Dark Night Fierce Mantis, Night Fierce Light

Dugu Bo stood up and said indifferently, "Then this old man will see this through to the end. I generally do not reside within Heaven Dou City, but rather in the Sunset Forest. I previously discovered a Dark Night Fierce Mantis with a cultivation exceeding a thousand years; it possesses darkness and a trace of death attributes, which should suit you well. The sun is about to set, so the timing is perfect. How about I help you hunt for your soul ring?"

Xing Tian felt that Dugu Bo was acting a bit strange, as if he were being a little too proactive.

However, Ye Renxin had said that Dugu Bo acted solely on his own whims, and some of his behaviors could not be measured by common logic.

Furthermore, since a Titled Douluo had offered to help, he could not refuse him, nor could he make things difficult for Ye Renxin.

"Many thanks for your assistance, Your Excellency Dugu. I apologize for the trouble."

"Old Brother Ye, I will take him to the Sunset Forest now. Please look after Yan Yan for me."

Dugu Bo looked at Dugu Yan and said, "Yan Yan, be a good girl and don't cause any trouble for others."

"I know, Grandpa."

Dugu Yan pouted, muttering under her breath, "Grandpa really underestimates people."

Dugu Bo turned around, grabbed Xing Tian by the shoulder, and transformed into a dark green streak of light, flying away.

Before long, Dugu Bo brought Xing Tian down to the ground. The two were already inside the Sunset Forest, and Xing Tian took a moment to steady his somewhat chaotic breathing.

Dugu Bo remarked with appreciation, "To be flying at such high speeds for the first time without a soul ring, yet only feeling slightly uncomfortable and adjusting so quickly—that is quite impressive."

"Thank you for the praise, Senior. But the Sunset Forest is so vast; how are we supposed to find the Dark Night Fierce Mantis?"

Dugu Bo was confident, but a strange smile curled at the corner of his mouth: "The Dark Night Fierce Mantis has a special habit: it only moves after sunset and preys exclusively on soul beasts or soul masters that possess light or dark attributes."

Xing Tian was shocked: "You mean... you don't intend to use me as bait, do you?"

"You guessed it! Now, tell me, are you going to do it or not?"

Dugu Bo said with a sarcastic tone, "If you don't, that Dark Night Fierce Mantis has excellent stealth abilities; I'm afraid it would take ten days or half a month to find it."

Xing Tian sighed and agreed: "Fine, what exactly do I need to do?"

"Nothing too complicated. Summon your martial soul and release your aura as much as possible. Just keep walking forward; I will follow you in the shadows and drive away any irrelevant soul beasts."

As soon as he finished speaking, Dugu Bo vanished, leaving behind only a faint trail of dark green mist.

As expected of a venomous snake; his stealth skills are truly peerless.

Xing Tian immediately released his martial soul, and his aura of darkness, evil, and death was fully displayed.

Although venturing deep into the Sunset Forest alone was dangerous, Xing Tian was not afraid at all. If he lacked even this much courage, he could never have become a powerhouse in his past life.

Xing Tian walked for a long time. Along the way, he saw no animal soul beasts, nor did any plant soul beasts attack him.

Hidden in the shadows, Dugu Bo marveled: "Just as I thought. With an aura of darkness, evil, and death, aside from a few special or powerful soul beasts, most will feel fear or disgust and dare not approach."

Xing Tian walked for about half an hour, and the sky had largely turned dark.

Suddenly, Xing Tian sensed something approaching and immediately entered a combat state.

Dugu Bo was highly intrigued: Come on, let me see if you have the ability to live up to Old Brother Ye's expectations and that look in your eyes.

It turned out that Dugu Bo had completely seen through Ye Renxin's intentions. He was a man who repaid a drop of kindness with a fountain of gratitude; Ye Renxin had saved his son's life for a year, and he was eager to repay him with ten years of his own life.

It was just that Ye Renxin never asked for his help, which made him uneasy, and this was an opportunity.

At the same time, the moment Dugu Bo first saw Xing Tian, he noticed the look in his eyes—the kind of look only a powerhouse possessed. He was genuinely curious about Xing Tian's potential.

Just then, a faint black light flashed violently. Everywhere it passed, trees, rocks, and even the air were sliced open, leaving behind a mass of black energy that continuously corroded the surfaces.

