Douluo Continent: On Becoming a God Through Science

Chapter 136 Dragon Blood Immortal Herb, the Truth Behind Immortal Spiritual Energy

"Brother, don't you think it's a bit unethical of you to scheme against my granddaughter like this?"

Dugu Bo said quietly. At this moment, he understood perfectly well the purpose behind You Chen's actions.

Of course, there were some details he didn't understand, but at least he did understand that Youxing wanted to use Yu Tianheng to strengthen Dugu Yan's determination to become his disciple.

"Anyway, wouldn't it be great if your granddaughter could leave without too much resentment? Everyone's happy, right? The proof is, you yourself didn't try to stop it, did you?"

At this moment, the two, together with Dugu Yan, returned to the luxurious manor that Prince Xuexing had arranged for Dugu Bo in Tiandou City.

Originally, Dugu Yan was supposed to stay in the dormitory of the Tiandou Royal Academy outside Tiandou City, but Dugu Bo said that he had important matters to discuss with Dugu Yan privately, so he brought her back with him.

In the eyes of the rest of the Royal Fighting Team, there was probably no other possibility for this "important matter"...

At this moment, Dugu Bo let Dugu Yan go back to her room first, while he led You Xing towards the guest room.

"Speaking of which, your Tian Dou team really does a good job with intelligence control, doesn't it?"

"Huh? What intelligence control?"

"A year ago, weren't those rumors about Bibi Dong flying everywhere? When I went out just now, I used the power of the wind to inquire about it, but I didn't hear a single person talking about it."

Yu Xing shook his head as he spoke: "Sure enough, so-called trending news is something that once the hype dies down, hardly anyone will pay attention to it anymore."

"Rumors about Bibi Dong? Yes, just rumors about Bibi Dong—wait, Bibi Dong! Isn't that the name of the current Pope!?"

Dugu Bo was sweating.

He never expected that Yusei would say such a thing with the expression of a bystander.

No, isn't this rumor something you started back then?

"Cough cough."

However, Dugu Bo was ultimately aware of the issue of stance. He coughed and explained, "Actually, it's only in the capital of Tiandou, after all, it's under the emperor's nose. I often live in Sunset Forest, right? Occasionally, on my way to and from Tiandou City, I still hear some mercenaries discussing these things. In fact... there's been quite a bit more new content compared to a year ago."

But that's all.

Just like the ever-evolving unofficial histories of China, apart from those who genuinely care about these matters, the general public might not even mention them once a year.

It doesn't help with the task progress.

But... in the end, this root of the problem will not be completely eradicated within a few years.

Thinking of this, Yusei nodded silently.

The two chatted along the way, and before long, they finally arrived at their destination.

"How is it, Brother Chen? Not bad, right?"

Dugu Bo pushed open the door in front of him and began to introduce the room to You Xing with some pride.

After all, it was a residence arranged by the Prince for a titled Douluo guest elder like Dugu Bo, and Dugu Bo specially brought out the best guest room, whose luxurious decorations far exceeded the imagination of ordinary soul masters.

But would Yusei be someone who cares about such external things?

"That's very thoughtful."

But Youxing did have some emotional intelligence, and he couldn't refuse Dugu Bo's good intentions.

Seeing Dugu Bo's hearty smile, You Xing suddenly said, "Actually, you don't need to tell that little girl the truth. Just like I said, if she can get rid of the poisoning symptoms without knowing anything, then everyone will be happy."

Under the guise of taking on a disciple, You Chen imparted all the cultivation techniques and secret manuals to Dugu Yan, thus naturally resolving her problems. As for the deal between the two adults and Dugu Yan's own condition, there was no need to inform her during this process.

This approach, which completely avoids putting psychological pressure on Dugu Yan, is a continuation of the extremely perfect protection Dugu Bo had previously provided for her.

Dugu Bo, however, looked solemn: "Brother, you've gone to so much trouble for me, how can I not show my gratitude? I must let Yanyan know that this is not just a favor of passing on knowledge, but a life-saving favor! Moreover..."

Dugu Bo sighed softly, "Perhaps I did make a mistake before. I thought that no matter how willful and capricious Yan Yan was, I would always be there to protect her, and she wouldn't have to worry about anything else. But now it seems that the era of great strife could arrive at any time, and letting her learn some worldly wisdom sooner will help her mature earlier."

As Dugu Bo spoke, he turned back to his solemn expression: "Brother Chen has many affairs to attend to, how can he waste his energy on Yan Yan? I will tell her that taking on a disciple is just a pretext. Although it can indeed make her stronger, the real purpose is to solve her poisoning problem."

"She is your granddaughter; how you raise her is your business."

Yu Xing said calmly, "If she ultimately refuses to leave, I will find another way to detoxify her, but that will likely be delayed."

Dugu Bo nodded: "That's how it should be."

After he finished speaking, he hesitated.

Youxing saw through his thoughts at a glance and said, "There's no need to rush about the matter concerning Prince Xuexing. In fact, personally speaking, Brother Dugu, your help over the years as a Title Douluo is more than enough to repay his life-saving grace."

At the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, Youxing's sincerity moved Dugu Bo, who even said he would "do as you please".

But after the initial excitement subsided, Dugu Bo quickly realized that Prince Xuexing would just let him, the top retainer he had worked so hard to win over, leave like this.

To put it another way, even if Avalanche needs education, would Prince Yusei allow a complete stranger like Yusei to conduct that education?

And, could Prince Xuexing really accept a verbal promise from a stranger with the title of Douluo?

"How can you just let this life-saving grace go so easily?"

Dugu Bo retorted, "If that's the case, wouldn't Brother Chen's kindness in curing me and saving Yanyan's lives be easily repaid?"

Youxing said, "What I mean is, this is a matter of personal feelings and willingness. If he is someone who expects something in return for his kindness, then what you have done is enough; otherwise, he will naturally be willing to let you go."

Dugu Bo disagreed: "Gratitude can't be calculated like that. Brother Chen, although I can't win an argument with you, I still feel there's something wrong with your way of calculating things, the way you say I'm in the right no matter how you look at it."

Yusei didn't deny it, but instead smiled and said, "So, as I said, this isn't a matter of logic, but a matter of emotion. Don't just focus on the second half of my sentence and ignore what I said before. Although the logic is sound, your emotions can't accept this approach, right? That's why I suggested providing assistance to Prince Xuexing's career and ambitions. This is giving you both a way out. You've already expressed your willingness to leave; the rest is up to him to show his attitude. If by then, he still won't let you go..."

Dugu Bo, seeing the dangerous glint in someone's eyes, suddenly glared at them: "Brother Chen! No! He is, after all, my savior! Even if it's you—"

"Hey, what are you thinking about?"

Yusei looked speechless, waved his hand, and said, "Have you forgotten what I was talking about on the way here?"

Dugu Bo asked with some doubt, "You mean, Tian Dou does a very good job of intelligence control?"

Youxing said calmly, "I have confirmed that it was the First Prince Xue Qinghe who first suggested suppressing the rumors about Bibi Dong."

Even Dugu Bo, who was completely insensitive to politics, understood the obvious topic.

He whispered, "You mean, Xue Qinghe's attitude leans towards the Spirit Hall?"

Dugu Bo was well aware that the Pope's recent negative reputation and the subsequent sharp decline in the Spirit Hall's reputation were inextricably linked to the theoretical master in front of him!

You Xing asked, "Prince Xue Xing is an enemy of Xue Qinghe. Given that Xue Qinghe is most likely siding with the Spirit Hall, or even has probably already made contact with them, what do you think his opinion is of the Spirit Hall?"

Dugu Bo had already realized something.

Yuxing stated the answer directly: "So, the worst-case scenario for me is simply revealing my identity as a Heavenly-level assassin to that Snow Star Prince. Whether it's out of self-interest and political stance, fear of a terrifying assassin, or the friendly relationship between a Heavenly-level assassin and his top retainer, secretly forming an alliance with me is the most likely decision he would make."

