Chapter 66: Recruiting Dugu Bo

After a while, Dugu Bo recovered and walked into the cave.

He discovered that Nan Feihuang had already fallen asleep and was not in Meditation to recover; he figured he must be truly exhausted, with both his soul power and mental energy severely depleted, to the point where he didn't even have the capacity for Meditation.

Dugu Bo looked at Nan Feihuang's youthful face, took off his own robe, and covered him with it. "What a foolish boy. Do you really think that with your meager soul power, even if you exhausted it all, it would be of any use to me?"

The soul power Nan Feihuang had just channeled into Dugu Bo could at most alleviate his pain for less than three seconds; what truly brought him relief was the blood that had fused with the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Blazing Apricot Delicate.

It was this blood that significantly suppressed the virulent poison within his body.

This allowed him to recover in less than a quarter of an hour, whereas the pain would have otherwise lasted for one or two hours.

However, Nan Feihuang's actions deeply moved the Old Poison. For so many years, every time the virulent poison flared up, he had always endured the convulsions alone; this was the first time someone had helped him like this.

Dugu Bo sat down beside Nan Feihuang and slowly closed his eyes.

Time flew by; about a month had passed since arriving at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. During this period, Nan Feihuang had made all the preparations for detoxification and had begun to concoct the medicine to suppress the poison, using his own blood—which had consumed the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Blazing Apricot Delicate—as the medicinal primer.

Ever since consuming these two Immortal Grade Herbs, his Golden Body had become impervious to water and fire, immune to all poisons, and the blood in his body also possessed great benefits for detoxification.

Nan Feihuang's method for detoxifying Dugu Bo was to treat the symptoms first and the root cause later. The first step was the same as in the original work by Tang San: to find a carrier for the virulent poison within his body. Dugu Bo happened to possess a poison-attribute Medusa Skull, which was the perfect place to store the poison.

The detoxifying medicine he refined had extremely obvious effects; one could see that Dugu Bo's originally emerald-green hair and beard were turning toward a grayish-white.

This was a sign that the toxins were gradually fading away.

The original six-month timeframe was Nan Feihuang's conservative estimate, but judging by the current progress, four or five months would be enough.

Beside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, two figures, one old and one young, woke up from Entering Stillness. Dugu Bo took a deep breath, felt the increasingly surging soul power in his body, and sighed, "Xiaofeijiang, what kind of sacred being is your master, Zuo Ci? This Golden Body Art technique is truly remarkable. If mastered, the boost to one's physique would likely not be inferior to a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring or soul bone, and it even possesses the effect of being immune to all poisons."

"I'm sorry, Old Poison, but my master has instructed that apart from his name, his other information cannot be disclosed at will. I dare not disobey my master's orders!" Nan Feihuang smiled. He had said what he could, but there were some things he decided to keep buried in his heart.

"Forget it if you won't say; I don't care." Dugu Bo turned his head away in a haughty manner. He didn't actually mind; everyone had their own secrets. Furthermore, since Nan Feihuang's master could create such a formidable technique, his power was likely at an unfathomable level.

Since such a person did not wish to be revealed to the public, it would be tactless of him to continue prying.

"Old Poison, actually, the Daoist Golden Body Art you are practicing is incomplete. My master only gave me the part that could help you detoxify. How about this: why don't you register your name in my Gu Lei Kingdom? You still owe me two conditions, don't you? When I see my master next time, I will ask him to pass on the full set of the Golden Body Art to me, and then I will teach it to you, how about that?" Nan Feihuang said.

He deliberately gave only a portion of the technique to pique Dugu Bo's interest. Having witnessed the divine arts in the Dunjia Heavenly Book, Nan Feihuang did not believe he could resist continuing to practice it.

Dugu Bo was both hesitant and tempted. The thing he hated most was having his freedom restricted, but his curiosity about this technique made him restless.

Seeing Dugu Bo's struggle, Nan Feihuang laughed, "Old Poison, I know your personality; you love freedom. I can guarantee that I am only asking you to register your name in my country. I will absolutely not arrange any work for you, nor will I force you to stay in the country. You can go wherever you want. Besides, in addition to the Daoist Golden Body, I have another gift for you. I won't say anything else, but I guarantee that with this, you will be able to beat your old rival, Chrysanthemum Douluo, until he can't find north, and it can also assist you in cultivating to the Super Douluo stage."

"Really?" Dugu Bo was completely tempted upon hearing this; he was often bullied by that Ju Hua Guan.

Although in most cases it wouldn't cost him his life, being beaten until he was battered and bruised was not pleasant either.

He had long wanted to properly pay back that Chrysanthemum Douluo.

Besides, if it was just registering his name without restricting his freedom, it didn't violate his principles.

The grace of saving his life plus the grace of teaching him the art was something he could never repay. Nan Feihuang's request was not high, or rather, it was already within his expectations.

He was one of the few independent Title Douluo; as long as it was a major power, there was none that didn't want to recruit him. It was very normal for Nan Feihuang to try to recruit him.

It was just that he didn't expect the conditions Nan Feihuang offered to be so generous.

"Xiaofeijiang, let me consider it." Dugu Bo spoke only after a moment of silence.

Although he yearned for greater strength, he also yearned for freedom and did not want to be burdened by a faction.

Nan Feihuang knew that his heart had already wavered and it was not good to push too hard at this moment, so he immediately nodded and said, "Alright, Old Poison. Anyway, I have to stay here for half a year, so you have enough time to consider. However, please remember that the gates of my Gu Lei Kingdom will always be open for you. This is a guarantee from me, the future king."

"Thank you!" Dugu Bo revealed a smile. The number of times he had said these two words in his life could be counted on one hand, but today, he was sincerely expressing his gratitude to Nan Feihuang.

After a long talk, the friendship between this old man and the young boy grew even deeper.

In the following days, the look in Dugu Bo's eyes when he looked at Nan Feihuang became increasingly kind, as if he were looking at his own grandson.

As for Nan Feihuang, he practiced while also learning some knowledge about alchemy.

In fact, many of the herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well could be used for alchemy, but refining Immortal Grade divine pills required extremely high alchemy skills. In any case, Nan Feihuang couldn't do it now; for the past few years, his focus had been entirely on cultivation and detoxification.

Energy was limited; even for him, it was impossible to learn so many things in a short time.

Therefore, he decided to take those true Immortal Grade herbs back for Dian Wei and the others to consume first.

After all, the earlier one consumes Immortal Grade Herbs, the better the effect. If he waited until he learned alchemy, they might already be at least Spirit Saints or Soul Emperors, and by then, the effects of the Immortal Grade Herbs would diminish.

This alchemy skill was prepared as a foundation for his future power.

In fact, there were plenty of Immortal Grade Herbs in this Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, far more than those Tang San gave to the Shrek Seven Devils in the original work. One must know that he had plucked the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well bare; how could there be only those few?

It was just that those were the ones mainly suitable for the Shrek Seven Devils.

Nan Feihuang planned to take what he needed first, and let the rest continue to grow here. When he became proficient in alchemy, he would pick them and bestow the pills upon his future subordinates. Anyway, after Dugu Bo's virulent poison was cleared, he would likely no longer have any intersection with Tang San, and Nan Feihuang would not let Tang San obtain this treasure land.

(End of chapter)