Douluo Continent: From Internal Martial Arts to the Law of Heaven and Earth

Xue Qinghe frowned, about to speak, while Tang Shan also intended to feign reluctance.

Just then, Golden Crocodile Douluo's voice transmission rang in their ears at the same time: "Xiaoxue, don't worry, Grandpa can handle this."

"Young man, don't be polite with this little poisoner. You should accept this great gift. I'm confident I can eliminate the hidden dangers above."

With the powerful backers behind them speaking up, Tangshan stopped being coy.

"Since things have come to this, I will not refuse. Rest assured, I will do my best to help you solve your martial soul problem. Even if I cannot solve it, I will never cause you any harm."

After saying that, Tang Shan picked up the elixir and wiped it on his body. Actually, there was no saliva on it. The elixir was stored in Dugu Bo's dantian, but since it looked like it was spat out of his mouth, it was still a bit disgusting.

Taking a deep breath, Tang Shan swallowed the pill in one gulp.

After the pearl entered his mouth, it did not go down the esophagus, but instead transformed into a cool, emerald-green stream of light that flowed directly into Tang Shan's meridians. Following the trajectory of the soul power flow, it steadily settled into the soul power in his dantian.

As expected, the elixir pearl wasn't a pure solid, nor would it remain in the body for digestion. Otherwise, with the god-like level of control I gained when I activated my first soul skill, wouldn't I have been able to gradually expel it back out?

The elixir in his dantian floated silently, emitting wisps of heat as fine as silk, spreading from the dantian to his limbs and bones. The heat was warm and gentle, not scorching, like a stream flowing gently through his meridians. These heat currents attempted to penetrate his muscles and bones, but were easily blocked by Tang Shan's physique, which was far superior to others of his level. Only a faint warmth emanated from the surface, and even the rate of his blood circulation increased only slightly.

After a moment of observation, Tang Shan couldn't help but shake his head: "Senior, your pill doesn't seem to be very effective; its effect on enhancing physical fitness is only so-so."

"how is this possible?"

Dugu Bo instinctively retorted, but when he grabbed Tang Shan's hand and used a portion of his soul power to investigate, he instantly fell silent—was this the kind of physique a Great Soul Master could possess? He would believe it if you told him it was the physique of a Soul Emperor!

P.S.: The so-called Soul Emperor-level physique doesn't mean Tang Shan's physical body can withstand a Soul Emperor, but rather that Tang Shan's physical endurance is close to that of a Soul Emperor.

Chapter 129 The Special Effects of the Azure Scale Serpent, a Unique Evil Martial Soul

"He has the constitution of a monster."

Dugu Bo didn't know what to say, but at least the pill could enhance Tang Shan's soul power cultivation speed. Otherwise, it would be of no benefit at all, and it would feel no different from forcing the other party to take poison.

"Alright, senior, now that I've swallowed the pill, you should be relieved. Now, can you tell me what flaws your martial soul has?"

Tang Shan stopped with pleasantries and went straight to the point, starting to consider how to help Dugu Bo solve his problems.

Xue Qinghe returned to her previous gentle state and waited for Dugu Bo to reveal the truth. She was also very curious that a titled Douluo's cultivation would have problems, which was truly puzzling.

Dugu Bo hesitated for a moment, but since things had already come to this point, there was no need to hide anything. He slowly opened his mouth, and the first sentence he uttered made Xue Qinghe's mouth drop open in surprise.

"I've been poisoned."

For a powerful figure whose title is based on poison to claim that he has been poisoned is utterly absurd; it's as unbelievable as telling an angelic family, which is basically either holy or of the light, "Your family has a fallen one and an evil soul master."

Tang Shan had already obtained the answer from the original work, so he only showed symbolic surprise at the result given by Dugu Bo.

"Although our Dugu family's Jade Serpent Martial Soul is powerful, even though it has not yet advanced to the Jade Serpent Emperor, it is still among the top-tier Martial Souls. However, this powerful talent also brings us great hidden dangers, namely the Jade Serpent's innate deadly poison."

Dugu Bo's face was somewhat gloomy, and his voice was slightly hoarse.

