Dugu Bo's Choice, Dugu Yan's Martial Soul Evolution, the Golden-Scaled Earthshaker Flood Dragon!

"So, what are you planning to do?"

Leng Yaozhu lifted her teacup and took a small sip, her gaze settling on Lu Xuan with keen interest.

"I'm planning to take Dugu Yan back to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to see Grandpa Dugu once school lets out," Lu Xuan answered without hesitation.

Leng Yaozhu set down her cup and looked at him with a teasing smile. "Are you sure? Strictly speaking, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well belongs to both of us."

"But I don't need it, so right now, that treasure trove is yours alone."

"Every immortal herb there could unleash a storm of blood across the continent if it were taken outside."

"I'm sure." Lu Xuan nodded, then added another remark.

"If you hadn't taken matters into your own hands before, Sis, I might still have hesitated."

At that, Lu Xuan raised his head and fixed Leng Yaozhu with a gloomy, dead-fish stare.

"Oh, come on... I-I was finding you a wife!"

His stare left Leng Yaozhu feeling inexplicably guilty and awkward, and she gave two dry coughs to cover it up.

Then she simply reached out with both hands, grabbed Lu Xuan's soft, fair cheeks, and tugged them outward.

Against Leng Yaozhu's wicked claws, Lu Xuan was utterly powerless.

He could only let her hold him against her soft bosom and knead his face to her heart's content.

Only when his cheeks had turned bright red, like a ripe apple, did Leng Yaozhu release him in satisfaction.

"Children really are more fun." She clapped her hands and delivered her verdict with satisfaction.

"I have to play with you while you're still little. Once you grow up, I won't get another chance!"

Toward evening, Dugu Yan returned from the Heaven Dou Royal Junior Academy.

Leng Yaozhu wasted no time.

She took the two children with her, transformed into a streak of crimson light, and flew toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well in the Sunset Forest.

The moment they landed, rich spiritual energy washed over them.

"Grandpa!"

Dugu Yan cheered and ran toward the wooden cabin where Dugu Bo was cultivating in seclusion, like a swallow returning to its nest.

Hearing his granddaughter's voice, Dugu Bo shuddered inside the cabin.

Forcing down the turmoil churning through his body like raging rivers and seas, he drew a deep breath, pushed open the door, and stepped outside.

"Yanyan? What are you doing here?"

Dugu Bo managed to muster an affectionate smile.

Yet his face had an unnatural, sickly green cast, and faint beads of cold sweat were even forming on his forehead.

On rainy days, noon and midnight were always his most agonizing hours.

It felt as though thousands upon thousands of poisonous ants were gnawing at his ribs, numb itching mingling with excruciating pain.

The torment only intensified with time and lasted a full two hours.

And now, his noontime poison flare-up was at its peak!

"Grandpa, what's wrong? Why do you look so awful?"

Dugu Yan keenly noticed that something was wrong with Dugu Bo.

She hurried forward to support his arm, her large eyes brimming with worry.

"I'm fine. My energy just went slightly astray while cultivating." Dugu Bo shook his head and discreetly withdrew his hand.

He still did not want his young granddaughter to learn of the Dugu Family's cruel, curse-like fate.

"Old Green-Hair, got a moment to talk?"

Holding Lu Xuan's hand, Leng Yaozhu had somehow already appeared a short distance away, calmly watching Dugu Bo struggle to hold himself together.

"My lady... what brings you here?" Dugu Bo's heart tightened.

He had wanted to politely decline, since the poison flare-up had left him at his weakest.

But before Leng Yaozhu, he dared not show the slightest discourtesy.

Ignoring his discomfort, Leng Yaozhu turned to Lu Xuan and said:

"Xiao Xuan, take Yanyan and pick that immortal herb."

"All right."

Understanding her intent, Lu Xuan nodded and took the bewildered Dugu Yan by the hand, leading her deeper into the spring's grounds.

They had agreed on this beforehand: Leng Yaozhu would be the one to pierce the paper window and bring the truth into the open.

Once the two children's figures vanished beyond the poison formation.

The smile faded from Leng Yaozhu's face, and she went straight to the point. "You've been poisoned, haven't you?"

Dugu Bo trembled all over and gave a bitter laugh. Faced with the unfathomable Leng Yaozhu, he abandoned any attempt to hide it. "Yes. Nothing escapes your discerning eyes, my lady."

"Mm. I came today to help you and Yanyan resolve the backlash of the jade phosphorous serpent poison once and for all."

Leng Yaozhu's tone was calm, yet her words stirred towering waves in Dugu Bo's heart.

"Do you truly mean that, my lady?!"

Dugu Bo jerked his head up, so excited that even his voice shook. For a moment, he even forgot the agonizing pain in his ribs.

"Don't thank me just yet." Leng Yaozhu raised a hand to stop him.

"I have two methods. The first is to force the toxins in your body into a Soul Bone and store them there."

"That will preserve all your poison arts, but it treats the symptoms, not the root. It can only ensure your life is no longer in danger."

