"You're a Titled Douluo, one of the most powerful men in the entire continent," Xiao Tian said bluntly. "Why are you being so fussy? Do you think I have a reason to harm you? If you're still unsure, then fine—find a room right now, and I'll immediately relieve your pain."
His words carried a note of mild irritation.
Being lectured by a mere twelve-year-old naturally made Dugu Bo's face darken. Anger bristled inside him like venom about to burst. Yet… when he recalled his granddaughter Yanyan's desperate words, urging him to give Xiao Tian a chance, he inhaled deeply and clenched his jaw. For her sake, he had to endure.
"Follow me!" he barked, turning swiftly.
In an instant, the titled Douluo surged away at a shocking speed. His body blurred across the path as if he were little more than a snake slithering through the void. He half-wanted to test whether Xiao Tian could keep up. Didn't Yanyan say this boy was supposed to be extraordinary?
He risked a glance behind him, expecting Xiao Tian to be gasping for breath ten paces back. Yet what he saw was the boy's figure fading in the distance. A small victorious smirk tugged at Dugu Bo's lips—until a voice rang softly at his side.
"Why so impatient, Senior Dugu Bo?"
Dugu Bo flinched.
Xiao Tian was right beside him, hands folded casually behind his head, strolling as if taking a walk through a garden. His playful smile carried the faintest mocking edge.
"How…" Dugu Bo's eyes widened. He whipped his head back toward the spot where Xiao Tian had been only a moment ago, still seeing the fading afterimage the youth left behind.
That wasn't a boy running. That was something else entirely—speed that the old Titled Douluo himself could barely track.
So terrifying.
The poison master's throat tightened. He finally understood what Yanyan meant—this child was not ordinary.
"How are you this fast?" His voice was sharp with disbelief.
Xiao Tian only gave a faint smile. "Senior, I have many abilities at my disposal. The question is… do you now believe I can treat your illness?"
Dugu Bo harrumphed dismissively, masking his unease. "Don't get ahead of yourself. A bit of speed means nothing. Let's see if you can deliver what you boast." Then, unwilling to admit more, he quickly led Xiao Tian back to his private residence.
When the two entered Dugu Bo's home, Dugu Yan was already waiting, pacing nervously. She hadn't gone to the mimicry training grounds that day, unable to settle herself. She was waiting for her grandfather to return with Xiao Tian.
The door creaked open, and her eyes snapped up. "Grandpa!" she exclaimed. Relief softened her features—until her gaze fell on the slim youth casually standing beside him. "Xiao Tian? You… you came back with him?"
Dugu Bo's hardened face cracked into a faint smile. "This fellow claims he can relieve my suffering. I brought him here to try."
Dugu Yan's eyes lit up instantly like stars glittering in the night sky. At last—hope.
"Xiao Tian… if you really can help my grandpa detoxify—if you can free him from his torment—then I'll do anything you ask me to do!" Her words trembled but were resolute, born of desperation.
Dugu Bo's face sank instantly. "Yanyan! What nonsense are you spouting! 'Anything'?" The tone was sharp, laced with unintended protectiveness.
Xiao Tian, meanwhile, scratched his head awkwardly. This was exactly the kind of misunderstanding he didn't want. His goal had never been to win Dugu Yan in some crude bargain. He wanted something far more practical: a cooperative relationship where both sides benefitted. Freeing Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan of their poisonous afflictions could pave the way for friendship—and, more tangibly, a chance to access the rare immortal herbs guarded by the poison master.
He forced a small laugh to lighten the air. "Senior Dugu Bo, please sit cross-legged on the bed, and remove your shirt. We'll begin treatment."
From his soul tool, Xiao Tian carefully drew out a slim box filled with polished silver needles.
Dugu Yan tilted her head with suspicion. "What are you planning to do?"
"Massage and acupuncture." Xiao Tian answered matter-of-factly.
At first, Dugu Bo squinted in doubt. But since he had already allowed Xiao Tian into his residence, pulling back now would make him appear petty. Wordlessly, he obeyed, settling onto the bed and baring his lean, snake-scaled torso.
Xiao Tian began by pressing lightly on Dugu Bo's temples, kneading in steady rhythm. His fingers moved down to stimulate pressure points along the upper arms—Guquan, Neiguan—working gently to regulate qi and blood flow. His touch was firm but calculated, techniques drawn directly from the dense knowledge of the Huangdi Neijing the system had bestowed upon him.
