At the top floor of the Alchemy Pavilion, in the main hall.
"Dugu Yan's matter of condensing the Poison Core Rongrong, what are your thoughts?" Dugu Bo sat on the floor, sighing as he looked at Dugu Yan and Ning Rongrong sitting across from him.
"As for me..." Ning Rongrong pondered for a moment.
"Removing the Poison Core might leave side effects. The safest method would be finding a way to evolve Sis Yan'er's martial soul."
"Difficult " Dugu Bo let out a long sigh.
Hadn't Ning Yun and Ning Tian been perfect examples of failed martial soul evolutions?
Not everyone could be as fortunate as Ning Fengzhi and Ning Rongrong.
"What about condensing the Misfortune Poison Body? Is it feasible?"
Dugu Bo could remove the Poison Core, but doing so would affect Dugu Yan's cultivation speed and possibly leave other side effects.
Dugu Yan refused outright and even broke down crying.
She was practically threatening to hang herself if denied.
Her tears shattered the heart of this old man in his seventies.
As a Title Douluo and her grandfather, how could Dugu Bo not understand her thoughts? She had seen the cultivation talents of Ning Rongrong and Qian Renxue and was desperate to catch up.
No wonder she had spent every spare moment over the past year studying his notes on Poison Core condensation she wasn't just referencing them, but figuring out how to successfully form one.
He blamed himself too. Busy refining medicines based on the prescriptions Ning Rongrong provided, he hadn't noticed until now.
Only when Dugu Yan brought it up did he realize she had already been condensing a Poison Core for some time.
Dugu Bo stared at Ning Rongrong, waiting for her response.
"I don't recommend it." Seeing two pairs of eyes fixed on her, Ning Rongrong sighed helplessly.
"I don't have a cultivation method for the Misfortune Poison Body. Even if condensation succeeds, we'd still need to consider how to proceed afterward."
"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda will do everything possible to deduce a cultivation method, but..."
"Sis Yan'er, I hope you understand once you take this step, there's no turning back."
"If you successfully condense the Misfortune Poison Body but fail to control it, you will die within ten years at most."
"The reason I suggested Elder Dugu attempt it was because he's a Title Douluo. His body and toxins have reached a mutually beneficial state, and his martial soul is the supremely poisonous Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor."
"What are the chances of successfully condensing the Misfortune Poison Body?" Dugu Yan seemed to ignore Ning Rongrong's warnings and asked directly.
Ning Rongrong glanced at Dugu Bo, who remained silent clearly giving his consent.
Ning Rongrong sighed. "With all preparations made, the probability can reach ninety percent. The remaining ten percent depends entirely on you."
"That high?" Dugu Bo frowned. "Didn't you say seventy percent before?"
"Seventy percent was correct that was the probability Elder Dugu and I calculated initially. However..."
"Over a year ago, I discovered something called whale glue that can greatly enhance a soul master's physical attributes. It even has some effect when used in medicinal baths."
"The exact extent is still unclear, but if we can find ten-thousand-year or hundred-thousand-year whale glue, theoretical calculations suggest it could increase the success rate by another twenty percent."
"Whale glue... a substance from whale brains? It has effects on soul masters?" Dugu Bo looked surprised.
"It does. I've already had Father secretly collect some mixed in with other medicinal ingredients."
"There's quite a bit of hundred-year whale glue, very little thousand-year, and none of the ten-thousand-year variety..."
Ning Rongrong briefly explained whale glue's effects to Dugu Yan and Dugu Bo.
"Absorbing higher-ranked soul rings?" Dugu Bo exclaimed.
"It could allow the first two soul rings to be purple. But absorbing ten-thousand-year soul rings? Impossible!"
"Ten-thousand-year soul rings carry soul tremors it's not just about physical endurance but also mental resilience."
"Even so, that's already incredible." Dugu Bo looked astonished. "Why not publicize this?"
"Too dangerous." Ning Rongrong sighed. "Mass hunting whale-type spirit beasts for their glue might provoke the nine-hundred-ninety-thousand-year Deep Sea Demon Whale King."
"The number of spirit beasts in the ocean far surpasses those on land..."
"If it triggered a beast tide, and it became known the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda started the whale glue trend, we'd be in grave danger."
"Besides, widespread cases of soul masters absorbing higher-ranked rings couldn't be hidden forever. The sect would become a target." Ning Rongrong's eyelids lowered slightly.
Beyond these concerns, Ning Rongrong had another consideration.
The Deep Sea Demon Whale King held a grudge against the Sea God. If they ever opposed the Sea God in the future, they might be able to recruit it as an ally.
For now, it was best to leave room for flexibility.
That way, if they needed to switch sides later, they wouldn't be completely despised and would have more options.
For Title Douluos, having their first two hundred-year soul rings upgraded to thousand-year wouldn't make much difference anyway.
Aside from the Clear Sky Clan's Ring Explosion technique, Title Douluos rarely used their early soul rings.
"Rongrong, your goal is to obtain ten-thousand-year or hundred-thousand-year whale glue?" Dugu Yan asked uncertainly.
"Killing hundred-thousand-year spirit beasts is too difficult, especially in the ocean."
Ning Rongrong shook her head.
"Ten-thousand-year will do. We should gather as much ten-thousand-year whale glue as possible preferably from seventy or eighty-thousand-year whale-type spirit beasts. That would significantly improve Sis Yan'er's physique."
"Afterward, using the two immortal herbs from the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well to condense the Misfortune Poison Body would further increase the success rate." Ning Rongrong's gaze shifted from Dugu Yan to Dugu Bo. "Elder Dugu, what do you think?"
"We'll proceed as Rongrong suggests. Since Yan'er is determined... let's hope for smooth sailing." Dugu Bo knew convincing Dugu Yan to abandon the Misfortune Poison Body was nearly impossible.
"Then where should we go?" Dugu Bo asked.
"Vast Sea City. There are many sea soul masters there we might find ten-thousand-year whale glue."
"Even if not, sea soul masters would know more about the ocean than us land-dwellers. We can gather information first."
"I see..." Dugu Bo nodded thoughtfully. "Ten-thousand-year whale glue could also enhance the sect's soul masters. Will the sect master be joining us?"
"Unlikely." Ning Rongrong said. "Grandpa Sword's breakthrough to rank 97 is at a critical stage. Father will probably need to stay behind."
"True." While having the sect master or Sword Douluo/Bone Douluo along would be safer, they couldn't insist under these circumstances.
"I'll ask later just in case." Ning Rongrong added after some thought.
"Don't worry too much. We're not hunting hundred-thousand-year spirit beasts this old man can still move!"
Though he wished they could kill a hundred-thousand-year whale for its glue before condensing the Misfortune Poison Body, that was unrealistic.
"Ocean spirit beasts in their habitat are harder to kill than land-based hundred-thousand-year spirit beasts. The chaotic marine environment adds another layer of unpredictability."
After concluding their discussion, Ning Rongrong, Dugu Yan, and Dugu Bo went together to find Ning Fengzhi and the Bone Douluo.