Smack—
Hiss—
Feeling the pain radiating from his forehead right now, along with the swelling that was obvious to the touch, even Dugu Xin, who had already become a Titled Douluo, subconsciously sucked in a breath of cold air.
"Why did you hit so hard?"
"Who told you to release a soul skill without a word of warning."
While flexing his index finger, Chen Junting "recalled" the effect of that "Time Freeze" just now. After pondering for a long while, he said, "If they are about the same strength as you, this soul skill should be enough to hard-CC them for three seconds. But if their strength exceeds yours by too much, it'll only last a second. If they cultivate the time attribute, like me, this duration will be even lower, practically just an instant. Although it can't be called a divine skill, when true experts clash, having even this instant is pretty good."
"It is indeed not bad."
At some unknown point, Dugu Xin, whose forehead swelling had already subsided, regained his previous demeanor, his eyes also showing satisfaction with this soul skill. But what Chen Junting cared more about was whether the Aromatic Silk Beauty's function of being immune to all poisons, when reversed, could truly achieve their hypothesis.
So, facing Chen Junting's inquiry, Dugu Xin forcefully suppressed his inner excitement and chose to follow the voice in his heart. "I think it works."
But Chen Junting flatly rejected this statement. "Just 'thinking' is not enough; it must be accurate."
Coincidentally at this moment, Ning Tian took out the sachet that Chen Junting had previously made based on the Aromatic Silk Beauty's function and given to her for poison protection. "In that case, let's just test it directly."
"Alright."
Since the decision was made, Dugu Xin naturally had no objections.
However, just in case—for example, if the toxicity was so great that it leaked into the air and endangered others—Chen Junting practically locked Dugu Xin and the sachet directly inside a soul tool shield, completely isolating the person and the object.
As for him and Ning Tian... they naturally chose to stand outside the shield.
After all, if Dugu Xin's poison truly reached that level, even ordinary god-level experts would probably have to avoid its edge. Under such circumstances, one absolutely could not stand beneath a crumbling wall.
"Then I'll begin."
Looking through the shield at the fully prepared Chen Junting and Ning Tian, Dugu Xin nodded, letting out a sigh that was slightly helpless yet contained a trace of a smile. They were making *him* nervous.
The next second, his eyes instantly transformed into vertical snake pupils.
Almost simultaneously, the phantom of the Ten-Headed Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor emerged behind him, and a terrifyingly extreme poison-attribute soul power continuously surged around his body. In an instant, the grass on the lawn beneath his feet withered, looking as if it were on the verge of death.
One had to know, this was still under Dugu Xin's deliberate and precise control; it was purely the influence of his own aura. If it had been the leakage of his poison-attribute soul power aura, even if the leakage was just a sliver, extremely insignificant, the grass wouldn't have just withered—it would have been completely poisoned, and the poison would have even continued to spread.
Hum—
A blood-red soul ring with golden patterns rose up, and a flash of red light whizzed past.
Ninth Soul Skill—Wherever Poison Reaches, All Things Wither!
A touch of emerald green light enveloped Dugu Xin's entire body, and then, it seemed as though there were no other changes. He simply extended a finger and reached toward the sachet.
Meanwhile, on the outside.
"It seems Xin's ninth soul skill isn't an attack, but an enhancement." Seeing that Dugu Xin showed no changes after using his ninth soul skill and was merely enveloped by a layer of emerald green light, Ning Tian guessed that his soul skill was likely an enhancement-type effect.
However, observing Dugu Xin's actions, Chen Junting held a different view. "Calling it an enhancement is inaccurate; it should actually be an additional-effect type soul skill. For instance, it converts all of his poison-attribute attacks into an 'all poisons enter' effect, without changing their original power."
"Is that so?"
Hearing this, Ning Tian tilted her head with a puzzled expression and asked.
"It should be."
Because from the aura Dugu Xin was currently exuding, Chen Junting keenly perceived that before and after he used this ninth soul skill, there had been absolutely no change in his aura or his imposing manner.
He could judge that this wasn't Xin holding back, but rather that the soul skill "Wherever Poison Reaches, All Things Wither" truly didn't bring him the slightest enhancement. Precisely because of this, he stated that this ninth soul skill simply added an "all poisons enter" effect to his poison. This undoubtedly indicated that the power of Dugu Xin's Ultimate Poison was exactly the same as before; it was just that a "nemesis of all poisons" no longer existed, making it even more impossible to guard against.
