Time trickled past, second by second. Jiang Che remained motionless in the spring, but changes began on Dugu Bo's side first.
Thick blood mist surged out of his body, yet it gathered without dispersing, lingering within three feet of him.
Before long, the blood mist swallowed him completely, forming a dark red cocoon of fog.
Dugu Yan, who had been bored out of her mind, was abruptly drawn to this strange sight, staring unblinkingly at the churning blood mist.
After another indeterminate stretch of time, the blood mist gradually thinned, and Dugu Bo's figure became clear again.
"What's that?"
Dugu Yan's eyes flew wide as she stared in disbelief at the martial soul phantom behind her grandfather.
Her grandfather's martial soul had undergone an enormous change from before.
Everyone knew that beast martial souls manifested by possessing their wielders' bodies and could not materialize independently outside the flesh like tool martial souls, save for a very few exceptions.
Yet at this moment, a phantom truly floated behind Dugu Bo. It was not his original Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor, but a dragon, emerald green all over, with four legs beneath its belly and horns atop its head, radiating imposing draconic might.
Before Dugu Yan could take a closer look, the phantom abruptly sank into Dugu Bo's body.
Immediately afterward, his body began to change dramatically. Two small horns sprouted from his forehead, and his hands became sharp dragon claws. Emerald scales covered the backs of his hands, his arms, and every part of his body, leaving only his cheeks as smooth as before. If he took off his clothes, he would look as though he wore a suit of green-scaled armor.
"It really worked!"
Wild joy filled Dugu Yan's heart, her delight written all over her face as she jumped up