Soul Core Research Continues

"Cough, cough."

Dugu Bo swayed to his feet and dusted himself off.

"This was really powerful."

"Grandpa." Dugu Yan hurried forward and worriedly supported his arm.

"Grandpa is fine. Luckily, I broke through to rank ninety-four. Otherwise, it really would have been hard to say."

As Dugu Bo spoke, he was just about to settle the score with Jin Yan when he suddenly heard Zhang Yan shout angrily.

"Young Master!"

He looked up and saw Jin Yan floating above the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, slowly sinking downward.

Fortunately, he could still sense Jin Yan's breathing, which let him breathe a sigh of relief.

He quickly used the tail of his Jade Phosphor Serpent to pull him back out of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Now that he had broken through, his resistance to the ice and fire energy here had also increased considerably.

Otherwise, Jin Yan might have become the first transmigrator in all of history to drown in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Only when the sun set and the lingering clouds filled the sky—

Did Jin Yan slowly awaken from his coma.

He opened his eyes, his gaze vacant and unfocused.

Of course, he had not been blown stupid. He was considering where things had gone wrong.

He had controlled it well at the beginning. It was only later, when both his spiritual power and Soul Power became insufficient, that he failed.

When Huo Yuhao opened his first Soul Core at rank seventy, his Soul Power was also insufficient. Yet, relying on his overwhelming spiritual power and the remaining origin power of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, he had forcibly succeeded in forming the Soul Core.

It would not be easy to replicate his path. He had cheats, while I don't. What could I use to compete with him?

It seemed that if he wanted to form his first Soul Core before becoming a Titled Douluo, at least one of his Soul Power or spiritual power had to reach the required standard.

There was also physical strength. This was not too much of a concern. His body was probably already comparable to that of an ordinary Spirit Saint.

Thoughts churned continuously through Jin Yan's mind, his emotions surging.

"Perhaps I can let Grandpa try it first in a few days. As for going below to find the two Dragon Kings, that can wait."

He called Dugu Bo over, looked at the man's green hair, and asked, "Senior Dugu, wasn't the poison in your body cured? Why is your hair still green?"

Dugu Bo walked over with a smile. "This old man has had green hair for most of his life. Suddenly changing it to black felt strange, so I simply changed it back."

Jin Yan was speechless, but there was not much he could say.

Perhaps the man simply liked being different.

"Senior, it is time for us to discuss the poison inside Dugu Yan's body," Jin Yan said.

Dugu Bo's face instantly broke into a broad smile, and he rubbed his hands as he walked over.

After what had happened to himself, his trust in Jin Yan was now absolute.

"Senior, the poison in Dugu Yan's body is not severe. I can cure it right now, but the things required are rather troublesome." Taking advantage of the lull, Jin Yan explained the detoxification method he had prepared for Dugu Yan.

Just like in the original story, he planned to use the Soul Bone Poison-Storing Method.

It had to be said that although this method had significant drawbacks, it was indeed quite effective.

Moreover, it would make Dugu Bo owe him an enormous favor.

He had not forgotten that he still possessed a Thirty-Thousand-Year Amethyst Poison Python Left Leg Bone.

It was useless in his hands, so he might as well give it to Dugu Bo and make a Titled Douluo owe him an enormous favor.

Dugu Bo might not be particularly impressive in a one-on-one fight, but when it came to area attacks, no one on the entire continent could rival him.

Of course, although he had decided to give the Soul Bone to her, Jin Yan would not bring it up himself.

A small favor earned gratitude, but too great a favor bred resentment. Only by waiting for Dugu Bo to ask, or finding the right opportunity to mention it later, could he maximize the man's gratitude toward him.

As for the drawbacks of storing poison in a Soul Bone, Jin Yan had already thought of a solution. It was still a Soul Bone. The original story's failure to solve it did not necessarily mean Tang San did not know how; he had merely been unwilling to part with an Immortal Herb.

Although all of Dugu Yan's poison had been carried from her mother's womb, her cultivation was ultimately not high, and the poison she had accumulated was limited. Once the poison currently in her body was fused into the Soul Bone, he could give her an Immortal Herb to help her Martial Soul evolve and find a replacement for the Soul Bone.

If only the poison from her first thirty ranks and that small amount from her mother's womb were fused into the Soul Bone, Jin Yan refused to believe that it would fill up.

After that, all the poison produced through cultivation could be fused into a poison pearl.

Hadn't Dugu Bo's inner core appeared only after his Martial Soul evolved into the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor?

Jin Yan explained his plan to Dugu Bo.

Dugu Bo pondered for a long time.

Jin Yan's method was indeed feasible, but the Soul Bone was a major problem.

He did have a suitable Soul Bone, but it was only around a thousand years old. Its age was far too low.

Under normal circumstances, he could throw away his old pride and use that thousand-year Soul Bone to ask Xue Xing for a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone.

Even if Xue Xing did not have one, the Heaven Dou Empire had been established for so many years. It could still produce a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone.

At worst, he would simply work for the Heaven Dou Empire for a few more years.

But now, he truly could not bring himself to ask the Heaven Dou Empire for help.

After all, the person standing before him was from Spirit Hall.

He had dealings with someone from Spirit Hall. Though he had not said he would join Spirit Hall, he had still accepted an enormous favor from them.

If he encountered a problem and instead went to the Heaven Dou Empire for help, no matter how one looked at it, that would be hard to justify.

What if Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire went to war someday?

Would Yan Yan then use a Soul Bone from the Heaven Dou Empire to fight people from the Heaven Dou Empire?

Though Dugu Bo's actions throughout his life had been somewhat unpredictable and devious, he was not so lacking in principles.

Seeing his furrowed brow and contemplative expression, Jin Yan knew he was troubled over the Soul Bone.

He smiled and said, "Senior, I happen to have a Soul Bone that I have no use for. Its attributes suit Miss Dugu quite well, though its age is only thirty thousand years, which is a little low."

Dugu Bo: ...

Thirty thousand years was low?

This old man only had one seventy-thousand-year Head Spirit Bone...

"If Senior does not mind, let Miss Dugu use it for now," Jin Yan said with a generous smile.

Dugu Bo was not one to be coy. Jin Yan had already cured the poison in both his and his granddaughter's bodies, leaving him owing an enormous favor. Since one more favor made little difference, Dugu Bo simply agreed.

"Boy Yan, great kindness needs no words of thanks. In the future, whenever you have need of this old man, as long as it does not violate my principles, I will help you."

After this matter, Jin Yan's form of address in Dugu Bo's eyes had successfully changed from Jin Yan to Boy Yan. Their relationship had grown closer by far more than a single step.

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye, and Jin Yan had not been idle at all during those seven days.

After consuming two Immortal Herbs, Jin Yan's blood could indeed help Dugu Yan clear the poison from her body, but it still needed to be combined with medicinal herbs and boiled. Only by adding his blood to the medicine could its effects be maximized.

Naturally, Dugu Bo handled the medicinal ingredients. But determining exactly how many drops of blood should be added to maximize the medicine's effects without wasting any was entirely Jin Yan's responsibility.

Of course, these were all other people's concerns, and he did not pay them much attention.

Most importantly, he had spent these past few days researching methods for cultivating a Soul Core. That was the true priority.

After all, he still hoped to use it to help his grandfather break through to rank ninety-nine. Rank ninety-nine was not simply a matter of accumulating Soul Power. Or rather, at that realm, Soul Power accumulation became the easiest part.

Immortal Herbs were precious, but they might not necessarily help his grandfather break through to that realm.