Chapter 47: Someone's Going to Die

Whether acupuncture is painful depends on the individual's pain threshold, but it also has a lot to do with the technique of needling.

As a Title Douluo, Dugu Bo had experienced countless battles, so his pain threshold was naturally quite high.

But the needling technique was another matter.

No matter how rich Ye Renxin's experience was, this acupuncture technique was his first attempt, not to mention using soul power as needles. The intensity, angle, and depth were all difficult to control, so it would be strange if it didn't hurt.

Moreover, Cheng Xiao had played a trick, specifically targeting acupoints that caused unbearable pain but also had some benefits.

It was already surprising that Dugu Bo could endure it.

"Kid, did you do something sneaky?" Dugu Bo glared at Cheng Xiao angrily.

"Hehe, Senior, you're unfairly accusing me. Your poisoning is deep, and detoxification inevitably involves a process. Pain is normal," Cheng Xiao shrugged innocently.

Dugu Bo was half-skeptical, feeling that Cheng Xiao always had a faint smile on his face.

"Alright!" Unable to discern the situation, Dugu Bo gritted his teeth, hummed coldly, and closed his eyes to endure the pain.

"Continue!"

A soul ring lit up under Ye Renxin's feet. It was unclear what soul skill it was, but the soul power whistled out and was forcibly condensed into needles by Ye Renxin. Under Cheng Xiao's guidance, they pierced into Dugu Bo's various acupoints.

"Um..."

Dugu Bo grunted, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down from his forehead, shattering on his shoulders.

Time passed bit by bit, and the treatment finally came to an end.

The damaged acupoints in the meridians were repaired one by one, and the accumulated toxins flowed smoothly through Dugu Bo's meridians under the guidance of his poison art. However, the meridians they passed through would be contaminated by the toxins. But after the Nine-Heart Begonia's soul needles pierced the acupoints, they quickly merged into the meridians, repairing the contaminated areas.

"Puff!"

Suddenly, Dugu Bo opened his eyes, a flush appearing on his withered cheeks. He felt a sweetness in his throat and immediately spat out a mouthful of dark blood.

"Watch out! Move aside!" Ye Renxin shouted sternly.

Cheng Xiao stepped back two steps, avoiding the splashing blood.

"Sizzle..."

The black blood on the ground bubbled like boiling water, emitting a strong foul smell.

"Grandpa!"

At this moment, a cry came from upstairs, and everyone looked up to see Dugu Yan rushing downstairs. She arrived at Dugu Bo's side, her face anxious. "Grandpa, what's wrong with you?"

"It's nothing, Yan Yan," Dugu Bo waved his hand, comforting her. "Just an old problem, asking your Grandpa Ye to treat me. Look, I'm fine, right? Your Grandpa Ye is the 'Saintly Hand,' with him here, there won't be any problems."

Dugu Yan looked at Dugu Bo, looking him up and down, and found that he was not seriously injured, so she breathed a sigh of relief.

Ye Lingling also walked over, casting a doubtful glance at Ye Renxin and Cheng Xiao. Ye Renxin shook his head slightly, indicating that there was nothing wrong and telling her not to worry.

"How do you feel?" Ye Renxin asked.

Dugu Bo closed his eyes, circulated his soul power, and carefully sensed the different parts of his body.

After a while, Dugu Bo suddenly opened his eyes, and a difficult-to-restrain expression of surprise appeared in his emerald eyes.

"The toxins are gone!"

Ye Renxin's eyes sparkled with a burst of insight.

"Not only that, but my soul power, which has been stagnant for many years, has just increased slightly!" Dugu Bo's mouth couldn't help but curve upwards.

He had been stuck at level ninety-one for many years, always troubled by toxins. For many years, he had not been able to make any progress. But this time, after reintroducing the toxins into his soul, he actually felt a slight increase in soul power!

Doesn't this mean that level ninety-two is within reach?!

