"Xiao Feng?!"
"Little brother??"
Seeing Shen Feng, Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan were completely stunned.
Shen Feng's appearance had changed completely. He wore black-and-gold Bright Light Armor and held the Leiming Blade, which crackled with purple lightning. Behind him were dragon wings wreathed in red and white flames. The wings beat gently, keeping him suspended in midair above the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
The black-and-gold Bright Light Armor was the evolved form of the Black Scale Thunder Armor.
Earlier, beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Shen Feng's Body Martial Soul had resonated with his External Soul Bone, the Black Scale Thunder Armor.
Now, when he activated the Black Scale Thunder Armor, it naturally came with the amplification of his Body Martial Soul.
As a result, activating the Black Scale Thunder Armor while wielding the Leiming Blade put Shen Feng in a state resembling a partial self Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
That was why the black-and-gold Bright Light Armor had appeared on his body. It only manifested when he performed a self Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
In this state, Shen Feng used less energy. Compared to unleashing the full power of a self Martial Soul Fusion Skill, it was better suited to ordinary combat.
Of course, he was only maintaining this state now to avoid being exposed.
After all, the moment he jumped into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the spring water had dissolved all his clothes.
The dragon wings behind Shen Feng were Soul Bone Skills contained in the Water and Fire Dragon Kings' Soul Bones: Water Wings and Fire Wings.
These dragon wings were made entirely of pure water and fire elements. They not only allowed Shen Feng to fly free of gravity, but also granted him the ability to manipulate water and fire elements.
Along with all the other benefits he had gained, Shen Feng had received an epic boost from this trip to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
"Old man, Yanyan, what are those looks for? Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"
Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan wore complicated expressions. Their joy was tinged with confusion, their excitement mixed with sorrow, and their surprise concealed a hint of disbelief. The final trace in their expressions was sheer incredulity.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Shen Feng could hardly have believed that human emotions could be so complicated.
"G-ghost, a ghost!"
Dugu Yan, still unable to make sense of the situation, pointed at Shen Feng and shrieked.
"Ow! Grandpa, why'd you hit me?"
Dugu Bo withdrew the fist he'd planted on Dugu Yan's head and looked at Shen Feng, visibly excited.
"You brat, you're still alive!"
Shen Feng paused, then smiled faintly. "Old man, what kind of thing is that to say? Was I not supposed to be alive?"
Dugu Bo shook his head excitedly. "No, no, you should be alive. Of course you should!"
"It's just that you were gone for so long. Yanyan and I both thought you were dead."
Dugu Yan nodded weakly. "Yeah. It's been a whole ten months. We even held your funeral."
"Look, your gravestone is still there."
Shen Feng followed her gesture and froze.
Beside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, at the spot where he had jumped in, stood a long, narrow stone slab. His Storage Soul Tool rested on top of it.
Shen Feng looked down at the invitation in his hand and smiled awkwardly.
"Uh... did I come back too late? Is the banquet over?"
Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan stared at him blankly, unable to react for a moment.
"Hahahaha, little brother, you're hilarious. You even want to attend your own funeral feast!"
Dugu Yan's laughter made Dugu Bo see the joke at last.
Dugu Bo shook his head helplessly and beckoned to Shen Feng. "The invitation in your hand will get you into Xue Ye's banquet, but not your own."
"Come down first. Aren't you tired of flying up there?"
"And what exactly did you run into down there to keep you away so long? Do you have any idea how worried I— Ah, forget it. The important thing is that you're safe."
Hearing Dugu Bo trail off and seeing his gray hair, Shen Feng felt his heart give a sudden pang.
Smiling faintly, Shen Feng beat his wings and landed in front of Dugu Bo.
"Old man, I brought gifts for you and Yanyan."
When someone gave him a peach, he returned a piece of jade.
Since Dugu Bo valued their bond so deeply that worry for Shen Feng had even turned his hair white, Shen Feng naturally wouldn't begrudge him a gift.
He had absorbed the Water and Fire Dragon Kings' Soul Bones, and their vital essence had mysteriously disappeared, so Shen Feng took out the two Dragon Reverse Scales.
