In the blink of an eye, Dugu Bo grabbed the Poison Arrow Frog by its thigh and carried it to the bank of the poisonous swamp.
With a thud, Dugu Bo dropped the Poison Arrow Frog, and it landed heavily on the ground.
Dugu Bo landed right after it and looked at Dugu Yan solemnly.
"Yanyan, this is an eight-thousand-year Spirit Beast. Most Spirit Masters absorb a Spirit Ring under five thousand years old for their fourth Spirit Ring."
"Going beyond the limit to absorb an eight-thousand-year Spirit Ring will indeed bring you a tremendous improvement, but it also comes with some risk. Think it over carefully. If you're unwilling, Grandpa will never force you."
Dugu Yan heard the concern in Dugu Bo's words. She gave him a sweet, innocent smile, then said confidently:
"Grandpa, I'm willing to absorb this Spirit Ring, and I don't think there's much risk involved."
"I know perfectly well how powerful my physique is now. Absorbing an eight-thousand-year Spirit Ring definitely won't be a problem."
After stating her decision, Dugu Yan jogged over to the Poison Arrow Frog and looked at the enormous Spirit Beast.
An ordinary dagger or short sword probably couldn't kill this eight-thousand-year Spirit Beast.
So Dugu Yan activated Martial Soul Possession. Dragon scales emerged from beneath her skin, interlocking to form a suit of Dragon Scale Battle Armor. A diamond-shaped crystal also appeared on her forehead, with a pointed horn on either side, making it look like dragon horns.
Yellow, yellow, purple-three Spirit Rings gradually rose from beneath her feet. Then the third, purple Spirit Ring suddenly lit up.
"Third Spirit Skill, Jade Phosphorus Purple Poison!"
Dugu Yan drew a deep breath. A shimmering purple hue appeared in her jade-green eyes, and she opened her mouth to release a cloud of purple poison mist.
The purple poison mist spread forward and soon reached the Poison Arrow Frog's body.
Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!
The intensely corrosive effect sent wisps of white smoke rising from the surface of the Poison Arrow Frog's skin.
Although the Poison Arrow Frog possessed some poison resistance as a poison-attribute Spirit Beast, it was unconscious at the moment and couldn't mobilize the Soul Power within its body to defend itself.
The intense pain made the Poison Arrow Frog's body begin to twitch involuntarily.
Suddenly, the Poison Arrow Frog let out a croak and opened its eyes, which were filled with pain and ferocity. The pain had actually jolted it awake.
After waking, the Poison Arrow Frog began thrashing and struggling violently, instinctively trying to attack Dugu Yan.
But Dugu Bo was still standing right beside her!
Seeing the Poison Arrow Frog still struggling, Dugu Bo snorted coldly. The oppressive Soul Power of a Titled Douluo poured forth once more, bearing down on the Poison Arrow Frog with the force of toppling mountains and overturning seas.
Unable to withstand it, the Poison Arrow Frog rolled its eyes back and quickly fainted again.
Only its body still twitched from time to time because of the intense pain.
In less than a minute, the Poison Arrow Frog's life came to an end. Corroded by the purple poison mist, it had almost become a heap of rotten flesh, giving off a rank stench that made people frown.
The next instant, rich purple light erupted from its body, radiating astonishing energy fluctuations before finally gathering into a purple Spirit Ring.
When the Spirit Ring appeared, Dugu Yan didn't immediately absorb it. Instead, she looked at Dugu Bo and Lu Chen and said:
"Grandpa, Grandpa Lan Chen, sorry for the trouble, but I'll need you to stand guard for me."
Only after saying this did Dugu Yan sit cross-legged. With a beckoning motion of her hand, the purple Spirit Ring floated toward her, gradually encircling her body before rapidly contracting and merging into her.
Boom!
A cold, domineering surge of energy instantly swept through Dugu Yan's body, through every limb, bone, and internal organ, making her slender, willow-leaf brows knit slightly despite herself.
