Doupo: I Can Solidify All Talents Chapter 22

"You...!"

Hearing this, Hai Bodong felt a surge of blood rush straight to his head. Veins instantly bulged across his forehead as the anger he had suppressed and the humiliation of being toyed with once again flooded his heart.

His fists clenched tightly, and the ice-attributed Dou Qi within him showed faint signs of erupting.

If not for his wariness of Xiao Qing's unfathomable soul power, he would have attacked long ago!

One Mystic Ice Dragon Soar, and he would have frozen this brat who kept "amusing" him into icy fragments!

"However..."

Just as the atmosphere grew tense, Xiao Qing suddenly changed his tone. A faint smile curled at the corner of his lips as he continued.

"Although I can't refine a sixth-tier pill yet, my teacher can!"

Those lightly spoken words were like cold water thrown over flames about to ignite.

Hai Bodong's fury was instantly extinguished by those unexpected words.

The sight of him wanting to explode yet forcefully holding it in was rather comical.

Xiao Qing chuckled at the sight.

That feeling of wanting to beat someone up but fearing you couldn't win—who understood it?

Only the current "Ice Emperor," perhaps!

Hai Bodong stared fixedly at Xiao Qing, his chest heaving violently several times as though he were about to cough blood and die from anger.

In the end, he still forcefully swallowed it back down.

There was no helping it. He couldn't beat him, and the situation was stronger than the man!

What was more, behind the other party stood a high-tier alchemist teacher capable of refining sixth-tier pills and, most likely, possessing Heavenly Flames!

That gave him hope far more tangible and urgent than a Fragmented Map that was utterly meaningless to him.

Break the seal and return to his peak!

A rare trace of awkwardness appeared on Hai Bodong's aged face.

He coughed dryly, and his voice unconsciously lowered a little. "As for the medicinal ingredients required for the Break-Edict Pill, this old man exhausted much effort to gather three sets! It's just that..."

"It's just that all three sets are missing the most crucial main ingredient—the Sand Mandala!"

He tried to force out a helpless smile.

However, the muscles on his face, frozen stiff year-round, only made the smile seem even more frightening.

"It's only one missing ingredient. No matter."

Xiao Qing casually waved a hand, sounding as though this were an utterly trivial matter.

He continued, throwing out words that made Hai Bodong's heart race. "Give me the pill formula and the ingredients you already have, and I can remove your seal right now."

"Is that true?!"

The Secret Art of Breaking Queen Medusa's Seal; Hai Bodong's Swelling Confidence!

Upon hearing this, light instantly burst from Hai Bodong's clouded eyes, and his heart filled with wild joy.

He had just thought Xiao Qing possessed the Sand Mandala needed to refine the Break-Edict Pill!

The flame of hope blazed fiercely once again!

Yet Xiao Qing merely looked at him meaningfully and said in a somewhat teasing tone, "If you don't believe me, old sir, then Xiao will leave now."

With that, he made as though to depart.

"Don't—!"

Hai Bodong hurriedly stopped him, even subconsciously taking half a step forward.

"Everything can be discussed!"

Xiao Qing was his only hope of breaking this deadlock. How could he let him leave just like that?

A wave of stifled frustration rose within him as he realized that this youth had him completely under control, leaving him no room to resist.

He was the mighty Ice Emperor. When had he ever suffered such humiliation?

"Ah! Forget it..."

After struggling for a moment, Hai Bodong ultimately let out another heavy sigh. As though resigning himself to fate, he gritted his teeth.

He extended his withered hand. With a flash of light, an ancient-looking Storage Ring appeared in his palm. With reluctance and resolve, he handed it to Xiao Qing.

His voice was full of helplessness as he said, "Within this Storage Ring is the formula for the sixth-tier pill, the 'Break-Edict Pill,' as well as... three matching sets of ingredients lacking the Sand Mandala. I hope you will keep your promise, sir!"

Xiao Qing accepted the Storage Ring and lightly ran his fingertips across its surface before sending a strand of soul power inside.

After inspecting it briefly, a satisfied curve appeared on his lips.

Not bad. Another sixth-tier pill formula and three sets of precious ingredients.

He felt faintly pleased.

Perhaps because he had become an alchemist, collecting all manner of high-tier pill formulas and rare medicinal ingredients had already become one of his greatest hobbies and pleasures.

"Alright, I've accepted the payment, so there's no need to waste any more time..." Xiao Qing put away the Storage Ring, his expression turning serious as he spoke directly.

"Let's begin now. Find somewhere quiet so I can remove the seal on your body."

"Ah? Th-this..." Hai Bodong was stunned by the sudden pace and instinctively asked in confusion.

"Th-this... don't we need to refine the 'Break-Edict Pill' first?"

Seeing his bewildered expression, Xiao Qing could not help finding it amusing. He asked in return, "Did I ever tell you that the Break-Edict Pill was necessary to remove this 'Snake Sealing Curse' from your body?"

"Uh..."

Hai Bodong was instantly left speechless. His mouth opened, but he found himself unable to refute it.

Indeed, no one had ever explicitly stated that breaking the seal had to rely on a pill.

That was merely a fixed belief he had formed over the years based on ancient records.

Only after Xiao Qing pointed it out did he suddenly realize that he might have been trapped in a misunderstanding all along.

And the methods of the youth before him were likely far more unfathomable than he had imagined.