"This deadly poison appears when a Soul Master awakens their Martial Soul, and then begins to erode the Soul Master's body, causing damage. The stronger the Soul Master's cultivation, the stronger the poison becomes, until it is out of control and the Soul Master is killed by their own natal poison."

My son died because he lost control of his own deadly poison.

Clearly, Dugu Bo genuinely wanted to resolve the issue of his family's martial spirit inheritance across generations, and he revealed many secrets that had only been passed down orally within his family.

"Actually, this is not the most terrifying aspect of our family's innate poison. The most terrifying aspect is that this poison can be passed on to the next generation, causing infants to suffer from the poison from the womb. When the martial soul awakens, the toxicity of this poison will increase even more due to the awakening."

"In other words, the toxicity accumulates continuously, becoming stronger with each generation."

Xue Qinghe clearly noticed the key point and couldn't help but frown slightly.

"That's right, each generation is stronger than the last. My son, Dugu Xin, died of poisoning at the age of thirty-five. At that time, I was breaking through to the next level and had no chance to save him."

And now, my granddaughter is also poisoned. If it weren't for the help of that special medicinal garden, she might have already succumbed to the poison. Even so, I estimate that I can suppress it until she's at most twenty-five, at which point the toxins in her body will inevitably erupt, and then there will truly be no saving her.”

As he continued speaking, Dugu Bo's aura became uncontrollably unleashed, demonstrating the intensity of his emotional fluctuations at that moment.

"Such a big problem, didn't your Dugu family's predecessors think of a way to solve it?"

Tang Shan was somewhat puzzled. It couldn't possibly be that the Dugu family was only established during Dugu Bo's generation.

"Actually, the problem of venom attack only started in my generation. Perhaps our ancestors were aware of it before, but compared with the special advantages brought by the green scale snake, our ancestors probably thought that the venom attack could be controlled."

What special advantages?

Tang Shan grew increasingly curious. He had a feeling that he might be about to come into contact with the true core secrets and essence of cultivation of the Dugu family.

"Perhaps the Azure Scale Serpent has undergone a certain mutation in our family. Our elders discovered that the more poison a person has in their body before their Martial Soul awakens, the higher their innate Soul Power will be when their Martial Soul awakens."

I am an exception in the Dugu family; when my martial soul awakened, I possessed innate soul power at level eight. Before me, my father and grandfather only had innate soul power at level six; my son, Dugu Xin, barely reached level seven; and my granddaughter, Dugu Yan, had soul power at the peak of level seven, infinitely close to level eight.

Shock. When Tang Shan heard that the Green Scale Serpent Martial Soul of the Dugu family had such an outrageous effect, his first feeling was one of unparalleled shock, followed by doubt. How could a Martial Soul have such an outrageous function?

"Is it a coincidence? How could the amount of poison in the body affect the level of innate soul power?"

"It's not a coincidence. My family has a genealogy. According to the genealogy, the earliest Dugu family soul master awakened the Azure Serpent Martial Soul with only level one innate soul power. The soul masters of the following generations have basically never reached the level of Soul Venerable. However, although there have been no Soul Venerables, our family has awakened a large number of soul masters with level two and three innate soul power."

The family elders at the time were also very curious about this situation. After a long period of research, they discovered that the more poison in the body, the higher the innate soul power when the martial soul awakens.

As for the accumulation of toxins, since the cultivation levels of our family elders never improved and the accumulation of toxins was not significant at the beginning, it was not discovered until my generation when it finally erupted.

This is the drawback of our Dugu family's Azure Scale Serpent Martial Soul. If this continues, I fear the Dugu family's lineage will be completely severed.

Tangshan, I hope you can help me solve this problem. If you can't solve it, I hope you can at least help me contact a master.

To be honest, I was out of my mind a few years ago. I was only thinking about curing the poison, but I forgot that the root cause lay in the martial spirit itself. I should have addressed the problem with the martial spirit itself.

Towards the end, Dugu Bo's tone was filled with self-deprecation, helplessness, and a touch of sorrow.

To be honest, anyone who could foresee their family's doomed future early on would feel despair.

