Three days later.
Dugu Yan sat cross-legged in the secret room, a faint golden light shimmering between her brows, her expression tense.
The process of condensing and fusing Soul Core is inherently extremely dangerous, let alone the fact that she chose to fuse it in the most dangerous upper dantian.
The slightest misstep could result in damage to Sea of Consciousness.
But that's precisely the function of the Star Luo Spirit Pearl. As the core of the Soul Core, it acts like Sea God, steadily suppressing all the chaotic Soul Power.
The construction of the Soul Core has been successfully completed. The next thing Dugu Yan needs to do is to integrate it into the upper dantian, which is the space between her eyebrows.
The golden light slowly sank into Dugu Yan's brow and disappeared.
A short while later, she opened her eyes, a hint of joy flashing in her emerald green pupils.
Her Soul Power unconsciously seeped out of her body, and she could clearly sense the benefits brought by the Soul Core, proving that her seclusion and early condensation of the Soul Core were worthwhile.
With each rotation of the Soul Core, the Soul Power within the body will increase slightly.
Although the quantity is small, it accumulates over time and becomes quite considerable.
The quality of the Soul Power has also greatly improved compared to before.
Dugu Yan's Soul Core is not Poison-type Soul Core like Dugu Bo's, but a Soul Power- attribute Soul Core constructed with the Star Luo Spirit Pearl as its core.
She dared not place the Poison-type Soul Core in her Sea of Consciousness. If anything went wrong, even with Grandpa Ye by her side, he wouldn't be able to save her.
Moreover, with Soul Core, the total amount, quality, recovery speed, and cultivation speed of Soul Power are greatly improved.
Dugu Yan pushed open the door to the secret room and went out, where she met Lin Mo and the others who had been waiting for a long time.
Lin Mo looked at her, "How are you feeling?"
Upon hearing this, Dugu Yan subconsciously touched her brow.
"There's a new little spinning thing here. Every time it spins, it absorbs the surrounding Heaven and Earth Origin Power ) and converts it into Soul Power."
She paused, her tone revealing a hint of undisguised unease.
"With the Soul Core, even if I lie there without cultivating, the Soul Core's instinctive operation can still boost my cultivation level."
"And my cultivation level has also improved."
"My cultivation level has now reached level sixty-eight, although it's only a barely broken through."
"Now that I have Soul Core, I believe it won't be long before my cultivation reaches level seventy and I catch up with you."
After Dugu Yan used the Star Luo Spirit Pearl as the core to construct her Soul Core, the Soul Core's feedback allowed her cultivation to break through an additional level, thus reaching level sixty-eight in one fell swoop.
Otherwise, given the quality of this Star Luo Spirit Pearl, it would have been impossible for Dugu Yan's cultivation to advance two levels in a row. The cost required to increase one level of Soul Power at the Soul Emperor level is far higher than that at the Soul Elder or Soul Ancestor level.
Ye Lingling's cultivation level increased by four or five levels after consuming the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, purely because the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, being the king of immortal Immortal Herb, was exceptionally powerful.
Hearing this, Lin Mo smiled but did not say anything to provoke Dugu Yan, who was in a good mood.
He also possesses a Soul Core, and he and Charizard each have one.
Moreover, after breaking through to the seventh ring of cultivation, the negative constraints brought about by the Ultimate Attribute completely disappeared, replaced by an unobstructed path forward.
Sister Yanyan is being too naive to think she can catch up with him in cultivation with just one Soul Core.
Dugu Yan blinked and subconsciously asked, "How long have I been in seclusion? Has anything interesting happened on the continent during this time?"
But as soon as she finished speaking, she Frisk that something was off about the atmosphere around her.
Lin Mo's expression suddenly turned serious.
" Sister Yanyan, you've been in seclusion for three months this time. Some important things have indeed happened on the mainland, but they're not interesting."
"It just happened a couple of days ago."
Upon hearing this, Dugu Yan's expression tightened slightly, and she subconsciously looked at Ye Lingling and Dugu Bo beside her.
Ye Lingling lowered her head, while Dugu Bo's face was grim, his brows furrowed. This made her heart sink.
Lin Mo slowly began, "Because Sister Yanyan is in seclusion, and we've all stayed in the Dugu Manor and haven't gone out, our information isn't very accurate."
"Even so, some information still came from Yan Feng."
He paused for a moment, his tone growing increasingly grave, "Two of the Upper Three Sects, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, have both encountered trouble."
"They were ambushed by an unknown force and suffered considerable losses. More specific details of the losses have not yet been released to the public."
Dugu Yan's teacup stopped in mid-air, her eyes wide with disbelief.
" The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?"
Both sides have Titled Douluo in command, and their respective sects boast countless Soul Master.
"Who dares to lay a hand on them?"
Lin Mo shook his head.
"It's still unclear who did it, but based on the current situation, the Spirit Hall is the prime suspect."
