"Just as you suspected, Miss Yanyan, your parents and your grandmother all died because of their Jade Phosphorus Snake Martial Soul."
"Your grandfather didn't tell you because he was afraid you couldn't bear it!"
Gu Wuchen saw the helplessness in Dugu Bo's heart at a glance, so he answered for him.
"Doesn't that mean my grandfather...?"
Dugu Yan felt a rush of fear. If her grandfather died from the Jade Phosphorus Snake Venom too, she would be all alone on the Douluo Continent.
"Grandpa..."
Dugu Yan's eyes reddened. She hugged Dugu Bo and choked out, "Grandpa, I don't want you to die. If you die, Yanyan will be all alone."
Dugu Bo comforted her. "Don't worry, Yanyan. Young Master Gu can cure the poison. I brought him here this time precisely to resolve the defect in our Dugu Family's Jade Phosphorus Snake Martial Soul."
"Can he really do it?"
"I certainly can."
Gu Wuchen paid them no mind and began searching for the Earth Dragon Golden Melon he remembered. It could not only cure poison but also improve the quality of the Jade Phosphorus Snake, making it an excellent tonic.
Before long, he found two connected Earth Dragon Golden Melons growing in the soil.
He dug up the soil, revealing the two joined Earth Dragon Golden Melons.
They had the earth attribute, and the Earth Dragon Golden Melons themselves also contained a trace of dragon Qi.
He picked one up and tossed it to Dugu Bo.
"Chew the flesh and swallow it, then circulate your Soul Power to refine its medicinal power. Don't slack off."
"The root of your Dugu Family's poison was never improper cultivation, but a defect in the Martial Soul itself."
"The Jade Phosphorus Snake's poison is too violent. The deeper your cultivation, the more it backlashes against you. The poison penetrates your blood and marrow and is passed down from generation to generation, ultimately shortening your lives and severing your inheritance."
"This Earth Dragon Golden Melon can strengthen your foundation and nurture your vitality. With the power of an earth dragon, it can lock down all the poison in your blood and pull it out by the roots, without harming your organs or meridians in the slightest."
"It can not only cure the old poison that has built up in you for decades, but also root out the inherited danger in your granddaughter Dugu Yan's blood once and for all. From now on, your Dugu Family will never again have to suffer the backlash of cultivating poison."
"The moment you swallow it, a hot current will rise in your belly and spread through your limbs and bones. Remember to steady your mind."
At those words, Dugu Bo instantly felt that the Earth Dragon Golden Melon in his hand had grown heavier.
This Earth Dragon Golden Melon alone could root out the poison that had plagued generations of the Dugu Family.
"Just refine the poison in your body!"
"The same goes for Miss Yanyan."
He tossed the other Earth Dragon Golden Melon to Dugu Yan.
"Besides its earth attribute, the Earth Dragon Golden Melon also contains a trace of dragon Qi, which can enable your Martial Souls to evolve. Senior Dugu's Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor can evolve as well."
The Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor was already the result of a first evolution. Dugu Bo had never dared imagine that his Martial Soul could evolve a second time in his lifetime.
On the Douluo Continent, anyone whose Martial Soul evolved even once was blessed with extraordinary luck. Not a single person on the entire continent could be found whose Martial Soul had evolved twice.
"If we succeed in curing the poison this time, my Dugu Family will never forget your immense kindness, Young Master Gu."
Overjoyed, Dugu Bo immediately swallowed the entire Earth Dragon Golden Melon, bite by bite.
The sweet, refreshing flesh entered his belly, and in an instant, a searing current erupted, surging wildly through his meridians.
The warm medicinal power enveloped his limbs and bones, filling him with warmth even as it washed through him with domineering force.
Dugu Bo dropped to the ground, sitting cross-legged as he circulated his Soul Power at full speed and guided the medicinal power throughout his body.
The next moment, spiritual light blazed behind Dugu Bo, and his Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Martial Soul abruptly appeared. The blue-green serpent raised its head and hissed, its scales rippling and trembling. Its Martial Soul Origin stirred wildly, sensing an opportunity for an ultimate evolution!
