Earth Dragon Golden Melons, and the Abyssal Sea Hundred Treasures Bag

"Alas—"

Dugu Bo sighed, then immediately leaped up and brought Ji Wuming down. Ji Wuming purposefully searched for herbs within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, while Dugu Bo followed closely behind him with extreme caution, anxiety filling his eyes.

"Most of these herbs are highly poisonous. Whatever you do, don't touch them. If you're poisoned, even I won't be able to save you."

When he had first claimed this treasure ground, he had picked a herb. The moment he plucked it, the herb had crumbled directly into powder, while his right hand, which had touched the Immortal Herb, had been contaminated by an unknown green poison.

If he had not possessed the cultivation of an eighty-ninth-rank Soul Douluo at the time, cultivated poisonous arts his entire life, possessed some resistance to poison, and received treatment from the Ye Family's Nine Star Begonia, Dugu Bo would have long since died as a puddle of bloody sludge.

"Your Excellency, rest assured. Although I don't understand medicinal theory, I still recognize some herbs."

At this moment, Ji Wuming's eyes were completely lost in the sea of medicinal flowers, unable to pull themselves away.

"The poison nemesis, Aromatic Silk Beauty; the tyrant of poisons, Snow-Colored Swan Kiss; the king of flowers, Lovesick Heartbreak Red; and the Aromatic Silk Beauty, Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone, Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, Black Jade Divine Bamboo, and Primordial Immortal Grass that I desperately want..."

There were more than twenty herbs ranked as Immortal Herbs. Aside from them, there were also quite a few top-grade herbs.

"Snow Silkworm, Cinnabar Lotus, Twin Lotus, Dragon Branch Leaf..."

Ji Wuming stopped before an exceptionally robust, earth-yellow Earth Dragon Golden Melon, beneath which grew two brown melons marked with patterns.

"This is the Earth Dragon Golden Melon. It will benefit Your Excellency and your granddaughter the most. Just as its name suggests, once you eat it, your Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul will undergo a further transformation, with a very high chance of completing a Martial Soul Evolution."

"How is that possible?"

Dugu Bo was utterly astonished. His Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul had only evolved into the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor after he absorbed a snake Empress soul beast—Medusa. The process of Martial Soul Evolution had been incomparably difficult.

Yet now, merely eating a plant could resolve the matter of Martial Soul Evolution that soul masters pursued bitterly for years or even decades. How absurd was that?

Ji Wuming had long expected Dugu Bo's shock. In his view, the Martial Soul Evolution gained from consuming Immortal Herbs would only affect the current generation and several generations to come. After that, the family would still face the problem of Martial Soul degeneration.

Martial Souls were inherited through the bloodlines of both parents, much like dominant and recessive inheritance in biology. Even if a child's awakened Martial Soul did not resemble either parent's, it could not truly be determined that the child was not biologically theirs. It could only be said that the Martial Soul had skipped a generation.

Immortal Herbs could reduce the chance of recessive inheritance and allow powerful Martial Souls to be passed down more steadily.

With that thought, Ji Wuming saw that Dugu Bo was still doubtful and further explained.

"Snakes belong to the dragon species and carry an extremely faint trace of Dragon-type bloodline within them. Although the Earth Dragon Golden Melon is an earth-attribute plant, it can allow snake-type soul beasts or snake-type Martial Souls to undergo the process of transforming from a flood dragon into a true dragon, becoming unprecedented sub-dragons or even pure-blooded dragon soul beasts or Martial Souls."

"If the Jade Phosphorous Serpent evolves into a dragon, its Martial Soul Poison will very likely undergo a transformation and no longer harm the human body. It may even grant the Jade Phosphorous Serpent an additional earth attribute, balancing out the damage caused by its poison."

"To ensure that you aren't deceiving this old man, I will plant something inside your body!"

Dugu Bo did not rush to have Ji Wuming pick the Earth Dragon Golden Melons. Instead, he circulated the Soul Power in his body and forcibly lifted Ji Wuming into the air. Something hidden in his abdomen began wriggling upward, emerging from his mouth along with a little saliva before entering Ji Wuming's body.

"Your Excellency, what are you doing? That's disgusting!"

Ji Wuming clutched his chest and gagged violently. He had never imagined that Dugu Bo would feed him a Pill Orb. If the person facing him had been a woman, he naturally would not have found it so disgusting, but Dugu Bo was a man—and the Pill Orb had come out of his abdomen.

Dugu Bo also felt embarrassed at his words and explained.

"Don't worry. This is a Pill Orb condensed from my lifelong cultivation, temporarily stored within your body. As long as you don't try anything underhanded, it will only benefit you and never harm you!"

"All right, then. But if there's anything this disgusting in the future, remember to tell me beforehand so I can prepare myself mentally."

Ji Wuming used a jade tool to cut along the vines, then handed the two brown Earth Dragon Golden Melons to Dugu Bo.

"Only eat the pulp inside!"

Just as Dugu Bo was about to test the medicine first, Ji Wuming suddenly thought of an even better method and hurriedly stopped him.

"Your Excellency, I've thought of a better way. It may allow your Martial Soul to evolve while giving your overall strength two qualitative leaps."

"Oh! What other suggestion do you have? Speak!"

Dugu Bo's impression of Ji Wuming had already begun to improve, and he was more than willing to hear his suggestion.

"Your Excellency, you are the Poison Douluo. Poison is the foundation of your cultivation. To make sure I'm not misleading you, you can condense the toxins in your body into the Pill Orb. That way, you can retain all of your poisonous arts while also completing your Martial Soul Evolution. Perhaps afterward, the Pill Orb will directly transform into a Poison Dragon Orb! You may even step into the ranks of a Super Douluo."

At the mention of a Super Douluo, Dugu Bo smiled in delight. He was currently only a ninety-second-rank Titled Douluo. If he could rise three ranks in just a few days, he would no longer need to fear pursuit by his enemies. Even across the entire continent, Super Douluos were exceedingly rare.

"Good!"

Dugu Bo stored the two Earth Dragon Golden Melons in the Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch, then controlled the Pill Orb to leave Ji Wuming's body. Ji Wuming, completely unprepared, nearly had his throat torn apart.

"Your Excellency, couldn't you have told me before taking it out?"

"Next time, certainly. Since you've helped me so greatly, and you also have a Martial Soul defect, take a look around and pick whichever herbs can cure your condition. Consider that the condition I promised you fulfilled!"

Ji Wuming was not so easily fooled by Dugu Bo's generous offer.

"Your Excellency brought that up yourself, not me. One matter is one matter; you can't mix them together."

Dugu Bo pointed at Ji Wuming ahead of him, feeling utterly helpless. He had never expected a dignified Titled Douluo like himself to encounter a scoundrel comparable to a true rascal. Even all the herbs here could not offset the promise he had made to Ji Wuming.

"Actually, I just want to take a few more herbs in case they're needed later. What does Your Excellency think?"

"Fine, that suits me perfectly. You may take whichever herbs catch your eye, but remember not to damage my Herb Garden!"

As Dugu Bo spoke, he tossed out a Soul Tool from his waist similar to the Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch. However, instead of being adorned with green gemstones, this Soul Tool was decorated with deep-blue gems.

"This is the Abyssal Sea Hundred Treasures Bag. I found it together with the Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch. It is also a Storage Soul Guiding Device capable of storing living creatures. Now it's yours, kid!"

Ji Wuming accepted the Abyssal Sea Hundred Treasures Bag. Along with his gratitude came considerable surprise. According to the original plot, shouldn't Dugu Bo have only possessed one Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch? How did he have two Storage Soul Guiding Devices like this?