Evolution: Calamity Sacred Dragon! Liu Erlong's First Time? Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, Purple Spirit Ganoderma

At once, a violent dragon's roar and snake's hiss exploded together, and the entire True Dragon Mountain trembled faintly.

Dugu Xuan clenched his fists, his eyes flashing with excitement.

"It's begun."

Dugu Bo, patrolling the mountain in the distance, stopped and looked back toward the summit. A cold smile curled his lips.

"Ce'er, once you become this dragon, the whole Douluo Continent will be yours to roam."

Inside the secret chamber, crimson flames, jade-green light, and golden radiance intertwined, making the stone room flicker between light and shadow.

They were halfway through the thirty-six circuits. Sweat beaded on Liu Erlong's brow, but her voice remained cold.

"Dugu Ce, your meridians are already seventy percent unblocked.

"But from here on... merging Soul Power won't be enough."

Dugu Ce opened his eyes. Jade and gold churned in his pupils.

"What do you mean?"

"The final stage of Dragon Snake Harmony requires a genuine union of yin and yang."

Liu Erlong stared at Dugu Ce, her expression calm.

"To put it plainly, you and I have to become one. Only then can the origin of the Fire Dragon within me pass to you in its entirety.

"Otherwise, all our efforts so far will have been for nothing."

Dugu Ce fell silent for a moment.

"You know what that means."

"Of course I do."

Liu Erlong gave a scornful laugh.

"What, are you afraid I'll cling to you afterward?

"Don't worry. I, Liu Erlong, am not that shameless.

"This is a transaction. I'll see it through to the end."

After all, Liu Erlong had once even held a wedding with Yu Xiaogang.

But they had never actually consummated it.

Nor had Liu Erlong given all of herself to Yu Xiaogang before the wedding.

Now Liu Erlong had decided to throw caution to the wind.

In the eyes of outsiders, she had already colluded with the Dugu Family and brought about the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's destruction.

She might as well go through with this and let Dugu Ce complete his Martial Soul Origin.

Then they could cut ties cleanly, with no entanglements between them later.

"That's not what I meant."

"Then stop wasting time."

Liu Erlong withdrew her palms and rose to her feet, her red hair drifting in the wake of the Soul Power.

"Although the poison markings inside you have been suppressed, the root cause hasn't been eliminated.

"If we don't take the final step, you'll still explode and die three months from now.

"Choose."

Dugu Ce took a deep breath and stood as well.

"Forgive me."

Liu Erlong turned her back and removed her outer robe. Her voice was as calm as if she were talking about someone else.

"There's nothing to forgive.

"I could watch my own father die. Do you think I care about this?

"Hurry up. Don't dawdle."

The luminous pearls in the stone chamber dimmed on their own.

Dugu Ce's Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Martial Soul and Liu Erlong's Fire Dragon Martial Soul appeared above them, entwined together.

Amid muffled gasps and the occasional leak of a dragon's roar or a snake's hiss,

Dugu Yan had already been sent away by Dugu Bo.

Only Dugu Xuan remained in the corridor, standing with his hands behind his back.

As he listened to the sounds beyond the door gradually change, his old face stiffened. He turned and walked a few steps away, muttering a curse.

"That little rascal... he really doesn't let anything stand in his way."

Just before dawn, the commotion inside the secret chamber finally died down.

Liu Erlong's red hair hung loose as she leaned against the stone wall, her face pale as paper.

Her Soul Power had fallen to around rank fifty-eight.

She put on her clothes expressionlessly, her voice hoarse.

"It's done.

"What about your Martial Soul?"

Dugu Ce sat cross-legged on the stone platform, his eyes tightly shut, but the aura around him roiled like boiling water.

After a long while, Dugu Ce suddenly opened his eyes.

With a low growl, the phantom of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor burst from his body.

But this time, the emerald serpent with dragon horns was wreathed in dark-golden flames.

Its body was covered in purple-black scales, and the horns on its brow had fully grown.

Its snake pupils became vertical, exuding an aura of destruction and calamity.

