Xiahou Mang's mind flashed with memories of his youth. He too had once been innocent, carefree, a boy with dreams.
That was before fate granted him a soul bone during his cultivation.
From then on, he had set foot on the path of strength.
But time had flown. His clan was gone, destroyed.
His eyes burned coldly. As long as I seize this child, I won't die here. I will rise to Soul Douluo, to Titled Douluo, and I will rebuild my family.
Snarling, Xiahou Mang lunged, clawed hand stretching for the boy.
Only for the boy to suddenly stand.
A grin split his face, bright white teeth glinting. "One."
Xiahou Mang froze. What was he doing?
"Two."
Counting?
"Three. Down."
Strength drained from Xiahou Mang's body like water. His right hand, still clutching the great blade, drooped lifelessly.
Sleep clawed at his mind. His seven orifices bled black, flowing uncontrollably.
A sickly violet-green mist spread across his body.
The crimson blade light that moments ago had burned so fiercely was extinguished in an instant.
He toppled face-first to the earth.
His skin withered. His bones collapsed. Flesh, bone, everything melted into dust, scattering back to the soil.
Dugu Feng's pupils shrank.
He knew Old Snake's poison was strong, but not this strong.
His grin earlier hadn't been bravado—it was because Old Snake had already told him. Three steps. Xiahou Mang wouldn't last beyond three steps.
The entire area was saturated with Jade Phosphor Violet Poison.
How else could Old Snake have let Feng stand so openly?
Xiahou Mang had thought himself clever, planning to seize the child as a hostage. He never realized he was already dead the moment he stepped forward.
Even so, the swiftness of his end was chilling. From the first instant of infection to death—barely three breaths.
Feng exhaled softly, leaping down from the treetop. He landed beside the place Xiahou Mang had fallen.
There, a radiant sphere of multicolored light hovered.
A soul bone.
He crouched, eyes narrowing. It was a small skull, round, about three inches across. The bone shimmered with shifting rainbow hues, dazzling to behold.
So this was the prize that Huyan Lie and the Tuoba family had been chasing.
Feng picked it up calmly and slipped it into his storage belt.
Not far away—
Huyan Lie and the white-armored Soul Saint of the Sacred Dragon Clan stood frozen.
Xiahou Mang had died silently, without even a cry.
"Someone from the Dugu family?" Huyan Lie's face blanched.
The white-armored Soul Saint's response was immediate. He bowed low, voice filled with forced respect. "I am Tuoba Lan of the Sacred Dragon Clan. If we have disturbed the Jade Phosphor senior, forgive us. We will withdraw at once."
The first thought in his mind: Dugu Bo.
The green-eyed boy before them, the wisp of green hair—telltale signs. Combined with Xiahou Mang's hideous end, who else could it be but the Titled Douluo known as the Jade Phosphor Serpent?
Ever since Dugu Bo's ascension two years ago, his name had become a terror across the continent. A Soul Douluo was already troublesome. A Titled Douluo, wielding poison? A nightmare.
Tuoba Lan cursed inwardly. Of all places, why here? This old monster was infamous for his capricious temper and ruthless nature. To fall into his path was courting death.
Around him, his men and Huyan Lie trembled, bowing deeply. "We beg forgiveness from the Jade Phosphor senior. We will return another day to offer thanks."
None dared probe further. They could sense no aura, no trace of the killer—only the boy.
And yet, it was obvious. That boy had not slain Xiahou Mang.
It could only have been the hidden master behind him.
Feng was speechless. Was the Dugu family's name forever tied to Dugu Bo alone?
Few knew of the feud between the Poison Path and the Serpent Path. To outsiders, they were one and the same.
He let a smile curl his lips. "So naive. You think you can see a soul bone fall into our hands… and still leave alive?"
Old Snake had already moved unseen. Since the soul bone was secured, no witnesses could remain—whether for vengeance or secrecy.
Tuoba Lan roared, fury igniting. "Arrogant brat! If the Jade Phosphor Serpent were truly here, would he hide in the shadows? Since he is not, today you will die!"
His body exploded with light.
Seventh Soul Skill—Martial Spirit Avatar.
A colossal white earth dragon surged forth, tens of meters long.
Every inch of its body was armored in basin-sized scales. Its massive head loomed, two whiskers whipping like whips of steel.
The dragon's maw gaped wide. A torrent of blazing white breath surged forth, a beam of destructive energy hurtling at Feng.
At that instant, violet light flashed.
Old Snake appeared, snatching Feng with one clawed hand. In the blink of an eye, both vanished into the treetops.
His voice slithered through the darkness, echoing from every direction. "Tuoba Lan. Your Sacred Dragon Clan struts about under Spirit Hall's wing, forgetting why my Dugu family sits among the seven powers who govern the Great Spirit Arenas."
As he spoke, two Soul Emperors behind Tuoba Lan convulsed violently.
Their bodies writhed under a violet haze, flesh dissolving to sludge in mere breaths.
Huyan Lie's face drained of blood. This was not Dugu Bo, no—but it was undoubtedly another hidden master of the Dugu clan.
Xiahou Mang's death and now the instant slaughter of two Soul Emperors proved it beyond doubt.
Huyan Lie's mind spun. The Dugu family was part of the Heaven Dou camp. If they had stumbled here, then everything had gone wrong.
He glanced at Tuoba Lan, then turned to flee.
The Diamond Mammoth's massive frame rippled with earth power, yet moved with surprising agility.
Spirit Hall's pull on the Elephant Armored Sect had been tightening. Even their patriarch Huyan Zhen had planned to submit. Tonight's cooperation was supposed to seal their ties.
Instead, they had stumbled upon the Dugu clan's ambush.
From the darkness, Old Snake's cold voice rang.
"Crimson Poison Across the Sky."
The forest blushed red.
A strange crimson radiance suffused the air, shimmering with an allure that tugged at the heart, muddling the senses.
Huyan Lie's face hardened.
A golden-yellow aura burst from his body, wrapping him in layers of defense.
The Diamond Mammoth—one of the greatest defensive martial spirits of the continent. Even as a Soul Saint, his fortress-like protection could rival some Soul Douluo.
"Watch closely, young master," Old Snake whispered from the unseen. "The Jade Phosphor's Crimson Poison… at its peak, it seeps into the enemy's very mind. Once their senses are touched, the poison enters. Their reason erodes. Their will collapses."
His fifth soul skill—Crimson Poison Across the Sky.
The entire forest was now his killing field.