Phoenix

When some great upheaval struck, Soul Beasts instinctively fled their territories and migrated in herds toward safer ground.

And when the Soul Beasts deep in Dragon Valley stampeded, thousands upon thousands of dragon-type Soul Beasts, ranging from hundred-year to ten-thousand-year beasts, would come surging out like floodwaters through a broken dam.

A Soul Grandmaster like him stood no chance. Even a Soul Sage like Huang Fei might not escape a beast tide unscathed.

Huang Fei swiftly released her Martial Soul, and her First Soul Ring lit up.

Purple flames burst from her body. The phantom of a Purple Flame Phoenix enveloped them both as Huang Fei seized Lu Mingfei and sprinted toward the valley entrance.

She pushed her speed to its limit, moving even faster than she had on the way in.

Dragged along with his feet barely touching the ground, Lu Mingfei could only make out the scenery on either side blurring into streaks of color.

Behind them, thousands of dragon beasts surged through the dark valley passage like an avalanche.

At the front were several ten-thousand-year dragon beasts as massive as hills. Fear and confusion filled their eyes, and they trampled their own kind in their rush forward.

Farther back, a pair of dark yellow eyes followed the tide at an unhurried pace. Like a hunter driving a flock, their owner drew step by step closer to Lu Mingfei.

Huang Fei reached top speed in the blink of an eye.

The wind shrieked past their ears. Rock walls and trees blurred into streaks of color on either side.

A few low-level Soul Beasts lunged at them from the side. They were probably Hundred-Year Soul Beasts whose minds had barely awakened, swept up in the tide and fleeing blindly.

Huang Fei did not spare them a glance. Her second Hundred-Year Soul Ring flared to life.

A small Purple Flame Phoenix with a wingspan of barely a meter shot from her fingertips, striking the thick-skinned Ironclad Lizard at the front and blasting it away.

"Phoenix Cloud-Piercing Strike!"

Purple fire exploded in a brilliant curtain of light. The Ironclad Lizard toppled over with a pained cry, its body charred black.

The other dim-witted Soul Beasts scattered in fright, not daring to come near again.

Lu Mingfei grew dizzy from being hauled along in Huang Fei's grip, but he forced his eyes wide open and watched their surroundings.

The beast tide was far larger than he had imagined.

Not far ahead, hundreds of dragon beasts of every shape were already racing madly toward the exit.

Some were winged dragons.

Others were Ice Dragon Beasts, blue from head to tail.

Their scales stood on end, and their eyes shone with a mix of fear and confusion, as though something terrible were chasing them.

"There are people ahead!" Lu Mingfei suddenly shouted.

Sure enough, several figures were sprinting outward along the valley passage about a hundred zhang ahead.

Leading them was the eldest young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

He pulled Yu Tianheng with one hand and carried Yu Tianjiao in the other arm, covering ground at an astonishing pace.

Faint sparks flickered around him. He had clearly channeled his Soul Power to move faster.

"People from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."

Huang Fei narrowed her eyes and quickly drew in her purple flames, returning to the appearance of someone in ordinary clothes.

She did not want to reveal her connection to Spirit Hall now.

Even with the beast tide bearing down on them, being recognized by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan as a member of Spirit Hall's Inspection Corps would only cause trouble.

Huang Fei released Lu Mingfei's collar and let him run on his own. One behind the other, they soon caught up with the eldest young master.

He looked startled to see them, but asked no questions.

At a moment when their lives hung in the balance, more companions meant greater safety. He had no time to question where they came from.

"Keep moving! The main body of the beast tide is still behind us!" he called without looking back.

Yu Tianheng ran behind his father, his face pale. He was only around ten, and his stamina could not compare to an adult's. His steps had begun to falter.

Yu Tianjiao stayed quiet in her father's arms, her little face buried against his chest. She did not dare look back.

As Lu Mingfei passed them, he glanced at Yu Tianheng. The boy was pale, but the stubbornness in his eyes remained. He gritted his teeth and kept running without a word.

They joined the flood of people fleeing for their lives and raced down the valley passage toward the exit.

After running for about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, they came upon another group...

Dragon Duke Meng Shu strode with his four-meter silver dragon-headed staff, his steps as steady as bedrock. He looked frail with age, yet he was scarcely slower than the younger people.

Snake Granny Chao Tianxiang kept pace beside him, gripping her snake-headed staff in her right hand. Her six Soul Rings flickered in and out of sight as she stayed alert to their surroundings.

Snake Granny shielded Meng Yiran behind her. Anxiety was written all over the girl's face, but she did not panic or cry. She simply kept close to her grandmother.

Dragon Duke Meng Shu gave the eldest young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and Huang Fei's group a brief nod of greeting, then said gravely:

"This beast tide is strange. I've traveled in and out of Dragon Valley for decades and never seen anything like it. I don't know what might be driving them from behind. We'd best leave this place at once."

No one disagreed. The two groups joined together and continued their desperate flight.

After they had covered another stretch, Lu Mingfei suddenly spotted a figure standing in the shadows near the valley entrance.

The figure was tall and thin as a spear. Dark green hair stirred in the wind, and a gray robe snapped around him.

He stood motionless in the middle of the passage, blocking the only way out of the valley.

Poison Douluo Dugu Bo.

The eldest young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan stopped short the moment he saw Dugu Bo. Then delight spread across his face.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had longstanding ties to the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.

And as an attendant of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, Dugu Bo was an old acquaintance of the Yu Clan.

The eldest young master hurried forward and cupped his hands in salute. "Senior Poison Douluo! You're here too. Thank goodness. With you here, we—"

"Why the panic?"

Dugu Bo's dry, raspy voice cut him off. "No matter how large the beast tide is, it won't break through a Titled Douluo's Soul Power barrier. Stay where you are. There's no need to rush outside."

The eldest young master froze. "Senior, you mean..."

Dugu Bo turned and swept his gaze over everyone present.

His eyes passed over the members of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Dragon Duke and Snake Granny, Meng Yiran, Huang Fei, and Lu Mingfei before settling on the chaotic darkness deep within Dragon Valley.

Dugu Bo's expression remained rigid, betraying neither joy nor anger, but a searching intensity gleamed deep in his emerald eyes.

"Something is stirring deep in Dragon Valley."

Dugu Bo spoke slowly.