Dugu Bo's Battle

This was what Dugu Bo had feared earlier. He understood Dark Crow's fighting style, so he could only try to charge out in his strongest form, with a momentum no one could stop.

Otherwise...

He looked at the few crows still flying overhead, cawing at their surroundings as though mocking his helplessness. He knew Dark Crow was using them to notify the other Titled Douluos.

He picked up speed, but new crows appeared ahead of him every time. He grew increasingly anxious, yet no matter what he did, he could not shake the flock following him. They seemed to be weaving a net.

Dugu Bo abruptly turned, and his first soul ring lit up.

"First Soul Skill: Jade Scale Purple Poison!"

A cloud of deep purple poisonous breath spewed from Dugu Bo's mouth, enveloping the flock of crows.

The crows all beat their wings in unison, whipping up a fierce wind that scattered the poisonous mist, but Dugu Bo seized the chance to run a little farther ahead.

"No matter what you do, you're always in my sight." A crow circling in midair spoke with contempt.

Dugu Bo took a deep breath. His third soul ring lit up, and a vast cloud of hallucinogenic poisonous mist spread from his body.

It instantly enveloped his surroundings. The poison's hallucinogenic properties kept Dark Crow from locating Dugu Bo for the moment.

Dark Crow immediately sent all his clones straight into the sky, moving swiftly around the outer edge of the poison to maintain his reconnaissance net and watch for the direction Dugu Bo would emerge from.

Soon, Dark Crow sensed the crow clones in one direction disappearing rapidly. He quickly redirected all his clones that way.

But this played right into Dugu Bo's hands. Those crows had disappeared because of his fifth soul skill, Poison Fang Piercing. He had already taken the opportunity to return to his original form and slip away in the opposite direction.

Breaking out of the poisonous mist and finding no Dark Crow clones around him, he raced toward the forest's edge. Almost there. Another two kilometers, and he could leave Sunset Forest.

Then he only had to find a way back to the Heaven Dou Empire, and both he and Ah Yin would receive protection. They could wait for Lan Changsheng to return. They could...

But suddenly, the ground gave way beneath his feet. It had become as soft as dough, giving him no purchase. He lost his balance and fell flat on the ground.

He tried to get up, but it was as though he had sunk into a swamp.

His heart sank completely. "Brother Lan, I hope Ah Yin will be all right when you get here." He touched his chest, where the Wishful Hundred Treasure Pouch rested.

He quietly moved it to hang at the small of his back, thinking he would secretly toss it into some hidden corner later.

Then he looked ahead. Right at the forest's exit, a muscular figure over two meters tall cast a broad shadow, blocking his path like a city wall.

Demon Subduing Douluo, Qin Zhen. Only he could turn the ground into something like this. Dugu Bo's heart sank.

"Demon Subduing Douluo, I've long heard of your great name!" Dugu Bo said, cupping his hands.

"Mm." Qin Zhen nodded.

"You really do treasure your words like gold, just as the rumors say."

"Mm." Qin Zhen nodded again.

"Can you really not let me off?"

"No. The Pope ordered us to capture you alive within three days. Almost a day has already passed."

"Then there's nothing for it!"

Dugu Bo's body instantly swelled as he activated Human-Snake True Form again, transforming into a monster over forty meters long and charging at Demon Subduing Douluo.

Demon Subduing Douluo merely flicked his fingers, launching the steel ball he had been toying with for so long, now thoroughly softened, at Dugu Bo. The steel ball flattened into a round disc in midair and flew straight toward Dugu Bo's head.

Dugu Bo swept a claw across the incoming steel ball, intending to knock it away, but it scraped against his claw with the sound of metal cutting metal.

And because it had lost its original elasticity, the steel ball was not knocked away. Instead, it kept compressing and changing shape, continuing through the gaps between his fingers toward him.

Then it struck his shoulder with a bang, sending Dugu Bo stumbling back several dozen feet.

When Dugu Bo fell and struck the ground, he did not bounce. Instead, the softened earth swallowed him.

Dugu Bo struggled with all his strength. Just as he was about to break free, another steel ball came flying.

Knowing he could not dodge, he could only activate his fourth soul skill, Snake-Python Heavenly Astral Shield.

The steel ball struck the shield like a drop falling into water, sending out ring after ring of ripples. Even Dugu Bo's shield began to ripple along with it. He struck it with another swipe of his claw, knocking the steel ball away, then expended an enormous effort to rise and stand in midair.

Dugu Bo had not expected that even after Human-Snake True Form had made up for his ability to fight head-on, he would still pale so badly in comparison when facing a true expert.

By then, not only Dark Crow but the other two Titled Douluos had also arrived.

"You old bastard, you're a sly one!" Dark Crow snarled, about to charge forward with his fists raised.

But Qin Zhen raised a hand to stop him. "Just make sure he doesn't escape. Leave the rest to me."

Dugu Bo looked at Qin Zhen standing in a tree. Although Dugu Bo was now looking down at him, over forty meters against two, both men knew-as did everyone present-that Dugu Bo was the weaker party in this confrontation.

Another steel ball hurtled toward Dugu Bo. This time, he changed tactics. Keeping his eyes fixed on the incoming ball, he opened his mouth and spat a venomous fang at it. The two collided, slowing the steel ball.

When one was not enough, he used two, then three. At last, the speeding steel ball lost its momentum and dropped straight down.

Qin Zhen watched with interest, as though discovering a new use for a toy. He put away the steel balls in his hands and raised both hands. No-there was no visible change, but the light passing through his palms warped!

His hands shone with two colors, one green and one yellow. Another arm grew from his right shoulder, while his left arm sprouted green, lizard-like scales.

Dugu Bo decided to strike first and spat a mouthful of venom at Qin Zhen. But it was deflected by an invisible force field covering Qin Zhen's surface from head to toe without a single gap, failing to touch even the hem of his clothes.

This time, he truly had to stake his life. The blood essence he had only recently replenished began burning again at his urging.

A bloody light flared in his molten-gold eyes. His eighth soul ring lit up, and a power that froze space and time burst from Dugu Bo.

All four were instantly immobilized in midair. This move was not recorded in Soul Hall's files. Even when facing Tang Zong and the others last time, Dugu Bo had kept this move in reserve, precisely for this moment.

Even Qin Zhen's eyes filled with panic the instant he was immobilized.

Then a dark, poisonous light shot into the sky!

"Ninth Soul Skill: Jade Phosphorous Divine Light!"

Dugu Bo opened his enormous maw, and an intensely condensed, ink-green beam roared forth, sweeping across the four from Spirit Hall. Wherever the beam passed, rocks hissed as they corroded and dissolved, while the branches and trunks of thick trees blackened and withered the instant they touched the poisonous light.