Next came the abdomen: Zhongwan, Qihai…. Xiao Tian pressed systematically, guiding positive energy through the body to strengthen vitality.
For half an hour, his hands moved like flowing water. The mighty Poison Douluo—customarily a man of venom, cruelty, and grimaced agony—actually sighed. His rigid body softened, and his long-held tension ebbed. A look of rare comfort flickered across his features.
Never before had such simple motions eased his suffering so thoroughly.
But that was just the beginning.
Xiao Tian withdrew several silver needles, purifying each one over fire before arranging them between his fingers. "This next part will sting," he warned. "Half an hour only. After this, the torment you endure every night will be greatly lessened. You may suffer pain, but it won't make you feel like dying anymore."
Dugu Yan's heart jumped. "What do you mean? Are you saying my grandfather's nights…"
"Go on, boy," Dugu Bo muttered, hiding his unease.
Xiao Tian gave her a meaningful glance, then explained calmly: "Your grandfather's body is riddled with toxins—so much so that ordinary logic says he should have died long ago. Something sustains his life, but the venom continues to ravage him. As I see it, twice a day—at noon and at midnight—the poison surges most violently. His body convulses, pains stab his soles and skull like countless needles. Half an hour of torture each time."
He looked back toward Dugu Bo and spoke deliberately: "Am I wrong?"
Dugu Yan's face blanched, her hands clenched tight. "Grandpa…" she whispered.
Dugu Bo's lips pressed into a hard line. He didn't deny it.
"And," Xiao Tian continued, "there are times he mysteriously vanishes from the city, aren't there?"
Dugu Yan blinked, startled. "…Yes."
"Don't worry. He's survived this long, hasn't he?" The boy's tone softened, though his piercing eyes lingered knowingly on Dugu Bo. "But mark me, Senior… if you continue to only 'cope,' the poison will devour you and her both."
The old man gave no response. He refused to speak of the hidden valley of herbs that had kept him alive, his most guarded secret. Not until this boy truly proved himself.
Xiao Tian sighed inwardly and turned his focus back to the treatment. One by one, he slid delicate needles into Hegu, Zusanli, Taichong, and dozens of other vital points. Energy coursed like trickling rivers through the frail but resilient body of the Poison Douluo.
Almost instantly, sweat bristled across Dugu Bo's skin. More than sweat—it was venom itself. Through the thin silver needles, streams of purple liquid oozed out, seething and sizzling as wisps of smoke curled upward. Even the bed sheets hissed, scorched by their corrosive touch.
Dugu Yan's knuckles went white in horror. "Grandpa!"
"Don't panic!" Xiao Tian steadied her with a firm voice. "This is good. The poison that corrodes him is finally purging out."
Time dragged like hours, yet in reality it was only thirty minutes.
At last, Xiao Tian raised two fingers, flicking them with practiced control. The silver needles shivered, leapt from Dugu Bo's body, and dissolved instantly into dust. The intense toxins had nearly destroyed their fine structure; no ordinary needles could have lasted through the procedure.
"How do you feel, Senior?" Xiao Tian asked, quiet confidence in his tone.
For a moment, the room was nothing but silence broken by the poison master's heavy breathing. Then Dugu Bo exhaled long and deep. His eyes opened—not bleary, not fatigued. Instead, an aura surged outward.
Like a storm unleashed, soul power erupted. The very walls trembled.
Ninety-two!
The poisonous sovereign had broken through.
Dugu Yan gasped, retreating a step in shock. Even she could feel the immense change.
Dugu Bo stood, staring at his own hands as if they belonged to a stranger. Power pulsed through him, alive and boiling. He turned abruptly and locked his gaze on Xiao Tian. "I… broke through? How?"
Xiao Tian chuckled lightly. "It's simple. You've been stagnating at level ninety-one for years. The advancement was there—you just never noticed. All your willpower was spent suppressing your pain, holding down the poison gnawing inside you. But now that I've relieved part of the burden, the shackles broke. You advanced naturally."
The old man was stunned. A lifetime of torment, undone in half an hour—and with it, a breakthrough that he'd long since given up hope on.
But Xiao Tian's next words pierced that fleeting euphoria.
"Don't celebrate too quickly, Senior. The stronger your cultivation grows, the fiercer the Jade Phosphorus Snake King's venom becomes. Relief is not enough. If you want to live long—and if you want Yanyan to survive—you cannot just suppress the poison. You must conquer it, completely."
His words rang like prophecy.
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