Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

"Grandpa, I dug this out from the corpse of an Emerald Gecko over twenty thousand years old. Hurry and absorb it!" Chen Ming said. Thanks to the Spiritual Eye's ability to detect the flow and gathering of soul power, Chen Ming had developed the habit of scanning soul beast corpses with the Spiritual Eye to search for soul bones after finding the skull soul bone of the Man-Faced Demon Spider.

Perhaps because the Emerald Geckos were hunted to near extinction by a Netherworld Scorpion less than ten thousand years old, the corpses of these dragons were brimming with resentment. After searching around, Chen Ming found soul bone fluctuations in the corpse of one Emerald Gecko.

"How could I absorb it? You should absorb it! This is a twenty-thousand-year-old left-leg soul bone, and it's from a sub-dragon soul beast. It's bound to grant a..."

The more Dugu Bo spoke, the more he felt something was wrong. It seemed like the last time, he had said the same thing to Chen Ming.

Seeing Chen Ming's resolute gaze, Dugu Bo sighed and tried to push the soul bone back into Chen Ming's hands, but Chen Ming seized the opportunity to shove the soul bone into Dugu Bo's hands instead.

"My future is still long. The future strongest on the continent surely won't lack soul bones."

Chen Ming smiled as he spoke. Before Dugu Bo could say anything, Chen Ming firmly pushed Dugu Bo's hands, holding the soul bone, into his chest.

"Grandpa, hurry and absorb it. We juniors rely entirely on your reputation to protect us. Whether or not we can hold our heads high on the continent in the future depends entirely on your strength."

Even though this twenty-thousand-year-old left leg soul bone was of decent quality, Chen Ming had no intention of absorbing it. If he were to absorb a left leg bone, he would naturally choose something far better.

Even if Dugu Bo weren't around, Chen Ming would have given the soul bone to one of his allies to absorb.

What's more, Dugu Bo was now his family. If Dugu Bo grew stronger, it was equivalent to Chen Ming himself growing stronger. Improving Dugu Bo's strength was far more valuable than a soul bone that was of little use to him.

Dugu Bo sighed, the corner of his eyes glistening. Once again, he couldn't help but marvel at Chen Ming's filial piety.

"In the future, I'll make sure to get you the best soul bones! Even if it's from a hundred-thousand-year-old soul beast, I'll hunt it for you!"

After making his promise, Dugu Bo closed his eyes and sat cross-legged in the same spot where Chen Ming had recently absorbed a soul ring. He began absorbing the freshly obtained left leg soul bone.

Half an hour later, Dugu Bo awoke from his meditation, his eyes glowing brightly.

The wrinkles on his forehead, which had already diminished over the past few months, completely vanished. His hair, which had been mostly green but was turning white, shifted further towards pure white.

After absorbing the soul bone, his vitality had significantly increased.

Although his aura remained at level 93, it seemed to have faintly touched the threshold of level 94. The gap to truly reaching level 94 was no longer far.

After completing the absorption, a hint of amazement flashed in Dugu Bo's eyes. The soul skill he gained was impressive even for a Title Douluo.

Looking at Chen Ming, who had been guarding him during the process, Dugu Bo didn't hide anything and explained the new soul skill he had obtained.

"The soul skill of this left leg bone is the Emerald Radiant Barrier. When activated, it forms a defensive shield with excellent durability, likely comparable to the eighth soul skill of an average Soul Douluo."

Dugu Bo had exceptional control abilities, but his attack methods were limited, and his defensive capabilities were nonexistent. He lacked any noteworthy defensive soul skills at all.

This weakness had been exploited by some Soul Douluo and Title Douluo who, knowing this, would immediately fortify their soul power against his poisons and charge directly at him. Their strategy was to eliminate Dugu Bo before his poison could kill them.

Due to his lack of strong offensive and defensive skills, Dugu Bo had little means to counter these opponents who were willing to trade their lives for his.

This was why some high-level Soul Douluo on the continent had the reputation of being able to match a Title Douluo.

The Title Douluo referred to in such cases was essentially Dugu Bo in his previous state. The addition of this left leg bone's soul skill undoubtedly compensated for Dugu Bo's shortcomings, significantly boosting his strength.

At the very least, Dugu Bo would no longer be easily defeated in a direct assault due to his fragility.

After finishing their tasks of absorbing the soul ring and soul bone, the two packed their things and returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. The journey was smooth, with no soul beasts blocking their way.

As soon as they crossed the poison array, Dugu Bo and Chen Ming saw Dugu Yan waiting not far away.

The moment she spotted them, Dugu Yan, who had been bored out of her mind, immediately opened her arms and ran towards them.

Seeing his granddaughter's affectionate expression, Dugu Bo smiled and opened his arms, ready to catch her in an embrace.

However, this time, instead of leaping into her grandfather's arms as she had when she was younger, Dugu Yan crashed straight into Chen Ming, wrapping her arms tightly around him.

"You were gone for more than ten days! I've been bored to death here alone! Next time you go out, you must take me with you! I don't want to stay here by myself again!"

Her voice carried a mix of sobs and complaints.

Due to the detoxification process, Dugu Yan's soul power was still capped at level 30. Even though she could have absorbed her third soul ring long ago, she hadn't done so yet.

Although her physical strength had increased considerably during her months living near the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and she had somewhat adapted to its unique aura, she still couldn't enter the well alone.

While Dugu Bo and Chen Ming were out hunting for soul rings, Dugu Yan had no choice but to stay behind. She couldn't cross the poison array, nor could she enter the well itself. Her range of activity was limited to the small area Dugu Bo had deliberately expanded.

Food and water were plentiful, and the two had prepared medicine to ensure Dugu Yan wouldn't face any problems during their absence.

But people are social creatures...

For more than ten days, Dugu Yan hadn't seen a single living creature, let alone found someone to talk to. Being alone in an unchanging landscape like this was pure torture.

Hearing her tearful complaints, Dugu Bo sighed. He wanted to pat his granddaughter's head to comfort her, but seeing how tightly she clung to Chen Ming, he hesitated.

In the end, it was Chen Ming who patted Dugu Yan's head and gently consoled her.

"It's our fault for leaving you here alone. We should have brought you along so you wouldn't have to suffer."

"Once your detoxification is complete and you've absorbed your third soul ring, how about having Grandpa take you to Heaven Dou City for a while?"

"You have to come too," Dugu Yan said seriously, looking into Chen Ming's eyes.

"Alright, alright, I'll come too." Faced with her request, Chen Ming agreed.

Although he was used to a life of rigorous training, he didn't mind taking a break to interact with the outside world and lift his spirits.