Thorn Earth Dragon

The night passed quickly.

The group traveled light without any special preparations; after all, with a Title Douluo leading the way to hunt a thousand-year spirit beast, they never expected any accidents.

As for Chen Jieqi and Dugu Yan, they treated this purely as an outing; it didn't even count as training.

Considering the location of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, which was relatively close to the barren hills inhabited by the Thorn Earth Dragon, Dugu Bo decided to obtain a spirit ring for Dugu Yan first, especially since Dugu Yan herself had already been delayed for half a year.

Having made up his mind, the trio set off in the direction of the barren hills.

The midday wind carried dry dust, blowing across the rolling, undulating barren hills.

The yellow earth beneath their feet was dry and cracked, with sparse clusters of withered grass shivering in the wind, and the air was filled with a heavy, oppressive scent of damp soil.

"Whoosh!"

Dugu Bo appeared instantly on a hilltop with the two of them, the strong wind whipping up dust and exposing the full view of the giant beast below.

What came into view was a creature about 5-6 meters long with a shoulder height of nearly 2 meters. Its limbs were short and thick but knotted with muscle, and its body was covered in thick scales with a grayish-yellow base and rusty patterns.

Its head was a blunt, rounded dragon head with only a short, thick bony protrusion on the forehead, its eyes were murky and earthy-yellow, and its snout was short.

Its long tail was thick and sturdy, accounting for almost half of its body length, with half-foot-long bone spurs covering the back of the tail, and its limbs were dragon feet with sharp claws.

It was a Thorn Earth Dragon coiled in the center of the hill, the bone spurs on its tail trembling slightly with its breathing; just looking at it made one's scalp tingle.

"This is the one. It's just approaching 3,000 years, and its earth attribute is very pure."

Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes, a wild, arrogant smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Yanyan, watch closely. Grandpa will catch it for you."

Before the words had even faded, Dugu Bo's figure had vanished from the hilltop, leaving only his voice echoing in the wind.

Chen Jieqi and Dugu Yan leaned forward to look down, but the intense battle they had anticipated never occurred.

They only saw the Thorn Earth Dragon at the bottom of the hill about to roar when an invisible pressure of spirit power descended like Mount Tai, causing its massive body to freeze instantly, its murky, earthy-yellow pupils filled with terror.

Dugu Bo landed lightly in front of the Earth Dragon and tapped it gently with his right hand:

"Sleep!"

"Thud!"

The 5-6 meter long behemoth lost its strength as if it had been forced into a 'deep sleep' like a well-behaved baby.

The next second, Dugu Bo grabbed the Earth Dragon's skull with one hand, lifted the nearly 3,000-year-old giant beast over his head with ease, and with a flash, returned to the hilltop.

Chen Jieqi and Dugu Yan widened their eyes, staring at the Earth Dragon, which was several times larger than the two of them combined, being held aloft so effortlessly, and were unable to speak for a long time.

"Is... is this the power of a Title Douluo?"

Dugu Yan murmured, her dark orange hair trembling slightly from the shock.

Dugu Bo threw the Earth Dragon onto the ground, clapped his hands, and smiled slightly:

"It's just a little bug, after all.

Yanyan, hurry up and do it. Grandpa will protect you."

Dugu Bo's voice pulled Dugu Yan back from her shock.

"Okay, Grandpa!"

Dugu Yan took a deep breath, walked quickly to the Thorn Earth Dragon, and took a sharp dagger from her Soul Tool.

She pierced the vital point of the Earth Dragon with precision, and the behemoth didn't even struggle, enjoying a rare 'peaceful' death.

Immediately, a thick, bloody scent mixed with a faint dragon aura spread instantly. Above the dragon's corpse, a pale purple spirit ring slowly condensed.

As the halo swirled, it carried heavy earth-type energy and dragon-like pressure, dazzling and eye-catching.

Dugu Yan sat cross-legged, the dark orange dragon scales between her brows suddenly lighting up, and a heavy halo of earth elements erupted instantly.

Martial Soul Avatar!

Dark gold dragon scales spread along her meridians to the surface of her skin, a sharp golden horn protruded from her forehead, and her palms transformed into scaly dragon claws, her fingertips gleaming with a cold light.

She raised her hand to guide it, and the pale purple thousand-year spirit ring rose slowly from the corpse of the Thorn Earth Dragon, carrying a dragon aura as heavy as a mountain range, hovering above her head.

