98: Chapter 98 Crazy Breakthrough! Enhanced Version of the Azure Serpent Three-Flower Pupil?

[Located a hundred zhang beneath Jia Ma Holy City is a special stalactite cave containing a thousand-year geocentric cold spring (a Rank 4 heavenly treasure used for refining certain pills or practicing specific secret arts; water, ice, and yin attribute cultivators above the Dou Master realm can consume it directly to increase their cultivation).]

[Your Ice Soul Profound Canon has already reached the mastery level. Taking a Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pill and a Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill with the thousand-year geocentric cold spring can ensure your technique's proficiency reaches perfection and the medicinal effects are utilized 100%.]

These two pieces of opportunity intelligence were discovered by Gu Han through the Xuanwu Shell over the past three months, and they were among the most valuable pieces of information.

If he only wanted to break through, Gu Han could have reached the limit of the Dou Master realm and attempted to break through two months ago, but he did not do so.

Every day, he focused purely on practicing the Ice Soul Profound Canon, using hundred-year cold jade to assist his cultivation and bathing in the thousand-year geocentric cold spring.

His physical body and the liquefied Dou Qi within his vortex were both tempered to an extremely high degree.

From a seven-star to a nine-star Dou Master, every breakthrough happened naturally after his realm could no longer be suppressed.

He spent an entire month polishing his breakthrough to Great Dou Master, finally achieving it now in an absolutely stable state.

But for Gu Han, this was only the beginning of tonight's cultivation breakthrough.

"Boom!"

Although he lacked a Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pill, combining a two-pattern green spirit pill with a one-pattern green spirit pill could barely produce the same effect.

The power of the geocentric cold spring flooded Gu Han's limbs and bones. The Dou Qi in his body surged out through the dou crystal at his dantian, circulating via the Ice Soul Profound Canon under the guidance of two ice souls, carrying the power of the geocentric cold spring with it.

The energy contained within the three pills erupted at this moment, combining into a torrent of energy that surged through the rivers of Gu Han's meridians.

Under normal circumstances, this surge of energy would cause Gu Han agonizing pain and might even damage his meridians and dantian, affecting his foundation.

But now, with the geocentric cold spring filling Gu Han's meridians, the energy from the pills did not impact the meridians directly; instead, it wore down against the power of the cold spring.

It transformed into a more massive, dense, and refined energy that did not harm the meridians, flowing into the dou crystal within his dantian under the guidance of the two ice souls.

The irregular, rhombus-shaped dou crystal began to approach perfection, its surface luster and shape increasingly resembling a sea urchin.

One-star Great Dou Master, two-star... five-star!

The aura emanating from Gu Han's body didn't stop until he reached the five-star Great Dou Master level, gradually stabilizing.

"Boom."

In the next moment, a blue-white aura erupted from his body, forming a thick layer of armor on Gu Han's surface.

Only at this stage can Dou Qi truly leave a cultivator's body freely, a phenomenon known as Dou Qi externalization.

The boost to defense, speed, and strength provided by Dou Qi Armor far exceeds that of Dou Qi Gauze, and the power of Dou Techniques performed through externalized Dou Qi also increases.

"Reaching this level, my cultivation progress is decent."

"I will definitely enter a bottleneck period next. To maintain this speed, I'll need to use some unconventional resources and methods."

Gu Han dispelled the Dou Qi Armor on his body, stood up to stretch, and then focused his attention on the Xuanwu Shell.

Now that he had broken through to Great Dou Master, the Xuanwu Shell should have restored a new ability.

"Hmm?"

He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but Gu Han felt the Xuanwu Shell seemed slightly larger than before.

Before he could investigate further, a surge of energy emerged from the Xuanwu Shell, transforming into a phantom of a dragon and snake.

"The Turtle-Snake Seal can contract the souls of all magical beasts in the world, provided your own soul realm is stronger than the target's, or the target is in a weakened or negative state. If the target is disobedient, the Dragon-Snake Seal can be detonated to destroy their soul."

