seem particularly aggressive, so I think I can absorb it."
"Senior Dugu, this one will do."
Dugu Bo nodded and was about to release his poison—
But stopped suddenly.
Lin Xiao and Ye Qingxian watched in surprise as Dugu Bo rolled up his sleeves.
He coughed and explained:
"I've always relied on poison in combat. But what if I ran into someone like Lin Xiao—immune to my toxins—or with extremely high resistance? I'd be at a disadvantage."
Take the Thornfish Douluo of the Spirit Hall, for example. That guy also used poison, but had formidable close-combat abilities—he'd definitely have the upper hand against the old Dugu Bo.
And then there was his old nemesis, Chrysanthemum Douluo. That guy was practically immune to his poison and could counter him easily.
But that was before.
Now that his spirit had evolved into a flood serpent, both his toxins and his physical body had improved drastically.
This time, he wanted to test his hand-to-hand capabilities.
Ye Qingxian looked at him with a strange expression—but she understood.
Meanwhile, Lin Xiao lowered his head in thought.
So the Biphos Snake spirit path leads to poison mastery… yet both Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan only developed poison-based soul skills. Sure, that amplifies their venom, but it leaves them vulnerable.
When I get back, I need to talk to Yanyan-jie about this. She should really develop at least one close-combat soul skill for her own safety.
That was the Biphos Snake's greatest weakness.
In the original story, Tang San neutralized Dugu Yan's poison with nothing more than realgar wine and fire.
It made no sense.
Medical texts clearly stated that realgar had no detoxifying effect—only the ability to repel snakes due to its strong smell. And many venomous snakes weren't affected by it at all.
Yet somehow, a Soul Sect-level Dugu Yan was rendered useless by "realgar wine"?
Completely ridiculous.
Still, once her spirit evolved into the Golden-Horned Jade Flood Serpent, such nonsense would never work again.
As for Dugu Bo, his nine soul rings were already set—there was no turning back.
But pushing the poison path to its ultimate peak? That might just be his road to greatness. The fact that his Biphos Snake spirit evolved into the Biphos Snake Emperor was probably linked to that very principle.
"Hahahaha! That's more like it!"
At that moment—
Dugu Bo was locked in intense battle with the Snow-Hoofed Unicorn Horse.
He deliberately refrained from using poison. Relying entirely on his raw strength, he mounted the beast and unleashed a barrage of wild punches.
It was… not a pretty sight.
Ye Qingxian tried not to laugh.
"Senior Dugu is surprisingly full of energy. But… this kind of brawling might work on soul beasts. Against someone of equal level? Not so much."
"He should probably develop some custom soul skills."
Custom soul skills…
A light flickered in Lin Xiao's eyes.
Right. If there's Corpse Explosion, Ice Explosion, Fire Explosion…
Why not a Poison Explosion?
The logic was exactly the same!
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. Watching Dugu Bo flailing away with his fists filled him with righteous frustration.
Come on, old man! Your poison is so powerful—why haven't you developed any decent techniques around it?!
Back in the field, the Snow-Hoofed Unicorn Horse was clearly getting irritated from the beating. Though it couldn't throw Dugu Bo off, its horn began to glow with intense white light.
The light rapidly swelled into a massive sphere of energy—
A self-destruct skill.
All or nothing. If I go down, I'm taking this damn two-legged creature with me!