"To think I would have to come back here before I had even gone very far!"
Dugu Bo looked up at his poison formation, sighed, and stepped straight inside.
The toad crouching nearby saw Dugu Bo heading in and tried to copy him by hopping into the poisonous mist. But just as it leaped, a burst of Soul Power from Dugu Bo bounced it back into Sunset Forest.
"Poison Douluo, didn't you go looking for highly poisonous substances? Why are you back so soon?"
Yang Xingchen had just emerged from the waters of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well when he saw Dugu Bo stride in with a relaxed expression.
"During my travels around the continent, I did indeed collect quite a few highly poisonous substances."
"However, while traveling, I discovered signs that my poison core and the poison pearl I condensed were beginning to fuse. To be on the safe side, I returned early."
In truth, Dugu Bo had concealed several crucial details. The reason he had discovered signs of fusion between the poison core and poison pearl was entirely because he had used the poison core to absorb too many highly poisonous substances, causing its strength to increase again and again.
This left the poison pearl, which had previously been able to resist the poison core's pull, utterly powerless to fight back. It was gradually drawn toward the poison core, setting out on the path toward being devoured.
Had Dugu Bo not deliberately controlled the speed of their fusion throughout the journey, the poison core would have swallowed the poison pearl clean long ago. How would he have made it back to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well in time?
Seeing the poison core Dugu Bo took out, Yang Xingchen was not surprised that the poison pearl, which had shown no signs of activity before his departure, was suddenly about to be absorbed.
The poison core had now turned completely dark green, and the markings on its surface were even darker than the core itself.
There was no need to think about it. Dugu Bo must have absorbed a considerable number of highly poisonous substances on this trip. Otherwise, at his cultivation speed alone, he might not have reached this state even with another five years!
"So, Poison Douluo, did you return here specifically to show me the fusion of your poison core and poison pearl?"
Yang Xingchen remembered explaining it very clearly to Dugu Bo. With the poison core, the only way he could cause the toxins inside his body to run wild was to destroy the poison core himself, letting the toxins return to his body.
Otherwise, supported by the Soul Power within Dugu Bo's body, the poison core was simply too durable for an ordinary Titled Douluo to destroy.
"Not quite. I merely wished to make use of this treasured land, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and break through to rank ninety-five while I was at it."
Highly poisonous substances did not contain particularly large amounts of Soul Power, but Dugu Bo had controlled the poison core to absorb a whole heap of them in succession. On top of that, the Snow Swan Kiss serving as the poison core's nucleus had yet to be fully absorbed.
It would have been difficult for Dugu Bo not to break through to rank ninety-five!
"Then I should congratulate you in advance, Poison Douluo. Once you reach rank ninety-five, just poison whoever called you the weakest Titled Douluo before. Even if you don't poison them to death, don't let them have an easy time!"
Upon learning that Dugu Bo was about to reach rank ninety-five, Yang Xingchen teased him half-jokingly.
With the poison core's assistance, Dugu Bo's chances of successfully pushing toward rank ninety-six or even higher would also be considerably greater than those of other Titled Douluo.
After all, in a certain sense, the poison core was Dugu Bo's Soul Core.
This Soul Core was simply rather special. Aside from condensing Dugu Bo's Soul Power, it also condensed a heap of potent poisons.
"Hahaha! Since you have congratulated me, naturally, I must give you some good news in return!"
"I remember you mentioning before that if I came across high-quality whale rubber, I could keep an eye out for you."
"The auction house in Heaven Dou City will be holding an auction next Wednesday. One of the items up for auction is a piece of ten-thousand-year whale glue the size of a human head. Its quality will definitely meet your requirements."
Dugu Bo had previously returned to Heaven Dou City to gather information on highly poisonous substances and, while there, instructed his subordinates to collect high-quality whale rubber for him.
When he passed through Heaven Dou City this time because of the poison pearl, his subordinates reported this news.
