With a flick of his sleeve, Dugu Bo leapt straight off the cliff into the bottomless chasm before them.
Having done this once before, Li Chang'an followed smoothly, diving after him into the abyss below…
The wind howled violently past him. Li Chang'an had no doubt that without Dugu Bo's protection, a fall from this height would end with his body shattered into pieces.
Fortunately, while they were still midair, Dugu Bo released a wave of immense soul power, wrapping it around him. The next instant, Li Chang'an's descent slowed, and he landed gently on the ground.
As the mist dispersed, the scene before him became clear—they stood in a secluded valley, where a pool of water split distinctly into two colors.
It was a twin spring—half icy, half boiling hot. The thick steam that rose to the mountaintop above originated here, constantly swirling upward until it thinned and vanished near the summit.
"Grandfather, why did you bring me here?" Li Chang'an asked, puzzled.
"To marry Yanyan," Dugu Bo replied seriously, "you need a body immune to all poisons. With your current constitution, that's not enough."
As he spoke, he pointed toward the two immortal herbs growing on opposite sides of the twin spring. His meaning was unmistakable.
The poison of the Jade Phosphor Serpent family was not something that merely harmed its wielder—it endangered anyone too close to them.
Even prolonged contact could lead to accidental poisoning. When a body carried toxins within, it was only natural that close physical contact would transmit that poison to another.
It was, in essence, like a contagious venom.
That was why the Dugu family always chose marriage partners whose Martial Souls possessed poison resistance.
Yet even so, after years of constant exposure, the toxins would accumulate faster than the body could adapt. Wives and husbands alike eventually succumbed to the Jade Phosphor Serpent's venom.
Dugu Bo's own wife, his son, and daughter-in-law—all had died from their own bloodline's poison.
At first, Dugu Bo thought Li Chang'an's Martial Soul was the same as his—another Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor—and thus immune to his granddaughter's venom. But upon closer understanding, he realized the boy's Martial Soul was not purely serpentine at all.
It was a half-snake, half-sword Martial Soul—a rare, positive mutation.
While it carried the traits of a serpent, it was primarily a weapon-type Martial Soul. He couldn't perform full Martial Soul possession as a beast-type user could. That meant Li Chang'an wouldn't produce poison as they did, but it also meant his poison resistance was probably no better than an ordinary person's.
If he were ever to consummate his relationship with Dugu Yan, Dugu Bo feared he would inevitably be poisoned—and die young, leaving behind yet another tragedy.
To prevent such a fate, Dugu Bo had sternly forbidden his granddaughter from "doing that sort of thing" with Li Chang'an. His intentions, at least, were earnest and well-meaning.
And today, he intended to fix that problem once and for all.
Li Chang'an had once told him that the two immortal herbs growing beside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—one ice, one fire—could be taken together to forge a body immune to all poisons, a Golden Body of Hundred Venoms Immunity.
At the time, Dugu Bo had doubted the claim. But after confirming the authenticity of the immortal herbs, he decided to let Li Chang'an try it.
As for why he wouldn't take them himself—Li Chang'an had warned that the herbs' medicinal power could neutralize even the poison within one's Martial Soul.
If that happened, the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor would lose its venom. And without poison, it would no longer be the same Martial Soul—it would be crippled.
Thus, Li Chang'an was the only suitable person to take them.
What Dugu Bo didn't know, however, was that Li Chang'an feared no poison at all.
His unique variant Martial Soul could absorb toxins directly. No matter how deadly the poison, his Martial Soul could purify and integrate it into his strength.
In fact, he could even cleanse the chronic poison plaguing the Dugu family.
But such a solution would only be temporary—removing the poison didn't change the fact that their Martial Souls generated it anew each time they used their powers.
It was like sealing poison into a soul bone: a short-term fix, not a cure. Li Chang'an hadn't mentioned this yet; he intended to wait until he reached godhood to find a way to permanently resolve their bloodline curse.
Ironically, Dugu Bo's misunderstanding—that he feared poison—led him to prepare this ritual to grant Li Chang'an a poison-immune body.
In truth, it was perfect timing.
Li Chang'an had been worried that a single immortal herb might not be enough to strengthen his body to the level required for the upcoming Seagod's Light Trial at Sea God Island. And now, without him even asking, Dugu Bo had brought him exactly what he needed.
It was an opportunity too good to refuse.
Only a fool would turn it down.
With a wave of his hand, Dugu Bo summoned a white, eight-pointed flower from the center of the cold spring. The moment it was plucked, an icy chill swept across the valley, frosting the surrounding herbs in thin white crystals.
Though this plant was also an immortal herb, it was not a beneficial one—it was lethally poisonous.
Even a powerful being like Poison Douluo Dugu Bo dared not linger near it for long.
This was the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, an extremely rare frigid blossom capable of freezing the heart and paralyzing the nervous system. Within ten meters of it, the cold aura could pierce the body and cause irreversible frost poisoning.
Simply being near it for too long could be fatal—let alone consuming it.
After cutting the Ice Grass with a blade of soul power, Dugu Bo turned toward the opposite side of the well—the blazing spring.
This time, his target was a fiery-red plant shaped like a cabbage. Channeling his soul power into a glowing rope, he hooked the herb by its stem and yanked it out of the molten soil.
This was the Blazing Apricot, a fiery counterpart to the Ice Grass. It contained extreme heat poison, capable of surviving even in magma. Its effects were the direct opposite of the Ice Grass—one was pure cold, the other pure fire.
Then, Dugu Bo brought his hands together.
At once, the two immortal herbs—one of ice, one of flame—floated toward each other under his control.
A miraculous scene unfolded before them.
As the two met, the opposing forces of scorching heat and bone-chilling cold did not explode. Instead, both extremes vanished at once.
A faint red glow surrounded the Ice Grass, while a soft white mist shrouded the Blazing Apricot. The two had begun to merge, harmonizing with each other.
Seeing this, Dugu Bo finally breathed a sigh of relief. The ancient records had warned that the method of consuming these herbs was extremely dangerous. If the instructions were wrong, Li Chang'an would have died on the spot.
But now, witnessing the two herbs merge peacefully just as Li Chang'an had described, he was convinced that the records—and the boy's knowledge—were correct.
"Chang'an, there's no time to waste. Take them now!" Dugu Bo urged.
Once fused, the two herbs would suppress each other's toxicity—but only for ten breaths. After that, their energy would collapse entirely.
Those ten breaths were the perfect window for consumption.
Li Chang'an nodded firmly. Without hesitation, he strode forward, grabbed both herbs at once, and stuffed them into his mouth.
He chewed quickly—fire and ice clashing in his throat—and finally swallowed everything down.
(End of Chapter)
────────────────────────────────────
"If you want early access to nearly 60+ chapters, join my patreon:- patreon.com/BaDwYGaMeR"