The Shatter-Stone Fortress was not merely a single, isolated structure; it was an expansive, monolithic architectural marvel carved directly into the unforgiving, jagged peaks of the western mountain ranges. The border separating the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire in this region stretched for hundreds of miles, encompassing a treacherous, highly uneven terrain known as the Crimson Basalt Ranges. Here, winding, narrow valleys created natural choke points, while sheer, towering cliffs provided absolute high-ground advantages for whoever held them.
The Heaven Dou Empire had spent centuries fortifying this exact geographical nightmare. The outer walls of the Shatter-Stone Fortress were forged from dark, impenetrable obsidian and reinforced with deeply ingrained defensive spiritual arrays that glowed with a faint, pulsing azure light. Massive, heavy ballistae lined the battlements, loaded with spear-sized bolts designed to pierce through the thickest hides of any Spirit Beasts or heavily armored Spirit Masters.
For the past few weeks, the tension along the Crimson Basalt Ranges had been building to a suffocating, almost tangible density.
Deep within the sprawling, rocky plains located several miles south of the fortress, the massive vanguard army of the Star Luo Empire had finally finished establishing their sprawling siege camps. The sheer scale of their martial presence was awe-inspiring. Millions of heavily armored, mortal foot soldiers formed a sea of steel and dark fabric, while tens of thousands of elite Spirit Masters organized themselves into highly specialized, sectarian battalions.
However, the normally flawless, highly synchronized military machine of the Star Luo Empire had suffered a catastrophic, silent blow.
Inside the central command pavilion of the western vanguard, the atmosphere was incredibly tense, strained by a profound, agonizing effort.
In the center of the heavy, fur-lined tent, thirty Spirit Masters sat perfectly cross-legged upon woven mats, forming a tight, concentric circle. These were the rarest, most highly valued tactical assets the Star Luo Empire currently possessed: Mental Attribute Spirit Masters. Sweat poured down their pale faces in thick rivers, their bodies trembling violently under immense, crushing spiritual strain.
Directly behind each Mental Attribute Spirit Master stood two Support Type Spirit Masters. These support personnel held their palms firmly against the backs of the mental specialists, their bodies glowing brilliantly with vibrant yellow and purple spirit rings.
"Third Spirit Ring Ability - Spiritual Fortification Array!"
"Fourth Spirit Ring Ability - Mind Clarity Amplification!"
"Fifth Spirit Ring Ability - Vital Essence Restoration!"
The Support Type Spirit Masters continuously, relentlessly funneled their own spirit power and vital essence into the sitting specialists. They were forcefully enhancing the mental capacity and the overarching spiritual range of the mental network.
This crude, heavily taxing method was the only solution the Star Luo Empire had managed to implement. Following the devastating realization that their entire network of Communication Spirit Tools had been rendered completely useless by their enemy, Senior Tang Chen had personally instructed their tacticians on this profound, ancient method of utilizing raw Mental Force for long-distance communication.
It was incredibly inefficient compared to the flawless jade artifacts. It caused severe migraines, ruptured blood vessels in the noses of the practitioners, and could only transmit short, highly condensed emotional intents or brief tactical images rather than clear, auditory conversations. But for the Star Luo Empire, this agonizing mental chain was vastly superior to remaining entirely blind and deaf across a front that spanned hundreds of miles.
Standing near the edge of the straining circle, observing the agonizing process with open, unabashed disdain, was Yu Yuanzhen.
The Clan Head of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was a towering, heavily muscled man possessing a fierce, uncompromising presence. He wore deep blue, scale-patterned armor that crackled faintly with residual, untamed arcs of blue lightning. He was a terrifying Level 96 Super Douluo, and his arrogance was as legendary as his destructive power.
Beside him stood his younger brother, Yu Liaoman, a formidable Level 92 Titled Douluo, along with three other high-ranking elders of the main branch: Elder Yu Feng, a Level 91 Titled Douluo; Elder Yu Lei, a Level 93 Titled Douluo; and Elder Yu Dian, a Level 91 Titled Douluo.
"This is completely pathetic," Yu Yuanzhen scoffed, his deep, booming voice echoing within the tent, entirely uncaring of the straining soldiers around him. "Look at them bleeding from their noses just to tell the eastern flank to march forward. Dai Tianxiong's utter lack of foresight has crippled the mobility of our entire grand army."