The serpent's body swelled at a speed visible to the naked eye. Its blue-green scales fell away, replaced by a layer of dark golden dragon scales. Its head transformed into a dragon's, dragon whiskers streamed from its face, and dragon fins grew from its tail.
The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Martial Soul was transforming wildly into an earth-attribute dragon!
The Jade Phosphorous poison that had plagued his body for decades turned into wisps of inky black Qi. Drawn by the medicinal power, it surged into his Martial Soul, where it fused with the dragon origin and was purified.
That bone-eating poison was no longer an incurable affliction. Instead, it had become nourishment for his Martial Soul!
Hum!
Spiritual light shot into the sky. An earthy yellow halo wrapped around blue-green poisonous mist, the two intertwining and spiraling through the air.
The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor had completely transformed into the Jade Phosphor Poison Dragon!
The dragon's body coiled in midair, radiating an imposing pressure, its poison and earth attributes perfectly fused. The sickly blue-black cast covering Dugu Bo's body had completely faded, leaving his complexion rosy and his eyes clear and bright. The poison he had carried since birth had been rooted out entirely!
Dugu Bo slowly opened his eyes and felt the surging Soul Power within him and his brand-new Martial Soul. The bone-searing pain was completely gone, and his eyes reddened at once.
It worked!
She really had been cured of the poison! Her Martial Soul had become a dragon!
Dugu Bo threw back his head and laughed as he felt the changes in his body.
"Level ninety-three!"
"Level ninety-three!"
His Martial Soul had evolved a second time, and his strength had broken through to that of a level ninety-three Titled Douluo. This was simply wonderful news.
Standing nearby, Dugu Yan was delighted that Dugu Bo's Martial Soul had evolved and his strength had increased.
Ye Yuan'er was dumbfounded. A single little Immortal Herb had actually enabled a Martial Soul to evolve a second time and even brought about a breakthrough in Soul Power.
One had to know that after breaking through to Titled Douluo on the Douluo Continent, advancing any further was extremely difficult, level by level. Each level of a Titled Douluo was also as different from the next as heaven and earth.
"Congratulations, Senior Dugu!"
"This is all thanks to you, Young Master Gu!"
Dugu Bo activated his Martial Soul and discovered a pair of dragon horns on his head, leaving him even more astonished.
Dragon horns!
Such dragon horns were hard to come by, extremely rare!
Even the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, whose members possessed dragon-type Martial Souls, had no dragon horns.
"Miss Yanyan, don't just stand there in a daze. Hurry up and swallow yours too."
"You presumably haven't broken through to Soul Elder yet. Taking it now is just right for you to absorb your third Soul Ring!"
Only after Wuchen said this did Dugu Bo remember that Dugu Yan had yet to formally obtain her third Soul Ring.
"That's right, Yanyan. Young Master Gu is right. Hurry up and swallow it."
Dugu Yan hesitated no longer and ate the Earth Dragon Golden Melon bite by bite. She followed the same steps as Dugu Bo, though her overall evolution might take less time than his.
The poison remaining in Dugu Yan's body had not taken root throughout her body as it had in Dugu Bo's.
While Dugu Yan was absorbing it, Gu Wuchen said, "Miss Yanyan's Martial Soul will evolve into the Jade Phosphorus Dragon Emperor, while Senior Dugu's Martial Soul has evolved into the Jade Phosphor Poison Dragon."
"Senior Dugu, your granddaughter may be changing from a poison-type to a strength-attack type."
At that, Dugu Bo shook his head, looking unconcerned.
"Compared with poison attacks, strength attacks may have a brighter future, and her Martial Soul is such a top-tier one too," Dugu Bo said with a smile.
"It's good that you can take it in stride, Senior Dugu. As for your Immortal Herbs, I'll be picking a few. I have no use for the others."
Dugu Bo waved a hand. "Pick whichever ones you like, Young Master Gu. There's no need to stand on ceremony. I have no use for these things either."
Gu Wuchen did not stand on ceremony, but he did not pick the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass or the Infernal Delicate Apricot.
Once he had finished picking the Immortal Herbs he needed, he would pick those two and refine them.
The first was the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower!