Blazing Poison Flame Jiao

After flying continuously for two hours, they returned to the Star Dou Forest.

"Master, I really... can't fly anymore..." Dugu Yan panted heavily as she landed on a withered tree atop a mountain. She took out a Spirit Nourishing Pill and tossed it into her mouth, replenishing the Soul Power in her dantian, which had nearly run dry.

Qingxi released her spiritual sense. At her current level, it could cover a hundred li in every direction. Beneath them stretched a range of volcanoes.

At last, Qingxi locked onto a direction.

"Wait here." She left those words behind and swiftly flew southeast.

A volcano that had been boiling seemed to sense something and gradually quieted.

The next moment, Qingxi was already hovering in the sky above it.

She stood in midair as if on level ground, her dark eyes keenly fixed on the ground below, as though searching for something.

"Found you..." She raised her hand, and the Universe Staff appeared in it. She hurled it with all her strength toward a spot in the magma.

"Ah—" The next second, a cry of pain came from within the magma. The molten rock boiled and transformed into blades that shot toward Qingxi. Rather than retreat, she flew straight toward the volcanic magma. The Universe Staff flew back out of the magma, its golden shaft stained with green liquid at the end.

The surrounding air roiled with scorching heat. Qingxi swallowed a pill, then flew into the magma.

After a long while, the roiling, surging magma gradually settled.

Ten li east of the crater, the ground suddenly caved in. Dust flew up, forming a massive pit, beneath which magma bubbled and steamed.

After a while, Qingxi emerged carrying a half-dead red monster, something between a dragon and a snake, with a pair of wings growing from its back.

Only the upper half of its body remained. Something seemed to have pierced through its middle, leaving a huge, circular hole. Greenish-black blood dripped onto the ground, and the surrounding plants withered instantly.

She tossed the monster in front of Dugu Yan, who recoiled several steps in fright.

"Is this... a Flame Snake?" Dugu Yan stared at the dying red monster. It was called a snake, but looked more like a jiao.

Judging by its age, it was probably over ten thousand years old.

"This is a mutated species, a Blazing Poison Flame Jiao nearly sixty thousand years old. It has both poison and fire attributes, making it perfect for your fifth Soul Ring."

Qingxi sat down nearby, casually planted the Universe Staff in the ground, then took a roasted Soft Bone Rabbit from her Storage Bag and leisurely began gnawing on it.

She had to admit, the Soft Bone Rabbit tasted pretty good.

A satisfied expression appeared on her face. She was grateful to that sucker.

"Thank you, Master." Dugu Yan didn't refuse either. She took out a dagger and delivered the final blow to the Blazing Poison Flame Jiao.

The instant the jiao-snake breathed its last, a black Soul Ring rose from its corpse. She hurriedly sat cross-legged and began absorbing it.

She absorbed the Soul Ring with unusual ease. She even felt... relieved?

The Universe Staff planted in the grass trembled slightly, giving off a faint hum. Its shaft bent into an upside-down L shape as it cautiously reached toward the Flame Jiao's corpse.

"Quit whining. You can't eat that!" Qingxi raised her hand and smacked the staff. The little stick immediately behaved.

The next moment, a soft green light burst from the jiao's corpse. A spinal bone floated out, and Qingxi beckoned it over.

It took about half an hour before Dugu Yan finished absorbing the Soul Ring. She slowly opened her eyes. Purple, purple, black, black, black—five Soul Rings revolved around her as power poured out of her, stirring up a fierce gale.

A fifty-first-level Soul King.

"Here, absorb this too." Qingxi tossed over the spinal bone that had just emerged.

"Th-this... Master... I'm already more than satisfied with getting a Soul Ring. This Soul Bone is far too precious. You should keep it for yourself." Dugu Yan was so surprised that her cheeks flushed red.

She had never imagined her master would give her a Soul Bone as well, and one that looked to be at least ten thousand years old.

Soul Bones were extremely rare on the Douluo Continent, priceless treasures that money couldn't buy. Even her grandfather had only one, a ten-thousand-year Medusa Skull Bone.

