Dugu Bo was stunned—everything Yin Zhang had said was spot on.
"How did you know that?"
If the person standing before him weren't Golden Crocodile Douluo's disciple, Dugu Bo couldn't guarantee what he might have done next.
Yin Zhang smiled faintly. He didn't answer the question, instead speaking as if to himself.
"I have a method that can help Senior Poison Douluo and Brother Xin resolve the Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison in your bodies. This problem is actually quite easy to deal with, but because of your own limitations, you never considered this approach. I only learned of it from a book I found at the Spirit Hall Academy."
"Tell me—quickly!" Dugu Bo's eyes lit up, and even Dugu Xin's dull gaze regained a trace of life.
He had thought death was inevitable, never imagining there might still be a way out.
From how precisely Yin Zhang had described Dugu Bo's poisoning symptoms earlier, it was clear he truly had a solution.
"If you had a Tool Spirit, you could simply guide the poison within your body into your Martial Spirit. But even with a Beast Spirit, it's not unsolvable."
"That solution is a Spirit Bone. With a Spirit Bone, you can channel the poison from your body into it. This resolves the toxin issue without weakening your poison-based cultivation."
"For someone like Senior Poison Douluo, a Titled Douluo, the risk wouldn't be too great. But for Brother Xin, who is already… well, the danger is significant."
Dugu Xin's emotions immediately plunged into chaos. Panic flashed across his face.
He knew his condition better than anyone.
Like his father, his body was filled with poison, but because his cultivation was only at the Spirit King level, he couldn't suppress it. That was why he was already terminally ill, hovering at death's door, while Dugu Bo could still endure.
When Dugu Bo first heard that a Spirit Bone could solve the problem, he was overjoyed.
During this trip to the Poison Pool to hunt the Poison Flood Dragon, although no Spirit Bone had dropped, he had discovered a sixty-thousand-year Poison Dragon Left Arm Bone in the creature's nest. He had believed that with this Spirit Bone, Dugu Xin would be saved.
But after hearing the risks involved, his heart clenched again.
"There's great danger?" Dugu Bo asked urgently. "Xiao Zhang, is there another method—one with less risk? As long as you can save Xin'er, you'll be the greatest benefactor of the Dugu Family! If you ever need anything in the future, come to me. Even if I can't handle it myself, I'll beg others to do it for you!"
His face was filled with desperation. At this point, he completely believed that Yin Zhang could solve the Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison that had plagued the Dugu Family for generations.
Being grabbed by the shoulders and shaken violently, Yin Zhang felt dizzy and hurriedly said,
"There is! There is! Senior Poison Douluo, please stop shaking me—I'm getting dizzy."
After steadying himself, he continued.
"The solution is to use medicinal guidance to slowly filter the poison from Brother Xin's meridians and bones, little by little, and concentrate it inside the Spirit Bone. This is a long process—it can't be done in just a day or two."
"Even if the Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison can't be completely removed right away, it will at least greatly reduce Brother Xin's pain and keep him away from death. It just depends on whether you and Brother Xin are willing to try."
"One more thing—Senior Poison Douluo, you should already have a Spirit Bone on you, right? Or if Brother Xin has one, we can begin immediately."
After Yin Zhang finished speaking, Dugu Bo and Dugu Xin exchanged glances, excitement flashing across their faces.
"I happen to have one!" Dugu Bo said.
He reached into the storage pouch at his waist and took out a left arm bone radiating a rich green glow.
"This is what I found in the Poison Flood Dragon's nest after hunting it in the Poison Pool. A sixty-thousand-year Poison Dragon Left Arm Bone. I didn't expect it would actually be used now."
Yin Zhang was stunned. Damn—Dugu Bo's luck was outrageous.
Hunting a Poison Flood Dragon and stumbling upon a sixty-thousand-year Spirit Bone… why didn't things like that ever happen to him?
He still had a five-hundred-year Spirit Bone Year Upgrade Card sitting unused in his storage.
Sure, five hundred years was nothing compared to sixty thousand, but steady accumulation mattered!
Whenever Spirit Bones came up, Yin Zhang felt helpless.
Before transmigrating, the protagonists he'd read about often obtained Spirit Bones before even becoming Spirit Elders—sometimes even external Spirit Bones. Yet here he was, without a single one.
Tragic.
Seeing Yin Zhang staring at the Spirit Bone, Dugu Bo misunderstood and said apologetically,
"Forget this one. Next time I find another Spirit Bone, I'll give it to you."
Yin Zhang snapped back to reality and gave a bitter smile.
"Senior Poison Douluo, what kind of person do you think I am? Brother Xin needs this Spirit Bone to save his life. How could I possibly want it? I'm not that greedy."
"I'll try channeling the poison in my body into the Spirit Bone first," Dugu Bo said, sitting down cross-legged.
After a while, he stood up, joy evident on his face.
"It works! This method really works! Xin'er, there's no time to lose…"
That night, in his room, Yin Zhang stared at the small, round, dark-green bead in his hand and couldn't help but sigh.
"I didn't expect him to give me the poison core. I wonder what use this thing has for me."
The bead emitted a cold chill. If one looked closely, it seemed as though a tiny dark-green snake was swimming inside.
This was the most valuable item from the twenty-thousand-year Poison Flood Dragon, yet for Yin Zhang, it didn't seem particularly useful at the moment.
He placed the poison core into the golden bead chain, then turned his attention to the Holy Grail—an equipment-type item obtained from the reward choices triggered after hunting the Crimson Flame Roaring Tiger.
The Holy Grail resembled a small statue. It felt cold and pleasant in the hand, yet was astonishingly heavy—at least one hundred and twenty jin by his estimation.
Of course, with Yin Zhang's strength, that weight was negligible.
Equipment-type items differed from buff-type items—they could be removed after being equipped.
As a thought passed through his mind, a heavy, exquisitely crafted object appeared in his hand.
The Holy Grail.