As for my threats and assassination attempts against him because I disagreed with his decision… as long as I still want you as my brother, I wouldn't do such a thing. I suppose even this worst-case scenario is within your acceptable range, so why worry so much? Just focus on how to explain things to Prince Xuexing tomorrow.”

Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo remained silent for a long time.

Finally, he couldn't help but click his tongue and mutter a complaint: "You scheming, political types are really cunning..."

Then, as expected, he was met with Yusei's slightly narrowed, indifferent expression, which immediately made him shudder and flee.

At the same time, Dugu Bo felt a sense of lightness and relief.

The two parted ways, and Youxing watched Dugu Bo's departing figure with a faint smile on his face.

What brotherhood? He's not like Dugu Bo, who can't be outgoing and friendly. How could he entrust his trust to someone after just one day?

"You're right, Brother Dugu. None of those who play mind games and politics are without a dirty heart."

After spending a day together, Dugu Bo had mostly forgotten You Chen's initial threat to "kill him if he doesn't join," but You Xing had never forgotten it.

Of course, that's the most extreme scenario. Judging from the current situation, it's practically impossible to reach the point of fighting Dugu Bo.

Back in his room, after closing the door, Yusei finally checked the system's mission information.

This task is nowhere near as ridiculously difficult as Bibi Dong's task.

Yusei originally thought that the final condition of the mission would be to completely destroy people's minds, but it seems that the difficulty of group missions will not increase dramatically as the number of people in the group increases. In addition, the conditions for the "defeat" series of missions are often simpler than other types. After he broke the mentality of half of the people, the ultimate mission was completed.

[Basic Rewards: Two "Inspiration" events, Soul Bone Age Enhancement Card (Ten Thousand Years), and a number of Elixirs (details omitted)]

[Bonus Rewards: Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Immortal Herb, one "Marrow Cleansing" skill, and two Soul Ring Age Enhancement Cards (Ten Thousand Years)]

[Ultimate Reward: 100,000-Year-Old Dragon Blood Immortal Herb, a single "Illumination of One's Origin"]

Yusei immediately chose to claim it.

He looked at the two new magical herbs in his inventory and fell silent for a moment.

Unexpectedly, the system so easily distributed the immortal herbs that ordinary people crave as rewards.

"So this mission is indeed focused on Yu Tianheng, hence the reward being somewhat related to his dragon bloodline?"

Most of the time, task rewards are quite random and seem to have little to do with the task objectives, but sometimes there are things that seem to be related.

Youxing didn't bother with such matters and quickly took out the ten-thousand-year-old Dragon Blood Immortal Grass.

According to the system description, this is a magical herb that can greatly purify the bloodline of dragons.

If we were to go back a few decades, even just this ancient Dragon Blood Immortal Grass would have filled us with excitement and joy.

In the Douluo Continent, treasures involving dragons are extremely rare and valuable.

Even the lowest-level category belongs to the highest level among all resources, and it is difficult for even a theoretical master to allocate them.

This is why Yusei initially chose to evolve his martial soul using attribute power, rather than by purifying his bloodline.

At that time, Youxing had not studied martial spirits in depth and did not know that his bloodline power was not weak, but was dragged down by his soul power aptitude.

Even so, the unique effects of the herb can still make up for its shortcomings to some extent.

If Youxing, whose martial soul is still the Wind Hatchling Dragon, were to consume this ten-thousand-year-old Dragon Blood Immortal Grass, his martial soul could evolve into a Starry Dragon nearing the limit of further evolution, forcibly increasing his soul power aptitude.

With this foundation, it is not impossible to reach the top level of martial soul at the Soul Saint stage.

But now?

Each time a martial soul evolves, it drives the dragon bloodline to grow again.

The Martial Soul has evolved to the Super Stage, and the Wandering Star no longer has any weaknesses. The already powerful Dragon Bloodline, after evolving the Martial Soul with the Wind Dragon as the seventh ring, has directly reached its peak.

