"Time Freeze!?"
Just hearing the name, this skill sounded incredibly badass!
However, he truly hadn't heard of it.
While marveling in his heart, Dugu Xin still shook his head in confusion. Although their Dugu family's inheritance could barely be considered unbroken, no matter what, ten thousand years had passed. For a mere soul skill, how could there still be any related records or memories?
"It's no big deal if you haven't heard of it."
Seeing that he didn't know, Chen Junting didn't mind and waved his hand, then gave a simple explanation of this soul skill. "...So up to now, a poison-type soul skill isn't of much use to you. On the contrary, this kind of skill that can freeze time can give you much more operational space. It's just a pity that soul beasts like Medusa have gone extinct; they haven't been seen for a whole ten thousand years. Even Di Tian and the others don't have any information on whether this kind of soul beast is still alive. Therefore, if you want this soul skill that can be called a divine skill, you can only trace it back through your bloodline."
After saying that, Chen Junting threw the choice to Dugu Xin. "How to proceed, ultimately, is for you to decide."
"No need to say more, I'll take it!"
At this moment, a flash of excitement appeared in Dugu Xin's eyes.
A time-type control soul skill was hard to come by and incredibly hard to seek!
"Alright then."
Seeing Dugu Xin adopt his suggestion, the next step was condensing the soul ring and the soul core. But then again, since he already had that Poison Pill, and had broken through to Level 90, he was actually not much different from a Titled Douluo right now, so there was no need to condense a normal one first. Otherwise, when it came time to break through to Ultimate Douluo, he would have to condense a full three soul cores, and the difficulty would undoubtedly skyrocket.
"...So what do you think about this?"
"I still say the same thing: no need to say more." Dugu Xin's gloomy eyes revealed a trace of confidence. "This path of three soul cores, after all, I'm not the first. With you and that kid Yuhao walking ahead, when it's my turn, I undoubtedly have some insights. If I don't even have the confidence to try this, then what kind of god will I become!"
Clap, clap, clap— ×2
These bold words made Chen Junting and Ning Tian unable to stop applauding him. Chen Junting then even praised:
"Good! A real man should be like this!"
"Then are you preparing to condense the soul core first, or the soul ring first? If it's the soul core, then we'll use the Yin-Yang Complement method. Although the difficulty is very high and your body might not be able to withstand it, don't worry, you'll suffer a bit at most, you won't die."
Although the Yin-Yang Complement method was good, the difficulty was indeed great. Even the Snow Empress had failed back then.
If Dugu Xin were to do it himself, with a cultivation not even at Level 90-eight, it would undoubtedly be certain death.
But with Chen Junting here, the situation was different. So what if his body couldn't withstand it? It was fine, he could be saved, he wouldn't die.
"Then the soul core first. Anyway, the cultivation breakthrough after condensing the soul ring isn't much, so I suppose it won't play a big role."
Dugu Xin squeezed the patterns in his palm, holding them in his hand, and sat down cross-legged neatly. "Come, tell me how to condense this soul core. How should the Yin-Yang Complement method be applied?"
Hearing this, Chen Junting extended his index finger and pointed at Dugu Xin's glabella, and a spiritual force transmitted into his Spiritual Sea following the direction. The content recorded inside was exactly the situation he had encountered when condensing his second soul core, along with the method. In his view, a verbal description could never be as profound as seeing it with his own eyes once.
Along with the scenes of Chen Junting condensing his second soul core flashing through his mind over and over again, time passed minute by minute. It wasn't until an hour had passed and the sky was gradually approaching dusk that Dugu Xin slowly opened his eyes.
A sharp light revealed itself in his eyes, flashing with a hint of enlightenment.
Seeing this, Chen Junting knew it was about time.
"You understand now, right?"
Dugu Xin took a deep breath, seemingly having made his psychological preparation, and then he nodded vigorously. "Understood."
"Then let's begin, we'll stand guard for you."
Since it was put this way, Dugu Xin naturally started condensing his soul core without another word. Seeing him start, Chen Junting also skillfully beckoned with his hand, and array patterns immediately appeared in the invisible void, forming an array beneath and around Dugu Xin.
Just as he finished doing all this, Ning Tian, who had been keeping silent, suddenly spoke up and asked her doubt, "Brother Junting, what will Xin choose for his second attribute?"
