Dugu Yan's emerald-green pupils flickered with a ghostly light.
Beneath her skin, the greenish-blue veins bulged uncontrollably.
"Haa—"
She suddenly hunched forward, retching violently.
Gurgle—gurgle—!
Mouthfuls of thick, dark green venom spilled from her lips, splashing onto the flagstones and corroding the ground into a honeycomb of holes.
A pungent, sweet stench erupted into the air. The old locust tree in the courtyard visibly withered under the toxic miasma.
Seeing the virulent poison mist begin to spread, Li Zhexian shouted:
"Senior Dugu!"
Dugu Bo's wide sleeves billowed, sweeping away the poison mists in an instant. His face was tense with worry.
"Yan Yan, how do you feel?!"
Dugu Yan was drenched in sweat, her hair soaked and plastered to her cheeks. She stood there, dazed, staring down at her now smooth, snow-white skin… and took in a deep breath.
For the first time in her life, what filled her lungs wasn't the cloying stench of serpent venom—but fresh, clean air.
"Li Zhexian…"
"…thank you."
As the words fell from her lips, she suddenly turned and threw her arms around him.
Caught off guard, Li Zhexian froze, both hands awkwardly hovering in mid-air—not sure if he should embrace her or not.
But very quickly… he felt the front of his robes slowly becoming damp.
With a quiet sigh in his heart, he gently patted her trembling shoulders and said warmly:
"In spring, the blossoms bloom; in autumn, the moon is bright.
In summer, there's a cooling breeze; in winter, snow whispers through the night."
"Congratulations on your rebirth, Sister Dugu. From this day forward, may your world be filled with fragrant flowers and moonlit winds."
Inside the wide sleeves of Dugu Bo's robe, his clenched hand trembled.
He tilted his head to the sky, but the tears still rolled down his aged face.
"In spring, the blossoms bloom; in autumn, the moon is bright…"
Dugu Yan murmured the lines in Li Zhexian's embrace, her slender frame shaking gently.
She looked up through teary eyes at his handsome face. In his dark eyes—now clear once more—her own reflection blushed with warmth.
At that moment—
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted her grandfather.
Only then did Dugu Yan snap out of her daze. Flustered, she quickly let go, her pretty face blooming crimson.
The air turned awkwardly quiet.
Li Zhexian coughed lightly, breaking the silence.
"Senior Dugu, the serpent venom in your body has lingered for decades."
"And it has been nourished day and night by the vast Spirit Power of a Titled Douluo. Dispelling it… will be quite the ordeal."
Dugu Bo chuckled and nodded. "Zhexian, however you say to proceed, I'll do it."
At this point, his trust in Li Zhexian was absolute.
A single cup of wine had cured his granddaughter.
What else could he not believe?
After a moment's thought, Li Zhexian said, "I'll need some of your serpent venom to brew an antidote."
He had made a deliberate decision.
He would not let Dugu Bo drink from his Clear Spring Wine Gourd.
The reason was simple:
Dugu Bo was no ordinary person like Zhu Zhuqing or Dugu Yan.
He was a seasoned master of poison, a Titled Douluo whose cunning and perception were unmatched. If he drank from the gourd and noticed anything strange…
That would be troublesome.
Li Zhexian knew Dugu Bo was a man of his word.
But even so—
A gentleman does not stand under a crumbling wall.
Secrets are only secrets if you alone know them.
And besides, the end goal was to detoxify him. If he could use Dugu Bo's own venom to brew a new batch of Serpent's Venom Rice Spirit, it would suffice.
"No problem at all," Dugu Bo replied without hesitation.
"Zhexian, I know the poison in my body runs deep. If there's anything else you need, just say the word."
Li Zhexian glanced around the courtyard.
That old locust tree, thick enough to take three men to encircle it, had withered completely after exposure to Dugu Yan's expelled toxins.
"Senior Dugu, your venom is on an entirely different level from Sister Dugu's."
"Even the slightest leak could turn Heaven Dou City into a poisonous wasteland."
Dugu Bo's face darkened slightly.
That was, indeed, a very real problem.
Just then, he heard Li Zhexian mutter softly to himself:
"If only there were a blessed land that could suppress snake venom…"
"…then everything would be solved."
"Hm?!"
Dugu Bo's face lit up instantly.
"I do know of such a place!"
—
The Sunset Forest was a good distance from Heaven Dou City.
But for a Titled Douluo like Dugu Bo, it took only half an hour to arrive with Li Zhexian and Dugu Yan in tow.
They climbed the winding mountain path together.
Before long, they reached the summit.
It was a massive inverted-cone-shaped basin nestled among the peaks. The mountain top formed the outer edge of this natural formation.
Steam surged from the center, carrying with it a moist heat… and a distinct trace of sulfur.
"Whew…"
Li Zhexian slowly exhaled.
He seemed calm, but within his sleeve, his hand clenched unconsciously.
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well…
He had finally arrived.
The very place that elevated the Shrek Seven Monters—what changes would it bring him?
"Among brewing methods, there is a divine liquor made from waters of opposing nature—called Ice Flame Immortal Dew."
"Its effects are miraculous: it enhances resistance to both ice and fire, and can temper the body into a special constitution."
"If my Wine Martial Soul can fuse with Ice Flame Immortal Dew…"
"Then perhaps… I can grasp the second move of the Qinglian Sword Song."
"Follow me," Dugu Bo said, spreading his arms.
Like a night owl taking flight, he leapt from the cliff's edge into the chasm below.
Shrouded in darkness and mist, his figure vanished in the blink of an eye.
"Let's go too!"
Dugu Yan turned to Li Zhexian, eyes shining.
She extended her hand generously.
"Mhm."
Li Zhexian clasped her hand.
Together, they leapt into the abyss, feet tapping lightly on the rocky protrusions of the cliff face in perfect synchrony.
The wind whistled past their ears… and gradually stilled.
At last, they landed steadily at the bottom.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—!
The moment Li Zhexian's feet touched down, a wave of searing heat slammed into his left cheek—while freezing cold bit into the right.
The left side of his face burned. The right began to frost over with fine ice crystals.
Only after unleashing his Spirit Power to shield himself did the sensations ease slightly.
Then he looked up.
And was struck speechless by the sight before him.
To the left, a churning crimson spring bubbled like molten magma, distorting the air with waves of heat.
To the right, a bottomless icy pond radiated bone-chilling frost, with white mist slithering over its surface and freezing the grass in its path.
Both waters existed in the same pool—but were clearly divided, never mixing.
Beside the red spring, flame-shaped herbs grew wild, their petals dripping with golden sap.
Around the blue pond, crystalline blossoms spread across the ground, glittering with frost.
Further beyond, countless rare herbs of immense spiritual energy grew in chaotic abundance, roots tangled, aura surging.
And Li Zhexian recognized them all.
All things in the world can be used to brew wine.
Time did not pass in dreams—and in one long dream, he had memorized nearly every spirit herb under heaven.
One could say that Tang San's skill in identifying herbs, in his eyes, was as simple and naive as one plus one equaling two.
He spotted the pink-glowing Aromatic Silk Beauty, the frost-crowned Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, and the fiery Infernal Delicate Apricot that looked like a blooming red cabbage.
Seeing Li Zhexian's delighted expression, Dugu Yan tugged hard on her grandfather's sleeve.
Her meaning was obvious:
Grandpa! It's time for you to spill the gold coins!