Chapter 41: Inner Core? No, this should be the prototype of the soul core!
What Hu Bai said truly resonated with Dugu Bo. He could die like this, but his granddaughter had only recently awakened her Martial Soul and was about to enroll in the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
If he died now, Yan Yan would have no one to look after her and would surely be bullied at the academy. This could not happen!
"Alright, tell me. How can you alleviate the backlash from my Martial Soul? If you can truly cure me and my granddaughter of this poison, then I will join Spirit Hall!"
Hu Bai smiled. "Senior Dugu Bo, you will not regret today's decision. Your body is currently too severely afflicted with poison, and a complete recovery is impossible right away, but it can be alleviated. Once it's alleviated, you won't have to worry about the poison's backlash every day."
Saying that, Hu Bai looked at Yue Guan. "Uncle Yue, I trouble you. Let's split up and gather the Immortal Herbs right here."
During his time studying with Chrysanthemum Douluo, he not only learned to identify Immortal Herbs but also how to combine them. Moreover, when he studied Spirit Hall's ancient texts, he had seen similar books, so assisting Chrysanthemum Douluo now was no problem at all.
Although he didn't know the formula for the detoxifying Medicinal Pills Tang San made for Dugu Bo in the original work, since Tang San completed Dugu Bo's treatment in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, it meant that all the raw materials were here!
Even if the Medicinal Herbs Hu Bai and Yue Guan collected weren't the same as those Tang San collected, as long as the result was the same, it would be fine.
After all, these Medicinal Pills were only meant to alleviate pain—treating the symptoms but not the root cause—so there couldn't be just one prescription.
Xie Tian and Hu Leyao looked at the busy Hu Bai with relief in their eyes; their son was becoming more and more formidable.
Dugu Bo watched Hu Bai walk back and forth with a serious expression, feeling very puzzled. He then opened his mouth and asked Xie Tian, "Is this your son? How old is he?"
Xie Tian smiled. "He's a little over six years old, and he only awakened his Martial Soul a few months ago, Senior Dugu Bo. Don't underestimate my son; our whole family is proud of him."
Xie Tian, of course, knew what Dugu Bo wanted to say. Wasn't it just that he had doubts?
After all, no matter what, Hu Bai was just a child.
"What! Six years old!" Dugu Bo was shocked, and he also wondered if it was truly alright to entrust his and his granddaughter's lives to a six-year-old child.
However, he observed again and found that Hu Bai was only assisting, and Chrysanthemum Douluo was the main operator. Only then did he feel relieved.
As for whether Chrysanthemum Douluo would make poison to kill him, he had no such worries. Chrysanthemum Douluo wouldn't go so far, and if he wanted him dead, there would be no need for such trouble.
But after the Medicinal Herbs were collected, Hu Bai handed the task of refining the Medicinal Pills to Chrysanthemum Douluo and then walked straight toward Dugu Bo.
To say "refining Medicinal Pills" actually meant mixing various Medicinal Herbs in certain proportions to form Medicinal Pills.
At this point, there were no Medicinal Pills that could enhance a Soul Master's power; they were all detoxifying pills and poisons.
Hu Bai came before Dugu Bo. He had originally wanted to sit down, but he realized that he was a bit short now. Standing, he was only slightly taller than Dugu Bo, who was sitting. If he sat down, he would have to look up, which would be too tiring.
So, Hu Bai maintained a certain distance from Dugu Bo—just enough to look at him eye-level—and then began his 'consultation': "Senior Dugu Bo, I have a few questions about your condition that I need you to answer. First, when did the poison backlash begin for you?"
"Is that important?" Dugu Bo countered.
Hu Bai said lightly, "Of course. I need to know if this poison backlash started when you began passing it down to your descendants, or if it has existed since ancient times. I hope Senior Dugu Bo will not conceal anything, as this will affect my judgment of your condition. I have studied under Grandfather Qian."
To make Dugu Bo believe him, he even brought up Qian Daoliu.
Dugu Bo's pupils contracted. This person in front of him, he had thought he was simply Bibi Dong's disciple, but he had gained Qian Daoliu's favor?
That was not simple. And this kid looked decent, inexplicably possessing a sense of affinity.
"Alright, I encountered the poison backlash after I became a Soul Saint. When I achieved Soul Saint, my Jade Phosphor Serpent Martial Soul evolved into the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor, and it was from then on that the nightmare began."
"As for my ancestors, I haven't seen anyone suffer from backlash. If I remember correctly, it should have started with me. However, I don't know how accurate that is. I am the first person to evolve the Jade Phosphor Serpent Martial Soul into the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor."
Hu Bai nodded. "Then that should be your reason. After your Martial Soul evolved into the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor, did any other changes occur? Perhaps that is the key point leading to your poison backlash!"
Dugu Bo hesitated slightly, then spat out his inner core. "This is an inner core that condensed in my body after my Martial Soul evolved. Half of my strength is in this."
Inner core?!
As soon as this inner core, emitting a faint green glow, appeared, it immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Chrysanthemum Douluo, who was refining Medicinal Pills, also paused his movements and walked over, observing.
"I've never heard of such a thing. What Soul Master would have an inner core in their body? Old Poison, you're not human, are you? Only some exotic beasts have what is called an inner core."
Dugu Bo: ...
"Am I human or not? Can't you, a Titled Douluo, tell?" Dugu Bo glared fiercely at Chrysanthemum Douluo.
He had endured the most uncomfortable period just now, and his physical condition had recovered quite a bit, so he could directly retort to Chrysanthemum Douluo.
"Senior Dugu Bo, to put it bluntly, is it possible that this inner core is the culprit?" Hu Bai looked at the inner core thoughtfully.
If he only knew the plot of Douluo Dalu 1, he might not have suspected this inner core, but he also knew a little about the plot of Douluo Dalu 2.
Normally, Soul Masters would not have inner cores in their bodies. Instead, when their soul power reached a certain level, a substance called a 'Soul Core' would condense in their bodies.
A Soul Core, as long as a Titled Douluo reached a certain level of strength, would spontaneously condense in their Dantian. By Douluo Dalu 2, perhaps due to ten thousand years of development, Soul Masters had evolved to be able to independently condense Soul Cores, and some powerful Soul Masters even had not just one Soul Core but two or even three!
Dugu Bo was about to say something, but Hu Bai spoke first: "Senior Dugu Bo, this thing of yours is a bit like a Soul Core. When I was studying with Grandfather Qian and the others, I once asked about the levels of Titled Douluo."
"He told me that Titled Douluo have several levels: the first type is ordinary Titled Douluo, level 91 to 94; the second type is Super Douluo, level 95 to 98; and the third type is Ultimate Douluo, also known as Peerless Douluo, level 99!"
"And Super Douluo above level 95 (level 96), after advancing, the Soul Master will condense a small thing in their Dantian. Grandfather Qian and the others named it the Soul Core!"
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End of Chapter