This was perhaps related to the Aromatic Silk Beauty itself. Aside from resisting toxins, it basically had no other capabilities.
Even so, Chen Junting still couldn't help but feel a bit regretful.
After all, this meant that his thought of "using Dugu Xin's enhanced poison to poison ordinary god-level experts to death" couldn't become reality.
"Brother Junting, look quickly!"
Just as Chen Junting was "lamenting" in his heart, Ning Tian's voice suddenly brought him back to his senses. He saw that an insignificant drop of poison liquid condensed on Dugu Xin's fingertip directly ignored the aura released by the sachet and landed on the sachet itself. Almost in the blink of an eye, the patterns on the sachet were utterly destroyed!
And that drop of poison liquid directly began to volatilize!
In less than a second, the life aura within the soul tool shield completely vanished, save for Dugu Xin himself, and it even seeped through the soil toward the outside of the shield.
Even with the obstruction of the soul tool shield...
Ugh—
Or rather, it couldn't block it at all.
The shield shattered in an instant, and the poisonous gas swept out.
At this moment, even Chen Junting and Ning Tian felt their scalps tingle; without hesitation, they retreated as fast as they could!
As he retreated, Chen Junting used his soul power to construct a soul power shield. But even so, it only blocked the poison; it couldn't make it disappear completely. Because currently, Dugu Xin's Ultimate Poison had reached an extremely terrifying level. Unless it was completely destroyed by Wu Feng's Ultimate Fire under fully sealed conditions, or Wu Feng and Huo Yuhao joined forces to refine the poison with ice and fire, this deadly poison was basically impossible to neutralize.
Even if transferred using the power of space, it was merely transferred, nothing more.
Seeing the deadly poison wreaking havoc and about to ruin every plant and flower in his courtyard completely, Chen Junting deeply regretted it in his heart. If he had known, he would have tested it in a desolate area.
So, amidst his slight regret,
Whoosh—
A chill of Ultimate Ice burst forth from Chen Junting's arm. In an instant, it directly froze the lingering poisonous gas and the deadly poison spreading across the ground, and only then did he withdraw his soul power shield.
Glancing at the dark green dead silence beneath the frost,
"Sigh—, I've created a disaster."
Chen Junting looked at Dugu Xin, who was standing innocently on the spot. "Xin, your soul skill is an additional effect. Right?"
"Correct."
Dugu Xin nodded repeatedly. Presumably, having just heard the conversation between Chen Junting and Ning Tian, as well as the tone in their voices, he continued, "Actually, I'm still very satisfied with this soul skill. Because all my methods, in the end, don't lie in soul skills, but in my poison techniques. So a soul skill that can make up for the flaws of my poison techniques is no less than a divine skill. Not to mention there's also 'Time Freeze'. With the two combined..." Saying this, he suddenly smiled at the two of them, and then provocatively pointed his finger at Chen Junting.
"To tell the truth, I'd even dare to spar with you now."
Oh?!
Chen Junting raised an eyebrow, his expression ambiguous.
How did you suddenly become so brave?
"You're quite confident."
"Of course."
"Since you want to give it a try, I don't mind."
Hearing this, Dugu Xin suddenly saw a half-smile hanging on Chen Junting's face. His heart couldn't help but skip a beat, but he quickly put on an eager look again. "Then let's try?"
"Shall we go?"
"Let's go!"
Instantly, the corners of Chen Junting's mouth curled up completely.
So he turned his head and said to Ning Tian beside him, "Xiao Tian, go find Little Feng and have her come over to help. After Xin and I finish our spar, I'll bring him back to deal with it together."
Ning Tian smiled sweetly, "Okay."
Then, Chen Junting walked over to Dugu Xin's side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then let's take a trip."
As soon as he finished speaking, both of their figures vanished.
In their place, Ning Tian was left alone; she shook her head helplessly before turning to leave. In less than a few minutes, she returned with Wu Feng.
The moment she and Wu Feng stepped into the courtyard, both Wu Feng and Ning Tian simultaneously looked up at the sky as a streak of flowing light flashed past.
"Eh, back so soon?"
Wu Feng had already learned what happened from Ning Tian.
But how long had it been for those two? They were so confident when they left, yet they came back so quickly. A bit underwhelming.
"I'm back."
The next second, Chen Junting landed gracefully. Compared to Dugu Xin, who was being carried by the collar with his clothes in tatters and his face bruised and swollen, Chen Junting looked incredibly refreshed.
