Dealing with Dugu Bo

Waking up, the only that Haotian could see was darkness. In it, glittering emerald eyes shined brightly.

"So you finally woke up" From the darkness, Dugu Bo revealed himself, looking down at Haotian "So you are called Hu Haotian, kid?"

"Yes" Haotian nodded as he stood up. He kept a calm front but the truth was that he was very worried. In front of him stood one of the most powerful people of the continent, a Titled Douluo. If he made a wrong step, he could be directly killed like an ant, with no way to put even a fight.

"I heard from my granddaughter some curious facts about you" Dugu Bo said "You were able to fully resist her poison even when you were two realms lowers and then attacked her. Moreover..."

Pressure fell over Haotian's body, forcing him to his knees. Haotian's body started shining and he could feel how his spirit was about to forcefully activate to be able to resist the pressure. Foreseeing it, Haotian acted himself before.

Three spirit rings appeared under Haotian, 2 purple and 1 black. Haotian directly activated his two first rings, invoking his Seven Kill Sword covered in yin flames. Without using the sword, Dugu Bo would have discovered that his spirit was in truth his body and Haotian wanted to keep the facade of his spirit being the sword. The less the enemy knows the better.

Haotian pierced the sword on the ground, leaning over it and resisting the pressure.

"As Yan-yan said, you have an impossible configuration" Dugu Bo's eyes were fixed on Haotian's spirit rings "Kid, reveal your secrets!" He commanded "How are you able to have this configuration?!"

"You must have already learned it from your granddaughter. My spirit is a rare mutation, having the ability to age its own spirit rings." Haotian said clenching his teeth "It's not something that can be emulated by others."

"Do you really think that I will fall for that obvious lie?!" Dugu Bo said angrily "Having a body strength of a Spirit King when you are a mere Spirit Elder. Breaking from rank 30 to rank 40 in less than two months. Also, you are not the only special one, but the ones around you also show that changes"

"Meijing, Biyun and Chenxiang. All of them have a better physique and overaged spirit ring configuration, far from the average while it isn't comparable with yours. Too many coincidences. You were even able to resist my granddaughter's poison."

'Finally, he talks about that bitch' Haotian grinned 'The most important for Dugu Bo is undoubtedly his granddaughter. The only way to escape from this situation without completely revealing myself being going in that direction.

"I supposed that I'm quite lucky to be surrounded by such talented girls" Haotian carefree said "We all train very hard and have top-ranked spirit" Haotian's could feel Dugu Bo's stare piercing him as the pressure around him increased "For your granddaughter's poison. What can such a trash poison do to me?" Haotian grinned.

Pressure pushed him, crashing Haotian to the nearest wall "Are you calling my Yan-yan's poison trash? We both have the Jade Phosphor Serpent with the strongest poison."

"L-like granddaughter, like grandfather. Both using trash poison" Haotian weakly said resisting the pressure.

"Are you calling my poison trash?!" He said angrily "The mere thought about my poison is enough for even titled douluos' faces to go white."

"Yeah, it might be a potent poison. But poisons are mean to be used in enemies. A poison that affects his own user, killing him. What should I call it if not trash?" Haotian said trying to keep his smile.

"You!" Dugu Bo's face became red with anger.

"Did you not feel it? An intense pain on your bones on rainy and cloudy days. Shivering legs, a sharp pain over your ribs that don't lessen until at least 1 hour once you woke up, the only thing able to relieve the pain being cold water" Haotian continued his explanations.

"How did you know?" Dugu Bo made a shocked face, he even released the pressure around Haotian. He had kept his symptoms as his most important secret, not even his granddaughter knowing about them. How could the kid in front of him know it?

In his mind, Haotian sighed in relief. The truth was that Haotian didn't understand anything about poison, at least not more than most people. However, if he wanted to survive Dugu Bo, he needed to make it seem like he knew about what was he talking about. In the end, his explanation was based on two things, what he remembered from the novel and the effects that he had been able to observe over this time to Dugu Yan.

"Not only that, the effects would become much worse. It won't be long before the pain becomes insufferable and you experience the most painful death. The only surprise is how you were able to last so much without help."

"Are you saying that you are able to dissolve my poison?" Dugu Bo inquired.

"Why would I help you?" Haotian said grinning, trying to gain a greater hand.

"Kid. Don't forget that you are at my mercy. I don't even need my hands to finish your lowly life. I already had lived almost 80 years, I'm not afraid of dying. And even if you don't tell me your secrets, I'll search them over your cadaver." Dugu Bo said angrily.

