I Traveled to Douluo and Split into Five People

Silently invoking his spirit skill, the purple halo pulsed as glazed light melted into the Spirit Ring.

Ning Yulin looked on expectantly. Dugu Yan had no idea what was happening, but seeing his reaction, she curiously turned her gaze toward the Spirit Ring now wrapped in a circle of multicolored mist.

After several breaths, the surface of the Spirit Ring suddenly rippled and swiftly turned into a proportionally shrunken Poison Vine.

"It worked!"

Delighted, Ning Yulin was extremely excited. The moment to witness a miracle had come. He pressed down on Dugu Yan's shoulders as though he were urging her life away.

"Listen to me. When you absorb it later, don't think about anything else! Think of only one thing: tell yourself that this spirit skill can absorb the toxins in my body and convert them into pure energy! Don't think about anything else—only that!"

Based on the conclusions he had drawn from his "vast reading," the formation of a spirit skill was generally influenced by three factors: the characteristics of the martial soul, the type of spirit beast, and the spirit master's subconscious—or rather, personal will.

The Jade Phosphorous Serpent was poisonous, and Dugu Yan also carried poison within her body, fulfilling the spirit beast's innate characteristics. Combined with Dugu Yan's self-hypnosis, the three elements were nearly unified. There was an extremely high chance that the resulting spirit skill would have the desired effect.

The results of their two experiments had already proven part of that.

It was the first time Dugu Yan had seen Ning Yulin react so "fanatically," and she shrank back a little. Only then did Ning Yulin restrain himself somewhat and lower his hands.

"I understand."

Dugu Yan took several deep breaths, emptied her mind, summoned her martial soul, and sat cross-legged on the ground. Ning Yulin beckoned at the miniature Poison Vine, guiding it to descend onto Dugu Yan's martial soul.

The absorption began.

"Will this really achieve the effect we want?"

Dugu Bo lowered his voice, curious. Ning Yulin folded his hands and waited for the result.

"In principle, the formation of a spirit skill involves many factors: the spirit beast's species, appearance, and abilities; the spirit master's psychological suggestion and martial soul abilities; and so on. I used my Second Spirit Skill to alter this Spirit Ring's basic composition. Combined with Yanyan's self-suggestion, whether it succeeds or fails can only be left to the rules of heaven and earth."

After such a long period of research, this second Spirit Ring—Life Attachment—could even influence energy that was neither living nor dead. From the look of it, it should be a rule-type ability.

He wondered whether other people would still have this ability after adding higher-level Ten Thousand Year Spirit Rings.

If not, then his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul might have to retain this ability.

As he waited for Dugu Yan to absorb the ring, Ning Yulin's thoughts wandered again in the boredom.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda could not break through to Title Douluo because it had only seven levels and could not absorb nine Spirit Rings. But I have another martial soul. After my Soul Power breaks through, could it drive the Glazed Pagoda to evolve?

Yu Xiaogang... one level twenty-nine, one level seventy-nine. Does he have some research value?

Setting aside everything else, that martial soul alone, which could leave the body, possessed intelligence, and could even eat on its own, was unique in the history of Douluo Continent and had immense research value. Unfortunately, none of the people Yu Xiaogang knew seemed to care about this at all. Even he himself did not seem to think there was anything strange about it.

Glancing at Dugu Yan, who had yet to show any reaction, Ning Yulin's thoughts returned to how the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda could break through its level limit.

Shape Supplement, Source Supplement. A tool-type martial soul could not find a corresponding existence among spirit beasts; it could only find certain tools that existed in reality.

An inspiration flashed through his mind, and an idea surfaced. His heartbeat quickened, and his body temperature rose. A frightening light appeared in Ning Yulin's eyes as he turned to ask Dugu Bo.

"Senior, do you think a tool-type martial soul could increase its strength by fusing with an identical tool?"

What?

What are you talking about?

What am I even doing here?

"You... this idea... I..."

If he answered that he did not know, Dugu Bo felt he would lose face. But if he gave an ambiguous answer and this brat rashly tried it, what if something went wrong? Wouldn't that make him responsible for harming someone?

He turned away and answered awkwardly.

"I do not know."

A New Idea: Cultivating Soul with Artifacts

In truth, Ning Yulin had only casually asked Dugu Bo. He had not expected an answer.

He withdrew his gaze and began calculating on his own.