"The Emperor placed too much faith in stolen artifacts, Clan Head," Yu Liaoman agreed, crossing his arms over his chest, his eyes flashing with a dangerous, electric light. "Dai Tianxiong believes himself to be a brilliant, infallible strategist, but he failed to secure his own supply lines. He treats the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan as if we are merely his hunting hounds, expecting us to wait patiently while these weaklings play with their minds."
"Dai Tianxiong is a fool," Yu Yuanzhen stated bluntly, completely omitting the Emperor's royal title, a clear display of his supreme arrogance. "He sits safely in his subterranean war room in the capital while we freeze in these miserable mountains. I am growing incredibly tired of waiting for these mental couriers to organize a proper vanguard charge."
"Should we simply take the fortress ourselves, Clan Head?" Elder Yu Lei asked, his hands clenching into tight, crackling fists. "The five of us could shatter those obsidian walls by nightfall."
"No," Yu Yuanzhen commanded, raising a heavily calloused hand. "Let the lesser sects bleed first. Let the Heaven Dou Empire expend their spirit power and reveal their hidden traps on the expendable infantry. We will strike when the defenses are fractured. Give the order to the Black Tiger Sect and the Steenbok Sect. Tell them to initiate the probing strike."
Yu Liaoman nodded, walking over to the commanding officer of the mental network and relaying the blunt, merciless instructions.
The first day of the battle at the Crimson Basalt Ranges commenced as the morning sun crested the jagged peaks, casting long, dark shadows across the winding valleys.
The heavy, rhythmic sounding of the Star Luo Empire's war horns shattered the tense silence.
From the southern ridges, a massive, roaring tide of thousands of Spirit Masters surged forward. The Black Tiger Sect, renowned for their ferocious, close-quarters combat capabilities, led the frontal charge. Their bodies were covered in dark, striped fur, their hands ending in razor-sharp, spiritual claws. Flanking them were the sturdy, heavily armored combatants of the Steenbok Sect, possessing immense physical resilience and powerful, ram-like martial spirits.
"Crush their gates! Leave no survivors!" the Sect Leader of the Black Tiger Sect roared, his black fifth spirit ring flaring. "Fifth Spirit Ring Ability - Abyssal Tiger Roar!"
A massive, visible shockwave of dark sound erupted from his jaws, tearing through the narrow valley and colliding violently against the shimmering, azure spiritual arrays protecting the outer walls of the Shatter-Stone Fortress. The protective barriers rippled and groaned under the heavy acoustic pressure.
High upon the battlements, the defenders of the Heaven Dou Empire remained perfectly disciplined.
Grand Marshal Ge Long stood at the central observation deck, his formidable, Titled Douluo aura steady and unyielding. He held his Communication Spirit Tool, seamlessly coordinating the massive defense network.
"Hold the line," Ge Long commanded calmly into the jade slab. "Archers and heavy ballistae, wait until they enter the designated kill zone. Shield-bearers, lock your formations."
As the Black Tiger Sect and the Steenbok Sect funneled into the narrow, rocky corridors leading up to the main gates, Ge Long gave the signal.
"Fire!"
Thousands of heavy, steel-tipped bolts rained down from the high walls, accompanied by a devastating barrage of massive, spear-sized projectiles launched from the heavy ballistae. The sheer kinetic force of the ballista bolts shattered the defensive spiritual barriers of the advancing Steenbok Spirit Masters, pinning their heavy bodies directly to the rocky earth.
"Shield wall!" a commander from the Steenbok Sect bellowed desperately.
"Fourth Spirit Ring Ability - Granite Horn Bulwark!"
"Third Spirit Ring Ability - Iron Mountain Stance!"
Hundreds of purple spirit rings illuminated the valley floor as the Steenbok Spirit Masters linked their arms, projecting massive, overlapping shields of condensed, hardened earth and spiritual energy. The arrows rained down harmlessly against the thick barriers, allowing the agile, ferocious members of the Black Tiger Sect to scale the rocky inclines toward the lower walls.
"They are attempting to breach the lower posterns," Ge Long noted, his eyes tracking the dark, blurring figures of the tiger combatants. "Deploy the Imperial Heavy Infantry. Let the low-level Spirit Masters support them."
