At the edge of the great plains, near the border of the Extreme North.
Beside a pool of water, Dugu Feng sat cross-legged. The emerald-green diamond-shaped scale on his forehead shone brightly, releasing the aura of the Jade Phosphor Serpent.
Next to him, the two Nine-Segment Jades stretched out their bodies, lazily lying there.
He had already been meditating for two hours.
Though he looked relaxed and unguarded, his focus was entirely fixed on the skies.
After a while, Dugu Feng's eyes lit up. "As expected, it's here!"
With the aura of three serpents, how could it not lure in a Serpent-Eating Vulture?
This one's wings stretched over four meters, a spirit beast more than four thousand years old.
"Breakfast is here. Get to work!"
Dugu Feng's idea of breakfast was the same as the vulture's. Spotting two snakes and a two-legged creature with serpent aura, it was a meal fit to burst on.
The four-thousand-year vulture's long legs gleamed with brown luster. With a piercing cry, its entire body dove downward.
"Closer, closer!"
The vulure accelerated again, wings lifting high, then smashing down.
Its full body weight pressed onto its talons, clearly intending to crush Dugu Feng in a single stomp.
This was its trademark attack. Those long legs, armored in brown scales, were tough as steel, and the razor talons, when dropped from the sky, struck like swords—it was devastatingly powerful!
But then, it saw the two-legged prey raise both hands, firing purple beams of light.
At the same time, the two little snakes shot upward.
In its emotionless eyes, a hint of disdain appeared.
Prey always struggled before death!
With a flick of its agile body, a fraction more speed would be enough to evade everything.
That was its experience from countless hunts.
But this time, the vulture miscalculated. It had met a true hunter.
Dugu Feng had only unleashed four strands of Jade Phosphor Twelve Strikes. Two came from his thumbs, carrying the crushing, stone-splitting force, and those the vulture dodged with ease.
But the other two seemed unremarkable, drifting lightly, yet even with the vulture's evasive shift, they pierced straight into its eyes.
Then came the two snakes it hadn't taken seriously. Faster than lightning, they latched onto its wings, sinking into the flesh beneath the feathers.
Venom flooded its body. The vulture instinctively flapped its wings, trying to take flight again.
But after only a few hundred meters, it crashed down with a loud thud.
"Haha, another one caught!"
Dugu Feng laughed happily.
From struggling hard at first to now finishing it in a single exchange, his improvement was immense!
He could now fire Jade Phosphor Violet Poison in just a tenth of a blink. It was far too fast! And far too nimble! And nearly impossible to defend! The vulture had almost no chance to dodge.
"Congratulations, young master. Your use of Jade Phosphor Violet Poison's second stage has already reached mastery.
You can start attempting the third stage now. At that point, every hair on your body will be able to emit poison, silent and unseen!"
Old Scorpion crawled out from the ground, laughing heartily.
"Alright, Old Scorpion. This time I'll treat you to roasted vulture wings. After that, we set out to obtain my second spirit ring!"
Dugu Feng's voice was filled with excitement.
It had been nearly a year since he first stepped into this grassland.
His spirit power had smoothly advanced to level twenty—only the second spirit ring remained.
"No problem. Let me show you my cooking skills!"
When it came to eating, Old Scorpion was always his best companion.
Over the past year, they had enjoyed fried, roasted, and hotpot delicacies and despite being in the wild, Old Scorpion was always meticulous, unlike Old Snake.
Drawing a short knife, Old Scorpion expertly undressed the vulture in a few swift cuts.
Dugu Feng wasted no time. He checked the two pearls inside his body, their energy had already risen to thirty-six percent, up from twenty-five percent after the last evolution.
The growth was painfully slow, around barely one percent a month.
And that was not with just himself, but also the two Nine-Segment Jades, Zhu Zhuqing, and Zhu Zhuyun all feeding them together.
The quality of the pearls after evolution was simply too high!
At this rate, to evolve into eight pearls would take over five years!
Five years. That was incredibly slow!
But considering the pearls' mysteries and miraculous uses, Dugu Feng could not help but accept it.
These were true treasures.
The last time he had sped up was thanks to Tyrant Poison. Normally, even with everything going well, he wouldn't obtain Tyrant Poison until reaching Spirit King.
But he had piggybacked on his father's use of Tyrant Poison to force a breakthrough.
Perhaps other rare herbs or treasures could accelerate the pearls' evolution as well.
He would have to experiment. Dugu Feng fell into thought.
Before long, the aroma of roasting meat wafted over. Dugu Feng tore off a massive wing bone. The roasted flesh, golden and tender, sizzled with dripping fat, releasing a spicy fragrance.
Only Old Scorpion could cook like this!
Dugu Feng praised once, then began eating.
Despite the vulture's nearly four-meter wings, in the mouths of Dugu Feng and Old Scorpion, it was just one meal's worth.
With the pearls inside him, he needed vast amounts of energy.
After a year, at only eight years old, his body was already no different from a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old back on Blue Star. Soul masters in Douluo Continent matured fast.
His body was still growing, demanding huge amounts of energy.
Strengthened by the pearls, his bones, meridians, and blood vessels were like countless ravenous maws, devouring every morsel of meat, flooding him with heat, making him feel stronger with each breath.
Soon, the two finished the wings, and the rest of the meat was stored in a soul tool for later.
Then, impatient, they set out again.
This time their pace was much quicker.
Dugu Feng had to push his spirit power constantly to keep up with Old Scorpion.
Days passed. Dugu Feng was astonished to find the raging rivers frozen solid!
Even mountain peaks were capped with snow.
They were nearing the Extreme North.
The cold air didn't harm him—instead, his martial spirit grew lively.
Spirit power flowed smoothly through his body, shielding him from the chill.
Dugu Feng's fighting spirit surged!
At last, the two arrived at a towering mountain range.
The mountains stretched beyond sight, blanketed in endless white snow and ice.
"This mountain harbors the Ice Jade Scorpion clan. The Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion you've chosen is their king, blessed with a special bloodline, rarely seen.
But with me here, no matter where it hides, I'll find it for you, young master!"
Old Scorpion spoke with some pride.
Dugu Feng nodded. He believed in quality over quantity. Even if it took time, he would find the most suitable, most powerful spirit beast.
He waited at the mountain's base as Old Scorpion vanished across the ice in a streak of shadow.
Ice Jade Scorpions usually dwelled in glaciers or ice caves, their cold poison exceedingly strong.
They were far harder to track than the beasts of Sunset Forest.