Exquisite Cooperation

"Stop the carriage."

The four of them disembarked one after another.

As the four of them disembarked, the scene before them changed instantly—the flat official road vanished, replaced by a primeval forest that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Towering ancient trees twisted like dragons, and thick vines hung down from the canopy, resembling the tentacles of giant beasts.

The air was filled with the scent of damp earth and the fragrance of grass and trees, but with a closer sniff, one could detect a faint, elusive fishy smell—the mingled scent of Soul Beasts, poisons, and decay.

Sunset Forest, we've arrived.

Liu Erlong stood at the front, her dark red hunting attire particularly striking amidst the dappled light and shadow of the forest. She took a deep breath, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.

"Stay close to me, don't fall behind," she said, taking the lead into the dim, dense woods.

Yu Tiancheng followed closely, with Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling bringing up the rear. The figures of the four were quickly swallowed by the dense tree shadows, their footsteps echoing in the forest before gradually fading away.

The interior of the forest was even darker than it appeared from the outside.

Beneath their feet lay a thick layer of fallen leaves accumulated over many years, which felt soft and springy, rustling with a "shasha" sound with every step.

From the bushes on either side, rustling sounds occasionally came, as if something was lurking in the shadows, watching them.

Liu Erlong walked at the forefront, her Soul Sage aura subtly released, forming an invisible barrier.

Some low-level Soul Beasts that had been stirring uneasily felt this pressure and retreated.

"Miss Dugu," Liu Erlong asked without looking back, "which direction?"

Dugu Yan took out a jade pendant shaped like a green scale from her embrace and infused it with Soul Power. The jade pendant emitted a faint fluorescence, pointing towards the northeast of the forest.

"That way," she whispered. "Grandpa left a mark on the pendant, it can guide the direction."

"Let's go."

The four maintained their formation, heading deeper into the northeast.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, the terrain ahead changed abruptly—a vast swamp lay before them.

Bubbles of various sizes rose to the surface of the dark green mud, occasionally bursting with a "poof" and releasing a pungent, rotten odor.

The trees at the edge of the swamp were a sickly gray-black, with sparse leaves.

"Let's go around," Liu Erlong decided instantly, about to turn—

"Auntie, wait," Yu Tiancheng suddenly spoke.

He crouched down, picked up a stone about the size of a fist from the ground, weighed it in his hand, and then threw it forcefully towards the center of the swamp.

The stone drew an arc and, the moment it landed in the mud—

"Splash!"

The mud exploded, and a dark green python as thick as a water bucket shot out! It opened its cavernous maw, revealing two fangs gleaming with a faint light, its foul breath washing over them!

"Thousand Year Marsh Poisonous Python!" Liu Erlong's eyes sharpened, and her Soul Power surged instantly—

But Yu Tiancheng was faster.

He raised his right hand, silver light flowing around his fingertips.

This time, he didn't use a wide-area Time Stasis—that would consume too much energy for him at the moment—but instead focused his time and space power precisely around the python's head.

"Time Distortion!"

The python's pounce suddenly faltered, not stopping completely, but becoming extremely uncoordinated, as if its head and body were being pulled by two different forces. It twisted its body in pain, its attack instantly falling apart.

In that opening, Yu Tiancheng waved his left hand, the Time Dragon Spear in his grasp, and a solidified Space Blade shot out, heading straight for the python's vulnerable spot!

"Swoosh!"

The Space Blade hit its mark accurately, but the defense of a thousand-year Soul Beast was far beyond expectations.

The scales were only cut halfway through. The poisonous python cried out in pain, twisting even more frantically.

Seeing this, Liu Erlong let out a cold snort and flicked her finger.

A spark flew from her fingertip, growing larger in the air like the wind, transforming into a ball of blazing fire that accurately struck the python's wound!

"Boom!"

The fireball exploded, the high temperature instantly charring the flesh around the wound. The poisonous python let out a final mournful cry, its massive body crashing down, splashing large amounts of mud.

The entire process took only five to six seconds.

Liu Erlong looked at Yu Tiancheng, a hint of approval flashing in her eyes. "Good coordination. That Time Distortion just now was very precise and saved me a lot of effort."

She knew that if Yu Tiancheng had forcefully used a wide-area stasis, it would have easily dealt with the python, but the Soul Power consumption would have been significant.

This kind of precise, small-scale control was the smartest choice at this stage.

Yu Tiancheng retrieved the Time Dragon Spear, breathing slightly heavily—that precise Time Distortion had consumed a considerable amount of mental energy.

"There should be more than one of these in the swamp," he said, looking towards the depths of the swamp. "Going around will take too much time, let's go straight through."

As he spoke, he raised his hand again, silver light gathering in his palm.

This time, he no longer attempted to create a complete path, but instead condensed over a dozen Space Nodes, each the size of a washbasin, on the surface of the swamp, with a distance of two to three meters between each node.

These were all Laws of Spacetime he had learned from the Time Dragon Spear.

"Step on these nodes and move quickly," Yu Tiancheng said, taking the lead and leaping onto the first node.

Liu Erlong followed closely, and Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling quickly caught up. The four of them leaped rapidly across the Space Nodes, each landing precise and swift.

Behind them, several startled Poison Pythons poked their heads out of the mud, but the four had already crossed the center of the swamp and reached the other side.

"Let's go."

Liu Erlong led the way, and the four continued forward.

After passing through the swamp, the terrain began to ascend. They climbed over a sparsely vegetated mountain ridge, and when they reached the summit, the sight before them made everyone freeze—

Ahead lay a peculiar valley surrounded by mountains.

The valley was split into two halves: one half was steaming hot, the ground was crimson, and the air was filled with the scent of sulfur; the other half was bone-chillingly cold, the ground covered in pale blue ice crystals, the cold almost visible to the naked eye.

Two opposing energies converged in the center of the valley, swirling to form a massive, slowly rotating Tai Chi symbol.

The powers of ice and fire had reached a bizarre balance here, the legendary natural wonder—the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

And at the edge of the confluence of ice and fire, an aged figure sat cross-legged.

He wore a loose, dark green robe, his white hair scattered like dry grass over his shoulders, his face deeply wrinkled as if carved by knives.

Most striking were his eyes—the whites were a strange, eerie jade green, and his pupils were terrifying vertical slits, cold and sharp, like a viper's, devoid of any emotion.

He sat there quietly, not releasing any Soul Power pressure, yet the air in the entire valley seemed to freeze, even the sound of the wind fell silent.

Dugu Bo.

Titled Douluo, the Poison Douluo.

He slowly raised his head, his vertical pupils locking onto the four entering the valley.

His gaze lingered on Liu Erlong for a moment, swept over Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, and finally settled on Yu Tiancheng.

His gaze felt tangible, like a cold blade scraping against the skin.

"Boy."

A hoarse voice sounded, like a worn-out bellows being pulled, or the hiss of a snake slithering through grass.

"You're the one... who boasted he could cure my poison?"