The valley was silent.
Dai Weisi stood with his hands behind his back, quietly watching Dugu Bo, who sat cross-legged.
Dugu Bo's entire body was shrouded in a layer of dense, emerald-green flames and a layer of sinister crimson-black mist.
The two utterly different energies clashed and fused within him, making his gaunt old face twist in pain one moment and relax in unrestrained pleasure the next.
Dai Weisi knew that the Netherworld Crimson Refinement Grass was taking effect.
With a forceful yet gentle touch, it was clearing away the toxins that had accumulated in Dugu Bo's body for decades, transforming them from maggots clinging to his bones into pure energy he could absorb.
The process was no less than shedding his old body and being reborn.
Meanwhile, the confrontation between the Zhu sisters had reached a fever pitch.
"Move!" Zhu Zhuqing's voice was icy. She stared fixedly at her older sister, her body taut as a fully drawn bow.
"Move? Do you think that's possible?"
Zhu Zhuyun sneered, refusing to give an inch.
"Zhu Zhuqing, I really underestimated you before. You're not only scheming, but thick-skinned too. Now that your backer has fallen, you want to slink away with your tail between your legs? What makes you think you can get off so easily?"
"I don't want to fight you."
Zhu Zhuqing gritted her teeth. She knew her Soul Power was inferior to her sister's, and if they really fought, she wouldn't gain the slightest advantage.
"Whether you fight or not isn't up to you!"
A cold light flashed in Zhu Zhuyun's eyes. Her Soul Power surged, her Nether Civet Martial Soul possessed her, and her claws sprang out.
"Betraying His Highness means betraying the family and the empire! Today, I'll clean house and capture a traitor like you, then leave you for His Highness to deal with!"
Just as the sisters were about to come to blows, Dai Weisi's indifferent voice drifted over.
"Zhu Yun, come back."
Zhu Zhuyun shuddered and cast Zhu Zhuqing a reluctant glance, but immediately restrained her Soul Power and respectfully retreated to Dai Weisi's side. "Yes, Your Highness."
Dai Weisi's gaze finally settled on Zhu Zhuqing, whose face was deathly pale and whose entire body was on guard.
He walked toward her step by step, each step seeming to land on Zhu Zhuqing's heartbeat, leaving her feeling suffocated.
"You're clever, and you know how to seize an opportunity."
Dai Weisi stopped in front of her and looked down at her.
"Unfortunately, you misjudged the person and chose the wrong side again."
Zhu Zhuqing said nothing, merely glaring at him with stubborn eyes. Yet deep in her gaze lurked a trace of fear that even she was unwilling to admit.
"I gave you a chance."
Dai Weisi's voice was calm. "You threw it away with your own hands. Now, you can only be a dog at my side."
Those words stabbed into Zhu Zhuqing's heart like a knife.
Proud as she was, when had she ever suffered such humiliation?
"Dai Weisi, don't go too far!" she screamed.
"Too far?"
Dai Weisi smiled.
"You'll soon find out what going too far really means."
He ignored Zhu Zhuqing and turned to look behind him.
Shi Mo understood what Dai Weisi meant and used the pressure of his Soul Power to pin Zhu Zhuqing down!
Just then, an astonishing presence burst from the seated Dugu Bo!
Interwoven emerald-green and crimson-black light shot into the sky, finally forming the phantom of a Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor, more solid and imposing than before!
Unlike before, the serpent emperor's scales now bore rings of dark golden markings, and its pupils were no longer pure emerald green, but held a deep, eerie gleam.
It looked nobler and more dangerous.
"Roar!"
With a roar that shook the valley, the serpent emperor's phantom sank back into Dugu Bo's body.
He slowly opened his eyes. His emerald-green snake pupils shone brilliantly, filled with disbelief and the wild joy of having survived a calamity.
He could feel that the deadly poison that had tormented him for most of his life had completely disappeared!
No, it hadn't disappeared. It had merged entirely with his Soul Power and become part of his strength!
His Martial Soul had truly undergone a second evolution, just as Dai Weisi had said!
Although his Soul Power Level was still ninety-one, his combat strength was at least thirty percent greater than before!
