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--- Chapter 62 ---
The next day, Han Yuan and others secretly left the Heaven Dou City and traveled far west of the Douluo Continent. They passed several big and small cities, hiding their tracks from some meddlesome people.
After traveling until noon, they arrived at a small village named Hawthorns Village. This place is the gathering place where Han Yuan and Dugu Bo agreed to meet.
Hawthorns Village is outside the scope of those factions, but it's also close to the Burning Mountain Range, where the 100,000-year-old Dragon-Blooded Crimson Pangolin builds its nest.
"You guys are here." Dugu Bo descended from the sky.
Han Yuan smiled, "How is the situation, Senior?"
Dugu Bo nodded, "There is no mistake. I can feel a 100,000-year-old spirit beast's presence in the Burning Mountain Range. However, that place is also a nest of several spirit beasts above 50,000 years."
"There is no need to rush." Han Yuan commented slowly. "We can start by hunting spirit rings for my sister and others. According to the information of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, there is a school of Moon Fish in the mangrove forest not far away."
"Besides the Moon Fish, the mangrove forest also has a wide variety of oceanic spirit beasts, some with thin and strong dragon bloodlines, which makes me wonder if there are remains of strong dragons nearby."
"Also, don't worry, Sister Lingling. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan is thorough with its information, so I also knew a plant-type spirit beast is nearing the age of 9,000 years suitable for you."
"What are we waiting for then?" Liu Erlong pumped her fist. "Let's go and find the spirit beast immediately."
Everyone nodded in agreement, and Han Yuan giggled helplessly. "Okay, then."
...
They went to the mangrove forest a mile from the Hawthorns Village and started looking for the school of Moon Fish. Surprisingly, they discovered a spirit beast suitable for Dugu Yan's third spirit ring first.
Everyone stared at the muddy ground not far away, spotting a serpentine beast with a dragon-like head and thoroughly covered with mud, making it look like a Mud-skipping Beast. However, it's actually the rare Oceanic Dragon Snake with the bloodline of Water Dragon, albeit impure.
"Oceanic Dragon Snake! A subtype dragon spirit beast with the body of a snake and dragon and strong water element. It's around 9,800-year-old, which is nearing Sister Yan's limit."
"Sister Yanyan, do you want this spirit beast?" Han Yuan asked Dugu Yan, who gazed at the Oceanic Dragon Snake with strong liking.
Dugu Yan nodded, "Mm, I want it."
"Senior." Han Yuan glanced at Dugu Bo.
"Hehe, I'll bring the spirit beast for you, Yanyan!" Dugu Bo vanished and then dragged a half-dead Ocean Dragon Snake back.
Thud!
Everyone stared at the poor spirit beast roaring on the ground.
"End its suffering, Sister Yanyan." Han Yuan commented casually.
"I know." Dugu Yan pulled a blade and stabbed the spirit beast's eyes and brain in succession, killing it without much pain. A deep purple spirit ring with a hint of black slowly manifested.
Han Yuan used the True Spirit Theory, purified the spirit ring, and adjusted the essence inside with Thousand Eyes before letting Dugu Yan absorb the 9,800-year-old spirit ring.
"Okay, let's do this..." Dugu Yan sat down and meditated, summoning her Jade Phosphorus Snake to draw the spirit ring inside.
"Xiao Yuan..." Ye Xuelan suddenly called Han Yuan.
"What's the matter, Auntie?" Han Yuan glanced at her in confusion.
Ye Xuelan showed him a determined look, "Is it possible for me to learn True Spirit Theory? If more people can purify the spirit ring, it will help our group better when hunting spirit beasts."
"That's right, Xiao Yuan." Liu Erlong also agreed with Ye Xuelen's vision.
"Then, you can focus on other things."
Han Yuan rolled his eyes at Liu Erlong, "Do you think I don't want to teach the True Spirit Theory to others? I wanted to, but you need light, holy, or lightning elements to cleanse the resentment in the spirit ring. Then, you must have a large reserve of spiritual power, so manipulating the spirit ring with Thousand Eyes is possible."
"Only my sister, Auntie Xuelan, and Sister Lingling can learn True Spirit Theory in this group. My sister awakened her ultimate holy attribute when her martial soul evolved, and Auntie Xuelan and Sister Lingling shared my ultimate lightning."
"So, I can learn?" Ye Xuelan's eyes lit up. The same goes for Ye Lingling.
Han Yuan nodded gently, "Yes, but you need to master Thousand Eyes first."
Ye Xuelan smiled, "I will master it!"
"Me too!" Ye Lingling showed a determined look.
Han Yue looked at mother-daughter pair suspiciously and commented, "Besides Thousand Eyes, you must learn to control the element for purifying. My ultimate holy element is easier to control, but Han Yuan's ultimate lightning is difficult."
"We are still going to try!" Ye Xuelan and Ye Lingling responded.
"Hmm, fine..." Han Yue narrowed her eyes at the eager mother-daughter pair and didn't try to discourage them any longer.
"Well, might as well hold a small class." Han Yuan shrugged and decided to teach everyone the True Spirit Theory, though they couldn't use it.
Dugu Bo and others, who hadn't been with Han Yuan for long, listened to his class attentively. They were amazed at how visionary he was, as the True Spirit Theory is ground-breaking and could change how the spirit master community works.