After Dugu Xin stood up straight, Chen Junting looked right at Wu Feng, who was standing next to Ning Tian looking as if she were enjoying a show. "Little Feng, you're here. Perfect, you and Xin help us deal with the frozen poison in the courtyard. Then, have Xin take you to the place where we just sparred; otherwise, it would be a bit bad if the frozen poison there leaks out."
"No problem." As she agreed, she walked over to Dugu Xin's side and teased, "How is it? You alright?"
Hearing this, Dugu Xin gave her an annoyed glance.
"What do you think?"
Wu Feng's smile remained unchanged. "What were you thinking? You just broke through to Titled Douluo, and you already dared to test yourself against the Sword Bastard."
Dugu Xin didn't say a word, solely focusing on recovering from his injuries.
Seeing that he didn't answer, Wu Feng also lost interest in teasing him.
So next, the two of them worked together and quickly dealt with all the poison in Chen Junting's residence and the place where they had just sparred, ensuring not a single trace remained. As for the ruined sachet, Wu Feng directly incinerated it.
After that was done, Chen Junting and Ning Tian had the sect members rearrange and restore the courtyard's lawn. Before long, the devastated areas were back to their original state.
Having done all this, Chen Junting and Ning Tian also decided to take the Qiankun Creation Pill and enter a state of secluded cultivation.
However, upon arriving at the secluded cultivation spot beneath the Golden Ancient Tree, Chen Junting watched Ning Tian swallow and digest the Qiankun Creation Pill before leaving. This was because he needed to handle other miscellaneous matters before going into seclusion, such as the remaining two pills.
Since there were two left, these two Qiankun Creation Pills were handed over to the sect to manage. Regarding just how powerful its medicinal efficacy was, after Chen Junting finished describing it, it immediately drew the absolute attention of the higher-ups, who directly sealed the two pills away.
To borrow the words of the Sect Master and the Supreme Elders, the general idea was that they had already reached their age, so using these two pills on them would be a waste. Moreover, even if there was a prescription, the pill was incredibly difficult to refine, so it was better to leave it for the future disciples of the sect so the pills could be used to their maximum potential.
Chen Junting naturally had no objections to this.
After that, Chen Junting made another trip to the Soul Tool Research Institute. But this time, it was because Xuan Ziwen had learned of his return from Jing Ziyan and specially sent someone to fetch him.
As for the reason, it was regarding the metal materials for the Battle Armor.
So, Chen Junting told Xuan Ziwen about concepts like "Spirit Forging" and "Heavenly Forging." Although he hadn't studied these things in depth, giving a general overview was no problem for him. Besides that, there was naturally also the "Artificial Soul Bone Method" he had developed, which he left for Xuan Ziwen to explore to his heart's content.
This explanation seemingly sent Xuan Ziwen into a state of frenzy.
But before Chen Junting could even worry, Xuan Ziwen seemed to have completely figured it out. Muttering things like "the blacksmithing profession is going to rise again," he asked Chen Junting for top-tier blacksmiths while also requesting to keep the array for the "Heavenly Tribulation Array."
Hearing this, and realizing that Xuan Ziwen now had a complete overall concept for Battle Armor, Chen Junting was quite happy to comply. After all, the early emergence of Battle Armor could elevate their strength to another level.
So, after handing over the things Xuan Ziwen needed, he also gave him a reminder. That was to find the Thousand-Jin Douluo, Uncle Tai, and discuss this matter with him once he returned.
Because the most top-tier blacksmith on the Douluo Continent, apart from the reclusive Haotian Sect, was probably only Uncle Tai.
After all, ever since the emergence of soul tools, it led to the decline of cold weapons like hidden weapons, and top-tier blacksmiths had lost their livelihood. This also meant that any soul masters with a bit of strength later on wouldn't choose the path of a blacksmith, would they?
After fulfilling Xuan Ziwen's requests, Chen Junting confirmed that there were no other remaining chores, and thus headed to the secluded cultivation spot beneath the Golden Ancient Tree.
Because next, not only did he need to take the Qiankun Creation Pill, but he also had to simultaneously practice both the Martial Soul and Soul Core cultivation methods, achieving breakthroughs in both.
For him, Level 98 was merely a paper membrane, easily punctured.
What he truly cared about was Level 99!
Ning Tian and the others harbored the same thoughts of secluded cultivation. As said earlier, right now, everything had to take a backseat to making breakthroughs.
Coincidentally, the continent was currently calm, and they still had enough time to develop. It was just unknown how long this superficial peace could last...
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