The massive, iron-reinforced gates of the lower courtyards ground open. Thousands of heavily armored Heaven Dou foot soldiers, armed with long spears and tower shields, marched out in perfect, unbreakable phalanxes. Behind them stood ranks of low-level Spirit Masters, primarily Spirit Grandmasters and Spirit Elders.
"Second Spirit Ring Ability - Piercing Light Ray!"
"Third Spirit Ring Ability - Concussive Earth Tremor!"
"Second Spirit Ring Ability - Blazing Fireball!"
A chaotic, localized storm of lower-tier spirit ring abilities erupted across the front lines. The Heaven Dou Spirit Masters targeted the agile Black Tiger combatants, disrupting their footing with earth tremors and blasting them with concentrated fire and light.
The first day was a grueling, bloody meat grinder of basic infantry tactics and mid-level spiritual clashes. The sheer, overwhelming numbers of the Star Luo Empire crashed continuously against the unyielding, highly fortified walls of the Shatter-Stone Fortress. Blood soaked the rocky soil, turning the narrow valleys into a slippery, treacherous nightmare.
The high-ranking experts on both sides did not intervene. They watched from their respective vantage points, analyzing the ebb and flow of the slaughter.
As the sun finally began to dip below the western horizon, painting the sky in deep, bruised hues of purple and red, the heavy, mournful horns of the Star Luo Empire sounded the retreat.
The surviving members of the Black Tiger Sect and the Steenbok Sect pulled back, dragging their wounded comrades away from the killing fields, leaving thousands of broken bodies scattered across the rocky terrain.
Night fell over the Crimson Basalt Ranges, bringing a brief, tense period of rest to the exhausted combatants.
Inside the central command fortress of the Heaven Dou Empire, situated deep within the safest, innermost rings of the Shatter-Stone stronghold, the atmosphere was serious but confident.
Grand Marshal Ge Long sat at a large, circular stone table, reviewing the casualty reports with the three esteemed members of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's board of education. Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin had all successfully ascended to the Titled Douluo realm, their cultivation heavily subsidized by the generous, high-tier resources and Spirit Bones provided by Emperor Xue Qinghe.
Sitting slightly apart from the group, lounging in a high-backed leather chair with his long, incredibly lean legs crossed casually, was Dugu Bo.
The Poison Douluo looked significantly younger and far more vibrant than he had in previous decades. His hair was a deep, mesmerizing shade of emerald green, and his eyes glowed with a toxic, highly dangerous inner light. His martial spirit, the Jade Phosphorus Serpent Emperor, had successfully evolved into the terrifying Jade Phosphorus Dragon Emperor nearly a decade ago, elevating his cultivation to a formidable Level 95 Super Douluo. Combined with the incredibly powerful, highly compatible Spirit Bones he had recently assimilated, his lethality was virtually unmatched in large-scale warfare.
"The initial probing strike was successfully repelled, Grand Marshal," Meng Shenji reported, his voice smooth and cultured. "The outer walls sustained minimal structural damage. The enemy suffered significant losses in their vanguard sects."
"It was merely a test of our resolve," Ge Long replied, setting the parchment down. "Yu Yuanzhen is leading the western flank. I know that arrogant dragon's tactics. He is sacrificing the lesser sects to tire out our infantry and drain the spirit power of our lower-level defenders. Tomorrow, they will escalate."
"Let them escalate," Dugu Bo spoke up, his voice a dry, rasping hiss that sent a chill through the room. He examined his long, impeccably manicured fingernails, which held a faint, greenish tint. "I have been sitting in this freezing stone fortress for weeks. I am growing incredibly bored. Let me step out onto the battlements tomorrow. I will melt their entire vanguard into a puddle of green sludge within ten minutes. We can all go home early."
"Your destructive capabilities are undisputed, Dugu Bo," Bai Baoshan, the famously jovial, heavy-set Titled Douluo, intervened with a warm, placating smile. "However, unleashing your Jade Phosphorus Dragon Emperor's domain too early would permanently taint the very soil and water sources of this entire mountain range. We must preserve the structural integrity of our own borders. Save your absolute lethality for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
"Bai Baoshan is correct," Ge Long agreed firmly. "We hold the defensive advantage. We will let the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy board handle tomorrow's escalation. Dugu Bo, you remain in reserve. I will personally face Yu Liaoman if he takes the field. We must conserve our ultimate weapons."
