"Ding! Congratulations, Host, your sign-in was successful. Reward: ten cartons of Xuanhemen cigarettes. Your charm increases by 50% while smoking."
"Hey, what's this supposed to mean, System? Are you messing with me? I risked my life for this Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, and all you give me is ten cartons of cigarettes? You should've given me twenty at the very least." Jiang Siming complained.
"The System's getting more and more heartless. It's getting harder and harder to work as a host these days." Jiang Siming put on a doleful expression.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had provided Jiang Siming with a Soul Ring and the Soul Skill Prison. Anyone who entered Jiang Siming's Prison had all their attributes reduced by 50%. It was an utterly overpowered Soul Skill. The only catch was that it didn't distinguish friend from foe. Everyone except Jiang Siming had their attributes reduced by 50%.
Jiang Siming glanced at the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's corpse, then lit himself a cigarette with a flick of his hand. He was about to leave for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well when his stomach suddenly rumbled.
"Wait, does this cigarette also help with digestion?" Jiang Siming grumbled.
There was still a Soul Beast corpse right here.
In the end, Jiang Siming decided to roast the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger and eat it before leaving.
Jiang Siming was about to cut off the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's rear end. After all, Soul Beasts weren't people, and they couldn't wipe themselves clean with paper after relieving themselves. But as his sword came down, it suddenly rang out with a metallic clang.
"Could it be... a Spirit Bone?" Jiang Siming put the rest of the meat over the fire to roast, then reached in to feel around.
"Damn, it really is a Spirit Bone. And it's in its backside? An External Soul Bone?" Jiang Siming said helplessly.
"Could it be the Evil God Hook? If it is, I've struck it rich." As he thought this, Jiang Siming glanced at the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's Evil God Hook, only to see it breaking apart piece by piece.
"Looks like it really was the Evil God Hook." Jiang Siming was a little excited.
"Could it be that I look so cool when I smoke that even the heavens couldn't bear to let me miss out on this opportunity, so they made me hungry?" Jiang Siming took another deep drag.
"Better absorb it right away, before anything else can go wrong."
Jiang Siming sat down and began absorbing the External Soul Bone with practiced ease.
An hour later.
Jiang Siming's eyes snapped open. A long, spiked tail extended from his back, glinting black and looking sinister. An extremely evil energy burst out from his whole body.
"I didn't expect this External Soul Bone to give me a skill, too." Evil Aura shrouded the area around Jiang Siming, amplifying negative emotions tenfold and increasing attack power by 50%. Besides the skill, the Evil God Hook itself could transform into the Evil God Thorn.
"I've hit the jackpot today. I'll see if I can score anything else at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. From now on, I, Jiang Siming, am on my way to a happy life." Jiang Siming took a couple of bites of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, which had finished roasting some time ago, then dashed toward the mountaintop.
As he reached the cave entrance, an intense contrast between extreme cold and heat washed over him. A rich medicinal fragrance filled the air.
Jiang Siming looked at the rows of herbs, each giving off a strong fragrance. He was torn, though his impatience was plain to see.
"I don't have a Soul Tool that can store living things. What am I supposed to do? Did I come all this way for nothing?" Jiang Siming said, unwilling to accept it.
Just as Jiang Siming was hesitating,
a voice suddenly rang out. "You've got a lot of nerve, boy."
Jiang Siming jumped, but he didn't sense any killing intent, so he wasn't too alarmed.
Jiang Siming took a closer look. The newcomer was an old man with dark green hair. Nine Soul Rings floated in front of him—he was clearly a Titled Douluo.
"That must be Dugu Bo," Jiang Siming thought to himself.
Dugu Bo had no intention of killing Jiang Siming. He was simply curious how the boy had made it through his Poison Barrier.
Dugu Bo was also surprised by how Jiang Siming had reacted to the Immortal Herbs. An ordinary Soul Master would have been unable to resist picking them. Without proper storage, their spiritual energy would dissipate quickly. If someone wasted these precious herbs, Dugu Bo would kill him on the spot. He was also surprised that Jiang Siming could keep his composure in front of a Titled Douluo. The boy was either from a powerful family, had real strength, or was simply ignorant and fearless. Dugu Bo was more inclined to believe the first two. Otherwise, if even an idiot had breached his Poison Barrier, he'd never live it down.
"Boy, how did you get through my Poison Barrier?" Dugu Bo asked coldly.
Jiang Siming felt a little more at ease since he hadn't sensed any killing intent, but he didn't let his guard down. He stayed ready to fight back or flee at any moment. "I've been immune to poisons since I was a child. Medicine has no effect on me, so I didn't feel any harm from the Poison Barrier."
The moment he opened his mouth, Jiang Siming regretted it. "I'm done for. He's definitely going to keep me here. I really need to watch what I say." Jiang Siming smiled bitterly to himself, but kept up a calm facade.
"Heh. There's a limit to how much a boy can boast. In all my years, I've never seen anyone with a constitution like that."
Jiang Siming could only press on. "Just because you haven't seen one doesn't mean it doesn't exist."
"Good! You've got guts. I'll give you a chance, then. Pick any herb here and eat it. If you come through unharmed, I'll let you leave. How does that sound?"
"I'll do as you say, Senior." Dugu Bo gave him an approving look, but Jiang Siming was inwardly miserable. All he could do now was hope his luck held—or that the Immortal Slaying Sword's killing power would work fast enough to wipe out the poison.
"Fine. But I'll warn you: any herb here, poisonous or not, could make you wish you were dead."
His happy life had only just begun, and already it was unhappy again.
Jiang Siming looked at the countless Immortal Herbs glowing faintly before him, unsure which one to choose.
"This one's so pretty. It probably isn't poisonous, right?" Jiang Siming bent down and picked the prettiest flower. He was a die-hard member of the looks-first club.
Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched Jiang Siming pick the herb. "You're pretty lucky, boy. This one isn't poisonous, and it can even cure all poisons. It's not technically a tonic, but judging by its size, this Aromatic Silk Beauty is around six thousand years old. Even its medicinal power is more than an ordinary Soul Master can withstand."
"Aromatic Silk Beauty?" Jiang Siming murmured, then popped it into his mouth.
Dugu Bo was already prepared to observe the Soul Master's reaction to the herb. As for whether Jiang Siming lived or died, he couldn't care less.
Not long after he swallowed the Aromatic Silk Beauty, Jiang Siming felt a surge of energy rise from his stomach. At last, he let out a belch. "Hup!" His whole body instantly felt refreshed, and he exclaimed, "That feels great!"
Jiang Siming turned toward Dugu Bo and saw him staring in stunned silence. After a long pause, Dugu Bo finally asked, "How do you feel?"
"How do I feel? Great. Oh...and my Soul Power went up one level." Jiang Siming thought for a moment before answering. His Soul Power was now level 32.
"How is that possible? Even if you could withstand all that medicinal power, you couldn't absorb it in just a few breaths. And your Soul Power couldn't have risen by only one level. Could you really have such a special constitution, one that medicine has no effect on?" Dugu Bo said in disbelief.
Jiang Siming hadn't expected to absorb all the medicinal power so easily. But it made sense. He'd already taken five Body Strengthening Pills, so his physique was far beyond an ordinary person's. On top of that, he had two thousand-year Soul Rings and one Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring—an absurd combination. His body's capacity for withstanding strain had reached unprecedented heights. Besides, it wasn't that the six-thousand-year-old Aromatic Silk Beauty lacked medicinal power; Jiang Siming's Soul Power was simply too substantial, and his foundation before level 30 had been too strong. It was difficult for medicinal power alone to raise his level.