The girl's clear, resolute voice echoed through the valley of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Dugu Bo looked at the hopeful light shimmering in his granddaughter's eyes, and his own eyes instantly reddened.
His hand trembled as he reached out and gently stroked Dugu Yan's hair. In the end, a thousand words became a single, heavy yet relieved sigh:
"Good... good girl. Grandpa will support you!"
Ye Lingling stood to the side, watching the scene with mixed emotions.
As she looked at Ling Xuqing's youthful face, which nonetheless held peerless beauty and grace, a ripple stirred in her heart.
This young man not only had strength others could only look up to, but also possessed a magic that made people trust him wholeheartedly.
"Young Lord, I'm back!"
Just then, a purple blur raced over and landed steadily before them.
It was Zi JI, returned from her errand.
Zi JI waved both hands, and in an instant, jade boxes of all sizes piled up on the ground.
She clapped her hands and spoke as if expecting praise:
"Young Lord, My Lord, I got fifty pieces of century-old Whale Rubber, ten pieces of thousand-year Whale Rubber, and three pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue from Di Tian!"
"Also, I brought you the Man Faced Demon Spider you asked for!"
As she spoke, Zi JI flicked her toe. A gigantic creature wrapped in a black web flew through the air and landed on the ground.
It was a spider with an entirely black body and eight spear-like limbs. Though tightly bound by the web, it still gave off a nauseating aura of poison.
Ling Xuqing stepped forward and swept his spiritual power over the Man Faced Demon Spider. He nodded slightly. "Not bad. Its cultivation is exactly two thousand years. It couldn't be more suitable as a First Soul Ring."
He had no idea whether this Man Faced Demon Spider was the one Tang San encountered in the original story. But since they had come across it, and its age was just right, they might as well put it to good use.
"Yan Yan, are you ready?"
Ling Xuqing turned to look at Dugu Yan.
"I'm ready!" Dugu Yan took a deep breath, her gaze resolute.
"Good. Then we'll start by using Whale Rubber to temper your body."
With a thought, a mass of crimson flame rose in Ling Xuqing's palm.
It was the Ultimate Fire contained in the Blazing Yang Spring he had absorbed earlier!
"Na'er, please use your ice element to cool her down, so her body can withstand the heat." Ling Xuqing turned to Gu Yuena.
Gu Yuena nodded slightly and raised her jade-like hand. A current of icy blue air instantly enveloped Dugu Yan, forming a perfectly regulated shield of ice.
Ling Xuqing lifted a piece of century-old Whale Rubber in one hand. The ultimate yang power of the Golden Dragon King's source intertwined with the Ultimate Fire of the Blazing Yang Spring, refining the Whale Rubber in an instant into a pool of golden liquid that gave off a strange medicinal fragrance.
"Swallow it."
Dugu Yan didn't hesitate for a moment. She opened her mouth and swallowed the golden liquid.
"Boom!"
A violent wave of heat exploded through Dugu Yan's limbs and bones.
She felt as if countless little knives were scraping at her meridians. At the same time, Gu Yuena's ice element constantly nourished her body, while Ling Xuqing's domineering Golden Dragon King source power was like a stern blacksmith, hammering and tempering her bones and muscles.
"Ah—" Dugu Yan couldn't help letting out a muffled groan. Her forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, but she clenched her teeth and held on.
"Hang in there. This is only the first piece."
Ling Xuqing's voice rang beside her ear, carrying a power that soothed the heart.
One piece, two pieces, three...
Ling Xuqing patiently refined the Whale Rubber, feeding it to Dugu Yan one piece at a time.
Dugu Bo and Ye Lingling watched from the side, their hearts pounding, their palms slick with sweat.
Ye Lingling in particular had always thought Whale Rubber was merely the sort of... aphrodisiac.
Who could have imagined that using the stuff to temper one's body would be this terrifying!
Dugu Yan absorbed a full ten pieces of century-old Whale Rubber. A faint golden glow now covered her body, and her previously pale face had regained its color.
"Next, the thousand-year Whale Rubber."
Ling Xuqing's expression turned grave as flame once more rose in his hand.
When the thousand-year Whale Rubber was refined and swallowed, Dugu Yan's body suddenly jolted, and she let out a pained moan.
The medicinal power of thousand-year Whale Rubber was simply too great. Even with Gu Yuena's ice element and Ling Xuqing's Golden Dragon King source power protecting her, she felt as though her meridians were about to burst.
"Hold on to your spirit!"
