Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

Moreover, judging by its previous performance, Chen Ming estimated that the Netherworld Scorpion also possessed abilities like cultivating through absorbing death energy.

A mere 5,000-year-level Netherworld Scorpion was able to single-handedly annihilate nearly all Emerald Geckos over a thousand years old in a cave full of dragons with dragon blood, creating a mountain of corpses for its cultivation.

An adult Netherworld Scorpion's destructive power for cultivation would be utterly unimaginable...

After experiencing the soul skill, Chen Ming slowly opened his eyes, stood up on the mountain of corpses, stretched his arms, and loosened his muscles. His entire body emitted a series of cracking sounds, like popping beans.

Although this soul ring was approximately 6,000 years old, after absorbing it, Chen Ming felt his physical attributes had increased by at least 30%.

Although that didn't sound like much, considering Chen Ming's already formidable physical strength, this improvement was greater than any previous soul ring absorption.

His meridians became broader, his bones tougher, and his flesh more compact...

The effects of absorbing this soul ring were even more noticeable than the results of the past three months of honing his body in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

As for his soul power, it broke through directly to level 33 after absorbing the soul ring. One level was due to his accumulation before absorbing the ring, while the other two were entirely thanks to the Netherworld Scorpion's soul ring.

Moreover, because the absorption of each soul ring causes a transformation in his martial soul, Chen Ming could sense that his Emerald Scorpion Emperor martial soul had mutated due to the Netherworld Scorpion's essence, changing from a pure poison attribute to a dual attribute of poison and death.

This mutation was a positive development. Even if the Emerald Scorpion Emperor grew its eighteenth tail segment and became a 100,000-year soul beast, its essence of life would still be incomparable to the Netherworld Scorpion— a creature from another world.

Although Chen Ming's martial soul only inherited some characteristics of the Netherworld Scorpion through the soul ring, the improvement was still significant.

Although it still had 15 tail segments unchanged, its core strength increased by nearly 30%, making it comparable to normal Scorpion Emperors with 16 or 17 segments. It only fell slightly short of the fully transformed 18-segment Scorpion Emperor.

Additionally, because absorbing the Netherworld Scorpion's soul ring established a connection between Chen Ming and the consciousness of the Douluo World, he could feel that the external elements had become more attuned to him.

If, in the past, he had to actively connect with external elements, now the elements actively sought him out. While the magnitude of this change wasn't massive, the sensation was incredibly profound.

Chen Ming speculated that if he could further deepen his connection with the Douluo World, he might receive similar treatment to a Child of Destiny.

As Chen Ming finished absorbing the soul ring, Dugu Bo, who had already returned to his true form, immediately came over and examined Chen Ming closely.

Originally, Chen Ming's martial soul was on par with Dugu Bo's Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor. However, after absorbing the soul ring, Dugu Bo felt that Chen Ming's martial soul could vaguely suppress his own Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor.

A quick thought made Dugu Bo realize that Chen Ming must have gained significant benefits during this soul ring absorption process.

Since Dugu Bo wasn't an outsider, Chen Ming shared the details of his new soul skill, only omitting anything related to the spiritual realm.

When Dugu Bo heard that Chen Ming's third soul skill was as powerful as — or even stronger than — the ninth soul ring skill of a Title Douluo, his expression twisted visibly.

Even though Dugu Bo harbored no ill will toward Chen Ming, he couldn't help but feel an intense sourness.

After all, he had struggled mightily to acquire his ninth soul ring, only to find that its skill was weaker than his eighth soul ring.

He had once eagerly anticipated gaining a formidable soul skill from his ninth ring, but after obtaining it, he barely used it as much as his eighth soul ring's skill.

If it were possible, Dugu Bo would have gladly replaced his ninth soul ring with a different one long ago. His lifelong dream was to acquire a domain-type soul skill. Yet, from his time as a Soul Master to becoming a Title Douluo, he hadn't even glimpsed the shadow of such a skill. Who was he supposed to complain to?

Dugu Bo felt as if he had eaten 20 pounds of hawthorn and rinsed his mouth with lemon juice — the sourness was unbearable. As he looked at Chen Ming's third soul ring, the thought of removing his ninth soul ring crossed his mind once again.

Incidentally, the last time he had this thought was when he saw Chen Ming practicing poison explosion techniques in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

In short, if given the choice, Dugu Bo would gladly trade any of Chen Ming's second or third soul rings for his ninth. Even Chen Ming's first soul ring might tempt him.

"Sigh, I'm so envious. But Xiao Ming, with a soul ring like this — something even Title Douluos might not have — your future potential has undoubtedly skyrocketed. It seems your chances of becoming the strongest on the continent have increased significantly."

Dugu Bo wiped away his tears of envy and shifted his gaze to the Netherworld Scorpion's lifeless body.

Looking at the corpse of this legendary soul beast, Dugu Bo's hands itched with excitement. Such a creature was a treasure trove from head to tail. Even Title Douluos would covet it.

What's more, the Netherworld Scorpion was a ferocious beast tied to the Angel God in legends. After thousands of years of relentless hunting by humans and soul beasts alike, this corpse's value was through the roof. It was even more precious than pure-blooded true dragons.

Dugu Bo took out his tools and carefully dissected the Netherworld Scorpion's body, meticulously placing its blood, flesh, carapace, and organs into various containers. In no time, he had completely dismantled the scorpion.

Even the fluids that had leaked out were collected in small bottles, which Dugu Bo planned to sell at an auction or to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect for a hefty price. After all, the sect was known for purchasing anything valuable, regardless of its practical use, thanks to their vast wealth.

However, Dugu Bo was slightly disappointed. Despite thoroughly dissecting the Netherworld Scorpion, he found no sign of a soul bone.

While Dugu Bo knew that soul bones were rare and that not every soul beast would produce one, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of hope after the Earth Dragon soul bone and the Human-Faced Demon Spider skull bone had appeared not long ago.

If given a choice, Dugu Bo would have gladly traded both the Earth Dragon's torso bone and the Human-Faced Demon Spider's skull bone for a Netherworld Scorpion soul bone. Alas, there was no such option.

Of course, Chen Ming knew why this was the case.

The Netherworld Scorpion had only been partially assimilated into the Douluo World as a soul beast before its death and had never fully transformed. It lacked a soul core or similar structures, so no soul bone could emerge upon its death.

Just as Dugu Bo was about to call Chen Ming to leave, Chen Ming suddenly leaped down from the mountain of Emerald Gecko corpses, holding something with a proud expression.

"Grandpa, look! I spent a long time searching through the corpse mountain for this, and I finally found it!"

In Chen Ming's hand was a perfectly intact left leg bone, brimming with soul power and life energy. It was a vibrant green color, clearly freshly extracted from an Emerald Gecko's corpse.

Just from sensing the soul power emanating from the bone, Dugu Bo could immediately confirm that it was a genuine ten-thousand-year soul bone. Moreover, its pristine condition marked it as a top-tier ten-thousand-year soul bone.

At that moment, Dugu Bo was utterly speechless. He had no idea what to say.