Ten-thousand-year whale glue the size of a human head?!
No wonder it could make it into Heaven Dou City's auction. Yang Xingchen had never expected to encounter whale rubber of such quality. Now, even if he had to smash his pots and sell the iron, he had to buy it!
"Poison Douluo, can you estimate how many Gold Soul Coins this piece of whale rubber will fetch?"
If Yang Xingchen sold off everything valuable he currently had, he could probably scrape together over two hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, but he could not produce any more than that.
"Don't worry, lad. I have been a Titled Douluo for so many years, after all. I can still afford to buy you a piece of ten-thousand-year whale glue."
Dugu Bo naturally guessed that Yang Xingchen did not have many Gold Soul Coins. Helping him now would make Yang Xingchen owe him a favor, so later, when he asked Yang Xingchen to help Dugu Yan condense a poison core, Yang Xingchen would not refuse.
Yang Xingchen accepted Dugu Bo's help immediately, without hesitation. Of course he knew that agreeing to Dugu Bo's help would leave him owing a favor, but with enough debts, one stopped worrying; with enough lice, one stopped itching.
After discussing the auction, Dugu Bo formally began fusing his poison core and poison pearl.
The poison core and poison pearl rested in Dugu Bo's left and right palms. Then he abruptly brought both hands together toward the center. The poison core hovered between his hands, while the poison pearl circled it, spinning madly inward.
As the poison pearl spun faster and faster, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Yuan Power was also drawn in by the pearl resonating with the poison core. A powerful energy vortex centered on Dugu Bo frantically siphoned the Heaven and Earth Yuan Power within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Moments later, the Heaven and Earth Yuan Power formed an energy funnel above Dugu Bo's head, continuously pouring into his body.
"Interesting. Little Xingchen, when you worked out the Poison Core Method with us back then, it was for this Titled Douluo, wasn't it? He's quite strong. With him helping you, you'll have an easier time getting by in the human world."
The Fire Dragon King had just finished a fight when he noticed an unusual flow of energy within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Through Yang Xingchen's connection to the Undead Demiplane, he began chatting with him.
"Senior Fire Dragon King, have you finished fighting the Bone Dragon?"
Ever since moving into the Undead Demiplane, the Fire Dragon King had either been cultivating or fighting undead creatures. With his cultivation, he had no need to sleep anyway, and he was brimming with enthusiasm at all hours.
Still, this had its benefits. With the Fire Dragon King acting as a "catfish" to stir up the waters of the Undead Demiplane, undead creatures such as the Bone Dragon, now freed from the plane's suppression, had the possibility of advancing further in the future.
"Yes. That Bone Dragon has potential. Once this Dragon King trains him a little, perhaps I can raise an undead creature capable of becoming a god someday."
Yang Xingchen did not harbor the slightest doubt about the Fire Dragon King's intention to raise a god-level undead creature. What a joke-the Fire Dragon King was no theoretical "Grandmaster" like Yu Xiaogang. He was a genuine God King-level figure. Raising a god-level creature would surely be a breeze for him.
With the assistance of Heaven and Earth Yuan Power, the poison pearl and poison core in Dugu Bo's hands finally showed signs of fusion.
Dugu Bo did not want the poison pearl to merely become part of the poison core, as that would not provide him with much improvement. Thus, he planned to fuse the poison pearl with the Snow Swan Kiss serving as the poison core's nucleus.
The poison core's nucleus was intimately tied to its future development. If Dugu Bo wanted his future breakthroughs to remain unrestricted by the poison core itself, fusing the poison pearl with the Snow Swan Kiss to improve the quality of its nucleus was his only way forward!
However, controlling the poison pearl so that it would not be absorbed by the poison core was undoubtedly an enormous challenge for someone like Dugu Bo, whose control of spiritual power lacked precision.
A long while passed, and Dugu Bo's back was already soaked with sweat, yet the fusion between the poison pearl and the Snow Swan Kiss was only halfway complete.