Chapter 27: Detoxification (Part Two)

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Li Luochen and Dugu Yan had reconciled, much to Dugu Bo's delight. He was already scheming to turn Li Luochen into his future grandson-in-law.

He needed to start planning. For the sake of his granddaughter's future, even if he had to force the issue, he wouldn't hesitate. After observing Li Luochen, he concluded that the boy wasn't a bad person. Dugu Bo suspected that Li Luochen's rescue of them was likely motivated by a need for protection.

His guess was correct—Li Luochen was indeed in urgent need of a powerful protector. Otherwise, he could easily become a target for assassination by major powers.

Not long after, Dugu Bo set off to hunt soul beasts in Sunset Forest to obtain soul bones. Knowing Dugu Bo's objective, Li Luochen offered him some subtle advice.

"Lord Dugu, there's a method to increase the chances of obtaining a soul bone. By brutally killing a soul beast and amplifying its resentment, the drop rate might increase. However, try not to overdo it—it can harm the natural balance."

Li Luochen had initially wanted to say "it goes against the will of heaven," but he swallowed his words. The cultivation system of Douluo Continent was inherently built on hunting soul beasts, which was already an unnatural practice designed to suppress the soul beast race—a rule decreed by the gods.

Even if Dugu Bo were to brutally kill soul beasts, it wouldn't cause any backlash. In fact, certain gods might even applaud his actions.

Before long, Dugu Bo departed. This time, he had his sights set on a ten-thousand-year soul beast in Sunset Forest. He remembered a severely injured Boundless Venom Python lurking in a swamp nearby. He decided to test whether brutal killing truly increased the chances of obtaining a soul bone.

Li Luochen wasn't worried about Dugu Bo's safety. The most formidable soul beasts in Sunset Forest were only at the ten-thousand-year level—no match for Dugu Bo.

However, it would be a different story in the Great Star Forest, where true soul beast powerhouses resided. Even a 99-level Limit Douluo could easily run into trouble there. Relying on brutal methods to obtain soul bones in such a place would be unwise.

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With Dugu Bo gone, Li Luochen and Dugu Yan were left alone. Without the "third wheel," their conversations grew more frequent. They opened up to each other, sharing their life stories and experiences.

This was Li Luochen's first close friendship with someone of the opposite sex in the world of Douluo Continent. At first, he hadn't thought much of it, but as he got to know her better, he found that he liked Dugu Yan. Her personality appealed to him, she was beautiful, and she hadn't yet enrolled in Tian Dou Imperial Academy.

Yu Tianheng? Who knew where he was. Li Luochen was Dugu Yan's first friend, and she cherished this deeply. Having grown up lonely, her impulsive nature stemmed from years of isolation. She had been starved for companionship.

As their conversations deepened, their bond grew stronger. Their hands gradually touched, and neither pulled away. Dugu Yan was bold and straightforward when it came to love—she didn't beat around the bush. Similarly, Li Luochen believed in expressing his feelings openly rather than silently pining, which he considered the behavior of a "simp." When he liked someone, he made it clear without hesitation. Moreover, Li Luochen was loyal in matters of the heart; his heart had room for only one person.

He believed that spending a lifetime with one good partner was enough. He didn't need a harem like an emperor or multiple wives like a noble. Monogamy suited him just fine.

Having developed feelings for Dugu Yan, he took the initiative to hold her hand. When she didn't resist, he knew they were on the same wavelength.

Both Li Luochen and Dugu Yan shared a commonality—their only remaining family member was their grandfather. This mutual loss drew them closer, their bond strengthened by shared sorrow.

Meanwhile…

Dugu Bo wandered through Sunset Forest, his first target being a seventy-thousand-year-old Boundless Venom Python—one of the dominant soul beasts in the forest. However, this python had recently been gravely wounded in a battle against the White-Eyed Demon Tiger King and the Demon-Eyed Fox.

During that battle, Dugu Bo had been nearby, hoping to reap the spoils if the three soul beasts killed each other. Unfortunately, just as the fight ended, his poison flared up, forcing him to retreat to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to suppress the toxins.

This time, Dugu Bo aimed to eliminate the Boundless Venom Python. If it dropped a soul bone, all the better. Higher-level soul beasts had a greater chance of dropping soul bones, and combining this with Li Luochen's method might just work.

It wasn't long before Dugu Bo arrived at a swamp. Using his spirit force, he searched for the Boundless Venom Python. Dugu Bo possessed a soul bone—one of the rarest types: a fifty-thousand-year Medusa Skull. Its skill, Medusa's Gaze, enhanced his mental strength.

Though Dugu Bo wasn't particularly strong in combat among Title Douluos, his mental power was exceptional. This was why he had been able to suppress his toxins with great determination. Strong mental fortitude was indispensable in his struggle.

Soon, Dugu Bo located his target: a twenty-eight-meter-long, barrel-thick black python coiled in the swamp. Its body was entirely black, save for several claw marks along its scales, the most severe of which were on its head.

"Hmph, I've found you. Seventh Soul Skill: True Body of the Jade Phosphorous Snake Emperor!"

Dugu Bo unleashed his martial soul's true form. At seventy thousand years old, soul beasts were generally quite powerful. A beast of this age could serve as the ninth soul ring for a Title Douluo. Even Dugu Bo's own ninth soul ring was from an eighty-thousand-year-old soul beast.

The Boundless Venom Python sensed the approaching danger and quickly assumed a battle stance. Upon seeing the massive Jade Phosphorous Snake Emperor, it recognized the human opponent as a formidable foe.

This human had crossed paths with it before, residing in a part of Sunset Forest shrouded in toxic miasma that even the python feared. Now, during its weakest moment, this human had appeared.

"First Soul Skill: Jade Phosphorous Poison Mist!"

Though it was his first soul skill, under the True Body enhancement, Dugu Bo's attack rivaled that of a Spirit Sage. His primary goal was to let the snake venom infiltrate the Boundless Venom Python's body. In its weakened state, it couldn't withstand the potent Jade Phosphorous Emperor Snake venom. Contact meant slow death.

The Boundless Venom Python gazed at the green poison mist with fear in its eyes. In its current condition, it couldn't resist the human's venom. Contact would mean a slow and painful demise.

Desperate to escape, the python summoned all its strength, coating its body with its innate venom in an attempt to resist Dugu Bo's Jade Phosphorous Emperor Snake venom.

"Hmph, trying to run? Not so easy! Eighth Soul Skill: Time Solidification!"

Dugu Bo's eighth soul skill, derived from the fifty-thousand-year Queen of Snakes Medusa, was perfectly suited for snake-type martial souls. Though it consumed a significant amount of spirit energy, Dugu Bo minimized its range, applying it only around the Boundless Venom Python, drastically reducing the energy cost.

"Fourth Soul Skill: Corrosive Poison!"

Dugu Bo's fourth soul skill unleashed a highly corrosive toxin. Combined with his innate snake venom, it slowly eroded the Boundless Venom Python's body. Experiencing the process of its own death was key to Dugu Bo's method of brutally killing soul beasts.

The Boundless Venom Python was immobilized, unable to move as the green snake venom and purple corrosive poison seeped into its body. It endured excruciating pain but could do nothing except glare at Dugu Bo with eyes filled with hatred and resentment.

After fifteen minutes, the Boundless Venom Python had been completely corroded into nothingness, leaving behind only a dark green soul bone.

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