Realizing that Dugu Bo was not going to intervene, Xing Tian instantly understood his purpose. No wonder he was so proactive in taking him to hunt for a soul ring alone, without using the Ye family's influence.

This is the perfect chance to test the strength of the soul beasts in this world!

A fierce, dark glint surged in the depths of Xing Tian's eyes, and a low, evil laugh escaped his lips. He circulated the Nine Deaths Reincarnation Evil Art, and his already pale hands instantly turned a ghastly white-purple.

His fingernails grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his knuckles protruded like ghost claws, as if they were no longer the hands of a living person.

His entire being radiated an evil, icy aura of death, as if he had become a completely different person.

Xing Tian suddenly transformed his hands into claws, and a cold, murderous light erupted as he struck out with both hands!

Two streams of white-purple energy surged like venomous snakes emerging from their den. Where they passed, weeds withered, and the very flow of air seemed to stagnate.

The speed of the energy was not particularly fast, but the range was wide, and it carried a strange, deathly aura.

In an instant, the black light was forced out of its hiding place.

It was a mantis the size of a human, its entire body pitch-black. Its carapace looked like enamel, shimmering with a cold, hard luster. Its dark green compound eyes held only pure ferocity, and its pair of forelimbs were like the scythes of the Grim Reaper, the blades gleaming with a ghastly white light.

What kind of technique is this? It actually managed to break the Dark Night Fierce Mantis's stealth. He hasn't even attached a soul ring yet; could it be a Self-Created Soul Skill?

At first, Dugu Bo only thought that if Xing Tian could dodge or withstand one or two attacks from the Dark Night Fierce Mantis, that would be amazing enough. He never expected Xing Tian to have such capabilities.

However, Dugu Bo was mostly excited: What a sinister and ruthless attack; it's actually quite similar to my own combat style.

Xing Tian had just used his internal energy, the Nine Deaths Reincarnation Evil Art, to execute an external technique, the Nine Yin Bone Claw, which he called the Nine Deaths White Bone Claw. This was merely one of its moves—Withered Bone Grave Sweeping.

It was specifically designed to break an opponent's stealth and restrict their range of movement.

Because the Nine Deaths lineage had not obtained the Nine Yin Manual and had only learned the Nine Yin Bone Claw technique, they had integrated the Nine Deaths Evil Art into it, and Xing Tian had taken it a step further.

The Dark Night Fierce Mantis possessed decent combat awareness. After a moment of stunned silence, it snapped back to reality, emitting a "hissing" sound as black smoke like sand surged from its black carapace.

The originally ghastly white blades were instantly covered in black—a blackness deeper than the night itself, as if it could devour all the light in the surroundings.

Immediately after, the forelimbs of the Dark Night Fierce Mantis crossed in a violent slash, and the black color vanished into thin air.

"Silent and traceless, formless and shapeless—what an ability! The speed is also incredible; there's no dodging this. In that case, Ten Thousand Souls Soul-Protecting Art!" There was not a hint of panic in the eyes of Xing Tian; instead, they brimmed with excitement.

Dark purple mist surged from his entire body, thick as congealed blood, with faint, eerie wails echoing from within.

The next instant, the mist on both sides of Xing Tian was sliced open as if by a sharp blade, revealing two gaping tears.

The edges of the cuts were pitch black, and the dark purple mist began to dissipate as it turned into black vapor.

"Such formidable corrosive power. Is this the nature of the dark attribute? Fortunately, I possess it as well, otherwise I truly wouldn't have been able to defend against that."

Xing Tian was merely startled, but Dugu Bo, watching from the sidelines, was ten times more shocked.

"To think this brat reacted so quickly. Is it a habitual defense, or did he truly perceive it? And yet another skill."

It was no wonder Dugu Bo was astonished, as the Dark Night Fierce Mantis had just utilized its innate spirit skill, Night Fierce Light.

The most terrifying aspect of this move was not its cutting or corrosive power, but the fact that when used at night, the light blades became silent, traceless, formless, and shapeless, detectable only through pure spiritual power.

Furthermore, once the cultivation of the Dark Night Fierce Mantis reached the thousand-year level, this move could be remotely controlled, allowing it to strike from even more treacherous angles.