Long before Snake Lance Douluo and Pufferfish Douluo hid in the tavern to drink tea and eat, Dugu Bo had secretly made his move, adding a trace of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's natal poison to their food.
The two of them had remained concealed and motionless until now, so the poison had taken effect slowly.
But now that they had unleashed their Soul Power with all their might to kill, the deadly poison lurking in their meridians was instantly triggered and spread throughout their bodies.
How could Snake Lance Douluo still care about killing Ning Fengzhi? He collapsed onto the ground, drenched in sweat as he frantically circulated his Soul Power to suppress the snake venom raging within him. For the moment, he had completely lost his combat ability.
Yet after merely two or three breaths, Pufferfish Douluo's complexion had returned to normal, even becoming slightly rosier than before.
"Heh... old poisoner, you poisoned me?"
Pufferfish Douluo sneered.
Originally, he had not been among the candidates for this mission. His assigned duty had been to guard Spirit Hall's Heaven Dou Empire branch.
But as the consecrated guardian of the Heaven Dou Empire branch, how could he not come lend a hand when Spirit Hall was making a move within the Heaven Dou Empire?
Thus, he had personally requested permission from the Title Douluo leading the team to join them.
And his reason for coming was simple.
Dugu Bo had suddenly vanished. He had disappeared right under everyone's noses, stopped appearing publicly, and no one knew where he had gone or what he was doing.
Why had Spirit Hall chosen him as the Title Douluo responsible for guarding the Heaven Dou Empire?
In terms of cultivation, he was not even a match for Snake Lance. In terms of Soul Power, he was far inferior to the other Title Douluo within Spirit Hall.
Yet it was he, rather than those others, who guarded the Heaven Dou Empire.
That was because his Martial Soul, Pufferfish, naturally granted him an extremely high resistance to poison!
Furthermore, he could directly absorb toxins to strengthen himself. If an enemy foolishly tried to poison him, not only would it fail to bring him down, it would instead be equivalent to supplying the enemy and make him even stronger!
The Heaven Dou Empire's chief consecrated guardian was Dugu Bo, an old poisoner who was weak in direct combat but excelled at harming others from the shadows!
A natural counter!
The smile at the corner of Pufferfish Douluo's lips was undisguised. Until now, he had never revealed the traits of his Martial Soul, waiting only for a chance to face Poison Douluo head-on and stab him hard.
At last, he had caught his opportunity!
"Martial Soul Avatar!"
"Blood Sea Pufferfish Abyss!"
Two Soul Rings on Pufferfish Douluo's body lit up in succession, suddenly whipping up a violent gale!
Then, a gigantic pufferfish abruptly appeared where Pufferfish Douluo had been standing. With him as its center, patches of pufferfish venom spikes instantly burst from the surrounding ground!
Although he had unleashed his power, Pufferfish Douluo had clearly not lost his mind. Knowing that they were in Suotuo City, he did not fully release the power of his ninth Soul Skill. Instead, he carefully confined its range to the open area.
Then, the blood-red pufferfish venom spikes rapidly spread toward Dugu Bo!
"Old bastard, you set me up!"
Dugu Bo's expression flickered darkly as he realized that Ci Xue had played him.
He truly had not expected Ci Xue, that seemingly straightforward fellow, to be so patient. He had concealed his poison-neutralizing trait so well!
After guarding the Heaven Dou Empire for so many years, Dugu Bo had never discovered that trait!
As this large-scale, area-damaging skill erupted, Dugu Bo instantly understood Pufferfish Douluo's intentions. He clearly did not want to harm innocent people, much less accidentally injure Cuihua!
Without even needing to think, Dugu Bo sneered and simply flashed behind Cuihua, using her as a human shield!
At that sight, Ci Xue instantly felt the urge to cough up blood.
Back when he had asked to join the mission, the Title Douluo leading the team had frowned deeply.
"You should not accompany us to Suotuo City."
"First, the Heaven Dou Empire Spirit Hall branch needs you to guard it. Second, your Pufferfish Martial Soul is poisonous. If a major battle breaks out, you cannot unleash your Martial Soul at full strength in Suotuo City. Otherwise, the entire city will be buried alongside you."
"And if you cannot use your Martial Soul at full strength, how much combat ability will you have left?"
"Besides, His Holiness the Pope has already issued a strict order to bring back the young girl alive. Your Martial Soul is poisonous. Do you intend to hand His Holiness a poisoned girl?"
The barrage of questions left Ci Xue unable to answer. Only after shamelessly pleading and explaining himself had he managed to secure the chance to participate in this mission.
For no other reason than to catch Dugu Bo and confront him head-on!
He wanted to prove to everyone who the so-called world's greatest poison Soul Master truly was!
Yet now, that old bastard Dugu Bo had seen through his weakness at a glance and was actually using that little girl as a shield. He truly had no shame at all!
Pufferfish Douluo had no choice but to circulate his Soul Power and forcibly retract his ninth Soul Skill.
However, forcibly interrupting a Soul Skill that had already been unleashed still caused him considerable injury. He could only suspend his clash with Dugu Bo and briefly recover.
During that short interval, the situation somehow fell into a strange balance.
The two elders of the Clear Sky Sect were locked in an intense battle with Chrysanthemum Douluo, the light of their Soul Skills illuminating half the night sky.
Sword Douluo Chen Xin, meanwhile, was firmly held back by Ghost Douluo, who had transformed into a mass of black mist. The two collided repeatedly in midair, neither able to do anything to the other.
Bone Douluo lay heavily injured on the ground, Ning Fengzhi's combat strength could be ignored, Snake Lance was poisoned and could only circulate his Soul Power to suppress the venom, while Pufferfish Douluo had suffered backlash from his own ninth Soul Skill. Both sides had lost their fighting power.
A huge gap had miraculously appeared on the battlefield!
Dugu Bo's figure flickered. He stopped several steps in front of Cuihua.
He had personally witnessed the power of Cuihua's flying knives earlier. He knew that although the girl possessed no Soul Power, her ability to manipulate objects with spiritual power was impossible to guard against.
Moreover, he himself was not skilled at powerful single-target attacks, so he naturally did not dare force the issue.
Dugu Bo put on what he believed was his kindest smile and said with a sinister grin, "Little girl, don't be afraid. This old man is the Heaven Dou Empire's chief consecrated guardian."
Dugu Bo cleared his throat and advised her gently, "You were born in Suotuo City, so by rights, you are also a citizen of my Heaven Dou Empire."
"Come with this old man. I will personally take you to meet Xue Ye."
"You can trust this old man. This is the promise of a Title Douluo."
"The conditions Xue Ye offers you will absolutely be no worse than those offered by anyone or any force present here. The Heaven Dou Empire will become your staunchest support and protect you and your family."
At those words, Cuihua, who had been wavering over whether to choose the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect or Spirit Hall, was moved once again.
Spirit Hall was powerful, but precisely because it was too powerful, Cuihua felt somewhat insecure.
Whether she was there or not would make no difference to such a force. If she joined them, would she truly receive any attention?
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect might be wealthy, but it was ultimately only a sect. Moreover, it seemed to be a support-type Soul Master sect. How much combat power could it have? Could it truly protect her?
But the Heaven Dou Empire was a colossal force that controlled half the continent!
It seemed to possess the advantages of both Spirit Hall and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, while its drawbacks were not so obvious.
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