At that moment, Dugu Xin and Su Qing'er were already more than halfway through their Martial Soul Evolution. After a glance at them, Long Qianming swiftly gathered all the immortal herbs and most of the supreme-grade medicinal herbs within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Of course, with his current strength as a Soul Grandmaster, Long Qianming could not yet harvest the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot, the two immortal herbs-one hot, one cold-closest to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring.
The other immortal herbs, however, were easy enough to harvest.
Soon, in less than a quarter of an hour, Long Qianming had stowed the vast majority of the medicinal herbs inside the Purple Gold Hundred Treasure Bag.
Meanwhile, Xiao Tian's beastly eyes were fixed on a ganoderma in the distance that stood alone, unrivaled in its splendor. It was purple all over, shaped like a dragon, and traced with faint golden markings.
Indeed, this was the Nine-Grade Dragon Ganoderma, nurtured from the essence of the two million-year-old dragon skeletons at the bottom of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
It contained a vast quantity of pure dragon essence and was a supreme treasure that dragon-type Soul Beasts and Soul Masters with dragon-type Martial Souls dreamed of obtaining.
At that moment, the Nine-Grade Dragon Ganoderma magnified Xiao Tian's greed without limit. Long Qianming used both hands and feet, completing the harvest in one fluid motion with a special technique that left a little of its mycelium intact.
"Xiao Tian, this Nine-Grade Dragon Ganoderma is extremely important to us. More importantly, it's the key to whether you can ascend to heaven in a single step and complete your transformation into a dragon."
Long Qianming stroked the beastly head Xiao Tian extended toward him and continued soothing its agitation.
"Easy, easy. I'll give you the Nine-Grade Dragon Ganoderma to eat right away."
Once Xiao Tian gradually calmed down, Long Qianming, seeking to bring out the greatest possible effect of the Nine-Grade Dragon Ganoderma,
broke off two taels of its flesh and held all the rest of the Nine-Grade Dragon Ganoderma in front of Xiao Tian.
At the sight, Xiao Tian wagged its tail madly. As Long Qianming tossed it lightly into the air, Xiao Tian raised its neck, its enormous maw like an abyss, and swallowed all the Nine-Grade Dragon Ganoderma.
Within moments, a hollow, crisp ringing came from throughout Xiao Tian's body. Its beastly form gradually grew larger and longer, its dragon claws repeatedly gouged the ground, and its tail lashed frequently. It was suffering terribly.
"Xiao Tian, whether you can fully transform into a dragon depends on this step. You have to hold on."
To help Xiao Tian share the agony of tearing flesh and bones and growing scales and horns brought on by its evolution, Long Qianming swallowed the two taels of Nine-Grade Dragon Ganoderma in one mouthful, then sat cross-legged.
In an instant, Xiao Tian's suffering eased considerably.
The pure dragon bloodline contained within the ganoderma he had swallowed was being absorbed by the cells in his body at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Crack-
The cells and blood vessels absorbing the pure dragon energy ruptured one after another and rapidly reformed. The bones throughout Long Qianming's body did the same.
"Aah-"
Long Qianming's face was ashen, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. His agonized cries from the endless breaking of bones and tearing of flesh echoed throughout the valley.
"Hold on. Hold on, damn it-"
Long Qianming gritted his teeth. No matter what kind of excruciating pain he faced, he had to endure it.
As time ticked past, Dugu Xin and Su Qing'er's Martial Soul Evolution also neared its end.
"Roar-"
Two green lesser-dragon phantoms roared explosively toward the sky, as though proclaiming the might of dragons to the outside world.
As the two Martial Soul phantoms dispersed, Dugu Xin and Su Qing'er both opened their eyes and looked at each other, overjoyed.
"Qing'er, my Soul Power has broken through to level 40! This Earth Dragon Golden Melon is incredible. It raised my Soul Power by five whole levels, and my Martial Soul has undergone a fundamental transformation too. I'll never have to fear the toxins in my body affecting me again."
"Brother Xin, I did better than you! The Jade Dendrobium Qianming gave me not only evolved my Jade Snake and greatly strengthened my healing abilities, but also raised my Soul Power by seven whole levels. I'm a level 38 Soul Elder now!"
"Brother Xin, aren't I amazing?"
At her words, Dugu Xin took Su Qing'er's hand and repeatedly agreed. "My Qing'er is the best. Your Soul Power has almost caught up with mine."
Just then, however, Su Qing'er's expression grew serious.
"Brother Xin, after our Martial Souls evolved, did you feel an extremely close affinity?"
"Now that you mention it, I think I really did!"
Dugu Xin hesitated for a moment. Only after carefully sensing the changes within his body did he notice this subtle sign, and he said in surprise,
"Could it be a Martial Soul Fusion Skill? A Martial Soul Fusion Skill between the two of us?"
"Brother Xin, it really does seem to be a Martial Soul Fusion Skill!"
For both Dugu Xin and Su Qing'er, this news was undoubtedly extremely important.
After all, throughout the entire world of Soul Masters, very few people could produce a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, and it was even rarer for such people to encounter one another.
Powerful Martial Soul Fusion Skills often allowed their users to fight above their rank and defeat mighty opponents, such as the Dragon-Snake Combined Strike, the Martial Soul Fusion Skill of the Peerless Dragon Snake couple in today's Soul Master World.
Yet before they could enjoy their excitement for long, the sound of a boulder shattering came from below. Both looked down, utterly astonished.
"Brother Xin, why is there a dragon-type Soul Beast in this valley surrounded by mountains? And, and it's even..."
"Th-this is a Dark Sacred Dragon?"
Beyond his shock, Dugu Xin also felt profound fear. Although the black dragon before him was still transforming, at a glance,
its black, angular horns, ferocious dragon head, immensely thick limbs, and astonishing ten-meter body length made it unmistakably a Dark Sacred Dragon that had yet to finish evolving.
"Qing'er, where is Brother Ming now? We have to find him quickly and leave this place while this Dark Sacred Dragon is still transforming!"
Dugu Xin had only one thought at that moment: to take his friend and his beloved and swiftly evacuate this strange place. With their current strength, attacking this enormous Dark Sacred Dragon would be no different from seeking their own deaths.
Dugu Xin swiftly scanned the entire valley. Seeing Su Qing'er standing frozen beside him without a word, he hurriedly asked,
"Qing'er, hurry and help me look for Brother Ming. Nothing must happen to him!"
Too shocked to speak, Su Qing'er pointed toward a spot below. Dugu Xin immediately followed her gesture and looked down.
"Holy crap-"
The sight below overturned Dugu Xin's understanding once again. Long Qianming was sitting cross-legged in one spot,
with the enormous Dark Sacred Dragon's body coiled around him in layer upon layer, enclosing him at the very center, as though it had already marked Long Qianming as its first little dessert upon awakening.
"What do we do now? What do we do?"
Dugu Xin paced back and forth, unable to decide what to do. With their current Soul Power Levels, the two of them could not possibly kill this juvenile Dark Sacred Dragon. If they went for help now, there certainly would not be enough time for the round trip.
Just as he struggled to make up his mind, Long Qianming slowly opened his eyes from where he sat cross-legged.
At the same time, having completed its transformation, Xiao Tian shot skyward, then circled low over the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. It let out a long, sustained dragon roar into the air. The empty valley echoed, and countless tiny stones tumbled down.
Suddenly, its dragon eyes fixed on Dugu Xin and Su Qing'er. It roared at them and reached out a foreclaw to seize them.
"Xiao Tian, stop!"