The next second, the earth-type spirit power slammed down violently like a collapsing mountain, crashing fiercely into her meridians.

"Ugh..."

Dugu Yan let out a muffled groan, cold sweat seeping from her forehead.

The power of the Thorn Earth Dragon was savage and fierce, carrying the weight of rock and the unyielding nature of dragon blood, rushing and tearing through her meridians like a wild horse, attempting to burst her body from within.

An ordinary spirit master would have had their spirit power scattered and their meridians shattered by now, but within her body, the power of the Earth Dragon Golden Melon responded quietly like the gentle earth, slowly wrapping around and assimilating that savage earth dragon power.

"Steady, guide the spirit power with all your might."

Dugu Bo's voice carried a soothing spirit power.

Dugu Yan closed her eyes, the dark gold dragon scales on her body rising and falling slightly with her breathing, her aura as steady as a mountain rooted in the earth.

She no longer resisted that violent earth-type power, but instead took the initiative to guide the power of the Earth Dragon Golden Melon within her, using it as a root, Following the skeletal structure of the Single-Horned Golden Flood Dragon, she guided the power of the thousand-year spirit ring belonging to the Thorn Earth Dragon bit by bit.

Slowly, the pale purple spirit ring energy intertwined with the power of the Earth Dragon Golden Melon, eventually being thoroughly accepted and purified by the bloodline of the Single-Horned Golden Flood Dragon.

The power of the earth and the dragon flowed within her, resonating perfectly with the essence of earth, power, and defense.

At this moment, her spirit power not only achieved a leap in quantity but also underwent a sublimation in quality.

Time slipped away quietly in this serene fusion; on the wasteland, there was only the sound of the wind brushing through the overgrown withered grass.

Standing to the side with his hands behind his back, Dugu Bo watched Dugu Yan transition from her initial slight trembling to her later steady breathing.

His tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed, and the heart he had been holding in his chest finally settled.

"It's done."

Dugu Bo muttered to himself, a trace of gratified laughter flashing in his eyes.

I do not know how much time had passed, but the wind on the wasteland had even become gentle.

The power of the Earth Dragon, which had originally been rampaging through Dugu Yan's meridians, gradually shed its unruly and fierce nature.

It transformed into the steady and heavy Earth Power of a mountain range, flowing slowly along her meridians.

"Hum--!"

With a soft vibration, the pale purple thousand-year spirit ring finally stabilized completely, settling firmly around her waist and rotating alongside the two preceding yellow rings.

Dugu Yan slowly opened her eyes, a flash of earth-yellow light passing through them as the aura around her body changed abruptly.

The dark golden dragon scales that had originally covered her skin were now overlaid with a layer of dark yellow rocky thorns; each piece was as tough as iron, deeper in color, and faintly exuding the heavy texture of a mountain range.

She stood up, her entire temperament shifting from the agility of a young girl to the steady, heavy, and indestructible majesty of a sub-dragon.

"Grandpa, little brother Xiao Qi, I succeeded in absorbing it!"

Her voice was filled with irrepressible excitement.

"I am now a genuine Soul Elder!"

"Hahaha, good!

As expected of my, Dugu Bo's, granddaughter!"

Dugu Bo laughed heartily, stepped forward, and patted her shoulder gently, his eyes full of gratification and pride.

Chen Jieqi also stepped forward quickly, his eyes full of smiles:

"Sister Yanyan, congratulations!

Your aura now is much stronger than before!"

"Come quickly and test what level your spirit power has reached."

After taking a moment to adjust her breathing, Dugu Yan took the spirit power crystal handed to her by Dugu Bo and pressed her palm gently against it.

"Level 34!"

Dugu Bo laughed loudly once again.

"Congratulations, Sister Yanyan.

The half-year of dormancy and hard work has all turned into solid strength."

Holding the crystal, Dugu Yan felt the surging and heavy spirit power within her body and looked down at her figure; she could almost no longer see her own toes.

After obtaining her third spirit ring, she seemed to have grown a little taller, and her originally slender waist appeared even more graceful and upright.

It made her look even more spirited, giving off a sense of steadiness and weight.

Sunlight spilled over the wasteland, the pale purple thousand-year spirit ring rotated quietly around her waist, and the dark yellow rocky thorns glinted with a cold light under the sun.

A brand-new earth-type sub-dragon Soul Elder was officially born under the witness of her grandfather and younger brother.