Dugu Bo sighed dramatically, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Fine, fine. Let the scholars play with their toys tomorrow. But if those overgrown lizards show their faces, I claim the right to poison them."
The dawn of the second day broke with a heavy, oppressive overcast sky, completely blocking out the sun.
The Star Luo Empire's war horns sounded once more, but the tactical approach had drastically shifted.
Instead of a grounded, heavy infantry charge, the sky above the southern ridges darkened ominously. A massive, deafening buzzing sound echoed through the valleys, vibrating the very air.
Thousands of Spirit Masters from the Hornet Sect took to the sky. Their martial spirits granted them large, translucent, highly agile wings and lethal, venomous stingers. They flew in tight, highly coordinated swarms, completely bypassing the treacherous, rocky terrain and the heavy ground defenses.
"Aerial assault incoming!" the Heaven Dou spotters screamed from the highest watchtowers. "They are attempting to fly over the outer battlements!"
"Archers! Target the sky!"
Thousands of arrows were loosed into the air, but the Hornet Sect Spirit Masters were incredibly agile. They wove through the projectile volleys with dizzying speed.
"Fourth Spirit Ring Ability - Venomous Rain Volley!"
"Fifth Spirit Ring Ability - Armor Piercing Stinger!"
The sky rained lethal, highly toxic spiritual stingers. The projectiles effortlessly pierced the heavy iron shields of the Heaven Dou infantry stationed on the walls. The venom was fast-acting, causing the soldiers to collapse in agonizing, twitching spasms, their skin turning a sickly shade of purple.
The outer walls were rapidly falling into chaotic disarray.
"They are clearing the battlements!" Commander Lin Feng yelled into his Communication Spirit Tool, seeking cover behind a heavy stone pillar as a barrage of stingers shattered the rock nearby. "Grand Marshal, the aerial bombardment is too heavy! Our ground-based Spirit Masters cannot reach them at this altitude!"
Inside the central keep, Grand Marshal Ge Long turned to the three Titled Douluos of the Imperial Academy.
"It is your turn, gentlemen," Ge Long stated. "Clear the skies."
Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin nodded respectfully. They did not rush. They walked calmly out onto the highest, open-air observation balcony of the central keep, stepping directly into the path of the howling winds and the raining stingers.
The sheer, overwhelming spiritual pressure of three Titled Douluos erupting simultaneously caused the very air to warp and distort heavily around the balcony.
Meng Shenji, a slender, elderly man with a piercing gaze, stepped to the absolute forefront.
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Black Demon Avatar!" Meng Shenji commanded, his voice carrying across the entire fortress.
His deep, pitch-black seventh spirit ring expanded outward. He did not transform into a beast. Instead, his physical body merged with a colossal, terrifying phantom of a multi-armed, dark demonic entity that towered over the keep, radiating a suffocating, crushing mental and physical gravity.
"Eighth Spirit Ring Ability - Black Demon Annihilation Void!"
Meng Shenji unleashed a highly advanced, devastating attack. His eighth spirit ring blazed with power. The colossal Black Demon Avatar raised its many arms toward the sky, generating a massive, localized singularity of pure, crushing dark energy directly in the center of the Hornet Sect's flight path.
The gravitational pull was absolute and inescapable. Hundreds of the highly agile Hornet Spirit Masters were violently dragged from the sky, their wings snapping under the immense, crushing pressure. They were pulled into the dark void and instantly crushed into bloody, unrecognizable pulps.
"Do not let them scatter!" Bai Baoshan roared, his usually jovial face set in lines of grim, martial determination.
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Heavenly Star Furnace Avatar!" Bai Baoshan bellowed.
He merged with his unique Tool Spirit. A colossal, incredibly dense, glowing bronze furnace materialized in the sky, radiating an intense, suffocating heat that instantly evaporated the moisture in the air.
"Eighth Spirit Ring Ability - Heavenly Star Meteor Shower!"
