"Grandpa Qianjun, Grandpa Jiangmo, there's no need to use force," Lin Yu said calmly. "As long as he understands the situation and makes his own choice, that's enough."
"Oh?"
Qianjun and Jiangmo glanced at each other, interested to see what Lin Yu would do.
"Let me try."
Lin Yu stepped in front of Dugu Bo, his tone calm and steady:
"Senior Dugu Bo, I believe you understand your current situation. If you want to survive, your only option is to join the Spirit Hall."
"I know you might not fear death. But what about your granddaughter? Of course, if you die, we can spare her."
"But even if we let her live, she likely won't survive past the age of twenty!"
"W-what do you mean?" Dugu Bo looked up at the extraordinary boy in front of him, his heart uneasy.
Lin Yu spoke bluntly:
"Your Jade Phosphor Serpent Martial Soul gives you powerful poison abilities, but it also corrodes you from within. The backlash of this poison causes unbearable pain—and even death."
"You can suppress the backlash with the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, but your granddaughter has been poisoned since she was in the womb. Her symptoms manifest earlier and more violently."
"Even if she does survive to twenty or thirty, her life will be one of endless torment from the poison's backlash."
Each word was like a needle stabbing into Dugu Bo's heart. Looking at his adorable and beloved granddaughter, Dugu Yan, his heart ached.
At the same time, he was shocked: how did Lin Yu know all this?
He gritted his teeth and stared at Lin Yu, asking, "How do you know this?"
"You don't need to know that," Lin Yu replied. "What you do need to know is that I can help you and your granddaughter eliminate the poison's backlash."
Dugu Bo's eyes widened in shock. He became slightly emotional:
"You can cure it!?"
"Yes." Lin Yu nodded, then continued,
"Senior Dugu Bo, now it's time to make your choice."
"Do you want to die here today and leave your helpless granddaughter to suffer under the poison's torment until she dies?"
"Or would you rather remove the poison from both of you, join the Spirit Hall, and live a peaceful life together as grandfather and granddaughter?"
The two options were clear—one led to heaven, the other to hell.
At that moment, Dugu Bo already had an answer in his heart. But certain concerns and lingering issues kept him from deciding immediately.
"Grandpa! Just agree to it," Dugu Yan sobbed, her face tear-streaked. "The Spirit Hall isn't that bad. Yan-Yan… Yan-Yan doesn't want to see you die!"
"Yan-Yan..." Dugu Bo's heart ached again. He clenched his fists tightly and said,
"If you can really cure us, then joining the Spirit Hall wouldn't be unacceptable. But… I've offended Chrysanthemum Pass. If I join the Spirit Hall, won't I have to bow down and take orders from that Chrysanthemum guy!?"
Dugu Bo didn't have much deep resentment toward the Spirit Hall itself—but he did have a long-standing grudge against Chrysanthemum Douluo.
Chrysanthemum Douluo was a high-ranking elder within the Spirit Hall. If Dugu Bo joined, wouldn't that mean he'd have to serve under his old enemy?
That was something he simply couldn't accept.
Lin Yu smiled knowingly. The fact that Dugu Bo even brought this up meant he had essentially made his decision.
He said with a light chuckle:
"As long as you're a Titled Douluo, you're qualified to become an elder of the Spirit Hall. I can apply to have you appointed as one, which would make you equal in rank to Chrysanthemum Douluo."
"Once you join, you'll only serve the Worship Hall. You won't have to take orders from the Pope. The Worship Hall is… relatively relaxed."
"Is that true? You can directly get me appointed as a Spirit Hall elder?" Dugu Bo's eyes lit up.
"Hmm… I'd say there's a 99% chance I can make it happen."
"Who exactly is this child? How does he hold such authority within the Spirit Hall?"
Dugu Bo suddenly felt a deep curiosity about Lin Yu's identity. At the same time, he finally made up his mind.
He slowly lowered his proud head.
"Please grant me the method to neutralize the poison. I, Dugu Bo, am willing to join the Spirit Hall!"
"Please, get up first, Senior Dugu Bo." Lin Yu reached out and helped him up. Then he explained:
"To purge the accumulated toxins in your body, you only need to force the poison into a soul bone and use it as a vessel. This way, the toxin will no longer attack your body, and you can still retain your poison-based abilities."
"But!"
"Using a soul bone as a container is only a temporary solution. One day, the soul bone will no longer be able to hold all the toxins. When that time comes, the poison will begin to backfire on your body again—so this is merely a stopgap measure."
"For now, you can force the toxins in your body into a soul bone. Oh, and—avoid choosing a skull soul bone."
Dugu Bo asked in confusion: "Why not?"
Lin Yu replied with a half-smile:
"For safety's sake, it's better to choose one of the limb bones. While the chances of an accident are low, if something does go wrong, at least you can cut off a hand or leg. You can't exactly chop off your own head, can you?"
"Ah! Makes sense—very reasonable indeed!"
"A soul bone can store enough toxins to last around ten years. If, after ten years, you're still faithfully serving the Spirit Hall, I'll find a way to completely eliminate the toxins in your body."
(In the original story, Dugu Bo doesn't actually die. But for this version, we'll go with the anime timeline—after storing the poison in the soul bone, he lived for about ten more years.)
"I understand. Thank you!"
Seeing that Dugu Bo had been fully persuaded to surrender, Jiangmo and Qianjun—standing behind—exchanged a satisfied smile.
But for Dugu Bo, a challenge still remained:
He had only absorbed one skull soul bone, and although he owned a 2,000-year-old poison-type leg bone, he had always intended to give that to his granddaughter.
If he gave it to Dugu Yan, he'd be left without a limb-type soul bone.
But without hesitation, Dugu Bo took out the leg bone.
"Yan-Yan, this soul bone was prepared for you by Grandpa. Now, the time has come for me to give it to you. Absorb it, then force the toxins in your body into the soul bone."
"But Grandpa, if you give this to me, you won't have any limb soul bones left!" Dugu Yan protested.
"I can find another one later. Hurry up and absorb it."
"Grandpa… soul bones aren't that easy to find…"
As the grandfather and granddaughter kept insisting and pushing the soul bone back and forth, Qianjun Douluo interrupted with a sigh:
"Enough, stop fussing. I happen to have a 4,000-year-old poison-type left leg bone here. Just treat it as a gift from Xiao Yu. You can repay his kindness in the future."
With that, Qianjun Douluo directly tossed the soul bone in front of the two.
"Grandpa Qianjun really is too good to me," Lin Yu thought, deeply moved.
Qianjun giving Dugu Bo this favor was not just a gesture of goodwill—it was a way of securing Dugu Bo as another strong ally backing Lin Yu from the shadows.
Though that soul bone wasn't suitable for Qianjun Douluo himself, a soul bone of any kind was still incredibly precious…
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