Experimental Subjects!

At the thought that the second method could make them stronger, Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan both caught their breath.

Ying Chengfeng spoke again. "If you're willing to cooperate, I can tell you how to do it."

Dugu Bo looked at Dugu Yan with a complicated expression.

If he could, he would have liked to use force to make the other party submit.

That way, he and his granddaughter wouldn't have to suffer this humiliation.

Ying Chengfeng could tell that the grandfather and granddaughter cared about saving face.

So he simply said, "Don't feel pressured. My research is very friendly."

"Hmph." Dugu Bo snorted, unwilling to say more.

But his reaction clearly meant he had more or less tacitly agreed.

He was simply going along with it halfheartedly.

Ying Chengfeng couldn't be bothered to argue with them over such trivial matters.

So he said, "The active toxins in your bodies can actually be used to condense Soul Cores."

Dugu Bo asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Ying Chengfeng explained, "You can think of your poison as a clump of fire that never goes out."

"What you have to do is wrap it up."

"There's a saying that you can't wrap fire in paper. That's because the paper isn't thick enough, and the material isn't good enough."

"Once you wrap this clump of fire, you'll be able to control it completely."

At this, Dugu Bo had another question. "If the paper has wrapped up the fire, how are you supposed to use it to burn people?"

Ying Chengfeng still looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Before using the fire, can't you remove the excess paper and let the fire set it alight?"

"Wouldn't that make the fire even bigger and stronger? Once the fight is over, you can wrap it up again."

Dugu Bo fell into a long silence.

After a good while, he finally asked, "How exactly do we do it?"

Ying Chengfeng didn't answer him right away.

Instead, he beckoned to Yu Feiyan behind him. "Come over here."

Yu Feiyan walked over to Ying Chengfeng without a word, waiting for him to give her instructions.

Only then did Ying Chengfeng answer Dugu Bo. "Gather the active toxins in your body at your dantian, then wrap them with Soul Power."

Dugu Bo looked perplexed. "It's that simple?"

"Is it simple? Why don't you try it?" Ying Chengfeng smiled faintly.

It sounded simple enough. The hard part was whether they could wrap the toxins up.

Dugu Bo hesitated for a while. He didn't choose to let his granddaughter risk trying it; he planned to test it himself first.

After all, he was a Titled Douluo. Even if something went wrong, he could suppress it.

His granddaughter, on the other hand, definitely couldn't.

With that thought, Dugu Bo sat cross-legged and began trying the method Ying Chengfeng had described.

All the Soul Power in his body gathered at his dantian.

At that moment, Dugu Bo finally discovered the problem with his body.

His Soul Power had clearly gathered at his dantian, yet some toxins still remained in his meridians.

"Could these be the active toxins I can't control?"

Dugu Bo was utterly stunned.

In the past, his Soul Power had circulated throughout his whole body.

He had thought those toxins were his own Soul Power.

But now he realized he had been wrong!

Just then, he noticed the toxins beginning to stir.

Like a starving child, they rushed desperately toward the place where there was "milk."

These active toxins also headed for his dantian.

Their food was Soul Power!

At that moment, Ying Chengfeng said to Yu Feiyan beside him, "Pay close attention to his condition."

Yu Feiyan pressed her lips together, then said timidly, "I can only look with my eyes. I can't use Soul Power to examine him."

"Then look with your eyes." As he spoke, Ying Chengfeng said to Dugu Bo, "Take off your shirt and let us have a good look."

Dugu Bo, who was trying to wrap the active toxins with Soul Power, twitched at the corners of his mouth.

"Kid, don't push it!"

Ying Chengfeng frowned. "Then should I have your granddaughter take hers off?"

"I said I'd teach you how to do it, and you'd cooperate with my research."

"Are you going back on your word now?"

At this, Dugu Bo calmed himself down.

Compared to his granddaughter being seen undressed, he was a grown man, so he didn't mind.

"You're so young, looking at a man's body. You might get a stye." Dugu Bo stubbornly grumbled, then took off his shirt.

At that moment, a green glow appeared around Dugu Bo's abdomen.

It was faint, but anyone with normal eyesight could see it.

The green glow gathered into a mass at his dantian.

It wasn't Dugu Bo's Soul Power, but the active toxins manifesting on his body.

Ying Chengfeng stared without blinking, not missing a single detail.

He simply watched in silence, without thinking about anything.

He wanted to mull it over after he'd finished watching.

After a long time, Dugu Bo stopped.

He had wrapped up the active toxins, but they hadn't condensed into the so-called Soul Core.

"Kid, where's the Soul Core you mentioned?" Dugu Bo asked, somewhat displeased.

But he secretly reined in a trace of excitement and exhilaration.

He felt much better, and his strength seemed to be on the verge of breaking through.

Most importantly, he felt that his Soul Power poison had grown stronger.

Before, he had always felt that his poison ought to be stronger, yet he couldn't bring out its full power.

It turned out the key was that he hadn't been controlling all of it.

The uncontrolled poison had clung to his meridians.

Every time he released Soul Power, it stayed put in his meridians.

But now, all of it had been wrapped in Soul Power, completely assimilated, and brought under his control.

Although it hadn't condensed into the so-called Soul Core, he had indeed grown somewhat stronger.

At that moment, Ying Chengfeng glanced at Dugu Bo and said, "You failed to condense a Soul Core because of your own shortcomings. Don't blame me just because you're not capable."

With that, Ying Chengfeng ignored him and asked Yu Feiyan beside him, "Did you notice anything?"

Yu Feiyan thought for a moment, then said, "The diversity of life forms."

"Oh?" Ying Chengfeng was slightly surprised.

Yu Feiyan continued, "His poison is alive. I think my Ghost Fire can probably have a life of its own too."

Ying Chengfeng nodded. "If you can understand that much, then there won't be a problem."

As he spoke, Ying Chengfeng headed toward the Herb Garden in the valley.

Azure Luan Elder had been guarding them the whole time.

Qian Renxue had been there the whole time too, but she had concealed herself and said nothing.

When he was almost at the Herb Garden, Ying Chengfeng looked back at Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan, who were about to follow him.

He said flatly, "You can leave now."

Dugu Bo was taken aback. "Weren't we supposed to cooperate with your research?"

"The research is already over. You can go."

From the very beginning, Ying Chengfeng had indeed intended to study Dugu Yan.

But since Dugu Bo had cooperated so readily, he had simply changed his research subject.

And Dugu Bo had been quite "worthy" of the effort, providing excellent material as expected.

By then, Ying Chengfeng had already reached the Herb Garden and was examining the surrounding rare plants.

He didn't know many medicinal herbs, but he could still sense which ones were brimming with vitality.

Ying Chengfeng's gaze was immediately drawn to a red herb that looked much like a cockscomb flower.

The herb held a surging vitality, along with a special power of flame.

This special flame seemed to be immortal and indestructible.

"Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower? They say the phoenix can be reborn from the flames. Let's see if I can turn my dead Ghost Fire into a living one too."