"If the toxins continue to accumulate, does that mean that every generation in the future might be born with full soul power?"

Xue Qinghe subconsciously deduced from the Dugu family's way of developing talent, and suddenly thought of a very scary future.

"Theoretically, that's true, but according to my estimation, this kind of toxin accumulation can only enhance talent up to the peak of level eight at most. Once the toxins in the body accumulate to a level enough to awaken level nine innate soul power, the child will probably die in the womb."

Dugu Bo remained calm, clearly having already considered Xue Qinghe's speculation. Unfortunately, it was ultimately just a mirage, something he could only dream of but never attain.

"Fallen Soul Masters, or you could say Evil Soul Masters."

The two words that Tang Shan suddenly uttered while he was silently pondering puzzled Xue Qinghe and Dugu Bo.

Tang Shan sorted out his thoughts and made a very bold deduction: "Let's not talk about how to solve it first, let's talk about the core essence of the Evil Martial Soul: it gains power by sacrificing oneself, and the side effects are irreversible."

"Senior, you see, the core of an evil soul master is to sacrifice the lives of others and absorb their soul power to accelerate their own cultivation. But your Dugu family's Azure Serpent Martial Soul uses 'your own life force' as a sacrifice to increase your innate soul power."

Tang Shan's eyes were deep, and his calm tone resonated like thunder in Xue Qinghe and Dugu Bo's minds: "Senior, I noticed something was wrong the first time we met: even if a titled Douluo is old, he should have restrained qi and blood and strong bones, but your face is withered and bloodless, and even your voice is hoarse from the poisoning. This is obviously the result of the backlash of your martial soul."

Evil spirit masters fall into evil by harming others, and you are being devoured by poison because of self-harm; both are essentially the price to pay for acquiring this power. Therefore, the Azure Serpent Martial Soul is not a flaw of ordinary Martial Souls, but a special kind of evil Martial Soul that comes at the cost of self-harm.

Silence. The entire side hall fell into a deathly silence. Dugu Bo opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing several times, but he couldn't find any angle to refute him.

Tangshan's deduction, though bold, was also clear and logical, progressing step by step.

From its essential definition to its specific characteristics, and then to the corroboration from his own observations, every point precisely hit the core issue of the Azure Serpent Martial Soul, leaving Dugu Bo speechless.

Moreover, this is not a debate, but a problem-solving exercise for the Dugu family, so there's no point in trying to argue it out.

"How can we solve this drawback of martial souls?"

Seeing that Dugu Bo hadn't spoken yet, Xue Qinghe simply asked on his behalf.

"It's hard to say about Senior Dugu's condition, but your granddaughter's poison is relatively easy to treat."

"what?!"

Upon hearing the words "your granddaughter's poison is relatively easy to cure," Dugu Bo, still reeling from the shock of discovering his martial soul was an evil one, was struck as if by lightning, jolting up from his seat. His withered hands gripped his clothes tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force. His emerald eyes flashed with a burning, almost manic light, and his voice suddenly rose, trembling uncontrollably: "What did you say? Yan Yan's poison can be cured? How?! I don't matter, I don't care if I die, as long as Yan Yan can live, as long as she can grow up safely, I'm willing to pay any price! Even if it means losing all my soul power, even if it means taking all the poison for her, I'm willing!"

Tears could no longer be held back and rolled down his deeply lined cheeks, dripping onto his clothes and spreading dark stains.

His body swayed slightly, his heart filled with the vulnerability and urgency of regaining what he had lost. Heaven knows how many times he had dreamt of his son's body, riddled with holes from the poison, and of his granddaughter writhing in agony under the torment of the deadly poison.

He had already lost his son; he absolutely could not lose his only granddaughter as well.

If he were to outlive his son again, how could he face his son in the afterlife?

"Senior Dugu, I just haven't figured out your treatment plan yet, it doesn't mean you really can't treat me."

"Take care of Yanyan first! Tell me how to treat Yanyan!"

Dugu Bo completely ignored the second half of Tang Shan's sentence, his hands unconsciously reaching forward as if to grasp at this only lifeline, his eyes burning with fervor.

