Chapter 8 The Spirit Hall, what grand ambitions!
Dugu Bo nodded and said, "Yes, my family has some connections with them and we also do business with them. But... do they really have information on Immortal Herbs?"
"Not necessarily! But we can prepare for three possibilities: the Nine Heart Begonia Clan, the Broken Clan, and Yue Douluo."
Beside them, Dugu Yan interjected, "But how exactly should we obtain information about the Immortal Herbs?"
"There's no need to say much about the Nine Heart Begonia Clan. The Broken Clan is currently going through a difficult period after being abandoned by the Clear Sky Sect. If Grandpa lends a helping hand now, it shouldn't be difficult."
As Dugu Lin spoke, he narrowed his eyes and said, "If they don't obey... Grandpa, just wipe out their Broken Clan. Anyway, they'll end up becoming Tang San's accomplices!"
Dugu Lin had long been mentally prepared. Even if the Broken Clan was innocent, they would still die if they hindered his great cause!
"Oh? Really? Hahaha!!"
Dugu Bo laughed heartily, and the thought of annihilating the Broken Clan lessened his resentment.
"The last one is Yue Douluo, well... we'll need to take a roundabout route with him."
How to take a roundabout approach?
Dugu Lin laughed and said, "Find Xue Qinghe, the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire! Grandpa, Xue Qinghe is a powerful figure, we just need to latch onto her! As long as you slightly favor her and say you want the information about the Immortal Herb in Yue Douluo's possession, she will definitely get it!"
"Xue Qinghe?"
Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan both looked at Dugu Lin with suspicion and asked, "Why? How did the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire get the information about the Immortal Herb from Old Yue? Wait a minute! Xue Qinghe isn't the Crown Prince yet!"
"Oh~ Whether he's the crown prince or not doesn't matter much!"
Dugu Lin's lips curled into a wicked smile as he said, "As for why she was able to obtain the information about the Immortal Herb from Old Yue... that concerns another enormous secret!"
"What secret?"
"Grandpa, sister, if I told you that the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Qinghe, died long ago! And that the current Xue Qinghe is actually Qian Renxue, the daughter of the deceased Pope Qian Xunji of the Spirit Hall, in disguise, would you believe me?"
The plot to seize the country took place shortly after Qian Xunji's death a year ago, and the current Xue Qinghe had already been replaced by Qian Renxue.
"How is that possible?"
Dugu Bo was startled and held his breath, countless thoughts flashing through his mind.
Prince Xue Qinghe of the Heaven Dou Empire is dead? The daughter of the former and current Popes of the Spirit Hall impersonated the prince? And in the future, she even became the Crown Prince. If... when the old emperor dies, she can rightfully inherit the throne... This is an attempt to usurp the country!
The Spirit Hall has played a very clever game!
The Spirit Hall, what grand ambitions they have!
"Lin'er, if we side with her... wouldn't that be aiding and abetting evil?"
In Dugu Bo's mind, the Spirit Hall was destined to overthrow the two great empires, which meant it was inherently on the side of the villains.
This is also the perception of this era.
"Hehe~ Grandpa, you can't look at things from just one perspective. What is justice? What is evil? Justice and evil are relative. Besides, we have a grudge against Tang San! Tang San's enemy is our ally!"
"I see... Okay."
Dugu Bo only considered for a few seconds before agreeing with Dugu Lin's idea. Dugu Bo's bottom line on justice was quite flexible. Since he was never a good person anyway, why bother arguing about justice and injustice?
"But...."
Dugu Lin solemnly instructed, "Grandpa, sister, you mustn't talk about this outside, understand?"
"Uh-huh!"
Dugu Yan nodded repeatedly, her face pale, whether from fright or nervousness, it was hard to tell.
A prince of a nation was actually impersonated! Unbelievable!
"Huh? Wait a minute!"
"What's wrong?"
Dugu Lin frowned and asked, "Grandpa, I remember you owe Prince Xue Xing a favor, don't you? Wouldn't it be inappropriate for us to directly curry favor with Qian Renxue?"
Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo frowned and pondered for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "It's alright. I'll just pretend I don't understand and repay the favor to Xue Qinghe. After all, they are both from the Heaven Dou Empire. Besides, they have a good relationship as uncle and nephew."
"Um... Grandpa, you're quite adaptable!"
"Hahaha~~ Faced with the future and life and death of the three of us, Grandpa has to be flexible."
Dugu Bo burst into laughter. As the Poison Douluo, he acted entirely on his whims and paid no heed to others' opinions. What's wrong with being flexible about one's character?
Moreover, at this time, Xue Qinghe and Prince Xue Xing had not yet had any conflicts, and their uncle-nephew relationship was indeed quite good.
...
"An Eight-Petaled Fairy Orchid! Found it!"
Before long, Dugu Lin finally found his target herb: the Eight-Petaled Fairy Orchid.
Dugu Lin sat down cross-legged and instructed, "Grandpa, please protect me. I'll eat it now."
"Wait! Didn't you say you didn't know how to eat it?"
"Hey~ It's just a flower, right? Just eat it all."
"Um...that makes sense."
Immediately afterwards, without picking the Eight-Petaled Fairy Orchid, Dugu Lin lay down on the orchid and gnawed on it, biting off a petal, chewing it up, and swallowing it.
Simple and straightforward!
The flower petals tasted surprisingly sweet and fragrant, and were quite delicious.
The next instant, a powerful medicinal effect flowed through his limbs and bones, its properties gentle. Dugu Lin refined it with his soul power, feeling only a sense of comfort throughout his body. At the same time, the soul power in the world fluctuated, slowly merging into Dugu Lin's body.
After a long time, when Dugu Lin felt that the medicinal effects of a petal were about to be fully refined, he lay down and gnawed on another petal. One after another, he gnawed on eight petals in total, and finally, he didn't even spare the stamen.
At this moment, Dugu Bo had already sent Dugu Yan to the thatched hut he had built earlier, and was guarding Dugu Lin alone.
Time slips away quietly.
It wasn't until the next morning that Dugu Lin finally refined the Eight-Petaled Fairy Orchid, and a layer of impurities was expelled from his skin.
Both his aptitude and the quality of his martial soul have been greatly improved, but his martial soul has not evolved.
"Phew~ It's finally over."
"Lin'er!"
Dugu Bo exclaimed with delight, then quickly asked, "How are you feeling now?"
"Hmm... Grandpa, I think I've reached level 10 in soul power."
"What? He already has level ten soul power?! Hahaha~~ No wonder he's my grandson!" Dugu Bo laughed with satisfaction, stroking his white beard with a hearty smile.
Dugu Lin was naturally prepared for his current state of soul power.
Oscar's initial soul power was level 33. After consuming the Eight-Petaled Fairy Orchid, his soul power increased by 5 levels, reaching level 38.
It's reasonable for a Soul Scholar with only half a level of innate soul power to increase his soul power by eight, nine, or ten levels, right?
The energy contained in each level of soul power differs greatly between Soul Scholar and Soul Master.
[end of the chapter]