Douluo Continent: Twin Souls of the Underworld, Holding the Power of Life and Death

"What if I told you I could cure the poison in your body?"

Dugu Bo's hand was suspended in mid-air.

The withered hand was only three inches away from Qian Anci's neck.

Those vertical pupils were fixed on the boy in front of him, who was no more than ten years old.

"What did you say?"

"The Azure Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul is a top-tier existence among poison-attribute martial souls."

I've read in the Spirit Hall's records that, unless they have a stroke of luck, it's very difficult for any Spirit Master with this Spirit to break through to the Title Douluo level.

Qian Anci's tone was very calm.

"Because of the characteristics of martial spirits, toxins will accumulate in the body as the cultivation level progresses until they reach the limit."

He paused.

"I also know your son. Not long ago, he and your poor daughter-in-law died from the venom of the Jade Phosphorus Snake, leaving only your granddaughter..."

The valley fell into a sudden, deathly silence.

Dugu Bo finally lowered his hand.

"...The intelligence on the Spirit Hall is quite detailed."

"The Spirit Hall's intelligence network covers the entire continent."

This isn't exactly a secret.

"You're not afraid of dying from snake venom."

Qian Anci continued.

"The only thing you're afraid of is your granddaughter."

She just turned seven this year and only recently awakened her martial soul; she hasn't even obtained her first soul ring yet. You don't want her to follow in your son's footsteps, do you?

"That's enough!"

Dugu Bo interrupted Qian Anci with a loud shout.

"What do you know! Even I, an old man, can't handle this, so what makes you, a mere brat, think you can...?"

Qian Anci did not answer.

He simply raised his right hand.

The Grim Reaper's Scythe coalesced in his palm, swirling with a greyish-white aura of death.

Dugu Bo's voice abruptly stopped.

Qian Anci extended her left hand toward him, palm open.

"Give me your hand, because I have a way to suppress the toxins in your body, or even resolve the problem."

Dugu Bo stared at the hand, a hint of wariness flashing in his vertical pupils.

"Give me your hand? Kid, do you think I'm a three-year-old?"

He sneered and grabbed Qian Anci's wrist with his other hand.

"Since you say you can solve it, then try my poison first. As long as you don't die, I will believe you."

A wisp of dark green poisonous mist emerged from his fingertips and seeped into Qian Anci's wrist.

Qian Anci did not struggle.

The moment the venom of the Azure Phosphorus Snake entered the body, the grayish-white death energy forcibly neutralized the venom.

Dugu Bo's vertical pupils contracted slightly.

Qian Anci raised his eyes.

"My cultivation level is only forty, so I can only barely neutralize the poison in my body. As for the accumulated toxins in your body..."

He grabbed Dugu Bo's wrist with his other hand.

A wisp of grayish-white death energy seeped into Dugu Bo's meridians.

Wherever it went, the venomous blue-phosphorus snakes that had been entrenched for many years cowered and retreated, as if they had encountered their natural enemy.

This wisp of death energy eventually suppressed it.

"My soul power is not strong enough."

Qian Anci withdrew his hand. "Right now, we can only suppress it, not eradicate it."

"This wisp of death energy can last for a year."

"I will come back a year later and send another strand into it."

"When I break through to a higher level in the future, perhaps I can help you solve this completely."

Dugu Bo looked down at his wrist and remained silent for a long time.

"As for Dugu Yan, she has just awakened her martial soul and has not yet acquired her first soul ring. She only has the residual toxins she brought from her mother's womb."

"After she obtains her spirit ring and begins cultivation, I will treat her every six months."

Qian Anci stated his conditions, then paused as if he had remembered something, and added a sentence.

"The Spirit Hall can provide all the spirit rings and resources that Dugu Yan will need for her future cultivation, including helping her hunt suitable spirit beasts."

Dugu Bo suddenly laughed, as if he had witnessed some enormous joke.

