At Lu Chen's words, Dugu Bo's previously calm expression suddenly became quite a sight.
In a flash, he appeared before Lu Chen, his palms clamping down on Lu Chen's shoulders like iron pincers.
Dugu Bo stared at Lu Chen with blazing eyes, his voice trembling with excitement he could barely contain:
"Brother Lan Chen, you're a genius! You're simply the cleverest person I've ever met!"
"How did I never think of using spirit bones to store the deadly poison? But you're right. As soul power rises, more and more poison accumulates. One spirit bone certainly couldn't hold that much deadly poison."
"A Titled Douluo like me would need at least two spirit bones, perhaps even three, to ensure the deadly poison wouldn't corrode my body."
"As for martial soul evolution..."
At this point, Dugu Bo paused. His brows gradually furrowed, and he spoke with some hesitation:
"My martial soul, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent, already evolved into the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor the day I became a Titled Douluo."
"One herb, even some immortal herb, couldn't possibly make my martial soul evolve again."
"In this lifetime, I can probably only use your first method and store the deadly poison in spirit bones. As long as it doesn't corrode my body, my life won't be in danger."
Dugu Bo's expression grew resolute, and a glimmer of hope appeared in his emerald eyes as he said earnestly:
"But Yanyan is still weak. She's only a Soul Elder. If she could take an immortal-grade herb, perhaps it really could make her martial soul evolve and free her forever from the fate of Jade Phosphorus Snake Poison turning against her body!"
"Brother Lan Chen, I'm leaving everything to you. Your martial soul can communicate with plants. Please be sure to choose an immortal-grade herb suitable for Yanyan!"
Dugu Bo had already resigned himself to his own fate!
But he wanted to fight for a chance for his granddaughter. After all, Dugu Yan was his only family in this world.
Under Dugu Bo's burning gaze, Lu Chen also put away his smile and nodded solemnly:
"Rest assured, Brother Dugu. I'll definitely choose the most suitable immortal herb for Yanyan."
As he spoke, Lu Chen freed himself from Dugu Bo's hands, then looked at Dugu Yan and said:
"Yanyan, come with me. Let's go choose an immortal herb."
"Oh, right. There are many immortal herbs here. Any one of them could remake a person from the bones up, turning an ordinary Spirit Master into a genius Spirit Master in a single leap."
"If word gets out, the other Spirit Masters on the continent, along with all those major powers, will absolutely go mad over them. Brother Dugu, Yanyan, and I would probably never know another peaceful day."
"For the sake of our future peace, aside from heaven and earth, only the three of us can know about the immortal-grade herbs covering this valley. We absolutely must not reveal them to a fourth person."
Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan both understood the gravity of the matter. Hearing Lu Chen's words and thinking of those terrifying consequences, they both nodded involuntarily.
Then Lu Chen led Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan back to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. The closer the immortal-grade herbs grew to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, the better their quality and medicinal effects were.
After a little thought, Lu Chen pointed at a peculiar plant and explained:
"Some of the immortal-grade herbs nearby strengthen the body, and some increase soul power, but neither is what Yanyan needs most. What she needs most is to evolve her martial soul and eliminate its flaw of letting the Jade Phosphorus Snake Poison turn against her body."
"So I recommend this immortal herb, the Dragon Origin Fruit. From communicating with it, I learned that this immortal herb grew from a Giant Dragon's corpse."
"Generally speaking, only where a Giant Dragon's bones are buried, by absorbing the essence of its entire body, is there a chance for a Dragon Origin Fruit to form."
"This immortal herb is no ordinary one. An ordinary person couldn't pick the Dragon Origin Fruit even if they pulled the whole plant up by its roots."
"Only someone with a dragon bloodline can drip blood onto this Dragon Origin Fruit and gain its recognition. Only then will the fruit fall off on its own, and only someone it recognizes can absorb its medicinal power."
"The Jade Phosphorous Serpent is also said to be a dragon breed. If Yanyan's blood can gain the Dragon Origin Fruit's recognition, absorbing its medicinal power would be equivalent to absorbing the essence of a Giant Dragon's entire body."
