Siding with an Outsider

"This... this place, big brother. I can feel it. If we brothers cultivate here for a long time, the dragon souls bound to our Martial Souls will very likely rise another level."

"Not only that, one of the medicinal herbs here holds an irresistible allure for our Martial Souls."

Having just arrived, Demon Subduing Douluo took a moment to sense his surroundings, then his face filled with wild delight.

The dragon souls sealed within Qian Jun's and Jiang Mo's Martial Souls, the Coiling Dragon Staffs, were called Heavenly Awakening Sacred Golden Dragons.

They were neither pureblood dragon souls nor the Break Evil Dragon souls that would emerge twenty thousand years later. Thus, the moment they set foot here, they could feel the improvement this place would bring them.

"In that case, you brothers will guard this place from now on. When there's time, you can also have the third, fourth, and fifth brothers cultivate here. This place will give them considerable improvements as well."

Qian Daoliu said little more on the matter, then took out the Immortal Herb Atlas he had obtained from Yue Guan and checked the herbs against it one by one.

"If the effects described here are real, then we've truly obtained something good this time."

After reading the corresponding entries in the Immortal Herb Atlas, Qian Daoliu was filled with emotion.

He had never imagined that such priceless treasures lay right under Spirit Hall's nose.

It truly left him marveling.

"Grandpa, how do you plan to handle these immortal herbs?"

Just then, Qian Renxue walked over after examining all the immortal herbs.

"If you have an idea, just say it. Why play little games with your grandpa?"

Qian Daoliu glanced at his granddaughter and could easily tell that she already had an idea of her own.

"Grandpa, I want to take the medicinal herbs and immortal herbs that can be moved and let Jiang Li study them, to see whether he can refine them into pills and put their effects to better use."

Qian Renxue looked somewhat unnatural as she spoke.

Her reason for doing this was simple: they had only discovered these things because of Jiang Li, so naturally, he should get first pick.

The smile on Qian Daoliu's face froze instantly.

His granddaughter's idea was quite good. The Light Spirit-Nurturing Pill she had brought back offered a glimpse of it: Jiang Li really did have some ability.

Entrusting these immortal herbs and the like to him was indeed the best solution.

But Xue'er was so decisive and direct that something had clearly already gone wrong.

What he feared most had happened after all.

That bastard had already made a move on his granddaughter.

"Grandpa, what's wrong?"

"Do you agree or not?"

Seeing her grandfather staring blankly, Qian Renxue pressed him for an answer.

"Yes. Whatever Xue'er wants."

Qian Daoliu forcibly suppressed the killing intent in his heart and spoke through gritted teeth, fury nearly spewing from his eyes.

It was only because he could not travel to the Holy Demon Continent at present. If he could, he would certainly go beat that brat up at the first opportunity.

"Grandpa, you're the best."

Once her grandfather agreed, Qian Renxue got to work.

The Immortal Herb Guide obtained from Yue Guan clearly recorded how to harvest them.

Qian Renxue had also made some preparations before this operation, so there were few problems now.

Besides the immortal herbs, Qian Renxue did not pass up even the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Medicines.

Still, she did pay attention to sustainable development. She did not immediately harvest many of the spirit medicines that were unsuitable for picking.

In the end, only two of the rare immortal herbs remained untouched.

They were the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot, growing at the core positions on opposite sides of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

These two immortal herbs were extremely special. Once harvested, they could not be stored at all, and the power they contained would rapidly dissipate.

Thus, Qian Renxue left them untouched.

"Xue'er, according to the Immortal Herb Catalog Yue Guan gave us, immortal herbs possess spirituality. This Infernal Delicate Apricot is exceptionally compatible with your Martial Soul. Why not try to see whether you can have it merge into your Martial Soul of its own accord?"

Qian Daoliu spoke as he watched his granddaughter prepare to pass over the Infernal Delicate Apricot. He had vaguely guessed her intention: perhaps she wanted to leave it for Jiang Li.

How could he let her have her way?

"Grandpa, I..."

"Xue'er, give it a try. There's no harm in it, after all."

Before Qian Renxue could say anything, Qian Daoliu interrupted her and urged her to try.

For a moment, Qian Renxue truly did not know what to say. She could only follow her grandfather's wishes and step forward to try.