The lid of the colossal furnace blew open. Thousands of massive, super-heated, flaming meteors erupted from the spiritual construct, raining upward into the remaining swarms of the Hornet Sect. The meteors tracked the spiritual signatures of the enemies, smashing into their fragile, aerial forms and incinerating them mid-flight.
The sky rained burning, screaming bodies.
Those who managed to survive the crushing void and the flaming meteors desperately attempted to flee back toward the Star Luo lines.
"You shall not escape our domain," Zhi Lin, the third Titled Douluo, spoke coldly.
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Heavenly Violet Vine Avatar!"
Zhi Lin transformed into a massive, sprawling network of incredibly thick, highly resilient violet vines that rapidly scaled the high walls and shot directly into the sky.
"Eighth Spirit Ring Ability - Violet Vine Heavenly Bind!"
Thousands of thick, glowing violet vines lashed out like lightning across the sky, possessing incredible, supernatural elasticity and homing capabilities. They snatched the fleeing Hornet Spirit Masters out of the air, wrapping around their torsos and wings.
"Constrict," Zhi Lin commanded softly.
The massive vines tightened simultaneously with terrifying, bone-crushing force. The sickening sound of thousands of bones snapping echoed across the valley. The lifeless, crushed bodies of the Hornet Sect vanguard were unceremoniously dropped from the sky, crashing heavily onto the rocky earth below.
Within a span of ten minutes, the entire aerial assault had been completely, utterly annihilated by the coordinated, devastating power of the three Heaven Dou Titled Douluos.
Back in the Star Luo Empire's command tent, the mental couriers were screaming in agony, their noses bleeding profusely as the sheer terror and death of the Hornet Sect overloaded their fragile, enhanced mental network.
Yu Yuanzhen watched the display from the southern ridges, his hands clenched into fists so tight his armored gauntlets groaned under the pressure. The deep blue lightning crackling around his body flared violently, striking the earth and shattering the nearby rocks.
"The Heaven Dou Empire dares to flaunt their newly ascended experts," Yu Yuanzhen growled, his voice a low, dangerous rumble of pure, unadulterated draconic fury. "They hide behind their thick walls and use their heavy artillery to slaughter the vanguard. This slow, cowardly war of attrition ends tomorrow."
He turned to his younger brother and the three main branch elders.
"Rest well tonight, my brothers," Yu Yuanzhen ordered, his eyes burning with absolute, lethal intent. "Tomorrow morning, we do not wait for the lesser sects to fail. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan takes the field. We will shatter their obsidian walls into dust."
The night of the second day was filled with the grim, hurried sounds of both armies recovering their dead and fortifying their positions. The air was thick with the smell of scorched earth, burning flesh, and the heavy, lingering scent of ozone from the distant, crackling lightning of the Star Luo camp.
The dawn of the third day arrived with a terrifying, unnatural atmospheric shift.
The sky above the Crimson Basalt Ranges did not lighten. Instead, it was completely swallowed by massive, rolling banks of thick, pitch-black thunderclouds. The ambient spiritual energy in the air became incredibly dense and highly volatile, making the hair on the arms of the Heaven Dou defenders stand completely on end.
Deafening, ground-shaking peals of thunder rolled continuously through the valleys.
From the southern ridges, the war horns did not sound. There was no massive infantry charge. There was only the blinding, apocalyptic flash of blue lightning.
Five distinct, terrifyingly powerful auras erupted simultaneously from the Star Luo Empire's vanguard.
Yu Yuanzhen, Yu Liaoman, Elder Yu Feng, Elder Yu Lei, and Elder Yu Dian stepped forward, their bodies radiating overwhelming, crackling blue electrical energy. They did not bother walking across the rocky plains. They launched themselves directly into the stormy sky.
"They are coming!" Grand Marshal Ge Long yelled from the central keep, his eyes narrowing against the blinding flashes of lightning. "The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has taken the field!"
Yu Yuanzhen led the formation, his Level 96 Super Douluo aura suppressing the very heavens.
"Show them the absolute supremacy of the true dragon lineage!" Yu Yuanzhen roared, his voice amplified by the thunder.
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Avatar!" the five Titled Douluos bellowed in perfect, terrifying unison.
The sky exploded.
Five pitch-black seventh spirit rings expanded outward. The five men underwent the most formidable, physically dominant Beast Spirit Avatar transformation known to the continent. Their human bodies entirely dissolved, merging perfectly with the raw, primal essence of their martial spirits.
