Douluo Continent: Naru Sacred Heart, Snow Shines Forever

Time flies, and half a year has passed quietly.

Sunset Forest seems to defy the changing seasons, remaining lush and green year-round.

Located in the heart of this forest is an inverted cone-shaped valley, resembling the mouth of a gourd, with an extremely hidden entrance.

In addition to the treacherous terrain outside the valley, there are also highly poisonous plants such as the Jade Scale Seven Absolute Flowers forming a poisonous fog belt. Ordinary soul masters or soul beasts will be severely injured or even die if they get close.

Upon closer inspection, these patches of Azure Phosphorous Seven Deadly Flowers seemed to breathe, constantly spewing out a poisonous emerald-green mist.

Then, drawn by some force, it merged into the seven-colored poisonous miasma, which was the natural defensive zone that Dugu Bo had modified with his own Jade Serpent King Poison after moving in.

Upon entering the valley, if viewed from above, one can see an oval-shaped pool bisected by a natural rock ridge, the two bodies clearly distinct and never merging.

One side is a milky white, cold spring, with a bone-chilling cold, and fine ice often forms around it;

On the other side is a vermilion hot spring, where waves of heat rise and the air seems to distort from the heat.

Not far from this peculiar spring, there is a small thatched hut, where our silver-haired little boy lives.

—Chen Jieqi

He was facing the entrance to the thatched hut, his legs crossed, back straight, hands clasped in front of his abdomen, and eyes closed.

A soft golden light emanated from between his brows, at his heart, and on his hands; holy light converged from the Naaru mark between his brows and the heavens.

Like a warm current permeating oneself and flowing into one's blood, it constantly travels and condenses under the guidance of soul power.

At this moment, Chen Jieqi's soul power was repeatedly purging through his meridians, but it was always blocked by an invisible barrier outside the bottleneck.

That was the critical point for the circulation of soul power, the shackles between spirit and body. Every impact caused the meridians to throb with pain, as if they were about to burst.

He focused his mind and spirit, completely immersing his mental energy into his body, guiding his soul power to repeatedly strike that bottleneck.

At first, it was just a slight tremor, but gradually, the soul power surged like a rushing river, growing stronger and stronger.

"Click"

suddenly--

A barely audible cracking sound came from inside the body.

That barrier that had troubled them for so long shattered with a crash.

The previously stagnant soul power instantly surged like a tidal wave, circulating wildly through the meridians, and the entire body's energy cycle was completely opened.

A surge of soul power, far more powerful and refined than before, erupted from between his brows, sweeping through his limbs and bones, cleansing his flesh and blood and his martial soul.

At this moment, Chen Jieqi's body shone brightly with holy light, and his soul power surged, breaking free from his shackles and achieving a complete breakthrough in his realm.

The moment he opened his eyes, a flash of golden light appeared in them, his aura was calm and powerful, and he seemed to have been reborn.

"Finally, I've broken through to level 20."

Chen Jieqi exhaled a breath of stale air.

He flicked away non-existent dust from his clothes, and as he stood up, he placed his left palm on the ground, his right hand on his chest, and whispered a praise:

"May the Holy Light be with me!"

.......

Just as Chen Jieqi finished praising, "The Holy Light is with me," he heard light footsteps coming from the doorway.

"Little Qi, are you done with your breakthrough?"

Dugu Yan's clear voice came from outside.

"Yes, I have successfully broken through to level 20."

Chen Jieqi walked forward, a faint smile on his face after the breakthrough.

"A six-and-a-half-year-old near-Great Soul Master, he's probably one of a kind on the entire continent! He's truly a prodigy!"

Dugu Yan stroked his head, marveling at him with undisguised wonder.

Chen Jieqi smiled and turned his head away, dodging her hand, his tone slightly mischievous.

"Sister Yan Yan, your level 30 Quasi-Soul Master status at just over 13 years old might not be unique."

However, a Soul Master who breaks through several levels after acquiring a Soul Ring, and is also a beautiful Soul Master, is definitely one of a kind.

He paused, then silently added in his mind:

"Except for that one free little angel, of course!"

......

The story ends at two places, on the other side of the spring, at Dugu Bo's place.

