Dugu Yan Suffers Backlash from Her Poison Arts

A wave of gasps rose from the stands. Spectators in the front rows covered their mouths and noses, afraid of being caught in the poisonous mist.

Dugu Yan's tactics were clear—use the toxic mist to restrict Xiao Lin's movement, then force him to keep dodging with her whip. As long as he inhaled even a trace of the mist, he would be poisoned, and his combat strength would plummet.

Yet Xiao Lin smiled.

This was exactly the moment he had been waiting for.

He abruptly stopped, no longer dodging. Instead, he raised the Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute to his lips and played the first note.

As the flute rang out, his Soul Rings emerged as well.

One yellow, two purple.

The moment those two purple Soul Rings appeared around Xiao Lin, the entire Soul Arena fell silent for an instant.

"Purple?! Millennium Soul Rings?!"

"How can a mere Soul Elder have two Millennium Soul Rings?!"

"My god! His second Soul Ring is already a millennium-old one? How is that possible?!"

The stands erupted. Even Dugu Yan's pupils contracted sharply.

Two Millennium Soul Rings? What kind of monster was this guy?!

But she had no time to dwell on it, because Xiao Lin's flute had already resounded across the entire arena.

"Second Soul Skill—The General's Command!"

The flute's melody suddenly became impassioned and stirring, like an army of a thousand troops charging across a battlefield. A warm force flooded Xiao Lin's limbs and bones. His eyes grew brighter, his senses sharper, and his entire presence surged to a completely new height.

Then, the melody changed again.

"Third Soul Skill—Ambush from Ten Sides!"

The rapid, tense tune poured forth like a violent storm. Centered on Xiao Lin, visible ripples began appearing in the air within a hundred-meter radius. The ripples intertwined into an invisible net that enveloped the entire arena.

Dugu Yan's expression finally changed.

She felt an invisible force interfering with her senses. Xiao Lin was clearly standing not far ahead of her, yet she had the illusion that he was somewhere beyond the horizon.

What was worse, she discovered that she could no longer accurately judge direction or distance. The scenery around her began to blur and twist, as though she had fallen into a thick fog.

Even worse, her poisonous mist had been restrained by that invisible net. It could no longer spread and was instead compressed into a tiny area around her body.

"What kind of Soul Skill is this?!" Dugu Yan was horrified. She hurriedly swung her whip, trying to break through the invisible net.

But at the instant she swung it, several invisible arrows suddenly condensed in the air and shot toward her from different directions!

Dugu Yan hurriedly dodged, but the arrows seemed to have eyes, relentlessly pursuing her. She rolled and evaded across the arena in a sorry state, her clothes sliced open in several places to reveal the Bai skin beneath.

"Damn it!" Dugu Yan gritted her teeth, unwillingness flashing through her eyes.

She still had so many Soul Skills she had not used, so many methods she had not unleashed. Yet she was trapped by an invisible net, unable even to touch the hem of her opponent's clothes. How could she possibly accept that?

She clenched her teeth hard, determination flashing in her eyes.

I'll risk it all!

She forcibly activated the Soul Power within her, driving the toxicity of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor to its limit. Her eyes became vertical slits, fine green scales surfaced over her skin, and her entire body exuded a dangerous, eerie aura.

She would use her strongest poison arts to force her way through this net!

"Xiao Ding! Take this!"

Dugu Yan shouted, forming hand seals with both hands. Dense purple poisonous mist surged from her body, condensing into the phantom of a massive venomous serpent. It opened its blood-filled maw and lunged viciously at Xiao Lin!

It was the Jade Phosphorous Serpent's venom, containing an extremely terrifying toxicity. Even a Soul King-level expert would not dare take this attack head-on!

Xiao Lin frowned slightly.

He could sense that Dugu Yan's attack had gone beyond the bounds of a spar. It carried a reckless madness. If he did not respond more forcefully, he might truly be injured by this move.

So, he changed the melody of his flute.

The tune of Ambush from Ten Sides abruptly turned grim and murderous. Every note carried icy killing intent, as if an army of thousands was fighting fiercely upon the arena amid flashing blades, flying swords, blood, and carnage!

That invisible net of heaven and earth began to contract rapidly.

The ripples in the air became denser and more violent, as though the entire space were trembling. Invisible arrows and spears condensed faster and faster in ever-growing numbers, pouring down on Dugu Yan like a raging tempest!

When Dugu Yan's serpent phantom came into contact with those arrows condensed from sound waves, it began to twist and deform violently, as if something were tearing it apart. At last, it let out a shrill hiss and shattered with a bang!

Dugu Yan herself was also sent staggering back by the powerful sonic impact. A thread of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth, and her face turned as Bai as paper.

She dropped to one knee, gasping heavily. When she looked up at Xiao Lin, her eyes were filled with shock and unwillingness.

She had lost.

Completely and utterly.

She had not even fully unleashed her true strength before being firmly suppressed by his Soul Skills. From beginning to end, she had found no opportunity to counterattack.

The feeling left her utterly frustrated.

And at the instant Xiao Lin's Ambush from Ten Sides fully tightened, she forcibly activated the poison arts of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor in an attempt to break the deadlock. She never expected the backlash from those poison arts to be far more violent than she had imagined.

Purple toxic mist rampaged through her body, corroding her meridians. Her face instantly turned deathly Bai, and she violently spat out a mouthful of blood before collapsing limply.

Xiao Lin frowned as well. Had he overdone it?

"Yan'er!"

An aged, furious roar exploded from the stands. Immediately afterward, a dark green figure streaked through the air like a meteor and landed on the arena in the blink of an eye.

It was a tall, thin old man dressed in a dark green robe. His beard and hair were entirely Bai, yet his complexion was ruddy and his eyes shone with vigor.

A faint scent of medicinal herbs emanated from him, mingled with a trace of cold toxicity that sent chills down one's spine.

The Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo.

He had just happened to be looking for his granddaughter over something when he witnessed this scene.

He caught the collapsing Dugu Yan with one hand, his withered fingers resting on her pulse. His expression instantly became extremely grim.

"Forcibly activating her poison arts caused the poison to attack her heart..." Dugu Bo's voice was low and restrained, carrying rage on the verge of eruption.

"This girl, why won't she ever listen!"

He hurriedly poured his immense Soul Power into Dugu Yan's body, trying to help her suppress the rampaging toxicity.

But the Jade Phosphorous Serpent's venom was overwhelmingly tyrannical. Even the Soul Power of a Titled Douluo could only temporarily slow the poison's spread; it could not cure it at the root.