"Back then, when Spirit Hall came knocking, they were willing to abandon even their own affiliated clans without hesitation just to save their own skins, tossing them to Spirit Hall like garbage to vent its anger.
"A cowardly sect like that, do you think they'd come out of hiding for a 'poor relative' they abandoned years ago, just to offend a Titled Douluo?"
"Dream on."
"As for Tang Hao..."
Yu Nan paused, his tone growing even more sardonic:
"The Speed Clan hates Tang Hao, probably even more than they hate Spirit Hall.
"If Tang Hao hadn't caused trouble back then, how would they have ended up in this state?
"Old Bai He is proud and arrogant. He'd rather starve to death than ask Tang Hao for help."
"Besides, Tang Hao can barely look after himself right now. He spends all day hiding in some dark corner, licking his wounds like a rat.
"He can only leave his own son to grow up on his own in some little place like Nuoding City. What time does he have to worry about this mess?"
As far as Yu Nan was concerned,
destroying the Speed Clan would do more harm than good.
With the advantage of knowing the story,
Yu Nan was absolutely confident
that he could raise Dugu Yan to Titled Douluo level within just a few years.
If they wiped out the Speed Clan now, they'd face tremendous resistance in many things down the line.
Besides, this sort of strong-arming for treasure
was hardly rare in the Clear Sky Sect or Spirit Hall.
Hearing this, Dugu Bo nodded thoughtfully, though the killing intent in his eyes hadn't entirely faded.
"Your words are most wise, senior.
"But... only the dead can keep a secret.
"What if..."
"There is no 'what if.'"
Yu Nan cut him off at once, his voice cold:
"Wiping out the Speed Clan would make too much of a commotion.
"Once you slaughter a whole village, the matter changes entirely.
"Then not only the Clear Sky Sect, but even Spirit Hall will investigate.
"After all, a Titled Douluo slaughtering an entire clan for no reason is a grave taboo in the Soul Master World."
"This is just right.
"We take the things and leave. It's merely a 'private dispute.'
"Old Bai He would be too embarrassed to widely publicize that he'd been robbed."
"If we leave them be, they're nothing but a pack of strays. They can't make waves."
"And besides..."
Yu Nan's voice suddenly turned low and serious:
"Rather than worrying about those useless wretches, you'd be better off focusing on Yan Yan's coming transformation."
"The Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng has an extremely potent medicinal effect, and the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone brims with life force.
"Perfectly fusing the two and using them as a catalyst to awaken a Body Martial Soul—
"the dangers involved will be far greater than facing ten Bai Hes!"
Dugu Bo's heart tightened. He instantly cast aside his thoughts of killing them to silence them.
Compared to those potential threats from outside, his granddaughter's safety mattered most.
"Your warning is well taken, senior!
"This old man let himself get distracted."
Dugu Bo took a deep breath, steadying himself before asking:
"Where do we go now?
"Back to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well in Sunset Forest?"
"Exactly."
Yu Nan affirmed:
"Only that place's uniquely favorable environment can suppress the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng's violent energy and conceal any unusual signs that might appear when Yan Yan breaks through."
"Full speed ahead. Back to our lair!"
"Yes!"
Dugu Bo didn't hesitate any longer. He released all his Soul Power.
Two days later.
Deep in Sunset Forest, poison formations swirled.
Dugu Bo carried Dugu Yan through the poisonous miasma with practiced ease, returning to the familiar valley.
Beside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, the red and white waters still boiled and churned together, radiating extreme heat and cold.
This was Dugu Bo's medicine garden, and one of the finest cultivation grounds on the continent.
"Here will do."
Yu Nan's voice rang out.
Dugu Bo set Dugu Yan down and looked at her solemnly:
"Yan Yan, are you ready?"
Dugu Yan looked at the churning spring, then at the jade box holding the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng in her hand, and the Soul Bone in her arms, glowing blue and gold.
She took a deep breath. There wasn't a trace of fear in her eyes, only an unwavering resolve to press on.
"Grandpa, senior, I'm ready."
"No matter how much it hurts, I can take it!"
Yu Nan's approving voice came:
"Good."
"First, swallow the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng. Use its medicinal power to scour your meridians and bring your blood and qi to their peak."
"Then, when its power is at its most violent, fuse with the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone!"
"Use the ginseng's power as a guide and the Emperor Bone's life force as support. Reforge your body and awaken your martial soul!"
"Begin!"
"Ah—!!"
A scream of utter agony rang through the valley, startling countless birds into flight.
Dugu Yan was sitting cross-legged on the shore of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, her skin red as blood from head to toe, like a boiled shrimp.
The Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng's medicinal power was simply too overbearing.
The moment it entered her stomach, it became a surging torrent, crashing wildly through her body and tearing at her meridians and blood vessels.
Yu Nan couldn't help feeling a pang of sympathy.
But a little hardship was necessary if she wanted to grow stronger.
With the Body Sect's awakening secret method from Douluo II, this would have been much easier.
Unfortunately, in this era,
Dugu Yan was a pioneer. She was destined to endure many hardships.
"Hold on, Yan Yan!"
Dugu Bo watched, frantic with worry, his hands clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.
He wished he could take her place, but he knew she had to get through this trial on her own.
This was the only path to being reborn!
"Pfft!"
Dugu Yan suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of her internal organs.
Her consciousness began to blur, and the world spun before her eyes.
It hurt so much...
It really hurt so much...
It felt as though every cell in her body was burning and her soul was being torn apart.
"I can't do this anymore..."
A deep sense of helplessness welled up inside Dugu Yan. The willpower that had sustained her finally neared its breaking point.