Ye Renxin's gaze fluctuated slightly, and he speculated, "Your toxins were originally brought by your soul. They remained in your body. Over time, the accumulated toxins must have been extremely substantial. Now, reintroducing them into your soul naturally increases your soul power."

"However, I estimate that as you use your soul more often, toxins will accumulate in your body again, gradually slowing down your cultivation speed in the future."

"Haha, that's fine in the future. It's good to increase soul power during this period of time." Dugu Bo was truly happy at this moment. Only he knew the suffering of years of cultivation without progress. Being able to see an improvement in soul power now was already a great satisfaction.

"Moreover, if there is accumulation in the future, I can just come find you again."

Ye Renxin fell silent for a moment, and Dugu Bo keenly sensed that something was off. He looked up at Ye Renxin. "What's wrong?"

Cheng Xiao remained silent. What could he say? He was nearly dead; how could there be a future?

"It's nothing." Ye Renxin shook his head, changing the subject. "The consumption of my soul power during your treatment was very minimal. It can almost be said to be negligible. More than ten years ago, helping you with treatment consumed a lot of my soul power. However, it requires extremely precise control of soul power and a stronger mental effort."

"Oh?" Dugu Bo's eyes flickered. He heard the implied meaning behind Ye Renxin's words.

Consuming even less soul power but achieving better therapeutic effects required only precise control of soul power and stronger mental effort. Doesn't that mean that this method could take the ability of the Nine-Heart Begonia to another level?

"I'm thinking, if we use the healing power of the Nine-Heart Begonia to stimulate those fatal acupoints you mentioned, could it extend your lifespan to some extent?" Ye Renxin contemplated for a moment before looking at Cheng Xiao.

At Ye Renxin's words, Cheng Xiao's mind suddenly exploded. He raised his head suddenly, knowing what Ye Renxin was thinking!

In acupuncture, to allow a dying person to see their loved ones one last time, several major acupoints are stimulated to forcibly sustain their last breath for a bit longer.

Cheng Xiao had mentioned this to Ye Renxin on the road!

But he never expected Ye Renxin to take it seriously!

Ye Renxin actually wanted to use the healing power of the Nine-Heart Begonia, combined with acupuncture, to sustain his life when he was about to reach the end!

It must be said that this was a genius and crazy idea!

Whether it could succeed was an unknown!

But this gave Cheng Xiao unprecedented inspiration. He thought more deeply!

If lifespan extension was possible, could stimulating acupoints in a short period of time widen the meridians and quickly restore soul power?

Or could it directly stimulate the body's potential and increase cultivation speed?

What's more, could it increase the output of soul power, resulting in an increase in the attack power of soul skills?

Of course, stimulation would inevitably have side effects, but would the Nine-Heart Begonia be afraid? Its strong life force, absolute healing power, could ignore all side effects!

Whether it could succeed was still unknown, but if it did...

Thinking of this, Cheng Xiao's scalp tingled.

This would directly compete with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Clan!

It's going to be a matter of life and death!

Author Note :

 It seems that some people have doubts, so let me explain. The Nine-Heart Begonia at level 89 is my second setting because I pondered the age of the Title Douluo, at least 300 years old, and up to over 1,000 years old. If there were two Title Douluos of the Nine-Heart Begonia in the same period, there would be at least several hundred years without descendants.

In 300 years, at least six generations could be born, which is still relatively conservative, based on Tang Hao marrying and having children at the age of 44. If they married and had children at the age of 20, they could have even more generations. It would have mixed countless bloodlines.

Generation after generation continuously transmitting, still ensuring the "genetic" existence of the Nine-Heart Begonia. If it were broken for more than a dozen generations, it would be impossible to ensure inheritance.

If there were a Title Douluo of the Nine-Heart Begonia, it would be easy to break the generations. Unless this Title Douluo was several hundred years old and married a concubine to have children before his death for inheritance. But if there was an accidental death...

So I set the Nine-Heart Begonia as capped at level 89, maximum 120 years old. This way, it seems more reasonable that the Nine-Heart Begonia hasn't been discontinued.