"Kid, I'm tempted by the conditions you've mentioned, but what guarantees can you offer? Can you really deliver on all of this?"

Qian Anci took out a token from his bosom and threw it at Dugu Bo.

"The Holy Son's Decree of the Spirit Hall".

"Because I am the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall."

"If I don't fall from grace in the future, I'll likely be the next pope, barring any unforeseen circumstances. What do you say?"

For the first time, Dugu Bo's expression showed a significant change.

"And what's the price? What is the price? I don't think you'd be so kind."

Qian Anci put the token back into his pocket.

"You know the answer already, so you ask."

"Let's go see your precious granddaughter first."

"It's resolved. You can consider it later."

Dugu Bo did not refuse.

He turned and pushed open the wooden door of the stone house.

Qian Anci followed behind him.

The stone house was simply furnished, with a leather bed in the corner.

A girl of about seven years old was curled up on it, her face slightly paler than that of an ordinary child.

"When her mother was pregnant with her, a lot of toxins had already accumulated in her body."

Yan Yan carried some of her physical characteristics with her from the womb, and her health has always been weaker than that of children her age.

Dugu Bo sat down by the bed and gently brushed the stray hairs from his granddaughter's forehead.

"However, she has just awakened her martial soul and has only just begun cultivating, so there are not many toxins in her body yet."

"I'm just afraid..."

He paused, then didn't continue.

Qian Anci did not respond.

He raised his hand, extended a finger, and condensed death energy.

It was gently touched to Dugu Yan's brow.

A wisp of extremely fine gray-white mist probed into her meridians, quietly dissolving the residual toxins she had brought from her mother's womb.

Dugu Yan let out a soft whimper in her sleep, her expression gradually returning to calm, and her breathing becoming steady and long.

Qian Anci withdrew his finger.

"There weren't many toxins in her body; they were all cleared out in one go. When she wakes up, she'll be much better than before. Then she can go hunt for her first spirit ring."

Dugu Bo reached out and felt his granddaughter's forehead, then checked her pulse.

He was silent for a moment, then said only two words.

"...Thank you."

"It was just something I did."

Qian Anci walked towards the door and stopped at the threshold.

"I'll come back in six months to suppress the next round of toxins for you. Don't touch the medicinal herbs in the valley yet; wait until I bring people over."

"understood."

Dugu Bo snorted.

Qian Anci said no more, but simply shook his head with a smile and walked towards the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire.

He didn't know why the Douluo Continent produced so many arrogant people.

Behind him, Dugu Bo suddenly turned his head and glanced in the direction outside the valley, snorted, but said nothing.

After leaving the stone house, Qian Anci went straight to the ice and fire yin-yang symbol in the middle of the valley.

He felt the pure energy emanating from the spring water in front of him and couldn't help but sigh.

"As expected of the burial place of the ancient Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King, the extreme ice and fire attributes..."

He didn't even dare to imagine that if he were to transform the souls of these two giant dragons into warm soul rings, those soul rings would be so dark they would turn black!

He was thinking about it.

Suddenly, a suction force came, and before he knew it, he fell directly into the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire.

Extreme cold and extreme heat arrive simultaneously.

Two forces intertwine in the spring, and any living being that falls into it will be reduced to ashes.

But Qian Anci did not.

The silver dragon scales in his arms emitted a soft silver light, spreading out a thin membrane of light around him.

A force firmly protected Qian Anci within it.

"The Silver Dragon King's scales," he thought to himself with a touch of admiration. "The things my sister gave me are really useful."

He let the suction pull him downwards.

Ten zhang (approximately 33 meters).

Twenty zhang (approximately 33 meters).

Thirty zhang (approximately 33 meters).

The light is getting dimmer.

The red and blue glow overhead was gradually swallowed by darkness, leaving only endless darkness all around.

Then, Qian Anci saw it.

Two enormous skeletons lay horizontally at the bottom of the spring.