Chapter 11: Treating Others with Sincerity

“Pfft…”

As soon as the soul bone finished forming, Jiang Jie coughed up a mist of blood and collapsed to one knee, weakly supporting his upper body with one hand while cradling the eight slender spider legs in the other.

Dugu Bo snapped out of his daze and quickly moved to Jiang Jie’s side, helping him up.

However, his eyes remained fixed on the eight slender spider legs in Jiang Jie’s hand. The legs displayed a gradient from pale purple at the base to deep purple at the tips, with the deepest purple almost turning black at the sharp ends.

Just looking at them, one could feel the terrifying toxicity emanating from the spider legs.

“Disciple… what is this?” Dugu Bo asked, his voice strained.

“Teacher, as you can see, this is a soul bone,” Jiang Jie said, leaning against Dugu Bo. His face was pale, but he managed a weak smile. “An external soul bone that can absorb toxins and grow with the soul master. It can serve as a reservoir for Yan’s toxins, solving her problem.”

“With this, Yan can channel all her toxins into it, and they won’t affect her anymore.”

“This… is too precious…” Dugu Bo’s eyes reddened with emotion.

To be honest, when he first saw Jiang Jie forcibly condensing a soul bone, a fleeting thought of killing him crossed his mind. With Jiang Jie’s ability, he could produce an endless supply of soul bones, a temptation nearly overwhelming.

After all, soul bones are incredibly rare!

Even a thousand-year soul bone could turn brothers into enemies, fighting to the death for it.

This soul bone, though only a hundred-year bone, was an external soul bone that could grow with the soul master. It didn’t occupy any of the six regular soul bone slots and had the potential to reach the ten-thousand-year level, making it one of the most coveted treasures on the Douluo Continent, even more precious than a ten-thousand-year soul bone.

Moreover, as Jiang Jie claimed, this soul bone could help Dugu Yan by absorbing her toxins, allowing them to serve as nourishment for the soul bone and freeing her from the venom’s harm.

If Dugu Yan could use it, then Dugu Bo could too.

How could he not be tempted, having been tormented by toxins for most of his life, enduring excruciating pain every time the venom flared up?

But when he touched Jiang Jie’s body, that thought vanished entirely. Hearing Jiang Jie’s explanation, he was ashamed and furious with himself for ever entertaining such a thought.

Why?

Because Jiang Jie’s body was in a terrible state!

His once smooth and spacious meridians, due to his innate full soul power, were now clogged and ruptured, with some meridians even completely severed. His internal organs had also suffered various degrees of damage.

And why had he done this?

For the sake of his granddaughter!

And yet, Dugu Bo had harbored thoughts of killing Jiang Jie, who had risked his life to create a soul bone for her. He felt utterly despicable.

Dugu Bo almost slapped himself, and the way he looked at Jiang Jie changed completely, now seeing him as a grandson rather than just a disciple or a guardian for Dugu Yan.

“If that’s the case, quickly give it to Yan. She’s still absorbing the soul ring; she can absorb these eight spider legs at the same time…”

After saying this, Jiang Jie fainted.

Before losing consciousness, he bitterly smiled to himself. His actions were driven by subconscious instinct; he had no idea that the Flame Wave Blood Blade combined with the Devouring Demons’ Hearts Domain could transform a soul beast’s corpse into a soul bone.

He also hadn’t realized that doing this would nearly destroy his body.

In truth, as soon as he started, Jiang Jie had regretted it. Filled with an overwhelming amount of soul power and vital essence, he felt like a water balloon ready to burst at any moment.

Adding to that, the remnant soul of the Man-Faced Demon Spider kept interfering.

This ability seemed to have a long cooldown time!

Had he not already begun and been unable to stop, Jiang Jie would have expelled the soul power and vital essence immediately, then calmly watched Dugu Bo handle things.

Instead, he ended up in the spotlight again!

Jiang Jie fainted with a sense of grievance.

Still, it wasn’t entirely clear if this was a good or bad outcome. Though he was severely injured and would be bedridden for a long time, he had earned Dugu Bo’s complete trust.

In the future, he could claim the support of a powerful backer.

I, Jiang Jie, my master is a Titled Douluo!

Dugu Bo, without hesitation, took out a healing pill he had painstakingly refined using many precious herbs from his soul guide container. He fed it to Jiang Jie and used his soul power to help dissolve the medicine before heading over to Dugu Yan.

The pill, though rudimentary compared to those from other worlds, was almost a holy medicine on the Douluo Continent. It was capable of reviving someone on the brink of death.

Dugu Bo had long studied the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, discovering many uses for its precious herbs. The pill contained a healing immortal herb, supplemented by other valuable herbs.

He had kept this pill hidden for his own life-saving use but didn’t hesitate to give it to Jiang Jie now.

Treat others with sincerity, and they will respond in kind.

This was Dugu Bo’s current philosophy.

Jiang Jie’s actions also prompted Dugu Bo to decide to take him to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well later, to fully heal his body, no matter how many herbs it took.

Jiang Jie had saved his granddaughter Dugu Yan’s life with the soul bone he had created at the risk of his own life!

Unaware of his impending reward, Jiang Jie had fainted with a heavy heart, still longing for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, which would soon be within his reach.

“Yan, come, absorb this soul bone and channel all the toxins from your body into it!” Dugu Bo instructed, placing the Eight Spider Lances against Dugu Yan’s back.

“Absorb it without worry; Grandpa will help you!”

Dugu Yan, dazed from the venom’s effects, instinctively nodded and, following her instincts, began absorbing the soul bone that held a powerful attraction for her.

Once the soul bone fused into Dugu Yan’s body, Dugu Bo sighed in relief.

He then focused entirely on helping Dugu Yan digest both the soul ring and the soul bone.

(End of Chapter)