Her head drooped, and her life force began to fade rapidly.
"Bad! That girl can't hold on!"
Dugu Bo was aghast. He was about to intervene at all costs and forcibly interrupt the fusion.
"Don't move!"
Yu Nan's authoritative, composed voice rang out like a sudden blast, freezing Dugu Bo in place.
"Senior! Yan Yan, she..."
"Leave her to me."
Yu Nan's voice brimmed with unquestionable authority.
The next moment.
Within Dugu Yan's Sea of Consciousness,
the purple-gold dragon coiled in the void suddenly opened its eyes and let out a deafening roar.
Aaaah—!
A vast, boundless mental force instantly took control of Dugu Yan's body, which was on the verge of collapse.
Outside,
Dugu Yan, whose head had drooped and whose life force had nearly faded, suddenly jerked her head up!
The emerald green in her eyes vanished, replaced by a pair of imposing, cold, divine purple-gold vertical pupils!
"Hmph. You can't even endure this little pain, yet you still want to become a god?"
"Dugu Yan" spoke. The voice was still hers, but the tone was entirely different, heavy with the authority of a superior.
Dugu Bo shuddered, instantly realizing that senior Yu Nan had taken control of Yan Yan's body!
"Dugu Yan" formed a hand seal. The medicinal power and Soul Power raging wildly through her body immediately became docile, as if they'd encountered a king.
"Poison Dragon Torso Bone, manifest!"
At her low command,
a dazzling purple-black light suddenly shone from Dugu Yan's chest.
It was the 200,000-year-old Poison Dragon Torso Bone!
Under Yu Nan's control, the torso bone exerted its true function.
Boom!
A terrifying force of devouring burst from the torso bone.
In an instant, it forcibly drew in the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng's violent blood-and-qi energy
and the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone's abundant life force, gathering them into one point!
"Let poison be the guide, blood the medium, and bone the foundation!"
"Form!"
"Dugu Yan" threw her head back and roared. Purple energy surged around her as countless eerie black patterns spread across her skin,
interweaving into a mysterious, ancient design.
The waters of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well seemed to answer her call, boiling violently.
The red and white mists transformed into two dragons, roaring as they plunged into Dugu Yan's body.
Crack!
The sound of something breaking rang out from within Dugu Yan.
Then, an unprecedentedly powerful aura shot skyward, scattering the poisonous miasma above the valley!
Dugu Yan's body floated slowly into the air.
A faint purple-black glow enveloped her from head to toe.
Her once-red skin had returned to its fair complexion, now even more translucent than before, like white jade.
Yet beneath that fair skin lurked a poisonous aura that made one's heart tremble.
Her long hair moved without a breeze, and the ends had turned an eerie purple-black.
"It worked."
Yu Nan's voice held a trace of weariness, but more than that, relief.
He slowly relinquished control of her body and sank his consciousness back into the Sea of Consciousness.
Dugu Yan's purple-gold vertical pupils gradually faded, turning emerald green again, though her gaze was now deeper and more lively.
She slowly touched down, feeling the new, surging power within her. Her face was full of disbelief.
"Grandpa... I feel..."
Dugu Yan raised her hand and looked at her slender palm.
With a thought,
whoosh!
A ball of purple-black flame sprang into existence in her palm.
The flame gave off no heat, but it exuded a sickly-sweet stench that made one want to retch.
The air around her sizzled and corroded as it came into contact with the flames.
"This is..."
Dugu Bo's eyes widened. He had spent his whole life studying poison, yet he had never seen such bizarre poisonous flames.
"This is my Second Martial Soul."
Dugu Yan murmured to herself. Information about this new Martial Soul surfaced naturally in her mind:
"It's called... the Calamity Poison Body."
"The Calamity Poison Body?"
Dugu Bo froze.
"That's right."
Excitement glittered in Dugu Yan's eyes.
"My body is now a gigantic vessel for poison.
I can devour every poison under heaven to increase my Soul Power. The stronger the poison, the faster I grow!"
"Besides, I don't have to worry about the poison backfiring like I used to. My body itself is the source of poison, so I can perfectly control every toxin inside me!"
"Even..."
Dugu Yan glanced at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well nearby, the corner of her mouth curling into a confident smile.
"Even the poison in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well... I can swallow it in one gulp!"
As she spoke, she actually walked to the edge of the spring, scooped up a handful of water potent enough to kill a Titled Douluo instantly, and drank it without hesitation!
"Yan Yan! Don't!"
Dugu Bo was scared out of his wits. By the time he tried to stop her, it was too late.
Yet...
The scream he expected never came.
After drinking the spring water, Dugu Yan merely furrowed her brows slightly, then wore an expression of pleasure.
The Soul Power surging through her body actually rose by a visible amount!
"This... This..."
Dugu Bo was completely dumbfounded.
Was she even human anymore?
She was practically a human-shaped black hole for poison!
"Congratulations, Yan Yan."
Yu Nan's voice rang out at just the right moment.
"The Calamity Poison Body is the ultimate constitution of the poison path.
From this day onward, every poison in the world will be nourishment for you."
"Even Bibi Dong's so-called Twin Spider Emperor Martial Soul is nothing more than a child's plaything before your Calamity Poison Body."
Dugu Yan clenched her fists, feeling the power surging through her body. Burning ambition blazed in her eyes.
"Thank you, senior, for giving me a new life!"
"This time, I'll make sure the whole continent knows the name Dugu Yan!"
(Sorry for the late update! I haven't been feeling well lately and can't stay up late. This chapter is over 3,000 words—I added another 1,500. Thanks for your support!)
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