Five colossal, flesh-and-blood Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons materialized in the storm-filled sky. They were massive, terrifying beasts, covered in thick, impenetrable azure scales that continuously discharged blinding arcs of destructive electricity. Their massive, draconic wings beat heavily, generating localized hurricanes, and their long, heavily armored tails whipped through the air with enough kinetic force to level a mountain.
Yu Yuanzhen's avatar was significantly larger and far more terrifying than the others, his scales possessing a deeper, almost violet hue indicative of his extreme cultivation level.
"Destroy the outer gates!" Yu Yuanzhen commanded telepathically.
The five colossal dragons dove toward the heavily fortified outer walls of the Shatter-Stone Fortress. The massive ballistae on the walls fired their heavy, spear-sized bolts, but the projectiles either shattered harmlessly against their incredibly dense, lightning-infused scales or were completely vaporized by the sheer heat of the electrical aura surrounding the beasts.
"Eighth Spirit Ring Ability - Dragon's Wrath, Heavenly Tribulation!" Elder Yu Lei roared, diving toward the western battlements.
His black eighth spirit ring flared. He opened his massive, draconic jaws and unleashed a continuous, concentrated beam of pure, highly destructive blue lightning directly onto the obsidian walls. The intense, super-heated electrical current bypassed the defensive spiritual arrays entirely, superheating the solid rock until it exploded outward in a shower of deadly shrapnel.
"Eighth Spirit Ring Ability - Thunderous Claw Rend!" Elder Yu Dian followed up, his massive avatar swooping low over the walls.
His massive, glowing blue claws struck the fortified gates. The sheer physical strength of the dragon avatar, combined perfectly with the devastating, explosive power of the lightning attribute, completely shattered the fifty-foot-tall, iron-reinforced gates into twisted, molten scrap metal.
The outer defenses of the Shatter-Stone Fortress, which had easily withstood the relentless assaults of the lesser sects for two days, completely collapsed within a matter of minutes under the overwhelming, localized destructive power of five Titled Douluo-level Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons.
"Fall back! Abandon the outer walls! Retreat to the inner keep!" Commander Lin Feng screamed into his Communication Spirit Tool, desperately trying to organize the panicked, scattering infantry as the colossal dragons landed inside the outer courtyard, crushing hundreds of soldiers beneath their massive feet.
Inside the central command keep, the atmosphere was incredibly tense.
"The outer perimeter is breached," Meng Shenji reported, his expression grim. "Their physical durability and pure destructive output are simply too high for our standard defenses."
Grand Marshal Ge Long gripped his powerful spear, his aura flaring. "I will take the field. I must halt their advance before they breach the inner sanctum."
"Wait, Grand Marshal," a dry, rasping hiss echoed from the corner of the room.
Dugu Bo stood up slowly from his leather chair. He stretched his long, lean limbs, a highly cynical, deeply confident smirk spreading across his face. His emerald eyes burned with a terrifying, toxic light.
"You and the academics stay here and manage the retreating infantry," Dugu Bo stated, walking casually toward the heavy double doors leading to the observation balcony. "Those oversized, arrogant lizards have finally shown their faces. They possess incredible physical strength and flashy lightning. It is extremely impressive. Truly."
He pushed the doors open, stepping out into the howling winds and the crackling electrical storm.
"But raw physical strength and lightning cannot destroy what they cannot touch," Dugu Bo murmured softly to himself, his aura expanding outward, causing the stone floor beneath his boots to instantly corrode and hiss. "And no amount of thick, draconic scales can prevent a beast from needing to breathe."
Dugu Bo leaped from the high balcony, plummeting toward the chaotic, ruined outer courtyard where the five colossal dragons were currently slaughtering the retreating Heaven Dou forces.
As he fell through the air, Dugu Bo unleashed his absolute, terrifying power.
"Seventh Spirit Ring Ability - Jade Phosphorus Dragon Emperor Avatar!" Dugu Bo roared, his voice carrying a strange, hissing resonance that sent a primal, instinctual chill down the spines of everyone on the battlefield.
His deep, pitch-black seventh spirit ring expanded. He underwent a colossal transformation. His human form dissolved, merging perfectly with his highly evolved martial spirit.