In Huo Yuhao's era, there seemed to have been someone called Ji Juechen who had honed his martial soul into a sword.

This showed that the rules of Douluo Continent allowed external conditions to influence the internal changes of a martial soul. If he chose suitable materials and forged several Glazed Pagodas, then fused his martial soul into them, he could slowly absorb the factors his martial soul lacked.

Even if directly forged objects did not work, it should still work if I first give them life force and then fuse with them.

Or...

An even more shocking idea emerged in his mind.

Give life force to other people's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagodas, then have his own martial soul fuse with and absorb them. Like the Otsutsuki on the moon in Shadow Fire, who fused countless Byakugan to create the Tenseigan. This method...

He could even fuse together a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda that was separate from his martial soul, existing in the material world.

Going a step further, he could fuse the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into his body and release spirit skills without any wind-up. It would resemble the form of a body martial soul. However, constrained by the rules of heaven and earth, he did not know whether it would work.

In that battle between Aizen and Kurosaki Ichigo, the man was the blade, and the blade was the man. In a sense, a martial soul was similar to a Zanpakuto. There was no reason it should not work.

Once they held a meeting later, he would discuss it with everyone.

With a new direction to look forward to, he was filled with fighting spirit.

This was different from dealing with Buddha Tang, the Asura God King, and that cowardly Sea God. That was an objective necessity, eliminating external threats. This, however, was a completely subjective desire from the bottom of his heart. His motivation was boundless.

Dugu Yan absorbed the ring far faster than the previous two test subjects. It took roughly a little over two hours.

When she opened her eyes, her grandfather's old face and Ning Yulin's expectant gaze were right in front of her. Startled, she gasped and leaned backward, nearly falling to the ground. Ning Yulin caught her by the arm and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her upright.

"How is it? What's the effect?"

Dugu Bo held his breath, not even daring to breathe too heavily, afraid that an extra breath might affect the result.

"There's some effect, but it doesn't feel very strong..."

There was an effect. It had loosened the stubborn toxins within her body, and after conversion by the Spirit Ring, they could become pure Soul Power for her to wield. But compared to what the two had hoped for, the intensity was not very high.

She demonstrated it, activating her spirit skill.

The Jade Phosphorous Serpent coiled around her, encircling her in the middle. A faint ring of poisonous mist spread out from between its scales. Ning Yulin raised an eyebrow.

"You can use this converted Soul Power however you want?"

Seeing her nod, Ning Yulin fell into thought. Dugu Yan would have plenty of room for development in the future. He meant only in terms of spirit skills—nothing else.

Dugu Bo stood to the side, looking up at the sky as tears nearly welled in his old eyes. Finally, finally, he had found hope. From now on, Yanyan would no longer have to worry about dying from poison backlash.

From the corner of his eye, he watched that detestable brat asking his granddaughter questions. Dugu Bo secretly nodded.

This boy truly was not a bad match. Even if he could not control the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect in the future, he could at least ensure Yanyan lived her life safely.

I wonder about Yanyan...

With their goal achieved, the group began leaving the forest.

On the way back, Ning Yulin naturally brought up another topic.

"Senior, now that we've opened a path toward solving Yanyan's problem, if we want greater results, then in this junior's view, besides Spirit Rings with greater cultivation, she will also need rare and precious herbs to build a foundation. Once her problem is resolved, she can gain even greater strength."

It was time to bring out the Immortal Herbs.

"As for Senior's problem, that will require separate consideration. But I already have some ideas, so it shouldn't be a major issue."

Dugu Bo did not think much of it and casually replied.

"I have an Herb Garden with quite a few rare medicinal plants. When I have some free time, I'll take you there and see which ones might be useful."

Perfect.

A huge weight lifted from Ning Yulin's heart, but for now, he could only wait for Dugu Bo to take the initiative. He could not reveal the slightest abnormality.

After leaving the forest, their carriage headed toward the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. According to their original "agreement," it was time for Dugu Yan to stay at Seven Treasures Sect for a while. Dugu Bo pulled his granddaughter into another carriage to discuss some private matters. Ning Yulin did not care. If it was important, he would learn of it later. If it was unimportant, why waste time being curious?

He meditated and entered the space. The others were not there, and there were no messages worth noting. An Lan had only just entered the Hagen-Dazs Kingdom with Qian Renxue and planned to stay for a few days. Zhou Xuefeng, meanwhile, had just crossed the Star Dou Great Forest. Tang Yin and Tian Rui had left no messages.

