Eastern Sovereign Taiyi! Vermilion Flames Devour Sun and Moon, Imperial Shadow Suppresses Heaven and Earth!

"From now on, this herb garden and the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well are yours to use however you please!"

"Furthermore, I, Dugu Bo, swear here and now! Should you ever need help in the future, so long as it does not violate righteousness, I will spare no effort to assist you, without a word of refusal!"

The promise of a Titled Douluo carried enough weight to shake the entire continent.

This was precisely the outcome Tang Shuo wanted.

He smiled faintly.

"It's a deal."

"Now, take me to see it."

"Alright! Follow me!"

Dugu Bo circulated his soul power as they sped forward.

Before long, a peculiar valley appeared before them.

The valley was not large, yet it was sharply divided into two distinct halves.

One side was crimson earth, steaming with scorching white mist; the other was icy blue ground, blanketed in chilling white frost.

The two extreme auras met at a spring, forming a strange red-and-blue taiji symbol.

This was Dugu Bo's treasured land, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Yet Tang Shuo's gaze did not settle on the spring at once.

His eyes had already been drawn to the bizarre, radiant plants growing around it.

The entirely snow-white plant crowned with an enormous flower, as though it could see through one's heart, was Autumn Water Dew.

The noble and luxuriant plant that bloomed in seven colors and could greatly enhance the quality of any plant-type martial soul was the Qiluo Tulip.

There was also the Eight-Angled Mysterious Ice Grass, which grew in the coldest place, shaped like an eight-pointed star and icy blue throughout.

And the Infernal Delicate Apricot, rooted in the most intensely yang land, with leaves like apricot leaves and a fiery crimson color.

Plant after plant, flower after flower—every one of them was an immortal-grade herb Tang San had relied upon to soar in the original story!

These peerless immortal herbs, priceless beyond measure in the outside world and enough to spark bloody turmoil, grew here in dense clusters like roadside weeds.

A ripple stirred in Tang Shuo's heart.

That old fellow Dugu Bo was truly sitting on a mountain of treasure without realizing it.

He only knew that the environment here could suppress his poison, but he had no idea of the true value of these immortal herbs.

Now, all of it would benefit Tang Shuo.

A pitch-black Spirit Ring floated quietly above the massive corpse of the Crimson Sky Flame Dragon, emitting terrifying fluctuations of energy that made one's heart tremble.

The air was filled with the lingering toxic aura of Dugu Bo's ninth soul skill and the scorching, bloody stench of the Crimson Sky Flame Dragon's blood.

Yet Dugu Bo's attention was entirely elsewhere.

He looked at the black Spirit Ring, then at Tang Shuo beside it, his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily.

"Brother Tang Shuo..."

Dugu Bo's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"This... this beast's cultivation was at least at the peak of fifty thousand years."

"Are you certain... you truly intend to absorb it?"

It was not that he doubted Tang Shuo's potential, but absorbing a Spirit Ring had never been child's play.

Absorbing one beyond one's level—especially crossing the ten-thousand-year limit—was as dangerous as dancing on a blade's edge.

One misstep, and the result would be death by exploding body.

He had only just acknowledged such a promising young friend, and he did not want to watch him fall the very next moment.

"Rest assured, Senior."

Tang Shuo's answer was as calm as ever.

"I know my limits."

With that, he gave Dugu Bo no further chance to persuade him. He walked directly to the Crimson Sky Flame Dragon's corpse and sat down cross-legged.

"Alas!"

Seeing this, Dugu Bo could only let out a heavy sigh, but he did not leave.

He unleashed his soul power fully, his jade-green eyes vigilantly sweeping the surroundings as he stood guard for Tang Shuo.

At this point, all he could do was eliminate every possible external disturbance before it could arise.

Tang Shuo half-closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into his body.

The next instant, an indescribably supreme, noble, exalted, and sacred aura erupted from him!

Buzz—!

A blurred yet majestic imperial shadow slowly emerged behind him.

The imperial shadow wore a twelve-tasseled crown and robes adorned with the sun, moon, and stars. Its figure seemed fused with heaven and earth, as though it were the sole ruler of this world.

Eastern Sovereign Taiyi!

With the appearance of his martial soul, the fifty-thousand-year Spirit Ring, which had been restlessly surging with the Crimson Sky Flame Dragon's violent will, suddenly froze.

As though it had encountered its natural nemesis, its dark crimson light flickered violently. What it revealed was no longer savagery, but...

Fear!

Tang Shuo extended a hand and gently beckoned to the Spirit Ring.

The entire process was as smooth as flowing clouds and running water.

Dugu Bo, watching from the side, was completely dumbfounded.

Was this really absorbing a fifty-thousand-year Spirit Ring?

How was it even more effortless than an ordinary soul master absorbing a hundred-year Spirit Ring?

Just as his mind shook violently, the soul power within his body suddenly trembled. His Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor martial soul emerged on its own, beyond his control.

The enormous jade-green serpent, dozens of meters long, had originally looked mighty and imposing.

But the instant it saw the majestic imperial shadow behind Tang Shuo, its massive body stiffened. Endless panic instantly filled its cold vertical pupils.

Its proudly raised head slowly lowered beyond its control.

Its enormous body sprawled across the ground, trembling violently.

Thud!

Dugu Bo's legs went weak, and he nearly dropped to his knees on the spot.

The shock on his aged face turned to horror, and that horror turned into terror.

"W-what martial soul is this?!"

He stared fixedly at the imperial shadow, his heart pounding wildly as even his breathing nearly stopped.

I am a mighty Titled Douluo, level ninety-three, the poison tyrant of the world—yet this child's martial soul makes me want to prostrate myself in worship?!

While Dugu Bo's mind roiled, Tang Shuo's absorption had already reached its final stage.

The Crimson Sky Flame Dragon's vast soul power was swallowed whole by the Eastern Sovereign Taiyi martial soul without causing the slightest ripple.

Vermilion flames devoured sun and moon; the imperial shadow suppressed heaven and earth.

The imperial shadow, which had been somewhat illusory, now became several degrees more solid.

The tassels of its twelve-tasseled crown hung down, concealing its heavenly visage. Only a pair of eyes remained, like the sun and moon suspended in the sky, overlooking all things in the mortal world.

At the same time, Tang Shuo's third Spirit Ring slowly rose beneath his feet.

It was deep and dark, as though shadowy flames burned within it. The light flowing across it far surpassed that of an ordinary Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring.

Tang Shuo slowly opened his eyes, and a dark golden flame flashed through the depths of his pupils.

He raised his right hand, and a thought stirred in his mind.

"Third Soul Skill, World-Annihilating Nine Heavens Flame."

A tiny dark golden flame silently appeared in his palm.

It looked utterly unremarkable, without astonishing heat or violent aura.

Yet the instant it appeared, Dugu Bo's eyelid twitched sharply.

From that tiny flame, he sensed an intent capable of burning all things between heaven and earth to ashes.