Truly unfortunate, Dugu Bo sighed inwardly, his granddaughter was really a bit too old for him, otherwise, to say nothing of playing matchmaker for them, he wouldn’t even even hesitate cooking the rice before planning the meal[ Original idiom is “the rice is cooked”, meaning “what’s done is done and too late to change”. In this case the meaning is probably that he would aim for a shotgun marriage.].
The red and white lights gradually faded under Tang San’s skin, that pitch black little hammer also merging back into his body, immediately followed by the external spirit bone Eight Spider Lances, and finally the Blue Silver Grass. Tang San’s complexion also gradually recovered to normal.
“Many thanks for your leniency.”
Tang San leapt up from the ground, once again with a small smile on his face.
Even though he had removed the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor’s poison, Tang San knew that it was only a fraction of the poison in Dugu Bo’s own body. The intensity of the toxin was directly proportional to its quantity, and even powerful poison wouldn’t be a threat in insufficient amounts. Dugu Bo had clearly started of leniently. Of course, Dugu Bo didn’t know that even this was in Tang San’s calculations.
When Tang San saw Dugu Bo give Grandmaster’s trio the antidote and letting them leave, he knew that Dugu Bo wouldn’t rashly try to kill him. This was a significant reason for why he chose to try and resist the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor’s poison.
With this time’s success, his body’s ability to withstand poison had increased substantially, and the next time Dugu Bo wanted to use the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor’s poison on him it wouldn’t be so easy.
Chapter 067: Ice Fire Protection, Hundred Poison Relief
Part 1 (TL by Bagelson)
The expression on Dugu Bo’s face vanished, again returning to the previous chill. Indifferently looking at Tang San, he said:
“What did you eat here that makes you fearless even before my Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor poison?”
Tang San didn’t hide it, saying:
“After you brought me here yesterday, I thought it over several times and took the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Precious Apricot.”
“Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, Infernal Precious Apricot? What are those?”
Dugu Bo had never even heard these two names.
Tang San nodded,
“They’re two kinds of poisonous herbs that grew on precisely opposite sides of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, each absorbing the essence of the extreme yin or extreme yang to grow.”
Listening to Tang San’s explanation, Dugu Bo seemed to recall something,
“You’re speaking of those two plants with extreme cold and torrid heat? Those two could be eaten?”
Because of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Precious Apricot’s somewhat special nature, he clearly remembered these two plants. Those two were just two of many plants around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
He had tried it out before, and even with his spirit power he was unable to stay too long next to any kind of poisonous plant. Dugu Bo knew that these two kinds of herbs both contained cold and fire poison.
Extremely potent.
As a result of not being clear on their medicinal properties, he had never used them rashly.
Because there was only one each of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Precious Apricot, Tang San didn’t fear letting Dugu Bo know,
“That’s right, these two kinds of plants are both poisonous. If an ordinary person got within ten meters of them, they would freeze or turn to ashes in a very short time, let alone eating them. However, just like yin and yang mutually subdues each other, ice and fire mutually controls each other. When these two kinds of herbs were mixed together, they neutralized each other, greatly reducing the toxicity. But that was also the only opportunity to take them. After taking them, the mutual rejection of ice and fire changed into mutually complementing each other, the effect transforming the body. Further using some methods to increase the absorption, the effect was Ice Fire Protection.”
“Good, good Ice Fire Protection.”
Dugu Bo looked at Tang San with a moved gaze, inwardly somewhat hesitant.
Although he wasn’t clear on the method of taking the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Precious Apricot, he knew the medicinal properties of these two kinds of plants were extremely potent, and naturally he understood Tang San couldn’t have fully absorbed their properties already. If he drank his blood, perhaps…… Only, he said these two plants had to be absorbed with a special method, and he didn’t know what that was.
Thinking of this, Dugu Bo probing asked:
“And you relied on these to restrain my three kinds of poison?”
Tang San smiled calmly, saying:
“One could say so. Old freak, after you brought me here I discovered how you could survive the poison side effects. It’s precisely because of this Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well’s effect. The extremely cold yin water and blazing hot yang water have an extremely potent suppressive effect on all poison. The spring waters themselves are even more inimical to poison, and ordinary people would be unable to endure this environment, even a powerful spirit beast couldn’t survive. But to you this place is useful and harmless. It’s precisely the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well’s atmosphere that has restrained the poison within you. Even if cultivating here isn’t enough to dispel your poison, at least guaranteeing you will live to be a hundred is not problem. Only……”
Dugu Bo couldn’t help asking:
“Only what?”
Tang San sighed, saying:
“There was still another important reason I ate the Infernal Precious Apricot and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. It was to be able to live in this place. These two kinds of herbs mingled together is actually equivalent to a small scale Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, only its effect in fighting poison isn’t as terrifying as the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well itself. I have come up with two ways to remove your poison, the first is to simultaneously take these two kinds of herbs, and afterwards rely on your formidable spirit power to absorb their properties. Like that I have at least an eighty percent chance of being able to cure you.”
Dugu Bo’s expression gradually became ice cold,
“However, you’ve eaten them.”
