Frank Talk: The Method of Poison Pills

"The immortal herb is the most precious treasure in the world. As the saying goes, this thing should only exist in heaven, how often can one hear of it in the mortal world?"

"Let's take this one as an example."

Ouyang Ling pointed to a patch of large pink flowers.

"This flower is called 'Fragrant Fairy Flower,' and it truly lives up to its name as the 'Anti-Poison', capable of neutralizing all toxins. Although it cannot cure poison, I dare say that your mortal poison is no match for it."

"Really?"

Dugu Bo didn't believe such a bluffing statement.

After glancing at it, he flicked his finger.

In an instant, a wisp of black mist shot towards the direction of the Fragrant Silk Immortal Item. But the moment it touched the pink light barrier, the black mist vanished.

"It really did counteract my deadly poison." At this moment, the facts were right in front of him, leaving Dugu Bo no choice but to believe it.

"Well, does that make you believe me now, senior?" Ouyang Ling smiled as he saw Dugu Bo return empty-handed.

"I believe you, I believe you." The surprise on Dugu Bo's face faded, replaced by admiration. If before it was because of Ouyang Ling's mentality and talent, then this time it was because of the character he displayed.

He sighed with a hint of感慨 (a sense of deep emotion), "You're quite frank, lad. I don't recognize these medicinal herbs at all; you could have easily taken them all. Who would have thought you'd tell me how precious they are?"

"I like you, lad. How about..." Suddenly, a playful yet sincere smile appeared on Dugu Bo's lips, "...I'll marry Yanyan to you?"

Ouyang Ling's heart skipped a beat, and he almost jumped up! "Hey, you old poisoner, don't mess with me!"

"Hey—don't you dare play matchmaker. Everyone knows Dugu is Tianheng's girlfriend."

Dugu Bo remained unmoved.

"You're much better than that kid."

Ouyang Ling's expression was serious, his face radiating righteous indignation. "He's my brother! Dugu is his woman."

"Nonsense! What woman!" Probably provoked by a certain term, Dugu Bo looked indignant. "They're not married! And I didn't agree to it!"

Ouyang Ling: "Freedom of marriage."

Dugu Bo glared angrily, clearly displeased.

"Bullshit! Who knows if that kid will still treat Yanyan well after he's completely won her over!"

After arguing for a while, seeing that the boy was unyielding and showed no sign of giving in, Dugu Bo couldn't help but feel a little regretful, and at the same time, he gave up the little thought that had just arisen. Then he changed the subject and asked Ouyang Ling about the immortal herbs whose names he didn't know.

Of course, it's just a simple name.

However, after asking, Dugu Bo became suspicious, "How do you know so much?"

The composed Ouyang Ling said, "Read more books."

Dugu Bo: "..."

If you don't want to talk about it, fine, but don't try to fool people.

Thinking of all these rare herbs, Dugu Bo couldn't help but sigh: He was guarding a treasure mountain without even realizing it!

Just then, Ouyang Ling interrupted Dugu Bo's thoughts, "Speaking of which, senior, didn't you promise to fulfill three conditions for me? What do you think if I said I wanted these immortal herbs?"

"Not good."

Without a second thought, Dugu Bo rejected the idea outright.

Ouyang Ling, taken aback, was speechless.

Is this a sign that you want to back out?

This old poisoner wouldn't be so tasteless, would he?

However, what Dugu Bo said next made Ouyang Ling realize that she hadn't been wrong.

Dugu Bo continued, "As I just said, you can use these herbs as you please." He pointed to a patch of medicinal herbs whose name he himself did not know.

"These magical herbs are also among the medicinal herbs."

Ouyang Ling raised an eyebrow slightly.

Wow! That's really generous!

"Even if I have to take it?"

"Even if you want to take it all, just leave the seed." Dugu Bo stood with his hands behind his back, exuding a magnanimous air.

"That's natural."

Regarding preserving offspring, Ouyang Ling believed it was only right. "Always leave a way out. When encountering rare and precious materials, one should not extinguish the lineage, so as to benefit future generations."

"and…"

He paused slightly, then turned his gaze to a Ganoderma lucidum shaped like a coiled dragon. "I can select a suitable immortal herb for Dugu. If he takes it, it might promote the evolution of his Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul. Even without poison skills, his future achievements won't be low."

Dugu Bo was taken aback upon hearing this, then overjoyed.

"Is there really such a thing as a magical herb?"

"Otherwise, why would it be called a 'miracle herb'?"

Ouyang Ling arrived at a rock wall and pointed to the strange Ganoderma lucidum he had his eye on. "This is a ninth-grade Dragon Ganoderma lucidum, said to have grown from being soaked in dragon blood. Once a dragon consumes this, it can transform into a dragon amidst the wind and clouds."

"Although Dugu's martial soul is a snake, if she eats it, she will inevitably transform into a venomous dragon, no weaker than your Azure Phosphorous Serpent Emperor. Once she becomes a Title Douluo, there might even be a chance to transform the dragon into a dragon. It's very suitable for her."

