Douluo Continent: Martial Soul Young Gilas, Sandstorm King!

Chapter 58 Bio-Armor!

Lin Xia looked down and saw that the skin on her exposed arms and the backs of her hands had a faint but real black rock-like sheen under the torchlight!
This luster wasn't just on the surface; it emanated from deep within the skin, making it appear firmer and more resilient, as if covered by an invisible, extremely dense stratum corneum.

Lin Xia couldn't help but rub her arm skin vigorously with her fingers.

The feel... has changed!
It is no longer just the softness and elasticity of flesh and blood, but has an indescribable toughness and hardness!

It felt like touching the inner layer of the finest, most supple leather armor, forged through countless trials, or the surface of a hard pebble that had been washed by water for millions of years—smooth, dense, and imbued with an inner strength.

Lin Xia tried to scratch her arm hard with her fingernail. In the past, she could easily leave a white mark, but now she only left a very faint mark, and the mark faded and disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye!
The skin's defense, resilience, and "thickness" in resisting physical impacts and energy erosion are all improving at an astonishing rate!

"This……"

Lin Xia's eyes were filled with surprise. He moved his body and the muscles under his skin moved freely, but the "outer garment" covering the muscles had become completely different, as if he had put on an invisible armor that fit perfectly and was born with him.

"Teacher! These scales... they're not strengthening bones or muscles, they're strengthening skin! My skin... it's become as tough as its scales!"

Lou Gao kept a close eye on Lin Xia's reactions and changes. When he saw the fleeting black rock luster on Lin Xia's skin and heard his description of his personal experience, the master craftsman's eyes also burst with ecstatic light!

"Hahaha! Okay! Okay! Okay!"

Lou Gao said "good" three times in a row, his beard trembling with excitement.

"Just as I thought! What a stroke of luck! This beast is a treasure trove, especially its scales. They're like a perfect tonic tailor-made for you two!"

"Earth and Metal elemental essences, perfectly suited to your path of strengthening your physique! Strengthening your skin... wonderful! This is equivalent to directly giving you a natural, growing biological armor!"

"Take all of that beast's scales off!"

Lou Gao stared at the enormous snake corpse, his eyes filled with a fanatical desire for a priceless treasure.

Lou Gao even began to wonder if there were any more precious primary minerals hidden near the habitat of the Black-striped Xuan Yan Python that it hadn't had time to transform...

After all, the mineral vein core that allowed it to grow to such a terrifying size must be extraordinary!
Lin Xia and Young Gilas no longer needed to be urged.

Like gluttons discovering a new continent, the man and beast pounced once more on the hard "treasure." The mine was filled with even more intense and joyful "crack! snap! snap!" sounds, as well as the subtle humming as energy flowed into their bodies and their skin strengthened.

Lou Gao watched as Lin Xia and Young Gilas devoured the scales of the Black-Striped Xuan Rock Python as if they were treasures, and felt the heavy aura emanating from them as they absorbed the essence. A gratified smile appeared on his bearded old face.

But Lou Gao's eyes, burning like a furnace, didn't linger on the "spoils" for long. Instead, they sharply swept towards the huge hole left when the Black-Patterned Mystic Rock Python broke through the wall.

The cave entrance was deep and dark, with traces of the giant python's scales still visible on its edges. A cold, damp current, mixed with a strong earthy smell, a metallic scent, and the lingering stench of the python itself, was slowly emanating from the cave.

Lou Gao's eyes were filled with a sense of exploration and a hint of barely perceptible greed—how could the core area occupied by a ten-thousand-year-old black-striped Xuan Yan Python only have its own scales?
The true essence of the mineral vein is most likely hidden deep within its lair!

"Xia! Youngkiras!"

Lou Gao's voice, filled with undeniable excitement, interrupted the man and beast who were enjoying their meal.

"Good things should be acquired slowly, and this scale armor isn't going anywhere! Let's collect this beast's corpse first; we need to go inside and take a look!"

In that instant, Lou Gao completely overturned his previous thoughts and thought of several suspicious points.

Why did the black-striped basalt python come out to attack them?
If there are no rare mineral deposits here, why would the Black-striped Rock Python stay here?
These two questions alone are enough to prove that there are definitely more treasures in this place than just the Black-striped Mystic Rock Python itself!
Lou Gao pointed at the dark entrance, his tone resolute. "This place that the beast is willing to risk its life to protect definitely has something there! It might even be the core of a mineral vein that it hasn't had time to fully convert yet!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Xia immediately stopped chewing. Although he was extremely reluctant to part with the rich aroma of the scales in his mouth and the tingling sensation brought about by the skin enhancement, his teacher's judgment made sense.

He quickly stuffed the half-eaten scale into his mouth, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it. The warm current surged through his skin again.

Immediately, Lin Xia's mind stirred, and the spatial soul tool ring on her wrist flashed with light, instantly causing the massive black-patterned Xuan Yan python corpse to disappear and be properly stored away.

Only large patches of purplish-black blood remained on the ground.

"Yoji!"

Young Gilas seemed to understand that they were going to explore new places. Although he was a little aggrieved that he hadn't finished the "feast" in front of him, he immediately darted from where the snake corpse had disappeared to Lin Xia's feet, his scarlet eyes warily looking at the unknown cave entrance.

Lin Xia walked to Lou Gao's side, and the two stood side by side in front of the cave entrance.

The wind blowing out of the cave carried an even stronger stench of earth, rocks, and the stench of the giant python, as well as an indescribable...stale feeling?

"Young Gilas!"

Lin Xia called out softly, pointing towards the cave entrance.

"Sense carefully, is there any unusual aura inside? Energy fluctuations? Or... a pleasant mineral smell?"

Lin Xia believed that Eurythras's keen intuition about energy and minerals far surpassed her own.

Upon hearing this, Young Gilas immediately pricked up its little ears, and its tiny nose, like the most precise detector, began to twitch rapidly and forcefully towards the cave entrance, making a "whooshing" sound.

Its expression was extremely focused, its scarlet eyes slightly narrowed, as if filtering countless complex information molecules in the air.

A moment later, the young Gilas stopped sniffing, tilted its little head to look at Lin Xia, then decisively shook its head and let out a slightly confused groan.

"Yoji..."

The meaning is obvious: there was no particularly enticing, delicious aroma similar to the scales or high-energy minerals from before.

The scent emanating from the depths of the cave was more of a mixture of earth and rocks, the remnants of a giant python, and a... more ancient, more lifeless rock smell. There seemed to be no active, readily available mineral deposits to devour.

Lin Xia frowned slightly and looked up at the building.

"Teacher, the little guy didn't smell anything special. Could it be... that the Black-striped Mystic Python really wiped it all out? Not even a trace left?"

This result left Lin Xia somewhat disappointed.

Upon hearing Young Gilas's feedback and Lin Xia's words, Lou Gao was not discouraged at all. Instead, a profound smile appeared on his weathered face, and his eyes gleamed with the light of an old hunter.

He stroked his beard and said loudly:
"Kid! When it comes to prospecting, you can't rely on your nose alone! Sometimes, your eyes can be fooled, and your nose can be deceived! Whether you find something good or not, you don't rely on smell or guesswork, you rely on this!"

Lou Gao stretched out his calloused fingers and forcefully tapped his temples.

(End of this chapter)