Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

Although the Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes Chen Ming had encountered before could be considered a type of immortal herb, its spiritual essence was far inferior to these immortal herbs growing in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well due to its insufficient maturation.

If the Jade Phosphorous Flower of the Seven Absolutes Chen Ming previously interacted with behaved like a brainless organism with an underdeveloped cerebellum and no brain at all, then this unknown vine could be likened to an organism with a partially developed brain incapable of independent thought, but with a fully developed cerebellum capable of instinctual reflexes.

If you greet it, it won't respond. But if you poke or strike it, it will instinctively react.

When Chen Ming tested it with his spiritual sense, he quickly felt the spiritual essence within the vine. However, as a rare treasure of unknown age, the vine, while not yet a soul beast, was not entirely devoid of a self.

On the contrary, this vine possessed abundant spiritual essence, appearing to be only one step away from becoming a soul beast.

When Chen Ming attempted to access its spiritual essence without its consent, the vine not only refused to cooperate but even tried to fight back.

This reaction was perfectly reasonable. After all, the vine didn't know Chen Ming at all, and yet here he was, trying to invade its innermost core. Its resistance was entirely justified.

Although this resistance was about as effective against Chen Ming as a toddler's punch, the lack of cooperation still severely hindered his ability to explore the vine's properties.

Given Chen Ming's current understanding and development of his unique powers, the only way forward seemed to be the slow, methodical approach of gradual testing.

But how could Chen Ming be willing to waste his precious time on an unknown vine?

"If I can't even subdue a mere little vine, how will I deal with other immortal herbs in the future?"

Chen Ming's mind raced, and soon, he came up with an indirect approach.

The vine didn't trust him? Then he would gain its trust!

Spending years gradually infusing it with his blood and soul power to win it over was the slow method. While effective, it was too time-consuming. However, times have changed. In the past, he had no choice but to use such a clumsy method. Now, he had other options.

Chen Ming opened his eyes, took out a Dragon Core, and converted his soul power into pure life energy. He then slowly infused this life energy into the vine.

Faced with nourishment delivered right to its mouth, the vine couldn't resist. Few beings can refuse such a temptation, let alone a plant with only basic spiritual awareness and no true intelligence.

Chen Ming continued to infuse life energy slowly, and while the vine absorbed the energy and felt comforted, he used his spiritual sense to probe it further.

The vine's spiritual essence was abundant, but its underdeveloped brain couldn't handle multitasking. While Chen Ming's spiritual probing did irritate the vine, its focus on absorbing the life energy left it unable to resist.

As Chen Ming connected with the vine's essence, he once again experienced a vision through spiritual insight. It was as if he was transported to an ancient era.

In the distant past, the Douluo Continent was a world ruled by dragons. Pureblood and hybrid dragons roamed the land, and due to the dragons' inherently lustful nature, countless dragon-blooded subspecies were born.

Some of these dragon-blooded subspecies had extraordinary potential, with power on par with true dragons. Even the dragon race couldn't ignore their strength.

While the dragon race had treasures like the Dragon Transformation Pool to turn subspecies into true dragons, the sheer number of dragon-blooded beings meant the pool's limited capacity could barely make a dent.

Thus, a powerful dragon, second in strength only to the Nine Dragon Kings, created a batch of plants capable of purifying dragon bloodlines and helping subspecies evolve into true dragons.

These plants varied in quality. Some were low-grade and common, with traces of their descendants still found on the modern Douluo Continent. Others were high-grade and exceptionally rare, with some so legendary that they were scarcely mentioned even in ancient tales.

The vine in Chen Ming's hands was one of the greatest creations of this powerful dragon. In the era when pureblood dragons thrived, this plant was known as the Nine-Curve Ascension Dragon Grass.

This vine grew one leaf every ten thousand years, reaching its peak with nine leaves after ninety thousand years. However, due to restrictions imposed by its creator, the plant could not surpass the hundred-thousand-year threshold.

Upon reaching the hundred-thousand-year mark, the plant would die, and each leaf would transform into a seed to begin a new life cycle. If consumed before its ninth leaf fully grew, only a single seed would remain at its base.

The Nine-Curve Ascension Dragon Grass had a significant effect on purifying dragon bloodlines, but that was only a minor aspect of its abilities.

When consumed, the grass could awaken a dragon-type soul beast's core energy. This core energy would combine with the plant's medicinal properties to form the prototype of a Dragon Core.

With the formation of the Dragon Core, the dragon-type soul beast's true dragon bloodline would be further awakened, eventually eliminating all impurities and transforming the beast into a pureblood dragon.

The process of transformation was excruciatingly painful, but remarkably, it posed no threat to life. Even in the event of failure, the worst outcome would be severe damage to one's vitality, with the most extreme case resulting in the loss of soul power.

Because of its powerful effects, the Nine-Curve Ascension Dragon Grass was an extremely rare treasure, even in the era of active dragons. For dragon-blooded soul beasts, it was a miracle herb capable of transforming them.

Once Chen Ming understood the properties of this immortal herb, he opened his eyes and looked at Dugu Bo with an entirely different gaze.

Previously, his gaze carried some respect. Now, it was filled with frustration, as if lamenting Dugu Bo's wasted potential.

Dugu Bo was stunned by Chen Ming's expression, unable to understand what he had done to deserve such apparent disrespect.

"This plant is called the Nine-Curve Ascension Dragon Grass. It can purify the bloodlines of dragon-type soul beasts and soul masters with corresponding martial souls. It further awakens the dragon bloodline within them, pushing them toward becoming true dragons."

"This immortal herb can awaken core energy and form a Dragon Core. Although the process is excruciatingly painful, failure won't result in death. At most, it will harm one's vitality; in the worst case, one might lose their soul power..."

After hearing Chen Ming's explanation, Dugu Bo spat out the pearl-like core from his body, staring at the intensely pulsating soul power within it. He then looked down at the vine on the ground and fell silent for a long time.

So, all this time, he had found the perfect treasure for himself, but he had been too weak back then to survive its effects?

Dugu Bo would have preferred if the herb had just been unsuitable for him!