At noon, sunlight streamed into the room through gaps in the window.
Dugu Yan lay curled up on the bed, her brows tightly knitted as the pain of toxins eating away at her body jolted her awake.
She clutched the bedding with both hands, her face pale and her forehead once again covered in cold sweat.
Chen Feng immediately came to the bedside and raised his hand, releasing dark purple branches.
"Rakshasa Spider Spikes."
The spider spikes on the branches pierced Dugu Yan's shoulder, drawing the emerald-green toxins rapidly out of her body.
Once absorbed by the spider spikes, the toxins quickly transformed into dark purple power.
Dugu Yan's breathing gradually steadied, and her tense body slowly relaxed.
Chen Feng withdrew his soul skill, then took something else out of his soul tool.
It was a pair of palm-sized emerald-green bone wings, their surfaces covered in fine patterns and their edges giving off a faint poisonous mist.
"What's this?"
Dugu Yan wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked curiously at the bone wings.
"A gift for you."
Chen Feng placed Poison Wing in her hands, smiling. "This is an external soul bone called Poison Wing."
Dugu Yan's fingers abruptly stiffened, and her eyes instantly widened.
"An external soul bone?"
She jerked her head up, her voice rising.
"Are you serious?"
Ordinary soul bones were already extremely precious, while the value of external soul bones drove countless soul masters mad.
Most importantly, external soul bones could grow as a soul master's strength increased, giving them far greater potential than ordinary soul bones.
Many soul masters might never see a single external soul bone in their entire lives.
"Of course I am."
Chen Feng pushed Poison Wing back toward her. "I found this especially for you."
Dugu Yan lowered her head to look at Poison Wing in her hands, hesitation gradually appearing in her eyes.
"This is too precious. You should absorb it yourself."
Although she desperately wanted it, she did not simply accept it.
Chen Feng already possessed two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings, and his strength far surpassed hers.
If he absorbed this external soul bone, it could serve a greater purpose.
"I already have Lie Yan Fire Feather, so I can't fuse with a second wing-type external soul bone."
Chen Feng gently shook his head and tapped Poison Wing. "There's no point in keeping it. Giving it to you is the best choice."
Dugu Yan still said nothing, a trace of unease in her expression.
"This soul bone can store toxins."
Chen Feng looked at her and explained earnestly, "The toxins produced by your martial soul keep accumulating in your body and eventually damage your meridians. With Poison Wing, the toxins your body produces will be channeled into it and stored inside the soul bone. You won't have to endure the pain of toxins eating away at you anymore, and you can keep increasing your soul power."
Dugu Yan tightened her grip on Poison Wing, her eyes quickly reddening.
To find a solution to her toxins, Chen Feng had not only absorbed them for her time and again, but had also specially sought out an external soul bone suited to her.
She had never met anyone who treated her this well.
"Chen Feng, why are you so good to me?"
Dugu Yan raised her head, tears already brimming in her eyes.
"Because you're my woman."
Chen Feng reached out to wipe the tear tracks from her face, his tone utterly natural.
"But when we first met, I wasn't your woman yet," Dugu Yan said.
Chen Feng smiled faintly. "Actually, I already considered you my woman the first time we met."
"You're so overbearing."
Dugu Yan rolled her eyes, but her heart overflowed with sweetness.
"Absorb Poison Wing first."
Chen Feng pinched her cheek and spoke with a smile.
Treasures such as soul rings and soul bones manifested by the Family Tree Fruit could be used by their corresponding women, likewise without any risk.
However, after they absorbed and fused with them, the ages of those soul rings and soul bones could not increase as their cultivation rose.
External soul bones were an exception.
That was because external soul bones inherently possessed the ability to continually evolve as a soul master's cultivation increased.
"All right!"
Dugu Yan nodded gently and sat cross-legged on the bed, holding Poison Wing.
Emerald-green light spilled from the soul bone and rapidly merged into her body.
