Phoenix

When some great upheaval occurred, soul beasts instinctively fled their territories and migrated in groups toward safer areas.

And once the soul beasts deep within Dragon Valley rioted, it meant that tens of thousands of dragon-type soul beasts, ranging from century-old to ten-thousand-year-old, would surge out like a burst dam.

Not to mention a mere Grand Soul Master like him—even a Soul Sage like Huang Fei might not emerge unscathed before such a beast tide.

Huang Fei swiftly unleashed her martial soul, and her first soul ring lit up.

Purple flames exploded from her body. The phantom of a Purple Flame Phoenix enveloped them both as Huang Fei grabbed Lu Mingfei and turned, sprinting toward the valley entrance.

She pushed her speed to its limit, moving even faster than when they had come in.

Dragged along by her, Lu Mingfei was practically lifted off the ground. He could only barely make out the scenery on either side blurring into streaks of color as it rushed backward.

Behind them, within the dark valley path, thousands of dragon beasts surged forward like an overwhelming avalanche.

At the very front were several ten-thousand-year dragon beasts as enormous as small hills. Their eyes brimmed with fear and confusion, and they were practically trampling their own kind in their desperate charge.

Deeper within, a pair of dark yellow eyes followed unhurriedly behind the beast tide, like a hunter driving a flock of sheep, closing in on Lu Mingfei step by step.

In the blink of an eye, Huang Fei pushed her speed to the limit.

The wind beside their ears became a piercing howl, while the rock walls and trees on either side blurred into streaks of color.

Several oblivious low-level soul beasts lunged at them from the side. They were probably century-old soul beasts whose intelligence had barely awakened, swept up by the beast tide and fleeing blindly in every direction.

Without even looking at them, Huang Fei's second century-old soul ring abruptly lit up.

A small Purple Flame Phoenix with a wingspan of barely one meter shot from her fingertips, accurately blasting away the thick-skinned Ironclad Lizard that had lunged first.

"Phoenix Cloud-Piercing Strike!"

Purple flames burst into a dazzling curtain of light. The Ironclad Lizard let out a pained cry and tumbled to the ground, its body scorched black.

The other low-intelligence soul beasts were frightened by the display and scattered in all directions, no longer daring to come close.

Lu Mingfei was being carried by Huang Fei and jolted so badly that he felt dizzy, but he still forced his eyes open to observe their surroundings.

The beast tide was far larger than he had imagined.

Not far ahead, he could already see hundreds of dragon beasts of all shapes and forms fleeing madly outward.

There were winged pterosaurs.

There were Ice Dragon Beasts, their bodies entirely ice-blue.

The scales all over their bodies stood on end, their eyes filled with a mixture of fear and confusion, as if something terrifying were chasing them from behind.

"People ahead!" Lu Mingfei suddenly shouted.

Sure enough, several figures were racing outward along the valley path roughly a hundred zhang ahead.

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

He dragged Yu Tianheng along with one hand and carried Yu Tianjiao in the other. His long strides were astonishingly fast.

Faint arcs of lightning flickered around his body. He had clearly already circulated his soul power to accelerate himself.

"People from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect."

Huang Fei narrowed her eyes and swiftly restrained the purple flames around her, returning to the appearance of an ordinary traveler.

She did not want to expose her identity as a member of Spirit Hall at a time like this.

Though the beast tide was upon them, if the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect recognized her as a member of Spirit Hall's Inspection Corps, it would inevitably bring more trouble.

Huang Fei released Lu Mingfei's collar and let him run on his own. The two of them quickly caught up with the eldest young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, one after the other.

The eldest young master was slightly taken aback when he saw them, but he did not ask any questions.

At a life-or-death moment like this, more companions meant greater safety. He had no time to interrogate them about their origins.

"Move! The main force of the beast tide is still behind us!" the eldest young master shouted without looking back.

Yu Tianheng ran behind his father, his face pale. But he was only around ten years old, and his stamina was far inferior to that of an adult. His steps had already begun to falter.

Yu Tianjiao, cradled in her father's arms, was quiet. Her little face was buried against his chest, and she did not dare look back at the scene behind them.

As Lu Mingfei passed them, he glanced at Yu Tianheng. Though the boy's face was pale, the stubbornness in his eyes remained. He gritted his teeth and kept moving without a word.

The group joined the torrent of fleeing people and raced desperately out along the valley path.

After running for about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, another group appeared ahead...

Dragon Duke Meng Shu leaned on his four-meter-long silver dragon-headed cane. His steps were steady as stone, and though he looked frail with age, he was scarcely slower than the younger people.

Serpent Grandmother Chao Tianxiang kept pace beside him, gripping her snake-headed cane in her right hand. The six soul rings around her body flickered in and out of sight as she remained constantly alert to their surroundings.

Meng Yiran was protected behind Serpent Grandmother. The young girl's face was full of tension, but she did not panic or cry. She merely followed closely behind her grandmother.

When Dragon Duke Meng Shu saw the eldest young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect and Huang Fei's group, he gave a slight nod in greeting before saying in a deep voice, "This beast tide came too strangely. This old man has traveled in and out of Dragon Valley for decades, yet I have never seen anything like this. Who knows what else is driving them from behind? We should leave this place quickly."

Naturally, no one objected. The two groups joined together and continued fleeing outward.

After running a little farther, Lu Mingfei suddenly saw a figure standing in the shadows near the valley entrance.

The figure was lean and tall as a spear. His dark green hair fluttered slightly in the wind, and his gray robe snapped loudly.

He stood silently in the middle of the valley path, blocking the only route everyone had to leave the valley.

Poison Douluo Dugu Bo.

The instant the eldest young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect saw Dugu Bo, his steps abruptly halted, and wild delight appeared on his face.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect had deep ties with the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.

And as an honored guest 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—that's wonderful. With you here, we—"

"Why panic?"

Dugu Bo's dry, hoarse voice cut him off midway. "No matter how great the beast tide, it cannot break through a Titled Douluo's soul power barrier. Stop where you are. There is no need to rush out."

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

Dugu Bo turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.

His eyes passed one by one over the people of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, Dragon Duke and Serpent Grandmother, Meng Yiran, Huang Fei, and Lu Mingfei, before finally settling on the chaotic darkness deep within Dragon Valley.

Dugu Bo's expression remained as stiff and unreadable as ever, but his emerald-like eyes held a deep sense of scrutiny.

"There has been a disturbance deep within Dragon Valley."

Dugu Bo spoke slowly.