"The second is to consume a supreme-grade immortal herb, but that can produce two outcomes."

"The first is that it completely neutralizes your toxins, but the Jade Phosphorous Serpent poison arts you take such pride in will vanish along with them."

"The second is that it triggers a beneficial mutation and evolution in your martial soul. There's a very good chance it will evolve into an earth-attribute flood dragon!"

"However, there's no way to predict how your Soul Skills will develop after the evolution."

Dugu Bo froze, intense conflict flashing through his eyes.

"Well... the reason our Jade Phosphorous Serpent lineage has been able to establish itself on the continent is precisely because of our poison arts."

"If those arts are destroyed, how would the Jade Phosphorous Serpent be any different from a trash martial soul?"

After a brief silence, Dugu Bo drew a deep breath.

Unprecedented resolve and affection blazed in his clouded old eyes.

"My lady, I want Yanyan to consume the immortal herb and undergo Martial Soul Evolution!"

"As for me, the first method, using a Soul Bone, will be enough."

Dugu Bo dropped to one knee, his voice ringing with conviction.

"She's still young and has only just absorbed her first Soul Ring. She has a long road ahead, and her path of growth can still be completely reshaped."

"But I'm already old, and my Soul Skills have long since been fixed."

"As long as I can see Yanyan escape this damned fate of our Dugu Family with my own eyes, I can die without regrets!"

"As long as you won't regret it." Leng Yaozhu nodded.

Before long, Lu Xuan and Dugu Yan returned.

In his hands, Lu Xuan held a melon-shaped plant the size of two fists, its entire surface a clear, dark golden hue.

As soon as they drew near, an exceptionally deep and gentle aura of the earth could be felt.

"Yanyan, listen to your big sister and eat this melon. It will do you a world of good."

Leng Yaozhu pointed to the earth dragon golden melon in Lu Xuan's hands.

Lu Xuan held the earth dragon golden melon out to Dugu Yan.

"Eat this?"

Dugu Yan blinked, a little hesitant.

"Yes. Eat it, and you'll become much stronger than you are now," Lu Xuan said earnestly.

"Okay! I'll eat it!" The moment she heard she could become stronger, Dugu Yan took it.

But she held the rock-hard golden melon and examined it from every angle.

Then she raised her head and looked at Lu Xuan and Leng Yaozhu with her crystal-clear eyes.

Those little eyes held an enormous question.

How am I supposed to bite into this thing?

Seeing her adorably bewildered expression, Lu Xuan sighed helplessly.

"Peel off the rind and eat only the flesh inside. Don't waste any of the juice, either."

"Oh, okay!"

Dugu Yan nodded obediently and followed Lu Xuan's instructions.

She carefully peeled away the golden melon's rind and swallowed the richly fragrant golden flesh within.

As the flesh reached her stomach, Dugu Yan felt a warm current instantly flow through her entire body.

She quickly sat cross-legged, closed her eyes, and began cultivating.

Time slipped by, second after second, and before they knew it, the sky had gone completely dark.

A full twelve hours passed.

During that time, Leng Yaozhu intervened, using her immense soul power to forcibly suppress the toxin backlash within Dugu Bo.

Dugu Bo remained at his granddaughter's side without taking a single step away.

His eyes stayed fixed on Dugu Yan, and he hardly dared to breathe.

He had to witness the moment his granddaughter's fate changed with his own eyes!

By now, Dugu Yan's entire body was completely enveloped in a layer of dazzling dark golden light.

The abundant earth elements around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well seemed to have answered some powerful summons.

They streamed endlessly into her body.

Rumble—!

Amid a deep rumbling that shook the earth and mountains, Dugu Yan's eyes snapped open.

Two dazzling beams of golden light shot from the depths of her eyes.

She involuntarily let out a long, clear cry, and her martial soul instantly possessed her!

The emerald venomous serpent phantom that had originally coiled behind her was now undergoing an earth-shattering transformation.

Its body expanded rapidly, and its sickly green scales turned a brilliant dark gold.

Four powerful claws sprouted from its belly, while two bulges rose atop its head, hinting at its transformation into a dragon!

From serpent to flood dragon!

The sinister, chilling poison attribute that had once set hearts trembling vanished without a trace.

In its place came an aura of ultimate earth, as massive as a mountain and utterly domineering!

"Wonderful... wonderful! Heaven has blessed our Dugu Family!"

At the sight, Dugu Bo's legs gave way, and he collapsed straight onto the ground.

This Poison Douluo, whose might shook the continent, now wept like a child, tears of gratitude streaming down his aged face.

At last, he no longer had to spend his days and nights fearing the Dugu Family's tragic fate!

"Grandpa! Sister Leng!"

Feeling the surging power within her, Dugu Yan leaped up in excitement and loudly declared.

"My martial soul evolved! My new martial soul is called the Golden-Scaled Earthshaker Flood Dragon!"

She waved her little fists excitedly, an unprecedented light shining in her eyes.

"And my soul power jumped straight to level 19!"