The favor of a Title Douluo was something others could only dream of.
Yet Dugu Bo had unexpectedly softened his stance, and the condition was merely Tang San's words.
At that moment, they might truly have an opportunity to enter Dugu Bo's medicinal garden and see if there were any immortal herbs.
Moreover, Dugu Bo hadn't refuted Tang San's claims, which was enough to prove that what Tang San said was true.
This matter was of great importance.
Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San with a grave expression, deeply afraid of saying the wrong thing and angering Dugu Bo. "Xiaosan, are you sure about this? You can't just make things up."
Tang San nodded. "Teacher, don't worry—I know my limits."
If he could gain the assistance of a Title Douluo, Tang San was confident that his future cultivation would proceed much more smoothly.
With that, he began, "Elder Dugu, let me first talk about Dugu Yan. Purple hair and green eyes—these are clearly not normal human traits. I can say with certainty that she is already on the verge of succumbing to the poison and could die at any moment."
"As for you, Elder Dugu. As a Title Douluo, you appear so aged and decrepit, likely because resisting the toxins within your body has sapped all your strength. The bones of the saber-toothed tiger have properties that expel cold and evil influences. Hunting it was probably to grind its bones into medicine, wasn't it?"
Dugu Bo hadn't even thought of these things.
His "pursuit" of the saber-toothed tiger was purely because it was the closest soul beast nearby.
However, he himself had deep knowledge of medicinal herbs, and the medicinal value of tiger bones was indeed as Tang San had described.
"My patience is limited. I don't want to hear these empty words. Just tell me your method," Dugu Bo urged impatiently.
Beating around the bush was useless—he needed to hear the key points!
Tang San couldn't gauge Dugu Bo's temperament, so he held back part of his explanation.
"Elder Dugu, if you have soul bones, you can directly channel the poison into them."
"Beast-type martial souls are highly bound to a soul master's body. As long as the toxins remain in your body, your poison will never be cured. But soul bones, as external vessels, can serve as carriers for the toxins."
He spoke at length but omitted the most critical issue.
Without special methods to guide the process, directly channeling the toxins into soul bones could very likely lead to loss of control, resulting in death.
Dugu Bo thought this was some brilliant solution and couldn't help but grow angry.
Ning Tianchen had already clearly explained the drawbacks of this method to him. Tang San suggesting it now clearly showed ill intentions.
"Tang San, if I were to follow your method, even if I somehow managed to channel the toxins into my soul bones, in the future, when my soul bones reach their capacity, I'd still suffer from toxin backlash, wouldn't I?"
Drinking poison to quench thirst would only result in a more painful death.
Tang San was speechless, unable to think of a way to counter this argument.
For now, this was the best solution he could come up with. Unless Dugu Bo was willing to abandon his poisonous martial soul, the poison was incurable.
Of course, Tang San's intention in trying to subdue Dugu Bo was undoubtedly to exploit his combat strength. If Dugu Bo became a snake without venom, what threat would he pose?
Channeling the toxins into soul bones would ensure no drawbacks for at least ten to twenty years. That was plenty of time to squeeze out his value.
Furthermore, Tang San planned to take advantage of Dugu Bo's interest to mention that the required medicinal herbs were extremely rare. Using this as an excuse, he could sneak into Dugu Bo's medicinal garden.
Unfortunately, with Dugu Bo exposing his plan in one sentence, Tang San's scheme was instantly shattered.
---
Seeing Dugu Bo return to his usual ferocious demeanor, Yu Xiaogang knew things were going badly.
Being as clever as he was, Yu Xiaogang quickly came up with a countermeasure. "Dugu Bo, do you really not know the strength of our Golden Iron Triangle? As long as one of us escapes alive, news of your poisoning will spread across the continent."
"At that point, your enemies surely won't let you off easily."
"Is that so?" Dugu Bo taunted. "Then look carefully—is there any sign that I'm poisoned?"
As he spoke, Dugu Bo's graying hair and beard visibly disappeared at a rapid pace. The sagging muscles on his face tightened, and there was absolutely no sign of poisoning.
Tang San inwardly cursed his misfortune.
Dugu Bo's disguise clearly indicated that he was feigning weakness to lower his opponents' guard.
As for the toxic martial soul, it hadn't affected him at all.
Tang San didn't realize his own thinking was flawed. He believed that the inheritance of the Green Phosphorus Snake martial soul must have been complete, which was why Dugu Bo wasn't troubled by its toxicity.
"Purple hair and green eyes—aren't they quite pretty? Yan Yan looks like this naturally. How did you mistake it for poisoning? Now, do you have anything else to say, or should I show you no mercy?"
Tang San's face turned pale. His flattery had hit a sore spot and was about to earn him a harsh retaliation.
Would they really die here today?
Yu Xiaogang, Liu Erlong, and Flender were ready to fight at any moment. If Dugu Bo made another move, they would immediately unleash their fusion technique.
For a moment, a suffocating atmosphere spread throughout the area.
The morale of the Shrek Seven Monsters was low, and they had no thoughts of resistance.
Suddenly, the saber-toothed tiger returned.
Dugu Bo seemed "exhausted from dealing with them" and turned away from attacking them.
"Run!" Flender shouted, pulling everyone in the opposite direction without hesitation.
---
When faced with threats, people could always tap into their potential.
In just the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the Shrek group had run over fifty li.
Seeing no movement behind them, they finally caught their breath.
"Xiaosan, you were too reckless. Do you realize how close we were to being killed by Dugu Bo?" Yu Xiaogang had been carried by Liu Erlong during the escape, so he still had the energy to lecture Tang San.
Tang San panted heavily, head lowered, and said nothing.
Flender took several deep breaths, steadied his breathing, and said, "Forget it, Xiaogang. Xiaosan didn't mean it. Besides, without Xiaosan's words buying us time, we wouldn't have had a chance to escape."
Yu Xiaogang sighed. "Fine. Our spirit hunting trip is over anyway. There's no need to face Dugu Bo's pressure and delve deeper into the forest to hunt spirits."
"But there's one thing I don't understand. If Dugu Bo isn't poisoned, why is he hunting the saber-toothed tiger?"
None of them understood medicinal herbs well, and no matter how hard they thought, they couldn't figure it out.
It was Tang San who suddenly spoke up. "The Dugu family originally dealt in medicinal herbs. But now, neither Dugu Bo nor Dugu Yan has any business ventures. Perhaps Dugu Bo hunted the saber-toothed tiger to use its bones as the crown jewel of his new medicinal shop."
"That makes sense—I just remembered," Liu Erlong chimed in.
Before setting out to hunt spirits, she had heard that a medicinal shop was opening in the Seven Treasures Mall. It was still in the planning stages then, but after so many days, it was likely about to open.
Whether it was true or not, they would find out once they returned.
On the way out of the forest, Tang San felt his heart throb again, and the stabbing pain was even stronger than before.
"What exactly left me?" He remained perplexed.
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