Three days later.
At the gates of Windy City, streams of pedestrians and convoys formed an endless queue.
In the middle of the line, the curtain of a carriage window was pulled aside, and a green-haired elder peered out from the carriage.
Seeing the long line ahead, Dugu Bo grumbled:
"Pah!"
"What rotten luck, to run into this kind of mess!"
"The line ahead is still so long, it'll take at least another half an hour for us to get into the city!"
"My lord, if you ask me, we shouldn't have lingered in Dian Du City for three days. Otherwise, we wouldn't have coincidentally run into the Wind Sword Sect's troubles upon arriving at Windy City."
Saying this, Dugu Bo lowered the curtain and turned to look at Lin Rong, who was quietly cultivating on the seat to his left inside the carriage.
Upon hearing the complaint, Lin Rong continued to circulate the Marrow Cleansing Scripture, only diverting a fraction of his attention to reply with divided focus:
"What, are you telling me what to do?"
"I wouldn't dare," Dugu Bo replied reflexively, his neck involuntarily shrinking like a startled quail.
After leaving Dian Du City, they learned about an event from roadside passersby while traveling by carriage towards Windy City.
The Wind Sword Sect's old sect master would be abdicating his position to his eldest son, who had recently broken through to the Soul Douluo realm, on his eightieth birthday.
This was a joyous double celebration for the Wind Sword Sect.
To commemorate this happy occasion and to publicize the prestige and foundation of the Wind Sword Sect as one of the lower four sects.
The sect's decision-makers publicly announced that on the birthday itself, all dining expenses at restaurants and eateries within Windy City would be covered by the Wind Sword Sect.
News of this had spread a month prior, reaching several surrounding cities.
And today was the Wind Sword Sect old sect master's eightieth birthday. A large number of people from nearby towns had come to Windy City to join the festivities and, incidentally, to enjoy the free feasts at the city's various restaurants and eateries.
This was the reason for the congestion at the city gates today.
Windy City was now within reach. The thought of his lifelong affliction being cured soon filled Dugu Bo with excitement, leaving him unable to calm down.
Unable to calm his mind, he couldn't enter Meditation to pass the time.
Therefore, Dugu Bo could only lean against the carriage window, listening to the idle chatter of the people in the queue outside to endure the boring wait to enter the city.
As the carriage moved forward slowly, the snippets of conversation from the people in the line drifted into the carriage, reaching the ears of the three occupants.
Amidst the various discussions, a passerby's conversation caught Lin Rong's attention: the red-robed archbishop of the Spirit Hall's main branch in Windy City had been personally invited by the Wind Sword Sect to attend their internal banquet.
This made Lin Rong think:
"Inviting an archbishop from the Spirit Hall to a sect's internal gathering, could it be that the Wind Sword Sect has already secretly pledged allegiance to the Spirit Hall?"
"Alas, if I had known this earlier, I should have asked Guang Yue and Ghostly before leaving Dian Du City. As Bibi Dong's confidantes, they would definitely know about such matters."
"But it doesn't matter. Whether this matter is true or not is unimportant. What needs to be done must be done."
Of the seven great sects in the original work, apart from the upper three sects and the White Tiger Sect, one of the lower four sects, the remaining three sects of the lower four had all, without exception, pledged allegiance to the Spirit Hall.
Therefore, regardless of whether the Wind Sword Sect had currently fallen to the Spirit Hall, they would undoubtedly be his enemy in the future.
Although he was not yet strong enough to shake the behemoth that was the Spirit Hall, he was more than capable of trimming some of the opportunistic vines clinging to that great tree.
The current situation on the continent was still somewhat stable; the waters were not yet murky enough.
Since that was the case, he would stir this stagnant water into a greater turmoil. Once he had subdued the Breaking Clan, he would casually *destroy* the Wind Sword Sect.
This kind of casual action would not only make the continental situation unpredictable but also make Yang Wudi, who harbored hatred for the Spirit Hall, more loyal. It was truly killing two birds with one stone.
Moreover, he had given out quite a few of the Spirit Bones at his disposal. Of the six Ten Thousand Year Spirit Bones, only three remained. It was time to raid the Wind Sword Sect to recoup some losses.
As one of the lower four sects, he hoped the Wind Sword Sect's foundation would not disappoint him.
Time passed slowly.
After queuing for over an hour, their carriage finally drove into the city gate and headed towards the southern district of Windy City, where the Breaking Clan was located.
Perhaps because there were fewer restaurants and eateries in the southern district, the streets in this area were not as congested as those in the eastern, western, and northern districts.
The wide streets had a moderate flow of pedestrians.
This allowed their carriage to travel smoothly along the street, reaching the entrance of the Breaking Clan's mansion without any obstruction.
Lin Rong alighted from the carriage, once again stepping onto this familiar, quiet street.
Then, seeing Dugu Bo standing at the entrance without moving, he instructed:
"What are you spacing out for? Knock on the door!"
