Gale Scaled Serpent, Spiritual Snake Hidden Force

"Have you found a suitable soul beast for your second Soul Ring?"

Dugu Bo asked.

"Yes, a Gale Scaled Serpent!"

"Gale Scaled Serpents are fast and kill opponents through constriction, but they are not venomous."

"My grandson wants a close-combat soul skill for self-defense, yet your target this time is a thousand-year-old Gale Scaled Serpent."

"You brat actually want a thousand-year soul beast? Isn't that too risky? I thought an eight-hundred-year soul beast would be about right this time."

"Grandfather, from my own understanding, the upper limit of a Soul Ring a soul master can withstand is closely related to their physical constitution. I temper my body with poison."

"My body has long surpassed that of an ordinary Soul Grandmaster. Even an average Soul Elder would be weaker than me in a contest of strength."

After Dugu Feng finished speaking, he walked over to a nearby wall. His palm strike looked light and effortless, yet it left a deep handprint in the wall.

"This time, I want to do it myself. If I can kill a thousand-year Gale Scaled Serpent, wouldn't that prove I have the strength to absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring?"

"Fine."

Dugu Bo immediately agreed. He then circulated his Soul Power and brought Dugu Feng into a dense forest located in the southern part of Sunset Forest.

In the Southern Sunset Forest, ancient trees blotted out the sky.

Compared to the previous swamp region, this place was much cleaner.

But the trees were far denser.

This was precisely the sort of environment that served as a hunting ground for Gale Scaled Serpents.

Dugu Bo released the aura of his martial soul. As the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor, the emperor of countless serpents, released its presence—

All the snake-type soul beasts hiding in the darkness began to emerge one after another.

Dugu Feng concealed himself atop a treetop and carefully observed his surroundings.

Suddenly—

A silver afterimage shot out from the shadow of a towering ancient tree!

It was so fast that only a faint afterimage could be seen.

The air tore apart with a piercing shriek!

The tree trunk shook violently!

It was a massive snake, over four zhang long, covered in silver-white scales and possessing an incomparably sleek body!

Its reflective scales were like blades, its fangs gleamed with cold light, and the muscles along its body were explosively defined!

Twelve hundred years old! A Gale Scaled Serpent!

Nonvenomous, incredibly fast, and unmatched in constriction!

It had lurked in the forest for a long time, intending to hunt prey. But after sensing the aura of Dugu Bo's Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor—

It only wanted to flee now.

To get far away from this troublesome place.

Little did it know that it was the target this time.

In an instant, the identities of hunter and prey were reversed.

After locking onto his prey, Dugu Feng, who had been standing atop the tree, instantly unleashed a palm strike.

The force of his palm launched an exceptionally sharp stone.

It pierced through the Gale Scaled Serpent's scales and stabbed straight into its body.

That stone had been coated with a powerful poison specially concocted by Dugu Feng.

While at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Dugu Feng had consumed an immortal herb known as the Blood Swan Kiss.

This immortal herb could enhance a soul master's potential, but it had another effect as well: it could increase the toxicity of poisonous substances by a hundredfold or even a thousandfold.

After Dugu Feng consumed the herb, its power merged into his bloodline under the influence of his Toxic Toad martial soul.

Now, his blood could increase the potency of ordinary poisons by tenfold, or even a hundredfold.

He had added his own blood to the poisons he developed, multiplying their potency.

Although the Gale Scaled Serpent was a nonvenomous snake, its diet included venomous snakes.

As a result, it possessed resistance to certain snake venoms. To poison it to death, he needed a potent dose.

Using the internal force of Toad Style, he drove the poisoned sharp stone into its body.

This would weaken the Gale Scaled Serpent.

Dugu Feng immediately activated A Thousand Li in a Flash and chased closely behind the Gale Scaled Serpent. At first, he nearly lost track of it, but as more time passed—

The Gale Scaled Serpent's stamina gradually began to decline, while the poison spread throughout its body along with its rapidly circulating blood.