The moment the two Dragon Reverse Scales appeared, Dugu Bo reacted as though he'd seen a ghost. He grabbed Dugu Yan beside him and sprang backward like a bolt of lightning.
Only after putting twenty meters between himself and Shen Feng did he finally set Dugu Yan down, still shaken.
Dugu Yan looked just as terrified, as if she had seen something horrifying.
Seeing their reactions, Shen Feng stood there dumbfounded. He couldn't sense anything at all.
He even turned in a circle, but didn't find anything suspicious.
"Old man, Yanyan, what's wrong?"
Dugu Bo stared at the two Dragon Reverse Scales in Shen Feng's hands. His eyes were full of wariness and longing, with even a trace of greed that was difficult to detect. He swallowed with difficulty.
"Xiao Feng, what are those scales in your hands?"
Shen Feng furrowed his brow and gave Dugu Bo a puzzled look. He quietly circulated his Soul Power, using the Water and Fire Dragon Kings' Soul Bones to establish a connection with the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
If Dugu Bo made any suspicious move, Shen Feng could immediately counter him. With the Water and Fire Dragon Kings' Soul Bones granting him control over water and fire elements, Shen Feng could be as formidable as a Titled Douluo near the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
He wasn't overreacting. Dugu Bo's gaze was definitely abnormal.
After discreetly making his preparations, Shen Feng raised the Dragon Reverse Scales in his hand and tested the waters. "These? They're the reverse scales of a true dragon. I found them beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well."
"I was trapped down there for so long because I was trying to obtain the true dragon's remains."
"I absorbed two Soul Bones, and two drops of true dragon blood mysteriously disappeared. Finally, there are these two reverse scales, which I brought back up."
"What is it? You seem afraid of these scales, old man."
Dugu Bo stared at Shen Feng in shock. His expression shifted several times, but in the end, reason overcame his greed.
He shook his head and gave a bitter smile. "Dragons have a strict hierarchy. The pressure that higher-ranked dragons exert on lower-ranked ones is terrifying."
"Although my Martial Soul has evolved into a Poison Dragon, it's still a long way from being a pureblood true dragon. And Yanyan's Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul would be even more helpless against a true dragon."
"Those two Dragon Reverse Scales in your hands could belong to a pureblood true dragon from the Dragon Clan—and a mighty one at that. It might even have been the legendary Dragon God."
"In front of those two scales, forget about me. Even that old Dragon King from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan probably wouldn't be able to stand tall."
"But I suppose that's only natural. If it weren't a legendary creature like that, how could its death have created such a wondrous place as the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?"
"True dragon Soul Bones, true dragon blood, true dragon reverse scales..."
"Tsk, tsk. I have to say, kid, you really are Heaven's favorite."
Dugu Bo was worthy of being a Titled Douluo who had lived for more than seventy years. Just from Shen Feng's few words, he had more or less deduced the whole story.
As for why Shen Feng couldn't feel that pressure, first, his Martial Soul wasn't dragon-type, so he wasn't sensitive to pressure specifically directed at dragons.
Second, after absorbing so much Dragon Crystal energy and refining the Water and Fire Dragon Kings' Soul Bones, he was immune to all dragon-kind pressure on the Douluo Continent.
Seeing Dugu Bo's gaze return to normal, Shen Feng relaxed a little.
If he could help it, he truly didn't want to become Dugu Bo's enemy. Although Shen Feng was confident he could grievously injure him—or even kill him—near the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Glancing at the Dragon Reverse Scales in his hand, Shen Feng smiled. "It's a shame the true dragon blood mysteriously disappeared. It probably merged with the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well."
"But these two scales have been preserved perfectly. I just don't know whether you and Yanyan could use them."
Dugu Bo stood rooted to the spot, staring at Shen Feng in disbelief. "You brat, did you not hear what I said?"
"These could be the Dragon God's reverse scales—or, at the very least, a demigod's. In their presence, even that old Dragon King from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would have at least thirty percent of his strength suppressed."
"And that's only their most obvious effect. Such treasures... you're really willing to give them to Yanyan and me?"
Shen Feng smiled faintly and answered with a question. "How did your hair turn white, old man?"