Hearing this, Dugu Bo subconsciously glanced at the coachman behind him, thinking that such tasks were usually done by servants.
But despite his thoughts, his hand obediently reached for the door knocker and rapped on the door.
"Who is it?"
With the sound of light footsteps, the main gate soon opened, and a young man in plain clothes emerged.
"You are... it's you?"
This young man was the one who opened the door and guided Lin Rong when he visited the Breaking Clan four years ago.
Although Dugu Bo didn't recognize him, upon seeing Lin Rong and the old butler behind him, his surprised tone clearly indicated he remembered what happened four years ago.
"Please wait a moment, honored guest. Allow me to go inside and inform them."
After speaking, without waiting for any reaction from Lin Rong and his party, he closed the large door and hurried inside the mansion.
While waiting, Dugu Bo curiously asked:
"My lord, so you've been here before."
"But why didn't you bring the Breaking Clan with you at that time..."
Mid-sentence, Dugu Bo sheepishly shut his mouth.
Given this person's personality, there was only one reason he didn't subdue the Breaking Clan back then: his strength was insufficient.
Seeing that Dugu Bo had wisely closed his mouth and didn't continue, Lin Rong merely glanced at him indifferently, saying nothing.
After being glanced at, Dugu Bo let out a few dry laughs to ease the awkward atmosphere.
Not long after, the young man who went to inform them returned. He opened the large door, bowed towards Lin Rong, and said:
"Esteemed guest, my clan leader requests your presence."
The carriage had already been stored in a soul tool, and someone had made arrangements for the coachman.
Lin Rong, the old butler, and Dugu Bo were led by the young man to the reception hall within the mansion.
In the hall, when Yang Wudi saw the three of them enter, his gaze fell directly on Lin Rong's hands. Seeing that he was empty-handed, his expectant expression instantly dimmed, and he said with a hint of regret:
"You brought nothing at all! I thought you'd bring some rare medicinal herbs for me to refine medicine with during this visit!"
His words were very direct and perfectly matched Yang Wudi's persona as a medicine fanatic.
"What's that smell?"
Then, Yang Wudi twitched his nose, sniffing the air forcefully, and his gaze landed on Dugu Bo, who was emitting a faint, fishy stench. He immediately saw through the man's condition.
"Truly incredible. To be so deeply poisoned and still be alive... the world is indeed full of wonders."
As he spoke, Yang Wudi stepped forward, circling Dugu Bo, carefully examining the human poison carrier before him and commenting:
"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"
"Green hair and green eyes, such a deep shade of green. How long must one be soaked in poison to reach this state?"
"This fishy smell is undoubtedly the Azure Phosphorus Snake poison."
"Across the entire world, only Dugu Bo, who arrogantly calls himself the 'Poison Douluo,' possesses such potent Azure Phosphorus Snake poison."
"So, are you visiting today because you want me to cure this fellow's severe poisoning?"
At the end, Yang Wudi's gaze returned to Lin Rong. Seeing him nod, he continued:
"No problem. A Martial Soul backlash poison is merely a piece of cake for me."
"However, as for the reward!" As he said this, Yang Wudi rubbed his hands together, his eyes filled with longing for rare medicinal herbs.
"If you can bring herbs of the same caliber as the Nine-Rank Dragon Ganoderma from last time, everything is negotiable."
"Even if not, herbs one or two ranks lower would be acceptable, as long as the quantity makes up for it."
"After all, although detoxifying is simple, the risk I bear in treating such an unpredictable Titled Douluo for severe poisoning is quite significant."
Dugu Bo, who had been ignored, became excited upon hearing the old man in front of him explicitly state that he could cure his poisoning and blurted out:
"Is it true? Can you really cure me?"
But Yang Wudi completely ignored Dugu Bo's existence, his eyes fixed on Lin Rong, eagerly awaiting his answer.
Catching Yang Wudi's gaze, Lin Rong took out a large flower with its stem from the Dragon Pattern Jade Bead on his wrist.
It was a peculiar flower, with pale pink petals as crystal-clear as crystal, and a pale purple stamen that sparkled like diamonds.
The moment the flower appeared, a faint, pleasant fragrance was released, filling every corner of the reception hall with its refreshing scent.
"This, this is..."
Gazing at the pale pink flower before him, Yang Wudi's trembling voice echoed through the hall, a mixture of extreme excitement and joy.
He unconsciously walked up to Lin Rong, crouched down, and admired the Immortal Grade Medicinal Herb up close.
However, after only a short while of admiration, Lin Rong put the Immortal Grade away.
The Immortal Grade, which he had dreamt of, vanished from his sight. Yang Wudi's expression, which had been like a roller coaster, instantly turned as dark as coal, and he asked with dissatisfaction:
"Kid, what do you mean by this?"
"Give me the Aromatic Silk Beauty. From now on, for any needs related to medicine or poison refinement, I will do it for you for free. I'll even treat Dugu Bo's severe poisoning as a bonus, without charging you extra. How about that?"
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