Word Count: 2,915 Words
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The Dugu Clan should never have fallen so low.
Poison Douluo Dugu Bo had known nothing of immortal herbs, yet by relying solely on the aura of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he had safely cultivated all the way to the rank of Titled Douluo.
His descendants, however, had all suffered serpent poison backlash. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had become their graveyard, and even their bodies saturated with Jade Phosphor Serpent poison had ended up as nothing more than nourishment for the Jade Phosphorous Flowers of the Nine Absolutes.
Dugu Lin held her breath. The heavy ache buried in her heart could no longer be contained. Once spoken aloud, it would never again be concealed:
"Ancestor Dugu Bo left behind a journal. It recorded how Tang San cured the Jade Phosphor Serpent poison in both his and Ancestor Dugu Yan's bodies. In return, our ancestor promised him three things.
First, not to act against Shrek Academy. Second, to allow him to take some immortal herbs. Third, to become a nominal teacher at Shrek Academy…
After that, all debts were settled."
Her voice drifted like wind through an empty valley, but every word chilled to the bone:
"'He' wanted to leave the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to his own descendants? Hahaha! He ascended to the God Realm without leaving any bloodline behind. No matter…
I'll make the Tang Sect extinct!"
Vengeful fire ignited in those ever-enchanting jade-green eyes. Dugu Lin pinned every last bit of the Dugu Clan's ten-thousand-year agony to Tang San alone.
Before Wang Dong Er's true identity had been exposed, the Tang Sect that Tang San had personally founded was still the organization most closely tied to him.
Under Bei Bei's leadership, Tang Sect had been developing steadily, even recruiting some students from Shrek's Outer Courtyard. Dugu Lin wished she could rush back to Shrek City that very instant and bathe the Tang Sect in blood, cutting off Tang San's legacy once and for all.
Ling Bai watched her transformation in silence. Without Shrek Academy at its back, who would spare a second glance for a run-down sect like Tang Sect? If she wanted revenge on them, so be it.
The six great 100,000-year immortal herbs stood in a row. Spirit power condensed into golden chains that wrapped around them, bundling each one up like a sticky rice dumpling. Ling Bai drew out their plant essences one by one: the Blazing Rubber from the Infernal Delicate Apricot, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Crystal from the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, and so on.
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well possessed the power to accelerate plant growth tenfold. Without it, these immortal herbs would have needed a full hundred thousand years to nurture such supreme essences.
Ling Bai leafed through the Tang Sect's Pharmacopoeia to confirm the types of the remaining herbs when Dugu Lin suddenly wrapped her arms around him from behind. The soft fullness of her curves pressed against his back, twin peaks molding to him and flooding his senses with their intoxicating warmth.
"Thank you for helping me," she whispered.
"No need."
Ling Bai chuckled. "My services don't come cheap. No amount of thanks is going to let you have them for free."
"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is yours, if you want it."
Dugu Lin rose onto her tiptoes. Warm breath washed over his ear as her red lips parted. Strange ripples danced in her eyes. "After all, I've already graduated from Shrek, and I'm all alone. No background, no real strength… I'm completely at your mercy.
Kill me, and the Dugu Clan's bloodline ends here. You can take over the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and this plant-type treasure ground will help your clan prosper for a thousand generations.
So, tell me. Tempted?"
"A thousand generations…"
Ling Bai shook his head with a smile. "Each generation should handle its own affairs. There's no reason for the first generation to do everything.
Let future generations worry about their own fortunes. And if I don't have any descendants, well, that just means more fortune for me alone.
Don't bother testing me. I'm no charitable saint working without reward. Of course I'll take some immortal herbs to help my family and friends evolve their Martial Spirits and boost their spirit power. But from this day forward, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well returns to its rightful owner."
"Why not be more daring?"
Dugu Lin coiled around him like a serpent goddess, her moist tongue flicking out to trace those luscious red lips. "Chain me up. Ravage me morning, noon, and night. Force me to give you a hundred babies."
