Refining Immortal Herbs and Forming a Soul Core Prototype

"Hahaha! I have never felt so refreshed in all my life!"

A hearty laugh suddenly echoed inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Having cleared his poison, successfully condensed a soul core, and broken through to rank ninety-two, Dugu Bo uninhibitedly vented his emotions.

After venting for a moment, he looked at Lin Hao and the other two down below, then walked straight over to Lin Hao's side and said with a solemn expression.

"Many thanks, little friend Lin Hao, for solving this torment of being plagued by virulent poison for me. From this day on, whenever you have any orders, I, Dugu Bo, will not have a single objection."

"Senior Dugu is being too polite. We are each taking what we need, and strictly speaking, we are the ones taking advantage." Lin Hao smiled as he stepped forward to help Dugu Bo up.

"To you it might have been a mere flick of the finger, but to my Dugu Family, it is a life-saving grace. I have always been clear about gratitude and grudges."

Dugu Bo wore a serious expression, and deep down he naturally had his own little calculations.

Lin Hao's talent was peerless, deserving to be called the number one person on the continent.

Moreover, he was also the Sea God Successor. Dugu Bo could not yet gauge the true weight of this Sea God Successor status, but judging from the fact that Lin Hao could have a Titled Douluo as a bodyguard, this identity was probably far from ordinary.

If he could lean upon Lin Hao as a towering tree, not only would he himself have greater security in the future, but his granddaughter would as well.

"Alright then. We just arrived on the continent and are somewhat unfamiliar with certain places, so we will have to trouble Senior Dugu all the more."

Watching Dugu Bo's stubborn demeanor, Lin Hao vaguely guessed the other man's thoughts—this was a full-fledged gamble on him, Lin Hao. Since that was the case, he stopped standing on ceremony.

This was the combat strength of a Titled Douluo, after all. With a bit of cultivation, breaking through to rank ninety-five would not be a problem, and he would even hold his own on Sea God Island.

Having cured Dugu Bo, it was Dugu Yan's turn.

The poison in Dugu Yan's body was not as abundant as Dugu Bo's, but her affliction ran far deeper.

She had been soaking in venom since she was in her mother's womb, and the poison had long since penetrated deep into her blood, so it would take Lin Hao a considerable effort to purge it.

Entering the room with Dugu Yan, the space instantly became isolated with just the two of them, and Dugu Yan began to grow nervous.

"Sit up there!"

Unfazed by Dugu Yan's nervous state, Lin Hao looked at her standing there motionless and pointed to the bed as he said softly.

"Ah? Do I really have to go up?"

Seeing the bed, Dugu Yan seemed to think of something in her mind, her face turning crimson, and even her neck flushing with a rosy hue.

"What else? Do you prefer standing?"

Lin Hao looked at Dugu Yan strangely. The Sea God's Light was a dimensionality-reduction strike against the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison, but he was not the Sea God himself, and manipulating the Sea God's Light took a lot of mental focus.

It was not like firing a laser beam, which didn't cost any mental effort; this involved expelling poison from within a body, requiring his absolute concentration.

Sitting on the bed would be somewhat more convenient.

"N-No, not..."

"Then get up there quickly!"

Lin Hao's tone grew slightly heavier. Dugu Yan shrank her neck and trotted over to sit on the bed, her tight long dress hugging her voluptuous figure and carrying a full visual impact.

Lin Hao had no mind to pay attention to this blood-pumping scene. Dugu Yan's cultivation was inferior to Dugu Bo's, and with the poison deep within her blood vessels, the Sea God's Light needed to be applied with even greater precision.

"I'm going to start."

"Okay!"

Dugu Yan closed her eyes nervously, and as a warm aura enveloped her entire body, she gradually relaxed.

There was none of the anticipated pain, and Dugu Yan felt a wave of relief in her heart.

Pain?

The Sea God's Light was a divine-tier power; how could dealing with mere Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison possibly hurt?

The Sea God's Light enveloped every corner of Dugu Yan's body. Under his control, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison inside her was purified bit by bit from her blood vessels.

