Heaven Dou City, Butterfly House.
The laboratory was very quiet, occasionally interrupted by the sound of vessels clinking.
Lin Yang sat in front of the workbench. Several test tubes were placed before him, each containing different medicines.
Under the vision of Penetrating Vision, he could clearly see that these test tubes were currently like battlefields, engaged in frenzied combat.
A very faint crimson thread, carrying an extremely domineering invasive nature, was slowly spreading within the medicine. The originally stable medicinal energy was rapidly devoured, converted, and assimilated, eventually taking on the same color.
This crimson thread was his blood diluted a hundred times.
Lin Yang withdrew his gaze. His right hand quickly recorded notes, documenting the changes during the experiment.
After the second awakening, the changes to the Demon God Body were even deeper than he had imagined. Not only had his perception, strength, and even ice-and-fire resistance improved, but the domineering assimilation ability in his blood had also become several times stronger than before.
In other words, purely in terms of blood purity, even Kibutsuji Muzan would only be considered a little brother in front of him.
But similarly, his blood was also a treasure in some sense. If one could find a way to neutralize that assimilation ability, it would be equivalent to another kind of immortal herb.
It was also thanks to Dugu Bo's medicinal garden. The wide variety of herbs gave him more possibilities for experimentation.
Just as he was thinking, the laboratory door was suddenly knocked.
"Teacher," Catherine's voice came through. "A young lady surnamed Dugu says she's here to see you."
Lin Yang snapped back to attention, replied, then put away all the test tubes in front of him and walked out of the laboratory.
In the small courtyard, Lin Yang saw Dugu Yan.
Dugu Yan hadn't changed much from before. She still had that tall, slender figure and carried a slightly lazy and charming demeanor.
But in Lin Yang's eyes, she was completely different. The most obvious change was that the fishy-sweet toxin aura on her body was gone, replaced by a faint dragon prestige.
The effects of the Earth Dragon Golden Melon had not yet fully manifested. Once completely digested, even if she couldn't fully transform into a dragon, her martial soul quality would rank among the upper tier of sub-dragon types.
"Little Brother Lin Yang, we meet again."
When she saw Lin Yang appear, Dugu Yan's eyes instantly lit up. A strange light flashed in her charming eyes.
She never expected that a casual action a few days ago would directly change the fate of both her and her grandfather.
When her grandfather had her consume that Earth Dragon Golden Melon, she finally learned everything that had happened. She also realized that what she had been carrying all along was her grandfather's lifelong guilt and love.
If not for Lin Yang, she might have been killed by toxin backlash one day in the future, dying in front of her grandfather. She didn't even dare to think about that outcome.
Therefore, Lin Yang was not only the person who had detoxified her — he was the lifesaver for both her and her grandfather.
She had already been somewhat interested in this Lin Yang, who was a few years younger than her but had much higher cultivation. Now, with the additional "lifesaver" filter, that curiosity had undoubtedly become much stronger.
Lin Yang nodded slightly, not minding Dugu Yan's way of addressing him, and asked, "Senior said that Senior Sister has been consolidating her cultivation these past few days. How do you feel now?"
"I feel great!"
As she spoke, Dugu Yan directly released her martial soul. Two yellow spirit rings quietly rose from beneath her feet.
A slender snake tail swayed gently behind her, carrying both elegance and danger.
The most eye-catching part was her originally slender and fair arms, which were now covered in a layer of fine, tight, jade-green scales.
These scales extended from her forearms all the way to her palms. Her five fingers were slightly curved, resembling dragon claws.
Having claws but no horns — that was a Jiao.
Looking at it now, it was quite fitting for Dugu Yan to call her martial soul the Jade Phosphor Poison Jiao.
"For the spirit rings Senior Sister chooses in the future, you should aim toward poison-type sub-dragon species or spirit beasts with dragon bloodline. This will be more beneficial for the growth of your martial soul. In the future, it may not be impossible to transform from Jiao into Dragon."
Dugu Yan withdrew her martial soul, nodded, and blinked. "It's pretty much what Grandfather said. For this hunt, Big Sister will be relying on Little Brother Lin Yang for protection."
Lin Yang nodded helplessly.
Three days ago, Dugu Bo had proposed a condition to him — to take Dugu Yan to obtain her third spirit ring.
At the time, he had been somewhat puzzled. Finding a suitable thousand-year spirit beast should be as easy as lifting a hand for a Titled Douluo. Why did he need him to take Dugu Yan hunting?
But that old poisoner had spoken with righteous confidence: He needed to go into closed-door cultivation recently and had no time, so he was handing the task over to Lin Yang.
Lin Yang didn't believe a single word of Dugu Bo's excuse, but after thinking about it, he had gained quite a lot from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Taking Dugu Yan to get a third spirit ring wasn't difficult anyway.
Since it was just a trip, he simply agreed.
And this was also the reason Dugu Yan had come today.
The two didn't linger long at Butterfly House. After packing lightly, they rode a carriage toward the outskirts of Heaven Dou City.
On the way out of the city, they traveled without any obstruction because the Jade Phosphor Snake emblem on the carriage was the best pass.
Lin Yang and Dugu Yan's destination was the Sunset Forest.
As the largest spirit beast gathering area near Heaven Dou City, the overall quality of spirit beasts here couldn't compare to the Star Dou Great Forest, but it was more than enough to help Dugu Yan obtain a suitable third spirit ring.
This spirit hunt involved only the two of them, but neither showed any worry. Instead, they had the relaxed feeling of going on a trip.
Lin Yang's confidence came from his own strength.
Dugu Yan, on the other hand, was eager to try. She wanted to test the power of her Jade Phosphor Poison Jiao martial soul and see how much her actual combat ability had improved.
After arriving at the Sunset Forest, the two exchanged a glance and leaped, disappearing deep into the dense woods.
Meanwhile, about five li behind them, a dark green figure hid behind a large tree and muttered to himself, "That girl Yanyan is talking a lot more with that kid. But her vigilance still needs to be raised a bit more."
Thinking of the "meeting gift" he had prepared, the smile on Dugu Bo's lips deepened.
Ahead, under Lin Yang's lead, Dugu Yan headed straight into the depths of the Sunset Forest, where thousand-year spirit beasts commonly gathered.
However, finding a suitable spirit ring for Dugu Yan still required some effort.
As expected, the two had no harvest on the first day.
They had incidentally encountered a fifteen-hundred-year-old Purple Viper.
If it had been before her martial soul evolved, that Purple Viper would indeed have been suitable for Dugu Yan.
But now, even Dugu Yan herself felt it was somewhat beneath her, let alone Lin Yang.
So the Purple Viper was lucky enough to keep its life.
That night, the two found an open area, set up camp, and lit a bonfire.
Dugu Yan sat beside the fire, resting her chin on her hands as she watched Lin Yang roast meat.
Lin Yang occasionally flipped the meat and brushed on a layer of secret sauce. The aroma immediately filled the air, making her mouth water.
Once it was done, Lin Yang handed a piece to Dugu Yan. "Try it?"
"Sure!"
Dugu Yan wasn't a pretentious girl. She took the roasted meat and bit into it. The meat was fragrant and rich.
"Delicious!"
Her eyes curved into crescents. There was a bit of oil at the corner of her mouth, but instead of diminishing her charm, it added a touch of worldly warmth.
Lin Yang smiled and lowered his head to take a bite of his own piece.
The firelight illuminated the two of them. The atmosphere was just right.
At that moment, a certain Titled Douluo hiding in the dark clicked his tongue in displeasure!