Soul Land—Chapter 40: I Knew Life Was Difficult from an Early Age; the Purple Star Wall — The Pupils That Break Illusions
Inside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, Ling Qianyao endured unimaginable pain as the two extreme forces released by the extremely cold Yin Spring and the blazing Yang Spring continuously pulled at him.
The power of the water and fire origins surged through his meridians. The two torrents circulated within his body, refined by the star caves, and merged into his Dantian from the left and right.
The vortex formed by the Star Luo Holy Pearl gradually filled, spinning wildly. It faintly shifted from its original gaseous state to a liquid, beginning to compress.
After an unknown amount of time, Ling Qianyao opened his eyes.
The starlight reappeared in his eyes, but this time, it seemed deeper. If dissected, it could be seen that it was composed of hundreds of stars within the Purple Star Palace.
"Pupils that break illusions," Ling Qianyao muttered softly.
He looked around, and the clarity of his vision was immediately revealed.
The space that was originally distorted by the interweaving of ice and fire became clear. All illusions and falsehoods were exposed.
The mist, the interlaced light and shadow, and the hidden currents generated by extreme forces—like a beautiful young woman in the hands of a sturdy man from the neighboring house—were instantly stripped of their disguises, and laid bare before him.
Ling Qianyao felt a flicker of joy in his heart, and his gaze turned toward the spring deep within the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
Focusing his spirit, the spring—initially an abyss-like, empty gaze—began to reveal a different scene under his illusion-breaking eyes.
The subtle soul power of red and icy blue drifted like floating catkins in the wind, rippling like water waves inside.
Ling Qianyao hesitated for a moment before deciding to explore beneath the surface. The star power transformed into a shield around him.
The spring was small, suitable for only one person to pass through carefully. Ling Qianyao shrank his body and swam in resolutely.
After diving an unknown distance, he felt an unprecedented pressure approaching him.
Two terrifying pressures enveloped his body and mind, making it difficult to proceed further.
"Astrology."
"Fierce!"
Ling Qianyao sighed inwardly. In the sight of the Illusion-Breaking Eye, two groups of light and shadow appeared in the distance.
"If my guess is correct, then these are the remaining dragon souls of the two dragon kings of water and fire who fell here. Unfortunately, with my current strength, I can't take them away."
Ling Qianyao didn't linger; he went straight upstream.
"The dragon souls of these two dragon kings probably only recognize the bloodline of the dragon god—the golden and silver dragons," he reasoned. "I can only come back later. I don't know if the remaining power of these dragon souls is still at the god level."
Puff—
Ling Qianyao burst out of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, splashing water everywhere. He quickly put on his clothes and looked around.
"Where is my cheap teacher?"
Startled, Ling Qianyao activated the Illusion-Breaking Eye again. He controlled the Star-Breaking Sword, turning it into an anchor point, and firmly nailed it into the hard stone wall of the valley, using the force to ascend.
After reaching the top of the mountain and returning to the place where Dugu Bo had carried him down, he scanned the surroundings with a trace of worry in his eyes.
Finally, he spotted a figure standing in the air on a mountaintop hundreds of meters away.
Dugu Bo stood there, but his aura was completely different from before. His green hair had turned back to gray-black.
His previously frail body now appeared upright and powerful. The old face seemed to have turned back in time, full of vitality and vigor once more.
The green poisonous fog that once lingered around him had transformed into wisps of deep land dragon energy, swirling around his body like a group of agile land dragons wandering.
He was softly chanting:
"I knew that life was difficult at an early age, but I still wanted to fly among the clouds.
I lost my love in middle age, and my hatred runs as deep as the abyss.
The jade phosphor serpent venom corroded my bones, and my heart was burning.
Fortunately, the golden melon cleansed my old veins, and the poison was gone—giving birth to a new elixir for rebirth.
Today, the poison rises from the clouds, and the dragon roars through the nine heavens!
Hahaha!"
"Break the old shackles of the past, and today I understand who I truly am! The Earth Abyss Poison Dragon King!"
"Roar—"
Dugu Bo's momentum suddenly soared. The land dragon energy surrounding him responded to his call, gathering into a massive dragon shadow that faintly emerged behind him.
The colossal dragon figure was serpent-like, coiled like a mountain, covered in dark green scales with a faint dark gold luster at the edges.
On its head, it bore a pair of spiraling dragon horns, and its pupils retained vertical, snake-like eyes.
Four dragon claws extended from its abdomen, each with three fingers. The entire body was shrouded in mist, woven with dark gold and dark green.
The mist reflected both the calmness and heaviness of the land dragon and the cold cunningness of the jade phosphor serpent Emperor.
Dugu Bo leaped onto the figure, standing between the two horns of the poisoned dragon. His mouth curled into a slight smile, and he transmitted his voice.
"Qianyao disciple, what do you think of your master's Earth Abyss Poison Dragon King martial soul?"
Ling Qianyao's mouth twitched. "It's… impressive, impressive."
"Hehehe."
Dugu Bo let out a strange laugh and flew over. The massive Earth Abyss Poison Dragon King martial soul slowly dissipated behind him, transforming into wisps of land dragon energy that re-integrated into his body.
He patted Ling Qianyao's shoulder, eyes flickering with satisfaction.
"Good boy. You made it through that broken spring water. Not bad."
Dugu Bo took out a mirror from somewhere, looked at his rejuvenated face, and nodded repeatedly. "I finally understand why that rotten chrysanthemum likes women's things—tsk tsk."
He put the mirror away and looked at Ling Qianyao. "Qianyao, I didn't expect that such a simple fruit could make me reborn and regain my life. I initially only hoped to remove the toxins from my body, but I never thought it would directly evolve my martial soul. Not only did my poison skill improve slightly, but my soul power also increased by one level—to level 92."
He paused, then added, "Although we have some secrets we haven't shared, I accepted you as a nominal disciple because of your talent and martial soul ability. But there's no doubt—you've done the Dugu family a great favor."
"Let's not talk about anything else. In the future, on this Douluo Continent, I will protect you."
Ling Qianyao expressed his gratitude. "Teacher, you're too kind. If I achieve something in the future, I will repay you."
Dugu Bo smiled. "It's rare to see you so serious. Haha. But let's make this clear: if it's a life-or-death situation, I won't go. Let's finish what we need here and help you get your third soul ring."
He continued, "Once you obtain it, we'll head straight back to Heaven Dou City. No stopping. I can't wait to give Yanyan this land dragon golden melon. I never thought the earth could supply energy for my martial soul. Immortal herb—haha—Yanyan can level up her soul power multiple times at once, with no side effects."
He paused, then added, "By the way, whale glue on the mainland has been a hot topic lately. You were the first to discover its effects. Do you have any in stock?"
Ling Qianyao immediately handed him three pieces of high-quality thousand-year whale glue and a quarter of a ten-thousand-year whale glue.
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