Wisps of toxic Qi overflowed from the surface of Dugu Yan's skin—that was the manifestation of the poison being expelled from her body, and her pale skin once again radiated a healthy, rosy glow.

This body that had been ravaged by the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison for over a decade was revitalized once more.

The most obvious change was Dugu Yan's green eyes reverting to a normal, healthy black.

Night gradually fell, and Lin Hao finally completed the eradication of the poison inside Dugu Yan's body.

"The first step is complete. Swallow this Earth Dragon Golden Melon."

The Earth Dragon Golden Melon was an earth-attribute immortal herb possessing the power of an Earth Dragon Flip. Among the immortal herbs of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, it could be considered the one most heavily tainted with the dragon qi of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings.

It could be regarded as the most suitable immortal herb for the evolution and mutation of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent.

"Thank you, Lin Hao!"

Holding the Earth Dragon Golden Melon in her hand and feeling an unprecedented lightness throughout her body, Dugu Yan stared at Lin Hao with her beautiful eyes, speaking in a sincere tone.

Had it not been for Lin Hao, she and Dugu Bo might well have succumbed to the poison and died on the spot in a few years' time.

"If you want to thank me, wait until everything is completely finished before thanking me. I'm also quite curious what kind of form the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul will evolve into after consuming the Earth Dragon Golden Melon."

Serpent-type martial souls generally contained dragon blood within them and could evolve toward True Dragons.

The Jade Phosphorous Serpent was a poison-attribute serpent, so its evolution should naturally tend toward a poison-attribute dragon.

However, the Earth Dragon Golden Melon was earth-attribute. This was equivalent to changing directions fundamentally, acting as a catalyst to force a mutation in the martial soul.

As for the outcome of the mutation, no one could predict the final result.

Dugu Yan nodded, and under Lin Hao's watchful gaze, she took a large bite of the Earth Dragon Golden Melon and began to chew it, swallowing it down.

The Earth Dragon Golden Melon melted upon entering her mouth, quickly turning into a warm current that settled in the region of Dugu Yan's lower abdomen.

Seeing this, Dugu Yan followed Lin Hao's instructions, crossed her legs, and entered a state of cultivation, beginning to refine the medicinal power of the Earth Dragon Golden Melon.

The time Dugu Yan spent refining the medicinal power was even longer than Lin Hao had imagined.

Three days had passed since she ingested the Earth Dragon Golden Melon, and Dugu Yan showed no signs of waking up yet.

During these three days, Lin Hao hadn't been idle either. He had taken two Nine-Grade Purple Ganadoras and given them to Sea Horse Douluo and Dugu Bo to consume.

Immortal medicinal herbs were best consumed as early as possible. Both men were Titled Douluo, so taking immortal herbs was somewhat wasteful, as they could not perfectly utilize the medicinal potency within the herbs to complete the evolution of their martial soul origins.

The slightly lower-grade Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma was just right, its medicinal power sufficient for them to level up.

After refining the Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma, the two men successfully completed their breakthroughs.

Under Lin Hao's guidance, Sea Horse Douluo seized the opportunity to complete the condensation of his soul core, breaking through to rank ninety-five in one fell swoop.

Sea Horse Douluo would never have dreamed that after being out for only a few months, he would catch up to Sea Dragon Douluo's strength.

All of this was given by Lin Hao.

There was nothing else to say; the only word left in his heart was loyalty.

Dugu Bo had also broken through to rank ninety-three.

Lin Hao had also chosen an immortal herb for himself. Although immortal herbs could not help him complete a martial soul evolution, they could strengthen his physical body.

Therefore, he had ingested the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. Under the tempering of the Sea God's Light, all the medicinal potency of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum was converted into physical foundation.

After refining it, his soul power had not increased by much—rising only to rank forty-six—but he had successfully condensed a soul core prototype inside his body a step early.

At this moment, his Dantian had undergone a drastic transformation.

His soul power was no longer stored in a disordered fashion, but instead formed a vortex-shaped structure that slowly absorbed energy from the outside world, solidifying the soul power within his body.

This was the soul core prototype—the Soul Power Vortex!