First Soul Skill, Life Poison, Integrated Offense and Defense, a Recurring Cycle?!

After summoning Bulbasaur back, Lin Xia finally had time to examine his own body.

He stretched out his hands and saw that, aside from his skin seeming a little fairer, there were no other changes. Lin Xia could not help feeling slightly puzzled.

Seeing this, Yue Hongsheng took a mirror from his storage Soul Tool and handed it to Lin Xia.

Though confused, Lin Xia still accepted the mirror and looked into it.

However, when he saw his eyes, Lin Xia was somewhat dumbfounded. One green and one purple—what was going on?

Instinctively probing himself with Soul Power, Lin Xia discovered that it was not just his eyes that had changed. A sinister purple mark, resembling both a vine and a sword, had appeared along his spine!

"Is this...?!"

"An External Soul Bone!!"

Lin Xia's heart trembled, but his expression remained calm. He did not mention the Soul Bone.

After all, he still could not see through what kind of person Yue Hongsheng truly was. Thus, when faced with Yue Hongsheng's question, Lin Xia merely said slowly:

"There's nothing wrong with my body. As for the change in my eyes, perhaps it's a mutation caused by consuming the Emerald Ghost King Vine and absorbing the Life Poison."

Hearing this, Yue Hongsheng nodded approvingly. Stroking his beard, he gazed deeply into Lin Xia's mismatched eyes.

"Staying alive is the greatest gain. A slight mutation can be explained. By the way, how is your first soul skill?"

"Having absorbed and fused with such a special 'Life Poison,' your soul skill must be extraordinary as well."

Lin Xia took a deep breath, sensing the new power surging through his body.

His mental connection with Bulbasaur was especially close at this moment. He could clearly sense the quiet transformation taking place within his companion martial soul's deep slumber.

"Senior."

Lin Xia's voice carried the gravity of exploring an unknown field, along with a trace of barely concealed excitement.

"My first soul skill is called 'Life Poison.'"

Upon hearing that name, Yue Hongsheng's gaze instantly sharpened. This was precisely the key term he had previously used to name the Emerald Ghost King Vine's power!

"Just as I thought... Hurry, tell me!"

Lin Xia organized his thoughts as he sensed it and explained in detail.

"This soul skill... is very special. It isn't merely the release of a single toxin. Rather, it is more like a concrete manifestation of 'life-poison conversion,' born from the shared origin between Bulbasaur and me."

"First, it can 'turn life into poison.'"

Lin Xia raised his hand. Soul Power stirred faintly in his palm, and a wisp of pale purple Soul Power quietly emerged. Yet within that purple was a subtle jade-green hue.

Lin Xia did not point it at any target, merely allowing it to float quietly.

"I can use this soul skill as a catalyst to transform my own Soul Power or vitality into this highly specialized 'Life Poison.'"

"The process... is very smooth. Bulbasaur's former poison-type talent seems to have been perfectly inherited and elevated by this soul skill. I no longer need a specific environment; wherever my will reaches, I can condense it."

Yue Hongsheng stared at the faint glow, sensing the contradictory energy within it—brimming with vitality, yet concealing deadly intent—and slowly nodded.

"Overbearing! You can actually take the initiative to transform your own energy into poison... What is the cost?"

"The Soul Power consumption is considerable."

Lin Xia spoke frankly.

"It mainly consumes Soul Power. If I draw upon vitality, the burden on my body is much heavier. But this poison is fundamentally very resilient. It inherited the core trait of the Emerald Ghost King Vine we absorbed—devouring vitality!"

At this point, Lin Xia's tone grew heavier.

"Once this poison invades a target's body, it will be like a greedy glutton, constantly devouring the target's vitality to nourish and strengthen itself."

"The damage it causes is not merely superficial paralysis and corrosion, but the depletion of vitality at its root! And..."

A glint flashed through Lin Xia's eyes.

"The longer the poison accumulates inside the target, the more its devouring effect will... stack! In the end, it will form a vicious cycle."

"Stack?!"

Yue Hongsheng sucked in a sharp breath. This meant the poison's power would grow geometrically over time. As long as it could not be immediately purged or suppressed, the longer it dragged on, the faster death would come. The stronger the target's vitality, the more horrific their death might be!

"Yes."

Lin Xia confirmed it, his tone carrying a trace of astonishment as well.

"There seems to be some subtle cycle within the poison. The vitality it devours is transformed into stronger corrosive power to dismantle the target's defenses, facilitating even more devouring... cycle after cycle.

"This differs from the Emerald Ghost King Vine's Life Poison, which plundered external vitality to refine its own poison. It is more like establishing a self-enhancing 'Toxic vortex' inside the opponent's body!"

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"

Yue Hongsheng could not help clapping his hands in praise.

"The student surpasses the master! This is no longer a simple imitation, but a creation born from combining the traits of you and Bulbasaur! What about the other side of 'Life-Poison Unity'?"

"The other side is 'turn poison into life'!"

Lin Xia's purple eye seemed to flash for an instant.

"This soul skill can also operate in reverse. I can actively guide and absorb foreign toxins that enter my body, whether it is venom spat by soul beasts, miasma released by plants, or poison-type soul skill attacks from others. Once I activate the soul skill, I can strip away and purify the harmful toxic power within them."

"I can transform it into relatively pure life energy or Soul Power and use it to nourish myself!"

"Hiss!"

This time, Yue Hongsheng was truly shocked.

"Integrated offense and defense, a recurring cycle?!"

"You can both actively unleash overbearing poison to rob enemies of their vitality and transform absorbed external toxins to replenish yourself?"

"This... perfectly matches Bulbasaur's 'Life-Poison Unity' nature! No, this even surpasses its original passive adaptation, becoming an ability entirely under your control!"

Lin Xia nodded heavily.

"Exactly. I feel that this soul skill is like the core pivot of a double-edged sword. In my hands, it can become both a sharp blade that slays powerful enemies and a foundation that provides formidable endurance."

"At its core, it achieves the perfect transformation and balance of the seemingly opposing energies of 'life' and 'poison.'"

Lin Xia paused and looked at Yue Hongsheng, his eyes gleaming with irrepressible excitement.

"Senior, there is another very, very important point! I can sense that Bulbasaur... its condition is very peculiar."

Yue Hongsheng immediately focused his attention.

"Oh? How so?"

Lin Xia closed his eyes, carefully sensing the information flowing from the other end of their mental connection. A relieved smile appeared on his face.

"Because it endured an attack from the ten-thousand-year Ghost King Vine and was forcibly infused with the Emerald Ghost King Vine's source power, the pure life force and poison energy originally stored within its body reached an extremely dangerous critical point during this crisis. It exploded!"

"It exploded?"

Yue Hongsheng frowned.

"No, not an explosion in the traditional sense!"

Lin Xia hurriedly explained.

"It was the young Emerald vine's 'Life Poison.' After merging into our bodies and becoming the core of the soul ring, it seemed to become a crucial adhesive and regulator."

"It resonated with the 'life-poison origin' within Bulbasaur and me at an unprecedented depth."

"Before this, although Bulbasaur could adapt to, absorb, and wield poison, the two energies of 'life' and 'poison' within its body were more like something carefully maintained on a balance beam."

"Any slight misstep, or any extreme impact, could easily throw it off balance, just like when it endured that fatal strike before."

Yue Hongsheng nodded thoughtfully.

"Indeed. Its life foundation was almost instantly drained at the time. If not for your risky gamble..."

"But now, it's different!"

"How so?"