What was more, he could clearly feel that the bottleneck that had held him back for years had loosened!
Even more startling to him was that when he looked at Dai Weisi, a sense of closeness and reverence welled up involuntarily from the depths of his soul.
Looking back on his earlier thoughts of feigning surrender and rebelling later, he found them laughable and foolish.
My lord is truly the one chosen by heaven! To be able to follow such a lord is a blessing beyond measure!
"Thank you, my lord, for granting me a new life!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Dugu Bo rose and knelt on one knee before Dai Weisi, performing the most formal bow a servant could give his master. The respect and fervor in his voice were entirely genuine.
"Rise."
Dai Weisi nodded in satisfaction. The Master-Servant United Hearts Contract's effect was even better than he had imagined.
He pointed at Zhu Zhuqing, who stood dumbstruck nearby.
"She's yours to deal with. I don't want her dead, and I don't want her running away. Use your methods to make her behave."
"Yes, my lord!"
Dugu Bo accepted the order and turned around. His emerald-green snake pupils fixed coldly on Zhu Zhuqing, and his lips curled into a chilling smile.
"Little girl, didn't you want this old man to protect you before? Now, this old man will give you some proper 'protection.'"
When Zhu Zhuqing saw the look in Dugu Bo's eyes, she was scared out of her wits and turned to run.
But how could a mere Soul Ancestor escape from a Titled Douluo?
Dugu Bo merely raised a hand casually, and an invisible emerald-green mist floated out, enveloping Zhu Zhuqing in an instant.
"Ugh...
Zhu Zhuqing felt her entire body go numb, and the Soul Power within her seemed to freeze. She could no longer muster even the slightest trace of it.
The utter helplessness plunged her into an unprecedented despair.
All her sources of support and all her schemes had become a joke before this man.
Having dealt with the minor nuisance of Zhu Zhuqing, Dai Weisi looked at Zhu Zhuyun and said:
"That Ghost Shadow Cat was knocked unconscious by Dugu Bo's poison. It's still alive. Go on, that's your Soul Ring."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
By now, Zhu Zhuyun revered Dai Weisi like a god. Hearing this, she immediately nodded and flashed toward the Ghost Shadow Cat that had been poisoned unconscious earlier!
Unable even to let out a scream, the Ghost Shadow Cat became a true corpse.
Zhu Zhuyun wasted no time. She immediately sat cross-legged, and a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring flickering with an eerie purple light rose from the Ghost Shadow Cat and drifted slowly toward her.
Absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring was a tremendous test for a Soul Master who had only just reached level fifty.
Zhu Zhuyun's pretty face soon turned bright red, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. Clearly, she was under tremendous pressure.
Dai Weisi simply watched in silence, making no move to help.
This was a hurdle she had to cross on her own.
Time passed, second by second.
Just as the Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring was about to merge completely into Zhu Zhuyun's body, another unexpected change occurred!
A strange energy, cool as jade and gentle as water, suddenly surged from the depths of Zhu Zhuyun's body!
This energy was the latent medicinal power of the Immortal Herb she had taken earlier, the Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone!
Under the stimulus of the Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring's immense pressure, this medicinal power was finally unleashed in full!
"Hummm!"
A ring of soft white light bloomed around Zhu Zhuyun, and her Soul Power soared like a rocket!
Level fifty... fifty-one... fifty-two... fifty-three...
Her Soul Power continued to rise until it reached the peak of level fifty-four, then slowly came to a stop!
Zhu Zhuyun's eyes snapped open. Five Soul Rings-two yellow, two purple, and one black-pulsed around her, and her powerful presence made even Dugu Bo glance her way.
"This... this little girl..."
Dugu Bo's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"She absorbed one Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, and her Soul Power jumped straight from level fifty to fifty-four? How is that possible?!"
Nearby, Zhu Zhuqing, whose Soul Power had been sealed, watched with eyes nearly splitting.
She saw it. She saw the familiar fluctuations of medicinal power coming from her sister!
Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone!
My sister... she ate an Immortal Herb too!
No, wasn't there only one Immortal Herb at the time?
Why?
What right did she have?
From the look of things, she hadn't merely lost-she had suffered a crushing defeat, losing until she was battered black and blue!