Oscar hadn't expected his relationship with Dugu Bo to become so harmonious so quickly, but in his heart, he was delighted.
Now that Dugu Bo had acknowledged him as a grandson, Oscar no longer had to worry when interacting with Dugu Yan. After all, since the old man himself approved, wasn't it only natural to work harder in pursuing her?
During the past month, Oscar had come to realize that Dugu Yan was, in fact, quite a good girl. Though she had the occasional minor flaw, overall, she was someone he could get along with.
So, in his heart, Oscar had already decided to court her. Though it seemed he might not even need to take the initiative, Dugu Yan appeared to have some interest in him as well. After all… those intimate gestures of his, she had never rejected. On the contrary, she had often responded warmly.
Still, Oscar knew that at this stage, Dugu Yan was just a young girl, inexperienced in worldly matters. As a man, it was better for him to take the lead. And really, he lost nothing by being proactive. If it succeeded, wonderful. If not, he wouldn't be worse off for trying.
After all, he already called Dugu Bo "Grandfather." Surely the old man wouldn't make things difficult for his grandson.
Over the following days, both Dugu Yan and Dugu Bo went into closed-door cultivation, striving to refine all the poison in their bodies into their soul bones as quickly as possible.
Oscar, meanwhile, apart from his normal cultivation, busied himself refining pills. For both Dugu Yan and Dugu Bo, he selected immortal herbs to refine into immortal-grade pills.
However, he couldn't yet refine Dugu Yan's pill. For her, he had chosen the Yearning Heartbroken Red—but this herb could only be plucked by someone who was truly thinking of their beloved.
Oscar and Dugu Yan's relationship was only at a vague, ambiguous stage, far from love. Naturally, he couldn't pick it for her.
Others could technically harvest it, since its use didn't require the picker to also be the one consuming it. But Oscar held a selfish thought: he wanted Dugu Yan to pluck it herself. The herb was like a love detector—if she could successfully harvest it, it would mean she loved him enough to do so. And if that happened, Oscar felt he could love her without reserve.
So, her pill would have to wait.
For Dugu Bo, however, Oscar had already made his choice. After long deliberation, he selected the Earth Dragon Golden Gourd.
As its name suggested, this immortal herb was connected to dragons. It carried an overwhelmingly yang attribute, capable of purifying dragon bloodlines while also greatly enhancing a soul master's physical strength.
Dugu Bo's poison skills were already unquestionable. In the original story, even as a mere Rank 91 Title Douluo, he could slaughter an entire city with poison alone. Thus, further enhancing his venom wasn't especially meaningful—against Title Douluo, poison was rarely effective unless by ambush. No strong Douluo would just stand still and allow themselves to be poisoned.
The Earth Dragon Golden Gourd, however, could fortify Dugu Bo's combat strength, improving his survivability. After all, his Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor martial spirit was already the king of all serpents, infinitely close to a true dragon. With this herb, perhaps his serpent could even evolve toward draconic transformation. His poison might not grow stronger, but his battle power would certainly rise significantly.
Oscar also knew of another immortal herb that amplified venom to unimaginable levels. If wielded properly, Dugu Bo could even poison a Rank 99 Peerless Douluo. Of course, the prerequisite was that they first had to be poisoned.
By the second month, Dugu Yan had fully refined the poison in her body into her Bone-Eating Venomous Python right arm soul bone. Through the merging of her personal poison with the bone's venom, the poison attribute of her soul bone skill skyrocketed in potency.
For her, it was a double blessing: not only was her lifelong poison problem resolved, but her strength had also improved significantly.
Once her poison had been transferred, Oscar began her treatment. It was, in truth, fairly simple. He used his own blood—already imbued with detoxifying power—combined with several restorative and marrow-cleansing herbs to refine a detoxifying reconstructive pill.
He had spent the past month preparing these, so he could administer them immediately.
Dugu Yan's poison, while troublesome, had not been as deep-rooted as her grandfather's. After beginning the treatment, within at most three months, she would fully purge the toxins and restore her body to perfect health.
Oscar named the pill Hundred-Treasure Detoxifying Reconstructive Pill—a name as direct as its effect. His blood, after all, carried the ability to neutralize countless poisons.
Dugu Bo's case was much more severe. His poison refinement into his soul bone would take far longer, as his body had been eroded for decades.
During this time, Oscar did not idle. Aside from cultivation and pill-refining, he continued to hone his swordsmanship.
Since Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan already knew about his external spirit bone, there was no need to hide it anymore. He had already been acknowledged as family, and Dugu Bo was not someone who would go back on his word.
Dugu Yan herself had been captivated ever since her first experience of sword-flight. She constantly pestered Oscar to take her up into the skies whenever they had time.
Oscar was more than happy to oblige—after all, flying with a beauty in his arms was hardly unpleasant.
Of course, he never told her that his flying sword wasn't unique—he could condense as many as he wished.
Nor did he dare ask whether she liked the sensation of flying itself, or the feeling of being held tightly against him. With his thin skin, such questions were far too embarrassing…