"Why?" Dugu Bo asked, somewhat surprised. "I'm only a rank ninety-one Titled Douluo, one of the weakest among them. At most, I can fight people below my rank. I'm no match for Her Eminence beside you."
As he spoke, Dugu Bo glanced at Wang Qiu'er. He could not understand what Lin Changgeng saw in his meager abilities.
"Senior, don't sell yourself short." Lin Changgeng smiled. "Who among those who reach Titled Douluo is ordinary? The only reason you haven't advanced all these years is that your poison has held you back. Once it's cured, your strength will soar. Barring any surprises, you should reach at least rank ninety-five within two years of being cured. Even rank ninety-six isn't out of the question."
"Really?" Dugu Bo's eyes lit up. Straight to rank ninety-five within two years of being cured? With a chance of reaching rank ninety-six, too?
For a Titled Douluo, every rank was a whole new heaven. Generally speaking, anyone who reached rank ninety-five was a powerhouse in their own right, while those above rank ninety-five could be counted on one's fingers. His two sworn enemies were only rank ninety-five, and even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Sword Douluo was only rank ninety-six.
He had originally thought that curing the poison would be enough; his strength did not matter. Yet Lin Changgeng had told him he could stand on equal footing with his sworn enemies.
At that thought, Dugu Bo gritted his teeth and said, "I'm willing."
There was no time to dwell on the consequences. Increasing his strength mattered more than anything. Besides, with such a young Titled Douluo at Lin Changgeng's side, the force behind him had to be formidable. If he became one of Lin Changgeng's people, Lin Changgeng surely would not let him lose out.
"At least you know what's good for you." Wang Qiu'er rolled her eyes at Dugu Bo. They clearly had the strength to seize what they wanted, yet insisted on negotiating.
"All right, Sister Qiu'er." Lin Changgeng glanced at Wang Qiu'er, then said, "Senior, since the poison has ravaged you for so long, I have three ways to cure you: a superior, an intermediate, and an inferior approach."
"What are they?" Dugu Bo's eyes lit up. He had not expected Lin Changgeng to have three methods.
"The first involves the two immortal herbs at the center of the spring. They're called octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot." Lin Changgeng pointed at the two immortal herbs in the spring's center, then continued, "Take them together and jump into the spring, and you can forge a body immune to all poisons. However, the consequence is that all your poison cultivation will dissipate completely."
"No." Dugu Bo shook his head furiously. He had spent his entire life cultivating poison. How could he so easily let it dissolve?
"Keep going."
"The second is to have someone take those two immortal herbs and use that person's blood as a medicinal catalyst. Senior Dugu, you should have pills that suppress the poison, right? Combine them with that person's blood, and they'll work. But that's only the first part.
"The second part is to find a vessel. You're poisoned because of an innate trait of your beast martial soul: the poison returns to your own body. Venomous snakes don't fear their own venom because they have venom sacs. But you're a human, not a snake, so you need something that serves as a venom sac. Find something like that to transfer the poison into."
"You mean a soul bone?" Dugu Bo asked.
"Exactly, a soul bone. Ideally, it should be a limb bone, at least ten thousand years old, because a soul bone's capacity is limited. Unless it's an external soul bone, that is, since external soul bones can evolve."
Hearing this, Dugu Bo first thought of his Medusa Skull, but abandoned the idea after some consideration. A soul bone's capacity was limited. If he directed the poison into his skull bone, it might reach its limit one day and crack, sending him straight to his grave.
"Neither of those will work. What's the last method?" Dugu Bo rejected the first two outright. One dissolved his poison cultivation, while the other corroded a soul bone. He could accept neither.
"The last method..." Lin Changgeng rubbed his chin. "Condense the poison within your body into a single mass, something like a core pearl. I call it the Soul Core Method."
"The benefit is that once you've condensed it, your body will absorb soul power at every moment without being affected by the poison. You won't have to worry about running out of soul power in a fight, either."
Dugu Bo's eyes lit up at those words. A core pearl? I have one! He opened his mouth and spat out an emerald-green core pearl.
"Boy, is this what you mean?" After spitting out the core pearl, Dugu Bo held it up for Lin Changgeng to see.
Lin Changgeng looked at the core pearl in Dugu Bo's hand. "That's it. But since you already have the beginnings of one, why haven't you concentrated all your poison into it?"
Dugu Bo's expression froze. "This is the core pearl I condensed after absorbing my ninth soul ring, when my Jade Phosphorous Serpent evolved into the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor. You could say half my strength resides in this pearl. I never considered condensing my poison into it before."
Dugu Bo paused, then continued, "Boy, are there any other methods? I can use this one, but my granddaughter doesn't have anything like this."
"Your granddaughter is easy. Her cultivation is still low. Clear out her poison, then find an immortal herb for her to take. The drawback is that her Jade Phosphorous Serpent will disappear and become a higher-tier martial soul. But once her cultivation rises in the future, she'll be able to condense one too."
"That's good." Dugu Bo nodded. His granddaughter was his main concern. Hearing that an immortal herb would resolve her problem put his mind at ease. As for her Jade Phosphor Snake Martial Soul disappearing, that did not matter. That martial soul harmed both its wielder and others. If it disappeared, so be it.
Having thought it through, Dugu Bo asked, "Then how do I condense a soul core?"
"That, I don't know." Lin Changgeng spread his hands. "I only know the theory. Qiu'er knows how, so you'll have to ask her."
At that, Dugu Bo turned his gaze toward Wang Qiu'er.
Wang Qiu'er folded her arms and tilted her head, giving Dugu Bo a glance.
"Are you sure you want to learn?" she asked coolly. "Condensing a soul core is dangerous. A mistake during the process could very well kill you on the spot."
"I'm sure," Dugu Bo said through gritted teeth. "As long as it can cure my poison and increase my strength, what's a little risk?"
He had suffered under the poison for decades. He had long since had enough.
Now that he had a chance to rid himself of the poison and strive for a higher realm, he could not possibly let it slip away.
"Fine." Wang Qiu'er nodded. "Then listen carefully."
"First, you need to compress the soul power within your body into your dantian, then keep condensing it until it turns from a gas into a liquid, and then from a liquid into a solid."
"You can't rush this process. Rush it, and it'll explode. Many people force the compression because they're too impatient, causing their soul power to spiral out of control and blow apart their dantian. At best, they lose all their cultivation. At worst, they die on the spot."
Dugu Bo listened carefully, not daring to let his attention lapse for a moment.
"Once your soul power has been compressed into a solid, it will form a soul power vortex. At that point, you'll need to stabilize it with your own attribute and spiritual power until it takes shape."
"Your martial soul is the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor, with a poison attribute, so your soul core must contain poison."
At this point, Wang Qiu'er pointed at the emerald-green core pearl in Dugu Bo's hand.
"Generally speaking, the hardest part of forming a soul core is going from zero to one. But your core pearl lets you skip that step. Once you've healed your lingering injuries, you only need to condense your own soul power directly, and your soul core will take shape."
Before you continue