Tang San smiled calmly:
“Old freak. Let me finish first.”
Since he dared confidently tell Dugu Bo about this, he was naturally reasonable,
“Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Precious Apricot are classified as immortal treasure precious herbs, even though they’re highly toxic, there’s no need to doubt the evaluation of these immortal treasures. True, they can dissolve the poison in your body, but at the same time it will get rid of your body poison skills, do you want that?”
“This……”
Dugu Bo looked distracted. He had originally thought to take the plan, but hearing Tang San’s words he immediately hesitated.
Tang San saw Dugu Bo vacillating, and said:
“It’s fine if you don’t believe me. My blood contains the properties of both herbs, I can draw some to let you try it. However, don’t blame me if your cultivation diminishes.”
“No need to try, you little freak.”
Dugu Bo said regretfully,
“How do you know this?”
Tang San said unruffled:
“I found a book when I was small, and within was written down a lot of strange things, the book had a golden section, and I learned all these things from the book.”
“Just now you said there were two methods of detoxifying me, what’s the other one?”
Dugu Bo asked.
Tang San said:
“I only have a sixty percent confidence in this second method, but it wouldn’t impact your strength. Of course, your granddaughter’s poisoning is still shallow, I have a hundred percent confidence in helping her recover. This method also isn’t complex. The reason you’re s
uffering the side effects is mainly because of your poison skill cultivation method. It would be fine if you possessed a tool spirit, all that would be required would be for you to condense the poison within your spirit, and all the issues would be easily resolved. But right now you have a beast spirit, and as a result the poison fuses with your body. Even though your spirit power is able to transfer and suppress it, it has already long ago become part of your body, thereby causing maximum harm to your body. If you want to retain the toxin in your body, without letting it injure you, you have to find a parasitic body to act as a repository for the poison. I think that with your strength you should have a spirit bone.”
Dugu Bo was also an old veteran with regards to poison, and immediately understood Tang San’s words, the jade light in his eyes brightening,
“You’re saying, that if I forced the poison in my body into my spirit bone, it wouldn’t harm me?”
Tang San nodded, saying:
“Just like that, and your granddaughter is the same. As long as you find her a suitable spirit bone, and have her force the poison into her spirit bone when cultivating poison skills, then there wouldn’t be any issues. Just like me right now, even though I possess poison in my body, it’s all within Blue Silver Grass and the external spirit bone Eight Spider Lances, so of course where wouldn’t be any issues for me.”
Dugu Bo frowned,
“This old man has cultivated the Jade Phosphor Serpent Spirit for seventy years, my body has already long ago fused with the poison. It won’t be easily forced out, it’s no good, perhaps the side effects will only grow worse. Little freak, you aren’t teaching me to commit suicide?”
Tang San indifferently said:
“This is the only feasible way. Of course you wouldn’t directly use spirit power to force it out, like you said, that wouldn’t have a good result, and would on the contrary cause even more powerful backlash. You have to do it in conjunction with certain medicines, gradually filtering out the poison in your bones and energy channels bit by bit, focusing it in the spirit bone. This is a very long process, not something that can be done in a day or two. After all, right now your whole body is poisonous. That’s why I say I only have a sixty percent certainty. Only one thing is certain, even if it’s impossible to gather all of your poison within the spirit bone, it will at least substantially alleviate the pain you have to endure right now, are you willing to try it?”
Dugu Bo looked at Tang San, a reserved light in his eyes,
“Little freak, I’ve wanted to kill you repeatedly, do you really want to help cure me? Aren’t you worried I will kill you after being detoxified?”
Hearing Dugu Bo say this, Tang San knew that he already believed him, and calmly said:
“Regardless of whether you believe me, I will never reject poison. On the contrary, I’m very fond of it. And there is perhaps only one person as poisonous as you on the entire Continent. As far as I’m concerned, the process of treating you is also an experimental process. As for whether you would renege, even though I can’t be sure, I can explicitly tell you that killing me will also mean your granddaughter’s death. I can treat you here, and when I treat your granddaughter I want to invite the teachers to observe. After treating her, there will be no relation between you and me. What do you think?”
Dugu Bo pondered it, saying:
“Fine. Little freak, there are very few people I admire, you are one. I believe you. We’ll do everything as you say. I, Dugu Bo, will always keep my word, and as long as you cure me and my granddaughter, there will be no issues with the three things I promised you, and I further won’t kill you. But, right now I’ll first ask you to eat this. My old life might not be of much value, but I still want to live a few more years. If you kill me, then I’ll take you with me.”
While speaking he opened his mouth, spitting out a green light, precisely a jade green pearl. Under Dugu Bo’s control the jade green pearl slowly floated over to Tang San. Tang San extended his right hand, letting it fall into his palm. He didn’t know precisely what this thing was, but he still clearly remembered that when Dugu Bo had eliminated the True Saint Dragon, this was what he had used.
Tang San said with a wry smile:
“Having me eat something you spit out, this seems a bit nauseating.”
