Yu Nan calmly revealed the answer:
"A Plant-type Soul Beast that's extremely rare.
It doesn't feed on sunlight and rain. It grows by devouring corpses and bones containing metal elements, as well as underground Geng Metal ore veins."
"This Ghost Vine has been lying dormant beneath this Mass Grave for at least thirty thousand years. It has absorbed the blood and bones of countless blacksmiths and has long since mutated."
"Its poison is no longer simply corrosive or paralyzing."
"Instead, it's—'sharp.'"
"Sharp?"
Dugu Yan looked puzzled.
"How can poison be sharp?"
"Good question."
Yu Nan explained:
"Yan Yan, your grandfather's Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor poison is domineering. They say that a touch means certain death.
"But against opponents with extremely strong defenses, like a Title Douluo who specializes in defense or someone with sacred purification abilities, the poison has a hard time entering their bodies instantly."
"But the Geng Metal Ghost Vine's poison is different."
"It contains the unstoppable force of Geng Metal.
"Its poisonous gas is like countless microscopic needles, too tiny to see with the naked eye!"
"Once released, it can pierce straight through an opponent's protective Soul Power barrier, even boring through bones and armor to force the poison into their body!"
At that, Dugu Bo's breathing instantly grew ragged.
His eyes burned as he stared at the ground beneath his feet, as though he could see through the layers of earth.
As an expert in poison, he knew all too well what this meant!
The greatest weakness of his poison was its lack of penetrating power!
When he faced someone like Huyan Zhen of the Diamond Mammoth clan, with his thick skin and sturdy flesh,
or someone like Qian Daoliu, who possessed sacred purification abilities,
his poison was often blocked from entering their bodies, drastically reducing its effectiveness.
But what if he mixed the Geng Metal attribute into his poisonous gas...
A poisonous fog that could pierce armor?!
That would be the nightmare of every defensive Soul Master!
"If I can refine the essence of this Geng Metal Ghost Vine..."
Dugu Bo licked his lips, the green light in his eyes blazing brighter.
"My Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor poison will undergo a qualitative leap!
"Then even a Title Douluo above level 95 will lose a layer of skin if they dare take my poison head-on!"
"Exactly."
Yu Nan affirmed:
"Moreover, the Geng Metal aura can temper your Martial Soul Avatar, making your Serpent Emperor body even tougher and compensating for the weakness of a Control-type Soul Master's relatively fragile physique."
"Get to it, Old Poison Freak."
"Don't leave this treasure waiting underground any longer."
Dugu Yan still needed time to grow.
Helping Dugu Bo increase his strength was also essential.
"Right!"
Dugu Bo laughed heartily, no longer minding the filth and stench.
Boom!
Nine Soul Rings rose instantly from beneath his feet: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black!
The terrifying pressure of a Title Douluo burst forth without restraint, instantly sweeping away the surrounding yin energy and mist.
"Rise!"
Dugu Bo barked. Clawing his right hand, he grabbed at the ground from a distance.
His emerald Soul Power transformed into a gigantic hand that blotted out the sky and plunged viciously into the dark-red soil!
Rumble—!
The earth shook violently, as if a magnitude-ten earthquake had struck.
Soil churned at the center of the Mass Grave, flinging countless bones and scraps of iron into the air.
"Eeeee—!!!"
A piercing shriek suddenly rose from underground, like the scream of a vengeful ghost. It made Dugu Yan's eardrums ache.
Then countless pitch-black vines, their surfaces gleaming with a metallic chill, burst through the ground like frenzied black pythons!
They lashed wildly at Dugu Bo's giant hand of Soul Power. Each strike rang out with a metallic clang, sending sparks flying!
How could this be a plant?
It was clearly a mass of living metal whips!
"You beast! You've got some bite!"
Feeling the force of the vines' counterattacks, Dugu Bo was delighted rather than alarmed.
The stronger the vines, the richer they were in Geng Metal energy!
"Medusa's Gaze!"
A flash of pale light flickered in Dugu Bo's eyes.
Two Petrification Beams shot out and struck the trunk of the struggling Geng Metal Ghost Vine with pinpoint accuracy.
Crack, crack, crack...
The previously violent vines stiffened at once, a layer of gray-white stone spreading across their surfaces.
The Geng Metal Ghost Vine had extremely high resistance, and after just two seconds, cracks began to appear in the layer of stone.
But for a powerhouse like Dugu Bo, two seconds was enough!
"Come out!"
With a fierce shout, Dugu Bo's giant hand of Soul Power surged upward, yanking hard!
Boom!
A bizarre plant, a full ten meters tall and pitch-black from top to bottom, was torn from the earth. Skulls and broken swords hung from its roots!
It hovered in midair, radiating a chillingly sharp aura and a dense corpse poison. The air around it hissed as it was sliced apart.
"Yan Yan, stand back!"
Dugu Bo swept his sleeve, sending Dugu Yan a hundred meters away with a gentle wave of Soul Power.
Then he looked at the Geng Metal Ghost Vine before him, his eyes gleaming with feverish excitement. He sat cross-legged at once, and the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Martial Soul possessed him!
The phantom of a gigantic emerald serpent appeared behind him. It opened its gaping maw and sucked fiercely at the Geng Metal Ghost Vine!
"Refine!"
As Dugu Bo inhaled with all his might, the Geng Metal Ghost Vine shuddered violently in midair. Its once-inky-black vines rapidly withered and crumbled.
A visible stream of black-gold energy, like countless tiny steel needles, poured into Dugu Bo's body through the gaping mouth of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's phantom.
"Ugh—!"
Dugu Bo grunted, his face instantly turning deathly pale.
Pain!
A pain that bored into his heart and gnawed at his bones!
When the Geng Metal energy entered his body, it felt less like absorbing Soul Power and more like swallowing a bellyful of razor blades.
The razor-sharp energy rampaged through his meridians, trying to slice open his blood vessels and bones.
If this had happened before, Dugu Bo would likely have spat blood and been forced to stop absorbing it.
But now, Dugu Bo gritted his teeth and summoned the Soul Power in his entire body, forcefully suppressing the rampaging Geng Metal energy.
Then, bit by bit, he merged it with his innate poison.
Time passed, second by second.
The green light around Dugu Bo grew brighter and brighter. Yet his once-jade-clear green glow gradually took on a chilling dark-gold sheen.
The air around him seemed to be sliced apart by some invisible force, giving off a faint hissing sound.
At last, as the sun sank in the west,
Boom—!!!
An overwhelmingly terrifying aura erupted from Dugu Bo, surging straight into the sky!
Across the Mass Grave within a thousand meters,
all the withered trees, broken steles, and bones were silently ground to dust in an instant by the spreading poisonous fog!
That's right—not corroded, but sliced to pieces!
Within the dark-green poisonous fog seemed to lurk billions of tiny blades of wind. Everything they passed turned to ash!
"Whew..."
Dugu Bo slowly opened his eyes.
Deep in his emerald pupils, a golden needle of light now stood upright, making him look even more sinister and dangerous.
He rose to his feet, feeling the Soul Power in his body surge like a roaring river. His face lit up with incredulous delight.
"Level 94..."
Before you continue