The "Wangchuan Qiushui Dew" can be consumed to cultivate the Fire Eyes and Golden Eyes, allowing one to perceive extraordinary objects in the world.
Unlike in the original work, when Tang San absorbed the Wangchuan Qiushui Dew, only his head was enveloped in a faint red-golden glow, which concentrated around his eyes.
At this moment, Lin Rong's entire body emitted a radiant glow.
This light was not red-golden, but a pure golden color, which could also be described as bright yellow.
His Nine-curved Vine Dragon martial soul appeared behind him, and a layer of blue-gold light covered its surface.
Under the control of the Washing Marrow Scripture, the medicinal power of the Wangchuan Qiushui Dew did not gather around the eyes, but instead circulated through the meridians of his entire body.
Eventually, after being refined by the Washing Marrow Scripture, the Wangchuan Qiushui Dew transformed into an unknown pure energy, flowing into Lin Rong's heart.
"Thump! Thump!"
The sound of a steady and powerful heartbeat echoed through the mountains.
Within the range of this heartbeat, every living being—whether it was a tree, a blade of grass, an ant, a mountain bird, or even the old but powerful butler with the strength of a Soul Douluo—had their breathing frequency match Lin Rong's without exception.
Under the golden light, Lin Rong's skin gradually became transparent.
Through his skin, one could see the flow of blood in the veins beneath his cheeks.
"Thump! Thump!"
The heartbeat became even calmer and more powerful, as if some kind of magical force was making it soothing, bringing a sense of peace to those who heard it.
Underneath his clothing, around his chest, one could see that his beating heart emitted a faint cyan glow.
With each beat, this faint cyan glow dimmed ever so slightly.
This was the Rongmu Heart, an external soul bone, merging completely with Lin Rong's own heart.
When the faint cyan glow completely disappeared, it would signal that the Rongmu Heart had fully merged with Lin Rong.
A few moments later, that moment arrived.
The golden light around Lin Rong's body faded away, and his transparent skin returned to normal.
At this moment, Lin Rong's eyes were still closed, yet he could clearly "see" all the objects within a ten-meter radius.
These objects appeared in Lin Rong's mind with such clarity that they seemed even more real and vivid than what his eyes could see.
They were also more detailed and clearer than what could be perceived by spiritual power.
"This is the Heart Mirror, seeing the world through the mind, possessing the extraordinary ability to discern any person or thing."
"From now on, any illusion or charm-type soul skills will be ineffective against me."
By cultivating the Heart Mirror, Lin Rong had successfully attained the second realm of the Washing Marrow Scripture: Round and Smooth, Observing and Liberating.
While this breakthrough in the Washing Marrow Scripture did not cause a phenomenon like the last time when his Heart Space achieved self-transformation, this breakthrough in the Round and Smooth, Observing and Liberating realm was not insignificant. The sound of Lin Rong's heartbeat resonated across several nearby mountain peaks.
Though Lin Rong had broken through at the Duke's residence, given the size of the estate, his heartbeat would not have reached outside. However, with so many people around, if too many servants heard the heartbeat, it would have caused trouble.
"This time, apart from cultivating the Heart Mirror, the biggest improvement is my mental power."
Lin Rong thought, and a small stone on the ground immediately flew into his palm.
"Spiritual power intervenes in reality, but unfortunately, I can only do this within the range of the Heart Mirror."
After casually tossing the stone aside, Lin Rong opened his eyes and looked at the scenery ten meters away.
At this stage, the Heart Mirror was just newly cultivated, and its coverage range was only ten meters.
As the Washing Marrow Scripture's realm improved over time, the range of the Heart Mirror would gradually increase.
But for now, with the current range of just ten meters, using his eyes was still better for observing the scenery.
Late at night, the deep mountains were exceptionally silent.
Today was the second day of the month, and the moon in the night sky was painfully incomplete.
If one didn't look closely, it was hard to notice that among the countless stars, there was a faint crescent moon hanging in the sky.
A cold wind blew.
The old butler walked over to Lin Rong, draping a cloak over him to protect him from the cold.
Lin Rong wrapped himself in the cloak, then took out two items: a golden tulip and a white jade box.
"Grandfather Yu, it's your turn. Absorb these two herbs and become my first titled Soul Douluo!"
The old butler replied, "Old servant will not fail Young Master's trust."
The butler took the tulip and the jade box without saying another word. After consuming the golden tulip's petals, he opened the white jade box and chewed the eight-petal Fairy Orchid before swallowing it.
Afterward, he found a spot and began refining the medicinal power within his body.
The golden tulip and the eight-petal Fairy Orchid were a pair of complementary herbs.
Much like the Octagon Xuanbing Grass and Flame Apricot Beauty, they had complementary effects.
Thus, the golden tulip and the eight-petal Fairy Orchid could be absorbed and refined by the same person without interfering with each other's medicinal properties.
The old butler's soul power was at the 86th level, very close to reaching the 87th.
The younger one was, the greater the improvement in talent through absorbing the celestial herbs.
The old butler, now 66 years old, was no longer young.
As such, most of the medicinal power from these two herbs would be used to increase his soul power level, while only a small portion would be used to enhance his innate talent.
It was expected that the golden tulip and the Fairy Orchid would raise the old butler's soul power level to 90.
Even if that didn't happen, the old butler would still be able to reach 89, very close to 90.
In no more than a year, after the old butler refines the remaining medicinal power, he would successfully break through to the 90th level.
As for the old butler's ninth soul ring, Lin Rong already had a plan.
That plan was to go to the Extreme North Forest and use the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng to lure out the Ten-thousand-year Nine-tier Ginseng King.
If all went well, Lin Rong would have a titled Soul Douluo with a hundred-thousand-year soul ring and soul bone.
"Speaking of which…"
Lin Rong took out a white peony, the petals of which had a few bright red spots, looking a little startling.
This was the King of Immortal Plants, the Heartbreaking Red of Love, with a piece of black stone beneath it called Black Despair.
Only blood imbued with the most sincere affection could make the petals detach from the Black Despair stone.
"Isn't this just true love? Easy."
The first realm of the Washing Marrow Scripture, Heart Space Self-transformation, allowed one to enter the "Heart Space" state of mind, and one could more easily control one's emotions.
In the Heart Space state, the simulated love would have no distractions, perfectly matching the conditions required to harvest the Heartbreaking Red of Love.
Lin Rong bit his tongue, drawing a drop of blood, which he precisely dropped onto the white peony.
The next moment, the Heartbreaking Red of Love detached from the Black Despair stone without any hesitation.
Now, Lin Rong had successfully obtained both of the critical items needed for his Nine-curved Vine Dragon martial soul's true form.
The Heartbreaking Red of Love and the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng were complementary, and although Lin Rong didn't quite understand how the two were connected, the original work did mention it, even if it was a detail that the "omnipotent" Tang Sect didn't record.