Chapter 130: The Suspected Massive Pitfall

Chapter 131:

“The first method only treats the symptoms. Get a Soul Bone, of any age will do. After fusing and absorbing it, guide the toxins inside your granddaughter’s body into it, and draw them out whenever needed. That way, her poisonous arts will not be damaged, and her strength will not be weakened.”

The method given by Tang Shan was actually Tang San’s interpretation method in the original work, converging the toxins into the Soul Bone to prevent further damage to the body.

In fact, combining the settings of the douluo one era and the douluo two era, to solve Dugu Bo’s poisoning problem, there was also a once-and-for-all solution that would not only avoid damaging one’s own strength, but instead enhance it—that was condensing a Martial Soul core. Moreover, in terms of condensing a Martial Soul core, Dugu Bo, who had already condensed a Dan Pearl, held a tremendous advantage.

However, setting aside the fact that it was currently the douluo one era, where there was simply no technology for condensing a Martial Soul core, even if Tang Shan possessed it, he would never hand it over to Dugu Bo.

As the saying goes, the risk was too high. If the technique or even just the train of thought for condensing a Martial Soul core were to spread out and be obtained by a Titled Douluo, Tang Shan did not even dare to imagine how massive of a change the power dynamics of the entire Douluo Continent would undergo.

Actually, giving it to Spirit Hall would still be fine to talk about, but unfortunately, there were three Limit Douluo on the Douluo Continent right now. Although the three of them seemed to have a decent relationship, there were still degrees of closeness and distance.

Bo Saixi and Tang Chen were definitely in the same group. After all, what Bo Saixi liked was a man who could become a god; she was practically one step away from directly confessing to Tang Chen.

As for Qian Daoliu, not only was he isolated and helpless, but he also had to guard against Bibi Dong. If the Martial Soul core technology or train of thought were truly spread out, Tang Shan truly could not be sure whether he could still be as carefree as he was now.

Thinking deeper, if the Martial Soul core condensation train of thought fell into Tang Chen’s hands, and the other party broke free from the entanglement of the Nine Headed Bloody Crimson Bat King, temporarily regained clarity, and condensed a Martial Soul core, would he directly live out a second life and achieve an on-the-spot deification or something?

At that time, Tang Shan could only say: Good grief, Bibi Dong’s Rakshasa God Trial hasn’t progressed much, Angel Miss’s God Trial hasn’t started yet, the great Sea God’s Martial Soul hasn’t even awakened, yet you, the Asura God, are born. What kind of deal is this?

To prevent Martial Soul core technology from stirring up any major upsets for himself under the influence of the butterfly effect, Tang Shan had long decided to seal away this technology and even the train of thought before reaching a certain level.

But returning to the main topic.

After listening to Tang Shan’s thoughts, Dugu Bo’s brow first twitched, and then he asked with some confusion: “Why do you say this method can only treat the symptoms? Can’t all the virulent poisons be poured into the Soul Bone?”

“Unless you can get a ten thousand year spirit bone, even a ten thousand year spirit bone can at most only carry toxins of the Martial Soul Saint level. After all, a Soul Bone is ultimately just a Soul Bone, not a container for you to hold toxins.”

Tang Shan spread his hands and succinctly stated the reasoning behind it. In fact, he seriously suspected that Tang San’s method in the original work was very likely to have scammed the Dugu Family later on. After all, just as he said, a Soul Bone was not a container specifically meant for holding toxins.

Furthermore, a Soul Bone fuses into one’s own bones, making the connection with the body even closer. In case it accidentally erupts— —

Good grief, it was fine before; the toxins were distributed throughout the body, so if they erupted, there was still a chance of salvation.

With this operation of yours condensing everything in the Soul Bone, when it erupts at that time, it will go straight deep into the bone marrow, the poison will be incurable, and death will be extremely rapid.

Tang Shan told Dugu Bo the principle of condensing toxins with a Soul Bone and thoroughly analyzed the pros and cons of the matter for him.

Upon hearing the potential hidden dangers of condensing toxins in a Soul Bone, Dugu Bo was directly struck into silence. If Tang Shan hadn’t mentioned it, he wouldn’t have noticed that there was actually such a huge danger within it.

