Taotie

All the soul beasts assumed poses of near-reverent prostration.

Then, a colossal beast walked toward them.

Its body was like a moving hill, its dark golden fur gleaming with a metallic luster beneath the dim light.

It had the face of a goat, the teeth of a tiger, human-like claws, and two dark green eyes beneath its armpits. The enormous curved horns atop its head hung upside down like a crescent moon.

With every step it took, the ground trembled. An ancient, chaotic aura seemed to flow through its dark golden fur.

It was a true Taotie.

Not the thin-blooded Taotie Divine Bull Lu Mingfei had killed, but a pure-blooded Taotie.

It was more than a hundred thousand years old. Even within the forbidden secret realms in the depths of Dragon Valley, it was one of the most terrifying existences.

Its aura descended like an invisible mountain, making the souls of everyone present tremble.

Dugu Bo's expression changed completely the instant he recognized the colossal beast.

For the first time, a nearly despairing look appeared in his green eyes. The corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

"Taotie... a hundred-thousand-year pure-blooded Taotie!"

A hundred-thousand-year soul beast was a terrifying existence capable of standing on equal footing with a Title Douluo anywhere on the Douluo Continent.

And as a descendant of one of the Dragon God's nine sons, the Taotie's bloodline itself surpassed that of most dragon species.

A hundred-thousand-year pure-blooded Taotie possessed combat power beyond what an ordinary Title Douluo could contend with.

Even if Dugu Bo joined forces with the Dragon Duke and Serpent Grandmother, a pair whose combined attack could rival that of a Title Douluo, they would still be like fireflies before the blazing sun when facing such an ancient ferocious beast.

"We're finished..."

The eldest young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect went pale, even his voice shaking. "A hundred-thousand-year Taotie... even all of us together can't stop it..."

Dragon Duke Meng Shu gripped the dragon-headed cane in his hand tightly. The silver cane was actually trembling faintly.

He had weathered countless perils, but in the face of a pure-blooded Taotie, he felt an overwhelming despair he could not resist for the first time.

Lu Mingfei stood at the center of the domain, staring blankly at the Taotie walking out of the valley.

His lips trembled, and his voice shook with absurdity. "No way...

Could it be the ancestor of that Taotie Divine Bull I absorbed earlier? Is it here to take revenge on me?!"

Huang Fei's expression changed as well, her purple eyes fixed tightly on the approaching colossal beast.

Gritting her teeth, she said softly, "We should have listened to Lu Mingfei and not hunted that Taotie Divine Bull..."

Just as everyone believed disaster was upon them, and even Dugu Bo had prepared to make a desperate final stand,

the Taotie made a move none of them had expected.

It ignored the experts blocking its path and did not even spare Dugu Bo a second glance.

Its dark green eyes locked directly onto Lu Mingfei. Then it broke into a stride, charging straight toward him like a moving mountain range.

It was astonishingly fast, crossing dozens of yards in just a few breaths.

The soul beasts along its path prostrated themselves and moved aside.

Dugu Bo tried to intercept it, releasing the deadly poison mist of the Jade Phosphor Snake Emperor.

Yet when toxins capable of killing ten-thousand-year soul beasts touched the Taotie's dark golden fur, they slid away like water splashed onto wax, leaving not even the faintest mark.

The Taotie did not even look at him. Its enormous body scattered the poison mist as it charged onward.

The eldest young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect condensed a lightning sphere with his full power and hurled it out.

The lightning sphere exploded against the Taotie's body in a burst of blinding light. But when the glow faded, not even a scorch mark remained on its fur.

The eldest young master staggered back two steps, his face deathly pale.

His all-out Soul Sage-level attack did not even count as a scratch against this hundred-thousand-year Taotie.

Dragon Duke Meng Shu swept out with his silver dragon-headed cane.

A silver-white blade of light struck the Taotie's foreleg with a crisp clang like metal striking stone.

Then the blade shattered into silver sparks that filled the sky, while the Taotie's pace did not slow in the slightest.

Serpent Grandmother Chao Tianxiang's poison arrow struck the Taotie's eyelid. Its arrowhead shattered into powder without even piercing its skin.

Everyone's desperate attempts to stop it were like children playing before the Taotie.

The Taotie crossed every obstacle and came to a thunderous halt before Lu Mingfei. The gust it kicked up made Lu Mingfei's robes snap and whip wildly.

It lowered its head. The dark green eyes beneath its armpits stared at Lu Mingfei from close range, and then it caught that scent...

The aura of the Black Dragon King—supreme draconic might, as though it came from the very origin of dragonkind.

Even though it was a hundred-thousand-year pure-blooded Taotie.

Even though it was a descendant of one of the Dragon God's nine sons, its soul still trembled uncontrollably before this bloodline.

That fear and reverence were carved into the deepest depths of its bloodline. They could not be resisted or suppressed.

Yet it still gritted its teeth and forcibly restrained that trembling. Extending its enormous front limb with its human-like claw, it seized Lu Mingfei by the collar and lifted him into the air.

Before Lu Mingfei could react, he was flung onto the Taotie's broad back.

The dark golden fur was coarse and stiff, digging painfully into him. He grabbed several clumps of fur with both hands and feet to keep from being thrown off.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Lu Mingfei shouted from atop the Taotie's back, "Where are you taking me?! I really don't know you that well!"

Seeing that the Taotie was about to take Lu Mingfei away,

Huang Fei no longer hid herself.

"Let him go!"

Huang Fei's voice carried unprecedented terror.

"Martial Soul Possession!"

Her Purple Flame Phoenix martial soul erupted in an instant, and all seven soul rings lit up simultaneously.

Purple flames gathered around her into the phantom of a phoenix with a wingspan of several yards, crashing into the Taotie with searing heat.

But the Taotie's dark golden fur was like the toughest armor. The Purple Flame Phoenix burst into sparks the instant it struck, leaving only a scorched patch behind.

Huang Fei let out a muffled groan, her face growing several shades paler. But she did not retreat. She knew that if she backed down, Lu Mingfei would be torn apart by that Taotie.

Huang Fei suddenly clenched her teeth and shouted in a low voice:

"Martial Soul True Body!"

Purple light erupted from within her.

In that instant, her body completely transformed into a magnificent, enormous Purple Flame Phoenix.

The phoenix's true body had a wingspan of over thirty yards. Every feather was condensed from pure purple flame, burning with dazzling radiance beneath the night sky.

The phoenix cried out, beat its wings, and crashed into the Taotie once more.

This impact was many times more powerful than the last.

Purple flames collided with dark golden fur in a thunderous explosion. The shockwave swept up the surrounding rubble and dust, spreading outward like a storm.

At last, the Taotie's steps slowed for an instant beneath the attack.