"This... isn't the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor anymore."

Dugu Ce murmured.

Liu Erlong narrowed her eyes.

"Then what is it?"

"The Calamity Sacred Dragon."

Dugu Ce raised his right hand. A dark-golden dragon-shaped phantom coiled around his arm.

Its aura was even a shade stronger than the Radiant Sacred Dragon on his left hand.

To Dugu Ce, this was hardly surprising.

The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor—no, the Calamity Sacred Dragon—had now reached the Super Martial Soul level.

It was on par with the Radiant Sacred Dragon, another Super Martial Soul.

But Dugu Ce cultivated the Calamity Sacred Dragon as his primary Martial Soul.

The Radiant Sacred Dragon Martial Soul, on the other hand, had no Soul Rings attached to it.

That was only to be expected.

"The true-dragon bloodline in the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor has fully awakened. It fused with the 'Crimson Fire' and 'Calamity' traits in your Fire Dragon origin, evolving into an entirely new Martial Soul."

Dugu Ce stood up. The colors of the four Soul Rings beneath him had all deepened.

Dugu Ce could hardly believe it.

He could accept his Martial Soul evolving, but even the age of his Soul Rings had increased along with it?!

The Calamity Sacred Dragon was definitely extraordinary!

The original story had never even introduced a true dragon with a poison attribute.

"What rank are you?"

Liu Erlong asked.

Dugu Ce closed his eyes and sensed his condition.

"My Soul Power jumped from rank forty-two to rank forty-five.

"My mental strength... should be at the Soul Douluo level."

"Congratulations."

Liu Erlong picked up the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid from the ground and turned toward the stone door.

"Now we owe each other nothing."

The Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid was Dugu Ce's compensation to Liu Erlong for the loss of her origin and the drop in her rank.

"Wait."

Dugu Ce said.

Liu Erlong didn't turn around.

"What is it?"

"Your Soul Power has fallen too far. The Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid alone would take three months to restore it."

Dugu Ce took another purple Spirit Mushroom from the Wishful Treasure Pouch.

"This is a Purple Spirit Ganoderma. Refine it together with the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid.

"You'll be back at Soul Saint within a month, and you may even have a chance to reach rank seventy-two or seventy-three.

"Consider it my compensation."

Although Liu Erlong's rank had fallen,

once her Martial Soul Origin was replenished, it would be easy for her to regain it.

After all, Liu Erlong had lost strength because her origin had been drained.

She wasn't like Tang Hao in the original story, who had his hands and feet severed and two Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones ripped from his body.

Dugu Ce tossed the Spirit Mushroom over.

Liu Erlong raised a hand and caught it. After a moment's silence, she said softly,

"You're rather generous."

"You lost more than just Soul Power."

Dugu Ce's tone softened for once.

"Consider me indebted to you.

"If Blue Tyrant Academy ever runs into trouble it can't handle, come to the Dragon-Serpent Sect and find me."

Liu Erlong didn't turn around. She pushed open the stone door and walked straight out.

Outside, Dugu Xuan had been leaning against the corridor wall, dozing. He opened his eyes at the noise. Seeing Liu Erlong's pale face, he hesitated, unsure what to say.

Liu Erlong glanced at him.

"Your Excellency, Nine Nether, don't worry. I won't cling to the Dugu Family and refuse to leave."

Dugu Xuan gave an awkward smile.

"I didn't mean that. Ce'er, he..."

"He's doing just fine."

Liu Erlong cut Dugu Xuan off and raised the two medicinal herbs in her hand.

"He even gave me two extra tonics.

"Your Dugu Family certainly doesn't shortchange its business partners."

With that, Liu Erlong walked straight down the mountain without looking back.

Dugu Xuan shook his head and turned toward the secret chamber.

Inside, Dugu Ce had already put on his outer robe and was loosening up.

The jade-green poison markings that had once spread across Dugu Ce's chest were completely gone. In their place was a faint, dark-golden dragon pattern.

It stretched from his heart all the way to his collarbone.