Chapter 305: Dugu Shuo's Worries
Old Snake stood there savoring the feeling, probing inward again and again. After quite a while, nothing in his body changed.
He blurted, "Young Lord, what was that just now?"
Right after they had taken the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Dugu Shuo had given him an herb that stabilized the foundation and nurtured vitality, improving his cultivation physique and raising his soul power by two ranks.
Back then the sensation of absorbing the herb had been very clear. Why was this time so silent?
Dugu Feng knew exactly what Old Snake was thinking. "The immortal medicine I gave you dissolves as soon as it enters the throat. It won't boost your strength quickly, but it will subtly increase your body's toughness and the resilience of your meridians while tempering your soul power.
Its medicinal effects will last all the way until you reach Titled Douluo.
You'll feel the benefits later."
Old Snake grinned foolishly. "Young Lord, are you saying I can cultivate to Titled Douluo? I'm only level eighty-three!"
The Titled Douluo realm, which earns one the honorific 'Your Eminence,' was something he didn't even dare dream of.
"Old Snake, look at that timid ambition of yours—you're not even as good as Little Snake. He still dreams of becoming a Titled."
Dugu Feng teased him and paid him no more mind. He glanced at the earthen jars that had accompanied his childhood cultivation, then left the courtyard.
Behind him, Old Snake kept murmuring "Titled Douluo" to himself.
Soon, Dugu Feng arrived at the ancestral hall.
"Greetings, Father!"
Dugu Feng saluted. Dugu Shuo was already standing leisurely at the doorway.
Dugu Shuo wore a jade-green robe. His hair was streaked white and green, making him look aged.
In truth, Dugu Feng knew this was his father's disguise. Every so often, Dugu Feng used his external spirit bones to draw out the stubborn toxins accumulated in his father's body.
Together with the spirit bones in his father, he had basically freed himself from poison flare-ups.
Dugu Shuo was not old. He had fathered Dugu Feng at thirty-five, and when Dugu Feng was two, Dugu Shuo stepped into Soul Sage.
Now Dugu Feng was nineteen, and Dugu Shuo was only fifty-four.
His strength had reached Soul Douluo, and he had taken immortal herbs. In terms of appearance, he should be ruddy-cheeked, with hair black tinged with green.
Yet Father always kept up the look of an old man.
Dugu Feng thoroughly understood his father's thinking. Poison-using soul masters always provoke wariness and rejection.
After all, they can kill invisibly. Even the strongest worry about being poisoned in the dark.
Appearing frail was Father's way of lowering others' guard.
Furthermore, other powers knew that members of the Dugu clan did not live long and had a high early-death rate, which naturally reduced the perceived threat.
Insidious!
Dugu Feng was deeply impressed.
"Feng'er, come with me!" Dugu Shuo called and turned into the hall.
Dugu Feng followed quickly.
Inside, Dugu Shuo motioned for Dugu Feng to sit on the chairs flanking the room.
Amid the crowd of ancestral tablets and curling incense smoke, Dugu Feng was accustomed to discussing matters here with his father.
"Feng'er, Emperor Xue Ye died to the Seven-Colored Venom, administered by Yang Wushuang, who serves Spirit Hall.
In other words, Spirit Hall is aiding Xue Qinghe.
Feng'er, when the second and third princes died, Xue Qinghe was still very young and had no way to be in contact with Spirit Hall.
Now Xue Qinghe has just ascended the throne and already plans a war of unification. In the coming war with Star Luo, the danger is not the war itself but Spirit Hall. Yet Xue Qinghe seems entirely unafraid of Spirit Hall's obstruction.
Why is that?
With the expedition at hand, if we can't make sense of this, I can't rest easy.
I've never been able to see through this Xue Qinghe!"
Dugu Shuo sighed.
His son was close to Xue Qinghe, and Dugu Shuo felt his son must know something!
Dugu Feng, inwardly amused, finally heard the question he'd been waiting for.
Such restraint!
He considered and said, "Father, Xue Qinghe and Spirit Hall do indeed have a tacit understanding. As to how he established contact, I don't know.
But he has hinted to me that Spirit Hall won't block the war of unification."
Dugu Feng thought of Xue Qinghe's true identity as Qian Renxue but chose not to reveal it.
Dugu Shuo's face grew pensive; this, he had half expected.
Dugu Feng continued, "Xue Qinghe is ambitious. Reaching an understanding with Spirit Hall is bargaining with a tiger.
Judging by his reforms, his aim is to strengthen the Heaven Dou Empire and ultimately make it the strongest empire on the continent.
Spirit Hall's Pope Bibi Dong has the same aim.
The eldest and second both want hegemony—so deal with the third first."
Dugu Feng used a metaphor that was not far from the truth.
Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong would surely clash to the finish. Before that, both wanted to eliminate the Star Luo Empire.
Dugu Shuo hesitated, then said, "I just fear that in fighting Star Luo, both sides suffer and Spirit Hall sweeps in."
His worry was almost identical to Dugu Bo's.
"Father, I don't think we need to worry. With the Clear Sky Sect and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect lending support, I believe Bibi Dong won't dare a head-on fight.
The last time Bibi Dong fought Tang Hao and the others, she was grievously wounded and must be cautious. Without absolute certainty, she won't make a move," Dugu Feng said calmly.
It was a reason for his father's benefit. In truth, with Qian Daoliu around, unless Bibi Dong's strength surpassed his, she could not openly block Qian Renxue.
Dugu Shuo nodded in relief. His son's read on the continental situation was accurate.
He did not know Bibi Dong was undergoing a Divine Trial; otherwise, he wouldn't have thought so.
"Father, for us, the most important thing is to strengthen ourselves. Xue Qinghe will handle the expedition. We needn't stick our necks out. Keeping a low profile is our Dugu clan's style."
Dugu Shuo nodded again. His son was right.
The clan's interests above all else.
These past years, after Yu Yuanzhen's death, even with the Dugu clan keeping a low profile, its influence had grown greatly.
The Dugu clan had Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo.
There was also the rapid rise of Extreme Academy.
And Dugu Feng was the Heaven Dou Empire's foremost prodigy.
Many already deemed such strength worthy of the Upper Three Sects.
This was no time to get cocky!
Dugu Feng then told his father about Dugu Bo and how he had made him submit.
"Wait, Feng'er, are you saying you defeated my Second Uncle?" Dugu Shuo was stunned.
"Yes, Father. As you surmised, after reclaiming the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Blazing Delicate Apricot, I can command cold and fire poison domains.
In the special environment of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, I defeated him outright!"
Dugu Feng said proudly.
"And what is my Second Uncle's stance now?"
"He will, of course, submit to our poison-cultivating lineage and take your lead in all things," Dugu Feng smiled.
(END CHAPTER)
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