He did not turn into a winged, western-style dragon like his opponents. He transformed into a massive, incredibly long, sinuous Flood Dragon. His colossal body was covered in perfectly overlapping, deeply iridescent emerald scales that wept a highly corrosive, glowing green mist. Two massive, branched horns crowned his serpentine head, and his toxic, reptilian eyes locked directly onto Yu Yuanzhen.
The sheer, overwhelming spiritual pressure of his Level 95 Super Douluo cultivation slammed into the courtyard, instantly catching the attention of the five Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons.
"Dugu Bo!" Yu Yuanzhen recognized the toxic aura immediately. "You dare face the true dragon lineage with that mutated, poisonous snake of yours?!"
"Eighth Spirit Ring Ability - Time Freezing Toxic Breath!" Dugu Bo did not waste breath on arrogant banter.
His black eighth spirit ring flared brilliantly. The colossal Jade Phosphorus Dragon Emperor opened its massive, fanged jaws and unleashed a terrifying, highly concentrated beam of pure, emerald-green toxic energy directly at Elder Yu Feng and Elder Yu Dian.
The toxic breath was not merely a physical acid. It possessed a horrifying, highly advanced secondary property. Wherever the brilliant green beam passed, the very air seemed to solidify. The chaotic, crackling blue lightning surrounding the two dragon avatars slowed to a grueling crawl, their massive, draconic movements becoming incredibly sluggish as the absolute toxicity actively attacked and corroded their spiritual energy networks.
"Break it!" Yu Liaoman roared, sensing the extreme danger. "Eighth Spirit Ring Ability - Heavenly Thunder Judgment!"
Yu Liaoman unleashed a massive, highly concentrated bolt of blue lightning from the heavens, striking the emerald beam directly in an attempt to disperse the poison with sheer, overwhelming heat.
The lightning and the poison collided violently mid-air. The intense heat of the lightning flash-boiled the toxic breath, creating a massive, rapidly expanding cloud of highly corrosive, emerald steam that instantly blanketed the entire outer courtyard.
"Fools," Dugu Bo's hissing voice echoed from within the dense, toxic fog. "You have only aided my domain."
"Ninth Spirit Ring Ability - Jade Phosphorus Heaven Devouring Array!"
Dugu Bo unleashed his ultimate, most devastating area-of-effect technique. His single, deep black ninth spirit ring—the very absolute limit of his mortal absorption—pulsed with an unnatural, terrifying rhythm.
The entire outer courtyard, encompassing several square miles of ruined stone and shattered battlements, was instantly plunged into a suffocating, impenetrable hellscape of glowing, highly concentrated emerald fog. The toxic domain was absolute. It rapidly ate through the solid obsidian walls, turning the stone into bubbling, green sludge.
More terrifyingly, the absolute toxicity of the array actively suppressed and consumed the blue lightning attribute. The crackling, destructive auras surrounding the five Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons began to violently flicker and dim. The incredibly thick, dense scales of their Beast Spirit Avatars, which had easily deflected ballista bolts, began to hiss and corrode under the relentless, microscopic assault of the Jade Phosphorus poison.
"Hold your breath! Elevate your altitude! Do not inhale the mist!" Yu Yuanzhen roared frantically, his massive avatar beating its wings to gain height above the dense, heavy toxic cloud.
But Dugu Bo's massive, serpentine body moved flawlessly through his own poisonous domain. He lashed out with incredible speed, his colossal, spiked tail whipping through the fog and wrapping securely around the hind leg of Elder Yu Lei's avatar before the dragon could ascend.
"You are not going anywhere, lizard," Dugu Bo hissed.
The slow, grinding, and absolutely lethal nature of the poison warfare had officially begun. The third day of the battle descended into a desperate, agonizing struggle for survival within the toxic skies of the Shatter-Stone Fortress, entirely halting the overwhelming momentum of the Star Luo Empire's greatest martial clan.
~~
A/N: Check out my other novels [Heavenly Villain: Stealing Fate, Tempting Beauties].
Also, check out 20 Chapters Ahead for this fanfic on my P.atreon. [Check Out Art Of Characters On My Patreon. It's Free To View btw.]
Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/c/evildragon04