Therefore, this immortal herb that directly strengthens the dragon's bloodline is practically useless to Yusei.

"The most suitable recipient for this immortal herb is Ignis. In fact, among my subordinates, only Ignis possesses dragon blood and is qualified to consume it."

But after glancing at another "100,000-year-old Dragon Blood Immortal Grass" in his inventory, Youxing decided to absorb this 10,000-year-old immortal grass himself.

Others might worry about conflicts between the medicinal properties of the herbs, but Yusei doesn't have this problem.

With the completion of the Giant Elephant Chapter of the Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Force and the entry into the Dragon Elephant Chapter, Youxing's body has become like a furnace of gods and demons, with an extremely terrifying level of resource utilization and digestion speed.

The remaining potent medicinal properties of the Ice and Fire Immortal Herb, deeply embedded within the body, should be completely digested in a relatively short time.

Even Tang San dared to eat a Dew of Longing for Autumn Water after tempering his body with ice and fire, so Youxing had no such worries.

Previously, with the Ice and Fire Immortal Herb, he couldn't easily separate its medicinal power from the immortal energy to prevent the medicinal properties from being destroyed. But with this Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Immortal Herb, he didn't have such concerns.

Presumably, Youxing immediately began refining it according to the method of consumption provided by the system.

In just a few seconds, the medicinal power of the Dragon Blood Immortal Grass spread to every part of the body.

"As expected, it offered almost no improvement to my martial spirit's essence."

Although he had expected it, Yusei was still somewhat disappointed.

If it were useful to his own martial soul, even if it only improved it by 10%, he would not give the Dragon Blood Immortal Grass to Ignis.

While it is necessary for his subordinates to increase their strength in order to fulfill his ambitions, they must take a backseat to improving their own power.

Although it was regrettable, Youxing quickly followed his original plan and began the process of separating the immortal energy.

Rather than separating them, it's more accurate to say that the medicinal power was brutally destroyed with spiritual force, and then the fused immortal energy was returned to its original state.

After all, this was an unprecedented operation. Although this method was crude and would cause a considerable loss of immortal energy, it could be considered effective.

Youxing quickly separated the first wisp of immortal energy.

"This is!?"

Yusei's body suddenly trembled.

He was shocked to discover that this so-called immortal energy was not something he had encountered for the first time.

"Isn't this the very thing that worked when the system gave me the Tendon-Changing and Marrow-Cleansing Technique?!"

At this moment, Yusei felt less shocked and more like he had found himself in the midst of a dream.

It was as if everything was so logical and so natural.

By gradually developing the physical body into a perfect celestial being, isn't that the same as forging an immortal divine body?

Furthermore, given the system's ability to forcibly suppress the world's rules, what it will ultimately create will inevitably be a truly perfect divine body that surpasses the imagination of all the gods.

As time went by, strands of immortal energy were separated out. Because the immortal energy had initially merged with the medicinal power, it was distributed throughout Youxing's limbs and bones.

Youxing soon discovered that without the system's help, even when he tried to use his mental power to simulate the system's steps of transforming his tendons and marrow, the immortal spiritual energy was extremely sluggish, as if it had gone on strike, and simply remained dormant within his body.

Yusei quickly made a deduction.

"I'm afraid it's not because my technique is flawed, but because my mental strength is insufficient. What can forge a divine body is nothing more than divine consciousness and divine power."

Of course, the "Yi Jin Fa Sui" method, which only involves forging the body, requires divine consciousness and divine power.

The aura of immortals is a near-omnipotent energy source that can nourish spiritual power, soul power, bloodline power, and even the essence of life.

Youxing used his spiritual power to observe the immortal energy and discovered that as time went by, even without any manipulation of it, the immortal energy was spontaneously nourishing itself simply because it existed within his own body.

This enhances the efficiency of the enhancement process, and anyone who comes to Douluo Continent will marvel at its speed.

However, for a wandering star who has experienced the system's tendon-strengthening and marrow-cleansing techniques, every minute and every second is a waste of immortal spiritual energy.

(End of this chapter)