N-A-A Chapter 74 Uninvited Guest
Chapter 74 Uninvited Guest
Xiao Yan slowly raised his head. Surrounded by purple aura, although the room was somewhat dark, his eyes were still piercing as he stared directly at the beam at the top of the room.
That chilling aura clung to the air like a maggot, carrying a faint, almost imperceptible, sweet-smelling odor—the distinctive scent of deadly poison.
The moment Koromon sensed danger, it evolved into Agumon.
"Agumon, don't make any rash moves," Xiao Yan said in a low voice, gently pressing his palm on the head of the little beast beside him, signaling it to lie down quietly.
Just then, a hoarse and deep voice came from the roof beam: "Boy, your senses are quite sharp, you were able to detect my presence."
Before the words were finished, a green figure landed gracefully like a ghost. It wore dark green clothes and had dark green hair. Its eyes gleamed with an eerie green light, like a venomous snake coiled in the dark night.
The person who appeared had scale-like patterns faintly visible through the cuffs of his sleeves, and his body exuded a nauseating stench mixed with the strange smell of herbs.
It was none other than Dugu Bo, the Poison Douluo renowned throughout the world for his poisons, who was by Prince Xuexing's side during the day.
"Junior Xiao Yan greets Senior Poison Douluo." Xiao Yan stood up and bowed respectfully. He hadn't expected that while he was still thinking about how to approach the other party, the other party had come to him first.
"I wonder if your visit so late at night is to instruct a junior, or... to test my resistance to poison?" Xiao Yan frowned slightly, because he could already feel the uncomfortable aura around him.
Dugu Bo's lips curled up slightly, revealing a mocking smile: "What a quick-witted young man. It's rare to see someone so young with such a high level of soul power, and who dares to face me without fear."
The Heavenly Dou Royal Family sent me to find you, saying you have extraordinary potential and that if you pledge allegiance to the Royal Family, you will receive countless resources and have a limitless future.
Xiao Yan chuckled lightly: "So, senior, you've come as a persuader? With the esteemed status of Poison Douluo, sneaking into the academy dormitory in the dead of night, just to recruit a student for the Heaven Dou royal family?"
Dugu Bo's eyes turned slightly cold: "I always act according to my own will. The royal family's intentions are merely a side note."
"I just don't know which member of the royal family you are here for this time, senior. Years ago, His Highness Crown Prince Xue Qinghe had already expressed his intention to recruit Xiao Yan." Xiao Yan naturally knew it was the Xue Beng lineage, but he asked this question on purpose.
"That's their business, it has nothing to do with me, but..." A cold glint flashed in his eyes, "There's an aura about you that makes me very uncomfortable."
Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow but remained silent.
"The lingering chill of the far north." Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes. "Moreover, you absorbed a soul ring with some kind of extreme attribute, right? It was fire with a violent edge, yet mixed with a trace of ice. This shouldn't be something your level of cultivation could withstand."
Dugu Bo was clearly thinking of the feeling in the Yin-Yang Eye of Ice and Fire.
Xiao Yan felt a chill run down his spine. Although Dugu Bo was the goalkeeper, he truly lived up to his title of Title Douluo. He had actually sensed the chill emanating from Xiao Yan's spirit ring just from his own attack today.
"Senior has keen insight," Xiao Yan said frankly. "I spent a year cultivating in the far north and luckily obtained a soul ring from a Titan Snow Demon Ape. I did get some cold poison along the way, but I have already refined it."
"Refine it?" Dugu Bo sneered. He clearly did not believe that the poisons of the world could be so easily neutralized.
Dugu Bo suddenly raised his hand, and a wisp of pale green mist floated out from his fingertips, condensing into a thin snake shape in the air, which lunged towards Xiao Yan's face.
It was extremely fast, arriving almost instantly.
However, Xiao Yan simply waved his hand, scattering a handful of orange-red powder and a bottle of wine from the Twenty-Four Heavenly Caves. The Agu Beast beside him seized the opportunity to spit out a small fireball, instantly burning away the poisonous mist, and a burnt smell immediately filled the air.