Ling Xuqing barked. A strand of pure Golden Dragon King source power shot straight into Dugu Yan's heart meridian, forcibly pulling back her will as it neared collapse.
Time passed second by second. The cavern held nothing but the crackle of burning flames and Dugu Yan's labored breathing.
At last, when the medicinal power of the thousand-year Whale Rubber had been fully absorbed, Dugu Yan abruptly opened her eyes and let out a long howl!
"Boom—!"
A powerful aura surged skyward from her body. Brilliant golden light bathed her from head to toe, and her level-twenty-six aura began climbing like a rocket!
Level twenty-seven!
Level twenty-eight!
Level twenty-nine!
Level thirty!
Her aura came to a steady stop at the barrier of a level-thirty Soul Elder!
"Th-this is impossible?!"
Ye Lingling's beautiful eyes widened in disbelief. "Whale Rubber... Whale Rubber can really be used to temper the body?!"
"Yan Yan... she actually broke through to level thirty?!"
Dugu Bo was trembling with excitement. Feeling the surging, pure power within his granddaughter, tears streamed down his face.
"Yan Yan, how do you feel now?"
Dugu Yan clenched her fist, feeling a fullness in her body unlike anything she'd ever known.
She looked at Ling Xuqing, excitement written across her face. "Grandpa, I feel so strong it's scary!"
"Even against a level-forty Soul Ancestor, or even a level-fifty Soul King, I could put up a fight!"
Her gaze at Ling Xuqing changed completely.
Before, she'd only thought the young lord was handsome and a cute little boy.
But now, in her heart, Ling Xuqing had become an almighty god!
Deep gratitude and a stirring of the heart quietly took root within her.
"Now that we've laid a solid foundation, let's strike while the iron is hot."
Ling Xuqing smiled faintly and pointed at the two-thousand-year-old Man Faced Demon Spider still struggling on the ground. "Yan Yan, go kill it and absorb your First Soul Ring!"
"Yes!"
A sharp glint flashed in Dugu Yan's eyes.
She darted forward, emerald light shimmering in her hand as she became a blur and charged at the Man Faced Demon Spider.
After having her body remade by the Whale Rubber and the Golden Dragon King's source power, both her speed and strength had undergone a complete transformation.
"Jade Phosphorus Purple Poison!"
Dugu Yan cried out. A dense cloud of purple poison billowed forth, instantly shrouding the Man Faced Demon Spider.
Then she lunged forward. A short blade had appeared in her hand, and she plunged it viciously into the Man Faced Demon Spider's head!
"Splurt!"
Black blood sprayed, and a two-thousand-year Soul Ring slowly emerged from the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse.
"Now! Absorb it!"
Ling Xuqing stepped forward and came up behind Dugu Yan.
He pressed both palms against her back. The ultimate yang power of the Golden Dragon King's source formed an impenetrable barrier, shielding her heart meridian.
"Bi Ji, prepare the World-Purifying Emerald Light!"
"Yes, Young Lord!" Bi Ji cried. A brilliant Emerald Light Wave instantly enveloped Dugu Yan, cleansing the Soul Ring of the violent resentment and toxins within it.
With Ling Xuqing and Bi Ji protecting her from both sides, Dugu Yan sat cross-legged and began drawing in the purple thousand-year Soul Ring.
However, just as the Soul Ring was about to merge with her body, something unexpected happened!
"Crack!"
Eight streaks of black light suddenly burst from the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse. Eight bone spikes shaped like spider spears burst through its body and plunged straight into Dugu Yan's back!
"Ah—!" Dugu Yan let out a scream.
"An External Soul Bone?!"
Dugu Bo cried out in shock.
"Don't panic. Steady your mind and absorb them together!"
Ling Xuqing's voice boomed through Dugu Yan's mind. The Golden Dragon King's source power erupted instantly, forcibly suppressing the violent energy of the eight Spider Lances.
With Ling Xuqing's domineering protection, Dugu Yan gritted her teeth and forcibly absorbed both the two-thousand-year First Soul Ring and the External Soul Bone, the Eight Spider Lances, into her body!
No one knew how long it took. When the last trace of energy had finally been digested, Dugu Yan slowly opened her eyes.
A strange purple light flashed through her eyes, and eight pitch-black spider spears loomed behind her, giving off a terrifying, heart-pounding aura.
Feeling the world-destroying power within her, she trembled with excitement as tears burst from her eyes.
"I did it... I really did it!"
Before you continue