For soul cores, each one must be different. As his alternative first soul core, the "Poison Pill," had already transformed into the Ultimate Poison attribute back then. But over all these years, Ning Tian had never seen Dugu Xin dabble in any attribute other than poison when using soul skills or other means. Only just now, because she saw Dugu Xin looking confident and implicitly indicating he could succeed, she hadn't asked aloud when he was paying attention to the outside world, so as to avoid causing any unnecessary disturbance.
"The spiritual attribute, of course."
Chen Junting, who didn't know what Ning Tian was thinking, quickly gave his answer. "Actually, in my opinion, when the method of three soul cores was born, most soul masters in the future who break through to Titled Douluo will condense a second soul core. But compared to us now, those who condense a second soul core are all Ultimate Douluo, so the attribute they choose is space. However, if one isn't a soul master who specializes in this path, the spatial attribute is fundamentally difficult to grasp; it's only possible when one's realm reaches Super Douluo."
Suddenly, he changed his tone, "But in that case, it becomes difficult for future soul masters to choose the attribute for their second soul core. After all, there are very few people whose Martial Souls come with two attributes, so spiritual power, which everyone has, makes the spiritual attribute the choice without equal."
Since the conversation had reached this point, Chen Junting naturally pointed at Dugu Xin and said, "So right now, Xin is the best example."
So that's how it is.
Understanding this, Ning Tian nodded in comprehension.
After that, the two of them waited here for quite a while longer. After all, it was condensing a soul core, especially using the Yin-Yang Complement method which had the highest difficulty; it would certainly take some time.
So as heaven and earth origin energy constantly converged and was continuously replenished under the effect of the array to condense the second soul core, Chen Junting suddenly looked at Ning Tian beside him and said to her:
"Xiao Tian, looking at this situation, it probably won't be necessary for you to act for a while. But I have to watch over things here, so please make a trip to the sect cafeteria and have them prepare a meal with the highest nutritional value, and make sure there's a lot of it. Because after Xin finishes condensing this second soul core, he'll likely need to replenish a lot of nutrition."
"Okay, I'll go give the instructions."
Ning Tian nodded slightly, then personally went.
Thus, only Chen Junting was left alone in the courtyard to stand guard. Until Ning Tian returned, no major problems arose.
Just like that, Dugu Xin's second soul core had pretty much taken shape, and even the sect cafeteria had long since delivered a meal worth tens of millions to the residence, all top-tier treasures.
"He's about to start integrating the soul core into his body." Seeing Dugu Xin was about to begin the next step, Chen Junting and Ning Tian looked at each other, and then nearly simultaneously took the corresponding subsequent measures.
Ning Tian held the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in her hand, her eighth soul ring shining, her soul skill ready to be unleashed; Chen Junting, on the other hand, locked down the three of them with three layers of defense: a soul tool shield, an array, and a soul power shield.
Because if Dugu Xin's soul core were to accidentally explode, the consequences would be unimaginable. Of course, even though Chen Junting was confident this wouldn't happen, he still had to treat it seriously.
Very soon, the soul core entered Dugu Xin's body.
One nine-colored, one pure white; two circles of halos simultaneously enveloped Dugu Xin.
And these halos were naturally the domains released from Chen Junting and Ning Tian. Obviously, during the four years of experiencing the divine trials, Ning Tian had also awakened her very own exclusive domain.
Although Chen Junting was delighted by this, right now, there was no time to ask what the effect of this domain was.
As the halos of both domains spread beneath Dugu Xin, a treasure light that enhanced one's aura and an incomparably sharp killing intent instantly filled the air, keeping him in his optimal state.
But in less than the time of a single breath, two completely different attribute energies suddenly erupted from within Dugu Xin's body!
"Hmph—"
The powerful impact directly caused Dugu Xin to let out a muffled groan.
At this moment, whether it was Chen Junting or Ning Tian, they could clearly feel that those two terrifying energies were constantly impacting Dugu Xin's meridians, as if it weren't their own residence, fighting recklessly without the slightest regard for his endurance.
Under the impact of the two energies, even Dugu Xin, who had taken the Qiankun Creation Pill medicinal liquid, found it hard to withstand. Yet even so, he still eliminated all the distracting thoughts in his heart, and then went all out, constantly enduring the severe pain that felt like ten thousand blades slicing his body. Even if one ignored his face constantly turning pale, it was as if the pain wasn't falling on him at all.