A hint of surprise flashed in Dugu Bo's eyes. "To be able to break my 'Azure Phosphorous Serpent Mist' so easily, it seems you are far more extraordinary than you appear."
"Is it really that hard to detoxify? Realgar combined with strong liquor and flames, although it's a bit troublesome, it's too easy to break your snake venom." Xiao Yan said frankly. This Dugu Bo didn't even use his soul skills, he just made a casual move. If he couldn't even cure this kind of poison, how could he go to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well?
"Kid, you know quite a lot." Dugu Bo squinted at Xiao Yan in the room.
Xiao Yan suddenly stepped forward and said, "Since you were able to sense a trace of cold poison from me, I also smelled a scent from you, Poison Douluo."
"Oh?" Dugu Bo gestured for the other party to continue.
"Corrupted blood, withered veins, and stagnant toxins in the five internal organs—the poison from the predecessor has already backfired on him, leaving him terminally ill. He is now merely clinging to life."
The air froze instantly upon hearing this.
Dugu Bo's pupils contracted, and the poisonous gas around him surged instantly, his anger rising: "What did you say?!"
Although he was aware of his own body, he felt humiliated to hear it from a child who was only a teenager.
"I'll speak," Xiao Yan said, looking directly into his eyes without backing down. "If you don't find a way to eradicate the poison from your body, perhaps you can remain unharmed thanks to your Title Douluo cultivation. But your granddaughter, Dugu Yan, cultivates the art of poison, and her foundation is not yet stable. If something happens to her, do you think you can protect her?"
Dugu Bo was startled, his eyes flashing with a mixture of anger and disbelief: "How...how do you know all this?"
"Not only do I know these things," Xiao Yan slowly raised his hand, "I also know how to eliminate these toxins. However, I only know the method; for now, I have no other way to do it."
As soon as Xiao Yan finished speaking, the temperature in the room plummeted. This was not due to the cold, but rather because Dugu Bo was releasing his killing intent.
"Boy, don't try to outwit me with your words. I won't delve into how you knew Yanyan had this problem. But since you said you could solve it, and then immediately added that you had no solution, are you playing games with me?"
Xiao Yan was so overwhelmed by the pressure of the titled Douluo that he could hardly breathe and struggled to his feet.
"Your dark green hair is clearly proof that toxins have entered your body; your bone marrow is filled with the very poison you're so proud of. And your granddaughter, I noticed during the day today that her hair also shows signs of turning green... What else could this be but the inheritance of your poison?"
Xiao Yan finished speaking with great effort, but his eyes remained fixed on Dugu Bo.
"Besides, my so-called 'no solution' is because I know how to break the cycle, but treating an illness requires addressing the root cause. Do I seem to have a cure in hand?"
Dugu Bo's eyes flickered, and he withdrew his aura. With his hands behind his back, he asked calmly, "What medicinal herbs do you need?"
"There are too many. With what we have in Douluo Continent, there are many different dosages. I have to configure it according to what I have on hand. This is the optimal solution. If I give you a prescription now, you will spend time finding the ingredients, and the toxins in your and your granddaughter's bodies will worsen. Wouldn't that be a waste of time?"
"Does Senior possess such wealth to acquire all the medicinal herbs I requested in such a short time, or does Senior know a treasure trove of herbs? But Senior is so engrossed in the study of poisons, do you truly recognize those herbs as the ones I need?"
Xiao Yan was deliberately trying to coax him into revealing the information, because if he did, there was no guarantee that the other party wouldn't kill him immediately.
His meaning was already very clear; he was just short of telling Dugu Bo that he was taking me to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
Dugu Bo stared at him for a long time, then suddenly sighed: "Boy, you're smarter than I thought. You've piqued my interest but kept quiet about the antidote."
Very well, I might as well speak frankly. I do indeed know a treasure trove, but I truly don't recognize any of the medicinal herbs there.
Clearly, in Poison Douluo's view, it was no big deal that he, a Soul Master who prided himself on his poison skills, couldn't recognize those medicinal herbs, so he readily admitted it.
"I only saw it by sheer luck. Now, you shall come with me."
Without waiting for Xiao Yan's reply, Dugu Bo grabbed one of them in each hand and left the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.