Putting these thoughts aside, Salas quickly identified the Snow Swan Kiss immortal grass using his smarts.
The process wasn't that troublesome. Salas just captured two soul beasts and poisoned them with his Eight Spider Lances. He controlled the poison to the bare minimum so the soul beasts could live for at least five hours before dying.
After doing this, he let them come into contact with the remaining immortal herbs he didn't recognize.
The first herb Salas tested was what he mostly believed to be the Snow Swan Kiss immortal herb.
From its name, he had some idea of which one it could be.
As expected, the results confirmed that Salas's guess was correct.
The snow-white immortal herb, sparkling and translucent, resembling the slender, curved neck of a swan, was indeed the Snow Swan Kiss.
The main characteristic of this immortal herb was stimulation. Let alone eating it—just touching it would cause any virus at the point of contact to multiply a hundred thousandfold. That's why, even though this plant wasn't poisonous by itself, it was more dreadful than any poison.
The moment the first beast came into contact with its aura, the poison inside its body was activated. Within a few breaths, it turned into pus and melted completely.
To make sure there was no misjudgment, Salas used the second beast to cross-check.
After fully confirming it was the Snow Swan Kiss, he carefully uprooted it without leaving any roots behind and stored it in his Wishful Hundred Treasure Pouch.
"I wonder if there are any harmful viruses on my body surface… If there are, will I get infected too? Hmm, I don't know. But I'm sure it won't kill me…" Salas mused.
Though the description of this immortal herb was scary, even for strong people… it wasn't that scary for healthy individuals—much less for Salas, who was not only super strong but also healthy, with a body invulnerable to poison.
Only people with wounds or existing poison in their bodies had to worry. For them, this herb would spell certain death over time.
If it was dangerous for everyone, Salas could just walk around the world with the plant in his hand, and the global population would vanish the next day. Wouldn't it?
"There's still at least six years before I can use this herb to destroy Slaughter City… Should I let Tang Hao get a whiff of it before that? Hehe." Salas thought cooly
"Tang Hao can't die just yet… He's the only one who knows the Great Samurai Hammer skill besides Tang Chen."
"And even then, the killing has to be done in secret. Tang San can't find out…"
"Haa… So many things to consider… It's really troublesome," Salas thought and let out a deep sigh.
But thinking about why he was doing all this, Salas calmed his emotions. He was only doing this to get his hands on the Asura Sword. Once he succeeded, he wouldn't mind letting his emotions run wild.
All his plans to make the Seven Shrek Devils his subordinates were only under the condition that they completely obeyed him. If they didn't, then Salas wouldn't mind getting his investment back using their lives.
Although those immortal herbs would go to waste if they died, it was inevitable.
"I hope, Tang San, you won't find out that I'll be the one to take your mother's bone in the future…"
"Although I can control myself enough not to make your Xiao Wu sister my soul ring for your sake… your mother's soul bone is something I'm greedy for and can't let go of… Hehe," Salas laughed wickedly.
Salas had been waiting for a good opportunity to take that soul bone for a long time. It's just that the situation hadn't lined up yet.
"It's not that troublesome anyway… I'll just have to wait one or two years. Once the Seven Devils arrive in Heaven Dou City, Tang Hao will follow them secretly," Salas thought.
---
Next morning.
Dugu Bo came to greet Salas with a smile.
Salas could clearly see what Dugu Bo was thinking. Without saying anything, he casually tossed over a round-shaped pill.
The pill's main ingredient was, of course, Salas's blood. Not his current blood, but blood he had extracted from himself before fully absorbing the Ice and Fire Immortal Grasses.
Although he hadn't stored that blood solely for helping Dugu Bo, it was one of the reasons.
Salas had planned to test Dugu Bo earlier. If Dugu Bo had been difficult to subdue, he would have considered killing him instead. Anyway, killing Dugu Bo would yield a head soul bone—it wouldn't be a loss.
---
Dugu Bo, sitting cross-legged, swallowed the pill made from Salas's blood and some unknown tree leaves without hesitation.
Under Salas's instruction, he began slowly removing the poison from his body and started storing it in his head soul bone.
Watching Dugu Bo cultivate, Salas looked a little disappointed. Now, even if he killed Dugu Bo in the future, this soul bone couldn't be absorbed by just anyone. After all, from now on it would contain Dugu Bo's poison.
"Sigh… The only remaining usefulness in Dugu Bo's death might be his prototype of a soul core…"
"But for me, learning the method of making a soul core from Dugu Bo or taking his prototype isn't necessary…" Salas mused.
Isn't the Dark Gold Devil Tiger's soul core still out there? He could try refining it if he wanted. It's a thousand times better than Dugu Bo's stinky bead. And besides, Dugu Bo might not even know the full process of soul core condensation—it was said in the novel that his soul core formed automatically when his Martial Soul evolved.
Although it's uncertain whether one can refine someone else's soul core as their own, there's still a high probability Salas could refine the Dark Devilgod Tiger's core into something similar to a soul core.
After all, someone named Zhou Weiqing did refine it into something similar. Though the cultivation systems of their worlds differ, Salas could experiment and find out what refining the Dark Devilgod Tiger's soul core would result in. Whether it turns into his own soul core or something else—he'd only know by trying.
And who said soul cores couldn't be condensed in this era?
In the Douluo Dalu 2 era, it was standard for Titled Douluo to condense their first soul core. By Douluo Dalu 3 and 4, the standard dropped to Soul Saints. Going by that progression, in this era, it should at least be possible for Super Douluo or Level 99 Limit Douluo to achieve it. The only reason it wasn't commonly known might be that very few ever reached the Limit Douluo level.
When the time comes, Salas will eventually find that out anyway.
"If it's true that only a Limit Douluo can condense a soul core in this era, then I'll surely and automatically condense my soul core at that time... Even if I don't, it won't be a loss for me. After all, I'll condense divine cores once I become a god anyway."
"All in all… there's no harm in asking Dugu Bo about his experience. He must at least know what it felt like when the soul core condensed in his body. I can ask him in the future. Anyway, I'm mostly free now. Having something to ponder is always good," Salas thought silently.
Nearly an hour later, Dugu Bo opened his eyes, his gaze gleaming. The method was effective, and his excitement knew no bounds.
He repeatedly thanked Salas, calling him "Lord" again and again with unusual ease.
Salas could only wave his hand, dismissing him and telling him to come next month for the next pill.
Salas had no intention of giving all the pills at once. Letting Dugu Bo wait was also a good way to train his mindset. It would also help Dugu Bo get used to the feeling of being subordinate to another person.
"Next, I'll go visit Yang Wudi. I can also give Spirit Hall a visit… With my current peak Spiritual Abyss realm power, if I activate my first soul skill, possibly only Golden Crocodile Douluo, Qian Daoliu, and Bibi Dong could sense me. If I don't make any stupid move and act carefully, I'm free to roam this world."