"Alright, that's enough. I know you're not actually that wanton. Why do you always say such outrageous things?" Ling Bai sighed helplessly.
"Because all men love a woman who knows how to be naughty."
An expression of three parts confusion, five parts surprise, and two parts shock flashed across Ling Bai's face before crystallizing into one hundred percent stubborn denial:
"Not me."
"My, you're quite the actor, aren't you?"
Damn it, she saw right through me!
Ling Bai cleared his throat and changed the subject. "How do you plan to treat the serpent poison's backlash? Suppress it with the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's aura like Dugu Bo did, or use the Aromatic Silk Beauty's Silk Heart to delay the poison's eruption?"
Dugu Lin pondered for a moment, then sighed. "Both methods only treat the symptoms, not the root cause…"
"Then would you care to hear my suggestion? The Jade Phosphor Serpent possesses an ability similar to that of ancient spirit beasts—an inner core.
Gather all the poison and condense it into a Jade Phosphor Inner Core. Once the inner core forms, the Jade Phosphor Serpent poison will stabilize."
A bitter smile tugged at Dugu Lin's lips. "My spirit power is only Rank 68, nowhere near the level needed to condense an inner core. Besides, my poison is already out of control. It can't form a core anymore."
"I'll help you."
A faint smile touched Ling Bai's eyes. "Oh, and this process might just help you achieve Ultimate Poison."
"Ul-ti-mate… Poi-son?!"
Dugu Lin repeated each syllable, her eyes suddenly blazing with unprecedented brightness.
Not counting the current era, Ultimate Martial Spirits had appeared only three times in the past, and each one had left a glorious legend on the Douluo Continent.
The word 'Ultimate' represented the highest pursuit of every traditional Spirit Master. No one could resist the temptation of their Martial Spirit breaking through to the Ultimate realm, especially when the one offering the chance was Ling Bai.
In Dugu Lin's eyes, Ling Bai had countless ways to make her disappear without a trace if he wished. There was no need for him to play any tricks.
"The Snow Swan Kiss has an ability called Stimulation."
Ling Bai continued. "It can amplify poison a thousandfold. Do you think that could help you break through to the Ultimate level?"
"I want it!"
Dugu Lin agreed without a shred of hesitation. She had always been reckless by nature. Even knowing the Jade Phosphor Serpent poison in her body far exceeded that of her elders, she had still insisted on absorbing the other four types of Jade Phosphor poison, forging the complete five-poison Jade Phosphor Absolute Poison.
With a chance at Ultimate Poison before her, she refused to let it slip away.
"Go to the Jade Phosphor Poison Array. That's the most suitable place for you."
Ling Bai collected the five remaining 100,000-year immortal herbs and gripped the desperately struggling Snow Swan Kiss in his hand.
The two of them sat cross-legged at the center of the Jade Phosphor Poison Array, Dugu Lin in front and Ling Bai behind.
"Don't be nervous. I'm going to seal your five senses."
There were some secrets Dugu Lin couldn't be allowed to know.
"Okay."
Dugu Lin closed her eyes. Harsh, sizzling sounds tore through the air as an enormous shadow fell over her, cast by eight purple-gray spider lances, each more than five meters long.
A terrifying aura of death and evil surged forth. The surrounding Jade Phosphorous Flowers of the Nine Absolutes instantly turned a dead gray and crumbled into fine powder that scattered on the wind.
Ling Bai retrieved the Swan's Snow Tear and released the spirit power seal on the Snow Swan Kiss.
"Want to live? Here's your chance."
The Snow Swan Kiss trembled violently. "I want to live… I want to live! Lord Angel, command me as you will!"
"Sacrifice yourself for her, and I'll preserve your seed." Ling Bai pointed at Dugu Lin.
In another timeline, when Ma Xiaotao had purged her evil fire, Huo Yuhao's Ultimate Ice had stripped away part of her phoenix essence. Later, she had absorbed Blazing Rubber to compensate for that loss and ascended to pure Ultimate Fire.
