Ye Lingling

Dugu Bo clenched the seed in his hand, and a flicker of barely suppressed excitement flashed through his Dark Golden Dragon Eyes.

Heaven Dou City's underground market truly lived up to its reputation.

"How much is this seed?"

Dugu Bo asked calmly, without a trace of emotion in his voice.

The gaunt old man glanced at him, then at the seed, and casually named a price.

It was absurdly cheap.

Clearly, he had no idea what this seed was.

In his eyes, it was merely an unknown, useless ordinary seed.

Dugu Bo did not haggle. He paid directly and stored the seed in his Ruyi Hundred Treasure Pouch.

As he turned to leave, the corners of his lips lifted slightly.

Nine Heart Begonia.

This was an unexpected windfall.

After returning to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes, Dugu Bo immediately took out the seed.

He found a spot beside the spring where the soil was most fertile and the spiritual energy most concentrated, then carefully buried the seed.

Then, he sat cross-legged and pressed both hands against the ground.

Nine Nether Power flowed from his palms and seeped into the earth.

Nether Earth Power, the second dimension of Nine Nether Power, represented the burial and nurturing of the earth.

Dugu Bo's spiritual power extended downward along the Nine Nether Power, connecting with the spiritual energy veins beneath the ground and guiding the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes' spiritual energy above the seed.

Empowered by Nine Nether Power, the earth energy surged even more actively.

The soil throughout the entire valley seemed to have been awakened, and the density of spiritual energy rose by another level.

Dugu Bo opened his eyes and looked at the patch of earth where he had just planted the seed, anticipation flashing through his Dark Golden Dragon Eyes.

Nine Heart Begonia needed time to grow.

But with the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes increasing its growth speed tenfold, along with the nourishment of his Nine Nether Power, that time would be drastically shortened.

Perhaps before long, he would see the first Nine Heart Begonia break through the soil.

It might even become an immortal-grade existence.

That would be an enormous boon to Nine Nether Hall.

Dugu Bo crouched before the patch of earth where he had planted the Nine Heart Begonia Seed, his Dark Golden Dragon Eyes fixed on the loose soil.

The image of a young girl surfaced in his mind.

Ye Lingling.

Dugu Yan's closest friend at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and the support-type Soul Master of the Imperial Dou Team.

Her Martial Soul was the Nine Heart Begonia.

Most of Dugu Bo's impression of Ye Lingling came from the memories of the original owner of this body and descriptions from the original work.

That girl always wore a veil, spoke little, and rarely interacted with others.

It was not because she was withdrawn, but because the Nine Heart Begonia Curse had burdened her with too much.

The Nine Heart Begonia was the continent's most powerful healing-type Martial Soul.

Its healing range was vast, and its healing ability astonishing. It could heal nearly any injury.

Yet such a powerful Martial Soul possessed a suffocating flaw: it could only be passed down through a single bloodline.

In this world, only one owner of the Nine Heart Begonia could exist in any given era.

Until the previous generation died, the next generation could not awaken.

The inheritance of the Nine Heart Begonia was even more cruel. It could only be passed from mother to daughter.

In other words, every generation of Nine Heart Begonia owners had to give birth to a daughter. Then, after the daughter awakened her Martial Soul, the mother would die.

Not from an accident. Not from illness.

It was a rule inherent to the Martial Soul itself.

The mother's life force would rapidly fade with the awakening of her daughter's Martial Soul, ultimately vanishing completely before her daughter reached adulthood.

Ye Lingling's mother had died this way.

Ye Lingling inherited her mother's Martial Soul and became the Nine Heart Begonia owner of this generation.

And one day, she too would have to follow in her mother's footsteps.

She would give birth to a daughter, wait for her daughter to awaken her Martial Soul, and then die.

This was the Nine Heart Begonia Curse.

Only one could exist in an era.

It had to be female.

Passed from mother to daughter, generation after generation.

At this thought, a complicated emotion flashed through Dugu Bo's Dark Golden Dragon Eyes.

He had once believed this curse had nothing to do with him.

Although the Backlash Poison of the Jade Python Snake Emperor would also claim the lives of him and his family, at least there had been a solution.

But the Nine Heart Begonia Curse was a rule carved into the Martial Soul's very origin.

Unless the Martial Soul itself changed, it could never be broken.

But now, Dugu Bo's gaze fell upon the patch of earth where the seed had just been planted.

A Nine Heart Begonia Seed.

If the seed he planted could take root, sprout, flower, and bear fruit, what relationship would the Nine Heart Begonia it produced have with Ye Lingling's Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul?

Would they be the same plant?

Or two different plants?

Dugu Bo was not quite sure.

But there was one thing he could be certain of.

The spiritual energy concentration of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes was more than ten times that of the outside world, and his Nine Nether Power could nourish the earth, making this land far more spiritually potent than ordinary soil.

A Nine Heart Begonia grown in such an environment was highly likely to undergo some degree of mutation.

Not a Martial Soul mutation, but a mutation of the plant itself.

Perhaps it would evolve from an ordinary Nine Heart Begonia into an immortal-grade Nine Heart Begonia.

Just like the other Immortal Herbs within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes.

If that truly happened, what changes would occur to Ye Lingling's Martial Soul after she consumed this immortal-grade Nine Heart Begonia?

Would it merely strengthen her healing effects?

Or would it... break the curse of single-line inheritance?

Dugu Bo did not know.

But it was worth trying.

"Nine Heart Begonia..." Dugu Bo murmured. "Only one in an era, passed from mother to daughter, generation after generation."

"Rather than a rule of the Martial Soul, it is more like a flaw in the Martial Soul."

"Just like the Backlash Poison of the Jade Python Snake Emperor."

"Since the Jade Python Snake Emperor could evolve into the Nine Nether Divine Dragon, and the Backlash Poison could be completely controlled..."

"Then why couldn't the Nine Heart Begonia break its curse?"

A resolute light flashed through Dugu Bo's Dark Golden Dragon Eyes.

He rose to his feet and took out a flask of water from his Ruyi Hundred Treasure Pouch.

It was not ordinary water, but spring water taken from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes, infused with a thread of his Nine Nether Power.

He slowly poured it over the soil above the seed.

The spiritual water seeped into the soil and was absorbed by the seed.

Dugu Bo could sense the dormant life energy inside the seed twitch slightly.

Like a heartbeat.

Or like breathing.

It was responding.

"Grow well," Dugu Bo said softly. "When you grow up, perhaps you can save a girl's life."

"Perhaps you can break that damned curse."

He straightened and turned to look at Dugu Yan, who was cultivating in the distance.

Her jade-green hair drifted through the mist, while the phantom image of the Jade Scale Dragon flickered in and out behind her.

Yan Yan and Ye Lingling were best friends.

If Ye Lingling's curse could be lifted, Yan Yan would certainly be very happy.

Moreover, Ye Lingling's Nine Heart Begonia was the continent's most powerful healing-type Martial Soul.

If she could join Nine Nether Hall...

The corners of Dugu Bo's lips curled upward.

A teammate with top-tier healing abilities was an invaluable treasure in any faction.

Nine Nether Hall currently had only four people.

Himself, Yan Yan, Dugu Xin, and Lin Wan'er.