Martial Soul Evolution

"Is it that funny?" Dugu Bo covered his face with both hands, feeling incredibly awkward.

"I was a food-type Spirit Master. My spirit was a sausage, and then, one day, I choked to death while eating one," Jiangmo Douluo teased.

"Alright, Uncle Jiangmo, don't bully Senior Dugu. Reach out your hand and let me take your pulse."

Dugu Bo huffed at Jiangmo Douluo, turned his head away, and walked toward Qian Xunqian, obediently extending his right hand.

Qian Xunqian placed her fingers on his pulse. At first, her expression was relaxed, but before long, her brows began to furrow, and by the end, her entire face had twisted into a grimace.

"Hiss... this poison is quite troublesome," Qian Xunqian said, looking troubled.

"Ah? Can even you not cure it, Miss?" Dugu Bo's heart sank to the bottom of the abyss.

"I can cure it, but my spirit is the Fragrant Silk Immortal Herb, which can neutralize a hundred poisons and clear the toxins from your body. However, your poison is a characteristic of your spirit; once I clear it, it will just come back in a few years."

Dugu Bo froze for a moment. Eh? Didn't you say you could cure it? Why are you frowning?

"I beg you, Miss, please clear the toxins from my body. Dugu Bo would be eternally grateful!"

"Treating the symptoms is easy, but treating the root cause is hard. I was just racking my brain trying to find a way to fix the root of the problem. It's not like I want you and your descendants coming to bother me every few years..."

"Besides, what will you do if I die?" Qian Xunqian said honestly.

Dugu Bo's heart shook. So, the young lady before him had been thinking about how to eradicate their family's toxic affliction all along.

"I have three methods. The first is to eat that flower, then release your spirit, and I will use the Fragrant Silk Immortal Herb to neutralize the poison in your spirit as well. But, the side effects are severe; afterward, your spirit won't be a Jade Phosphor Snake anymore, just an ordinary green snake, and your rank will drop."

Qian Xunqian pointed to the Fragrant Silk Immortal Herb growing near the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Dugu Bo: What kind of method is this...

"The second method is to tailor a set of poison cultivation techniques for your family, condensing the toxins in your body into a poison core. This way, the toxins are stored in one place and won't damage your body; you can release them when you need them and retract them when you don't."

Dugu Bo nodded, acknowledging that this method sounded good, but poison techniques weren't easy to come by. His Dugu Family hadn't been able to solve this problem in over ten generations—could a little girl really do it?

"As for the third method, since the poison in your body is caused by your spirit, we just need to separate your spirit from your body. An externalized spirit... hmm, I feel like that could be my next research project..."

Dugu Bo: I strongly suspect you're just feeding me empty promises. Of the three methods, one basically destroys the person, and the other two are still just theories...

"Alright, which one do you choose? I personally recommend the second, but Senior Dugu can wait a little while. After all, externalized spirits are an uncharted territory with a very high ceiling!" Qian Xunqian said temptingly.

"May I ask, Miss, do you actually have a poison technique?" Dugu Bo asked, feeling uncertain.

Nonsense. She knew the original plot; how could she not have a backup plan for Dugu Bo?

"I speak, you listen. First, jump into this pool!"

Dugu Bo pointed at himself. Ah? I have to jump in?

"Before cultivating the poison technique, you need to open your eight extraordinary meridians to accelerate the flow of your internal energy. This is fundamental; otherwise, with your current physique, you won't be able to handle it. And the best way to temper the body is to use external force!"

"This... this... will there be any danger?" Dugu Bo swallowed hard, looking at the calm Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, his heart trembling.

"You're a Spirit Douluo, yet you're afraid of this! Rest assured, this young lady won't harm you! Here, take this. I just hand-rolled this pill; it will help you cleanse your marrow and reduce the pain."

Dugu Bo: Might as well treat a dead horse as if it were alive.

Dugu Bo looked at the black pill in his hand. Because Qian Xunqian had just rolled it, it still carried a faint fragrance.

He closed his eyes, wearing an expression of resignation, and swallowed it in one gulp.

With a "splash," he jumped into the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

"Hey! You didn't take off your clothes! I forgot to mention, that water will burn your clothes away! What are you in such a rush for!"

Dugu Bo couldn't speak at the moment, but he was cursing internally: Damn it, why didn't you say so earlier!

"Sigh... forget it. Uncle Qianjun, Uncle Jiangmo, do you have any spare clothes?"

Qianjun and Jiangmo replied, "No. We're used to being slovenly. We wear one set of clothes for half a year and are too lazy to change. We don't carry spares when we're out and about."

"I have some!" Bibi Dong opened her eyes. She had finally finished absorbing the energy; this immortal herb truly lived up to its name, growing in the Yin Spring—the energy was heaven-defying.

Bibi Dong stood up. At this moment, she radiated the aura of the netherworld, like an emissary of the Death God.

However, the moment she spoke, it was clear she was still the same old Bibi.

"I feel like I'm not quite myself anymore..."

"What's wrong?" Qian Xunqian asked.

"My spirits have mutated. My Death Spider Emperor evolved into a Death God Scythe, and my Soul-Eater Spider Emperor evolved into a Soul-Eater Bead. Is the final destination of beast spirits actually tool spirits?"

Qian Xunqian thought to herself: Do you think you're Nangong Wentian, turning divine beasts into divine weapons? Still, it's not bad that those two terrifying giant spiders are gone.

If one had to explain it, it made sense: spirit beasts were inferior to humans, so spirits corresponding to spirit beasts were inferior to weapons created by human wisdom.

Spirit beasts < Tools created by humans < Humans. No problem there!

Back in the African continent, didn't a few savages use stone-sharpened spears to hunt down packs of ferocious beasts?

"Moreover, the attributes of my spirits have changed. The two spirits were originally similar in type, and their similar attributes caused intense repulsion. But the extreme Yin brought by the Nether Soul-Eater Flower used poison to fight poison, strengthening my dark attribute! It caused my spirits to evolve into Extreme Darkness!"

"Both spirits ascended to Extreme Darkness simultaneously, colliding wildly within my body. In the process, they became tightly intertwined. History records that a twin-spirit user can only summon one at a time, but now I can hold the scythe in my right hand and the bead in my left—attacking with both!"

"Impressive," Qian Xunqian couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

"Alright, let's get down to business first. Sister Bibi, have some pity on the old grandfather down there; he's at such an advanced age and doesn't even have clothes to wear."

"Oh, right!" Bibi Dong took a purple dress out of her soul storage device. "Does he need shoes?"

Qian Xunqian waved her hand. "No need! Senior Dugu wouldn't be able to walk in high heels. If he trips and gets a cut, it'll be a hassle if he gets tetanus. Better to go barefoot!"

The four of them sat cross-legged on the spot, waiting quietly for the "Monkey King to be born."

Dugu Bo was suffering terribly beneath the water. The Yin-Yang Spring was incredibly overbearing, frantically expanding his meridians as two incompatible energies of water and fire rampaged through his body.

Dugu Bo: If I had known, I would have chosen the method that only treats the symptoms.