"Hm!" Haotian hummed "You might not have lingering feelings for life, but how about your granddaughter? She is even in a worse situation than yours having been poisoned in the womb. It wouldn't be much longer before she starts experiencing the same symptoms and she won't be able to resist as yourself, dying before she reaches 30., Are you going to deprive her of her only salvation?"

Dugu Bo glanced at Haotian with anger, but he kept in check "Are you sure that you are able to cure us."

"Such a trash poison won't pose much a problem for me" Haotian said with confidence "If I have enough time and resources, I'm sure about a 40% of being able to cure you"

"Only a 40%?!" Dugu Bo sharply glanced at him.

"Of course, you have been continuously poisoned for almost 80 years, all your body is greatly damaged, poison inflicted in every area. It's impossible to be 100% sure" Haotian explained "Of course, Yan is young and her body hadn't started to decay, so I'm completely sure of healing her."

Dugu Bo relaxed knowing that at least his granddaughter could be surely saved. "Let's make a deal. You will save me and my granddaughter and in exchange, I would not kill you and will even offer three favor that can go against my honor." He offered.

Haotian glanced at him with distrust "How can I be sure that you won't kill me once I cure you?"

"You can ask around. Even if I'm not a good person, I never falter to my word" Dugu Bo said.

"Empty words as the dead are unable to talk" Haotian shook his head "Vow it to your poison and granddaughter. Only if you vow it, I will trust you"

Dugu Bo glanced at him, but in the end nodded "Okay, I'll swear." Haotian smile became bigger "However, you first must prove that you are able to cure it. Proving that you have a deeper understanding of poison than me"

"How so?" Haotian asked with doubts.

"Like this" Dugu Bo exerted his control, lifting Haotian with his spirit power and pushing him outside the cave.

A magical scener seemingly taken from a book opened before Haotian, a magical garden full of incredibly rare and precious plants, extreme temperatures that could drastically change with a difference of a step, a beautiful blue and red aurora floating over it, and over the middle as it core a strange but fascinating hot spring where red and blue coexisted similar to a yin and yang symbol, half of the spring ice cold while the other blazing hot.

"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well" Haotian whispered.

"Here's my medical garden. I would let you use everything in it to cure my granddaughter and me. But before you start..." Over Dugu Bu a little green-scaled serpent appeared. With an incredible speed, it shot over Haotian, biting his neck inoculating a potent poison inside him.

Haotian swung his arm towards the serpent but it was already, had completely disappeared without trail. "Hg!" Haotian screamed with a pained look on his face that started paling.

"To show your qualifications, try surviving this poison" Dugu Bo said with killing intent "I will make haste, as you experienced, this poison will give you an insufferable pain, numb completely your body in a day and end your life in two days at most. So be quick."

"I will return in two days, to see if you are alive or take your corpse. If I were you I wouldn't even think to escape. Even if you are able to cure yourself, this forest is like a labyrinth full of spirit beasts of at least 1.000 that don't dare to attack only for my poisonous formation" Dugu Bo explained "Leaving will be a complete suicide."

Dugu Boturned around to leave "One more thing" He turned one more time towards Haotian who lay on the ground painfully "Don't approach the well, if you touch it, you are dead, not even I can escape from it." He said before leaving the place.

"Grr!" Haotian contorted his face in pain as he clenched his teeth and looked angrily at Dugu Bo, sweat already appearing over his face. Seemingly with effort, Haotian stood up, dragging his body towards the medical garden.

After 5 minutes passed, Haotian stopped still and sniffed the air, not detecting traces of Dugu Bo "Buff" He sighed in relief. Like if the pain before was a joke, he straightened his back and stood still in perfect position, his face recovering his color.

"Finally, that old bastard left me alone" "Pug!" Haotian spitted a green substance from his mouth. At the same time from the bite wound, a green mist started oozing "Thank god, my spirit is my body."

The truth was that Haotian hadn't been poisoned at any moment. Once the venom entered his organism, he quickly used his great control over his body to take control of it, keeping it in check and avoiding it from spreading.

Then, he only needed to make Dugu Bo think that it had taken effect, something very easy with his control over his body, and wait for him to leave to take out the poison.

"That bitch!" He stomped the ground angrily "So instead of using his grandfather to take revenge from Tang San, he had chosen me. Fuck! I'll fucking kill that bitch!"

Haotian fell over the ground, sitting on it with a thoughtful face "So that's why Lingling's advice. I should have been more careful" He said regretfully "I might have passed this trial following Tang San's actions, but it's impossible to do now as I can't possibly create any antidote as he did in canon."

Haotian looked at his surroundings "Now, what to do?"