Bloodline Shackles

The Immortal Herb he had dreamed of was right before his eyes.

Naturally, Li Chang'an could not simply give up. So he began reasoning with her and appealing to her emotions, assuring her that absolutely nothing would go wrong. By the end, even Dugu Bo had spoken up for him.

He said that if anything went wrong after Li Chang'an consumed it, he could promptly help expel the Immortal Herb from his body and minimize the harm.

After much persuasion, the two finally convinced Dugu Yan to let Li Chang'an try taking the Immortal Herb.

Dugu Bo retrieved an enormous chrysanthemum from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

The chrysanthemum was a splendid purple. Strangely, every petal looked fluffy and exceptionally adorable. The entire flower formed a seamless whole, yet not a trace of fragrance escaped from it. Its central stamen stood over half a foot above the petals, its tip gleaming with a faint golden light.

It was the neutral Immortal Herb, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum!

Compared with the other Immortal Herbs that had never appeared before, at least someone who had truly existed possessed this particular herb as a Martial Soul. If something went wrong later and they truly could not handle it, perhaps finding that person could save him.

Moreover, this herb's medicinal properties were highly suited to Li Chang'an's condition. It also would not conflict with any Martial Soul.

After receiving the Immortal Herb,

Li Chang'an suppressed the excitement in his heart and sat down cross-legged. He first ate the Sky-reaching stamen, then swallowed the petals one by one, casually tossing away the remaining stem.

Then he closed his eyes and began cultivating, absorbing and digesting the medicinal power.

At the side, Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan watched him nervously, keeping a close eye on his condition.

A faint golden light gradually lit up!

Li Chang'an sat cross-legged with a peaceful expression. A faint golden light began emerging from the skin all over his body. At the same time, cracking sounds came from within him, as though the medicinal power were shattering and remolding the bones in his body!

Dugu Bo stared fixedly at him, growing increasingly astonished the longer he watched. He discovered that the young man's aura was becoming more stable with the passage of time! At the same time, the fluctuations of his Soul Power were gradually growing richer and purer... This showed that the Soul Power within him had indeed been purified. Meanwhile, those cracking sounds were not actually his bones being shattered.

Rather, they were abnormal sounds produced as the bones, muscles, and meridians of his body were strengthened by the medicinal power.

This so-called Indestructible Body was rather interesting.

Perhaps after this round of strengthening, he might truly be able to absorb Soul Rings of extremely high age.

By this point, Dugu Bo had completely relaxed. Thus far, he could only see Li Chang'an improving in every respect and had not found any sign of things worsening. This undoubtedly proved that the Immortal Herb's effects were genuine!

Thinking of this, amid his joy, he could not help feeling somewhat regretful. There were many types of Immortal Herbs growing at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Li Chang'an had only told him about a small portion of them; information regarding most of the remaining Immortal Herbs was still unknown.

Perhaps that mostly decayed ancient book from back then had recorded information about the other Immortal Herbs?

What a pity he would never get to see it.

Dugu Bo sighed inwardly, feeling somewhat regretful. Among the Immortal Herbs currently known, none could help with his poisoning.

At the same time, far away in the Soul Beast Forest, at the Soul Beast Clone's location,

within the vast underground cavern,

the enormous Azure Serpent Emperor was coiled into a ball, and faint golden light was likewise rising from its body. Clearly, when the main body consumed the Immortal Herb, the clone had benefited as well.

It seemed that the connection between the main body and clone was far closer than Li Chang'an had imagined.

But thinking about it, since the clone could share Soul Power and even part of the main body's physical attributes across space, why could the main body not affect the clone in return?

Some time later,

the golden light around the Azure Serpent Emperor faded. It slowly opened its Dark Gold snake eyes and sensed the body strengthened by the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. Seemingly enlightened, it said, "This body's toughness has risen by at least one level! There are also many hidden benefits that will make my future growth smoother... Unfortunately, the Immortal Herb has only strengthened my body; it cannot evolve my bloodline. In terms of bloodline rank alone, I cannot compare to pure-blooded Dragon Clan descendants like Di Tian. At best, I am on the same level as those two gatekeepers, the Titan Giant Ape and Sky Azure Bull Python. My potential limit is practically visible already."

Soul Beasts could be said to be a race that placed extreme importance on bloodlines.

Because of their bloodlines, Soul Beasts practically had no bottlenecks. As long as they ate, drank, and cultivated casually every day, they could grow very strong. But because of their bloodlines, the limits of Soul Beasts were almost completely fixed.

Take Di Tian as an example. As a pure-blooded Dragon Clan member, and one from the era of the Dragon God, the upper limit of his bloodline was actually extremely high. In the end, he could have become a Level One God!

Unfortunately, because Douluo's rules had been altered by the God Realm, he had remained trapped on this continent for hundreds of thousands of years, still unable to break through to the God-level.

As for a Soul Beast bloodline at the Azure Serpent Emperor's level, even if it stumbled into godhood through sheer dumb luck, its limit would at most be that of a Level Three God. In other words, if Douluo Star's rules had not been altered, then this Azure Serpent Emperor clone's ultimate achievement would be a Level Three God. To break through to Level Two God or an even higher rank would be utterly impossible without some other fortuitous opportunity.

This was what it meant to succeed because of one's bloodline and fail because of one's bloodline.

By comparison, although humans lacked the advantages of bloodlines and faced bottlenecks with every small breakthrough, they were also free from that unbreakable restraint. Breaking past their limits was much easier as well!

But for Soul Beasts to break the shackles of their bloodlines was no simple matter. Without a heaven-defying opportunity, they could never break through the upper limit of their bloodline rank in their entire lives.

Back at Li Chang'an's main body,

after absorbing for some time, he had also initially digested the medicinal power of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, and his body had improved tremendously.

He slowly opened his eyes.

At this moment, his complexion was rosy, his eyes seemed to sparkle, and his entire spirit had been completely renewed!

He stood up.

After being strengthened by the Immortal Herb, Li Chang'an's physique had become strong and well-proportioned, with more defined muscle lines appearing on his body. At the same time, he had grown slightly taller again, making him feel even more dependable.

"Chang'an Gege, how do you feel?" Dugu Yan threw herself into his arms like a little bird. She only felt that his embrace had become increasingly solid, while his heartbeat had grown stronger and more powerful! It gave her an indescribable sense of peace.

"Yanzi, I am fine."

Li Chang'an held the girl in his arms and gently stroked her back. "I feel better than ever before! This Immortal Herb really works."

"Chang'an, come here. Let this old man examine you carefully." Dugu Bo beckoned to him. Although he had not noticed anything wrong through observation, it would still be safer to inspect him directly with Soul Power and spiritual power.

After all, he truly regarded Li Chang'an as one of his own. He could not bear for anything to happen to him.

Fourth update!

By the way, does no one want to invest?

There are so few favorites.