Chapter 73: The Insane Martial Soul Modification Plan Ruthless Dugu Bo
Upon seeing the scene unfold, both Dugu Bo and Han Li were not alarmed but rather overjoyed.
Activating the full potential of his martial soul had been part of their original plan.
Dugu Bo nodded toward Han Li, feeling the surging medicinal power within him, and without hesitation, he leaped toward an open space and activated his Martial Soul True Body.
A massive, thirty meter long, barrel thick jade green serpent materialized instantly in the clearing, initiating the next stage of transformation.
Han Li didn't follow. After a brief flicker of red light in his right eye, he chose to remain in place and withdrew his martial soul.
"Han Li? What's wrong?"
Guang Ling turned to look at him, noticing that this wasn't what they had planned.
"I think I might have overestimated the Nine Petal Dragon Mushroom. Or perhaps, since Senior Dugu's martial soul had already undergone one evolution and was already the king of serpents, the situation is even better than expected he doesn't need my help." Han Li responded softly, appearing to be in a good mood.
"Then what about your own aura?" Guang Ling frowned slightly.
"Some of it still got activated, but that actually makes it easier for me. My recovery time will speed up, and besides, Sister Yan might need my help even more." Han Li smiled.
"Alright, that's good."
Guang Ling didn't say much more and instead turned his attention to the frozen energy pearl hovering in midair.
The pearl's color had darkened significantly compared to before. Although the soul power fluctuations were much more intense, they were still within a controllable range.
"Let's wait a bit. It shouldn't take long. Look, Senior Dugu is already taking the opportunity to restructure his martial soul."
Han Li pointed at the not so distant figure of the Jade Phosphor Serpent King, now tinged with a faint blue hue.
"He really is ruthless he completely wiped out every venomous snake in the area. When he couldn't find more, he even dismantled his own little jade green snake."
Guang Ling observed the trembling serpent on the ground and let out a sigh.
"Yeah, Senior Dugu is ruthless to himself."
Han Li nodded in agreement, recalling Dugu Bo's insane plan.
Originally, Han Li had suggested using the power of the immortal herb to strengthen Dugu Bo's venom gland, allowing for better control over his poison. Since Dugu Bo was already a Titled Douluo, the potential growth of his martial soul's venom was limited. The plan was to suppress the backlash using the immortal herb, gradually conditioning his body, and focusing on precise poison release techniques.
As for Dugu Yan, Han Li had already planned to take her to acquire the Eight Spider Lances in the future. With an external spirit bone, her inherited bloodline poison problem would be resolved, and she could even use it to her advantage. There was no need for drastic modifications.
However, Dugu Bo proposed an alternative he wanted to maximize the preservation of his Jade Phosphor Serpent's venom while restructuring its function. His idea was to push the venom glands and sacs outward during the evolution process, ideally forming them as an external organ, completely isolating them from his internal circulatory system.
If that proved impossible, he would settle for completely discarding the venom glands in exchange for evolution.
His idea left both Han Li and Guang Ling speechless, sending chills down their spines.
Even Han Li had to admire his thinking. Despite the safety net provided by the immortal herb, Dugu Bo was essentially trying to artificially modify his martial soul's fundamental structure. Didn't he worry about it collapsing entirely?
When Han Li voiced this concern, Dugu Bo casually waved it off, claiming it wasn't a big deal. He even revealed that he had already altered his martial soul before just not in a visible way and then shared the inspiration behind his theory.
As a young man, he had encountered a spirit master who had fainted from exhaustion while absorbing a spirit ring. That person's frog martial soul unexpectedly fused with the failed toad spirit ring, causing its exterior to develop poison sacs.
Unable to accept the transformation, the man attempted to consciously shift the location of the poison sacs with each new spirit ring he acquired, eventually hiding them away. He had even entertained the idea of incorporating venomous snake traits to forge his own path.
Unfortunately, his experiment failed during a spirit beast hunt, and he perished. Before dying, he happened to cross paths with Dugu Bo and shared his experience.
This encounter had given Dugu Bo a new perspective. From then on, he deliberately modified his martial soul by selecting spirit rings that strengthened and adjusted his Jade Phosphor Serpent's venom glands, gradually developing a different combat and cultivation method from other serpent based martial soul users.
However, he had gone too far. The modifications exceeded what his martial soul could handle, leading to the tragedy that befell the Dugu family.
In essence, the Jade Phosphor Serpent martial soul that had been passed down through the Dugu lineage had already diverged significantly from the norm, which was why Dugu Bo dared to attempt yet another transformation.
Perhaps this was why he had managed to evolve his high tier martial soul into the Jade Phosphor Serpent King and attain the rank of Titled Douluo.
As Han Li and Guang Ling conversed, a significant change occurred within Dugu Bo.
With a resounding hiss, the massive jade green serpent's upper body sprouted two enormous wings resembling those of a giant eagle. The wings, however, were covered in feather like green scales. (Inspired by the appearance of the Teng Snake.)
"Release the energy pearl I should be able to control it now."
The green serpent turned its head toward them and spoke.
"Alright."
Without hesitation, Guang Ling directed the ice encased pearl toward Dugu Bo.
This time, rather than swallowing it, Dugu Bo extended his newly formed wings, establishing an energy cycle with the pearl.
Gradually, the previously pale green wings darkened, taking on an ink like hue. Eventually, the pearl completely merged, vanishing into the wings.
"Han Li, does this mean he succeeded?"
Guang Ling looked at Han Li, who seemed momentarily dazed.
"More or less. Senior Dugu has essentially relocated all his venom glands and poison based attack capabilities into his wings, creating an independent cycle. His main soul power circulation is now separate from his venom, only merging temporarily when he activates a spirit ability. It's essentially an isolation mechanism he won't poison himself just by using soul power anymore."
"However… if he keeps using his old combat methods, he'll still end up poisoning himself."
Han Li's right eye gleamed as he observed the internal energy flow within Dugu Bo's transformed body, a trace of helplessness in his voice.
"So let me get this straight he used an immortal herb to extract the venom glands from his martial soul and replaced them with external wings? Now, his wings are both his poison sacs and his weapons? Whether he slashes his enemies or himself, it still carries the same risk, except his body and soul power are no longer inherently toxic. Did I get that right?"
Guang Ling bluntly summarized the situation.
"Yes, Master, that's pretty much it." Han Li nodded in confirmation.
"Hey, hey, hey! You can't put it that way!"
Dugu Bo, having overheard their discussion, instantly dispelled his Martial Soul True Body. In a flash of green light, he reappeared beside them, looking somewhat dissatisfied.
(End of Chapter.)