She spat out a mouthful of heart's blood.

The Infernal Delicate Apricot, which radiated scorching energy, should have incinerated everything. Yet faced with this mouthful of heart's blood, it not only failed to burn it away but actively absorbed and assimilated it instead.

Immediately afterward, the immortal herb Infernal Delicate Apricot radiated dazzling fiery-red light, and within that fiery red were actually wisps of white light power.

Then it actually severed its own stem, floated into the air, and merged with Qian Renxue's Martial Soul.

As the Infernal Delicate Apricot merged with it, the quality of the fire attribute within Qian Renxue's Martial Soul gradually rose another step.

If this trend continued, perhaps before long, once the medicinal power was fully digested and integrated, Qian Renxue's fire attribute could reach the same quality as her sacred light: Ultimate Fire.

The immortal herb had merged of its own accord, maximizing its medicinal power completely.

The effect far surpassed consuming it or refining it into a pill.

Not only that, Qian Renxue could feel that the immortal herb was not merely strengthening her fire attribute, but also constantly improving her physique.

She could feel that once the medicinal power was fully digested, her Soul Power would rise straight to rank 60.

"Grandpa, sorry for the trouble, but please have someone gather some more things from the Douluo Continent for me. They don't have to be particularly precious, but they should be novel and rare enough. I want to take them back."

After some thought, Qian Renxue decided to bring back a few more things. These immortal herbs and the like alone were not enough.

While Qian Renxue was organizing these things, Jiang Li had already taken a Light Spirit-Nurturing Pill on the Holy Demon Continent.

As its medicinal power was consumed, his Internal Spiritual Power climbed steadily, and the sacred light aura he possessed gradually strengthened as well.

"The medicinal power didn't disappoint me."

"There are still more than two months left. That's enough for me to successfully break through to the Fifth Order."

Once he had fully refined the medicinal power, Jiang Li slowly opened his eyes.

An immense chasm lay between the Fourth Order and the Fifth Order, and the most crucial part was liquefying Internal Spiritual Power.

It already amounted to a fundamental transformation.

This step was difficult.

Without the Light Heaven Flower, even with his current talent and Qian Renxue's gifts, Jiang Li would not have been sufficiently confident of breaking through to the Fifth Order before the Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament.

Now, it saved him a great deal of worry and effort.

"I imagine Teacher will break through soon too."

After rising, Jiang Li looked into the distance. By his estimation, with all the changes his teacher had undergone, along with his own accumulated foundation, he might break through even earlier than Jiang Li.

After improving his Internal Spiritual Power, Jiang Li did not continue cultivating. Instead, he went out alone to find isolated members of the Demon Race to fight, tempering and consolidating his cultivation.

Of course, his greater purpose in coming out this time was to test what he had worked out on his own a while ago.

It was only because Qian Renxue had arrived that he had found the inspiration.

On the Douluo Continent, ten thousand years later, Mu En's Self-Created Soul Skill and Huo Yuhao's Self-Created Soul Skill combined spiritual power with Soul Power and infused emotions into them.

He wanted to try and see whether he could succeed.

Unexpectedly, he really had worked out a few of the principles a while ago.

Most importantly, fusing Spiritual Power seemed even easier.

Although it could not yet be considered a Self-Created Soul Skill, it was still quite impressive.

"Slash!"

Holding the Light of Judgment, Jiang Li circulated his Spiritual Power to fuse his Internal Spiritual Power with his spiritual power, then infused that power into his own consciousness.

Before the sword arrived, the member of the Demon Race had already fallen prostrate on the ground.

"This... isn't this thing sword intent?"

Once he applied it in actual combat, Jiang Li immediately discovered its subtleties.

Although he had not yet reached the level of a Self-Created Soul Skill, every sword strike he made in this state would multiply in power, carrying an attack from his own spiritual power and the pressure of his will.

He had to admit, it really did feel quite good.

"I'll call you Judgment Sword Intent!"

Jiang Li smiled knowingly, then slew the member of the Demon Race.

Although he had only just crossed the threshold of this sword intent, it had already displayed considerable power.

Just as he was preparing to temper it further, he sensed through their contract that Qian Renxue wanted to return to the Holy Demon Continent.