Meanwhile, in the Suotuo City Grand Arena.
The crowd was fired up, and the audience's roars seemed ready to blow the roof off the arena.
The battle had reached its final, tangled moments.
"Eight Spider Lances!"
Xiao Wu was injured. Enraged, Tang San immediately unleashed his strongest attack: his External Soul Bone, the Eight Spider Lances.
But just as Tang San was about to move, he felt his heartbeat slow. It was as if something that had belonged to him had been stolen away.
"Ah!"
Because mother and son shared a deep bond, Tang San's movements stalled for several seconds. The strength seemed to drain from his limbs, and he had no time to defend himself. He took one of Yu Tianheng's attack Soul Skills head-on.
The situation changed in an instant. The Shrek Team had been giving everything to finish the match, but their attack suddenly faltered.
The Imperial Fighting Team seized the chance to launch their fiercest counterattack.
At that moment, Tang Hao, hidden in the shadows on the arena roof, felt his heart lurch as well.
"Something's happened to Ah Yin!"
As a Titled Douluo, Tang Hao's senses were exceptionally sharp. He immediately realized that something was wrong.
In an instant, Tang Hao charged frantically toward the waterfall behind Holy Soul Village.
But by the time he arrived, Tuoba Xuan had long since fled, leaving only a trail of wreckage behind.
The mountain gate by the waterfall stood wide open, and the surrounding rock walls had been badly worn down.
Ah Yin was buried beneath the dust, with only a faint blue glow showing through. She looked utterly wretched.
"Ah Yin! Ah Yin!" Tang Hao roared as he rushed to her side and roughly swept the dust away.
Ah Yin's aura was already faint, and Tang Hao's rough handling left her in even worse shape.
Most importantly, Tang Hao had rushed over without restraining his aura.
Ah Yin immediately sensed a familiar presence—that of one of her own kind.
"So that person was right." Ah Yin's heart died completely. Just as Tuoba Xuan had said, Tang Hao really had been deceiving her all along.
"No! No!"
The veins bulged on Tang Hao's forehead. He ignored Ah Yin's condition and frantically searched for the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.
At last, after searching until his fingers were bloody and his fingerprints had been worn away, he finally accepted that the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone was gone.
"No!"
Tang Hao's eyes widened. With a long sigh, he collapsed to the ground.
Ah Yin's heart was just as dead. She had thought that one day Tang Hao would find a chance to save her. She never imagined that it had all been part of Tang Hao's scheme.
Meanwhile, their son Tang San was having a rough time too. Because of his mistake, the Shrek Seven Devils were caught off guard by Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan's fierce counterattack, and they lost the match.
In the end, the Imperial Fighting Team won, while the Shrek members slunk away in disgrace.
Likewise, Yu Xiaogang never approached Yu Tianheng.
After obtaining the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, Tuoba Xuan hurried straight to Heaven Dou City and checked into a random hotel.
Over the next few days, Tuoba Xuan lived quietly, barely stepping outside his room.
That was, until late one night, five days later.
Tuoba Xuan yawned and was just about to climb into bed when he heard a rustling outside the window, as if a cold snake were lurking against the wall.
"Who's there?"
Seeing that the visitor made no attempt to conceal himself, Tuoba Xuan blurted out the question.
The person outside didn't answer. Instead, a wave of deadly poison began seeping into the room.
Flowers and grass withered wherever it passed, and the air seemed to freeze.
Tuoba Xuan immediately grew wary. Every hair on his body stood on end.
"Heart of the Mountain Dragon Skill: Might of the Dragon King!"
With a boom, a powerful aura erupted from Tuoba Xuan.
The poisonous fog strangely stopped for a moment.
A faint voice came from outside the window. "Boy, come out."
The poisonous fog vanished in an instant, and Tuoba Xuan realized who had come.
Without hesitation, Tuoba Xuan leapt straight out the window.
He chased after the direction in which the poisonous fog had disappeared.
Tuoba Xuan pursued him for a long time, stopping only when they reached a deserted place.
"Who are you?"
Tuoba Xuan asked as Soul Power surged around him, as if he might attack at any moment.
"Boy, you should know who I am."
Dugu Bo emerged from the shadows, his voice chilling to the bone.
"You must be Poison Douluo, the one titled Poison," Tuoba Xuan said calmly. "Your Excellency, Poison Douluo, it's the middle of the night. To think you'd invite a youngster out for a late-night chat instead of sleeping."
Dugu Bo's mouth twitched. "What a sharp-tongued brat. Since you know who I am, you still dared to come out and meet your death?"
Tuoba Xuan shook his head lightly. "With Your Excellency's strength, you could kill me without leaving a trace. So you must have something you want from me."
"Were you the one who broke Yanyan's poison in Tuotie City?" Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes, his voice full of doubt.
"I was just lucky," Tuoba Xuan said with a faint smile.
"That wasn't luck. Tell me, how did you learn those secrets?"
Dugu Bo's voice suddenly grew hoarse, and ghostly green poison fog began to spread around him.
The day before yesterday, Dugu Yan had returned to Heaven Dou City and immediately sought him out, demanding to know about the flaw in her body.
In the end, Dugu Bo had only managed to bluff his way through after a great deal of effort.
"Don't think your talent means I wouldn't dare kill you!" Dugu Bo's gaze turned cold. He appeared before Tuoba Xuan in an instant and seized his slender neck with a poison-coated hand.
"Ugh!"
Tuoba Xuan had no time to react. His life was in Dugu Bo's grip in an instant, like a fish on a chopping board.
"Talk!"
Dugu Bo snorted, his eyes frighteningly cold.
"Talk about what?"
Tuoba Xuan struggled, gritting his teeth as he forced the words out one by one.
"About the flaw in the Dugu Family?"
"About how your ribs hurt terribly whenever the weather turns cold and rainy?"
"Or that Dugu Yan is destined not to live past forty?"
Tuoba Xuan's rapid-fire questions stabbed into Dugu Bo's heart like one icy blade after another.
"Hmm." Dugu Bo's eyes narrowed. "How could a mere Soul Elder know such secrets? If you won't tell the truth, I'll make you wish you were dead."
A few thin lines of blood appeared on Tuoba Xuan's neck. His skin tightened, and less and less air flowed through his throat into his lungs.
Tuoba Xuan struggled desperately, trying to get even a little air.
Damn it, if you want me to talk, don't choke me!
Tuoba Xuan cursed Dugu Bo inwardly and said nothing.
Dugu Bo saw how badly Tuoba Xuan was struggling and snorted, releasing his grip at once.
"Cough, cough!" Tuoba Xuan had been choked badly. He sank to the ground and greedily sucked in the fresh air.
"If I die, your granddaughter won't live either. When that happens, let her join me in the grave."
Tuoba Xuan's eyes were bloodshot as he spoke through clenched teeth.
"Do you believe I'll cut the flesh from your body, one strip at a time?"
Dugu Bo was truly enraged now. Dugu Yan was the one thing he could never tolerate anyone insulting.