As he looked at Xiao Qing's calm demeanor, anticipation arose within him alongside his confusion.

Inside the basement, the air seemed frozen solid.

Xiao Qing held his breath and focused, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes!

His peak Mortal Realm soul power was like the finest scalpel, transforming into countless invisible, intangible threads that quietly entered Hai Bodong's body and headed straight for the "Snake Sealing Curse" coiled deep within his Source of Dou Qi.

The seal took the form of a small, dark-purple snake, radiating a chilling and sinister aura.

Not only had it locked away Hai Bodong's Dou Qi, it was also intertwined with part of his soul imprint. If forcibly removed, it would likely cause irreversible damage.

Yet before Xiao Qing's terrifying soul power, the seal that had left Hai Bodong in despair for years did not seem so indestructible.

He carefully used his soul power to infiltrate and analyze it, locating the weak points in its energy nodes and soul connections before suddenly exerting force!

Buzz—

A faint tremor that could only be perceived on the soul level rang out.

The dark-purple snake shadow seemed to let out a soundless wail. Washed over by peak Mortal Realm soul power, it transformed into specks of purple light before finally vanishing completely into nothingness.

Within the deep palace of the Snake-People Tribe's Holy City—

Upon the throne, an incomparably beautiful woman lay lazily reclined.

Her figure was enchanting, her curves breathtaking. Her jet-black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, making her snow-white skin appear even more radiant. Even as she merely rested there, an innate charm and majesty filled the air around her, peerlessly magnificent.

Queen Medusa, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly had her slender eyelashes tremble lightly. The jade hand supporting her forehead moved slightly.

She slowly opened those pale-purple eyes brimming with allure. First came a flash of coldness, followed by faint surprise.

Someone... forcibly broke this Queen's Snake Sealing Curse?

Her thoughts stirred, and she immediately recalled the ice-attributed human Dou Emperor who had entered the depths of the desert more than a decade ago and been personally sealed by her.

That old fellow named Hai Bodong...

As her thoughts shifted, a faint, cold smile appeared at Queen Medusa's red lips.

A Dou Emperor who had been sealed for over a decade would find it difficult to recover his former strength even after the seal was removed!

He was no longer worthy of her attention.

At present, she had something more important to resolve!

That was how to break through the bottleneck of the Dou Emperor realm and step into the Dou Zong realm she had long dreamed of!

Perhaps... that ancient secret technique passed down through legend is the only chance for this Queen to break through...

With that thought, she slowly closed her beautiful eyes again, dispersing the faint sensation from earlier as her mind sank into plans for the future.

Desert City, underground chamber—

At the very instant Queen Medusa sensed the seal being broken—

Boom!

A terrifying aura, dormant for more than a decade and suppressed to the extreme, suddenly erupted!

The aura of a Dou Emperor swept out fiercely from Hai Bodong's aged body!

Icy blue Dou Qi surged skyward, illuminating the entire chamber.

Fortunately, this chamber had been painstakingly constructed by Hai Bodong. Its walls were covered in dense runes that blocked the Dou Emperor aura, which was enough to alarm the entire city, and firmly sealed it within.

"Ha ha ha ha—!"

His wildly ecstatic laughter shook the chamber faintly.

Beneath a pair of Dou Qi Transformation Wings condensed from ice-attributed Dou Qi, Hai Bodong's figure slowly rose into the air above the chamber.

He threw back his head, his face filled with indescribable excitement and exhilaration.

All the grievances, unwillingness, and despair of the past years were poured into that mad laughter.

"How many years has it been?! This damned seal... finally! Finally, it has been broken!"

That terrifying sense of power once again filled every part of his body, while the Dou Qi belonging to a Dou Emperor raced through his meridians.

At this moment, Ice Emperor Hai Bodong had truly returned!

After laughing madly for a long while, Hai Bodong, floating in midair, suddenly stopped.

Those eyes, which had turned cold once more after his strength returned, looked down at Xiao Qing, who had remained calm and motionless below.

His clouded old eyes narrowed slightly. An extremely complicated glint flashed through their depths, mixed with traces of gratitude.

Yet even more than that was the chill of scrutiny and calculation that naturally arose after his strength had been restored.

Strength was the finest catalyst for desire.

The Clue to the Heavenly Flames; Heading into the Depths of the Tagor Desert

Feeling his power suddenly return, a dangerous thought emerged from some corner of his heart—

Perhaps... with my restored Dou Emperor cultivation, I can take that Fragmented Map...

Below, Xiao Qing slowly raised his head. His expression remained calm, utterly undisturbed by Hai Bodong's sudden change in attitude.

His indifferent gaze met Hai Bodong's eyes, which had turned cold once more.

It was as though the returning Dou Emperor pressure from the other party was no different to him than when Hai Bodong had still been a Dou Ling.

Then, the corners of Xiao Qing's lips rose slightly, forming a faint smile that was not quite a smile.

His eyes were full of amusement, yet beneath that joking tone lay seemingly endless coldness that pierced straight into Hai Bodong's heart as he said:

"What? Has our great Ice Emperor Hai Bodong just recovered his strength and decided to ask Xiao... how to walk the Path to Rebirth?"

The moment those words fell, they were like a flood extinguishing a blazing fire, instantly snuffing out the faint greed that had just risen in Hai Bodong's heart.