“I have two methods to treat your granddaughter. One can preserve her poisonous abilities, while the other can only preserve some of them. However, the former is a temporary solution, while the latter is a cure.”

Dugu Bo swallowed the words "I choose the first one" that were about to slip out, intending to listen to Tang Shan's specific method before making a decision.

P.S.: There's one more bonus chapter, but whether there will be a second one is uncertain; it depends on the author's state of mind at the time. The secondary interpretation of the Azure Scale Serpent Martial Soul here is to find a relatively reasonable explanation for its flaws, similar to the Evil Fire Phoenix of a certain fat man.

Chapter 130: A Major Pitfall Suspected of Existing Soul Bone Poisoning Techniques; Soul Core Technology May Cause a Major Incident (Bonus Chapter for 600 Monthly Tickets)

"The first method is to treat the symptoms. We can obtain a soul bone, any age will do. After fusing and absorbing it, we can introduce the toxins from our granddaughter's body into it. When needed, we can draw them out. In this way, the poison technique will not be damaged, and the strength will not be weakened."

Tang Shan's method is actually the same as Tang San's interpretation in the original work: gather the toxins in the soul bone to prevent further damage to the body.

In fact, if we combine the settings of Douluo Continent I and Douluo Continent II, there is another way to solve Dugu Bo's poisoning problem once and for all, which will not only not damage his own strength, but will also enhance his own strength. That is to condense a soul core. Moreover, Dugu Bo, who has already condensed a dan pearl, has a great advantage in condensing a soul core.

However, putting aside the fact that it is currently the first battle and there is no technology to condense a soul core, even if Tang Shan had it, he would never give it to Dugu Bo.

As I said before, the risk is too high. If the technique for condensing a soul core, or even just the idea, were to be leaked and obtained by a Title Douluo, Tang Shan couldn't even imagine how much the power dynamics of the entire Douluo Continent would change.

Actually, it would be fine to give it to the Spirit Hall, but unfortunately, there are three Limit Douluo in the Douluo Continent now. Although the three seem to have a good relationship, there are still differences in their closeness and distance.

Poseidon and Tang Chen are definitely in cahoots. After all, Poseidon is attracted to men who can become gods, and she's practically confessing her feelings to Tang Chen.

Qian Daoliu is not only isolated and helpless, but also has to be wary of Bibi Dong. If he really spreads the Soul Core technology or ideas, Tang Shan is not sure if he can still be as carefree as he is now.

Thinking deeper, if the idea of ​​condensing the soul core were to fall into Tang Chen's hands, and he were to break free from the entanglement of the Crimson Nine-Headed Bat King and temporarily regain his senses to condense the soul core, would he be able to live a second life and become a god on the spot?

At that time, Tangshan will be like, "Good heavens, Bibi Dong's Rakshasa God test hasn't been completed much, Miss Angel's God test hasn't even started, and the great Sea God's Martial Soul hasn't even awakened yet, and you, the Asura God, have already been born? What's going on?"

To prevent the Soul Core technology from causing any major problems due to the butterfly effect, Tangshan had long ago decided to seal off this technology and even the concept before reaching a certain level.

Closer to home.

After hearing Tang Shan's idea, Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow, then asked with some doubt: "Why do you say that this method can only treat the symptoms? Can't all the poison be injected into the soul bone?"

"Unless you can get your hands on a 100,000-year-old soul bone, even a 10,000-year-old soul bone can only hold poison at the Soul Saint level at most. After all, a soul bone is just a soul bone, not a container for you to hold poison."

Tang Shan shrugged and explained the reasoning simply. In fact, he seriously suspected that Tang San's method in the original story might have actually backfired on the Dugu family later on, since, as he said, soul bones are not containers specifically for holding toxins.

Moreover, once the soul bone is fused into one's own bones, its connection with the body becomes even closer, so what if it accidentally erupts...?

Goodness, things were alright before, the toxins were all over my body, and there was still hope if it flared up;

Your entire focus on the Soul Bone technique will explode when it erupts, penetrating deep into the bone marrow, poisoning the very core, and causing a swift and devastating death.