Of course, they also realized how scary it was if wrong people learned the True Spirit Theory because there would be a mass killing of spirit beasts immediately.
"Thankfully, not everyone can learn this method..." Dugu Xin mumbled in relief.
"Yeah." Dugu Bo added, having a complex expression.
The more Dugu Bo knew about Han Yuan, the more grateful he became to meet him. He also felt it was worth it to submit to such a person.
Meanwhile, Dugu Yan absorbed her spirit ring and slowly opened her eyes in delight. Her body becomes more mature and enticing, brimmed with newfound vitality.
"Grandpa, Dad, Xiao Yuan, I did it~!" She squealed in joy.
Han Yuan smiled, "You have stabilized the flaws of your martial soul by eating some Immortal Pills with dragon essence."
"The Immortal Pills doesn't show much effect at first as those essences gather in your body instead of being absorbed, but once you absorb a spirit ring, that dam is 'finally' broken."
"Show us your martial soul, Yanyan."
Dugu Yan nodded and summoned her Jade Phosphorus Snake, which had evolved. Although the 'snake' still has a serpentine body, the green scales on its body have become thicker and dragon-like. Nevertheless, the most eye-catching changes happened on the head as it became a dragon with a sharp set of teeth, a billowing nose, sharp-slitted eyes, and two tiny greenhorns.
"Try martial soul possession."
"Jade Phosphorus Snake's Possession!" Dugu Yan let out a roar as her body was covered with beautiful green scales, starting from her upper body and then spreading to her limbs. Two dragon horns grew on her head, gleaming with a sharp hue.
Dugu Yan's brown eyes become bright yellow with dark slits, becoming a dragon.
"It's a success!" Dugu Bo and Dugu Xin couldn't help but clench their hands in excitement.
Hahaha~! Their Dugu Family finally cured its weakness and became a dragon!
Han Yuan tapped his chin, "Sister Yanyan, how do you feel about your changes?"
"It's amazing..." Dugu Yan replied while clenching her hand. "I felt like I could take hundreds of my previous self."
"My spirit rank also reached level 37."
"What about your spirit skills and poison?" Han Yuan asked again.
"My spirit skills..." Dugu Yan explored her new martial soul. "Eh, they are changing! My first spirit skill, Red-Jaded Scale Poison, and second spirit skill, Blue-Jaded Scale Poison, have changed into Red Water Mist and Blue Water Vapor and lost their poison attribute?"
"They become support spirit skills, which can grant Flood Dragon's power to my allies."
"Red Water Mist boosts my ally's basic strength and speed by 25% after inhaling the mist. It also grants Flood Dragon's protection that mitigates spiritual attacks."
"Blue Water Vapor boosts my ally's basic defense and spirit energy by 35% after inhaling the vapor. Oh, this one grants a shield that mitigates any physical and energy attack by 40%!"
"As for the third spirit skill, it's called Flood Dragon's Mist Dance. I can increase all attributes of my allies by 60%." Dugu Yan said slowly.
"Oh, wait. There seemed to be a hidden power in my martial soul!"
After saying that, she activated the hidden power, and her martial soul underwent another change, becoming darker and more vicious with this ominous aura.
"My spirit skills changed again!" Dugu Yan yelped in surprise.
"The first spirit skill becomes Red Water Blast, a powerful poison burst attack that weakens my enemy's attack and speed by 25%."
"The second spirit skill becomes Blue Water Blast, a similar poison burst attack that weakens my enemy's defense and spirit energy by 35%."
"My third spirit skill also changed from support to offense, granting me a movement and assault attack that blitzed through the enemy line like a raging flood dragon, weakening all their attributes by 40%."
"This..." Dugu Bo doesn't know how to assess his granddaughter's condition.
Han Yuan snapped his finger, "Ah, I get it! Because Sister Yanyan hasn't fully absorbed the dragon essence from the immortal pills, her martial soul hasn't truly evolved into a dragon."
"However, this also makes her martial soul's origin flexible, capable of changing between two forms."
"The first form should be the Jiao Long (Flood Dragon) without the poison attribute, but pure water instead."
"The second form should be the Jade Phosphorous Snake-Dragon that incorporates poison and water attributes, making it a powerful offensive martial soul."
"Sister Yan is somewhat lucky to get a martial soul with two forms, though she must pick one to develop more later on." Han Yuan finished his brief analysis, causing everyone to look at Dugu Yan in surprise.
"Two Forms Martial Soul?" Dugu Yan mumbled.
"That doesn't sound bad. It feels like I have two martial souls…"
"It is." Han Yuan smiled.
"Now your martial soul is among the top-tier ones like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and White Tiger. Your dual attribute even puts you on a better edge against them."
"Also, congratulations, Sister Yanyan. You finally solved your poisoning problem."
Dugu Yan quickly canceled her possession form and looked at Han Yuan warmly, "Thank you, Xiao Yuan~!"
"Hehe, this much is nothing." Han Yuan laughed humbly.
"Let's continue our journey and look for other spirit beasts."
After storing the corpse of the Oceanic Dragon Snake in the Sky Poison Pearl disguised with a storage bracelet, Han Yuan and others continued their journey in the mangrove forest.
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