In the end, the Gale Scaled Serpent could no longer endure. Once the poison fully erupted, it crashed heavily to the ground.

Dugu Feng seized the opportunity and activated Toad Style. Soul Power gathered in his palms as he rapidly struck the Gale Scaled Serpent's head.

With a single blow, the Gale Scaled Serpent died on the spot.

Dugu Bo, who had been watching from afar, burst into laughter.

"As expected of Poison Douluo's grandson! In merely one year, you managed to concoct a poison strong enough to kill a thousand-year soul beast."

Knowing that Dugu Bo was nearby, Dugu Feng simply sat down cross-legged and began drawing the Thousand-Year Soul Ring into his body.

He then began circulating the internal cultivation method of the Spiritual Snake Fist.

He guided the Soul Power entering his body to circulate according to the Spiritual Snake Fist's internal cultivation method.

The surging Soul Power continuously battered Dugu Feng's arms.

"Spiritual Snake coiling force disperses brute strength; Toad's sinking force strengthens the body."

[ Ding, absorbing Gale Scaled Serpent Soul Ring. Beginning to temper the Spiritual Snake Fist meridians... ]

After an unknown amount of time, Dugu Feng opened his jade-green eyes.

His arms slowly twisted, producing a series of cracking sounds as his bones collided.

"Spiritual Snake Fist, minor mastery!"

Using the Soul Power of the Thousand-Year Soul Ring to temper his meridians—

His Spiritual Snake Fist had now reached the peak of minor mastery.

Just a little more, and he would officially enter major mastery.

"I have never seen a soul master whose second Soul Ring was a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Xiaofeng, you truly are a once-in-a-million genius. You will surely leave behind a legend in the world of soul masters."

"What is your second soul skill?"

"My second soul skill is called Spiritual Snake Hidden Force. When I attack an opponent, my Soul Power transforms into invisible hidden force that protects my hands."

"Then, when I hit an opponent, the hidden force passes through their skin and directly strikes their internal organs. When I activate this soul skill, my speed increases by thirty percent."

This second soul skill, Spiritual Snake Hidden Force, paired with his Spiritual Snake Fist and Bone-Penetrating Acupoint Striking—

Could be said to multiply his power.

However, the Spiritual Snake Fist could only be used when catching an opponent off guard.

Its focus was surprise attacks. If he used it too often, powerful experts could easily find its flaws.

The Spiritual Snake Fist placed the greatest emphasis on the flexibility of one's tendons and bones. Tempered by the Thousand-Year Soul Ring, the resilience of the meridians in Dugu Feng's arms had greatly improved.

And Spiritual Snake Hidden Force combined with Bone-Penetrating Acupoint Striking was enough to threaten Soul Elders, or even Soul Ancestors.

Only abundant Soul Power could withstand it. Once one's Soul Power failed to block it, death was the only outcome.

As the saying went, external injuries were easy to treat, but internal injuries were difficult to heal.

"This Thousand-Year Soul Ring directly raised my Soul Power by three levels. My Soul Power has now reached level twenty-three."

"Xiaofeng, you are only seven years old, yet you are already a level twenty-three Soul Grandmaster. I once thought it might have been an exaggeration to say that you could reach Soul Saint before eighteen."

"But now, it seems that your grandfather underestimated you. Don't worry. I may not have much else, but I have plenty of poison. As long as your martial soul can withstand it, I will refine as much poison for you as you need."

Dugu Feng's heart softened when he heard Dugu Bo's words.

In his previous life, he had merely been an orphan. In the end, he developed cancer and could only die alone.

Perhaps in this life, because of the color of his naturally born hair and his jade-green eyes, his parents had regarded him as an aberration and deliberately abandoned him in Sunset Forest.

Had Dugu Bo not saved him, he would likely have long since perished in the jaws of those soul beasts.

Therefore, Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan were the most important people in his life.