“Then how to cure the root cause?”

Tang Shan cleared his throat: “This second method is very simple, and that is to absorb a Soul Ring.”

“What is called absorbing a Soul Ring?”

Dugu Bo was somewhat puzzled, but he wasn’t in a rush. Tang Shan’s first strategy of treating the symptoms had already filled him with confidence in Tang Shan, and at the same time added several points of admiration for the Grandmaster.

Originally, although the Grandmaster was famous, he was not taken seriously by Dugu Bo. So what if your theories were powerful, and so what if you were suspected to be a hidden peerless expert? What did that have to do with him? Today, having received help from the Grandmaster’s disciple, Tang Shan, Dugu Bo finally felt how arrogant and ignorant he had been before.

“Let me ask Senior first, what kind of Soul Rings do your Family members generally absorb when making a Breakthrough?”

Tang Shan did not immediately tell him, but instead asked Dugu Bo in return.

“Our Dugu Family is famous throughout the World for poison, so naturally, we try our best to find poison-attributed Soul Beasts to absorb.”

Dugu Bo answered as a matter of course, and the other party’s answer did not exceed Tang Shan’s expectations.

“Then your granddaughter must change this Soul Ring absorption pattern. In the future, try to minimize or no longer touch poison-attributed Soul Rings. This is also the reason why I said her poisonous arts can only be partially retained.”

“Then her cultivation and combat power—”

Dugu Bo said half of his words, reacted, and let out a long sigh.

“Ah! It was I who was greedy. Having finally found a solution to the toxins on Yanyan’s body, I still hoped that she could Cultivate. Indeed, I shouldn’t have. As long as she can be safe, being an ordinary Soul Master for a lifetime is fine too.”

“Senior, have you fallen into some kind of misunderstanding? Changing the target of Soul Ring absorption does not mean your granddaughter’s talent will be weakened. She can completely develop in another direction.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Dugu Bo was somewhat puzzled, while Xue Qinghe looked at Tang Shan thoughtfully.

“If a Beast Spirit wants to improve and develop, there are ultimately only two directions for enhancement: either pursue a higher-level Bloodline, or elevate the attributes attached to the Beast Spirit to the extreme. Your Dugu Family made its fortune through poison, so you are obviously taking the second path.”

Tang Shan’s words weren’t finished, but Dugu Bo clearly understood Tang Shan’s meaning: “You mean to let Yanyan pursue the path of transforming into a dragon?”

“Not necessarily transforming into a dragon. You must know that serpentine Bloodlines are not necessarily weak. For example, Medusa is the king of serpentine Soul Beasts; did she ever possess even a shred of dragon Bloodline in her body?”

“Take the Mountain-Coiling Giant Python for another example. Its body is massive and its swallowing ability is formidable. If not for the fact that its swallowing ability can only be used once a day, I’m afraid it would have been despised by Soul Beasts even more than the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger. After all, its swallowing conversion rate almost reaches 100%, and there is similarly no dragon Bloodline inside its body.”

“Of course, I am not saying the path of transforming into a dragon is bad; it’s mainly that Soul Beasts with dragon Bloodlines are rare. To make the Martial Soul continuously undergo transformation, one must find Soul Beasts whose Bloodlines are increasingly pure and whose ages are increasingly high. Senior Dugu, do you think this is easy?”

“I understand. Anyway, regardless of whether Yanyan walks the path of transforming into a dragon or the path of strengthening the snake’s attributes, in the future, she should try her best not to absorb poison-attributed Soul Rings, right?”

Tang Shan nodded: “In fact, I estimate that if you are willing to let your granddaughter be an ordinary Soul Master for a lifetime, you should be able to think of the second method as well. After all, you should also be clear that if you don’t strengthen the poison attribute through Soul Rings, no matter how formidable the virulent poison becomes as Soul Power increases, it is ultimately nothing more than Jade Phosphorus Snake poison, rather than the natal Martial Soul poison born after absorbing numerous poison-attributed Soul Beasts.”