The two bone wings turned into streaks of light, settled against her back, then slowly merged into her spine and shoulder blades.
A pure poison-attribute power spread through her body.
Dugu Yan had still been a little nervous, but once the soul bone's power entered her body, it caused no rejection whatsoever.
A wondrous connection formed between Poison Wing and her Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul.
Drawn by that connection, the toxins within her body gathered at her back.
All the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison that had originally flowed toward her meridians was absorbed by Poison Wing.
Dugu Yan felt more at ease in her body than ever before.
The pain that had plagued her for years was disappearing at an incredible speed.
The fusion with the external soul bone lasted an hour.
The emerald-green light gradually receded, and Dugu Yan slowly opened her eyes.
A pair of emerald-green bone wings spread from her back, spanning more than two meters.
Sharp bone spikes grew along their edges, and a faint poisonous mist flowed over their surfaces.
"It worked."
Dugu Yan stood up, excitedly sensing the power in her back.
"Poison Wing can let me fly, much faster than ordinary flying soul masters."
She gently flapped her wings, and her body immediately lifted off the bed.
Poison Wing left an emerald-green afterimage in the air before she landed steadily on the floor.
"It can also absorb and store toxins."
Dugu Yan raised her hand, and emerald-green poisonous mist slowly gathered in her palm.
"I can even release the toxins at will."
A wisp of poisonous mist gushed from the edge of Poison Wing. When it landed on the floor, the hard tiles immediately hissed as they corroded.
"Toxins released through Poison Wing are fifty percent more powerful."
Dugu Yan clenched her fists, her eyes filled with delight. "And my soul power broke straight through to rank forty."
Chen Feng smiled and nodded.
"This external soul bone suits you perfectly."
Dugu Yan turned and threw herself straight into his arms.
"Thank you."
She tilted her face up and offered him a passionate kiss.
Naturally, Chen Feng did not refuse, raising his arms to embrace her waist.
Soon, the two-word song composed by Chen Feng and sung by Dugu Yan rang out in the courtyard once again.
Time passed little by little, and the dim sky outside deepened into darkness.
Only at midnight did Dugu Yan settle back into Chen Feng's arms.
She carefully sensed the changes within her body and found that the familiar stabbing pain had never appeared.
"It's already midnight, and the toxins still haven't flared up."
Dugu Yan looked down at her hands, her eyes reddening with excitement.
"Poison Wing has stored all the toxins, so naturally they won't flow into your body anymore."
Chen Feng held her hand and explained softly, "However, Poison Wing's storage capacity does have a limit. You're still far from that limit now, but as you continue cultivating, the toxins will keep increasing. One day, they'll reach that limit."
"What should I do then?"
Dugu Yan asked hurriedly, a trace of worry returning to her eyes.
"There are two ways."
Chen Feng held up two fingers. "Keep looking for suitable soul bones to store the toxins. Or find a way to remedy the flaw in your martial soul itself."
Dugu Yan froze, asking in astonishment, "Even a martial soul's flaw can be remedied?"
"Of course."
Chen Feng looked at her and said with a smile, "In Sunset Forest, where your grandfather lives in seclusion, there's an Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Many immortal herbs with special abilities grow there. Among them, there might be a treasure capable of improving the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul. We can also hunt for your fourth soul ring while we're there."
"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?"
Dugu Yan had never heard of this place, but her grandfather's medicinal garden came to mind.
There was a spring there, half ice and half fire. It should be the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well Chen Feng was talking about.
"How do you know there are things like that where my grandfather lives in seclusion?"
She was a little suspicious.
"I've looked through a lot of material these past few days to help find a solution for you."
Chen Feng held her hand, his tone perfectly candid. "I discovered the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well by chance."
After hearing this, Dugu Yan's eyes grew moist again.
She reached out and embraced Chen Feng, her voice firm. "Tomorrow, I'll ask the academy for leave, then return to Sunset Forest."
"All right!"
Chen Feng raised his hand and stroked her long hair, a smile appearing on his face.
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