"After all, currently only the Spirit Hall on the continent is capable of simultaneously mobilizing so many Soul Master and Titled Douluo to launch Sucker Punch on two major forces."
Dugu Yan fell silent.
Three months.
She only went into seclusion for three months.
Such a big thing has happened outside.
Dugu Yan pressed on, "Is the source of this information reliable?"
Lin Mo nodded.
"Although the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has tried to block the news, it's impossible to completely keep such a big matter a secret."
At this point, Lin Mo couldn't help but ponder to himself.
These isolated individuals, without any powerful allies, don't need to worry about the threat from the Spirit Hall. If a fight breaks out, they can simply run away.
However, there are other downsides as well; gathering information is one of their weaknesses.
There was no one in the Dugu Manor responsible for this kind of information.
Upon hearing this, Dugu Yan opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, it only turned into a soft sigh.
She recalled meeting Pope Bibi Dong in Spirit City a few years ago.
That woman is far more unfathomable than she appears.
A brief silence fell over the pavilion.
Ye Lingling spoke softly, " The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has done business with us before, and Sect Master Ning and the others are also old acquaintances of ours. How are they?"
Lin Mo shook his head.
"I don't know. There's too little information. All we know is that both sides suffered heavy losses. We don't know the specifics of the casualties, or whether any Titled Douluo perished."
"However, with the strength of Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo, plus the assistance of Sect Master Ning, they should be able to protect themselves even when facing Beat Up from multiple Titled Douluo. But it's hard to say about the sect disciples."
Ye Lingling didn't ask any more questions.
Dugu Yan's expression was complicated. "What about the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?"
Lin Mo shook his head again.
"Even less information. All we know is that they were attacked, and their casualties were heavier than those of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. We don't even know if Yu Yuanzhen is alright."
Dugu Yan fell silent.
After a long while, she let out a long breath.
"What exactly does the Spirit Hall want?"
No one answered.
Upon hearing this, Lin Mo's thoughts drifted away.
He knew the identity of the mastermind better than anyone else present.
The surprise Sucker Punch on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was Soul Hunting Operation the Spirit Hall had been meticulously preparing for many years.
Bibi Dong's work.
However, the butterfly effect caused by his flapping wings has led to a situation on the mainland that is now quite different from what he remembered.
This also made him realize that he urgently needed to accomplish something: build a force of his own.
It doesn't need to be huge, nor does it need to be illustrious.
Having their own power base, they will at least not be so passive in terms of intelligence.
It shouldn't be like this now, with such a big incident, they can only piece together the truth from hearsay.
Moreover, having one's own power makes handling other trivial matters much easier.
Lin Mo snapped out of his thoughts and turned his gaze back to Dugu Yan.
" Sister Yanyan, the best news is that you were able to successfully condense your Soul Core. As for what's going on outside, let's see how things develop first."
Dugu Yan nodded without saying anything more.
Even powerful forces like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan suffered, as these people were only a few Titled Douluo- level combatants.
In the face of a behemoth like the Spirit Hall, one can protect oneself, but rashly stepping forward would only Flash Fire.
Let's see how it goes first.
Let's see what the Spirit Hall does next, and how the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire will react.
Let's see just how badly those two Upper Three Sects were injured.
Just then, footsteps came from the corridor.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.
A slender figure strode into the backyard; the person was none other than Zhu Zhuqing, the head steward of the Dugu Manor.
She bowed in greeting.
"Master, gentlemen, someone from the palace has arrived. He says His Majesty the Emperor requests that Young Master Lin Mo come to the palace for a meeting, saying there are important matters to discuss."
"The messenger is still waiting outside the manor for the young master's reply."
Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow and looked at Lin Mo.
" Xue Qinghe is probably not just looking for you to reminisce at this time."
The new emperor sent people to invite the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as soon as it was in trouble.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was a major contributor to Xue Qinghe's ascension to the throne, and its leader, Ning Fengzhi, was his imperial tutor.
Lin Mo nodded calmly.
Zhu Zhuqing stepped aside and waited for his reply.
Dugu Bo looked at Lin Mo, "If you don't want to go, then don't go. I'll take care of it for you."
Lin Mo shook his head.
It's alright.
He stood up. "I'll go take a look."
"I also want to know, at this time, what exactly is His Majesty planning to do by summoning me to the palace?"
Dugu Bo nodded. "Then go! Xue Qinghe isn't stupid; he won't make things difficult for you at a time like this."
Lin Mo turned and walked out of the pavilion.
Zhu Zhuqing followed beside him, half a step behind, and the two walked towards the gate of the mansion.
Dugu Yan watched Lin Mo's departing figure, her brows furrowed.
"Grandpa, what do you think Xue Qinghe wants to see A-Mo for?"
After a moment of silence, Dugu Bo spoke in a loud voice.
It boils down to two things.
"Firstly, to test our stance; secondly, to further court them..."