Chapter 56: The Secret Room Douluo (?)

Upon hearing the crucial keyword "body toxins," Dugu Bo instantly became extremely cautious. Deciding against lingering any longer, he immediately unleashed his Title Douro-level soul power, using a hand suffused with energy to snatch Chen Ming right out of the toxic mist.

Originally, Dugu Bo had intended to knock Chen Ming unconscious and carry him away slung over his shoulder. On second thought, however, this young man had an ambiguous relationship with his granddaughter and, moreover, had saved her life once. Even if he was going to take the boy away, he couldn't afford to be too crude.

Consequently, Dugu Bo opted to grab Chen Ming by the arm, encasing him in Title Douro-level soul power, and headed down the mountain in this relatively polite manner.

"Senior Dugu, what is the meaning of this?" Though Chen Ming understood everything perfectly in his heart, he still put up a token resistance, trying hard to wrench himself free from Dugu Bo's grip.

"Quiet down. You saved my granddaughter, so I certainly won't treat you unfairly. It's just that some matters are not convenient to discuss in public. Come with me to my estate first."

"..."

Chen Ming glanced back at his own courtyard and slowly opened his mouth. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't connect this courtyard with the word "public."

If one really had to stretch the definition, at best it could be considered "large." But where on earth did the "public" part come in?

Knowing his excuse didn't hold water, Dugu Bo simply stopped talking and prepared to return home with Chen Ming, who had ceased his struggling. After they had covered a short distance, the three academy educational administrators came running from afar.

"冕下 (Your Excellency) Poison Douro, show mercy!"

"Your Excellency, calm down! Things are not as you think."

"Your Excellency, there's a misunderstanding here!"

The three of them cried out at the top of their lungs, terrified that the eccentric Dugu Bo might take fatal action against Chen Ming.

Faced with their outcries, not only did Dugu Bo not slow his pace, but he actually accelerated, flashing past the three of them and leaving behind only a calm, brief explanation.

"I vouch on my name as the Poison Douro that this kid's life is not in danger. There are simply some matters I need to take him to my estate to clarify."

***

Hearing that Dugu Bo was willing to pledge his own moniker as the Poison Douro as a guarantee, the deeply worried three administrators slowly came to a halt, the anxiety fading from their eyes.

If Dugu Bo genuinely intended to kill the boy, he wouldn't have bothered giving the three of them an explanation at all, let alone staking his title as the Poison Douro on it.

Across the mainland, not just anyone could prompt Dugu Bo to offer such a pledge; the weight of those three words was perhaps even more significant than his actual name.

Since a Title Douro had sworn upon his title, there naturally wouldn't be any mishaps.

With no one else to block his path, Dugu Bo dragged Chen Ming along and sprinted wildly toward his estate in Heaven Dou City. Given a Title Douro's traveling speed, it wasn't long before they reached the city gates.

Spotting the sprinting Dugu Bo, the guards on duty proactively cleared the crowd at the entrance to make way for him. Along the way, every pedestrian and carriage caught sight of Dugu Bo and consciously stepped aside to clear a path. The city garrison troops within the walls didn't dare to intercept him; seeing him dashing forward while channeling his soul power, they even saluted him respectfully, entirely unconcerned with whether Dugu Bo cared or not.

Arriving before the gates of his own manor, Dugu Bo finally slowed his pace. Seeing their master return, the guards stationed at the entrance immediately threw open the gates and shouted loudly into the courtyard to announce Dugu Bo's homecoming.

Yet, even after returning to his own household, Dugu Bo had no intention of letting go of Chen Ming. Instead, he firmly gripped the boy's arm and dragged him all the way into his private meditation chamber.

At that moment, the head steward of Dugu Bo's household hurried over. Catching sight of the returning master, he immediately began to weep and air his grievances. But the moment he looked up and saw Chen Ming standing beside Dugu Bo with an awkward grimace, the steward's emotions flared up instantly, eager to report the recent events to his master.

Facing this brother-in-law who had stayed by his side for decades, Dugu Bo couldn't help but think of his deceased wife and children, a trace of sorrow flashing through his eyes.

Even so, Dugu Bo chose not to listen to the grievances. Instead, he stopped the steward, instructing him to keep a close watch on Dugu Yan for the time being and ensure she didn't find out about his return.

Dugu Bo's cultivation room was not large; rather than a place for meditation, it resembled a study.

Just like scenes in television dramas, Dugu Bo gave a vase on a shelf a gentle push, and a low, rumbling sound echoed from the floor as a tunnel leading to an unknown destination opened up before them.

Dugu Bo jumped into the tunnel with Chen Ming, then reached out to press a concealed mechanism hidden nearby. The passage leading back to the surface closed with a muffled thud. Retrieving a large glowing night pearl from his storage soul tool, Dugu Bo injected soul power into it, instantly illuminating the previously dark space.

Hidden beneath the meditation room was a chamber packed with various medicinal herbs and soul beast specimens. Colorful soul beast materials and specimens preserved through unknown methods rested neatly upon rows of shelves.

***

On the bookshelves in the corner sat a series of ancient texts with yellowed edges, passed down through generations for an untold number of years. The walls were covered with numerous charts detailing human meridians, accompanied by rows of tiny, annotated notes in the corners.

Only...

Although Chen Ming hadn't actively studied human meridians in depth prior to his transmigration, as a web novel author, he had a rough impression of such concepts.

After his rebirth, his spiritual power had increased significantly, allowing him to recall those meridian maps he had seen in the past and even toy with the idea of devising his own internal cultivation art.

At a single glance, Chen Ming could spot glaring errors in the charts hanging on Dugu Bo's walls. Either certain meridians were incorrectly labeled, or they were missing entirely where they should have been present.

A single meridian would have merely one or two sporadic acupoints marked along it, with no explanation of their functions. The Twelve Regular Meridians could barely be made out in rough outline, but lacked all detail. The Eight Extraordinary Meridians were nowhere to be found.

Minor mistakes were fine—Chen Ming could tolerate those. But why on earth were there extra, clearly asymmetrical meridians in certain places? Douro world natives didn't possess that kind of physical anatomy, did they? Or were these supposed to be special meridians that manifested after a martial soul avatar fusion?

Chen Ming felt that if one tried to study internal cultivation arts using these diagrams, the resulting effect would likely be worse than starting from scratch, simply because the misleading information was far too severe.

Seeing Chen Ming gazing blankly at the hard-earned meridian maps he treasured so much, Dugu Bo didn't interrupt, a hint of emotional resonance in his tone.

"You can actually understand the treasures hanging on my wall? Truly a rare sight."

"This is human meridian research I collected and traded for from all corners of the mainland. It is a genuine, priceless treasure that cannot be found just anywhere. Consider yourself immensely fortunate to set eyes upon it."

"It is said that these meridian charts can be integrated into meditation techniques to further enhance cultivation efficiency. Yet, after pondering over them for all these years, I still fail to comprehend them. Naturally, it's impossible for a Great Soul Master like you to make any sense of them either."