After all, this was an eight-thousand-year Spirit Ring!
The energy it contained was immensely vast and violent!
But Dugu Yan showed that she could remain composed in the face of danger. Relying on the might of her Jade Phosphorus Dragon Martial Soul, she endured the first surge of energy.
The Spirit Ring's energy, too, surged at the first beat of the drum, weakened at the second, and exhausted itself at the third. The first surge was the fiercest and hardest to withstand.
As long as she endured that first surge, the subsequent surges would grow weaker and weaker, becoming increasingly easy to bear.
Before long, Dugu Yan passed the most dangerous stage of absorbing the Poison Arrow Frog's Spirit Ring, and the process gradually settled onto the right track.
Dugu Bo, who had been standing guard nearby the whole time, breathed a sigh of relief at the sight. His heart really had been in his throat just now.
He had feared that his granddaughter would be unable to withstand the eight-thousand-year Spirit Ring, damaging her meridians and dantian and injuring her foundation.
Compared with Dugu Bo's nervousness, Lu Chen seemed much calmer.
After all, the Immortal Herb he had chosen for Dugu Yan was the Dragon Origin Fruit, which had inherited part of the Dragon Essence of the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King.
If Dugu Yan couldn't absorb an eight-thousand-year Spirit Ring after absorbing the Dragon Origin Fruit, that would have been truly strange.
So Lu Chen had had nothing to be nervous about from the start.
He even had the leisure to head into the forest to hunt after letting Dugu Bo know.
Through the Blue Silver Grass growing throughout the forest, he found a Grass Chicken Spirit Beast roughly two hundred and fifty years old in less than ten minutes.
Lu Chen used the Blue Silver Domain to command the Blue Silver Grass, making it grow wildly and weave a large net that easily captured the Grass Chicken Spirit Beast.
After capturing it, Lu Chen immediately killed it, plucked its feathers, removed its innards, and washed it clean. Then he cut some firewood, and after returning, he built a fire and began roasting it.
Seeing Lu Chen so relaxed, Dugu Bo even glared at him. But soon, catching the faint aroma of meat, Dugu Bo hurriedly called out:
"Brother Lan Chen, don't just look after yourself. Save half for Yanyan and me."
Lu Chen agreed with a smile:
"No problem."
Time trickled by just like that!
After roughly six hours of absorption, Dugu Yan finally succeeded in absorbing the eight-thousand-year Poison Arrow Frog Spirit Ring.
She opened her eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, and sprang up from the ground, brimming with vitality.
It seemed absorbing this Spirit Ring had brought her tremendous benefits.
Dugu Bo hurriedly asked:
"Yanyan, how do you feel? What level has your Soul Power reached? What sort of Soul Skill did you obtain?"
Dugu Yan lifted her head and said exuberantly:
"I feel wonderful. My body is full of strength."
"My Soul Power has now reached level forty-six. Even I find it unbelievable. Absorbing the Dragon Origin Fruit's medicinal power actually raised my Soul Power by more than ten levels."
"And my fourth Spirit Skill is called Jade Phosphorus Poison Arrow Rain. It can form multiple poison arrows to attack. The arrows contain a potent neurotoxin. As soon as it touches someone's skin, it instantly invades their body, making them lose control of their body while remaining conscious."
"As a special effect of absorbing a Spirit Ring beyond the limit, there's no upper limit to the number of poison arrows my fourth Spirit Skill can form. As long as I have enough Soul Power, forming dozens or even hundreds won't be a problem at all. An attack covering such a wide area is enough to leave people nowhere to dodge."
After hearing what Dugu Yan said, Dugu Bo's face was filled with amazement. He was also happy that Dugu Yan had gained such a tremendous improvement.
Just then, Lu Chen strode over to Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan, holding up a roasted Grass Chicken, and said with a smile:
"Yanyan has finished absorbing her Spirit Ring, and this Grass Chicken is done roasting too. Let's eat it together. We haven't eaten a thing since last night."