"This torso bone dropped from that Blazing Poison Flame Snake. Absorbing a Soul Bone and Soul Ring from the same Soul Beast lets you get more out of them." Qingxi glanced at the Martial Soul beside her, which was practically drooling, and pursed her lips. "Besides, if you don't want it, it'll use it as a snack."

Seeing Dugu Yan refuse, the staff wriggled happily, fawning shamelessly.

"Ah..." Dugu Yan looked at the staff twisting itself into a pretzel and twitched her lips.

There was no way she could associate a Martial Soul like this with her master, who was as refined as the clear breeze and bright moon.

"Hurry up and absorb it. Then I'll take you to have some fun." Qingxi watched the sun slowly sink and spoke in a low voice.

"Okay, okay." Dugu Yan nodded and began absorbing the Soul Bone. This time, it went quickly.

When she opened her eyes again, the Soul Bone had disappeared.

"Master, look!" Dugu Yan stood up, and a huge dragon wing, over three meters long, unfurled behind her. Little tongues of bluish-green flame even burned along its fiery red feathers.

"Not bad." A hint of surprise flashed in Qingxi's eyes. She stood and said, "Now that we're done, let's get moving."

"Where to?" Dugu Yan landed and asked curiously.

"Weren't you hoping to beat up that chubby kid from 'Shrek'? We're off to have some fun." Qingxi took out two sets of black clothes. She tossed one to Dugu Yan and put on the other herself.

"I want to beat them all up." Dugu Yan's eyes lit up, and she eagerly changed into the clothes.

On the way back, they passed the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest and saw a pack of Silver Moon Fierce Wolves chasing a group of Soul Masters.

They were none other than the unlucky bunch who'd been beaten up by Shrek at the tavern that noon.

The children and their instructor were surrounded by the wolves and on the verge of defeat. The two struck almost simultaneously.

"Leave the leader to me. The rest are yours." They brushed past each other, Qingxi heading straight for the three-ten-thousand-year Soul Beast on the cliff.

"Leave them to me!" Dugu Yan spread the dragon wings behind her, and five Soul Rings appeared in turn. "Let's see how you beasts like my new Soul Skill, my fifth Soul Skill—Blazing Poison Phosphorus Fire."

In an instant, bluish-green flames blazed across the ground. Hundreds upon hundreds of wolves howled and surged toward Dugu Yan.

The Silver Moon Wolf King was the first to sense something was wrong. It turned and tried to flee, but the words "Prison Suppressor!" rang out. In an instant, its back grew as heavy as ten thousand catties, pinning it in place.

Its eyes shifted, still unable to understand what had happened, when its head had already fallen to the ground, severed from its body.

A black Soul Ring appeared. The next second, the Universe Staff broke free from Qingxi's grasp and flew straight over, gulping down the Soul Ring.

"Eat, eat, eat. That's all you ever do!" Qingxi scolded it twice, called the Universe Staff back, then turned and went to support Dugu Yan.

Watching the two black-clad figures cut down lives amid a field of wolf corpses, the people from Canghui Academy huddled off to one side, trembling.

"Teacher, I'm scared," the youngest girl said fearfully.

She was a level-twenty Soul Master, and they had come to the Star Dou Forest this time to find her a Soul Ring. They never expected to run into a pack of wolves on the outskirts.

There were simply too many of them. The weakest were only a few hundred years old, and they could handle those, but at least thirty were ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts. If their instructor's Martial Soul hadn't been a turtle shell with a tough defense, they would have died long ago.

"What terrifying poison fire!" Ye Zhiqiu watched the two black-clad figures, growing more astonished by the second.

He couldn't sense the Soul Power of the shorter one, but the other was undeniably a Soul King, and even had a Soul Bone.

There were over a thousand wolves. Ye Zhiqiu himself wouldn't have been able to escape unscathed, yet that person was actually suppressing the pack.

They were both Soul Kings above level fifty, but he felt utterly inferior.

After the Silver Moon Wolf King was slain, the pack attacked as if bent on mutual destruction. Seeing their numbers dwindle terribly, the remaining wolves finally chose to flee.

The two didn't pursue.