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Su Wen turned toward the voice and saw Dugu Bo clothed in a dark-green robe.
Even the man's beard and hair had taken on a greenish tint — a sign that the toxin had invaded his body. Su Wen understood instantly what that meant.
"Grandfather!" Dugu Yan said, stepping forward to support Dugu Bo's arm and shake him gently.
Dugu Bo's expression softened in an instant. He patted Dugu Yan's head and asked, with obvious concern, about how she'd been doing at the academy lately.
"Grandfather, this is Xiao Wen — the one I told you about," Dugu Yan introduced Su Wen.
"Your Highness Dugu Mianxia." Su Wen and Xiao Zhan bowed at the same time.
"Young man," Dugu Bo said, "what you just said — I can pretend I didn't hear it. But about our Yan'er being poisoned, I don't want you blabbing about that everywhere." He glanced sharply at Su Wen.
He had never believed anyone could surpass him in the study of poisons, let alone solve problems he himself couldn't resolve.
Dugu Bo's face hardened. Soul power surged outward and a terrifying pressure spread through the area.
"Get out!" he barked.
His glare swept the crowd and three or four shadows slipped backward, retreating in the direction of Tiandou City.
Su Wen was speechless.
So those were the royal guards Prince Qianrunxue had arranged to be publicly assigned to the Tiandou royal household. For a moment he'd even thought they were addressing him.
"Senior, I am curious about Yan-jie's condition, and I have some ideas," Su Wen said.
This was an opportunity he wasn't about to miss.
He wanted to reach Level Forty within the next year and a half — without the support of immortal herbs he couldn't guarantee it, and he didn't want to stall. Immortal herbs were most effective when taken earlier; by the time a soul power reached the seventies or eighties, their benefit would be reduced, and a martial soul would already have taken shape.
The soul-respect stage was the best time to take such herbs.
"Hmph!" Dugu Bo snorted. The remnant pressure from his recent outburst still pressed heavily on Su Wen.
"Do you think your grasp of poison could surpass mine?" he said coldly.
Su Wen felt a tangible, suffocating oppression — but he remained composed. "Poison Douluo, I may know little of toxin lore, but I understand martial-soul theory quite well."
At that, Dugu Bo reined in his pressure. He'd heard Dugu Yan mention Su Wen's theoretical talent before; though Dugu Yan's knowledge of Su Wen's ability was limited, it was enough to prompt Dugu Bo to pay attention. He hadn't actually believed a youngster could offer anything truly useful, but he didn't cut Su Wen off outright — he gave him a chance.
Su Wen went on. "If I'm not mistaken, the venom of the Biling Snake is far too potent. Because it's a beast martial soul, frequent possession during cultivation allows the toxin to erode the cultivator from the inside."
Xiao Zhan coughed violently. Please, can I opt out?
Dugu Bo's eyes flicked over. "What, are you afraid I'll kill to silence him? Fine — speak. I want to see what he thinks."
Su Wen continued, "More, I suspect this backlash worsens as cultivation progresses; the toxin accumulates in the body and can erupt fatally at any time."
He didn't recall such a detailed description from the original text, and he wasn't an expert in these matters — but he wouldn't bluff. Dugu Bo's attention wavered; he didn't immediately see Su Wen's words as novel.
"I won't pretend to outdo Your Highness on the toxin itself," Su Wen said. "But the issue isn't only the poison — fundamentally it's the relationship between the martial soul and the soul master. On martial-soul theory I do have some insight."
He spoke confidently and articulately.
"First — and this is the simplest idea — introduce an external medium to absorb or devour the toxin. For instance, solidified soul force that a titled Douluo might cultivate. It might not completely neutralize the internal toxins, but it could greatly alleviate the condition."
The Poison Douluo frowned and looked at Xiao Zhan. "You teach him everything, do you? He's only a soul-respect yet knows the titled Douluo's cultivation methods?"
Xiao Zhan flushed awkwardly and wished Su Wen would stop guessing things out loud. If word got out that Dugu Bo's secret was known, they'd both be in trouble.
"Of course, that's only a palliative," Su Wen continued. "Solidified soul force is rare and only a titled Douluo can reliably possess it. But there are better substitutes — something more effective than solidified soul force, such as channeling the toxin into a singular receptacle within the body."
He explained that although the toxin penetrates all organs, it could be guided and concentrated; however, concentrating it into a bodily organ is risky.
Dugu Bo's expression turned disdainful.
Before he could speak, Su Wen went on: "I don't think the body itself should be the storage. My thought is to use a soul bone instead."
A soul bone? Dugu Bo was taken aback. That was an idea he had not considered.
He'd always thought to gather the toxin into poison pills — strengthening the pill while also relieving the body. He hadn't tried using a soul bone as a reservoir.
Theoretically it might work.
"But that's still only treating the symptom," Su Wen admitted.
Dugu Bo looked at him in surprise. If the toxin could be directed into a soul bone persistently over time, that could indeed solve the backlash issue.
The limitation of his poison pills had been their fixed capacity. When soul power couldn't break through, the pill could only ingest a limited amount of toxin; the remainder accumulated, preventing further breakthroughs — a vicious cycle. But a soul bone seemed not to have that storage cap.
A soul bone absorbed by a soul master becomes part of them while remaining an external object — perhaps there wouldn't be a storage limit. If the soul bone were toxin-attribute, its soul skill might even be enhanced.
Couldn't that be a true cure?
"This method only solves the issue for individuals, not the root cause — the origin of martial-soul toxin backlash," Dugu Bo said. "Currently your clan benefits from having the Poison Douluo on their side; they might be able to allocate soul bones to members. But future Dugu clan soul masters may not enjoy such privileges."
Dugu Bo didn't seem concerned. He was content if he and his granddaughter lived well — what came after that was for future generations to worry about.
Su Wen read the man's attitude. If he could refine the method of channeling toxin into soul bones, he would be satisfied — but he recognized it wouldn't be sufficient to get him into the herb gardens. He wanted more.
"Your Highness—" Dugu Yan began.
"You may call me Grandpa Dugu," Dugu Bo interrupted.
Su Wen blinked. He felt a bit taken advantage of. He'd been trying to speak to him as a peer — now he was asked to call him grandfather? No way.
"I actually have an idea toward a genuine cure," Su Wen said.
"Oh? Tell me," Dugu Bo replied, curiosity edging into his voice. The lad's theoretical talent might be better than he'd assumed.
(End of Chapter)