At this moment, the energy of heaven and earth around his body was frantically gathering, forming a colorful energy vortex several meters in diameter around him. The wind howled, and the rubble on the ground was swept into the air.

A massive amount of energy from heaven and earth is absorbed into the body, flowing through the meridians into the dantian, providing endless energy for the condensation of the "soul core".

Inside the dantian, the liquid soul power was forcibly twisted by mental power, forming a high-speed rotating soul power vortex.

The vortex tightened, the liquid soul power was continuously squeezed and purified, its color changed from various shades to dark green, and its texture gradually transformed from a viscous liquid to a semi-solid crystal.

At the edge of the vortex, soul power kept overflowing and being forcibly pulled back, causing a tearing, throbbing pain in the meridians.

As the meridians were stretched back and forth, they were enveloped by a jade-like, shimmering white light, thus returning to normal.

This is precisely the power of the Primordial Immortal Herb, assisting in the condensation of the "Soul Core".

In the past six months, the compression of the soul power vortex has reached a critical point.

"Buzz—"

A deep rumble emanated from his dantian, and his semi-solid soul power completely solidified, transforming into a crystal the size of a longan, shimmering with a deep, eerie green light.

——"Soul Core",

It slowly rotates in the center of the dantian.

The moment the "Soul Core" took shape, the excruciating pain in his meridians vanished without a trace.

The soul power that had been running rampant and out of control within the body was now obediently controlled by the unfathomable suction force of the soul core and drawn back into the body.

The previously tense pulse and burning dantian completely calmed down at this moment, and the whole person felt as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted, with their breath as steady as a deep pool.

Dugu Bo slowly opened his eyes, a deep green light flashing briefly in them.

He then focused his mind and carefully contemplated himself, a relieved, wild laugh slowly spreading across his lips.

"Hiss... hiss... hiss..."

At this moment, the speed of soul power recovery increased tenfold, the release speed of soul skills was faster and the power was stronger, and the control of soul power was as smooth as an extension of one's own limb.

Every skill unleashed is immeasurably powerful, without the slightest hesitation.

But what delighted him most was the last point.

Completely eliminate the risks of uncontrolled soul power, backlash from the martial soul, and body explosion.

For decades, the insidious poison and backlash brought by the Azure Serpent Emperor Martial Soul have been a sword hanging over his head, threatening him with utter destruction if he is not careful.

But now that the "soul core" has been formed, the backlash that could corrode meridians and disrupt soul power has been completely suppressed and contained in the "poison sac," and can no longer cause trouble.

"call--!"

Dugu Bo let out a long sigh of relief. After his soul power was completely stabilized, the changes around Dugu Bo were far more astonishing than the surge in his strength.

His beard and hair, originally dark green from the poison seeping into his body, had now completely lost their sinister color, turning into a mottled white mixed with jet black.

Her once dry, straw-like hair became smooth and shiny; her cheeks were no longer sunken from the toxins; and her face, which had been stiff like a mask for years, finally showed a soft, normal expression.

Those once fierce and bloodthirsty emerald eyes still gleamed with sharpness, but now they had lost some of their sinister ruthlessness.

He looked at least twenty years younger, with no trace of his former terminal illness.

Even more astonishingly, the pungent, acrid "snake smell" emanating from him completely vanished, and all the toxins were perfectly sealed within his soul core.

When he does not release his martial spirit, he is almost no different from an ordinary elderly powerhouse. He will no longer disturb others with his own poison, nor will he have to worry about unintentionally harming innocent people.

As for soul power, Dugu Bo's level was completely stabilized at the peak of level 91, and the operation of the "soul core" made his soul power flow smoothly without any stagnation.

Before reaching level 95, he couldn't even feel the slightest bottleneck; the road ahead was smooth sailing.

If he encounters another extraordinary event in the future, it is not impossible for him to even reach the level of Super Douluo.

Upon thinking of this, Dugu Bo felt a surge of heroic spirit.

"Hahaha...hahaha"

A burst of hearty laughter echoed through the valley...

No longer the gloomy, deranged figure tormented by illness, he now possessed a calm and domineering presence, as if a mountain were pressing down upon him.

"From this day forward, I am the true Azure Serpent King!"

......