"And I just made it clear that I also have two true dragon Soul Bones. You managed to keep your emotions in check then, didn't you?"
"Since you're so loyal and affectionate, I, Shen Feng, may be young, but I won't fall short."
"As the saying goes: If someone gives me a quince, I'll repay them with fine jade. It isn't repayment; it's a pledge of lasting friendship!"
"If someone gives me a peach, I'll repay them with fine jade. It isn't repayment; it's a pledge of lasting friendship!"
"If someone gives me a plum, I'll repay them with precious jade. It isn't repayment; it's a pledge of lasting friendship!"
"If someone shows me a foot of respect, I'll return them a yard. That's how I, Shen Feng, conduct myself."
Dugu Bo could hardly hide his shock. He hadn't imagined that Shen Feng had noticed his earlier greed.
Yet Shen Feng didn't seem to care at all. Instead, he had even quoted, "It isn't repayment; it's a pledge of lasting friendship!"
For someone so young to be so loyal and affectionate made Dugu Bo feel ashamed of his earlier greed.
He shook his head, unable to face Shen Feng, then took a palm-sized pouch from his waist and tossed it to him.
"This is called the Ruyi Hundred Treasure Pouch. It's a Soul Tool that can store living things. Inside are some gifts I prepared for you."
Shen Feng caught the pouch and sent a wisp of spiritual energy into it. He found nearly a hundred boxes of different materials inside, some gold, some jade, and some wood.
As he looked at the Immortal Grade Herbs that had vanished from around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and the large patch of rare medicinal plants that had been thinned out, Shen Feng immediately understood what Dugu Bo meant.
"Old man, you're generous. I'll accept your gift, then."
Dugu Bo smiled and waved his hand. "It isn't repayment; it's a pledge of lasting friendship."
"You haven't eaten for ten months, brat. I'll go prepare some food for you. You two siblings can catch up."
With that, Dugu Bo sprang into motion and vanished from the cliff in a few steps.
As a man in his seventies, his self-control was worse than that of a child not yet twelve. Dugu Bo truly had no face left to stay.
How embarrassing.
Shen Feng and Dugu Yan watched Dugu Bo flee in disarray, dumbfounded. They exchanged a glance, then both laughed.
"Yanyan, it's been a long time."
"Little brother, welcome back."
From their first meeting and growing understanding, to becoming friends and mentors to each other, then old friends, then sworn siblings—and finally enduring the trial of priceless treasures—the bond between Shen Feng and Dugu Bo had become closer than blood.
Some fathers and sons, some mothers and daughters, and some masters and disciples still harbored unspoken schemes for revenge, hatred, or secrets.
But Shen Feng and Dugu Bo were different. They had weathered too many trials together and had become people who could trust each other with their backs completely.
In Dugu Bo's heart, Shen Feng had become someone every bit as important as Dugu Yan.
And in Shen Feng's heart, Dugu Bo's place was no less important than Oscar's, whom Shen Feng had personally trained.
That was what it meant to truly open your heart to someone, without a trace of scheming.
That night, on Shen Feng's first evening back from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Dugu Bo prepared an especially lavish welcome feast for him.
Of course, Dugu Bo hadn't cooked the food himself. All he knew how to do was brew poison.
He had personally gone to Heaven Dou City, ordered the food from the finest hotel there, and brought it all back.
Only three people attended the feast: Dugu Bo, Dugu Yan, and Shen Feng. Even so, the entire evening was filled with warmth and laughter.
With their worries gone, Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan were free of the troubles that had plagued them, and Shen Feng had returned safely with priceless treasures. Everything was worth celebrating.
After dinner, they discussed the next day's Soul Hunting plans, and Shen Feng went to the room Dugu Bo had arranged for him.
He tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. In the end, Shen Feng got up and began taking inventory of the Immortal Grade Herbs Dugu Bo had given him.
He infused the Ruyi Hundred Treasure Pouch with a wisp of Soul Power and took out all the nearly one hundred boxes of assorted materials.
Opening them one by one and examining each item, Shen Feng found that Dugu Bo had prepared quite a few Immortal Grade Herbs for him.
The 'Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum' suited Shen Rui.
Before you continue