External Soul Bone: Thunderfire Spear! Dugu Bo's Life Is Nigh

Dugu Yan leaned close to her grandfather, rising onto her tiptoes to peer at what Gu Qing held in his hand, her dark green snake pupils full of curiosity.

Liu Erlong could not help stepping forward as well. Her gaze fell upon the dark jade-like object that seemed neither wood nor wood, and a trace of envy flashed through her eyes.

An External Soul Bone—this was a supreme treasure every soul master dreamed of obtaining.

Ordinary soul bones were rare, but they could at least occasionally be found at auctions or among soul-hunting circles. External Soul Bones, however, were a hundred times more precious than ordinary soul bones.

Not only did they require killing high-level soul beasts and relying on luck for them to drop, but they could also evolve alongside their owner's cultivation.

Gu Qing turned the warm piece of wood over in his hand and sent Soul Power into it. A stream of information automatically surfaced in his mind.

As an External Soul Bone, this piece of Thunderfire Wood possessed an exceptionally unique ability:

Upon its initial fusion, it could be freely shaped according to its owner's wishes. However, once its form was set, it could never be changed again.

Gu Qing quickly calculated in his mind:

His body martial arts were for close-quarters combat, the Buddha Wrath Tang Lotus was for long-range bombardment, and what he lacked now was a spear to fill the gap in mid-range offense and defense.

Just as he was about to sit cross-legged and absorb it, Tang San reached out and pressed down on his wrist, her brows slightly furrowed.

"Brother Gu Qing, you just absorbed a sacrificial soul ring. Your Soul Power is still unstable. Isn't it too hasty to absorb an External Soul Bone now?"

Gu Qing turned his head and lowered his voice so that only the two of them could hear.

"Don't worry. When I condense the soul ring for my Body Martial Soul later, my Soul Power will have to be tempered all over again anyway. It doesn't matter if it's a little unstable now. I'll refine it properly together with everything else then."

Only then did Tang San release his wrist, though Blue Silver Grass still stirred faintly beneath her feet, ready to intervene and treat him at the first sign of any mishap during the absorption.

Gu Qing sat down cross-legged and pressed the dark jade-like piece of wood against his chest.

The Mysterious Heaven Skill surged to its limit. The piece of Thunderfire Wood on his chest began to emit intertwined crimson-gold and silvery-white radiance as it slowly merged into his skin.

The absorption process was far faster than that of the sacrificial soul ring. In less than half an hour, thunder and fire suddenly intertwined around Gu Qing. Crimson-gold flames and silvery-white lightning frantically gathered toward his right palm, continuously stretching and solidifying until they finally formed a twelve-foot spear.

The spear shaft was entirely black-gold, its surface covered in naturally formed patterns of interwoven lightning and flame. At the spear tip, lightning and fire converged into a single dazzlingly cold point of light.

Gu Qing gripped the spear shaft and casually flicked it. The spear tip drew a crimson-gold arc through the air, leaving behind a scorched mark that lingered for a long while. Fine electric arcs danced and flowed over the shaft, crackling crisply.

"Thunderfire Paulownia Spear."

Gu Qing studied the masterpiece he had shaped with his own hands in satisfaction.

"Fists for close combat, a spear for mid-range combat, and the Buddha Wrath Tang Lotus for long-range attacks. My three-in-one combat system is finally complete."

Gu Qing paused and poured Soul Power into the spear. The relevant information automatically surfaced in his mind.

"External Soul Bone's innate soul skill—Thunderfire Cloudbreaker.

Concentrate the power of thunder and fire at a single point on the spear tip. Once thrown, its piercing and attack power double, and striking the target triggers a dual explosion of thunder and fire.

It comes with a locking effect. As long as the target is mentally locked within ten thousand meters, the Thunderfire Paulownia Spear will automatically track them. A divine skill for long-range single-target sniping!"

Dugu Bo stared at the spear and muttered, "Shaping an External Soul Bone... this old man has not only never seen such an ability, I have never even heard of it.

One in ten thousand?

No, this is simply one of a kind."

The moment Dugu Bo finished speaking, the aura of Soul Power around Gu Qing surged again.

Level forty-six, level forty-seven, level forty-eight!

The energy feedback from the External Soul Bone directly caused his Soul Power to rise another three levels in succession.

From the edge of the basin, Gu Qing's aura rose higher and higher in waves. Crimson-gold arcs of lightning and silvery-white sparks flashed and danced around him without end, as though even the energies of heaven and earth were celebrating for him.

Dugu Bo watched the fireworks-like fluctuations of Soul Power erupting from Gu Qing's body, and the corner of his mouth twitched several times.

From level thirty-nine to level forty-eight—nine levels in a row! And along the way, he had comprehended a Self-Created Soul Skill and obtained an External Soul Bone!

This was no longer mere absurd luck. It was as if the heavens were chasing after him to spoon-feed him. Was he Heaven's own son or something?!

Beside him, Dugu Yan had completely given up trying to think. Only one thought remained in her mind: Was this person really human?

Liu Erlong was instead the calmest one there. After spending a day with this brat, she had become somewhat immune to it!

Gu Qing stored the Thunderfire Paulownia Spear within his body and walked over to Dugu Bo.

"Senior Dugu, thank you for this time.

In return, I'll tell you something. The poison of your Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor has already seeped into your bone marrow."

The smile on Dugu Bo's face instantly froze.

"Whenever you circulate your Soul Power, does the third vertebra at the back of your neck hurt as if it were being pierced by a red-hot needle?

The dark patterns at the roots of your fingernails have already spread to your wrists, haven't they?

At your current level of poisoning, you have at most two or three years left to live.

More importantly..."

Gu Qing's gaze shifted to Dugu Yan.

"Your granddaughter inherited your Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Martial Soul. Though the toxins in her body are not as severe as yours, they are accumulating slowly all the same."

When she cultivated to your level, the toxin backlash would only be worse than yours.

You had lived for over ninety years and could still suppress the toxins only because you were using Titled Douluo-level Soul Power to forcefully withstand them.

But whether she could endure until she reached your age was another matter."

Dugu Bo suddenly turned around. A flicker of shock and killing intent flashed through his emerald-green pupils, but he quickly suppressed it.

His fingers trembled slightly, and the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Staff in his grip emitted a faint hum.

He had spent his entire life dealing with poison for more than half of it. More than anyone, he knew just how deeply the poison had seeped into him.

Yet he had never mentioned it to anyone, nor had he ever shown the slightest abnormality in front of anyone.

This young man before him had exposed the secret he had hidden for most of his life with a single glance. He had even described Yanyan's condition with perfect clarity.

"How did you see it? How do you know about Yanyan?"

"The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor is a top-tier venom-type beast martial soul. No matter how high a Soul Master's poison resistance is, it has its limits.

"It was already remarkable that you had cultivated your poison arts to this extent without dying.

"In another two years, your bones will begin to become brittle and your meridians will start to atrophy. By then, even if you find a way to detoxify yourself, your cultivation will be crippled."

Dugu Bo remained silent for a long time.

The thunder and fire in the basin had already dissipated, leaving only the rustling of the night wind sweeping across the scorched earth.

He raised his head. For the first time, the coldness and arrogance in his emerald-green eyes were gone, leaving only bitterness and a faint, barely discernible plea.

"Dean Gu, since you can see through my poison, you must have a way to cure it.

"I've lived most of my life. Death holds no fear for me, but Yanyan is still young. Her poison has not yet flared up.

"I beg you, save her."

Gu Qing looked at Dugu Bo, his tone calm and certain.

"I brought up this problem because I came to help you solve it. Lead the way—to that treasured place of yours."