Chapter 35: Spirit Evolution

The three of them sat cross-legged, each absorbing the immortal herbs. Li Luochen remained steady, showing no significant changes. Meanwhile, Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan were directly possessed by their martial spirits. The Green Phosphorus Snake King and the Green Phosphorus Snake were both responding to the medicinal power of the Earth Dragon Golden Gourd, causing them to spasm and twist constantly.

The emerald green scales on Dugu Bo's Green Phosphorus Snake King began to thicken and shift in color, turning a deep golden hue, which gave the entire snake a golden appearance. The most significant change occurred in the head of the Green Phosphorus Snake King. Dugu Bo's martial soul, which had evolved on its own, was already the king of all snakes and exerted a suppressive effect on most other snakes. The snake's head, already sprouting a pair of dragon horns, now underwent further transformation. As the martial soul evolved, the snake's head gradually morphed into that of a dragon, the horns lengthening and dragon whiskers appearing, making it look even more dragon-like.

However, despite the transformation, the snake did not grow the four limbs typically associated with dragons. Instead, its tail transformed into a dragon's tail. Though it lacked limbs, it now resembled a dragon in every other aspect.

At this point, Dugu Bo's martial soul should be called the Golden Phosphorus Snake King. It was still a Snake King, albeit with an added ability to control earth attributes. Snakes are a sub-species of dragons, and the Phosphorus Snake King, being the ruler of all snakes, would not evolve into a dragon. However, this new Golden Phosphorus Snake King was on a higher level, with thicker scales that would allow it to fight on equal footing with the dragon-like Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex. Dugu Bo, who had previously been at a disadvantage in close combat, now had no such weaknesses.

The Earth Dragon Golden Gourd's medicinal properties directly elevated him from the early stage of level 93 to the middle stage of level 94. Even for a Titled Douluo, a suitable immortal herb could result in tremendous improvement.

Dugu Bo's appearance also changed; he now looked like a handsome man in his thirties. The hidden dangers of his martial soul had been eradicated, his martial soul had evolved, and his soul power had increased significantly. He was now capable of challenging even the most powerful Douluo.

Reflecting on the changes over the past year, Dugu Bo felt a mix of emotions. He had been sitting on a treasure trove without realizing it, but now he could finally make the most of this blessed land.

At this moment, Dugu Bo stood up, feeling an overwhelming surge of strength. He was now confident that he could face off against the old dragon of the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex family. The world's number one beast spirit? His Golden Phosphorus Snake King was now a formidable challenger.

Looking around, Dugu Bo noticed that his granddaughter, Dugu Yan, and Li Luochen were still absorbing the herbs. As a Titled Douluo, his physical strength far surpassed that of ordinary humans, so it was natural for him to finish absorbing the herbs more quickly.

With nothing else to do, he busied himself by planting more immortal herbs. The immortal herb records of the Poyi clan contained detailed instructions on how to plant them, and Dugu Bo was contentedly working as a gardener.

A quarter of an hour later, Li Luochen had finished absorbing the herb as well. The Black Jade Bamboo in his left hand had turned a dull grayish-white, its essence and energy fully absorbed.

Li Luochen's soul power had increased by two levels, reaching the bottleneck at level 40. He felt that further improvement was within reach. However, the most significant change was in his martial soul. 

Previously, his martial soul, a staff that was a blend of red and blue energies, had been somewhat unstable. If the energies became unbalanced, it could lead to the martial soul breaking. Now, thanks to the power of the Black Jade Bamboo, the red and blue energies had fused completely.

The Panlong Staff had transformed. It was now dark purple, with two dragons, one red and one blue, coiled around it. The black gold hoops at both ends had turned into a dark gold color. The Panlong Staff, now a top-tier weapon spirit, had greatly increased in both power and toughness. The staff's weight had also reached 2,500 kilograms, and it might become even heavier with the addition of a fourth soul ring.

The martial soul was peculiar. Despite its 2,500-kilogram weight, Li Luochen wielded it as easily as if it were an extension of his arm. No matter how he swung it, it felt effortless.

His next step was to obtain the fourth soul ring. He wondered if he could find a ten-thousand-year-old earth attribute dragon suitable for his needs.

After absorbing the Ice and Fire Fairy Grass, Li Luochen no longer needed to rely solely on dragon-type soul beasts to enhance his martial soul. For the fourth soul ring, he was considering a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear or a ten-thousand-year-old Titan Giant Ape—both were soul beasts well-suited to his martial soul. However, he still needed to take the Longing Dew to increase his mental strength to ensure stability. After all, a ten-thousand-year soul ring was not something to be taken lightly.

At that moment, Dugu Bo noticed that Li Luochen had awakened and quickly approached him with a smile.

"How is it? How much have you improved?"

"It's been a significant improvement. My soul power has reached level 40, and my martial soul has stabilized completely. I won't have any issues absorbing more from now on."

Li Luochen summoned his martial soul and explained the soul rings he had absorbed, as well as those he planned to acquire, and outlined his future cultivation path.

Dugu Bo took a deep breath and said, "Aren't you worried about causing trouble? Multiple attributes? If the attributes clash, your martial soul could break at the very least. Why are you cultivating so recklessly? Fortunately, the fairy grass stabilized your martial soul for you. Otherwise, I'm certain you would've exploded when absorbing your sixth soul ring. You could've just chosen a soul beast with pure strength. Why complicate things? Don't tell me you're planning to combine multiple attributes to create your own soul skills?"

Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes at Li Luochen. He had never known this guy to be so daring. Was he using himself as a test subject?

"Actually, yes. After obtaining my fourth ring, I plan to start creating my own soul skills. For a weapon spirit to become stronger, I need a deeper understanding of the spirit itself. Creating my own staff-based skills is the best path for me."

Li Luochen had thought about it. Once he absorbed the earth attribute of his fourth soul ring, he would be able to begin developing his own soul skills. Earth, fire, water, and wind are the basic elements that make up the universe and are the foundation of the material world.

While it's possible to dominate as a Super Douluo with pure strength, it becomes increasingly difficult over time. The Dragon Kings of the Divine Dragon Realm, the predecessor to the Divine Realm, were all masters of the elements.

Elements are still crucial on the Douluo Continent. It seems that raw strength alone isn't enough to break through all obstacles. In the Divine Realm, the only one who didn't rely on elements was the Asura God, but even he didn't rely solely on brute force; he had an extreme and bloody murderous aura.

Anyway, I'm not trying to become some grand celestial being, so why bother with the path of pure strength? With my current abilities, I can't even learn the Eight or Nine Mysterious Skills from the ancient world.

I wonder if fusing the four elements will create any explosive effects. Perhaps I could try fusing the four soul rings together.

"By the way, Grandpa Dugu, I need your help with something."

Li Luochen called out to Dugu Bo. He needed Dugu Bo's assistance to perfect the "Zhou Tian Wuji Gong." At his quasi-Soul Sect level, he couldn't continue improving the technique on his own.

"What is it?" Dugu Bo wondered if Li Luochen was going to surprise him again.

"It's like this. When I first started practicing, I improved the meditation method. The method I use is more efficient than regular meditation, but my cultivation level is too low to continue refining the technique. I'd like your help."

Li Luochen explained the situation with the technique. After all, all the teachers at Shrek Academy were now practicing it. Even Oscar and Ma Hongjun had adopted the technique, which had greatly accelerated their progress compared to the original timeline.