Part 2 (TL by Bagelson)
Dugu Bo’s cold gaze swept across him,
“I’m not afraid of telling you that this pill was coagulated after my Jade Phosphor Serpent evolved to Serpent Emperor. One might say that it contains half of all my power. If I die it will burst inside your body. Let alone you, even a Title Douluo couldn’t endure such an internal explosion. You little freak is quite cunning, so this old man has no choice but to reserve some tricks.”
Tang San directly threw the pellet into his mouth and swallowed, suddenly feeling a warm flow down his throat, and a warmth in his dantian[ The dantian is the energy center two fingers below the navel.]. Not only wasn’t there any bad feeling, that hot feeling instead scattered into the bones of his four limbs, indescribably comfortable.
Dugu Bo indifferently said:
“You felt it. As long as you don’t play any tricks on me, the pellet will only benefit your cultivation, boosting your spirit power aggregation. Once you’ve cured me, I’ll remove it.”
“Old freak, I also have a condition.”
Tang San knew Dugu Bo hadn’t cheated him in this respect. Without investigating too much, at least right now he knew there was no danger to him. Judging by Dugu Bo’s affection for Dugu Yan, as long as he didn’t remove Dugu Yan’s poison, this old freak would hate to kill him.
Dugu Bo’s brows wrinkled minutely, his face showing a ridiculous expression,
“Little freak, did you know that in these last few decades you’re the only person who has dared make demands on me. Even that Heaven Dou emperor would be deferential when meeting me.”
Tang San still smiled, saying:
“Then wouldn’t what I’m enjoying now be an emperor’s treatment? Old freak, my condition is very simple: While I make the medicines for you, you can’t peek. This will be where I make the drugs. You only need to bring me a bit of food and drinking water every day. Afterwards you can come here every evening in the hours before your attacks to take the medicine. I don’t know how much time it will take to cure you. A conservative estimate is half a year or more.”
Dugu Bo nodded, naturally he knew Tang San was afraid he would learn the detoxifying method and kill him. To this meticulous youth in front of him, he didn’t know if he felt regret or admiration,
“Tang San, do you wish to take this old man as teacher?”
If it had been an ordinary Spirit Master, on hearing Dugu Bo’s words they might have shed tears of gratitude and immediately kneeled to become an apprentice. But Tang San didn’t, he only shot Dugu Bo a glance, saying:
“Old freak, I think this term of address suits you quite well, I wouldn’t want to change it. Besides, you think you can teach me anything about poison? Perhaps in some things you should be consulting me.”
“You…… Fine. Fine, little freak, we’ll wait and see who’s right.”
Dugu Bo resisted his anger, resolutely glaring at Tang San, then leapt up towards the mountain top. In a few leaps his silhouette had already disappeared.
With Dugu Bo gone, Tang San sat down on the ground as if he had lost all his strength, heaving great mouthfuls of air. He found that his back was ice-cold from sweat. Even if he had grasped Dugu Bo’s personality, deep in his heart he still didn’t have perfect confidence, and if by some chance the old freak went crazy in spite of everything, he’d immediately become a corpse.
Looking around him at all those rare and precious medicinal herbs, a small smile appeared at the corners of Tang San’s mouth, ‘Dugu Bo, oh, Dugu Bo, it seems I must thank you. There isn’t any place more perfect than this.’
Searching his chest pocket with a hand, he pulled out that Nine Segment Jade. With a trembling hand he directly threw it
at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
This Nine Segment Jade had sucked his blood. If it didn’t have the assistance of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, even though it was poisonous itself it would still die. But it could take refuge in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Tang San naturally wouldn’t show his secret escape route to Dugu Bo.
Feeling his stomach, Tang San couldn’t help smiling wryly. He knew he didn’t have any way of contending with that pellet. Let alone basically being unable to extract it, even if he could he still wouldn’t do it.
The pellet was linked to Dugu Bo’s heart’s blood, if he did something to it, Dugu Bo would discover it immediately, and he’d meet a dead end.
It was a pity, truly a pity. Tang San looked at the surrounding herbs, inwardly sighing in regret. Each immortal treasure here was unique, but as they said, delicacies didn’t have many uses.
Tang San knew that if he greedily ate any one of the great immortal treasure herbs, not only wouldn’t it be beneficial, he might immediately be out of luck.
Only after the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Precious Apricot had been absorbed as far as possible within his body could he think about it again.
Among the immortal treasure herbs were at least seven or eight kinds that could greatly boost his internal strength, at least advancing his spirit power by five ranks, or even more.
‘It doesn’t matter, can’t I still take what I can’t eat?’
Tang San showed a smiling expression, stretching out his hand to feel at his waist. In a moment, a mess of things was laid out on the ground. These things were largely some small cases and bottles, each one different from the next.
Gold, silver, copper, iron, jade, various kinds of cases and bottles were arranged on the ground.
These were all things Tang San had prepared long ago in order to go find herbs suitable for making poison for hidden weapons. The more precious the herbs, the higher the requirements for storing them.
Douluo Dalu - Volume 10 - Ice Fire Alchemical Body Page 6