"Meeting."

He manifested the two words with spiritual power, made them three-dimensional, and left them floating in the middle of the round table. Whenever any of the other four entered, they would spot them immediately.

Upon returning to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he stepped down from the carriage.

Looking at Dugu Yan and meeting her eyes, Ning Yulin saw her face flush for an instant. Then she haughtily twisted her head away, like a proud little duck.

It made no sense to him.

Dugu Bo went straight to find Ning Fengzhi. No one knew what they discussed. When they appeared again, both wore beaming expressions.

"Sect Leader Ning truly has a fine son."

"Your Excellency flatters him."

By evening, Ning Yulin learned what they had discussed. Dugu Bo had persuaded Dugu Yan, and they had decided to establish a marriage engagement. No wonder Dugu Yan had reacted that way when she stepped down from the carriage earlier.

She did not reject the engagement, but being bound together so early inevitably made the girl feel as though an invisible, intangible shackle had been placed around her.

"It seems I'll need to pay attention to my distance from Dugu Yan for a while."

At the end, Ning Yulin sighed.

"Whew, thankfully she isn't Nalan Yanran, and there's no Soul Heavenly Emperor here either."

For some reason, he felt rather fortunate. If Tang San faced the Soul Heavenly Emperor, what kind of scene would that be?

Heh heh heh?

Ning Yulin had originally wanted the engagement banquet to be a simple formality. Just thinking about dealing with so many people gave him a headache. Not only would it waste time, it had no real meaning. But the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had vast wealth and influence, while Dugu Bo was renowned and, at the very least, a Title Douluo. Neither side could afford to lose face.

As for hostility from other forces?

Other than Spirit Hall, what else was there to worry about?

Spirit Hall had always targeted the other spirit master sects and clans.

He left the matter to Ning Fengzhi. As for himself, he was going to attend the meeting. If that idea of uniting tool and soul could be realized, he would have the confidence and the trump card to openly tell Ning Fengzhi, "I want to be the next Sect Leader."

With the official status of Young Sect Master, many things could be carried out without restraint.

Inside the space.

By the time Ning Yulin entered, the other four had already arrived. Zhou Xuefeng had his eyes closed, and the spiritual power around him fluctuated noticeably. Looking around, the once-monotonous space now contained a patch of Blue Silver Grass.

Just like the outside world.

The small touch of life in the otherwise plain space made it much more comfortable.

"This time..."

And so on and so forth.

He laid out all his ideas in full: the changes to Dugu Yan's spirit skill, Shape Supplement, and the idea of using external tools to make up for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul's flaws. As well as the engagement.

He had conducted several experiments with Cultivating Soul with Artifacts, having people cast many pagodas, but none had produced any reaction.

He had also tried carving gemstones and rare crystals into "glazed pagodas" similar to his martial soul, but there had been no effect either.

Stable Development

His Second Spirit Skill could even influence Spirit Rings?

The others were so envious they nearly split apart. But having Ning Yulin directly share his Spirit Ring at this stage would be more trouble than it was worth. Other than Zhou Xuefeng, the remaining three could only keep waiting for the day they could reap the benefits without effort.

They continued their discussion.

"This method is good, but creating a tower-shaped tool that can fuse with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda probably won't be easy. Ordinary metals and forging techniques definitely won't meet the requirements."

Tian Rui spread his hands and leaned back. Under the influence of spiritual power, his chair turned into a rocking recliner that swayed back and forth. He propped his legs on the table, leaving the other four able to see only the soles of his shoes.

"On this journey with Qian Renxue, Jian Mo Qian Jun are secretly escorting us. When I have time, I'll ask them for guidance."

An Lan spoke up. The method Ning Yulin had envisioned, using something similar to make up for flaws, might indeed be feasible.

"If ordinary metals and forging techniques won't work, then research extraordinary ones!"

Zhou Xuefeng opened his eyes, clearly implying something.

"Didn't the third part mention Spirit Forging and Fusion Forging? Armor forged through those methods can be stored directly within the body. With that kind of technique and material, forging a pagoda that can mutually fuse with the Glazed Pagoda should not be a problem."

Tang Yin was the most suitable person to carry out this matter. After all, he had chosen the Clear Sky Hammer as his primary martial soul, and it was highly suited for forging.

Feeling the gazes of the other four, Tang Yin had nothing to say.