Dugu Bo listened to Tang Shan’s final words, his expression somewhat trance-like: Right, was this subsequent solution something I couldn’t think of, or was it something I was unwilling to think about? If I hadn’t met Tang Shan, and I continued to be obsessed and stubbornly held onto the Dugu Family’s Legacy without letting go—while wanting to detoxify my granddaughter on one hand, and letting her absorb poison-attributed Soul Beasts on the other—what difference would that make from driving her to her death with my own hands?

“Many thanks to Young Friend for waking me up. Yanyan is about to reach level twenty, and the method you mentioned can be verified very soon. Regardless of the final outcome, this favor is noted down by this old man. If the problem still cannot be resolved in the end—”

Dugu Bo was silent for a moment: “Then just let her be an ordinary person all along.”

Clearly, Tang Shan’s words not only made Dugu Bo believe in the second treatment method, but also decided to give up the first solution that could allow her to continue practicing poisonous arts. After all, Dugu Yan was his granddaughter, and also his only Family in this World.

Standing up, Dugu Bo bowed deeply towards Tang Shan and Xue Qinghe. The two wanted to dodge, but were forcefully suppressed by Dugu Bo’s Soul Power.

“Many thanks to Young Friend Tang Shan and Your Highness for the hospitality. I was somewhat impetuous earlier, please forgive me. This old man will take his leave first; there is no need to keep hiding certain things anymore.”

When he stood up again, the gloom that had lingered between Dugu Bo’s brows for many years had already dissipated by more than half. His originally tense shoulders and back completely relaxed, and his dark green long hair swayed lightly with the turning motion, no longer bearing a shred of its previous depression.

His steps leaving were brisk yet steady, and every step felt as if a heavy burden of a thousand catties had been unloaded. The hem of his grey robe swayed gently with his steps, unexpectedly revealing a bit of carefree detachment.

“Senior, the toxins in your body—”

Tang Shan hurriedly walked a few steps faster, wanting to say something.

Seeing this, Dugu Bo did not even look back; he simply raised his right hand and waved it gently, his tone carrying a sense of release: “No rush. Let’s solve this old man’s granddaughter’s problem first. If it cannot be solved, it won’t be very meaningful for this old man to be alone in this World.”

As he spoke, he had reached the front gate of the prince’s estate, and Xue Qinghe and Tang Shan escorted him together.

“The two of you, please stay. There has been much offense today, please forgive me.”

When pushing open the heavy gate, facing the astonished gazes of the crowd of soldiers, Dugu Bo straightened his back and once again solemnly bowed halfway towards Xue Qinghe.

This bow carried an open and frank gratitude in the depths of his eyes.

When he straightened his back, he raised his hand to gather his grey robe, completely shrouding his figure in the shadow of his sleeves, and then walked steadily towards the distance, his retreating figure resolute yet relaxed.

“Tang Shan, what did you mean by what he said, that ‘there is no need to keep hiding certain things anymore’?”

Xue Qinghe watched Dugu Bo’s figure gradually fade into the distance until it melted into a grey shadow blending into afar. The melancholy in her tone gained a few parts of complexity.

“Probably that his toxins were passed down to his son, and his son—which is Dugu Yan’s father—in a sense indirectly died at his hands, perhaps coupled with the fact that Dugu Yan is similarly afflicted with virulent poison.

However, today’s harvest is not small. That bow he made just now in full view of the public, in a sense, also increased Your Highness’s weight in the heart of Emperor Xue Ye.”

Looking at that retreating figure that had completely disappeared from view, Xue Qinghe slowly pursed her lips, her fingertips unconsciously clutching her sleeves.

The estrangement brought by Dugu Bo’s previous unreasonableness had quietly dissipated after witnessing his transformation of letting go of his obsession and unloading his heavy burden for his granddaughter.

She suddenly felt that this Titled Douluo famous for poison was, in essence, just an ordinary elder worried about his granddaughter. That familial affection was scorching enough to make people overlook all sharp edges.

Thinking of this, her gaze abruptly dimmed, and the woman sitting high on the Pope’s throne involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

They were similarly connected by blood, yet between them, only a cold estrangement and an unspeakable distance remained.