"You're all too afraid to step in? Then let this old man take a look."
Dugu Bo let out a cold laugh, and the purple mist of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent spread around him in an instant.
"I'd like to see whether the Demon Emperor's Poison can really outmatch my Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's poison!"
He swept his gaze over the Titled Douluo present, each harboring their own schemes, and spoke with a hint of arrogance.
"Let me make this clear first. I'll go in ahead of you. Whoever gets their hands on what's inside first gets to keep it. Don't think you can pull any tricks and snatch it from me afterward."
With that, he spread the purple mist of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent and transformed into a streak of dark green light, plunging headfirst into the churning black poison barrier.
Yue Guan's brows knitted at once. He instinctively started to follow, but Gui Mei grabbed him by the arm.
"What's the rush?"
Gui Mei's voice was wrapped in a sinister chuckle. "Old Poison Dugu Bo is best at using poison. Let him go test the waters."
"If there's a trap, he'll be the first to die."
"And if there's a treasure, with our combined strength, are you worried we won't be able to snatch it from him?"
Yue Guan's fingers, which had been twirling a chrysanthemum, paused. Then he smiled, too.
"You've thought it through. His Holiness the Pope specifically ordered that we either bring back the Spider alive or its corpse. We must thoroughly investigate the Demon Emperor's whereabouts."
Elsewhere, the other Titled Douluo who had taken part in the encirclement also held their positions.
They watched the poison barrier intently, waiting for Dugu Bo to find out what lay within.
The moment Dugu Bo stepped inside the barrier, his expression shifted slightly.
The poison was even more overbearing than he had expected.
At the first touch, the purple mist protecting him began to sizzle as it corroded, while his Soul Power drained at a visible rate.
He gritted his teeth, channeling all his Soul Power to shield himself as he made his way step by step toward the center of the poison barrier.
Before long, the scene on the ground came into view.
The Demon Spider Emperor's corpse, dozens of zhang long, lay across the ground. Its carapace was riddled with vicious cracks, and not a trace of life remained.
Not far from the corpse, a little girl, covered in wounds, lay curled up on the ground in a deep coma, clinging to her last breath.
Dugu Bo went to examine the Demon Spider Emperor's corpse first. The moment his fingertips touched its carapace, a surge of lingering poison repelled him.
A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
The Demon Spider Emperor was truly dead.
Its soul had completely dissipated, leaving only an empty shell. Yet the poison it had left behind was still terrifying enough to threaten a careless Titled Douluo.
He turned to Zhu Zhuqing on the ground, one brow lifting.
The little girl had only a little over twenty levels of Soul Power, yet she had managed to hold on this long inside the Demon Emperor's poison barrier. She was one tough little thing.
He casually flicked out a thread of Jade Phosphorous Soul Power, protecting Zhu Zhuqing's heart meridians so she wouldn't die from the poison's corrosion.
Just then, Yue Guan's voice came from beyond the poison barrier, with a deliberately courteous tone.
"Dugu Bo, what's the situation inside? Is the Demon Emperor really dead?"
Dugu Bo gave a cold snort and called back.
"Stone dead!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, several figures burst through the edge of the poison barrier and landed inside.
At their head, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan immediately fixed his gaze on the Demon Spider Emperor's corpse, greed flashing in his eyes.
But when he went to examine it, the corpse was hollow inside. There was no Soul Bone, not even a trace of its original Soul Power.
"Damn it! It left nothing behind!"
Yue Guan's expression darkened. "The Demon Emperor truly was vicious. Even in death, it refused to leave a single thing for anyone else."
Dugu Bo looked at him and sneered.
"What? Were you expecting the infamous Demon Emperor to leave you a treasure?"
"Even in death, it wouldn't leave its belongings to your Spirit Hall."
Ignoring Chrysanthemum Guan, who was gritting his teeth, Dugu Bo summoned his Martial Soul, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor.
The giant serpent, dozens of zhang long, was a translucent emerald green from head to tail, its scales gleaming with a sinister purple light.
Its golden, vertical pupils were chillingly fearsome. Its forked tongue flickered in and out, releasing a poisonous aura potent enough to corrode the air.
The purple mist of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent around it clashed with the Demon Emperor's poison barrier, hissing as they met.
The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor lowered its head and gently sank its fangs into Zhu Zhuqing's arm, slowly drawing the Demon Emperor's poison from her body.
None of the Titled Douluo present tried to stop him. They all understood that he was treating the little girl's poison.
But no one actually believed Dugu Bo was kindly saving a life.
Given his temperament, he had to have his eye on the remnants of the Demon Emperor's poison inside the girl, hoping to study it.
Just then, a deep voice suddenly rang out, drawing everyone's attention.
"Could it have been a sacrifice?"
The speaker was a man in gray martial garb, his figure as upright as a pine.
His features were resolute, and his aura was as weighty as a mountain. He was Tang Wu, a Titled Douluo elder of the Clear Sky Sect, the greatest sect under heaven.
At the words "a sacrifice," the several Titled Douluo who had been growing impatient immediately grew solemn, each turning the idea over in their minds.
But only a moment later, the Clear Sky Sect elder shook his head.
"No. The Demon Emperor was an existence of such terrifying power. It devoured a Spider Emperor of its own kind, and even when Star Luo and the Soul Masters joined forces, it took months to corner it. How could it willingly sacrifice itself to a human? And one with only a little over twenty levels at that?"
Tang Wu glanced at Zhu Zhuqing and continued.
"She's gifted, to be sure, but nowhere near the level of a true prodigy."
"Even if the Demon Emperor wanted a host to inhabit and planned to return for revenge, it would never choose such an inadequate seed."
"Besides, the Demon Emperor was utterly evil. Why would it do something that brought it no benefit?"
Hearing this, the others nodded, dismissing the idea.
Just then, the Demon Spider Emperor's corpse began to crumble bit by bit, turning into a swirling cloud of black poison powder. The already-dense poison barrier surged several times over, and its toxicity multiplied!
"Not good!"
Yue Guan's expression changed, and he immediately raised a Soul Power barrier. "It really did leave a trap behind. Its corpse has self-destructed!"
Everyone panicked, channeling their Soul Power to withstand the poison powder as they rose into the air and retreated from the core of the poison barrier.
Although most of the Demon Spider Emperor's corpse was still intact, the poison barrier had now surged in strength, and no one dared approach it again.
Aside from that, the only thing of value left at the scene was Zhu Zhuqing, unconscious in Dugu Bo's hands.
Every gaze turned to Dugu Bo, each eye brimming with calculation.
The little girl was the only person present. Before the Demon Emperor self-destructed, she had been right beside its corpse.
Even if she hadn't been sacrificed, she might still know something.
They had spent months hunting it down. They couldn't return empty-handed.
"What? You're thinking of snatching her from me?"
Dugu Bo's expression darkened. The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor appeared again, poison mist surging around him as he took a stance against them.
"Wait. I know this girl."
A voice suddenly rang out, edged with the killing intent of a military formation.
Everyone turned to see a man in the black armor with gold trim unique to Star Luo, his eyes fixed on Zhu Zhuqing.
He was Dai Hengtian, the Guardian Douluo of the Star Luo Empire.
Before you continue