"Yes, Senior."
Dugu Yan nodded at once, without the slightest hesitation.
Opportunities were fleeting, and absorbing a poison-attribute Soul Bone in this highly poisonous environment truly gave her a unique advantage.
"Grandpa, sorry for the trouble. Please keep watch over me."
Dugu Yan turned to Dugu Bo, her gaze resolute.
"Don't worry, Yan Yan. With your grandpa here, not even a fly will get in!"
Dugu Bo thumped his chest in assurance, then flashed away to a huge boulder at the edge of the poison pool, where he vigilantly watched their surroundings.
Although the Medusas had been scared witless by Yu Nan's dragon might, he wouldn't dare be careless when it came to his granddaughter's safety.
Dugu Yan took a deep breath and slowly walked toward the Myriad Poison Pool, its dark green poison bubbling and churning.
If she'd faced this poison, potent enough to corrode a Soul Saint, in the past, she would have needed to approach it with the utmost caution.
But now...
"Martial Soul Possession!"
With a clear, ringing cry, a brilliant purple light blazed around Dugu Yan.
A low, majestic dragon's roar echoed through the valley.
A purple-gold Poison Dragon phantom suddenly appeared behind her.
As her Martial Soul possessed her, Dugu Yan's eyes instantly became vertical pupils, and a faint layer of purple-gold scales appeared on her formerly fair skin.
She leaped forward and plunged straight into the Myriad Poison Pool!
Splash!
The dark green poison swallowed her in an instant.
Yet the gruesome scene she'd expected—her flesh corroding away until she dissolved into a pool of pus—never came to pass.
On the contrary, the deadly poison surged joyfully the instant it touched Dugu Yan, as if greeting a loved one.
It poured through the pores across her body, frantically burrowing into her.
It didn't harm her at all. Instead, it transformed into streams of pure energy, nourishing her meridians and Martial Soul.
"So comfortable..."
Dugu Yan couldn't help letting out a soft moan.
It felt as if she'd returned to her mother's embrace: warm, comfortable, and safe.
She floated cross-legged in the center of the poison pool, with only her head and shoulders above the surface.
The purple-gray, 60,000-year Bone-Eroding Poison King Scorpion Tail Hook Bone floated before her, glowing with a faint purple light.
"Begin. Use your Soul Power to draw it in and fuse it with your spine."
Yu Nan's steady, powerful voice sounded in Dugu Yan's mind.
"Remember, fusing with an External Soul Bone will be excruciating. It has to shatter your existing bone structure and rebuild it anew.
You must grit your teeth and endure. You absolutely cannot pass out!"
"Understood!"
Dugu Yan answered silently, then called upon all her Soul Power, turning it into purple strands that wrapped around the Tail Hook Bone.
Buzz!
Drawn by her Soul Power, the Tail Hook Bone seemed to come alive and shuddered violently.
Then it transformed into a streak of light and stabbed fiercely into Dugu Yan's spine!
"Ahhh!!"
A shrill scream rang through the valley.
It felt as if someone had ripped her backbone out by force and shoved a red-hot iron rod back in.
Dugu Yan's face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat poured from her like rain.
Her body trembled violently. The poison pool, calm moments earlier, was thrown into furious waves by the berserk Soul Power erupting from within her.
"Yan Yan!"
Hearing his granddaughter's scream, Dugu Bo's heart twisted in agony. He instinctively started to rush toward her.
"Don't move!"
Yu Nan's sharp voice stopped him.
"This is a transformation she has to endure!
If you interfere now, you'll only hurt her!"
Dugu Bo forced himself to stop. He gripped the rock beneath him so tightly that his fingernails snapped.
Blood streamed from his fingers, but he didn't even notice.
All he could do was watch his granddaughter struggle in agony in the poison pool and pray silently.
Dugu Yan felt as if she'd been cast into the depths of hell.
The moment the Tail Hook Bone entered her body, it released an incredibly domineering, frigid energy.
That energy raced along her spine, spreading wildly.
Every bone in its path shattered inch by inch, then rapidly re-formed, nourished by her Soul Power and the poison.
The agony of having her bones broken and reborn was more than any human could bear!
"Hold on... I have to hold on..."
Dugu Yan clenched her teeth until her lips split.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
It dripped into the dark green poison pool.
And instantly spread through the water.
Images flashed through her mind: her grandpa being forced to lower his head to protect her.
Senior Yu Nan's expectant gaze...
"I'm going to grow stronger... I'm going to grow stronger!!"
An unyielding will erupted in Dugu Yan's heart.
She snapped her eyes open, and terrifying light blazed from her purple-gold vertical pupils.
Yu Nan was pleased by Dugu Yan's resolve as well.
With a thought, the Poison Dragon phantom behind her raised its head and roared.
Then it dived down and plunged into Dugu Yan's body!
Boom!
A terrifying shock wave blasted outward from Dugu Yan, sending the poison in the entire pool surging skyward!
Amid the rain of poison, the clothes on Dugu Yan's back burst apart.
Brilliant purple light blazed from the base of her spine.
Then purple-gray vertebrae pushed through her skin and began to grow, extending rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, a three-meter-long scorpion tail appeared behind her, purple-gray from end to end, with a sharp, hooked barb at its tip!
The tail swayed nimbly. Each swing brought a heart-stopping whistle as it tore through the air.
It seemed to slice through the very space around it.
At the same time, the poison in the Myriad Poison Pool seemed to answer a summons and rushed madly toward the scorpion tail.
The pool's dark green water grew visibly clearer!
The newborn External Soul Bone devoured every last trace of poison!
"It... it worked?!"
Dugu Bo watched from the bank, trembling with excitement, tears streaming down his face.
A 60,000-year External Soul Bone!
It had really worked!
As the last of the poison was absorbed, Dugu Yan slowly opened her eyes.
Her entire bearing had changed.
Her former charm now carried a chilling elegance and domineering presence.
The purple-gray scorpion tail behind her swayed gently like the Grim Reaper's scythe, radiating a deadly menace.
"How does it feel?"
Yu Nan's voice carried a note of satisfaction.
"After absorbing the poison in the pool, the Tail Hook Bone devoured it all."
"Its age surged by 60,000 years, reaching the 120,000-year level."
Dugu Bo was stunned.
"120,000?"
Dugu Bo sucked in a sharp breath.
"Don't forget, Yan Yan already has a 200,000-year torso bone inside her!"
Yu Nan replied calmly.
Devouring poison was also the most basic ability of this Bone-Eroding Poison King Scorpion Tail Hook Bone.
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