"As long as it evolves into a dragon, a terrifying martial soul whose might reaches through heaven and earth will surely be able to suppress the flaw of its deadly poison turning against its own body."
"Yanyan, give it a try. In my opinion, this Dragon Origin Fruit is the immortal-grade herb best suited to you. If you can't gain its recognition, we'll look at the other immortal-grade herbs."
The immortal-grade herb Lu Chen recommended had never appeared in the original storyline.
However, ordinary people couldn't pick this immortal herb. Only those with a dragon bloodline had a chance of doing so.
Although Tang San possessed the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline, it had nothing whatsoever to do with dragons. That was probably why he couldn't pick the Dragon Origin Fruit, so it had never even been mentioned in the original storyline.
This Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well was actually the burial place of the Ice Dragon King and the Fire Dragon King. Even if this Dragon Origin Fruit hadn't gathered all the essence of the two Dragon Kings, merely inheriting a portion of their essence would be enough to evolve Dugu Yan's martial soul from a Jade Phosphorous Serpent into a Jade Phosphorus Dragon.
After hearing Lu Chen's explanation, both Dugu Bo's and Dugu Yan's attention was drawn to the Dragon Origin Fruit.
The Dragon Source Fruit Tree's trunk was neither particularly tall nor thick. It stood only a little over half a meter high and was merely as thick as an adult's arm.
Its bark was extremely coarse, with a plain blue-gray hue. Its branches and leaves grew thick and lush, brimming with vitality.
At the top of the Dragon Source Fruit Tree hung a fist-sized purple fruit. It was plump and round, its skin imprinted with fine markings that connected to form the image of a Giant Dragon roaring at the sky.
Roar!
The image was so lifelike that a soul-shaking roar seemed to truly issue from the fruit.
Dugu Yan's little face instantly turned deathly pale. Fear showed in her eyes, and she involuntarily stumbled back several steps.
Only Dugu Bo's timely hand on her shoulder kept her from falling to the ground.
Dugu Yan panted in short breaths. She really had been a little frightened just now.
Dugu Yan turned to glance at her grandfather, and Dugu Bo responded with a firm nod.
Encouraged by Dugu Bo, Dugu Yan steadied herself and looked at Lu Chen to ask:
"Grandpa Lan Chen, do I just need to drip blood onto the Dragon Origin Fruit?"
Lu Chen nodded and confirmed:
"Use blood essence from the tip of your tongue. Spit out a few drops onto the Dragon Origin Fruit. Whether you can gain its recognition will depend on heaven's will!"
Hearing that she needed blood essence from the tip of her tongue, Dugu Yan gritted her teeth. Finally, she endured the pain and bit through her tongue's tip, spitting out several drops of blood essence that rippled with soul power.
They dripped onto the dragon-shaped pattern on the Dragon Origin Fruit!
In just a few breaths, the Dragon Origin Fruit completely absorbed those drops of bright red blood essence, and the dragon-shaped pattern on it burst with an uncanny light.
Meanwhile, through the Blue Silver Domain, Lu Chen began communicating with the Dragon Origin Fruit's hazy consciousness. He hurried to work on persuading it, coaxing and bluffing away in an attempt to make it recognize Dugu Yan.
Although Lu Chen had said it would depend on heaven's will, he would certainly help wherever he could. After all, Dugu Yan was still calling him Grandpa.
Lu Chen put quite a bit of effort into it!
With Lu Chen's coaxing and bluffing, along with the aura of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul in Dugu Yan's blood essence, she barely met the requirements, since the Jade Phosphorous Serpent was a dragon breed.
Although the Dragon Origin Fruit wasn't particularly satisfied with Dugu Yan's aptitude, for Lu Chen's sake, it trembled gently a few times before falling from its branch on its own.
Rather than falling to the ground, it plunged into Dugu Yan's arms.
Holding the purple fruit in her hands, Dugu Yan cheered and jumped for joy, her face full of delighted surprise:
"Grandpa, Grandpa Lan Chen, look! This Dragon Origin Fruit recognized me!"