But as time continued to pass, wave after wave of impact pushed Dugu Xin's body gradually to the brink of collapse. Bright red beads of blood began to seep from under Dugu Xin's skin, continuously flowing, instantly dyeing his clothes red, as well as the soil beneath him; even blood was flowing from his seven orifices.
His body shook violently, threatening to topple at any moment; his skin constantly cracked, threatening to shatter at any moment.
Under such circumstances, his body seemed to have reached a critical point. Chen Junting seized the right timing and immediately took action!
An emerald green dot of light instantly sank into Dugu Xin's body. What cracked skin? What bleeding from seven orifices? It instantly returned to its original state.
If it weren't for the blood on his clothes and on the ground silently indicating that everything had indeed happened, one would have thought it was an illusion.
However, although Dugu Xin's body was repaired, the energy impact inside him continued. At some unknown point, Chen Junting opened the Heavenly Eye at his glabella, constantly watching Dugu Xin's interior, seemingly waiting for him to face an extremely crucial situation.
"Xiao Tian."
Without needing much reminder, a stream of light sank into Dugu Xin's body, directly putting him in a brief invincible state.
Although the time was short, it was enough for him to complete a small step.
Under this continuous repairing and advancing, Dugu Xin finally finished accommodating the soul core at noon the next day.
In an instant, he fiercely opened his eyes!
A not-weak spiritual power spread out at this moment, but this was ignored by both Chen Junting and Ning Tian.
"How is it?"
"Good! It couldn't be better!"
Dugu Xin answered Chen Junting while standing up.
After Chen Junting withdrew the layers of defense, Ning Tian also said to Dugu Xin, "Xin, don't just stand there. You consumed a lot just now; this is the food prepared for you. Although it's gotten a bit cold, it's enough to replenish your consumption."
Reminded by Ning Tian, Dugu Xin immediately felt the emptiness in his body. Even though life energy had been constantly repairing his injuries just now, after all, he had still lost so much blood while accommodating the soul core.
So, he hurriedly began to gorge himself. For a moment, his eating appearance could even compare to the completely unrestrained Wu Feng.
After Dugu Xin had eaten and drunk his fill, and replenished his deficits, it was time to start working on condensing his ninth soul ring.
In for a penny, in for a pound.
Chen Junting adhered to the same method, transmitting both the self-condensing soul ring method of tracing the bloodline and the method of engraving patterns to self-condense the soul ring to Dugu Xin. Next, it was up to him to combine the two and condense his ninth soul ring.
"You understand, right?"
"Understood."
The same dialogue, the same neatness.
The moment Dugu Xin made his move, a transparent ring slowly rose around him. Immediately after, Dugu Xin waved his palm and engraved the "reverse" version of the Youxiang Qiluo Fairy Herb patterns onto the ring, which was about to transform into a soul ring.
Seeing this, Dugu Xin traced his bloodline once again.
In the eyes of Chen Junting and Ning Tian, the imprints recorded by the bloodline and heaven and earth constantly flashed behind Dugu Xin, until they stopped at the phantom of an old man, presumably Dugu Bo.
Immediately after, the old man's phantom morphed and disappeared. Replacing it was a soul beast with snake hair and the body of a snake but the head of a human.
"Is this Medusa?"
Ning Tian was slightly amazed seeing a soul beast she had never seen before.
"That's right."
Looking at those somewhat hollow eyes, Chen Junting said, "It's said that any creature that looks directly into Medusa's eyes will be turned to stone. Presumably, the soul skill effect of 'Time Freeze' comes from this."
As they spoke, patterns were born from the invisible, wrapping around Dugu Xin's ring and constantly entangling with the previous patterns.
Just like this, the ring from before completely transformed into a soul ring, and then its color constantly mutated, becoming increasingly terrifying until it turned crimson red, and those patterns also began to be dyed with gold.
It only barely stopped when there were a full three golden lines.
At this moment, Dugu Xin's aura morphed into a Ten-Headed Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor behind him, and the two opened their snake pupils simultaneously!
Hum—
Without the slightest precaution from Chen Junting and Ning Tian, an invisible temporal fluctuation instantly spread out, and under Dugu Xin's deliberate control, it merely enveloped the entire courtyard.
At this moment, it was as if time had stopped, frozen solid.
But just as Dugu Xin stood up,
Crack—
A shattering sound suddenly rang out, and then...
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