Dugu Bo was naturally very serious about his granddaughter.

His sharp gaze immediately locked onto the Ninth Grade Dragon Fungus.

How to eat it?

"It's simple, just pick it and swallow it."

Dugu Bo nodded, not in a hurry to act. Since consuming this immortal herb could transform one's martial soul, a suitable opportunity needed to be found, such as obtaining the fourth dragon-attribute soul ring, which would be a good excuse.

"That's it."

Once it was decided, Dugu Bo waved his hand.

"Young man, take whatever else you like. I only have Yanyan as family, and these immortal herbs are of little use to me."

Of course, that's a lie.

How could the herb be of little use?

"Senior! How generous!" Since Dugu Bo had said so, Ouyang Ling didn't stand on ceremony. Anyway, she'd find a suitable one for Dugu Bo later.

Now that Dugu Bo has been so willing to "pay," he can't shirk his responsibility. In any case, he has to at least provide a solution to the problem.

After careful consideration, Ouyang Ling spoke up, "Senior, I have two options regarding your situation."

Dugu Bo immediately became interested. He wanted to hear how to resolve his situation, how to preserve his poison skills while avoiding poisoning himself.

"The first method is to find a soul bone to store the toxins, and force all the toxins from your poison cultivation into the soul bone to prevent your snake venom from affecting you."

"However, this method has a drawback: the soul bone is ultimately an external object with a limit to its capacity. If you continue to improve your cultivation in the future, your poison will become stronger, eventually reaching the limit of the soul bone. In this case, unless you continue to search for other soul bones, the toxins will flow back into your body."

Dugu Bo frowned, realizing the difficulty and risk involved. "But my body has long been integrated with the poison. This poison is not easy to force out. If I'm not careful, the backlash might be even more severe."

"and…"

Thinking of soul bones, he couldn't help but shake his head. One soul bone was manageable, but where could he find many?

Ouyang Ling didn't know what Dugu Bo was thinking, but he answered his concerns about the backlash: "There's no need to worry about forcing out the poison; I have a solution."

After all, with the suppression of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well and the purification of the Deep Blue, simply forcing out the poison won't cause any problems.

Dugu Bo's concerns subsided, and after thinking for a moment,

"Tell me about the second method."

Ouyang Ling nodded. "The second method is to help you force all the poison in your body to your dantian with my help, thereby condensing a poison pill."

"A poison pill? I have one." With that, Dugu Bo opened his mouth, and a beam of green light shot out—a jade-green bead. "This is the pill that my Jade Phosphorous Serpent condensed when it evolved into the Serpent Queen."

Disliking the possibility of the visitor being drool-covered, Ouyang Ling didn't instinctively reach out to take it, but instead wrapped it with a water balloon.

Dugu Bo: "Hey! You're still complaining?"

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Ling rolled her eyes.

"Look at what you're saying, how novel!"

He took it, examined it for a moment, and then shook his head. He tossed the pearl back to Dugu Bo, saying, "This one won't do."

Why?

Dugu Bo took it and swallowed it again.

"Because this pill is formed from condensed soul power. Although it contains toxins, it's only because your soul power contains toxins. The poison pill I'm talking about is formed purely from the toxins from your cultivation of poison techniques."

"And even if you cultivate your poison skills to a higher level, the poison pill formed in this way, as a product of your own condensation, will theoretically have no upper limit."

"Of course."

Having explained the benefits, it's natural to also discuss the risks.

After a pause, Ouyang Ling continued, "To successfully condense a poison pill, firstly, you need sufficiently abundant soul power to compress the toxins into a pill. Secondly, your physical constitution must be strong enough to withstand the backlash from the toxins and survive for a period of time. If you can't withstand it, everything is over."

To be honest, this second method is pretty useless.

Because to use the Poison Pill technique, one must be a Soul Master who has cultivated poison arts to the title level. However, ordinary Soul Masters who choose to cultivate poison arts generally don't survive long enough to break through to the Title Douluo level. It can be said that this technique was tailor-made for Dugu Bo.

"I see."

Dugu Bo suddenly realized, "I've met the requirements?"

"It might not be quite right yet." Ouyang Ling shook his head, rejecting his statement. "Your cultivation level as a Title Douluo is indeed up to par, but given your situation, you'd need to reach the level of a 95-level Power Attack Type Title Douluo."

"Level 95!? Offensive type!?"

Dugu Bo was stunned when he heard this.

It's not his turn yet!

"Kid, are you kidding me with this second method?"

"Look at you, what's the rush?"

Ouyang Ling waved his hand, signaling Dugu Bo to calm down. "Directly improving your physical attributes won't work, but there are other methods. After all, you need strong physical attributes, just to help you withstand the backlash from the poison. I'll use the prepared medicine, along with my self-created soul skill, to help you get through it. You might even be able to advance further because of it."

After Dugu Bo deemed it feasible, he nodded in agreement, "Kid, then I'll leave it to you."

Ouyang Ling was not ambiguous either.

He nodded slightly. "Give me a few days."