"Every time a certain realm is broken through, the Turtle Seal and Snake Seal can each be used once to contract turtle-type and snake-type magical beasts with strength not much higher than your own. By directly touching the contracted beast or placing it into the Black Tortoise Mystic Realm, you can strip the other party's cultivation realm and convert it into your own."

"If a contracted beast harbors ill intentions, they will suffer a bloodline curse, causing agonizing pain."

Receiving this feedback, Gu Han's habitually cold face showed a look of shock.

In short, this restored ability of the Xuanwu Shell was an enhanced and expanded version of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils.

The Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils can easily control most snake-type magical beasts, but those with ancient bloodlines like the Heaven-Swallowing Python and the Ancient Heavenly Serpent are difficult to control unless the user's cultivation exceeds theirs or only their soul remains.

The Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils can open a space within the eyes to store controlled snake-type magical beasts. The control strength increases with the user's cultivation, and the user can continuously absorb the cultivation of the controlled beasts through that space.

Now, the Turtle-Snake Seal provided by the Xuanwu Shell added turtle-type magical beasts to the snake-type base. Furthermore, the control was not restricted by ancient bloodlines, and it also allowed him to devour the strength of these magical beasts to improve himself.

The range of harvestable groups had widened, the control over targets had become more stable, and he could similarly absorb cultivation to improve himself, primarily depending on his own soul strength.

"With my current strength as a Great Dou Master, I can use both the Turtle Seal and the Snake Seal twice. Very good."

Recently, Gu Han had practiced the Stacking Waves Palm to the fourth layer and was preparing to find a place near the ocean to continue his training.

He would surely encounter turtle-type magical beasts then, and it would be perfect to subdue one or two to serve as cultivation aids and enforcers.

"Wait."

Gu Han thought of something. With a thought, he moved to the Purple Nether Flame Snake encased in crystal nearby and placed his hand on it.

"This old friend won't do; I killed it too early." Gu Han's lips curled into a wry smile.

He had already destroyed the soul of the Purple Nether Flame Snake, leaving only a body that continued to evolve under the accumulation of energy.

This body had not decayed or failed its evolution as he had feared; instead, it seemed to have entered a state of hibernation, constantly accumulating energy and nurturing some kind of change.

"I need to find a way to get a soul for this Purple Nether Flame Snake so I can contract it to assist me."

Gu Han withdrew his hand and realized that the number of opportunities he could use had increased to four per day.

"Targeted Deduction: In the desert region of the Mu Lan Empire on the Northwest Continent of the Fighting Qi Continent, there is an oasis called Shuangyu Continent where the Yin Yang Twin Flames are suspected to exist. When was the most recent time they appeared?"

"One random opportunity obtained."

Gu Han visualized the Xuanwu Shell and received guidance on the opportunities.

Targeted Deduction: [The Yin Yang Twin Flames do indeed exist in Shuangyu Continent within the desert region of the Mu Lan Empire. They appear every year at the Time of the Yin-Yang Convergence on the Day of the Yin-Yang Convergence, remaining in the outside world for at most one hour.]

[In the Tai Hexagram, Qian is Heaven and Kun is Earth. The rising of Yang energy and the sinking of Yin energy converge to form a harmonious state where 'Heaven and Earth interact, and all things are interconnected.' The Day of the Yin-Yang Convergence is the 15th day of the seventh month every year, which corresponds to the 1st day of the seventh month in the world of the Fighting Qi Continent.]

[The Time of the Yin-Yang Convergence is the intersection of the Zi Hour (23:00-1:00) and the Wu Hour (11:00-13:00). That is, they appear for half an hour during both the Zi and Wu Hours. The Zi Hour is when Yang energy is first born and Yin energy is at its densest; the Wu Hour is when Yang energy is at its densest and Yin energy is at its weakest.]

Random Opportunity Intelligence: [Three days from now, Queen Medusa of the Snake-People Clan will fall unconscious after forcibly seizing the Green Lotus Core Flame. You can go there and use the Snake Seal to contract her.]

Gu Han: !!!