The Swan's Snow Tear possessed the exact same properties as the Snow Swan Kiss. The Death Abyss Spider Emperor only needed to devour the Swan's Snow Tear to advance to Ultimate Poison.
The Snow Swan Kiss's body, meanwhile, could be used to stimulate the Jade Phosphor Absolute Poison, causing the toxins buried deep in Dugu Lin's marrow and blood to erupt. Ling Bai would seize that moment to control them, condensing them into a poison core while simultaneously stepping into the Ultimate realm.
A plant-type spirit beast losing its physical form would inevitably produce a spirit ring and spirit bone. Considering that precious, poison-attribute 100,000-year ring, Ling Bai decided to give the Snow Swan Kiss a chance. Through sacrifice, it could push Dugu Lin to Rank 70 and become her seventh spirit ring.
"Very well… I'll sacrifice myself…"
Given a choice, the Snow Swan Kiss would never have chosen this path. But now it could only gamble on Ling Bai's integrity. Either it sacrificed itself and was allowed to regrow from a seed with its memories intact, or it would face immediate, utter annihilation. Everything hung on Ling Bai's whim.
"Lord Angel, I truly know my mistake now. Please, I beg you to keep your promise!"
Blood-red flames ignited as the Snow Swan Kiss began its sacrificial path.
Powerful, scorching energy poured forth. Its body melted into a single drop of snow-white liquid that flew directly into Dugu Lin's mouth.
Her spirit power surged violently. Sensing the change, Dugu Lin released her six existing spirit rings. A blood-red ring representing 100,000 years of cultivation materialized as the seventh, while a crystal-clear torso bone slowly merged with her curvaceous figure.
The stimulation took immediate effect. The Jade Phosphor Serpent poison went completely berserk. Incredibly thick toxic vapor burst from every pore of Dugu Lin's body. The tips of the Death Abyss Spider Lances acted like eight bottomless black holes, greedily devouring the Jade Phosphor Absolute Poison.
Ling Bai drew a light breath and swallowed the Swan's Snow Tear in one gulp!
Death Abyss Spider Emperor poison, activate!
The Death Abyss Spider Emperor's poison multiplied and fused a thousandfold. The purple hue on the eight spider lances gradually faded, replaced by a deathly gray that became the Martial Spirit's dominant color. No trace of vitality remained. One glance was enough to send a trembling chill crawling up from the depths of the soul.
The complete eruption of the Jade Phosphor poison brought agony beyond compare. The flush rapidly drained from Dugu Lin's cheeks, leaving her face unnaturally blank. Only the faint traces of pain and struggle between her brows revealed she was still desperately resisting the poison's backlash.
With a wet, piercing sound, the eight Death Abyss Spider Lances penetrated Dugu Lin's skin and plunged into her body, corralling the rampaging toxins.
Jade Phosphor Serpent poison saturated every corner of her being. Fortunately, Ling Bai's strength far exceeded hers, and the Death Abyss Spider Emperor's poison stood even above the five-in-one Jade Phosphor Absolute Poison.
Under the Death Abyss Spider Emperor's suppression, the wildly spreading Jade Phosphor Serpent poison gradually submitted. Under Ling Bai's control, all the toxins converged toward Dugu Lin's dantian.
Within the jade-green toxic mist, the roaring Five Jade Phosphor Poisons were faintly visible, now enveloped in a gray world of death. Ling Bai began compressing that vast vortex of poison into a single core!
No trace of toxic mist escaped from Dugu Lin's body now. Her pallid skin regained a healthy flush. This body, ravaged by Jade Phosphor Serpent poison for over twenty years, blazed with renewed vitality.
A massive jade-green serpent phantom coiled behind her, its body far larger and aura far more majestic than any Jade Phosphor Serpent!
Martial Spirit Evolution, Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor!
Ling Bai released the seal on her five senses and withdrew the Death Abyss Spider Lances. The moment they retracted, Dugu Lin's eyes snapped open.
The Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor opened its jaws wide and inhaled sharply at the poison mist hovering above the array. The thick miasma filling the sky surged violently, transforming into an enormous vapor dragon that the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor swallowed whole.
The poisonous plants nurtured by Jade Phosphor Serpent poison had ultimately become part of the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor!
Toxic vapor continuously poured into Dugu Lin's body. A strange radiance bloomed across her enchanting face, excitement glimmering in the depths of her eyes.
With her Martial Spirit evolution, a 100,000-year spirit ring, a 100,000-year spirit bone, and the Jade Phosphor poison mist combined, Dugu Lin's spirit power skyrocketed. In mere hours, she broke through to Spirit Saint and soared all the way to Rank 75!
"Ultimate Poison… Ultimate Poison!"
Dugu Lin reveled in her body's newfound lightness. The Jade Phosphor poison mist she had once feared now cowered obediently before the superior dominance of Ultimate Poison.
If she could one day devour all the poison mist that had accumulated here over ten thousand years, her cultivation would soar beyond imagination!
At that thought, a delicate flush crept across her jade-white skin, painting her features with an intoxicating glow that made her seem dreamlike and dangerously alluring.
A seductive smile curved across her lips. She whirled around with lightning‑like speed, cupped Ling Bai's face in her hands, and pressed her lips against his in desperate hunger. Her tongue traced teasing patterns across his lips like a mischievous kitten.
"What do I do? I can't hold back anymore…"
Her slender fingers loosened the ties of her dress. Silk slipped down her alabaster skin like water, pooling at her feet and revealing a voluptuous, flawless figure like carved mutton-fat jade. Every inch of her seemed crafted to shatter a man's restraint, radiating primal allure that bypassed thought and struck directly at base instinct.
Through her heavy lashes, Dugu Lin's gaze burned into him, her eyes pools of molten desire barely containing the twisted devotion threatening to overflow:
"I'm Ultimate Poison now. Finally, finally I'm worthy enough to tell you everything!
The serpent poison's backlash was pure torment. Every rainy day, I would writhe in agony, wishing for death to take me.
I have no family left. Every friend I ever had abandoned me out of fear. You were the only one who dared come near.
The poison flared again and again, more frequently each time… my body and my mind were on the verge of collapse. Then I found a way to cope.
Whenever the poison tortured me, I'd close my eyes and imagine it was you instead.
Your fingers around my throat!
Your palm striking my cheek!
Marking me as yours, over and over!"
"My, you really have lost your mind."
Ling Bai's smile was broad, his mood excellent now that the Death Abyss Spider Emperor had devoured the Swan's Snow Tear and reached Ultimate Poison. "To think that last shred of kindness I showed became your excuse to latch onto me."
Dugu Lin's kisses fell like burning rain across his face and neck, her breath coming in heated gasps. "You're the only one who accepts what I am, who doesn't flinch when I touch you, who still speaks to me like I'm human. That makes me yours by right!
But there are so many women circling you—Ning Tian, Ma Xiaotao, Han Ruoruo…
I dress up so carefully for you every day, and you never spare me a glance. That one look is all I live for!
I need to know everything. Every word you speak when I'm not there. Every moment you spend ignoring me. The names of those who share your table. Whose bed you choose each night. What positions you use, what sounds she makes when you…"
These were words she had never dared to say before, afraid Ling Bai would find her repulsive. But she was not afraid anymore. Since he had helped her break through to Ultimate Poison, she was certain he would cling tight to her and never let go!
Ling Bai's expression froze for a moment. He had not anticipated the depths of Dugu Lin's obsession. She had turned him into her sole spiritual anchor, the only medicine that could soothe the midnight torment of her poison.
His fingers hooked under her pale chin and lifted her face. In one smooth motion, he pulled that soft, sultry body tight against his own.
Dugu Lin's wish was finally fulfilled. Her breathing turned shallow and unsteady as she pressed herself closer, her voice dropping to a husky whisper against his ear:
"Darling, I'll become the addiction you can never escape…"